Cornuthaum said:
Alzrius said:
Well, the GSL just came out - this is the third-party license for 4E.
It's actually more restrictive than I thought. Several portions of it continue to bind the licensee even after the license has been terminated...in perpetuity.
Fuck WotC. Fuck them up their stupid asses.
Can Has Explaination-burger?
Most of the insanity in it is stuff we saw coming. That said, there are still things that make it incredibly bad. Here are just a few points:
1) If you publish(ed) a book under the OGL, publishing it under the GSL means that you agree to stop publishing the OGL version
forever - that is one of the many aspects of the GSL that binds you even after termination of the license - even if your right to publish under the GSL is later revoked by WotC. And guess what? An "OGL Conversion" is stipulated to count as anything with the same
or similar title, product line name, or has ANY OF THE SAME CONTENT! That means that if even a single monster/magic item/feat in your new 4E book was one you've published in an OGL book, you've just given away your right to not only produce that OGL book ever again, but also that entire line of products.
2) You cannot redefine any of the terms listed in the GSL. That means you're going to have to tip-toe around renaming anything you write that's based around existing content. If you want a variant warlock class, for example, you can write it, but you need to name it something else. That might not be so bad, but take it in conjunction with point #3...
3) You can't reproduce any text from the SRD/WotC's rulebooks. You can only use the list of enclosed terms, and may reference the section of the appropriate Core Rulebook that it's in. So you can't reprint the stat blocks of any monster, for example. You can print the changes to the stat blocks if you modify the monster with class levels, templates, etc. but apparently just the mathematical changes. This means you'll be doing a lot of flipping back and forth between your books. This also means that original content of yours will have to be almost totally original, since you can't use anything from the Core Rulebooks as written.
4) Viral third-party content is gone. That means that if another third-party publisher writes a cool new class/monster/etc. and you want to use it in your third-party product, the GSL gives you no mechanism for doing so. You need to work out an independent agreement with that other publisher to use what they wrote.
5) The GSL binds you to assist WotC with protecting their IP rights. This isn't stipulated to be limited to the GSL or anything; it's just a blanket statement (section 10.3) that you MUST help WotC protect their intellectual properties. Worse, this is another section that you are bound by FOREVER.
6) The GSL still doesn't give publishers the right to use various terms that were excluded under the OGL. Remember how people couldn't use the terms githyanki, githzerai, beholder, etc., and people were excited because the GSL would let them? Guess what, it doesn't. In fact, they've also removed the names of several additional creatures, including all of the various types of demons and devils, and the Tarrasque!
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's so restrictive that even some of the most strident third-parties who supported the GSL are now backing away from it. It's damn near insane of WotC to release something this binding.