January Content Releases/OGL 1.1 Speculation/Future of IO Publishing

Added 2023-01-07 15:52:42 +0000 UTC

Howdy everyone, hope your holidays are well!

Wanted to give you guys a quick update with what's going on with the Patreon!

First, I am currently on holiday vacation (along with most of the Io Publishing Crew) but we have been working on some content for you guys behind the scenes in the meanwhile.

Content Resuming

We will be resuming normal content uploads January 10th!

Our plans for this month include :

6 New Magic Items [$20 Tier]
New Subclass : Bard - College of Cuisine [$20 Tier]
Crafting Mechanic - Common Alchemy [$20 Tier]
2 New Sets of Virtual Tabletop Tokens (15 Dragonborn (masculine), 15 Dragonborn (feminine) [$10 Tier]•New Battlemap Collection[$10 Tier]
IOverse returns this month (with MP3s of sessions) [$5 Tier]

OGL 1.1 Speculation + The Future of IO Publishing

A leak of a rough draft of the OGL 1.1 was exposed - and it puts 3rd party creators in a very tough spot - having to make some hard decisions. You can read the article here.

First off - before anything - I want to reiterate that we won't know what's going on until Wizards of the Coast (WotC) makes an official statement, or releases the OGL 1.1.

Key takeaways from this is the following:

A 20-25% royalty of revenue generated by projects over $750k (Revenue, not Profit)
Wizards has full reign of your work, using it in any way they see fit.
Wizards can change the terms of the OGL 1.1 with 30 days notice given.
Wizards will de-authorize OGL 1.0a, meaning the only way you can create 3rd party content will be to agree to the terms of OGL 1.1.

As someone who is VERY passionate about Dungeons and Dragons 5e, and the OGL 1.0a and SRD 5.1 - I am very troubled by this news, on a personal level. It is with great hopes that Wizards of the Coast will be changing this stance with the outcry of individuals horrified by the language advertised on this rough draft.

OGL 1.0 has been around for over 20 years, providing the foundation of great tabletop systems including Pathfinder. It is thanks to the OGL 1.0 we are able to hire talented artists and writers to create 3rd party content - for you - for any 5e compatible system you use at your table. The de-authorization of OGL 1.0a would be a blow to 3rd party developers - who I believe have been paramount to the development of our TTRPG community.

WotC has attempted to take these actions previously during 4th Edition with the GSL - including poison pill clauses that would forgo your right to use the OGL 1.0 (before having it removed after a huge outcry from the community). GSL 1.0 included similar language as what is being said in the rough draft of OGL 1.1. 4th Edition, and the GSL 1.0 inevitably ended in failure, bringing forth 5th edition, and a return to the OGL - once again - allowing D&D to flourish, grow, and be the powerhouse it is today.

Even if Wizards/Hasbro wishes to de-authorize the OGL 1.0a, the original architect of the OGL - Ryan Dancey (former VP of Wizards of the Coast) - stated the OGL, when designed, was never intended to be de-authorized.

You can read his public statement here.

It is with great hopes that Wizards does not go through with this drafted OGL.

What does that mean for us?

As of right now, nothing. No official OGL 1.1 has been released - and we will continue to release 3rd party content for your 5e needs. We will have more to say when the official OGL 1.1 is released.

What can you do?

There is a huge outcry on social media that what Wizards is attempting to do is not okay. Wizards of the Coast has historically backed down on very unpopular decisions if the outcry was big enough, so if you do not approve of what is being said, let your voice be known.

Let Wizards know by tweeting out your feelings towards the matter with the hashtag #opendnd and include the image linked below. Be sure to include @Wizards and @Wizards_DnD on Twitter.

Do not harass staff or prominent figures of the community. This is a decision being made at the corporate level.

Thank you for reading. I know this is a lot - but it's something that's been weighing on my mind for a long time. I know with enough support - Wizards will do the right thing, and back down from this rhetoric. For now, stay tuned for more great content coming down the pipeline!