A recent controversy in Tabletop Gaming has been the changes to the Dungeons & Dragons OGL controversy and a response has come from Pathfinder developer Paizo, who have announced the development of a new OGL alongside other third-party creators. The news was revealed on Paizo’s website and in a message on Twitter where it stated that it is working with third-party developers to form a “system neutral open RPG license” and the collaborating partners include Kobold Press, Chaosium, Green Ronin, Legendary Games and Rogue Genius Games. Paizo has claimed this OGL will be “open, perpetual, and irrevocable.”
Paizo said it would be willing to cover the legal costs of establishing the new OGL, but it intends to create one that “will not be owned by Paizo, nor will it be owned by any company who makes money publishing RPGs.” To go ahead with this, Paizo has retained the services of the law firm Azora Law, co-founded by Brian Lewis. This was the firm that wrote Wizards of the Coast’s original OGL for Dungeons & Dragons in 2000. This new OGL is intended to “provide a safe harbor against any company being bought, sold, or changing management in the future and attempting to rescind rights or nullify sections of the license” and the rights will be held by a non-profit organization.
To explain the issues regarding Wizards of the Coast, back on January 5, a copy of Wizard of the Coast’s updated Open Gaming License for Dungeons & Dragons leaked and caused severe backlash online. While the original OGL allowed third-party developers like Paizo to create content based on the Dungeons & Dragons TTRPG system, the latest updates, OGL 2.0 dismantles the original and heavily restricts the products made by content creators and gives Wizards of the Coast much more power over the merchandise includes pushing 25% royalties on companies earning more than $750,000 from the products. In addition, Wizards of the Coast would retain the right to manufacture and sell those creations as its own.