#opendnd

[vexwerewolf]

The thing is, D&D is not a game.

I know that sounds insane, but hear me out: D&D is not a game, it is a games console. You don't actually "play D&D." You play "Dragon Heist" or "Tomb of Annihilation" or "Ghosts of Saltmarsh" or "your GM's homebrew campaign" or "the plot of Critical Role Season 1 reconstructed from memory" on D&D.

For quite a long while now - possibly literal decades - D&D hasn't even been the best games console, but it's been "the one everyone knows about" and "the one my friends have" and in fact it's "the one whose name is almost synonymous with the entire medium of TTRPGs," like how "Nintendo" or "Playstation" could just mean "games console" to people who didn't understand games consoles. They might not have heard of a "tabletop roleplaying game," but most people have heard of "Dungeons & Dragons."

For this extended metaphor, D&D is Nintendo back in the 90s, or Playstation in the 2000s. Sometimes you say "oh let's go to my house and play Nintendo" or "c'mon dude I wanna play Playstation" but you're not actually playing Nintendo or Playstation, you're playing Resident Evil or Super Mario Bros or Jurassic Park or Metal Gear Solid or whatever on a Nintendo or a Playstation.

Now, this metaphor is going to get even more tortured, but remember how when the PS2 and the original X-Box came out, they used a standardised DVD format, but the Nintendo console in that generation, the Gamecube, used discs but they were this proprietary tiny little disc format that they had control over? That essentially meant that it was really difficult to make third party titles for the Gamecube that did literally anything that Nintendo didn't want them to do, and also essentially gave Nintendo an even greater ability to skim money off the top of any sales?

So that must've seemed like a smart business decision in their heads. But the PS2 and the X-Box used DVDs. This was a standardized format which gave Microsoft and Sony way less control over who made games for their consoles, but that actually turned out to be a good thing for gaming, because it meant that the breadth of games that you could play on their consoles was massively increased even if some of them were games Microsoft and Sony didn't really approve of. (Also it's worth nothing that the PS2 and the X-Box could just play DVDs, which meant if your household was on a budget, you didn't need a separate DVD player - your games console could do it for you! This was actually a huge selling point!)

What Wizards are currently trying to do now is kinda-sorta the equivalent of Sony suddenly announcing that the PS5 will only accept a proprietary cartridge format they hold the patent on, will control the content of and charge money for the construction of. This possibly seems like it could be a moneymaker in your head because you hold market dominance (apparently the PS5 has 30 million units shipped compared to X-Box Series X 20 million units) and so many people make games for your console, but what it actually means is game devs and publishers will abandon your product. If it takes so much more work, the scope of what they're allowed to do is so much more limited and they're going to make less money off of it, they just won't bother. They'll go make games for the X-Box or PC instead.

To use another computer metaphor, D&D is Windows - it might not be the best system but it's the system most people are familiar with and so it gets the most stuff made for it, but there's is an upper limit on the bullshit people will take before they decide fuck it and get an Apple or learn how Linux works.

TTRPG systems are a weird product because you're not selling people a game, you're selling people a method to play a game. All the actual games are created by the community - even prewritten campaigns needs to be executed via a game master. Trying to skim money off the community will mean they'll eventually give up on you.

#open gaming license #dungeons and dragons #ogl #ogl 1.1 #opendnd #wizards of the coast #one dnd #d&d #dnd #tabletop gaming #tabletop roleplaying games #ttrpgs

[sgrumby]

the changes to the dnd game license are SUCH a perfect example of corporate greed. imagine having such a huge and dedicated fanbase buying your product that podcasts spring up for it, and instead of recognising how lucky you are for that free publicity you try to claim 25% of their profits - which will almost certainly prevent many creators from using 5e as their game of choice. and then, on top of that, you implement an anti-homebrew policy.

read more here. I haven't seen anybody in fandom talking about this yet and if you enjoy anything derived from dnd - any TTRPG, any live play podcast, any creators - this will affect you. sign the open letter. tweet at them (#opendnd). send them an email. don't let them break the spirit of creativity that underpins TTRPGS.

#i defo wouldnt have got into dnd if not for podcasts #dnd #dungeons and dragons #if you haven't heard of this theyre basically trying to fuck over all dnd content creators by claiming their profits #and also the new license looks like it could be used to crack down on homebrew content thats not officially endorsed #opendnd

[dnd-homebrew5e]

WE. FUCKING. WON.

They will not be moving forward with the new OGL. It will remain as is and will be irrevocable. Thank you to everyone that made their voices heard and made sure they understood we would not compromise. Victory is ours!

#dnd #d&d #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #one dnd #opendnd

[leidensygdom]

(Check the link for the post itself! Here’s a screenshot of the same content available in the page, though)

Wizards of the Coast has finally made an official statement about the new OGL, and as expected, it’s an attempt to douse the fire with sweet corpo speak. So, here’s some key points about it, so we don’t forget what actually happened.

They repeated thorough the letter that this was to avoid bigoted content. About three times. Don’t let them lie to you: This was NEVER about preventing bigoted content. (In fact, please remember that WOTC released the hadozee on 2022, and has a lot of unresolved sexual harassment case allegations)

They also mentioned the NFT thing. Again: This is another buzzword, given how nowadays most people dislike NFTs openly. It was NEVER about preventing NFTs

Most importantly: They are blatantly lying about the leaked OGL being “up to revision” and them having planned “to accept community feedback”. The leaked OGL was sent as it is to implied third parties, alongside with contracts. THEY FULLY PLANNED TO HAVE PEOPLE SIGN IT AS IT WAS.

They have been saying they’ll backpedal on some of the choices. DO NOT BELIEVE THEM until we see an actual readable OGL of whatever changes they are promising. They are trying to, desperately, calm down the storm.

KEEP pushing, in fact. Keep unsuscribing from DnD Beyond. Do not buy their products, don’t watch the movie, etc. If this PR stunt makes people suddenly calm down, they’ll try to get away with the OGL as it is.

Also, here’s some segments I want to highlight, just to show how thoroughly filled with horseshit they are:

And third, we wanted to ensure that the OGL is for the content creator, the homebrewer, the aspiring designer, our players, and the community—not major corporations to use for their own commercial and promotional purpose.

This one is probably a jab at Paizo, but they certainly didn’t care about all the third parties affected by this. The “aspiring designer”, the “homebrewer”, the “content creator” are all people who probably have a foot in the industry and are working with smaller TTRPG companies, or third parties. Most third parties have a very limited number of employees (or quite literally consist of just one person), and hire freelancers as needed. These were quite literally the most hurt by this new OGL. Let’s not forget they were content trying to put an end to that.

It also will not include the license back provision that some people were afraid was a means for us to steal work. That thought never crossed our minds. Under any new OGL, you will own the content you create. We won’t. Any language we put down will be crystal clear and unequivocal on that point. The license back language was intended to protect us and our partners from creators who incorrectly allege that we steal their work simply because of coincidental similarities.

They made a section in the OGL that allowed them to steal content. Of course, they are claiming that is not true now, as it would give them a bad image. And yet, they have the nerve to claim they are just defending themselves when they release copied content.

Finally, we’d appreciate the chance to make this right. We love D&D’s devoted players and the creators who take them on so many incredible adventures. We won’t let you down.

This is obviously that sweet corpo speak that ties everything together. They never wanted to make this right: Again, the leaked full OGL was never a draft. They were ready to fuck the entire community over (and still are, most probably) over a greedy cash grab. Do noT forget, and do not relent now: The fight is not over.

We don’t need a “compromise” over the new OGL. I wouldn’t care if they applied this new OGL exclusively to OneDnD, but there is still a lot of people who have built a living operating under 5e’s OGL, and they should NOT be taking that from people. 

(As always, reblog for awareness!)

#onednd #dndbeyond #dnd #dungeons and dragons #ogl #open game license #wotc #wizards of the coast #opendnd #open dnd #ttrpg #5e #long post

[keplercryptids]

if you've never considered playing anything other than D&D 5e, now might be the time to start.

as you may have heard, Wizards of the Coast wrote up a new Open Game License that was leaked and it's really, really bad. (i linked to the article about it yesterday but here's a twitter thread of the author of that article summarizing it.)

i'll attempt my own breakdown of what this means here:

the new OGL revokes the previous OGL. this is bad for so many reasons, and will affect all kinds of TTRPGs like Pathfinder, and third-party publishers like Kobold's Press.

it also means that character sheets wouldn't be able to be used in unauthorized virtual table tops anymore, including Roll20, Foundry, etc.

the new OGL grants WotC a perpetual, irrevocable license to all third-party content produced and published under the old OGL, as well as future content. for example, if WotC hypothetically liked Dimension 20's Unsleeping City setting enough, it could sell products related to that setting, without needing D20's permission.

the new OGL can be updated, changed or revoked with only 30 days' notice. truly wild.

anybody who makes more than $750k revenue (not profit, but revenue) has to pay 20-25% over that amount in royalties to WotC. this will affect so many kickstarters raising funds for indie TTRPG systems that used to fall under the original OGL. $750k sounds like a lot but keep in mind publishing books is expensive.

this is really, really bad. WotC will probably go back on some of this based on public response, and a lawsuit may make them go back on even more. (some of what they're trying to do here is illegal? i think?) but they'll likely still push forward with some of it.

it seems WotC's goal is to 1) appease shareholders (which in late-stage capitalism means "exponential growth forever") and 2) create a closed ecosystem for d&d that's completely under WotC's financial control. think: D&D Beyond being the only place you can access any D&D content, character sheets, etc. and i mean, in general, they've shown a pattern of greed and weighing corporate interests more heavily than their customers or employees.

now would be a great time to move away from d&d if you've ever considered doing so, or to consider it if you haven't.

if you want something similar to d&d 5e mechanically but a bit crunchier, try pathfinder 2e. if you want narrative-focused storytelling games, try Powered by the Apocalypse or FATE systems. if you want a mechanics-forward episodic style of play, try Forged in the Dark systems. if you want a cross-genre game with freeform character creation, try Savage Worlds. and this is an extreme short list of the great TTRPGs out there! a lot of systems that, IMO, people would have more fun playing than d&d, just based on preferred style of play. try them out and please don't give WotC anymore money lol.

#dungeons and dragons #d&d 5e #wizards of the coast #should i have a wotc tag #ttrpg talk #open dnd #opendnd

[hyliandude]

8 alternative ttrpg systems to play instead of d&d:

1. Icon (inspired by Final Fantasy video games)

2. Thirsty Sword Lesbians

3. Lancer RPG (inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam and other Mech Suit franchises)

4. Avatar Legends

5. Coyote & Crow

6. CBR PNK

7. .dungeon

8. Wanderhome

#dungeons and dragons #d&d #ttrpg #opendnd #wotc #wizards of the coast #rpg #role playing games #alternatives #indie #indie ttrpg #cyberpunk #avatar the last airbender #icon #final fantasy #thirsty sword lesbians #lancer #lancer rpg #mobile suit gundam

[tabletop-rpgs]

Some people are pushing the wrong way to boycott…

It’s not “End your current D&D game!” WotC doesn’t give a shit if you play a thing you’ve already bought… they have your money for that stuff already.

It’s “Stop giving WotC/Hasbro money!” Share, pirate, copy, buy second hand… just don’t give them reason to think you’re okay with the coming changes.

While you don’t HAVE to do anything, paying them tells Hasbro you’re onboard with their plans for D&D

I’m not okay with Chris Cao’s Zynga mobile games approach to monetising the game

I am opposed to them carving up D&D so that more and more things are gated behind microtransactions

It’s not ok for them to kill the VTT’s that kept D&D going during the pandemic and no-one was leaving the house

It’s not cool that they tried to strong-arm creators with a shitty OGL then lie and say it was a draft.

Now they are trying to get us to be cool with a new draft that doesn’t stop them from bringing back the stuff that was in the old one

Competition is good for us, the consumers, it keeps them innovating and encourages them to keep the players happy so they win our cash. If they eliminate the competition we have to put up with whatever they decide to do because they’re the only option. Corporations are not your friend and brand loyalty is a scam. They want to extract as much from us for as little as possible, it’s what they do, but we can leverage buying power to make it so that the “little as possible” is them delivering a quality product in a way that we like. This is the war you are always in when a big business, especially one that doesn’t understand the thing they just bought, tries to shift the course of something you love.

It is great to broaden your RPG horizons, try new games, throw some money to the competition but you don’t have to give up your weekly D&D game.

Just try to keep playing it without giving them money. If Chris Cao has his way they’ll be killing DnDBeyond anyway.

Edit: This isn’t me imploring you to stick with D&D, this is me saying that if thinking you had to give up your weekly game was your reason for not joining the boycott, you don’t.

#dungeons and dragons #dnd #dungeons & dragons #dndbegone #opendnd #d&d

[daarka]

Actually fucking nuts. Capitalism ruins everything.

Push back against this. Be loud. Use #OpenDnD liberally.

Staying in 5e and ignoring 6e/"OneDnD" is not an option. I'll try to summarize below the cut, but I'm not an expert, so please seek out resources that aren't me for full info. This link is a good start. This is the full deep-dive I read up on a few days ago. Listening to the community is also worthwhile to understand from the voices of those affected most. To be more involved in the discussion yourself, a lawyer has set up a Discord server for the community to gather and converse in regarding this issue.

Again, for full context and information from more knowledgeable sources than me (including actual professionals), please go to the links I included above. If you don't have the time/patience/spoons to read those articles, scroll a twitter feed, or poke around a Discord server though, here are the things that made the most potent impression on me and why you should care about this issue.

As mentioned, staying in 5e and ignoring 6e/"OneDnD" is not an option. While OGL1.1 was made for 6e, the extensive parts of the document that have been leaked make it clear that with OGL1.1 going into effect, OGL1.0a (which has been the OGL for the past decade) will no longer be functional. 3rd party creators must choose to either sign the OGL1.1 and comply with it's insanely restrictive and predatory terms, or face legal repercussions for publishing the content they have made their livelihoods off of the past decade.

Per the leaked document, all 3rd party creators must register themselves and their creations with WotC. - 3rd party creators making over $50,000 USD per year must also report their earnings to WotC. - 3rd party creators making over $750,000 USD gross per year must also pay WotC a 25% royalty. This means it is not 750k in profits, it is 750k before any expenses that they are taking the royalties from. Anyone whose profit margin was 25% or less would be financially invalidated by this royalty, and can even end up losing money. Furthermore, the nature of Kickstarters for example is that there is no upper ceiling on earnings, so a KS for a 3rd party sourcebook will suddenly be facing a massive expense they may not have planned for if their campaign exceeds the 750k mark, potentially destroying their ability to deliver on the rewards when they otherwise could have. While currently only a small number of creators are known to make over 750k/year (gross, not net), that does not mean this will not affect you. It creates a very dire argument for why 3rd party creators should not even make the effort in the first place, especially with crowdfunding where too much success can suddenly ruin them.

Remember how those who make over 50k have to report their earnings? Well, the 750k threshold is one WotC says they have the right to change at any time in OGL1.1. This means they can see what people are making when creators are forced to report their earnings over 50k, and use that data to lower the threshold of income for their royalty fee, and they can do this at any time, however much they want. Per OGL1.1, they are telling you that they can decide on a whim that actually, anyone making over $5,000 USD gross a year has to pay the 25% royalty.

D&DBeyond / OneDnD are working towards creating a VTT to host OneDnD/6e. While Roll20 is licensed by WotC if I'm not mistaken, virtually no other VTT is. Platforms like Foundry VTT (my personal favorite and most beloved VTT) will not be able to host the D&D system on them under OGL1.1. What does that mean? Hard to say. But it will objectively become much harder to play D&D outside of WotC-approved spaces in the near future, and that is by design. They want to monopolize how this game is played, and that means making it difficult, inconvenient, or even illegal to play the game outside of their personal playground.

Under OGL1.1, WotC claims full and complete ownership over any and all 3rd party content created for D&D, and the rights to use it however, whenever, and wherever they want without paying you royalties. You made this? Hasbro made this.

I've only ever played 5e. But this link I put up above was very informative about prior editions and the drama surrounding them. 3e had an OGL, and the community began to flourish with 3rd party content. WotC didn't like that people who weren't them were making money off a passion for D&D, and they regretted the OGL--but that OGL was irrevocable, and could not be cancelled, removed, or in any way undone. So they put together 3.5e. They promised 3.5e would be backwards compatible, and all your resources for 3e would still work for it. So people jumped to 3.5e, only to find all their 3e content was now worthless, because that hadn't been true. And 3.5e, of course, did away with that open and welcoming OGL from 3e. Sound familiar? "OneDnD" is touted to be backwards compatible. And yet also comes with crushing restrictions in their OGL1.1 that make it impossible for the D&D community to exist as it has been. It is transparently clear that for WotC/Hasbro, an ideal world would be one where all the money people have spent on flourishing this community over the last decade would have gone exclusively into their pockets. D&D makes hundreds of millions every year, but it's "under monetized" according to their new CEO. It doesn't matter if "Honor Among Thieves" flops at the box office, WotC has already green-lit the production of multiple D&D movies. It's not about fanservice, it's about fan exploitation. Because they can't fucking stand that the game they made can be played obsessively and passionately for decades with only the one-time purchases of the DMG and PHB. And instead of fixing the apparent "under-monetization" problem by publishing more official content, they choose to poach 3rd party creators. The very lifeblood that has caused D&D's success. Because capitalist greed is a soulless poison to whatever it fixes its attention on.

The only way the community has any shot in hell to fight this is if the pushback is intense and loud. WotC has released statements mentioning an openness to listening to the community and revising their choices based on feedback; whether that proves to be lip service or not remains to be seen, but either way: the only thing they seem to care about is money. Fine, let your money do the talking, then. Wholeheartedly support the boycott. Proclaim your support of it loudly. Let Hasbro know that their attempts to milk more profits out of this franchise will be the very thing that kills it if they don't ease the fuck back and allow OGL1.0a to persist. They apparently didn't learn shit when this happened in 3e/3.5e. They can either wise up now before they fuck up beyond repair, or they can be fully destroyed by their own greed. Time will tell.

Edit:

Good catch, thanks! You're right, I must have had some wires crossed when writing that bit. They couldn't revoke it, but they did publish new content for 3.5e that made 3.0e content feel worthless; this is not something I personally lived through, but is based on the reporting from this second article I linked. Likewise, that article explains how 4e did not have an OGL and was consequentially a bit of a wasteland, presumably prompting WotC to bring the OGL back for 5e. Which flourished. And now we're here.

Edit II:

I'm Super not the best source of information for this because I'm absolutely all over the place, but 2 things.

Please check out OpenDnD.games for full, proper info and a place to give your signature in support of the community's pushback.

Something else I failed to mention above: OGL1.1 has a "poison pill" clause. Anyone who signs it permanently forfeits their right to publish under prior versions of the OGL, even if they are unable to take down those prior versions. DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING FOR OGL1.1. Even if the community pushback yields results, you may have trapped yourself. "Predatory" does not even begin to cover it.

#opendnd #ogl #dnd #dungeons and dragons #dnd5e #6e #onednd #ttrpg #rpg #wotc #hasbro #daarka gekkers

[coffeecup-homebrews]

WotC wants the corporate speak to placate everyone into forgetting what they’re aiming for. Don’t let the outrage die.

UPDATE: These have been confirmed to be fake. Apologies for putting out fake information, that was not my intention. I’m not deleting this because a) it was my mistake and I don’t want to sweep my mistakes under the rug, and b) I want people to know it’s fake.

#opendnd #dndbegone #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #dungeons and dragons 5e #dnd 5e #dnd beyond #dnd ogl #wotc ogl #fuck the new ogl #ogl #ogl drama #ogl 1.1 #d&d ogl

[lostinludens]

There are a lot of crazy things happening right now with developing information about Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, and the future of Dungeons & Dragons. If you are confused about ONE DND or what is the OGL (open game license) and why it's so important to pay attention to what is being done to it I highly recommend watching the video below.

He gives a great breakdown of what has happened, what information we currently have, and possibly what this mess can lead to. Truly, the future of the DND community is at stake, with so many creators at risk AND any system or content even partially related to DND (such as Pathfinder) is also in the crossfire. So many people are talking about the crazy legalities of it all, and it's a lot and complicated and we just don't have all the info because it just isn't out there yet. So, if you care about DND, about TTRPGS, about communities and people who enjoy a thing being able to continue to enjoy it, watch this video.

#dungeons and dragons #dnd #d&d #dungeons & dragons #pathfinder #wizards of the coast #ttrpg #wotc #hasbro #one dnd #one d&d #critical role #dimension 20 #naddpod #adventure zone #opendnd

[hanathelorekeeper]

"Do not cite the OGL to us, Hasbro. We were there when it was written." - Paizo

Based on the post from here. Feel free to spread this meme across the internet. :)

#paizo #hasbro #the lion the witch and the wardrobe #meme #dnd memes #opendnd #open dnd #ogl 1.1 #htl og #hana the lorekeeper #My Works

[ravensshire]

https://www.deviantart.com/jordangrimmer/art/Broken-Gate-557506803

#fantasy art #digital art #digital painting #fantasy painting #opendnd #dnd #dungeons and dragons

[knightofburgers]

Nerds Will Defeat WotC

#wotc #ogl #dnd #d&d #wizards of the coast #hasbro #open gaming license #opendnd #open dnd #dungeons & dragons #dnd 6e #open d&d #fuck wotc

[dnd-homebrew5e]

D&D Community, we are needed!!!

The new OGL that WotC and Hasbro are trying to implement is damaging to all content creators. Many platforms of TTRPGs, your favorite D&D podcasts, and homebrew creators will all suffer because of their greed. Below is a link to an open letter asking them to not go through with it.

We, the community, have brought success to D&D. Not the other way around. Please, click the link and sign it. Reblog and like this post to spread awareness of this open letter and pray things work out. We deserve better.

#dnd #d&d #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #opendnd

[leidensygdom]

CANCEL YOUR DND BEYOND SUBSCRIPTION AS A PROTEST TO THE OGL

This letter has been getting passed around on twitter, and confirmed as real by few reputable sources.

Tl;dr: WOTC's executives don't care about you or the community, only want your money, and are hoping people will forget about the OGL. They are using DnD Beyond as the metric of what is going on.

So, CANCEL YOUR DND BEYOND SUBSCRIPTION if you haven't yet, and tell them you did because of the OGL. Don't buy their new shinies until they backtrack and CANCEL the new OGL altogether.

They don't care about the community, so the only way to protest is to cut off where it actually hurts them.

#Ogl #Open game license #Opendnd #Open dnd #Wotc #Wizards of the coast #Dnd beyond #Dndbeyond #Ddb #Dnd 5e #Pathfinder #Ttrpg #Ttrpgs #Tabletop rpg

[keplercryptids]

insiders at WotC have shared that d&d beyond cancelations have affected them (source)

d&d beyond subscriptions are the most direct way for hasbro/WotC to get financial feedback from their cash cows oops i mean, customers lol.

the OGL 2.0 announcement was supposed to be today and seems to have been canceled, largely due to the backlash.

the page to cancel d&d beyond memberships isn't currently functioning, lmao. but once it's back up, please consider canceling your d&d beyond membership and cite "OGL 2.0" as the reason.

(more info about the OGL controversy here.)

#open dnd #wizards of the coast #d&d 5e #should i have a wotc tag #ttrpg talk #dungeons and dragons #opendnd