The OGL, D&D, & Wizards of the Coast - My Thoughts (I'm very sad and tired)

Hey everyone! I wanted to write and leave a pinned comment (and a community post, if those are still a thing) to honestly just say thank you. Thank you so much for all the love and support, understanding and kindness you've shown about this situation, my own personal feelings on it, and the state of the industry at the moment. I really, really, do appreciate it.

I also wanted to say, PLEASE don't let this whole affair get forgotten about. I know lots of people are getting fatigued by it, and folks don't have to be angry all the time, but just remember that this isn't over and big corporations want you to forget about it, they want you to get fatigued, so that when they try to offer a small platitude of compromise but still get the worst of the deal in under us, people are less outraged.

Thanks again! <3

So what happened for people who have no clue? Can someone give me a quick update (as of august 2023) on the OGL, 5e, and Pizo's new thing?

This situation is getting OGLy 😂 i'll see myself out

Greed: there is no limit to it.

If anyone sees this, has there been an update on it recently? Do we know what happened with the OGL 1.1? This is such a crappy thing WotC did, and I'm only learning about it now as I'm about to start my first campaign as a DM...

I've just discovered all the wonderful D&D gameplay videos. So I'm a late bloomer. Always late to the party. And now I understand why there aren't any recent videos of gameplay to binge. 😢
Big corporations are the devil. Thank you Mark, for explaining this to a newbie. I'm so sorry that you're sad and tired. You are not alone. 💞 I wish I could give you a hug. 🫂

The handing over of all the rights of a creator over their own content to another company is exactly the TOS that Facebook operates under. Which a lot of people are still to this day unaware of. Anything you upload or post to Facebook; be it stories, artwork, animations, videos, music and other audio files/clips, photos, your own profile image (which also includes rights to your likeness and even your voice) - everything and anything you do to interact with the site automatically and in perpetuaty becomes the sole property of Facebook. They give themselves the rights to copy, alter, reproduce, share and sell all of it to anyone they choose, and they don't have to ask your permission or inform you any time they do this or compensate you in any way. It's how people started to notice their photos or profile pictures or even videos appearing in adverts on the site and other sites - often for products or services they didn't use, didn't endorse and never wanted to support.

It's a huge reason why I dumped Facebook and haven't logged in to my account for years. After I went through and manually deleted (not that this would actually do anything, since they save copies of everything to different servers) everything I had ever uploaded or shared to the site. I used to upload my artwork - both digital and scans of hand-drawn stuff - all the time, until I stumbled upon their TOS by accident after clicking on the wrong link. It's an incredibly shady thing to do, and is honestly tantamount to legalised theft. And no company should be legally allowed to draw up such overbearing, tyrannical and wide-reaching terms of service or legal agreements - especially ones where even logging in once (or signing up for the first time) equates to you putting your "signature" on the entire thing (often before you're actually able to read the TOS or legal agreement since they also often hide this behind the signup system). Honestly I hate this "by using this device/our services you automatically agree to ..." like NO - legal agreements that are actually legally binding should always require an actual hand-done signature ... even if that means printing out a document, signing it and scanning it to upload to the site. I don't care how long or difficult a process that is, that should be the bare minimum way (or preferably ONLY way) a contract should become legally binding. And contracts such as Facebooks or the one Wizards of the Coast are attempting to impliment should just be outlawed outright.

You can have faith in one thing where corporations are involved. The corporation WILL do whatever it takes to make as much money as possible from any quarter they can. Ruthlessly. Like an "orc".

What you said near the end, about people getting into DnD because of players who love it and not from media exposure. I first learned about the game from Freaks and Geeks and saw it around over the years, but it wasnt until I started watching CR that I became interested and now Ive actually started playing. Execs are so insanely dumb (just look at Netflix and its decisions), and I wonder when it will truly all come to a head.

Thank you for this thought out video on a very difficult subject. :)

Don’t give up and don’t worry I won’t leave one of my favorite places and people I will not go overboard but keep fighting the right way

"I will never do that but i can" always means it will happen, or why include it. The delicate balance of the creative entrepreneur and the managerial mind to capitalize off the end product is always a delicate balance. WOTC killed VTES and Vampire TM this way, and the community kept VTES going on their own and now are openly publishing the cards again. I am not sure about VTM but they also WOTC released a new Ver5 but the game was almost dead and has never truly recovered. Id be curios if the OGL for it was a leed in to the D&D OGL so poorly accepted.

Lets face it. 4e almost killed D&D (even though it was the first ver i played) the OGL1.0 and 5E saved the game and really created a rejuvenation of D&D and table top gaming in general. but it wasn't really WOTC that did it, it was the independent creators that saved the game. Especially games like PAX, High rollers, Geek and Sundry and especially Critical Role.

The Hate content BS is the same crap My country used to end free speech and the US is trying to do, it makes it easier to force down people thoughts when its to "STOP HATE" without saying what that is. Censorship will always kill creativity, but again their is a balance. Enough said about that.

There are so many examples of the death of good ideas by restricting who and what can play in the sandbox. BETAMAX vs VHS. DVD vs HDCD, ... Stopping an idea is like holding water in your hand, cradle it and you'll get some, make a fist and its will find a way out. The independent developers are not drag or leach on D&D make money off their effort, they are the icebreakers pulling them along in their wake, showing them the path to success without all the risk.

Without OGL 1.0 we would be watching Pathfinder on Critical role and High rollers or not at all. But we have to remember that D&D was once a benefactor of others work. The LOTR copyright came down on them and that's why we had Hobbits in ver 1. But as small independent creators become huge successes its inevitable that they will have to steer their own way as the dwarf the original creators.

Im not sure sure what the OGL is for Critical role, but things changed quite a bit when they left Geek and Sundry as I'm sure they became a drag instead of a pull. Many other startups are, or will use the CR world to sell their stuff and I'm sure it will chaff their asses to. To really spread it a open GL will do that but history will repeat itself.

"Discriminatory or hateful content". Sounds like political bullcrap to me. I'd rather move away from wotc products if they try to sanitize their content for whatever stated reason.

The passion this man has is wild.

Boost

❤ No matter what direction this goes, it's not going to end my love of ttrpg's. It's not going to stop me from watching CR, HR, or any of the other adventures I follow no matter what system they choose to play in. Nor will it end my own games and campaigns with my friends. The phrase "don't shoot the messenger" is so valid with what's happening now and I only hope the greater ttrpg community out there stays awake enough to put out the wildfires we are all facing. All my love.

couldn't agree with you more, I know that its now been 'reverted' and we are 'keeping 1.0a' as i write this, but its left such a dirty taste in my mouth about WOTC as someone who has been also screwed by a company in the past. i'm worried that with hasbro back seat driving WOTC, this will force a quicker 6th edition rushed and possibly with its own "OGL"
Ive been a fan of HRdnd For so long now and the fact that this hurt yourself and so many other creators is heartbreaking. I def think that as i move forwards playing with the group at my kitchen table i will probably be looking more closely at 3rd party creators like Midnight tower, arcane minis kobold etc. and as someone just starting my own dnd based business in December i was really worried and upset. Hopfully the stepping down of WOTC will be beneficial for the community at large. people should definitely try other systems to see what else is out there but 5e has been such a staple in many of our ttrpg diets.

Go to dsa it's all the stuff thats missing in DND and stuff that can't be brought in in the 5 edition.

❤️

Social justice used as a smokescreen for corporate interests? Color me shocked.

I hope the news today is as good as it seems. Maybe there will be a little less uncertainty for creators and a little relief for the community. Thank you for all you've done to help in this. 💕

I personally believe that with the increased media focus, they are possibly trying to get even more "average consumers" to start playing D&D with the Movie and TV and Amazon adaptations. Similar to what happened with Stranger Things, especially as most people will be familiar with D&D as a name more so than other ttrpg titles.

It's like Warhammer/Games Workshop using the Vermintide, Total War and 40k video games to get more "average consumers" to buy their games and models.

So I am not surprised really, I mean to of my D&D players started D&D because of Stranger things. So you can't blame the general population really.

High Rollers is one of my absolute favorite shows, in all forms of media. You, good sir, and the wonderful worlds and tales you have weaved have truly inspired me. I consider you one of the greatest storytellers in our time.
Whatever system you end up using, I will happily follow your stories. I will still be a fan of Mark Hulmes and High rollers, no matter what Wizards end up doing.
Thank you for all you have contributed to make this hobby into the incredible thing it has become.

You can see how weak of a position they are in on the arguments they use. This absurd moralization of the topic as in inclusive content blabla should be called out.
Its a fake moral argument to centralize control

It is sad I started my table top journey with D20 Modern they very because of the OGL. I owl every 5e book but my first steps into this world would have never started without the OGL now my first steps into Pathfinder begin because I will not give them any more.

Well, you have your answer. WotC is going ahead with their deauthorization of OGL 1.0a, and wants to dominate and control, then drive out all DnD content and creators.
Hopefully, no one is fooled by the more recent OGL 1.2 or the comments from Kyle Brink at WotC. It is all a lie, a trick. The morality clause and the whole "we want be stop hateful words" is an excuse, a cover to end DnD was we know it. Same with NFTs etc. This never was a problem. It is all a lie to seize control.

This isn't the end of Fantasy RPGs, but it is the end of DnD.
The deauthorization of OGL 1.0a ends all prior versions of DnD, and will apply to 5E once OneDnD is out.
---->> Everyone should plan to transition away from DnD, and move to another, non OGL system.
Don't spend money on WotC/DnD, don't go to the movie, end subscriptions, don't play DnD video games.

I've been playing 5e for a long time. I love it a lot. But over the past few years I've seen the cracks. I have had problems. I've homebrewed patches.

I think 5e is a fun awesome system that is best when you use homebrew and 3rd party resources.

I'm saddened by all of this. I'm moving over to Pathfinder 2e, but that's mainly just because I like the world. I have never enjoyed a default TTRPG world until Golarion. I've always just made my own.

Be kind to everyone, folks.

100% and if they flub the films and shows; it will be like the Warcraft Movie - a chance to get millions of people to return to WoW but it was so devoid of WoW game nostalgia it didn't bring people back and didn't fuel more movies

I would never ask them to leave, the company will get worse if the faithful fanboys and fangirls leave

As someone who became a now avid fan of D&D through you starting Highrollers, and as someone who actually "DM'ed" a short "homebrew" inspired game for my one friend and I to roleplay in after years of of just being a player or watcher... this was very eyeopening to see the more behind the scenes of the community and greater company/brand as a whole and the state of affairs that could come about from all of this. While I'm not actively participating in campaigns or materials of D&D, I was becoming worried with all this talk coming out and your beautiful and concise clarification of it not only helps me understand but also feel scared going forward for wanting to do more with and in D&D. I loved how back in 2016, as long as everyone knew the rules of the game, or at least one person did, you could have as much fun as you wished and now with so much supplemental material, you can truly experience everything out there. I, like you, hope that we all learn to take this in strides to be kind and faithfully help push and mold D&D into the game and system we all know and love so that the beauty of imagination and creativity can live on forever without ever needing to worry that what we're doing is "wrong." Thank you Mark.

If that was true then they would just write a T&C saying discrimatory content made with OGL will be in breach and fined as breach of Equality Acts.

Thank you for putting this out there, Mark. I know this is just one comment in an ocean of them, but I, and I'm willing to bet many others in this community, care more about the characters, worlds, and stories created by you and so many others than the platform/ruleset you use to tell them. We'll be following you and our other favorite content creators wherever you end up going, and whatever you end up doing in the future. I know it's sad because of the history many of us have with D&D, and the memories created while playing. That said, we'll be able to continue telling stories and creating memories whether WoTC are involved or not (likely not if they continue down this road).

As you said, the creators are not alone. You're all going through this together. Know also you are going through this with your community and fans supporting you all as well.

Thank you for this video Mark. It explained a few things that I hadn't quite understood and added context on some that I had. You sound like you should take a break from D&D 5E and run/play/write something else for a while.

Algorithm boost

I am once again shaking my head. Sorry if this sound like a mess, but that is what I think about this. As a player and purchaser of TTRPG products since 1981, (not to use the name in case they charge me for it. LOL) Like you said, this is not the first time players have felt the burn. Players have been screwed buy rules and having to pay more money for basically the same unclear methods of operation for better or worse, for 5 editions over, at least 3 of those editions benefited the current license holders I believe. At a more than 100% marked currently from when i started. The first books I bought were $18 to $20 dollars where I live, now $50 plus and all they did was rearranged which books the methods of operation are in. I have books from all 5 editions, some more than others, not counting the mini and novels, just methods of operation. Thousands of dollars worth and I am not even a GM. As someone that has promoted and supported the medium for 40 years even when it was not cool, when the license holder seemed to not give a crap about the content and just puked out junk. This is why a lot of creators make content for this medium. I am not just talking a particular edition, there was a lot of crap before that too. But it is funny, now that others have showed them that there are things that can be marketed (there was this whole time but ignored), they now are taking notice. I don't want the game to die but I hope they really listen, because this is the first time the players have voiced their opinions in real time to their changes, because they obviously did not talk to anyone about edition 4 or any of the other crap they dumped on players. This OGL will not effect me directly, but it will in other ways. I play other systems, and the books I have are already paid for......... I also have an imagination, partly because of TTRPGs. I know it is Rubbermaid, but everyone of a certain age still calls it Tupperware, even though Tupperware is gone, and Rubbermaid is not quite the same. Is this where we are?

We just boycott Hasbro. Never buy anything out of them. Not even a bottle of water in desert!

So here's what I don't understand.... Why are people surprised by any of this? Hasbro is and always will be a corporate entity. They see everyone and everything as either revenue or obstacles to gaining revenue. This is the capitalist society that we live in. It's not new, it's not unexpected, and it's not just Hasbro. Any game, comic, or movie you have ever loved that isn't published by one dude exists for the same reason. This has the same energy as when people were shocked that Critical Role makes an insane amount of money on Twitch. Well, yeah, duh. They are a company, after all. While I'm sorry for anyone who is fearful of their livelihood being taken away, that was always on the cards. Any time you use someone else's IP to make content it's a slippery slope. Just keep chugging along and doing what you want because they will too. Greedy corporate entities will never go away. They will never stop trying to squeeze every penny they can out of their content.

Well said. These developments have my D&D group looking at different systems. Even if they backtrack for now, they have shown their hand at the direction they want to take

Thanks for this video. You really brought to light just how much of a cluster bomb they dropped by doing this. We all in the community need to, as you suggested, not let this be forgotten in a few days and keep up the push back. They have to know that if they stay the course with this verbiage that they will lose the very people that got them to where they are.
Thanks again!

thanks for this video, just got into D&D for the first time and was kinda clueless on what the hell was happening. thank you for your perspective, and I really hope wizards goes with the original OGL, after all imao copyright in most instances is a scam, just rent-seeking on ideas.

Guys.. the people that were most passionate about our game left to form Paizo and launched pathfinder when 4.0 came out. It’s a better system just leave D&D the people running it are trying to turn it into a MMORPG and that’s not our game. Our game is about collaborated storytelling. It’s sitting at table or on a computer if you have to sharing a story with people you love playing with. All these guys do is provide rules to make our stories fair. That’s it. Just stop giving them money go to another system.

They need us. We don't need them. 🤘

See, its not that I have any animosity towards people still making 5e content, but why would I throw good money after bad on products for what seems to be a dying rules system?

Now is the time for the ttrpg ecosystem to expand, and I'm going to vote with my wallet not just by avoiding WotC, but by actively supporting their competition.

Muito bom...Me deixou de coração partido.

Hello pathfinder.

Who do think that they are kidding. Driving their goals is ONE simple motive GREED, scumbags.

Why is anyone surprised? Greed is the new god.

Lol, you geeks REALLY are no lifers n't you !