Controversial changes to Dungeons & Dragon's OGL could wreak havoc on how the game licenses out its rules to major franchises. Previously, the Open Game License (or OGL) allowed just about anyone to create and publish their own tabletop RPGs using a modified form of DnD's system called the Systems Reference Document. Many RPGs have made use of the OGL, since DnD's rules make up a familiar and flexible system that can be used to stage a campaign in any number of settings.
However, recent leaks of the revised OGL 1.1 suggest that this may soon change. The new rules laid out by DnD's OGL 1.1 may require creators of OGL content to their products with DnD publisher Wizards of the Coast. Although this rule would affect all creators of DnD-based content, other crack down especially hard on major franchises. Publishers selling over $750,000 worth of OGL content in a year would have to pay royalties to Wizards of the Coast. They would also have to grant them irrevocable rights to their work, with which DnD's publisher could do as they please. This could disrupt a number of major franchises that use the DnD OGL.
DnD's OGL Changes Could Blow Up Star Wars 5e
Perhaps one of the biggest franchises to use the DnD system, Star Wars 5e, could be affected by changes to the OGL. Star Wars 5e, one of three tabletop RPGs based on the film series, uses a modified and expanded version of the DnD rules. It allows players to embody daring rebels, shifty smugglers, or power-hungry Sith lords across the Star Wars galaxy. In addition to adding Star Wars-inspired classes, items, and skills to guide players in their use of the Force, Star Wars 5e includes a detailed system for spaceship combat.
Star Wars 5e is based on one of the most successful media franchises of all time, and therefore is one of the most popular DnD-based RPGs to use the OGL. Under the new rules of the OGL 1.1, however, its publishers might have to develop a new rule system.
DnD's New OGL Could Cast The Lord Of The Rings Roleplaying Into Mount Doom
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying is still in early access, but DnD's updated OGL could prevent it from ever getting a full release. LOTR's 5e adaptation expands DnD's system with races like hobbits and Uruk-hai. Players can enjoy a hearty meal in the Shire, stage tide-turning battles at Helm's Deep, or brave the fires of Mordor.
However, this wouldn't completely eliminate the possibility of playing a Lord of the Rings tabletop RPG. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying's predecessor, The One Ring Roleplaying Game, uses its own system (including a unique set of dice), so it doesn't fall under the OGL. If the OGL 1.1 were to prevent the release of The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying, players can hope for an updated edition of The One Ring.
DnD's Updated OGL Could Spell The End For Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game
Based on Mike Mignola's comics, Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game allows players to step into the role of agents of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense and fend off otherworldly threats. Using the Dungeons & Dragons SRD and OGL as a framework, Hellboy adds its own mechanics, like Ingenuity and Doom, to help GMs create more immersive and engaging stories.
Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game allows players to create occult scientists and ritual magicians, pitting them against bloodthirsty ghouls from the furthest reaches of the universe. It even has a handful of expansions all its own. However, despite its unique setting and wealth of content, Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game is based on the DnD ruleset and could be affected by changes to the OGL.
DnD's OGL 1.1 Could Defeat Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game
Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game brings the punishing difficulty and murky fantasy setting of the hit video game series to tabletop format. Dark Souls: The RPG uses DnD’s 5e rules, but provides tools for GMs to make encounters as difficult as some of Dark Souls' hardest bosses. Player characters are likely to die to these formidable foes, so Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game does away with DnD's permanent death mechanic. Instead, it allows for fallen characters to respawn at bonfires as in the video games.
The tabletop version also includes new mechanics to reflect Dark Souls' emphasis on strategic positioning and multi-stage boss battles. Even though it changes many of DnD's core mechanics and adds more than its fair share of new ones, Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game is still based on DnD's OGL and could encounter problems due to changes.
DnD's Revised OGL Could Create A Roadblock For Pathfinder & Starfinder
Pathfinder's first edition was published in 2009, altering DnD's 3.5 edition rules to create an alternative fantasy RPG. Pathfinder's gameplay has significant differences from DnD's: its complexity can be daunting to new players, but its greater focus on customization can be a welcome change to tabletop veterans who want to try something new. With its second edition, Pathfinder continued to grow and further develop an identity of its own, even gaining its own science fiction offshoot, Starfinder. However, Pathfinder and Starfinder are still offshoots of DnD, and thus subject to the OGL. As one of DnD's fiercest competitors in the fantasy RPG market, Pathfinder and Starfinder will likely face problems caused by DnD's new OGL.
Although the OGL 1.1 isn't official yet, each new leak seems to reveal more bad news for independent creators and publishers of DnD-based RPGs. The latest leak, which seems to be a complete version of the new OGL that Wizards of the Coast shared with independent publishers, has already met significant backlash. Independent DnD creators have drafted an open letter to Wizards of the Coast, calling for them to preserve the OGL and creative freedom. Many are showing their by refusing to sign Wizards of the Coast's new agreements, and tweeting with the hashtag #OpenDND. Whether Wizards of the Coast chooses to keep Dungeons & Dragons' Open Game License open or not, big changes are likely coming for creators, publishers, and players.
Source: Dungeons & Dragons/YouTube
