One official source for Dungeons & Dragons acknowledged the ongoing OGL controversy nearly a week since it leaked, but fans aren't pleased with the response.D&D Beyond, an official online resource for Dungeons & Dragons content, posted a brief message on its Twitter account commenting on the "questions" many fans have about DnD's updated OGL. "We know you have questions about the OGL and we will be sharing more soon. Thank you for your patience," the message read. Dungeons & Dragons retweeted the message though it did not expand further. The tweet quickly amassed hundreds of responses, with many fans criticizing the company.
The D&D Community Calls to #OpenDnD After WotC's OGL Leaks
Even significant members of the DnD community like Ginny Di, a DM and content creator, responded harshly to the Tweet. In particular, many took offense to the company calling them "patient" after days of waiting for any official response to the leaked OGL, which, if enacted, could have devastating consequences for small DnD businesses in the community. "We're not being patient, we're eating each other alive. You need to say something — the RIGHT things — pretty dang fast if you want to recover ANY of the goodwill of your community," Di said before explaining the situation in more detail in subsequent Tweets.
Others said they had moved on to supporting D&D's competitors or small businesses that still profit from the original OGL while abandoning pre-orders or accounts that support developer Wizards of the Coast (WotC). @LouAnders said he'd canceled his pre-order for Keys from the Golden Vault, an upcoming official Dungeons & Dragons module, and invested $300 in books from other publishers. Another pointed out that Kobold Press, one of the smaller publishers that exists thanks to the original OGL, had declared it would form its own fantasy tabletop ruleset, currently codenamed Project Black Flag.
What is DnD's OGL and How Does It Impact Creators?
After it announced One D&D, an update to the rules after 5E, Wizards of the Coast acknowledged it would make changes to the Open License Agreement first published in 2000. This OGL allowed small publishers and individuals to create content for DnD ranging from books, equipment, fictional stories and live plays like Critical Role and Dimension 20. With the updated OGL, Wizards of the Coast would control all such content.
Under the OGL 1.1, WotC heavily restricts the types of content creators can make, requires all businesses to report on their projects and reveal revenue amounts and imposes a massive royalty on those who receive more than $750,000 as a result of their business. Additionally, it gives Wizards of the Coast the right to manufacture and distribute content made by smaller companies without first notifying or seeking permission from them.
Source: Twitter