Fans and third party creators of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game have had a universally negative response to the leaked update of the OGL. Referred to as OGL 1.1 (and is now allegedly being revised to OGL 2.0), the critical reactions have centered on the restrictive provisions WotC and parent company Hasbro are proposing that open up creative theft and unfair revenue scenarios. An alleged insider email from an employee in Wizards of the Coast was posted on Twitter by user @DnD_Shorts and shared on social media and D&D communities such as on Reddit and Discord.
If @Wizards thought I was just “an obstacle to their money” before, they’re in for a shock. I’m done with this terrible company. #OpenDnD #StopTheSub — DnD_Shorts (@DnD_Shorts) January 12, 2023 The text of the email reads, as follows: The second half of the email text from the purported Wizards of the Coast insider essays the reason the insider leaked this information and how the management apparently views its own customers and patrons: Note that there is no official confirmation that this email was indeed from a WotC employee. With that said, certain parts of the email do seem consistent with the update recently posted (particularly the delay on the rollout of the full OGL 1.1 that was initially expected on January 13).
♬ Aesthetic - Tollan Kim Fans have referred to the questionable response of Wizards of the Coast to the concerns regarding the changes to the OGL as a form of “gaslighting”. Moreover, the gaming community has apparently become united with ensuring Wizards of the Coast will listen to their concerns. And they have done this by mobilizing boycotts and unsubscribing to the D&D Beyond app and service en masse. Social media channels, such as the D&D Subreddit, have been used to organize these efforts. Regardless, the timing for the ongoing controversies with the D&D brand seems ill-fated, what with the upcoming big screen live action film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves arriving soon. On a related note, fans of Dungeons & Dragons have been awaiting the response of the popular web series Critical Role. It is no exaggeration that Critical Role has been instrumental in bringing mainstream attention to the D&D game in the past several years. Although the series actually began with the group using the Pathfinder 1st edition rules produced by Paizo (which is based on the OGL 1.0 and the 3/3.5 Edition of D&D), Critical Role truly hit its stride in popularity when it adopted the 5th Edition D&D rules in their games. With Matt Mercer as the Dungeon Master, Critical Role’s group of voice actors playing D&D sessions on camera helped hardcore and casual fans discover the fun and storytelling that was possible with tabletop roleplaying. Critical Role finally issued an official statement regarding the OGL 1.1 situation on their social media platforms, such as Twitter:
— Critical Role (@CriticalRole) January 13, 2023 However, fans of both D&D and the show Critical Role had mixed reactions to this response. Some have stated it does not address the valid criticisms of the provisions intended for the updated Open Gaming License. Plus, while the context is that Critical Role supports the tabletop community, it does so in very broad terms. While their fans might not be entirely happy with the response, it should be noted that Critical Role may have agreements with Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro which they are legally contracted to adhere to. Episodes of Critical Role can be watched on their official Twitch and YouTube channels.
