Community

Thanks to everyone for their patience regarding information on the GSL. I'm pleased to be able to pass on some information. =)

Here is an announcement from Scott Rouse:

Quote The Rouse]There has been a lot of speculation around the details of the new GSL, and I feel like there is need for some clarification. Our intention is to encourage publishers to design for 4th Edition, not to jeopardize independent third-party games published under the OGL. With that in mind, publishers are going to be able to decide – wrote:

There has been a lot of speculation around the details of the new GSL, and I feel like there is need for some clarification. Our intention is to encourage publishers to design for 4th Edition, not to jeopardize independent third-party games published under the OGL. With that in mind, publishers are going to be able to decide – on a product line by product line basis – which platform they will use for developing their products. If a publisher has an existing product under the OGL, we would love for them to update it to the GSL, however that is not a requirement.

We've also posted a new GSL FAQ for you to view here.

Finally, Morrus and the wonderful folks at ENWorld along with folks in our own forums have put together a list of questions for Linae Foster to answer. We gave a few exclusive answers to ENWorld, which you should go take a peek at here. The rest are listed below.

Thanks again to everyone for their patience!

-Mike Lescault
Community Manager
Wizards of the Coast

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Q) Many questions have been raised since the announcement last week. I think the one question everyone wants to know is: is the limitation the GSL places on publication of OGL based products limited on a "per company" basis or a "per product" basis? That is, is the effect merely to limit re-issuing the same product, or is a company that publishes a GSL product thereafter limited in their ability to publish any OGL products?

A. The restriction is on a per product line basis.

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Q) How does this pertain to a company's catalog of existing OGL-based products? For example, if Necromancer Games publishes a Tome of Horrors 4e, would they have to stop selling their existing 3e OGL products via RPGnow?

A. Publishers will be able to continue to sell their backlist under the OGL. If those products had the d20 system logo on them there will be a 6-month sell off period after which they will not be able to use the d20 system logo.

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Q) Can existing OGL products be updated to the GSL and what are the restrictions, if any?

A. Existing OGL products can absolutely be converted to 4e GSL products, so long as they adhere to the terms of the GSL. In fact, we want to see publishers update their popular product lines to 4e.

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Q) What branding opportunities does the GSL offer publishers? Does it allow use of the new d20 logo; or does it allow access to Dungeons & Dragons specific branding?

A. There will be a compatibility logo. Embedded in this logo is a version of the new D&D logo and copy stating compatibility. This compatibility logo is permissible for use on product and marketing materials. There will be restrictions on placement and maximum size allowed.

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Q) A six-month "sell-off" period has been mentioned with reference to stock carrying the old d20 logo. Is the d20 STL actually going away, or does this sell-off period apply only to those who adopt the GSL?

A. The d20 STL will be terminated. There will be a sell-off period of six months for products produced under the d20 STL. This is true for both pdf and print products. We’re estimating our own backlist stock to be sold through within 3 to 4 months, so allowing six months to other publishers feels fair. Allowing 6 months for pdfs is really pretty generous and we are already in conversations with publishers and PDF sellers like DrivethruRPG.com and RPGNow on how they can make these changes as easy as possible.

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Q) Is the new GSL an open license?

A. We are not classifying the GSL as “open” as defined under the open source movement. It is a royalty-free license for permissible usage of specific D&D 4th Edition content including terms, tables, and templates. There is a significant amount of “openness” to the license and we wanted to provide ease of use and low barriers to entry while still maintaining control over things like the D&D Trademark. The GSL is designed to work with the 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

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Q) Is WotC planning on providing an easily available, downloadable copy of the rules available both online and off without a fee?

A. No. Anyone wishing access to the rules will need to purchase the core rulebooks. The GSL SRD will have a list of the terms, tables, and templates available for use under the GSL and will be available for download at no charge with the GSL itself.

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Q) Are there any "types" of product prohibited by the GSL? For example, the old d20 STL prohibited the inclusion of character generation or advancement, meaning that a standalone game could not be created, while the OGL alone did not. Does the GSL contain these restrictions? Are any other types of product restricted?

A. Most of what was in the d20 STL has been pulled into the GSL. For example, no product can describe a process for creating a character or applying the effects of experience to a character. The new license is meant to work with the core D&D rules. The final details will be announced when the license is released in June.

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Q) Are products required to adhere to any 'community standards' clause, or anything similar?

A. Yes. The community standards that were in the d20 STL are now wrapped up into the GSL’s.

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Q) Is the GSL a perpetual license, or is it revocable by WotC for reasons other than violation?

A. The Game System License Is revocable as it is tied to the D&D trademark and other intellectual property. Because of this Wizards needs to maintain control of the license.

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Q) Why is October 1st the selected date for release of third-party materials, as opposed to, say, GenCon, which would be a far more useful launch date?

A. Our initial intention was to have third-party materials ready for release at GenCon, however there is no way that anyone could develop a true quality product in the short time between now and GenCon. We think that October 1st is more reasonable, and will also allow publishers to take advantage of holiday sales.

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Q) Will any third-party publishers be permitted to release product under the GSL prior to October 1st?

A. No. October 1st is the permissible on-sale date for all third party publishers.

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Q) Is there anything that you wished we’d asked that we haven’t?

A. You didn’t ask about my 4E character.

-30-

All good news except for the SRD, I'd say.

Now how many servings of crow should we be preparing??

mudbunny wrote:

Now how many servings of crow should we be preparing??

Here I was arguing endlessly whether or not what was being assumed was a poison pill truly was, and whether or not the "poison pill" would even matter in the long term. And now it isn't even so.

Crow indeed.

It's certainly nice that they partially relented. I'm not sure "crow" is for dinner - they are still abandoning open gaming themselves, they're only trying to prevent it in others on a product line basis instead of a whole-comapny basis. Not as bad as it could be certainly. Not really a victory for openness, but two steps away is better than three steps away IMO.