Monday, July 20, 2015
The City Under the Mountain - a D&D 5E Compatible Kickstarter
Stumbled across this after reading about it on ENWorld: a 5E module being Kickstarted which is part 3 of a series of modules, the third part of which is for level 6 characters. The creator has already produced the first two modules, and his Kickstarter goals are modestly aimed at PDF releases with decent art for already completed product. It sounds good to me, and for $17 US you can get all three modules in the campaign (so a level 1-6 adventure run) so I'm in. Anyway, check it out here.
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My question is, how are these companies and people creating content for 5E without an official "License" from WotC? It was specifically stated, if I recall, that the OGL wouldn't apply to 5E, and that a possible newer version might be forthcoming. Did I miss something somewhere?
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that nothing prevents someone from producing 5E-compatible content, but if you publish outside of the OGL 1.0a then you have to do so with full appreciation for (and recognition of) any names/values and IP that could risk a lawsuit....or put another way, printing outside of the OGL is like going back to the old days when TSR and Mayfair regularly duked it out in court. However, if you use the current OGL so long as your material confirms to the requirements stipulated you can still publish content that is mechanically compatible....no different than retroclones currently do by using the OGL to create rules and formats that are technically compatible with 0E and 1E AD&D. Frog God, for example, published 5E-compatible monsters in Fifth Edition Foes but the stat blocks look more or less like 3.5 era stat blocks, but with 5E stats rather than mirroring the actual 5E format.
DeleteIt seems weird now because it's been more than 15 years since the pre-OGL days, when people did periodically publish D&D-compatible product but had to be excessively careful about how they presented it (remember how, for example, Mayfair's books used HTK (hits to kill) instead of hit points).
One more note though: what none of them can do, even under OGL, is claim direct compatibility with Dungeons & Dragons 5E. If they do that (and some do) then what they are doing is counting on their status as amateur press to avoid any take-down orders from WotC.
DeleteOne more note though: what none of them can do, even under OGL, is claim direct compatibility with Dungeons & Dragons 5E. If they do that (and some do) then what they are doing is counting on their status as amateur press to avoid any take-down orders from WotC.
DeleteLast comment--my hope is that at some point WotC will realize that they need an OGL out there for 5E just so they can keep the free range indie products (like this one) reigned in and conforming to a standard they like. Then again....so long as products like this actually publish under the current OGL they technically are conforming (I can't say for sure about this one though).
DeleteFollow up--I did back out on this one at the last minute, but purely because I realized that I'd much rather have had a physical book option to back and wouldn't likely have used a PDF for anything.
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