Okay. So. News on the Wizards of the Coast OGL Debacle.
Apparently, WotC has delayed their announcement about OGL 1.1, owing to community backlash. I mean, it probably doesn’t hurt that so many people went to unsubscribe to D&D Beyond (for those who don’t know, WotC bought it awhile back) that it literally crashed the servers. Some people have said something about how they used that to move the unsubscribe button so that people would have a harder time unsubscribing, but other people say “No, that didn’t happen” so it might be true or it might be a regional thing or it might just be people not knowing where to look, I dunno. Point is, WotC went, “Oop, now is not the time to be announcing the thing”.
Note I said nothing about them cancelling the thing. It just means they won’t announce yet. Some credible sources who actually work with D&D Beyond (anonymous for obvious reasons) have said that they’re basically waiting for the whole community backlash to blow over before they announce OGL 1.1 as leaked. There’s a chance they’ll make a few small walkbacks if the backlash doesn’t blow over, but ... I mean, come on; we’ve seen this before. Video games do this all the time, and WotC is on record as saying that they want to monetise like video games do. It stands to reason that they’d take the same, “We’ll do something really egregious and when the backlash happens, we’ll do something a little less egregious but still egregious and they’ll be happy that we’re ‘listening to our customers’ but we’re still fleecing them” line as, say, EA or SquareEnix or any other AAA video game company that flourishes by causing its customer base a thousand tiny bankruptcies by microtransaction.
So Paizo, not willing to pay royalties to Hasbro for Pathfinder under the threatened OGL 1.1, is now looking at starting the Open RPG Creative Licence (ORC, because of course). Now, this obviously has its advantages, but it does mean that we’d be looking at a whole new system. I don’t know how far they’d have to go with changes for WotC to not have a leg to stand on if they wanted to say “This is clearly predicated on our work so it falls under the OGL”, but this is going to take some time no matter what, and it’s also going to take adjustment for a lot of people, not all of whom are particularly good with adjustments or big changes. So what I’m saying is that it’s going to take awhile before we can all be happily creating content under the ORC, and some people might not manage it even then.
I guess what I’m saying is please think before you start yelling at people to “Try another system!” The ones who are dunking on D&D as a system simply because it’s D&D, rather than what WotC are trying to do to it after purchasing a nearly-insolvent TSR in 1997. Both times the fans got up in arms at D&D, it was because of some shit WotC did; 4th edition, and now this. I was in the gaming community both times, in point of fact ... and the first time, I was sort of stuck on the opposite end of the ‘battle lines’, if you like.
See, when you first get into TTRPGs, odds are pretty high that it’s because you met someone who’s into it and wants another player. That’s ... not quite how it started for me, but my attempted GURPS Mage party fell apart before I got a handle on the system anyway and then life got really batshit. So some years later, I fell in with a guy who was playing in a 7th Sea group - this was 1st ed Panache System, so y’know. And they were death on D&D. No one could so much as mention D&D without starting the whole damn table in on a whole bunch of drama-kid vitriol about how “D&D is nothing but hack-and-slash dungeon-crawl with no story! No one really roleplays in D&D!” I was also with them when the 4e thing started, and that apparently just proved their point. I mean, they were wrong on all counts, but I wasn’t to know, because I believed them when they said that D&D was only for those who liked the crunch. I really dislike the fact that I ended up a snob by proxy.
Not to say that I didn’t use different systems back then, incidentally. As well as Panache, I used White Wolf’s system for World of Darkness and Exalted. I don’t remember exactly what system we used when playing that brief ill-fated Buffyverse campaign, or the Firefly one-shot. Also don’t remember what system Fading Suns used but I have the book somewhere (I also have the core book for the Angel RPG, come to that). Had some fun with Big Eyes, Small Mouth. Wrote my own at one point - I probably want to revamp it, but it could be useful one of these days. I used a lot of other systems.
Point is, yes, I came to D&D through Critical Role. Not because I hadn’t heard of TTRPGs - far, far from it. Not even because I hadn’t heard of D&D, because I think you’d have to live in a cave not to have at least had the concept brought up. I came to D&D through Critical Role because it was the first time I’d ever seen people playing it and actually telling a story. I literally did not think that was possible. I had no the hell idea, because everyone I’d ever talked to about it was telling me no, it was just ... well, loot and shoot with swords and fireballs, and got so venomous about the subject that I didn’t want to ask for fear of getting snapped at again. And I found the system massively approachable, with just enough rigidity to give a good framework but still maintaining enough flexibility to let a DM go with the flow. ...Critical Role also demonstrated that I could do it remotely, with my long-time friends - because if Ashley and Liam could Skype in, why couldn’t we all? No, I had not heard of Roll20 at that point. I learned pretty damn fast, I tell you what.
So now we’re coming to another moment where people are getting venomous about D&D. Some people are justifiably angry at WotC about pulling this shit and don’t want to grace WotC with any more money (though while I’m at it, I should mention that this should also apply to Magic cards; hell, I’m even a little off about buying more Lego, even though I really want more Lego, because Hasbro). That’s fine. I get that. But the game itself isn’t to blame. The 5e rule set was out there long before WotC started pulling this shit. I guess I’m mostly talking to people who think that loving their favourite TTRPG system means a contractual obligation to shit all over other systems - or at least the Popular Kid they perceive as taking all the attention from their beloved. I notice that a lot of these are Pathfinder fans. I’m not judging Pathfinder on the basis of its fans, incidentally. I might be judging Pathfinder a little on the basis of the video game version. And that character sheet - HOLY SHIT NO; some of my players forget their basic Feats on 5e so I don’t know how we’d cope with this.
Actually, reminds me of when we tried Shadowrun. I mean, the book was not overly approachable as it was - it was written by fans who already knew the game inside and out, and thus was written for fans who already knew the game inside and out. This could be considered to make a hefty barrier for the new player. Also, I tend to think that having to roll that many dice for anything other than epic damage that causes either shouts of triumph or wails of despair (depending on whether it’s coming from allies or enemies) is painful, and can honestly slow up a campaign, especially when you’re playing at home and you have to try to remember how many dice fell off the table and determine if any rolled under the sofa.
POINT IS. Not every system is for everyone, and if you find a system you like, that should be fine. Forcing someone to try a system for any reason is basically going to guarantee a negative reaction most of the time. Do I plan on giving WotC any more of my money? Not until they wise the fuck up, if indeed they ever do (doubtful, but I have my optimistic moments). Do I plan on ever touching OneD&D? Not a snowflake’s chance in hell. Do I plan on continuing my campaign, and the next, with 5e? Yes. If this OGL 1.1 comes out as leaked at any point, do I intend to inform them that I am still in the process of writing my own campaign setting guide, only to be given to my fellow players in this campaign and the next? Nooooooope. Point is I like 5e. Other systems are good too, but I like 5e, my players like it, we’re good.
...Okay, so I might still be leery about the YouTube vids of my sessions, and I have plans to remove my three little bits of third-party 5e content from the Dungeon Master’s Guild the minute I get so much as a hint of OGL 1.1 being a thing, but unless they have CIA-level surveillance, they can’t stop me from using what I already own.
