WOTC undecided over OGL/GSL. Why you should care

[JohnRTroy]

That's just the April's Fool's day joke.

 

[Jasperak]

I just ran Goodman Games The Transmuter's Last Touch over this past weekend, and it was much better than the sucktastic Return to The Temple of Elemental Evil. Nuff said about 3rd party publishers there.

 

[mxyzplk]

I just ran Goodman Games The Transmuter's Last Touch over this past weekend, and it was much better than the sucktastic Return to The Temple of Elemental Evil. Nuff said about 3rd party publishers there.

Yeah, really. I am frankly surprised at all these folks who've never used 3p adventures - I hope they're rolling their own and not depending on the Wizards adventures. That would be... sad.

 

[see]

I'm not sure this reflects a lack of support for open gaming. I think what it shows is how annoying the SRD is and how hard it is to update with content from new products.

Quite possible.

But, SRD updates (or other released of open content) would be at least one form of supporting for open gaming. I can't think of anything Wizards has done since the last SRD updates in '04 that shows support for open gaming. (Again, you'd be in a better position than I to judge something like that.) And while individuals at Wizards might support open gaming, there seems to have been only benign neglect from Wizards as a corporate entity for almost four years.

 

[Grogtard]

So I've been ghosting here for years now. Finally, this discussion just calls out to me say something.
First, I'm no expert on business. I'm no expert on law or marketing. I have no idea what WOTC's balance sheet looks like. I'm just guy who likes to play RPG's.
My peeve with WOTC. First, they said 4th Ed was going to be OGL, then GSL and now the internet fervor has been riles up that it might be closed. Could all this confusion be due to the suit at WOTC (Greg Leeds) , my personal guess. Probably. Think about the timing of that "final vetting". Personally, I wish they would have just come out with and said, "This is the way 4th Edition will be...." on day one back at GenCon.
My thoughts on the OGL and what it's done for the gaming industry. Let's face it lots. I look at my book shelf and there's the Farscape RPG, Conan D20, OGL Horror, Monte Cook's World of Darkness and Mutants & Masterminds. I don't want to even think about all the third party PDF's I have sitting on my hard drive. Throw in things like Spycraft, Stargate and many more d20 products. All that stuff is next to GURPS, Hero, White Wolf, Unisystem, Runequest, Savage Worlds and few other smaller non-d20 games. And next to that there's all 3.0/3.5 books and d20 Modern. So yes, I dip into lots of different games and systems. I personally feel many of these products wouldn't have made it to my FLGS if it hadn't been for the OGL. Yes, I admit that there was and still is a bunch of third party stuff that is just raging crap. But there are good games and supplements too.
D&D has always been considered the "gateway" RPG that got most people into the hobby. Having other games with a similar system keeps the new gamers in the hobby and more likely to still be around to buy 5th Edition. In the meantime, they can learn play whatever non-d20 games that strike their fancy. IMHO, I think it's best for WOTC to open up 4th Ed. It may not be what's best for their books in the short term but it just might help long term. And it will help keep the gaming hobby alive.
Will this influence my design to buy 4th Edition? Yeah, probably. But I admit that it would only be out of spite and will probably cave if it's a good game. (Personally, the jury is still out on that one.)
I've rambled long enough here. Just keep it civil folks. We're one big community even if we're playing different editions.

 

[catsclaw]

If you're going to try to convince someone they're wrong, making fallacious assumptions about them probably isn't the best way to go about it.

Nope. You're still wrong. If you had bothered to read the rest of my post, you might understand why.

You claiming you haven't personally benefited from the OGL is like a native New Yorker saying they haven't personally benefited from the Interstate Highway System. To the extent that the OGL expanded the size of the industry, employed a number of people who were able to freelance for WotC, and made it more profitable for WotC to publish books--you have personally benefited. Without touching a single d20 product yourself.

 

[Delta]

I'd wait for close of business Monday to worry about the Rouse or Linnae not posting a reply to this thread or some other.

Okay, and now?

 

[BadMojo]

Okay, and now?

Can someone email me when we're officially allowed to panic?

 

[Wystan]

I think the past tense is the problem here. I don't think it tarnished D&D's image, but I do think it's a good example of a product that has the potential to do so. As I understand it, it was sold in major chains such as Barnes & Noble and Borders. I know it can be found on Amazon.com. It's there for concerned parents to run across.

But, really, in the context of this thread, I don't think of it as an example of something that tarnished D&D's image so much as an example of a OGL product that has the potential to turn folks away from D&D.

Seanchai

Just a note, there are copies of the BOEF in at least 4 book stores that I frequent, I have shown it to my non-roleplaying wife and she has called it disgusting and demented...so it is still affecting the image of RPG's...

 

[Wystan]

LOL. Unless third parties had an influence over the core books, the Forgotten Realms Campaign book, and a handful of class books... I'm not wrong.

Well, simply put, those third parties did have an impact on the books you name. The people that worked on them got their start in the 3rd party 'stuff' that you tend not to use. They added and changed D&D for all players with their innovations and they were absorbed by Wizards to do it on a more broad scale...

Any other questions?