Kevin Brennan's page

Then again, GDW could have salvaged that, if it hadn't been for all the money the company had tied up defending itself against TSR over Dangerous Journeys.

I don't want to drag this too far off topic, but that wasn't the problem. GDW went under as the result of two unfortunate business decisions. First, they had made a bundle of money off their Desert Shield Fact Book, and had ordered a huge, huge reprint of it just before the Gulf War broke out. The war ended before they could sell and distribute the copies and they were stuck with most of that print run.

Second, they had bought a new warehouse which turned out to be on contaminated ground. They ended up stuck with it because they couldn't resell it, couldn't afford to clean up the contamination, and couldn't use it so they had to rent another.

Oh, and I was one of the authors of TNE. ;-)

The current OGL can only apply to the 4.0 SRD if it's released under something that's a "new version" of that license. If WotC includes language that makes the new OGL a legally different license than the old one (maybe it's an "Opened Game License" or something like that), the clause is irrelevant.

If you can't pick up an old copy of Greyhawk or the FRCS, and play in that setting with just the core books without making major changes to those settings, it's not D&D anymore, at least not to me. Those settings, and the countless homebrews like them, are what I would call the "D&D experience".

OGL is forever, good -- but out of curiosity, why?

What makes the Open Game License "open" IP? Is it a clause in the original contract (or whatever)? This seems impossible. Or is it the type of document, one that is by definition not under IP "authority" or "domain"? I mean, the OGL is more than just "un-ownable" names such as goblin and Asmodeus, right? So, what is the "definition"?

-W. E. Ray

Section 4 states: Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.

Section 8 says: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License.

So anything released under any version of the OGL cannot be revoked. Now, Wizards could choose to release 4e under something other than the OGL, but 3e will always be open.

Whatever you do, don't stick with 3.5. Either convert to 4th or launch your own game.

If you stick with 3.5 after 4th is released, the upgraders will move on and you may never get them back, and your audience will be limited to the people who don't upgrade. They may be a substantial percentage of your current base, of course, but if you later move to 4th you'll alienate them AND have to win back the people who left to buy 4th. If you don't go you have a ever-shrinking pool of customers. It's a lose-lose decision.

Yes, somebody's going to make money selling to the 3.5 base, but after a year or two the only way to keep that base alive is to produce your own edition of the game anyway.

Also, if WW would give it to you, Swords and Sorcery would be the perfect name for this game.