The official OGL for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition was announced on January 12, and included an update to the Systems Reference Documents (SRD 5.0). The SRD now outlines what third party publishers can officially include in their releases. Wizards outlined plans for the OGL with the 2014 release of 5E, but has been silent on the subject until now (see “'WotC Lays Out OGL Plans for 'D&D'”).
Wolfgang Baur, Publisher of Kobold Press told ICv2 via email. “I'm very happy about the OGL announcement, and Kobold Press is pleased to continue supporting 5th Edition. I think the announcement of the new OGL may increase sales of [our] adventures, or our player supplements. The bigger deal for us is that it comes in time for our upcoming hardcover monster collection, Tome of Beasts, which we'll preview at the GAMA Trade Show in March.”
Joseph Goodman, Publisher of Goodman Games echoed those sentiments. “I’m glad Wizards has opened up an official avenue to support the world’s most popular RPG. I think it will be a positive thing for Goodman Games’ line of Fifth Edition Fantasy modules, as it continues to build the overall popularity of 5E. Our Fifth Edition Fantasy adventures were the first 5E modules to be sold by a third-party publisher, and the first few are already in their second printing. It’s nice to see official acknowledgment of the OGL approach we’ve already taken. My only regret is that the official approach does not include a unified, consumer-friendly compatibility logo.”
The online Dungeon Masters Guild website, hosted by Onebookshelf/DriveThruRPG, not only includes existing official D&D Adventurer League releases, it also allows players to create and self-publish their own adventures and supplements, splitting any purchase price proceeds with Wizards and DriveThruRPG.
When asked if they were concerned about the self-publishing option on the new website as competition, Baur said, “Dungeon Masters Guild seems aimed primarily at Realms fans. It's definitely an interesting experiment.”
