After my D&D group finished the first episode of "Season 4" of our campaign, I thought I would present them with a few options for the upcoming sessions. Below is the list of "episode" summaries I sent. Hopefully, it will provide a sense of how a D&D campaign can be organized in a manner akin to an overly ridiculous television show. In the future, I'll take some time to write more about organizing a RPG campaign like it is a television show.
For context, it's important to understand that the group just broke out of prison after having been found guilty of three counts of murder (of a Lord of Waterdeep) and treason. This is the point in the grand narrative where they go from being brave adventurers working in the city to branded criminals trying to save the city from internal corruption.
The Magnificent Weathermen
Required Character(s): Chet Doppler
Optional Character(s): None. See Note(1)
Background: As things begin to calm down after the big breakout, Chet tries to figure out where Vince Candela, his arch-rival, has gone. Once he learns the real story, he puts together a team of friends and rivals from the Waterdeep Meteorologist's Guild to rescue their old comrade.
Note(1): This adventure is sort of a "one-off" featuring mostly new characters that aren't necessarily essential to the overall story.
Old School Ties
Required Character(s): Malvolio, Orsino
Optional Character(s): None
Background: Orsino and Malvolio sneak into Waterdeep to investigate a mystery from their youth at the Waterdeep Academy of Royalty and Noblemen. While there, they discover truths they were never meant to know.Note(1): This is likely a small party adventure, featuring only 2-4 players.
The Perfect Prison
Required Character(s): Archon
Optional Character(s): Gilderoy
Background: With everybody back together, Archon asks for assistance in determining the full extent of who is trapped within his psychic prison matrix and, if possible, find a way to separate it from the rest of the Blackstaff Core. This can undoubtedly end poorly.
Shadow of the Moon
Required Character(s): Darkscale
Optional Character(s): Ieuan, Nagda
Background: With all these new people onboard, life is getting cramped aboard the airship Scara. Archon and Onceval have discovered a legendary fortress hidden beneath the woods east of Neverwinter. However, those woods are home to the werewolf barbarian clans, some of whom still have ties to the Netherese.Note(1): This adventure begins the "Through Blood and Shadows" trilogy.
Till Death Do Us Part
Requires Character(s): Zane
Optional Character(s): Nasher
Background: It's a tough life having a spellscar that absorbs the essence of undead creatures. That kind of thing changes you. It changes Zane. Having absorbed Reapers, Dementors, and other undead monstrosities with his spellscar, Zane finds his own identity, his soul, in question.
The Smell of a Rat
Required Character(s): Paetr
Optional Character(s): Onceval
Background: Sent by Lord Neverember, an interesting young man comes to the (former) Waterdeep Adventurer's Guild with a potential ally: new, powerful monstrous warriors to join them in their fight against Thay. The downside? It's the Dustclaws, a Luskan gang.
FUTURE EPISODES
Orsino's Night Out
Required characters: Orsino Fortinbras, Roderigo Fortinbras
Optional Characters: None. See Note(2).
Background: Onceval realizes that he requires the power of the actual Blackstaff to be able to defeat Len-Jes, Archmage of Waterdeep. When planning a mission to recover it, Orsino informs the team that not everything is as it seems. In flashback, Orsino tells the story of what really happened to the staff so many years ago.
Note(1): This adventure begins the "Legacy of Fortinbras" trilogy.
Note(2): This adventure is a "one-off" using the Leverage RPG Ruleset. With the exception of the Required Characters, the characters are all arbitrary.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Campaign Settings: The Western Environment
[Note: I apologize for the un-timeliness of this post. For those who haven't been following me, I've been a bit split writing for several other websites. Here I am trying to get back on track with this project.]
This is part of an ongoing series of articles regarding a setting I wanted to develop for role-playing. This article focuses on the environment of my "fantasy western" campaign setting. Since this is the first substantive article regarding this setting, I suspect it will have a lot of loose threads that would likely warrant a second visit once more of the characters, organizations, and cultures are better fleshed out.
Environment Concerns
When I use the phrase "Western themed," one of my intents is for the setting to have the look and feel of classic western film. From an environmental perspective, I expect this world to look a lot like sparsely settled Arizona or eastern California. High plateaus, vast plains, deserts, and rocky badlands make up the bulk of the terrain. There may be pockets of dense forest here and there, perhaps nestled away in a secluded valley, but most of the world will have sparse vegetation. Shrubs and cactus are most of the green a resident of this world expects to sees on a day-by-day basis.
This raises an important question, though. Contrary to what Star Wars tells us, the idea of the single-biome planet seems unbelievable considering the biome diversity we see here on Earth. Keeping that in mind, there has to be a reason why the entire world would look like iconic images of the Old American West. Taking a cue from Dark Sun (and, as previously stated, Wild Arms 3), this is a world that has suffered some sort of catastrophe and is slowly dying. The catastrophic event may be in the past, but its effect can still be felt to this day.
Water and Oceans
Filgaia, the world of Wild Arms 3, is interesting because it has no oceans. Instead, it has a sea of sand that the party must traverse with a sand ship. I spent a significant amount of time considering whether this would be something to implement within my own "fantasy western" setting. It emphasized the decaying world message really effectively but it also felt a little bit... well, silly. It was hard in my mind to determine how a sea of sand wasn't just, well, a desert.
Maybe it was just not translated properly, but the idea of having an ocean of sand just didn't quite feel right. Dark Sun's Athas presents a somewhat more acceptable alternative: the Sea of Silt. It's not an ocean of sand but instead fine silt that the braver souls of Athas traverse using silt skimmers. This seemed like the right kind of aesthetic for my fantasy western.
The other option that I considered (and may potentially integrate down the line) is that the oceans of this world are actually water. However, this water would be extremely saline. Imagine a world where the ocean is salty similar to the Great Salt Lake or, more appropriately, the Dead Sea. Like the sea of silt, the salt sea would be a harsh environment that is inhospitable to most life.
At World's End
Why is the world dying? Why have the oceans turned to salt and silt? Honestly, I prefer to take something of a sandbox approach to this issue. People have theories, but the truth will depend on the players. Of course, as I go on, I will elucidate different possibilities as to why the world is dying, usually colored by the perspectives of people that live in it, but none of them should be considered necessarily true. Like the destruction of Cyre by the Mourning, the catastrophe that is causing this world's slow death should be something of a mystery that develops as a party plays through a campaign.
For now, I intend to just leave it as that. This is a world of sparse vegetation, dusty plateaus, and sandy deserts. It's as if somebody built a single-biome continent that looked like Arizona and was surrounded by a sea of silt (or very salty water).
This is part of an ongoing series of articles regarding a setting I wanted to develop for role-playing. This article focuses on the environment of my "fantasy western" campaign setting. Since this is the first substantive article regarding this setting, I suspect it will have a lot of loose threads that would likely warrant a second visit once more of the characters, organizations, and cultures are better fleshed out.
Environment Concerns
When I use the phrase "Western themed," one of my intents is for the setting to have the look and feel of classic western film. From an environmental perspective, I expect this world to look a lot like sparsely settled Arizona or eastern California. High plateaus, vast plains, deserts, and rocky badlands make up the bulk of the terrain. There may be pockets of dense forest here and there, perhaps nestled away in a secluded valley, but most of the world will have sparse vegetation. Shrubs and cactus are most of the green a resident of this world expects to sees on a day-by-day basis.
 |
| There is some vegetation, but the color palette is made up of mostly reds and browns. |
 |
| Classic Western style! |
Filgaia, the world of Wild Arms 3, is interesting because it has no oceans. Instead, it has a sea of sand that the party must traverse with a sand ship. I spent a significant amount of time considering whether this would be something to implement within my own "fantasy western" setting. It emphasized the decaying world message really effectively but it also felt a little bit... well, silly. It was hard in my mind to determine how a sea of sand wasn't just, well, a desert.
 |
| Right. Sailing... on sand. |
 |
| No ocean is too deep when you're a giant, I guess. |
At World's End
Why is the world dying? Why have the oceans turned to salt and silt? Honestly, I prefer to take something of a sandbox approach to this issue. People have theories, but the truth will depend on the players. Of course, as I go on, I will elucidate different possibilities as to why the world is dying, usually colored by the perspectives of people that live in it, but none of them should be considered necessarily true. Like the destruction of Cyre by the Mourning, the catastrophe that is causing this world's slow death should be something of a mystery that develops as a party plays through a campaign.
 |
| Expansive, dusty plateaus that need be traversed by horseback seem the right style. |
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Campaign Settings: The Fantasy Western
Recently, a good friend of mine pointed out one of the musical pieces from the recent Quentin Tarantino movie, Django Unchained. Like he usually does, Tarantino used musical pieces from a variety of older films. He was pointing out how the track "I Giorni Dell'ira," composed by Riziero Ortolani for the Italian western I Giorni Dell'ira, sounded suspiciously familiar to a musical piece we both knew from our teenage years. This started me thinking about the Western genre and how, despite being exceptionally well represented in film, it rarely finds it way to the gaming table. With the exception of Deadlands (and its progeny), the only real Western role-playing out there came out of generic systems like GURPS. Having been a big fan of the few Western themed fantasy console role-playing games coming out of Japan, I thought it was appropriate to try and build a campaign setting for people who wanted to try something a little bit different.
Most followers of the blog know that I have been heavily steeped in Dungeons & Dragons in the past few years, running a multi-party campaign set in the Forgotten Realms and participating in several other games set in other iconic fantasy settings. Part of my desire to try something different has been my growing interest in playing 13th Age. I really like a lot of what 13th Age does and the setting is actually pretty interesting to me as a player, but I have been hankering for something that is very different than the typical swords & sorcery fantasy. For some reason, the notion of an "old west" themed fantasy setting sounds especially compelling to me. Therefore, I hope to present a Western themed, fantasy inspired setting that could be adapted for any game system but will focus on game mechanics of 13th Age.
I want to start by specifying a few things about this project. This is meant to be a western themed, tabletop RPG setting. It is meant to be the kind of setting that stands alongside settings such as Eberron, Faerûn, Golarion, and even the various Earths of Deadlands. As a fan of collaborative story telling, I intend to create a basic framework for a campaign setting that gives players enough to work with but does not specify too much as to take away from a player's ability to adapt it to fit her own character. One of the frustrations I find with heavily fleshed out settings like the Forgotten Realms or Deadlands is that it is too easy to get blocked up by existing canon.
That's why, to a certain extent, I'm using 13th Age as a framework. 13th Age is a game system that really promotes collaborative narrative control of a role-playing game. Mechanics like One Unique Thing and Icon Relationship dice give players an opportunity to influence the overarching story in ways that more standard role-playing games do not. Despite the preference for 13th Age, these articles will focus more on non-mechanical aspects wherever possible, so a crafty game master could utilize what I do here for any system.
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| Not the most common RPG setting... |
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| This, but add some fantastic elements. |
That's why, to a certain extent, I'm using 13th Age as a framework. 13th Age is a game system that really promotes collaborative narrative control of a role-playing game. Mechanics like One Unique Thing and Icon Relationship dice give players an opportunity to influence the overarching story in ways that more standard role-playing games do not. Despite the preference for 13th Age, these articles will focus more on non-mechanical aspects wherever possible, so a crafty game master could utilize what I do here for any system.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Campaign Settings: Neverwinter in 13th Age
Recently, I became involved in a conversation regarding converting the Forgotten Realms to 13th Age. Specifically, the discussion centered on Icons in that setting. The Icon system is an important part of 13th Age because it shifts some of the narrative control over to players, making their choice of relationships become part of the overall campaign story. I became interested in the conversation because I run a Neverwinter/Waterdeep D&D 4E campaign and I continue to think about how I would shift it over to 13th Age if the situation ever presented itself.
Keith Baker addressed the use of Icons in Eberron back in October. He makes the good point that Eberron, as a setting, does not lend itself well to a simple transition to 13th Age. Instead, he suggests that icons should be determined based on the focus of the campaign. Who the important players are in the game will determine what icons are relevant. If the campaign focuses on the power of the Dragonmarked Houses, than they would fit nicely as icons. However, if the campaign has some other focus, other icons would be more appropriate. This seemed especially important to me in determining how Icons would be developed for a campaign similar to my own.
Considering my own Neverwinter campaign and the material presented in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting, I thought I would lay out a potential list of Icons for a 13th Age game set in post-Spellplague Neverwinter. In doing so, I have tried to present them less as specific people and more as icons, referring to them by general terms. In general, I associate each Icon with a specific character presented in the campaign setting, but as is true with the Icons, its less important who they are but rather what they organization, faction, or even ideology they represent in the greater setting.
The Lord Protector
This is the current ruler of Neverwinter, a powerful man from another place that seeks to rebuild Neverwinter in his own image. The Lord Protector is a force of order in the city, but it is foreign. Some view the Lord Protector as a great boon to the city, helping to rebuild the Jewel of the North to its greater glory. Others view the Lord Protector as an usurper, come to take away Neverwinter's liberty. As written in the campaign setting, this would be Lord Neverember, Open Lord of Waterdeep. However, as with all of the icons, the specific person is less important than the ideology that they represent.
The Rebel
The Rebel is a direct political contrast to the Lord Protector. As an Icon, he opposes the Lord Protector's designs for Neverwinter. Ideologically, the Rebel represents an opposition to the Lord Protector's authoritarian role rather than opposition to order. Officially, they claim that true rulers of Neverwinter must descend from the line established by Nasher Alagondar. Some view the Rebel as a force of chaos, attempting to tear down everything that the Lord Protector attempts to build. Others see the Rebel as a hero of the people of Neverwinter, doing his (or her) best to stop the Lord Protector from seizing what last bit of freedom the people still have. Arlon Bladeshaper, the leader of the Sons of Alagondar, or the Lost Heir of Neverwinter (Selda Tylmarande) could both be potential Rebels taken from the campaign setting.
The Lich King
Thay's influence in Neverwinter is important to the region. The Lich King represents that force encroaching upon the city. Like many Icons, the Lich King's interest is directly opposed to the Lord Protector. Quite frankly, the Lich King is directly opposed to most of the Icons as nobody much cares for a city of the dead. Szass Tam is the obvious choice for the Lich King, but a campaign that is more locally focused could adopt Valindra, Szass Tam's agent on the Sword Coast, as the "regional" Lich King.
The Dead Rat
The Dead Rat is the leader of the most significant criminal community within Neverwinter. The Dead Rat primarily works to garner himself power and profit and embolden his position as the most powerful person in Luskan. This is typically against the interests of the more civilizing Icons of Neverwinter, but the Dead Rat is not opposed to working with another Icon in the short term if it brings him more power. King Toytere of Luskan would be the best example of the Dead Rat as written in the campaign setting.
The Lords of Waterdeep
Using the Lords of Waterdeep as an Icon is, perhaps, a bit sketchy given the content of the Neverwinter Campaign Setting sourcebook. However, their influence is still extremely important in the city, especially if you assume that the Lord Protector, one of the Lords of Waterdeep, began the expedition into Waterdeep without their approval or consent. Having an Icon relationship with the Lords of Waterdeep could be a very interesting way to add some uncertainty to the game, especially when you consider that the Lords of Waterdeep are never of a single mind. Ostensibly, they support Neverember's mission to Neverwinter, but it is just as likely that they do not and work against his interests.
The Prophet
The Abolethic Sovereignty is a major player in Neverwinter, even if most people do not realize that they are. The Prophet, as an Icon, takes the character of Rohini the Healer and makes her, more directly, the leader of the Abolethic Sovereignty. The Prophet seeks to spread the abolethic corruption throughout the rest of Neverwinter, using it as a base to corrupt the whole of Faerûn. Like the Lich King, most people view the Prophet as a danger to Neverwinter. However, it may very well be that an Icon like the Lord Protector could ally with the Prophet under the old adage that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
The Infernal Prince
The Infernal Prince, leader of the Cult of Asmodeus, has great plans for the Neverwinter region. From their plans to free the primordial Magera to aspirations to seize control of Neverwinter, the Infernal Prince is an important Icon to consider. Mordai Vell is an obvious choice for the Infernal Prince, but as with all of the Icons, it is not the specific person that matters but more the role. The Infernal Prince is interesting because, as with all devil related matters, he opposes chaos in the city. This could bring him in line with other Icons, such as the Lord Protector, that would normally not be expected.
The Shadow Lord
The Netherese only recently returned to Faerûn, but under the rule of the Shadow Lord, their ambition has already struck fear into the hearts of many. Although the Shadow Lord seeks to conquer the entire continent, Neverwinter is of great importance. This puts him in conflict with the Lich King, the Lord Protector, and many of the other greater powers of the region. That being said, as with all of the iconic enemies of Neverwinter, a relationship with the Shadow Lord could be useful where the Lich King or the Infernal Prince are major villains. Clariburnus is the natural fit for the Shadow Lord in the default Neverwinter setting.
The Gray Alpha
The Gray Alpha is the leader of the Gray Wolf Uthgardt. Unlike most of the Icons presented here, the Gray Alpha is a slight deviation from the material presented in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting. As the Gray Wolf tribes have generally allied themselves with the forces of the Shadow Lord, the Gray Alpha likely sees their alliance as a source of power for himself and the tribes. However, just as some of the Gray Wolf tribes are divided over their alliance, the Gray Alpha himself could be conflicted. Perhaps, akin to the Forsworn tribes, the Gray Alpha could be persuaded to turn against their allies and join some sort of organized resistance.
Other Icons
There are numerous other major characters within the Neverwinter setting that could be easily adapted into important Icons. The leader of Bregan D'aerthe could easily fit a role similar to that of the Prince of Shadows. The Warchief of the Many-Arrow Orcs could be fit in to a similar role as the Orc Lord. The various factions residing in Gauntlgrym could be made into major players sufficient to warrant an Icon. In that capacity, it is important for a group to determine what factions on the Sword Coast are relevant to the game they want to play. Does the group not want to involve the Shadowfell and its associated Netherese incursion? Remove the Shadow Lord. Want to make the Harpers a major player? Make them more present in the affairs of Neverwinter and make the Harper Council (or something similar) as an Icon within the setting.
The 13th Age Icon system is a way to allow players narrative control over the story arc. It lets them, as players, define which organizations and personalities they want to have as major players in the game. The Icons presented hear, as based on the background, character themes, and other content presented in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting, is the simplest way to bring that sort of structure to a 13th Age based game set in post-Spellplague Neverwinter.
Keith Baker addressed the use of Icons in Eberron back in October. He makes the good point that Eberron, as a setting, does not lend itself well to a simple transition to 13th Age. Instead, he suggests that icons should be determined based on the focus of the campaign. Who the important players are in the game will determine what icons are relevant. If the campaign focuses on the power of the Dragonmarked Houses, than they would fit nicely as icons. However, if the campaign has some other focus, other icons would be more appropriate. This seemed especially important to me in determining how Icons would be developed for a campaign similar to my own.
Considering my own Neverwinter campaign and the material presented in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting, I thought I would lay out a potential list of Icons for a 13th Age game set in post-Spellplague Neverwinter. In doing so, I have tried to present them less as specific people and more as icons, referring to them by general terms. In general, I associate each Icon with a specific character presented in the campaign setting, but as is true with the Icons, its less important who they are but rather what they organization, faction, or even ideology they represent in the greater setting.
The Lord Protector
This is the current ruler of Neverwinter, a powerful man from another place that seeks to rebuild Neverwinter in his own image. The Lord Protector is a force of order in the city, but it is foreign. Some view the Lord Protector as a great boon to the city, helping to rebuild the Jewel of the North to its greater glory. Others view the Lord Protector as an usurper, come to take away Neverwinter's liberty. As written in the campaign setting, this would be Lord Neverember, Open Lord of Waterdeep. However, as with all of the icons, the specific person is less important than the ideology that they represent.
 |
| The Lord Protector is the Icon of ORDER in Neverwinter. |
The Rebel is a direct political contrast to the Lord Protector. As an Icon, he opposes the Lord Protector's designs for Neverwinter. Ideologically, the Rebel represents an opposition to the Lord Protector's authoritarian role rather than opposition to order. Officially, they claim that true rulers of Neverwinter must descend from the line established by Nasher Alagondar. Some view the Rebel as a force of chaos, attempting to tear down everything that the Lord Protector attempts to build. Others see the Rebel as a hero of the people of Neverwinter, doing his (or her) best to stop the Lord Protector from seizing what last bit of freedom the people still have. Arlon Bladeshaper, the leader of the Sons of Alagondar, or the Lost Heir of Neverwinter (Selda Tylmarande) could both be potential Rebels taken from the campaign setting.
The Lich King
 |
| Valindra, the "regional" Lich King |
Thay's influence in Neverwinter is important to the region. The Lich King represents that force encroaching upon the city. Like many Icons, the Lich King's interest is directly opposed to the Lord Protector. Quite frankly, the Lich King is directly opposed to most of the Icons as nobody much cares for a city of the dead. Szass Tam is the obvious choice for the Lich King, but a campaign that is more locally focused could adopt Valindra, Szass Tam's agent on the Sword Coast, as the "regional" Lich King.
The Dead Rat
The Dead Rat is the leader of the most significant criminal community within Neverwinter. The Dead Rat primarily works to garner himself power and profit and embolden his position as the most powerful person in Luskan. This is typically against the interests of the more civilizing Icons of Neverwinter, but the Dead Rat is not opposed to working with another Icon in the short term if it brings him more power. King Toytere of Luskan would be the best example of the Dead Rat as written in the campaign setting.
The Lords of Waterdeep
Using the Lords of Waterdeep as an Icon is, perhaps, a bit sketchy given the content of the Neverwinter Campaign Setting sourcebook. However, their influence is still extremely important in the city, especially if you assume that the Lord Protector, one of the Lords of Waterdeep, began the expedition into Waterdeep without their approval or consent. Having an Icon relationship with the Lords of Waterdeep could be a very interesting way to add some uncertainty to the game, especially when you consider that the Lords of Waterdeep are never of a single mind. Ostensibly, they support Neverember's mission to Neverwinter, but it is just as likely that they do not and work against his interests.
The Prophet
The Abolethic Sovereignty is a major player in Neverwinter, even if most people do not realize that they are. The Prophet, as an Icon, takes the character of Rohini the Healer and makes her, more directly, the leader of the Abolethic Sovereignty. The Prophet seeks to spread the abolethic corruption throughout the rest of Neverwinter, using it as a base to corrupt the whole of Faerûn. Like the Lich King, most people view the Prophet as a danger to Neverwinter. However, it may very well be that an Icon like the Lord Protector could ally with the Prophet under the old adage that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
The Infernal Prince
 |
| The Infernal Prince of Neverwinter. |
The Infernal Prince, leader of the Cult of Asmodeus, has great plans for the Neverwinter region. From their plans to free the primordial Magera to aspirations to seize control of Neverwinter, the Infernal Prince is an important Icon to consider. Mordai Vell is an obvious choice for the Infernal Prince, but as with all of the Icons, it is not the specific person that matters but more the role. The Infernal Prince is interesting because, as with all devil related matters, he opposes chaos in the city. This could bring him in line with other Icons, such as the Lord Protector, that would normally not be expected.
The Shadow Lord
The Netherese only recently returned to Faerûn, but under the rule of the Shadow Lord, their ambition has already struck fear into the hearts of many. Although the Shadow Lord seeks to conquer the entire continent, Neverwinter is of great importance. This puts him in conflict with the Lich King, the Lord Protector, and many of the other greater powers of the region. That being said, as with all of the iconic enemies of Neverwinter, a relationship with the Shadow Lord could be useful where the Lich King or the Infernal Prince are major villains. Clariburnus is the natural fit for the Shadow Lord in the default Neverwinter setting.
The Gray Alpha
The Gray Alpha is the leader of the Gray Wolf Uthgardt. Unlike most of the Icons presented here, the Gray Alpha is a slight deviation from the material presented in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting. As the Gray Wolf tribes have generally allied themselves with the forces of the Shadow Lord, the Gray Alpha likely sees their alliance as a source of power for himself and the tribes. However, just as some of the Gray Wolf tribes are divided over their alliance, the Gray Alpha himself could be conflicted. Perhaps, akin to the Forsworn tribes, the Gray Alpha could be persuaded to turn against their allies and join some sort of organized resistance.
Other Icons
 |
| Want Harpers? Make them an Icon! |
There are numerous other major characters within the Neverwinter setting that could be easily adapted into important Icons. The leader of Bregan D'aerthe could easily fit a role similar to that of the Prince of Shadows. The Warchief of the Many-Arrow Orcs could be fit in to a similar role as the Orc Lord. The various factions residing in Gauntlgrym could be made into major players sufficient to warrant an Icon. In that capacity, it is important for a group to determine what factions on the Sword Coast are relevant to the game they want to play. Does the group not want to involve the Shadowfell and its associated Netherese incursion? Remove the Shadow Lord. Want to make the Harpers a major player? Make them more present in the affairs of Neverwinter and make the Harper Council (or something similar) as an Icon within the setting.
The 13th Age Icon system is a way to allow players narrative control over the story arc. It lets them, as players, define which organizations and personalities they want to have as major players in the game. The Icons presented hear, as based on the background, character themes, and other content presented in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting, is the simplest way to bring that sort of structure to a 13th Age based game set in post-Spellplague Neverwinter.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Scoring the Scene: Fantasy Sims
A few months ago, I wrote a bit about scoring a tabletop role-playing game session. Playing music in the background can often bring an extra dimension to the play experience. Today, I thought I would showcase an album that can be easily inserted into any fantasy themed tabletop game: the original score soundtrack to The Sims: Medieval, by John Debney.
I will admit that I have never actually played The Sims: Medieval. I ran across the soundtrack while browsing the iTunes store. Sold in two parts, each priced at $2.99, I felt like taking a chance with it. The excerpts playable from the iTunes store sounded like they could easily work in my Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I was quite surprised with the results.
What to Expect...
Most of my players have come to learn that I prefer video game scores for my Dungeons & Dragons games. Since this type of music usually has to play somewhat dynamically it tends to be the kind of songs that can be readily repeated without becoming quickly irritating. This can be convenient when you want to spend thirty minutes having a meaningful encounter without having to worry about controlling your playlist. In that regard, The Sims: Medieval provides a solid musical foundation.
Having not played The Sims: Medieval, I cannot say in what context these musical arrangements appear in the game. There appears to be a fair mix of "royal court" mixed in with "village montage." A few of the pieces stray a bit from that theme. For example, the track "Incantus Magicus" sounds like a light-hearted take on the world of Harry Potter. Some of the others go off in their own direction. However, they do not stray too far from the medieval village/town theme. This album successfully captures enough of the the musical stylings of a medieval community.
What Not to Expect...
Although the score to The Sims: Medieval covers an important part of the fantasy adventure world, there are significant parts of the Dungeons & Dragons experience that it does not touch. Although these light-hearted melodies work great for a trip to town or a visit to royal court, nothing in the album does much for the mysterious exploration of dungeons or the dangers of combat. Do not expect to be rocking out The Sims: Medieval when your D&D group fights the mighty dragon or explores the grim cave outside of town.
The music on this album tends to run a bit on the shorter end. Unlike some albums, the vast majority of the tracks in this album are two minutes long or less. Although they are pretty short when compared to a lot of music out there, it is not that significant a concern. It is relatively simple to keep four or five of them on loop during an extended encounter in a civilized area. Thus, when your Dungeons & Dragons game heads to town, The Sims: Medieval is there to provide the background flavor.
In the End
The Sims: Medieval offers music for a somewhat limited range of the Dungeons & Dragons game experience. However, it is surprisingly inexpensive and can be acquired quite readily. Keeping all this in mind, this album is a nice compliment to a set of medieval themed albums. It can be surprisingly difficult to find good "around town and castle" music, so I was quite pleased to have this album thrown into my mix. Hopefully, your gaming group will agree. Overall, this is a good album to have for the price.
+(Vol.+1)+-+John+Debney.jpg) |
| The Sims: Medieval is full of "generic medieval" music. |
What to Expect...
Most of my players have come to learn that I prefer video game scores for my Dungeons & Dragons games. Since this type of music usually has to play somewhat dynamically it tends to be the kind of songs that can be readily repeated without becoming quickly irritating. This can be convenient when you want to spend thirty minutes having a meaningful encounter without having to worry about controlling your playlist. In that regard, The Sims: Medieval provides a solid musical foundation.
Having not played The Sims: Medieval, I cannot say in what context these musical arrangements appear in the game. There appears to be a fair mix of "royal court" mixed in with "village montage." A few of the pieces stray a bit from that theme. For example, the track "Incantus Magicus" sounds like a light-hearted take on the world of Harry Potter. Some of the others go off in their own direction. However, they do not stray too far from the medieval village/town theme. This album successfully captures enough of the the musical stylings of a medieval community.
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| If your D&D game has a lot of this, then this album would be perfect for your gaming group. |
Although the score to The Sims: Medieval covers an important part of the fantasy adventure world, there are significant parts of the Dungeons & Dragons experience that it does not touch. Although these light-hearted melodies work great for a trip to town or a visit to royal court, nothing in the album does much for the mysterious exploration of dungeons or the dangers of combat. Do not expect to be rocking out The Sims: Medieval when your D&D group fights the mighty dragon or explores the grim cave outside of town.
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| Strangely, not a lot of this was featured on the album. |
In the End
The Sims: Medieval offers music for a somewhat limited range of the Dungeons & Dragons game experience. However, it is surprisingly inexpensive and can be acquired quite readily. Keeping all this in mind, this album is a nice compliment to a set of medieval themed albums. It can be surprisingly difficult to find good "around town and castle" music, so I was quite pleased to have this album thrown into my mix. Hopefully, your gaming group will agree. Overall, this is a good album to have for the price.
Friday, January 18, 2013
RPG Review: Star Wars: Edge of the Empire
I recently got my hands on the new Star Wars role-playing game by Fantasy Flight Games. This new product, the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Beginner's Game, is specifically an introductory product. As I have spent the past few weeks running introductory sessions of the game at my local game shop, I thought I would take some time and discuss my impressions of the product and, as much as I can, the new Star Wars RPG as it has been so far presented.
The Contents of the Box
The Beginner Game has everything a new group of players needs to get started. There are four character folios, featuring notable Star Wars aliens and "fringe" character types. A bounty hunter, a smuggler, a colonist, and a hired gun make up the arrangement of ne'er-do-wells provided with this set. There are also two additional character folios featured on the game's website. An adventure book provides a potential Game Master content to slowly introduce players to the game. There is also a rulebook that summarizes the basic game rules and provides additional information for a group to use after they finish the introductory adventure. To round it off, there is a sheet of tokens, a map of locations featured in the adventure, and some game dice.
When you look at it, this is essentially the "Red Box" of Fantasy Flight's new Star Wars RPG. It has introductory content that is simple to learn as you go. Once you get the basic system down, it gives you some additional content and rules to keep playing your own adventures. That being said, like the original D&D Red Box, it only goes so far. It will not take a typical gaming group that long to find the limits of what is provided in the Beginner Game rulebook. With the Core Rulebook still not available, interested players will just have to do their best.
There are some less stellar aspects to the contents of the Beginner Game. Unlike the classic Red Box, there is no simple introductory solo play materials to familiarize the would-be Game Master. I never found the solo-play content of the classic D&D Red Box to be especially compelling, but it was a convenient way to learn how to play before inviting my friends over. Although the Star Wars Beginner Game does a great job of introducing the game via its introductory adventure, it requires a Game Master to already have some fluency with the game. As a Game Master, I found it frustrating that I was essentially learning the game as I was trying to explain it. It is a small complaint but one that still managed to frustrate me.
Custom Dice and Multi-Level Success
There is also the matter of the dice. Like the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game, the new Star Wars RPG uses custom dice. These dice are used to build dice pools based on talent, skill, difficulty, and other challenges. There are "good" dice (green, yellow, and light blue) and "bad" dice (purple, red, and black). On any skill check, a player will build a pool of good dice based on his character's abilities and then add bad dice based on the difficulty of the challenge faced.
The dice have a variety of symbols that measure success. What is interesting is that the two-tiered system from WFRP was utilized in this game. Some of the symbols represent success or failure at the task; success and failure symbols cancel each other and the remaining symbol determines the outcome. However, there are also symbols for "advantage" and "threat." This is an independent determination from success or failure. At the most basic level, advantage and threat cause or relieve the character's strain (a measure of fatigue). However, they can also be used to cause other effects that benefit or hinder the character's allies or enemies.
Let me provide an example to illustrate the effect. While aboard a freighter owned by a rather unpleasant Trandoshan, Sasha the Explorer shot her slugthrower at him. The player made his dice pool and rolled, resulting in two successes, three failures, four advantage, and two threat. Sasha had missed (since the failures cancelled out the successes) but had two advantage. Sasha's player decided that although the shot had missed, it hit some steam piping behind the Trandoshan, blowing a bunch of steam in his face and making his next attack more difficult (represented by an added bad die).
As a fan of story games and collaborative narratives in role-playing games, the dice mechanics became a very interesting way for players to adapt the story to their dice. To a certain extent, it became a measured amount of "fail forward" with some "succeed backwards" thrown in for effect. When one player attempted to distract the local junk dealer with Charm, he rolled a number of successes but also a handful of threat (disadvantage). He succeeded at the distraction but creatively interpreted the threat as the junk dealer misinterpreting the charm as a thinly-veiled sexual advance. A group that is flexible in their narrative can use the success/advantage and failure/threat mechanics to really drive interesting narratives within the Star Wars universe.
FFG and Three-book Monte
The interesting thing about what Fantasy Flight has announced regarding the Star Wars RPG is the peculiar way that they seem to be designing and marketing the game. Edge of the Empire is the first of three role-playing game rulebooks that they intend to publish. In addition, they have announced Star Wars: Age of Rebellion and Star Wars: Force and Destiny. Edge of the Empire specifically focuses on smugglers, traders, bounty hunters, and other sorts of "fringers" within the Rebellion-era Star Wars universe. Essentially, FFG has provided us Star Wars: Scoundrels, the role-playing game.
My issue with this release schedule is the manner in which the chose to "break up" the Star Wars RPG. Instead of books focusing on eras of play (the Old Republic, the Clone Wars, or the New Jedi Order, for example), the books are all focused on the Rebellion Era but seemingly divide up the film's characters (Smugglers, Soldiers, and Jedi). Under this schedule, a group that wanted to play a story akin to Star Wars: A New Hope, in which two smugglers, a rebellion diplomat/princess, a Jedi, two droids, and a kid farmer/Jedi-in-training fight the Empire would require all three rulebooks (!). Players trying to create a story set in the Clone Wars, Old Republic, or New Jedi Order eras will likely face similar difficulty given the limits of Edge of the Empire.
My biggest question about the trisected rulebooks is how the final book, Star Wars: Force and Destiny, will work as a stand-alone product set in the Rebellion Era of Star Wars. There are not many force users featured in the original trilogy. Even the expanded universe has added very few additional Jedi to the mix; an entire game group of force-users seems highly improbable given the setting. Of course, as that product is still on the far horizon, I have plenty of time to continue to wonder about it.
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| Star Wars, Fantasy Flight style. |
The Beginner Game has everything a new group of players needs to get started. There are four character folios, featuring notable Star Wars aliens and "fringe" character types. A bounty hunter, a smuggler, a colonist, and a hired gun make up the arrangement of ne'er-do-wells provided with this set. There are also two additional character folios featured on the game's website. An adventure book provides a potential Game Master content to slowly introduce players to the game. There is also a rulebook that summarizes the basic game rules and provides additional information for a group to use after they finish the introductory adventure. To round it off, there is a sheet of tokens, a map of locations featured in the adventure, and some game dice.
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| Everything in the box, plus two bonus characters. |
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| Adventure book and rulebook. Just enough to get you started with the game... |
Custom Dice and Multi-Level Success
There is also the matter of the dice. Like the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game, the new Star Wars RPG uses custom dice. These dice are used to build dice pools based on talent, skill, difficulty, and other challenges. There are "good" dice (green, yellow, and light blue) and "bad" dice (purple, red, and black). On any skill check, a player will build a pool of good dice based on his character's abilities and then add bad dice based on the difficulty of the challenge faced.
 |
| Colorful dice with custom faces. |
 |
| Let's assume somebody failed her skill check on this one. |
Let me provide an example to illustrate the effect. While aboard a freighter owned by a rather unpleasant Trandoshan, Sasha the Explorer shot her slugthrower at him. The player made his dice pool and rolled, resulting in two successes, three failures, four advantage, and two threat. Sasha had missed (since the failures cancelled out the successes) but had two advantage. Sasha's player decided that although the shot had missed, it hit some steam piping behind the Trandoshan, blowing a bunch of steam in his face and making his next attack more difficult (represented by an added bad die).
As a fan of story games and collaborative narratives in role-playing games, the dice mechanics became a very interesting way for players to adapt the story to their dice. To a certain extent, it became a measured amount of "fail forward" with some "succeed backwards" thrown in for effect. When one player attempted to distract the local junk dealer with Charm, he rolled a number of successes but also a handful of threat (disadvantage). He succeeded at the distraction but creatively interpreted the threat as the junk dealer misinterpreting the charm as a thinly-veiled sexual advance. A group that is flexible in their narrative can use the success/advantage and failure/threat mechanics to really drive interesting narratives within the Star Wars universe.
FFG and Three-book Monte
The interesting thing about what Fantasy Flight has announced regarding the Star Wars RPG is the peculiar way that they seem to be designing and marketing the game. Edge of the Empire is the first of three role-playing game rulebooks that they intend to publish. In addition, they have announced Star Wars: Age of Rebellion and Star Wars: Force and Destiny. Edge of the Empire specifically focuses on smugglers, traders, bounty hunters, and other sorts of "fringers" within the Rebellion-era Star Wars universe. Essentially, FFG has provided us Star Wars: Scoundrels, the role-playing game.
 |
| FFG must have been big fans of this kind of thing. |
 |
| Not the sort of campaign your group is expected to play. |
Overall, a Good Introduction
Fantasy Flight has provided a good introductory product for their upcoming Star Wars RPG. It comes with content that familiarizes players with the rules of the new Star Wars RPG in a relatively simple way. It takes the Star Wars universe and carves out a specific niche for players to have adventures in. This niche may not make sit right with the general view of the Star Wars universe, but it is an interesting take on the setting and one that is sure to appeal to a variety of different Star Wars fans. The mechanics are peculiar at first but eventually become an interesting way to share narrative control over the game. Given what has been provided, I look forward to the Core Rulebook when it becomes available later this year.
Fantasy Flight has provided a good introductory product for their upcoming Star Wars RPG. It comes with content that familiarizes players with the rules of the new Star Wars RPG in a relatively simple way. It takes the Star Wars universe and carves out a specific niche for players to have adventures in. This niche may not make sit right with the general view of the Star Wars universe, but it is an interesting take on the setting and one that is sure to appeal to a variety of different Star Wars fans. The mechanics are peculiar at first but eventually become an interesting way to share narrative control over the game. Given what has been provided, I look forward to the Core Rulebook when it becomes available later this year.
 |
| Nobody said I could not run my own version of Star Wars: Edge of the Republic... |
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Legal Issues in Gaming: The Open Game License
Since I started writing about legal issues in tabletop gaming, several people have asked me about the Open Game License because some of my other posts seem inconsistent with what everybody knows about the OGL. After giving it some thought, I have decided that I should address it sooner rather than later. As a background, it may be relevant to review my introduction to copyright and gaming.
The Origin of the OGL
The Open Game License was first given life during the creation of the Third Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Built on the idea of the GPL (GNU's General Public License), Wizards of the Coast intended to create a sort of generic version of the new ruleset, dubbed the d20 System, and allow third parties to create content for that system that is compatible with Dungeons & Dragons. Ryan Dancey, one of the (former) WotC employees who motivated the OGL, spoke to the overall intent of the license:
A Tale of Two Types of Content
Wizards of the Coast provided the Open Game License, version 1.0a, for anybody to utilize in their product. Although it contains a significant amount of legal language, an important part of the license is the first paragraph. The license differentiates between two types of content in role-playing games: Open Game Content and Product Identity content. Generally, the creator of content allows other parties to utilize Open Game Content while Product Identity elements remain protected and controlled. Knowing what falls within each type of content is important to knowing what the OGL does and does not do for content creators.
Product Identity is simple enough of an idea to make it worth discussing first. The OGL uses quite a lot of language to describe PI but it can be more readily summarized as creative expressions, such as characters, stories, and other creative content protected by copyright or trademark. From a legal perspective, Product Identity is not terribly interesting because its essentially just copyrighted content and the OGL does not allow third parties to utilize that content. However, contrast the idea of Product Identity with that of Open Game Content (OGC).
OGL 1.0a, 1(d). Based on this definition, OGC includes a wide variety of content. Most people understand OGC to include all of the game mechanics of a system, from rolling specific dice for specific situations, creating characters in specific ways, and methods for resolving conflicts. When looking at the language of the definition, it is worth contrasting it with the following section of copyright law.
Given all this, it may be helpful to describe Open Game Content and Product Identity a little bit differently. Product Identity is specifically content protected by copyright and trademark while Open Game Content is specifically content that is legally unprotectable or protectable via a patent.
License to Breathe
Perhaps the most interesting aspect about the OGL is the fact that a majority of the content that the license gives permission to use (the Open Game Content) is content that the creator had no legal control over to begin with. As noted podcast Law of the Geek described it, the OGL was a license to breathe. The permissions granted over Open Game Content was no more a grant than had existed without the OGL. If that is the case, what's the point of the OGL?
If somebody were to devise the rules to a role-playing game system and patent it, the OGL would be a way for them to retain their legal protection while allowing third parties to publish content in compliance with the license. Of course, patenting rules to a game has its own share of problems and thats why its rarely ever done. After a brief search through Google Patents, I cannot find anything that could be interpreted as a role-playing game. So, if nobody is patenting the rules to a role-playing game, why the OGL? Simple answer: TSR, Inc.
TSR and the Law: A Brief Historical
TSR, Inc. had a long history of trying trying to protect the D&D line through licensing agreements, trademark disputes, and other legal action. The earliest example comes from a licensing agreement between TSR and a company called Judges Guild. Judges Guild was, for all intents and purposes, the first company to conceive of writing and publishing adventure modules for the D&D game. Founded by a man named Bob Bledsaw in 1976, he specifically went to TSR to seek some sort of agreed license to publish this kind of content. They agreed and the license remained in place until 1982, the point that TSR realized there was money to be made in adventure content and they cancelled the license.
Only a few years after Judges Guild, TSR had a new upstart competitor by the name of Mayfair Games. Founded by an attorney named Darwin Bromley, one of Mayfair's earliest products was a series of AD&D adventures known as Role Aids. Within two years, TSR was already threatening legal action against Mayfair. The result from that dispute was the 1984 trademark agreement, an agreement between Mayfair and TSR that allowed Mayfair to utilize the TSR and D&D trademarks in a limited fashion. The important element in this potential suit and future agreement was that it centered around trademark use and infringement. Nothing here concerned rules, game systems, or the like.
In 1992-93, TSR brought suits against two different companies: Game Designers Workshop, for developing a game by Gary Gygax called Dangerous Dimensions, and Mayfair Games, for allegedly violating the terms of their 1984 trademark agreement. Neither case went to trial but were, instead, settled out of court. Both settlements saw TSR buying out the other parties entire interest in the contested property. From a legal perspective, these cases suggest very little because nothing was ever really decided by a court. But, from the perspective of a fledgling game publisher, these cases tell you that you'd best play ball with TSR or you'll get sued and bought out.
The Concession that is the OGL
When Wizards of the Coast created the OGL in 2000, it did a strange thing. The owner of Dungeons & Dragons was saying to the world, "We will allow you to utilize this game system as long as you abide by this simple, harmless license. We concede." From that concession came the Year of d20. New companies, new imprints, and many new products continued to appear on game store shelves. From what can be seen, the OGL ushered in a new era of Dungeons & Dragons.
Despite this era of good feelings, the reality is that the concession that was the OGL was really no concession at all. The OGL granted no rights or privileges to third party publishers that they did not already have. TSR's history of legal action never focused on the rules of the games or copyright issues but instead on trademark infringement/confusion. WotC did not give up any legitimate legal rights or protections when they allowed the world to publish under the OGL. [Note: They did agree not to bring suit against licensees, but since the suit would be without merit, that is not much of a right to surrender.] The OGL only became the backbone of the modern RPG community because Wizards of the Coast (specifically, Ryan Dancey) convinced the RPG community that it was the best idea.
Conclusion
This brings up the question: what's the point of the OGL? At this point, the OGL is a relevant issue in the modern tabletop RPG community because people think it is necessary. Mutants and Masterminds could have existed without the OGL. Pathfinder could have existed without the OGL. Fate could have existed without the OGL. 13th Age could have existed without the OGL. All the OGL did was let people know that they could do the things they could already do.
Does the tabletop RPG community need the OGL? Probably not. Like several legal minds have said, it's nothing more than a license to breathe. But, for a community that thought it could not breathe without permission, the OGL serves an important purpose. It let's the gaming community feel safe about publishing game content, something that has had a long history of being a quasi-dangerous game.
The statements made in this article are the opinions of the author (and the author alone) and do not constitute legal advice. Comments posted on this article do not create an attorney-client relationship. Much of the historical information in this post come from a series of articles written by Shannon Appelcline. For additional historical information, look for his upcoming four volume work Designers & Dragons, coming in 2013.
The Origin of the OGL
The Open Game License was first given life during the creation of the Third Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Built on the idea of the GPL (GNU's General Public License), Wizards of the Coast intended to create a sort of generic version of the new ruleset, dubbed the d20 System, and allow third parties to create content for that system that is compatible with Dungeons & Dragons. Ryan Dancey, one of the (former) WotC employees who motivated the OGL, spoke to the overall intent of the license:
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| The Trademark. |
The net result is that D20 becomes a rosetta stone for making products that will be compatible with Dungeons & Dragons, without requiring us to issue a blanket license for the D&D trademarks. In other words, we want to use the trademarks of D&D to hold the value of the business, rather than the rules themselves.In this way, Wizards of the Coast would make a remarkable change from previous legal stances regarding Dungeons & Dragons and the law. TSR, Inc. had a reputation for threatening lawsuits against people releasing D&D adventures, modules, or other content without a proper license. The OGL as presented to the public seemed to be a very public way to change the relationship between the owners of D&D and the larger community. Like the GPL, the OGL was intended to make the d20 System the Open Source of the tabletop RPG world.
A Tale of Two Types of Content
Wizards of the Coast provided the Open Game License, version 1.0a, for anybody to utilize in their product. Although it contains a significant amount of legal language, an important part of the license is the first paragraph. The license differentiates between two types of content in role-playing games: Open Game Content and Product Identity content. Generally, the creator of content allows other parties to utilize Open Game Content while Product Identity elements remain protected and controlled. Knowing what falls within each type of content is important to knowing what the OGL does and does not do for content creators.
Product Identity is simple enough of an idea to make it worth discussing first. The OGL uses quite a lot of language to describe PI but it can be more readily summarized as creative expressions, such as characters, stories, and other creative content protected by copyright or trademark. From a legal perspective, Product Identity is not terribly interesting because its essentially just copyrighted content and the OGL does not allow third parties to utilize that content. However, contrast the idea of Product Identity with that of Open Game Content (OGC).
"Open Game Content" means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity.
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| This important process is what the OGL is all about sharing, right? |
In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.17 USC §102(b). The definition of OGC also includes some suspicious patent language, such as referencing a specific embodiment or prior art. Perhaps, a better way to describe OGC is to say it includes all of the content that does not fall under copyright or trademark protection, including any patentable content, and anything else specified by the creator.
Given all this, it may be helpful to describe Open Game Content and Product Identity a little bit differently. Product Identity is specifically content protected by copyright and trademark while Open Game Content is specifically content that is legally unprotectable or protectable via a patent.
License to Breathe
Perhaps the most interesting aspect about the OGL is the fact that a majority of the content that the license gives permission to use (the Open Game Content) is content that the creator had no legal control over to begin with. As noted podcast Law of the Geek described it, the OGL was a license to breathe. The permissions granted over Open Game Content was no more a grant than had existed without the OGL. If that is the case, what's the point of the OGL?
If somebody were to devise the rules to a role-playing game system and patent it, the OGL would be a way for them to retain their legal protection while allowing third parties to publish content in compliance with the license. Of course, patenting rules to a game has its own share of problems and thats why its rarely ever done. After a brief search through Google Patents, I cannot find anything that could be interpreted as a role-playing game. So, if nobody is patenting the rules to a role-playing game, why the OGL? Simple answer: TSR, Inc.
 |
| This is why people *think* we need the OGL. |
TSR, Inc. had a long history of trying trying to protect the D&D line through licensing agreements, trademark disputes, and other legal action. The earliest example comes from a licensing agreement between TSR and a company called Judges Guild. Judges Guild was, for all intents and purposes, the first company to conceive of writing and publishing adventure modules for the D&D game. Founded by a man named Bob Bledsaw in 1976, he specifically went to TSR to seek some sort of agreed license to publish this kind of content. They agreed and the license remained in place until 1982, the point that TSR realized there was money to be made in adventure content and they cancelled the license.
Only a few years after Judges Guild, TSR had a new upstart competitor by the name of Mayfair Games. Founded by an attorney named Darwin Bromley, one of Mayfair's earliest products was a series of AD&D adventures known as Role Aids. Within two years, TSR was already threatening legal action against Mayfair. The result from that dispute was the 1984 trademark agreement, an agreement between Mayfair and TSR that allowed Mayfair to utilize the TSR and D&D trademarks in a limited fashion. The important element in this potential suit and future agreement was that it centered around trademark use and infringement. Nothing here concerned rules, game systems, or the like.
 |
| This is what it looks like to publish a product for AD&D without a license or OGL. |
The Concession that is the OGL
When Wizards of the Coast created the OGL in 2000, it did a strange thing. The owner of Dungeons & Dragons was saying to the world, "We will allow you to utilize this game system as long as you abide by this simple, harmless license. We concede." From that concession came the Year of d20. New companies, new imprints, and many new products continued to appear on game store shelves. From what can be seen, the OGL ushered in a new era of Dungeons & Dragons.
Despite this era of good feelings, the reality is that the concession that was the OGL was really no concession at all. The OGL granted no rights or privileges to third party publishers that they did not already have. TSR's history of legal action never focused on the rules of the games or copyright issues but instead on trademark infringement/confusion. WotC did not give up any legitimate legal rights or protections when they allowed the world to publish under the OGL. [Note: They did agree not to bring suit against licensees, but since the suit would be without merit, that is not much of a right to surrender.] The OGL only became the backbone of the modern RPG community because Wizards of the Coast (specifically, Ryan Dancey) convinced the RPG community that it was the best idea.
Conclusion
This brings up the question: what's the point of the OGL? At this point, the OGL is a relevant issue in the modern tabletop RPG community because people think it is necessary. Mutants and Masterminds could have existed without the OGL. Pathfinder could have existed without the OGL. Fate could have existed without the OGL. 13th Age could have existed without the OGL. All the OGL did was let people know that they could do the things they could already do.
Does the tabletop RPG community need the OGL? Probably not. Like several legal minds have said, it's nothing more than a license to breathe. But, for a community that thought it could not breathe without permission, the OGL serves an important purpose. It let's the gaming community feel safe about publishing game content, something that has had a long history of being a quasi-dangerous game.
The statements made in this article are the opinions of the author (and the author alone) and do not constitute legal advice. Comments posted on this article do not create an attorney-client relationship. Much of the historical information in this post come from a series of articles written by Shannon Appelcline. For additional historical information, look for his upcoming four volume work Designers & Dragons, coming in 2013.
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