The news that Hasbro is considering significant limits to the Dungeons and Dragons Open Gaming License is not a big surprise. Holistic Design used the OGL for WOTC’s D20 Modern system long ago (no, not for Fading Suns). We wanted to explore some modern themes (terrorism, the impact of war on individuals, clash of cultures, etc.) and it provided an easy way to do so. Our Colombia, Afghanistan and Somalia books were not big financial successes, but creating them gave all of us greater insights into those complex situations as well as what people who fought there suffered.
While I worry about creators who risk having their main income sources curtailed, I do look forward to what they might come up with if they reject whatever terms the new OGL requires. We used the Modern D20 system both for its ease of use, and so we could focus on creating source material instead of rules. However, had we developed our own rules for these books, combat would have no doubt been deadlier (leading more players to try to resolve conflict without fighting); it would have caused significant trauma; and we would have tried to more accurately represent the chaos of combat.
Good luck to all the OGL creators. I can’t wait to play what comes next.
