Open Game License (OGL) 1.1 and RC

Hi all!

I'm sure by now you must have heard about the controversy currently going on in regards to WOTC's plans for the OGL. A fair number of you have been messaging me about it, querying how it might affect what we do here.

If you aren't sure what the OGL is and why the proposed changes would be disastrous for the community, DMDave has a great summary:

• All creators earning over $50,000 per year have to report earnings.
• Wizards automatically has a claim to whatever content you create as a sublicense. This means that they can take 3rd party content, repackage it, share it, do whatever they want, and don't owe the author a dime and are absolved of all liabilities attached to it.
• Any content that isn't a PDF or book is not allowed. This could severely harm or even lead to the destruction of many major third-party VTTs, such as FoundryVTT, FantasyGrounds, Alchemy, Roll20, etc. It also eliminates board games, video games, miniatures, etc.
• Any past version of the OGL is null and void.  Despite the wording of the original document, which said it is perpetual, irrevocable, and could not be replaced by any new version of the OGL, the new one straight-up says they will no longer honor that agreement.
• Creators making over $750,000 have to pay a very high percentage of revenue (not profit, mind you) after $750,000. To put this in perspective, I almost barely reach that number (when you factor in Kickstarters), but easily 90%+ of what comes in goes to contractors, cost of goods sold, taxes, platform fees, legal/accounting, etc.
• They're only giving people until January 13th to sign. This might change since they haven't released an official agreement (it was supposed to come out yesterday), but originally they hoped to put it out this week and give people a total of 9 days (or 7 business days) to agree or "suffer our legal wrath."
• This is for every edition. This doesn't just affect OneDND. It affects 3.0/3.5 and its derivatives, including Pathfinder, as well as 5th edition.

(you can read the full article here)

How may this affect what we do here?

On one hand, as my maps are 'system neutral' thus do not draw from any WOTC IP, the bulk of my content will be unaffected.

However, with these proposed changes threatening to destroy Foundry (and many others such as Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds) all VTT content, maps and animated tokens etc, will be threatened. Such content currently represents roughly 40% of my revenue, it would be a big step back.

That is without even considering the much wider community we are part of, one that is under attack by WOTC's latest land grab. Even if the direct effect of this new OGL is comparatively light for us, we will exist in a 3rd party creator community that is completely decimated. That would be a terrible loss in my opinion.

Closing Thoughts

I am fairly new to the TTRPG space, having only been playing for 4 years, but in that time I have grown to absolutely love this community. A global network of fantastically creative and weird people in equal measure. :D

I will admit I never really gave WOTC much thought before all of this business with the OGL. Other than buying a few modules from them over the years and remembering not to use the word 'Drow' when submitting modules to The Forge. I was content to exist in a universe where they were some distant creator deity, happy to leave as to our toils.

This whole business however has opened my eyes, WOTC may 'own' DnD but it was the community that made it. Over the last two decades they have been happy to allow 3rd party creators, DMs and players to build on their foundation and foster a complete renaissance in the game we all love. Something many people have spent their professional lives doing with the promise that the OGL 1.0 was perpetual and ironclad.

Now that the DnD community is thriving, they want it all for themselves. A land grab, nothing more nothing less.

What can we do?

Well there has been a huge pushback from the community already with #OpenDND doing the rounds on Twitter, so you could absolutely add your voice to that.

Note: Please do not bombard or harass any WOTC employees on Twitter or other forums. They are simply people doing a job and are unlikely to have any choice in what is happening with the wider company.

There is also an Open Letter you can sign HERE

Finally I would suggest keeping an eye on the news and what WOTC are up to. They have already tried to discredit the community outrage by claiming the leaked OGL 1.1 was just a draft but don't believe it for a moment. Fellow creators have already been sent contracts to sign with the OGL attached.

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I'm sorry for the heavy subject matter but this is an important moment for everyone in this community and our change to influence change is now.

Fingers crossed WOTC doesn't torch the entire industry!

George - The Reclusive Cartographer