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peppermintbatman · 1 year

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#OpenDND

[Image ID: Red Background with white lettering with the hashtag Open D&D. End ID]

Here is an an open letter on the Open Gaming License, to Wizards of the Coast.

Looking at the names signed at the bottom, it includes big names: Mage Hand Press, DM Dave, Sly Flouish, Foundry VTT, Kibbles, Midnight Quills, Czepeku, Wyrmworks Publishing, Alchemy RPG, LegendKeeper, and so many more. (I respect all of the creators even if I didn’t include them, I’m just not reprinting all of them in terms of keeping a respectable length of this post).

This letter has been vetted by (at least one) lawyers and other PR services to make sure that what they are saying is factually correct (to avoid legal troubles) and summarized in a way that is easier to understand (to non intellectual property attorneys).

Visit the website here for more through information and to sign your name: https://www.opendnd.games/

Exerts from the open letter below:

The Open Gaming License (OGL) is a legal framework that allows creators to use the rules and ideas of roleplaying games in their own works.

However, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has announced an updated OGL (version 1.1)—an attempt to dismantle the entire RPG industry. This new license intends to completely revoke the old OGL, a perpetual license designed to be irrevocable.

Nothing about this new license is “open”.

No matter the creator, it locks everyone into a new contract that restricts their work, makes it mandatory to report their projects and revenues to Wizards of the Coast, and gives WotC the legal right to reproduce and resell creators’ content without permission or compensation.

For the largest creators in the industry, WotC is imposing an impossible tax of 25%—based on their total sales, not profit. This is anti-competitive, monopolistic behavior designed to crush small businesses

Games such as Pathfinder 1E and 2E, 13th Age, Fudge, and Traveller—which use the 1.0 OGL as the backbone of their existence—will need to cease sales of upcoming products or give WotC 25% of their revenue to stay in compliance with the new license.

Virtual tabletops (VTTs) cannot operate.

Diversity in the industry will shrink away, as projects from marginalized creators are effectively written out of the future.

#OpenDnD is a rallying cry under which creators and fans have unified to demand that WotC revoke the draconian 1.1 OGL and pledge to support the existing 1.0 OGL into future editions of their games. This isn’t an opportunity to litigate and tinker with a new license, but to return to the values of open gaming. Our community deserves an open future if we want our favorite games to not only survive, but thrive!!

If you are a creator, #DontSign the new agreement. If you love roleplaying games, let WotC know we won't support them without an #OpenDnD!

WotC has shown that they are the dragon on top of the hoard, willing to burn the thriving village if only to get a few more gold pieces. It’s time for us to band together as adventurers to defend our village from the terrible wyrm.

Tell Wizards that you support #OpenDnD by signing your name below.

https://www.opendnd.games/

#OpenDND #ttrpg #dnd #dungeons and dragons #wotc #wizards of the coast #critical role #dimension 20 #the adventure zone #not another dnd podcast #high rollers #dungeons and daddies

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dndsettingsinfo · 8 months

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Grand Gothic Cathedral [44×88] by Czepeku

#czepeku #grand #gothic #goth #cathedral #church #churches #temple #temples #map #maps

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daarka · 1 year

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Fair enough!

Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast. Wizards of the Coast owns Dungeons & Dragons.

If you play Dungeons and Dragons (or really, have any exposure to it at all), chances are, you either use or are in some way influenced by D&D content created (and probably published) by someone who is not WotC. If you use hand-drawn battle maps made by artists like Czepeku, or VTT tokens drawn by ForgottenAdventures, or perhaps you use a spell or subclass created by KibblesTasty, or an enchanted item created and illustrated by The Griffon's Saddlebag. Or maybe you just use roll tables, adventure modules, virtual tabletops like Foundry VTT, or prewritten settings made by people who are not WotC. This includes the big names, like Tal'Dorei: Campaign Setting Reborn from Critical Role. On that note: Critical Role. Maybe you've heard of it. Dimension20, The Adventure Zone. The list goes on.

All of these things are known as 3rd-party creators. That means these people just happened to like the D&D franchise, and made content for or about D&D which they profit from. But they do not work for Wizards of the Coast and have absolutely zero ties to the official company.

This is possible through something called an OGL, or Open Game License, in combination with an SRD, or System Reference Document. In short: WotC wanted (initially) to allow their players to grow the community by making their own 3rd party content. To encourage this, they went through the core rules of D&D5e and selected bits of it to put in a System Reference Document. Then they created the Open Game License, which is a legal document that explains how anything within the SRD can be more or less referenced and used for anyone to profit off of (whereas things they built into D&D but did not put in the SRD were still off-limits to protect their intellectual property from being completely public domain).

The OGL1.0 had one small revision shortly after launching, which is known as OGL1.0a. OGL1.0a has been the active license for about the past decade, untouched beyond that initial small revision. This OGL allows all the aforementioned creators to do what they do freely and passionately without having to worry about things like lawsuits for using the D&D intellectual property.

Based on recent interviews, actions and choices made by WotC/Hasbro, I feel it's safe to presume that what has happened is that WotC/Hasbro have loved seeing the boom in popularity for D&D over recent years, but have found themselves restless about how so much of that success went into the pockets of 3rd party creators. They acquired a new CEO, who in an interview, declared D&D to be "under-monetized". Instead of seeking to rectify this by listening to the community and producing more content they wanted, their solution to this apparent ""problem"" (D&D as a franchise makes hundreds of millions of dollars per year, btw) was to move towards a new edition of D&D, and with it, establish a new OGL.

The new edition is, basically, D&D6e, but is being referred to as "OneDnD" during these early developmental periods. With the development of OneDnD/6e, a new OGL was drafted, because evidently, they very much regretted the OGL put in place for 5e, because it gave them no way of taking a slice of the pie that 3rd party creators had made into the gourmet dessert it has been. The new OGL they drafted is referred to as OGL1.1. However, despite the label as an OGL, it is not an Open Game License. It is anything but open. It creates not only harsh and predatory restrictions for all 3rd party creators, but with its release, it also renders the old OGL null and void.

In short, every single 3rd party creator has a choice right now that they are being forced to make on an extremely small time crunch: either sign on to OGL1.1, and in doing so, forfeit all rights you had under OGL1.0a that you based your entire business upon, giving WotC your soul and full ownership over all your creations, with freedom to use them however, whenever, and wherever Hasbro chooses without owing you any compensation at all, or cease publishing 3rd party content for profit. Or continue to do so and face a lawsuit.

To reiterate/sum up:

Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast is trying to develop the next edition of Dungeons & Dragons, and with it, they are TORCHING the old licensing system that has allowed 3rd-party creators to make their livelihoods around the D&D fandom. They are instead rewriting this license to force said creators to either sign on and comply, thus granting Hasbro total and compensation-free use of anything and everything the 3rd-party creator publishes amongst other predatory clauses--or else legally barring 3rd party creators from otherwise continuing to publish their work as they have been.

If you're wondering about the big names like Critical Role, they are no doubt under an NDA right now, as I'm positive WotC reached out to them well in advance to lock them into said NDA and OGL1.1 contracts as soon as possible. Due to their high earnings, WotC is now being payed 25% of their GROSS income as a royalty fee. Gross=Before expenses. So this is not 25% of Critical Role's profits, this is 25% of everything they make, before they spend any of that money on expenses--which undoubtedly cuts majorly into their profits, and consequentially, the new ventures they are able to pursue. If you don't care about CR, replace them with any similarly big-name D&D based company, like Dimension20, TAZ, Kobold Press, etc. Edit: Please refer to my original post for full details! To be clear, this 25% royalty applies only to creators making over $750k gross /year--but under OGL1.1, WotC can change (including lowering) that threshold to whatever number they want.

Hopefully that helps clarify some things! Full details of all the red flags I'm screaming about are in my other prior post. This is, unfortunately, not fearmongering, either. This is the cold and bitter factual reality of the matter. It really is this nasty.

#opendnd #daarka gekkers

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grigori77 · 2 months

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Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 86

Matt: "Don't ask." Yes, probably best ...

Maps! Yay! I love maps! Oh! Czepeku! I love these guys! Nice! And now the costumes make sense. Matt: "What's happening?" Yeah ... we're with you. And now he won't say their name ... Marisha: "Say it, bitch!" LOL

A Luxon D20 with a LIQUID CORE?!!! OH MY GODS ... so cool ... O.O

Liam O'Brien delivered a truly BIZARRE Jester impression there ... cue OG turn from Laura to show us how it's really done ..

Oh yeah! Fearne's in another dimension ... so where is she?

Perception check? Nat20! Nice ... oh yes, US the portal still there? It is ... oh thank fuck ... in she goes ... and she's BACK!!!

Yeah, actually sleep sounds good. They really need it. Goodbye mist form, but still ... like they really are on the verge of exhaustion ...

BTW I am going quietly nuts over Marisha's look tonight ... it's genuinely adorable ... :3

Through the mouth? Is that an EXCUSE, Fearne? Are you being sneaky flirty?

Yes! Anchor a line with the rod. Good idea. It WOULD probably pay to check this out. Be a good retreat point if needed ...

Oh yeah, good point. Would that transfer thing be a potential beacon for Otohan?

So Imogen gets an extra Sorcery point? That is pretty cool ...

Ah yes, Chetney's tools. Affixing a piton for thd rope. Meanwhile Fearne takes the tethered Immovable Rod ... while still a leaf sheep sea slug? Not gonna work ... no, Orym takes it while she guides him through ...

Wow ... Liam STILL doesn't know zll his stats that well ... XD Messy ...

They're trying SO HARD to make Matt accidentally describe this as passing through a weird magic butthole ... XD

Travis: "Chetney's leaving to pursue his fortunes elsewhere."

Aha ... so they ARE on Exandria? Interesting ... but WHERE?

Turning into clouds while still in the water would probably be a bad idea ...

Discussing Fearne and Werewolf Chetney's "sexy time" ... yeah ...

On the shore of this strange lake ... ah yeah, Nature Check! Smart ... pine-trees ... higher altitude ... this is VERY NEW to them ... interesting ... are they on Tal'dorei, perhaps? Near Vasselheim, maybe? THAT would be interesting ...

Mist once more ... heading UP!!! So what do we see?

T-shirt shenanigans ... oh Samuel, you are playing with fire ... XD

A village! Nice ... heading down again ...

Street level! Here we go ... well into the evening ... the place seems to be abandoned ... strange ...

Dusty empty general store ... looks like it's been empty for a while ...

FCG suggests they're in an alternate dimension ... unfortunately much what I was considering ... not that I LIKE this idea any ...

Overgrown gardens ... yeah, another suspicious sign ... some of the buildings are collapsed ...

Ria'doin village ... Lake Umamu ...

It's somewhere in Marquet? Issylra, maybe? Hmmmm ...

Ashton checks out the most expensive house ... which seems to have been ransacked ... but a long time ago ...

Imogen picks up shoreline pebbles snd loose bits of wood from the town.

Grim Psychometry! Here we go ... no joy ... hmmm ...

Chetney joins Ashton, starts checking the house for hidden rooms, etc. Small compartment under the bed, but already emptied ... yup ...

Laudna finds mention of people disappearing ... a whole slew of families leaving ... no, DISAPPEARING ... rumor, conjecture ... then nothing? Weird ...

It's all very X-Files, really ...

FCG casts Speak With Animals on a local bird ... oh, he really does HATE birds, clearly ... talk about trauma ... XD

Matt Mercer ... master of creepy looks ... LOL

FCG has to mark off a Stress Point ...

People walk into the lake? Oh boy ... yeah, this place is CURSED!!! I fucking knew it!

Chetney DEFINITELY wants to sleep here now, just to see what happens ... yeah ...

Aha! Yes, is Imogen picking anything up with her telepathic abilities right now? Nothing ... hmmm ...

Deciding to sleep in the expensive place. It's serviceable fir the night, at least. Setting in ...

Oh dear ... worst time for intrusive thoughts ... XD

Examining spoils ... a Ring of Life Awareness ... whoops ... well THAT'S not a good thing at all ... does thr Ring have tracking? Crap ...

His new feat? Oh yeah, his deal with Nana Morri ... of course ... Master Craftsman! Ooooooòoooooh ... O.O

First watch, Fearne and Chetney ...

Nothing happens ...

Second, Orym and Imogen ...

Orym is attempting to communicate with Caleb Widogast ... oh fuck me it WORKS!!!

CALEB!!! THE DIRT WIZARD LIVES!!! I mean obviously WE know this already, but still ...

Imogen casts Sending to Caleb ... and it WORKS ... then tries to Send to Keyleth ... fuck, it worked AGAIN!!! Sweet!

Catamaran Reach in Issylra! Yup! They were right!

Okay, so she's gonna try snd meet up with them? That's smart ...

Awwwwwwww ... such a sweet moment for these two ... :3 Orym DESERVES a break, so he needs this.

Holy fuck, it's Jester! Oh my gods!

Yeah, she is as adorable as ever ... I love how she can just keep it up now with Unlimited Sendings ... XD

Orym tries to get through to Dorian ... gods I want this to work SO BADLY ...

No response, but he's sure he heard something OUTSIDE?!!! He thinks it might be Dorian ... oh fuck! Creepy horror movie vibes! DO NOT GO, ORYM!!!

No, Orym is just GOING TO THE DOOR ...

Laudna sends Pate to look for him ... literally CHUCKS HIM out the window ... oof ...

Yes, this is a super creepy situation and NOBODY should go ANYWHERE ... and now Ashton can hear something ...

Oh right, of course, clearly there is something IN THE LAKE that's trying to draw people in ... they need to IGNORE THIS FREAKY FEELING!!!

Hunter's Bane? Oh, smart ...

Chetney and FCG are going to investigate ... for fuck's sake ... and now more of them are going ...

Yeah, this is all going south SO FAST ...

Imogen casts Detect Thoughts ... oh shit there IS something IN the fucking lake! Great ...

Liam: "We are in Derry, Maine." Of fucking COURSE they are ...

Imogen tries to Command them all to return to the house ... it works, but not on Ashton ... CRAP!!!

Laudna sends Pate after him ...

And now the other two are going in again! Shit! And NOW Matt decides to call a fucking break? SERIOUSLY?!!!

Welcome back to SHEER FUCKING PANIC!!!

Imogen tries to hold onto Orym ... strength check? Somehow he STARTS TO BEAT HER in that, so they're now BOTH going in! Aaaaaaaah!!!

Fearne tries to Scorching Ray all of them ... but they're ALREADY underwater! Crap!

Laudna sticks her head UNDER THE WATERro try snd see boats? Hmmmm ... amazingly, there are FOUR sunken boats here! Wow ...

She PULLS ONE UP out if the water ... oh fuck she's BROUGHT IT TO FUCKING LIFE!!! And it can talk and crawl around ... bloody hell ... as is THE ROPE ATTACHED TO IT!!! She sends both to collect the others ...

FCG's going down to try and help ...

Weird underwater growth? Oh for FUCK'S SAKE it's some kind of twisted monster! Lovely!

Damn, it's COLD down here! And it's starting to have an effect on EVERYBODY down here now ...

Oh shit it's fucking HYPOTHERMIA!!! They are in DEEP SHIT right now!

Bones. Lots of bones. Yup, this is definitely NOT GOOD.

Mind Sliver? GO IMOGEN!!! 16 points of Psychic damage to this ... THING ...

Fearne bamfs out Mister ... who DOES NOT HAVE WATER BREATHING right now! Crap!

All but Ashton manage to snap out of the trance ... lovely. They are back in control but VERY MUCH lost in darkness and icy cold right now ...

Form of Dread! Undead pirate style! Sweet! And they DIVE!!! It's all gone very POTC with the crew of the Flying Dutchman ...

Dimension Door! Nice one Mister! FCG is now free ...

Laudna (pirate voice): "Arrrr! All aboard the Queen De Rolo!"

Imogen stand again, more psychic damage!

Blood Maladict! Chetney does some damage too ... it does not have blood, but he does hurt it. Now he's swimming for his life ...

Orym makes pushing attacks and succeeds ... he's got some "breathing" room ... and he sees the bones ... tries to grab a skull, but it manages to grab him again in the process! Crap ...

FCG grabs the boat's bough ... grabs his coin snd tries to Turn Undead ... BOOM!!! Unfortunately the creature manages to resist ... but LAUDNA IS EFFECTED TOO!!! Shit ... Nat19! Oh thank fuck ... she resists because "she's a dope underwater captain." XD

The rope grabs Chetney and pulls him up. Laudna: "Give yerself to the Kraken!" LOL ... He unleashes Turmoil and Blasts the beastie ... POW!!!

Marisha: "This is THE BEST SPELL and I'm so glad I took it!"

Now she's trying to frighten the thing with her Form of Dread. Travis: "You CAN intimidate this kelp!" Whoa, a fucken NAT1!!! Jeeze ...

This has become SO VERY SURREAL ...

Somehow BOATY SAVES HER LIFE ...

Shocking Grasp! Go Imogen! 12? Balls ...

Fearne tries to swim in to rescue Ashton ... that's a SHITE roll ... yeah, he is just TOTALLY obscured still ...

Orym breaks free, and now he can BARELY make Ashton out ... wait, HOW THE FUCK did he just move like that? He slashes through snd now Ashton's free ... but he just starts trying to claw his way back in again? Fuck ... Orym tries and fails to break him out again ...

Chetney swipes with Turmoil again ...

Fearne tries to snap Ashton out of it ... NO JOY, and it's BECAUSE OF THE HERO'S FEAST?!!!

FCG tries to flip the coin underwater ... and loses it! It sinks ... but then ACTIVATES!!! BOOM!! Somehow that manages to break Ashton out of the trance! Yes! He books it!

Laudna breeches the boat back to the surface!

Big boom! Everybody run! But YES!!! That's a good point! They need to stay and warn about the thing down below ...

Crap ... the bost and rope are NO LONGER alive ... they swim back to the shore ...

Well, at least they're all out again ...

Balls ... they can't send any more messages ... Chetney carves a warning on the dock. A very obscure warning ... hmmm ... oh, leave the skull for people to talk to?

Orym (spooky voice): "Dead gnomes make no toys!"

They're all so tired ... wait, they're going BACK IN?!!! Hmmm ...

They set up signs matking where yo go, then go back in ... the creature is not there at this time, so they can safely go back through thd portal ... back jn the cave, then ...

Laudna sets up for a watch ...

Orym wonders why Dorian didn't answer the stone ... oh no, don't do that to yourself, wee man.

Wow ... Laudna is having a weirdly profound existential conversation with Pate ... hmmm ...

Oh for fuck's ... DO NOT talk to Delilah, Laudna!

Disturbingly, the ruthless evil bitch is actually giving her some pretty good advice ... oh boy, and here comes the seduction, right on time ... back off, Delilah ...

Laudna: "Are you Pate?" Oh boy ... thankfully no ... oh for fuck's ... now she's SEEING HER ...

Thank the gods ... FINALLY a long rest ... morning comes ...

Oh fuck, greasy takeout sounds SO GOOD right now ... damn you, Ashton ...

Going up sounds like the smart move ... yes, as Orym's saying, "stay curious."

Leaving an arrow to follow ...

A Ring of Protection? Nice. The Tiny Tank (aka Orym) takes it ...

Laudna puts the Harness on and drains the other ring ... whoa ... she gets a permanent 2 extra HP! Sweet ...

Time to climb ...

Group Athletics Check ... great ... 2 Nat20s? Automatic success ... phew ...

FCG tries to Scry on Ira ... the connection fails ... interesting ... communications are once again buggered ... even more interesting ... seems like the Latticework is blocking the signal between worlds ...

Bane-worm? Crap ...

The tunnel just ENDS? Balls ... it's just a hard compacted collapse, no way through.

Oh yeah, can Ashton do something about this? Oh wow, he's doing it ... Ashton activates his Shard and goes all Dragonball Z again ...

Sweet, our boy is now a burrowing GOD ... that's VERY COOL ... he just powers his way STRAIGHT UP ... and surfaces headfirst into a massive dust storm ... he goes back down ... SUPERHERO LANDING!!!

Chetney ATTACKS ASHTON by chucking his chisel at him ... and HITS!!! Oof ... he just POPS IT BACK OUT and stabs it VERY DEEP INDEED into the wall ... that is VERY COOL ...

So they're going up? Okay ... he carves another diagonal tunnel for them up to the surface.

Still a storm up here, but lighter now ...

Scry balk is dark ... phew ...

Imogen tries to reach out to scan the area, Ruidusborn style ... now they have a path, but may also have broadcast their location ...

So goals ... find the Friends of the Volition ...

The Scroll? Ah crap ... read it! Put the protective magic up ... now they're theoretically undetectable ...

Imogen leaves a triggered message that can only activate if an ally passes by ... a Mind Egg? Hmmm ...

So now they're walking through the chappy dust and wind ... charming ...

A vibration in the air? Oh hell what's THIS SHIT?

EVERYTHING'S lighting up? Oh fuck ... IT'S A FLARE!!! FUCK!!!

Imogen and Fearne and now just PULSING OUT ... weird shit ...

It passes and Fearne's still glowing but Imogen's gone ... crap, she's HOVERING IN THE AIR and just SUPERCHARGED ... she snaps out of it and drifts down ...

They BOTH now have 15 temporary Hit Points? Awesome ...

Ashton is just CRUISING THROUGH THE GROUND ahead of them. Like a land shark ... O.O

Eventually he pops up and changes back ... and now he is A WRECK ... great ... TWO WHOLE POINTS OF EXHAUSTION?!!! Holy shit ...

FCG casts a 4th Level Greater Restoration to bring him back up to health again ...

Fearne turns into a direwolf and scouts on ahead.

A carved valley? Hmmm ... oh, an actual CITY ... that's Kreviris, then ...

And that's it for the night ...

Phew ... at least it's s chilled out end for once ...

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