Well, howdy there internet people and those who know what TTRPG and #opendnd stand for.
Today, I can announce that the nerds won!
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If you will recall... the people who make Dungeons and Dragons game books were trying to do away with their OGL (Open Game License) version 1.0A.
That license allowed third-party people, to use the core rules set (but not copyrighted characters and settings) and create ADDITIONAL content that meshed with the rules. And then sell those extra books on various market places as long as they had the legal disclaimer about using the OGL.
Wizards of the Coast (WotC) is gearing up for a 6th ed of their game, and insider leaks showed that they were trying to dramatically increase their revenue from the game.
If you've never played, imagine me and five of my friends sitting around a table. I've got one of my stories open in front of me, in outline form. I start telling the story to the others. But each of them is acting as one of the characters in the story. When the dead body is discovered, they get to react and do things like
I investigate the body, without touching it or anything around it. I as the game master/storyteller might ask them to roll a 20-sided dice, add their character's unique ability modifier (investigation +3). If they beat a preset number (say 17) they notice a note tucked in the deceased shirt pocket... if they score a 25 or more they'd notice red weathering powder under the fingernails... but their bonuses aren't high enough to give them that even if they roll a 20...
That's important to picture... how a game is played. Because what existed before the pandemic, surged during. Virtual play over the internet. There are several online businesses that bring people together via the computer with webcams and microphones.
I could get my 5 friends together, no matter where they were using these online VTTs (virtual table-tops). We'd all sit in our own homes, turn on the webcams, and I'd share the Virtual Maps via the Zoom-like interface. The better VTTS keep all the elements on the screen at once, have built-in dice rollers (
You hit - roll the damage for the fireball - player types command /roll 10d6 to generate a total of 10 6-sided dice)
Here's screengrab of one such tabletop showing a character sheet to the left, and weapons for that character far right. The map shows the characters engaged in battle with the big red circled critter.
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The current move is to add cool visual and sound effects to the experience... A mage throws lightning bolt at the critter, and it lights up like the nazis with the Ark at the end of
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
THAT series of effects and cool VTT experience was what the powers at WotC were really targeting. But the OGL 1.0A was in the way. It was tooooo open. They had to dump it to limit the VTTs provided by other companies.
So they tried to roll out the new one, get some of the top 3rd Party Providers of content to sign. And even with the NDAs involved, the new agreement leaked.
And everyone realized it wasn't just VTTs... but everything that would be quashed.
It would be like Model Railroad Big Monopoly telling TomO that he'd have ONLY weather cars a certain way, only sell them via the official portal, and he'd owe the big monopoly 25%. Unintended consequenced, said the BIG MONOPOLY... but we have to protect our intellectual property.
Now add in the Pres of "Weathering Cars" division of BIG MONOPOLY going to the shareholders via zoom, and telling them that Weathering Cars division is under-monetized. Or, in this case, WotC prez told Hasbro's board that D&D was under-monetized.
Leaks in the past month revealed that WOTC didn't just want to remove competitors for the VTTs, and limit their use of cool zap and frazzle effects... DnD was building their own immersive Virtual table-top that would look and feel more like a video game environment.
Oh, and you want the cool zap and sizzle fireworks for YOUR character to use? Pay WotC a few $$ and it's all yours. Need a better graphic of fancy armor for your dwarf fighter, pay WotC a few $$ for the upgraded graphic.
They were going to reverse the under monetization by creating a monopoly on the VTT, then charging $$ for a bunch of "micro transactions"
Everything that Table Top Role Play gaming is NOT. Players play for the imagination, cooperation, and the fun of working through the story. Not for how cool their video avatar looks.
And the players rebelled. HARD.
Leaks say that 40,000+ people canceled subscriptions to the current basic VTT and rules library that WotC has.
DnD's nearest competitor, Pathfinder (owned by Paizo) sold out of 8 months of their core rulebook, in two weeks. (I purchased one).
WotC tried a lame apology, and "we will listen" approach. That sank like the Titanic.
So they issued a DRAFT OGL 1.2, and opened a survey about it.
A week went by, and they closed the survey a week early. Here is what they shared from that survey:
Your feedback in the OGL 1.2 survey is already clear and we are acting on it:
- -62% are satisfied with adding the SRD to Creative Commons & those dissatisfied want more in CC
- -89% are dissatisfied with deauthorizing OGL 1.0a
- -88% do not want to publish content under OGL 1.2
And there was much rejoicing across Nerdom... One of the rare times that the consumer was able to directly affect a corporate provider of goods and services to do a full 180.
It doesn't sound like a big win. But it was. I suspect that a Senior VP in charge of the new online VTT micro-transaction program is boxing his stuff, and dusting off his resume. If not, then the CEO and Pres of WotC will be. Right now, the Nerd side of Hasbro is the only side that's profitable. And it's carrying the board game and toy side of the parent company.
OK.. back to trains.
. I guess it wouldn't be any different than anyone else in the world having an American locomotive on their layout. $322 USD is kinda expensive though. What company is producing this model? I know you mentioned Hornby but in the sense you were saying it I don't think that's who is producing it.
www.accurascale.com
