JP was wrong (again) and future plans #openDND

It seems like we've done it! As of yesterday afternoon, January 27th 2023, the SRD for the rules of 5e are now in Creative Commons 4.0. Yay!

I first thought they would try to weasel something, but this ends the debate. They lost. Lost big. The pressure from the community, by canceling D&D Beyond subs, speaking out, and sharing thoughts about it.

What does that mean for 6e?

6e will not have an OGL. Instead, it will have something akin to what they tried to ram down our throat with the OGL1.1/2.0. In short, they "gave" us 5e but will want to close 6e off.

Just like they did 4e.

And the old one among us remember what happened to 4e... It sunk, crashed, and burned. Not so much because of its flaws, but because they simply wanted to ignore everything before 4e and start the game anew. An issue they addressed with 5e by harking back to the roots of the game. And that is one of the reasons 5e was such a success.

Will 6e be a dud? No. It will have some success. Initially. But with many 3pp who push, support, and most importantly run the game, all not going to 6e. That bodes very poorly for 6e.

So 6e got torpedoed. From the inside. I like to say "They 4e'd their 6e." Basically making this new edition dead on arrival.

Unless it is of such majestic brilliance, of such imperial greatness, of such magnanimous perfection... Which cannot happen. Which is too bad because what we seen so far was mostly positive. A lot of good things. Interesting concepts. Nothing earth-shattering, but nothing game breaking either... II was happy with what I saw and was "cautiously optimistic."

What does that mean for FOE?

In the short term, nothing. Sleep, I guess. I spent a few weeks really stressed out. Now FOE products do not copy from the SRD, I leave those portions out on purpose so I don't have to update my products if there is an errata or a rules update.

However, the question remained: how can I publish my books without fear of WotC coming after me? FOE is a small-time operation: It's mostly me with the help of some of you. Could WotC decide to sue me for using "fighter" or making a reference to "magic missile"?

Uncertainty was the name of the game for those few weeks.

So... FOE?

I am going through the Ozaka book, trying to finish it using 5e rules.

At this time, I have no real plans for what to write next. I have a number of very vague ideas but nothing definite yet. I'll keep on reading and playing with things in my head.

I am working on a Planescape campaign for DM's Guild and on a Mythic Beastiary for both Akhamet and Olympia.

On the plus side, since having had that news, I was able to add about 10 pages to Ozaka, making it just shy of 200 pages! FOE's biggest product yet.

My "Survey" #OpenDND

I'm sure I will be outvoted by the other 105%. But I'm putting it here for posterity. (You can click on each image for full-size view)

I have the WotC OGL Survey Results! #OpenDND #DNDBEGONE

I am happy to publish the results that was used, compiled, and the feedback that we read and understood. These have been confirmed by well-connected people in the industry, including the custodial staff at WotC and one guy who saw their offices back in 1994!

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- 106% of the respondants think OGL 1.0a is outdated

- 105% of the respondants support our newest OGL (whatever it is).

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Okay... That was a little humor to present my sentiment that I do *NOT* believe they will look at anything we will put in our response. The survey is a delaying tactic to ram what they want and give themselves the veneer of openness. I do not trust them. I do not believe them.

I expect no transparency from them about it. No total number of votes. No % of responses per answer. And definitely nothing of what we will write in their open field will ever be read by human eyes ever again.

Maybe when Skynet takes over the world, IT will read it and point to it as the reason for the downfall of mankind.

Like so many others, I can only encourage you to purchase from Third-Party Publishers (yes FOE, but anyone who is not WotC is cool). And especially, cancel your D&D Beyond subscription ASAP.

The FOE 66% sale is still going strong. Start or complete your FOE collection before they cut us off!

FOE Signing open letter to WotC #OpenDND

You may or may not know, but there is a new edition of D&D coming, called either 6e or OneD&D. There was much excitement about it with an active playtest of the new rules available online. Wizards of the Coast (WotC) promised a lot of things: backward compatibility, virtual table top, online support, etc.

I followed the development and did not make any official comment other than being optimistic by what I saw. The rule tweaks presented so far are interesting and are, overall a matter of personal preference: bonus feat at level 1, aid action requiring training, and redux of exhaustion being but a few. I think they were doing the right thing and were heading for a massive win. Those new changes could easily be home ruled.

Then, the new OGL 1.1 was leaked out...

... and the internet went NUTS.

If you do not know what the OGL is, it is a license that allows publishers to use and copy parts of the game rules and use them in their own publications. For over 20 years, the previous OGL 1.0a made the game thrive and expand from the sole domain of nerds to something almost mainstream.

You can read the Open Letter co-signed by many industry leaders (which I am happy to attach to my name and FOE's).

The Ogl 1.0a was about 900 words and was included in most all products using it. The new one balloons to 9,000 words and includes provisions for paying royalties to WotC and giving them full access to anything created.

So what does this mean to FOE?

In short, I either write and maybe get a few dollars here and there until WotC come and take it all away. I like what I do and being able to use these gains to feed my addiction for more product.

FOE is not a money-making venture, I pay for too much art... I am revenue-neutral and I appreciate being able to have artists make my crazy ideas come to life. FOE pays for my Gencon hotel and most of the trip.

So what does this mean to you?

Today, most of these third party publishers (3pp) offer games to showcase their products and ideas at local conventions and in their local areas. I expect many will either close shop, stop running D&D in public, or either move to their own system or to another one with a true open license.

So this decision will affect more than just the publishers. It will affect YOU, too.

But JP, I have the same group since 1982 Okay, you might be safe from this change. But if your groups breaks apart or changes or anything happen...

So the #OpenDND is trending. Make sure WotC sees it.

#OpenDnD