Canonfire!

Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:59 pm GSL has finally been Posted

WOTC has finally produced the GSL many people have been waiting for. It is in PDF form. Here is the necessary link to get you there.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/welcome
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Eileen of Greyhawk, Prophet of Istus, Messenger of the Gods

Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:57 pm

At best I think this belongs in the 4E GH forum. Carry on folks.

Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:10 pm

Generic complaints deleted. Please keep the discussion on the apsects of the 4e GSL/SRD. Constructive discussion seems to the be the point of the thread, so let's keep it to that.
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Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:17 pm

In that case, as I have said on the TLG forums I worry what this is going to do for 3rd party companies. There is wording there that seems to have been intentionally left ambiguous for the sake of WOTC coming in and stopping any line it feels like. The following especially:

Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:54 pm

It affects The Oerth Journal not at all. Can WotC force you not to write a story about D&D and post in on the intarweb? No, they cannot. It is pretty much the same thing with The Oerth Journal. The Oerth Journal staff is not paid, and neither are the contribuing authors. It is a purely philanthropic, fan-driven project done out of the kindness of our tiny stone-like hearts. Consequently, we have no worries about the 4e GSL. Laughing

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Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:57 pm

I hope for it's sake you're right. As soon as stats go in there is alot they may try. I however, don't have such a goody goody feeling about it.
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Agape,

Julian<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>

Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:18 am

The Oerth Journal has contained stats on all manner of things for many years prior to the release of 4e, as have all manner of D&D fan sites. All of these things have supported TSR/WotC products over the years, and their value in promoting the game is obvious to anyone. That is why they have been "allowed" to operate so long as they don't blatantly violate WotC's IP.
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Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:51 pm

Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:49 pm

Exactly my point. They have pretty much been trying to kill openness with this new license. I'd say fansites where the proverbial 'milk' is gotten for free will be clamped down on as well.
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Agape,

Julian<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>

Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:03 pm

I'm not worried about it, as it is just the distribution and use of the 4e rules content that is being clamped down upon, and that makes total sense. Lucas didn't try to shut down Star Wars fan sites as he is not an idiot and could see that fan sites are a free, self-perpetuating support platform for his creations. I have enough faith in the people at WotC that they realize this as well. It is not in their best interest to be drop the hammer on the fan community so to speak. It's not like they are selling a needed commodity after all. Everyone can easily do without anything WotC makes. Besides, considering the mess that is Gleemax(the D&D section of the site was down *yet again* today), it looks like they need all the help they can get.

I'll start to worry when representatives of Hasbro/WotC show up on the Senate floor trying to stop fan sites from discussing their products or posting derivative content, or bring a case to the Supreme Court. If WotC really wants to kill 4e, they'll try to play hard ball with the fan sites. Everyone will simply move away from 4e in droves to 3.5 OGL, Pathfinder RPG, or some other game system/company altogether that is more than happy to have fans to support what they do at no cost to them.

The new GSL is limiting enough that I will not be surprised if companies choose not to do anything with it. I for one would not be too keen on purchasing a product where every other sentence is something like "Hazard: Treacherous Ice Sheet (see the D&D 4E Dungeon Master’s Guide)." or "Adamantine Strike (Level 27 Fighter Encounter Attack Exploit; see the D&D 4E Player’s Handbook.)" when one considers that the GSL doesn't even allow these quotes to be accompanied by a page number in the core books for easy reference. This is not what I would call a surefire recipe for a user friendly product. There are indeed some very draconian restraints placed upon anyone wishing to actually publish material under the GSL. I'm not expecting to see very much second party 4e material appear on the market because of this.
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Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:15 pm

Fri Jun 20, 2008 5:23 am

Fri Jun 20, 2008 6:15 am

I really wouldn't be concerned about fansites diappearing - and I seriously doubt Wizards would want that. They are good for the game and I think that they would not view them as competition but free advertising.

EnWorld has a recent post (Thurs 19th June) that really hits the nail on the head when it comes to the GSL. It kills a lot of misconceptions.

Fri Jun 20, 2008 3:26 pm

There are hundreds of posts that have been made on the 19th. It would be best to 1. post a link to the thread that the post is in, and 2. give the number of the post(it is at the top right of every single post). Most poeple aren't going to spend an hour looking about on the site, hoping they will stumble upon what you are referring to. So, please post some links and specific info.

Yes, people have the misconception that the GSL applies to fan-related things. It doesn't. It only applies to companies wishing to produce and sell things that contain 4e content. It's really that simple people.
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Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:00 pm

I wish I had your optimism in them. I don't trust that the same company that would put out such a restrictive, dominating and limiting license would look at fan sites with no interest. I expect restrictions. These are not people with any interest in Greyhawk or the fans beyond the bottom line. Don't be fooled.
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Agape,

Julian<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>

Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:50 am

Alright, folks, look at it. WotC is a company; that means they want to make money. The new GSL is a smart way to protect their profit margin while allowing designers to make game product based on their material. The OGL and even the STL were too open, and as a result people were able to make new games that directly competed with D&D using its own system. In hindsight, that was a bad move. So the GSL itself is good, and smart for WotC. They must jealously guard their property. That's business. As to fan material - things should be as they largely have been; don't tread on their copyrights and you're fine. Produce material that adds to the game, distributed for free, and doesn't seek to undermine, damage or infringe upon the WotC intellectual properties, and everyone is happy. I think a lot of people here are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Oh, and 4E sucks.
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Greyhawk is dead; long live Greyahwk! It is not heresy; I will not recant!

Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:55 am

I agree on the over reaction. Julian surely is in the running for the "Obsidian Obex" award for the role of "Doomsayer of the Year". Laughing

And anyways, there is always parody- Long live GREYFINCH!
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Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:31 am