Dungeons & Dragons’ and anti-commercialization
How one document nearly destroyed Dungeons and Dragons
By Ava Rausch
In a land far, far away, an angry mob of warriors are putting on battle gear and sharpening their weapons to face their biggest opponent yet…
Fans of Dungeons & Dragons’ will no longer be permitted to sell third-party content or materials under the company’s new Open Game License (OGL). In August 2022, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) announced plans for a game update involving new digital resources. D&D community members jumped to voice their concerns, inquiring how the update will impact the creation of third party materials and content.
A leaked disclosure document answered their questions.
The existing OGL is a public copyright license that allows anyone to publish and sell royalty-free D&D materials. According to the document procured by io9, a sci-fi, fantasy blog, the new agreement states: “the Open Game License was always intended to allow the community to help grow D&D and expand it creatively. It wasn’t intended to subsidize major competitors, especially now that PDF is by far the most common form of distribution.” The OGL helped popularize the game; writers, content creators, and players were able to freely create (and, most importantly, sell) merchandise without fear of copyright infringement. Now, small-business owners are fearful of losing their livelihoods. Many licensed publishers will have to completely overhaul their products and find new distribution to comply with the new regulations. Larger publishers, including Paizo, Kobold Press, and Green Ronin, will be under pressure to update their current business model.
If this new OGL is enacted, every publisher will be affected. Per the agreement, commercial creators will be asked to report their products, new and old, to D&D. According to the timestamps of the document, WotC may not have given their licenses enough time to adjust to the new policy. The document states, “if you want to publish SRD-based content on or after January 13, 2023 and commercialize it, your only option is to agree to the OGL: Commercial.” Creators are not happy with the new agreement. A letter was drafted by fans, and posted as part of the #OpenDnD campaign, stating, “No matter the creator, it locks everyone into a new contract that restricts their work, makes it mandatory to report their projects and revenues to Wizards of the Coast, and gives WoTC the legal right to reproduce and resell creators’ content without permission or compensation.”
The intensity of the new OGL is a stark difference between the previous OGL, which had virtually no limitations on what content creators could produce and sell. Third-party merchandise and storylines are popular entities being released by bigger fan-centric companies. The D&D community prides itself on the collaboration of players. For example, writers create storylines that can be bought and distributed. Now, WotC is asking for royalties to be paid. According to the document, “if, and only if, you are generating a significant amount of money (over $750,000 per year across all Licensed Works) from Your Licensed Works The revenue You make from Your Licensed Works in excess of $750,000 in a single calendar year is considered ‘Qualifying Revenue’ and You are responsible for paying Us 20% or 25% of that Qualifying Revenue.” Well, what does that mean? It means that WotC is asking companies to pay royalties above the $750,000 amount.
With that being said, bigger companies are being affected by this transition, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t represent a precedent for the future. That’s what community members are concerned about, they’re concerned about creative compliance. WotC has demonstrated a power grab within the creative industry, offering no protections for previous creators.
An update was offered by WotC that summed up the fact that “all pre-existing content will remain covered under the terms of the original OGL, content creators will retain ownership over their own materials, and royalty structures have been removed.”