It's bad. It is bad to the point that a lot of people who have seen the leak have basically compared it to an organized crime shakedown, threatening people's livelihoods if they don't pay up. And as someone who makes a majority of my livelihood off of tabletop RPGs, this is going to affect me going forward. So I wanted to take this week's update to explain the changes that are already happening, the changes that might happen going forward, and how you as players and readers can help the creators you love to support us through this nonsense.
Also, please take a moment to sign a petition telling Wizards not to change the OGL and sign the open letter at #OpenDND.
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| The pact has been broken. |
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!
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What I Stand To Lose
Now, as of time of writing, there is no official language in place from Wizards of The Coast and Hasbro. It is possible that they'll see this backlash against the leak, and decide this was a bad move on their part. It's possible they'll be challenged in court, and this power/cash grab is stopped by the court system, and we can all keep our OGL products and projects in place.
But when someone tells you there's a hurricane off the coast, you don't make some sweet tea and hope it will all blow over. You board up your windows, batten down your hatches, and if possible you leave to go somewhere safer. And that's what I, and hundreds of other creators, have to do right now.
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| Awww... I'm sure he's just hungry. Why don't you go pet him? I bet he doesn't eat YOU. |
So what does that mean for me? Well, let's start with the worst case scenario.
Between my Pathfinder and DND 5E content, I've written 62 supplements that rely on the OGL in some way, shape, or form. That's a little over 1/3 of my total archive as a supplement writer, and it includes ALL of the releases for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting that's been coming out over the past 2 years, except for Towns of Sundara. In addition to that, there's a large project I've been working on that was going to use the OGL titled Army Men, where players took on the roles of living plastic soldiers in a bizarre fantasy setting. It was a handful of weeks away from getting ready to go to Kickstarter, and while work on it hasn't stopped, this OGL scenario could mean either the project gets cancelled altogether, or it gets pushed back a year or more while I go back over it with a fine-toothed comb to re-design it.
All of that is bad, and it would leave me limping. But the damage doesn't stop there.
Let's say that Pathfinder's first edition gets wiped out by this whole scenario. Gone, kaput, erased. Sure, there will still be people playing it (you can't destroy books and archives people save on their own), but with zero support anywhere, the game will be as good as dead. That would be the final nail in the coffin for my Character Conversion project, and I would need to completely retool and refocus a lot of what gets discussed on my Crunch section. That's two major sections of this blog that are going to be eliminated, or severely damaged by this. I would also do a hard pivot away from anything Wizards-related, which would alter the kinds of games I talk about, and probably some of the advice I give here on this blog.
Lastly, this OGL decision is going to bury a lot of publishers. Publishers who, in the past, I would have been able to send an email to and pick up extra work from. And even if smaller publishers survive, they're likely going to be limping just as hard as I will be (having years of work wiped out and made irrelevant will do that to your bottom line), so they won't have extra money to hire a freelancer.
Certain Things Will Change Regardless of The Outcome
A lot of what I mentioned above are things that will happen if the worst-case scenario happens, and Wizards gets their way. If entire systems are removed from circulation (Pathfinder, old FATE, Starfinder, etc.), companies die left and right, and any product that used Pathfinder, any iteration of DND, etc. has to be pulled out of circulation, all of the above stands.
But what if that's not what happens? What if Wizards backs off, and decides it's a better look to leave the OGL as it stands? What if they try to enforce it, and the courts smack them down? What if this new agreement only applies to stuff published under the new 6th Edition they come out with, or for new publications that come out after a certain date? Wouldn't that make this all just a bunch of crying over spilt milk?
In some ways, yes. In other ways, though, the damage has been done. This leak has set certain decisions in motion that are not going to be corrected, even if Wizards holds up its hands, apologizes, and says that they're halting all plans to go forward with this as of right now. Because if they tried it once, they'll try it again, and that trust is now gone.
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| You're the ones who started this. I'm not putting my blade away now. |
As an example, pretty much as soon as news of this leak dropped, my main publisher Azukail Games told me that we're putting a hold on all OGL products and supplements regarding my output. Which means that while I had plans for making some more Sundara books, that's not going to happen now because it's too big of a risk. There have been discussions about whether to translate them to a different rules framework (Savage Worlds has been talked about, and Kobold Press just announced their own open rules system they're going to be putting on the market), but it's also possible the setting will be put in cold storage for the rest of the year while this sorts itself out. Every, single publisher I've talked to is already halting OGL projects that were in the works, and moving to non-OGL systems and system-neutral products.
As for my docket, folks are going to see a lot of World/Chronicles of Darkness projects, Call of Cthulhu supplements like my 100 Shops, Stores, and Businesses to Find in Arkham, and system-neutral supplements like 100 Sci Fi Cults or 10 Fantasy Villages. This was already a majority of my planned output, but I had some light frameworks for modules, classes and archetypes, Pathfinder Infinite ideas, short stories, a possible podcast, and a bunch of other stuff that expected the OGL to remain the firm foundation it's been my entire gaming life. Even if this all blows over and nothing legally changes, none of those projects are going to get written because Wizards just showed their hand to us; as soon as they think they can get away with it, they're going to try to strongarm all of us into giving them our work so they can make a profit off of it.
It didn't work before, and I don't honestly think it will work this time. But even though I don't see Wizards winning, that doesn't mean a lot of vulnerable creators, companies, and gamers aren't going to suffer because capital once against decided to squeeze the golden goose to see if they couldn't eke out just a few more points of market share.
How You Can Help
In addition to making your voice heard by signing the open letter and petition I linked at the top of this post, creators will need your help more than ever before. Whether it's helping swell our numbers on social media, buying our supplements before we have to take them down, or sharing our new releases so we can find fresh eyes as we bring them out, your effort is what will make the difference between creators and publishers having to shut their doors, and being able to survive this crisis.
For folks who've stumbled across this post, and would like to help me haul myself up a rung or two, here's a handy list of the places you can go where your efforts would be much appreciated!
- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)
- My Daily Motion Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)
And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!
Lastly, consider checking out my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting. The more sales I can eke out before decisions come down on this OGL situation, the more likely it is my publisher will work with me to convert it to a new rules setting instead of just writing it off as a loss going forward.
Cities of Sundara
The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!
- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!
- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.
- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.
- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.
- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.
Gods of Sundara
- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.
Species of Sundara
Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.
And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.
- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!
- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.
- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.
- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!
- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.
- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.
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Fortunately, there are many better options for gamers than D&D. While it is a venerable colossus in the gaming world, it has been surpassed by many much better systems. As a longtime D&D nerd, (since 1983) I gave up on the system a few years ago and moved to greener pastures. Hasbro is welcome to take it's toys and go home, and I won't shed a tear. I hope that the many content creators see them off with a hearty "Fuck you too," and switch to making system-agnostic material instead. Let this move be a catastrophic financial mistake for WOTC and Hasbro that they never recover from.
ReplyDeleteThat would be great, I love it when a plan gets folded back on itself and backfires.
DeleteThe important question to be determined over 2023 is not "are there better systems?" The real questions are "which system(s) will have a large groundswell of new players?" and "which system(s) are going to maintain player engagement moving forward?"
ReplyDelete