Thousands of Dungeons and Dragons community members have signed an open letter calling on Wizards of the Coast to preserve the original Open Gaming License or OGL. This came in response to Wizards of the Coast announcing a controversial 1.1 version of Dungeons and Dragons OGL, which places tightened restrictions on third-party content based on the legendary tabletop game.
While Dungeons and Dragons dates back to 1974, its Open Gaming License went into effect in 2000. A relatively short document at under 900 words, it gave the community broad freedom to make new products based on the game. This has included things like D&D-based media such as Critical Role and even other tabletop RPGs. However, the revised Open Gaming License now requires content creators to register their for-profit work with Wizards of the Coast, forbids license holders from making bigoted content, and sets rules related to NFTs. In addition, the new OGL entitles Wizards of the Coast to royalties on sales exceeding $750,000 annually.
Many Dungeons and Dragons fans are unhappy with the changes to the OGL, and over 4,000 of them have signed an open letter calling on Wizards of the Coast not to implement the 1.1 version of the Open Gaming License. The letter argues that the original OGL fostered innovation in the tabletop gaming industry, allowing creators to build upon the basic Dungeons and Dragons framework. The letter also argues that the new OGL constitutes a revocation of the original license, which claimed to be irrevocable.
The letter outlines some of the community’s grievances with Dungeons and Dragons’ new license. These include objecting to the requirement that licensees report their D&D-related income and restricting the stories that license holders can tell. It also gives Wizards of the Coast permission to resell and profit from work the license holder produces without having to compensate said license holder. The letter also objects to the 25% licensing fee, which applies to sales rather than profits. The letter argues that this fee makes it impossible for makers of third-party game books and other items to sell their products.
The letter also argues that the changes will negatively affect other tabletop games like Pathfinder, whose publisher will either have to halt sales or pay a fee to Wizards of the Coast. The open letter also claims that the revised license will make it impossible for virtual TTRPGs to operate. While this may make sense from Wizards of the Coast’s perspective, the open letter argues that the new license will shrink tabletop gaming to a fraction of its size. The letter’s authors also “expect Wizards of the Coast to attempt expensive and illegal lawsuits to enforce compliance with their new agreement.”
The open letter concludes with the authors encouraging Dungeons and Dragons content creators not to sign the new licensing agreement. It also encourages community members to express their displeasure by using the hashtags #DontSign and #OpenDnD.
Source: OpenDnD