58
votes
Accepted
What was going on with D&D's leaked OGL 1.1 in January 2023? How does it affect me?
Not at all
As of January 27, 2023 Wizards announced they would not be modifying OGL 1.0a or revoke it. Instead, they put the SRD 5.1 under Creative Commons.
We are leaving OGL 1.0a in place, as is. ...
- 19.9k
38
votes
How can I make use of the material that doesn't fall under the OGL?
Sure there is—pay Wizards of the Coast to license that material.
The Open Game License is free, but only covers a subset of the game. Often it covers just one example of each kind of thing. In order ...
- 361k
37
votes
Accepted
Can I mention Dungeons & Dragons in a D&D 5e OGL product description?
It appears that you cannot.
The issue here is not copyright. Titles and short phrases generally aren't protected by copyright — there is trademark law for that. Dungeons & Dragons certainly is a ...
- 30.1k
33
votes
What editions of D&D are derived from the d20 system?
You’re conflating several issues. There’s Dungeons & Dragons (in its various editions), the d20 System, the d20 System Trademark License (with associated d20 System Trademark Guide), the Open Game ...
- 361k
33
votes
What is Dungeons & Dragons' unique intellectual property?
I'm not a lawyer but I play one on the internet. For the purpose of this discussion, intellectual property breaks down into two concepts that are often confused: copyright and trademark.
Copyright is ...
- 78.3k
30
votes
How to enter the OGL into my work
The OGL itself contains full instructions on using the OGL
Using the Open Gaming License requires following its instructions to the letter. That's the nature of a license: it tells you exactly and ...
- 244k
28
votes
How compatible are the published D&D 5e rules with the rules in the SRD?
The SRD has a few big contradictions with the core books, plus many minor inconsistencies
It's missing all changes made in errata since 2016
The Systems Reference Document was last updated to version ...
- 50.3k
27
votes
Accepted
Can the original WotC-published SRD RTF files be found anywhere?
The Internet Archive has a deliberate Collection of the original WotC SRD RTF files in its library, separately from the web-archiving project of the Wayback Machine.
(Although the Wayback Machine is ...
- 421
26
votes
What was going on with D&D's leaked OGL 1.1 in January 2023? How does it affect me?
According to leaks—not official statements, though the leaks look pretty authoritative and Wizards has said “we’ll have a statement soon” rather than “no definitely not” so something here is probably ...
- 361k
23
votes
Accepted
Are the other wizard arcane traditions not part of the SRD?
Yes, the details of the other traditions are not licensed under the OGL. The presence or absence of something in the SRD is the literal definition of what parts of D&D 5e have been licensed under ...
- 244k
23
votes
Accepted
Which D&D monsters are copyrighted?
The version and stat blocks of the monsters found in any Wizards of the Coast literature would be copyrights held by Wizards of the Coast. Some of the monsters they include in the game are based on ...
- 40.6k
22
votes
Accepted
Does only mentioning a work constitute OGL "usage"?
What you're describing is Nominative Use — a use that involves only naming a thing.
The OGL doesn't control or limit nominative use at all — because the name a book wants to be called by others isn't ...
- 244k
22
votes
Which D&D monsters are copyrighted?
All the monster descriptions are
Copyright applies to any work that is fixed in a tangible medium. Even if you describe a creature from the public domain in such a medium - like text - then your ...
- 46.9k
19
votes
If Drow and Duergar are allowed as monsters in the D&D 5e SRD, are they allowed as subraces as well?
You may not reprint the official Drow and Duergar subrace options
The monsters and the subraces are different mechanically, and those non-OGL subrace mechanics are exactly what you’re hoping to use. ...
- 244k
18
votes
Accepted
How compatible are the published D&D 5e rules with the rules in the SRD?
The SRD does not contradict official rules.
The official (English) SRD rules do not contradict the official rules from the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual or Dungeon Master's Guide, excepting for ...
18
votes
What was going on with D&D's leaked OGL 1.1 in January 2023? How does it affect me?
Wizards of the Coast has published a blog post backing away from some of the changes, including the retroactive license change and the royalty structure.
According to them, this is all just a big ...
- 779
18
votes
Accepted
Can I use initialisms such as DMG, PHB and MM in third-party OGL content?
Not under the OGL
Up front, you are going to want to get a lawyer for this. We can do general legal education here, but few of us are lawyers (I’m certainly not), and even those who are, aren’t your ...
- 361k
17
votes
Accepted
Does referencing specific monster actions break the 5e SRD/OGL?
Anything in the SRD is open-game content, and thus you can use any of it in any OGL-licensed product. So if you can find those actions in the SRD, you can use the any or all of the text describing ...
- 361k
17
votes
Accepted
With the new Creative Commons SRD and the OGL no longer applying, can I name spells from Tasha's Cauldron in my supplement book?
The phrase "Synaptic Static" does not appear in the rules published under Creative Commons. It means that the new license does not apply to the spell name or description in any way.
This ...
- 26.2k
15
votes
Accepted
Some core rulebook material isn't in the SRD. Is it licensed under the OGL?
The SRDs are intentionally incomplete.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and you should probably talk to a copyright lawyer before publishing derivative works for profit.
The point of the D&D SRDs ...
- 48.9k
15
votes
Can the original WotC-published SRD RTF files be found anywhere?
Yes, thanks to the Wayback Machine (at least for now)
Fortunately it doesn't seem that Wizard's robots.txt policies or anything else have precluded the SRD page and downloads from being archived by ...
- 66.5k
14
votes
Accepted
How can I reference a Monster Manual stat block in an OGL adventure?
The simplest way to reference monsters is to follow the lead of WotC published adventures and not include page numbers at all. At the beginning of your publication, explain your writing convention ("...
- 27.8k
14
votes
What is Dungeons & Dragons' unique intellectual property?
Items claimed as "product identity" by Wizards of the Coast
I am not a lawyer, and not even playing one on the internet (I am playing a Hobgoblin).
Wizards is claiming the following items to ...
- 135k
13
votes
How can I make use of the material that doesn't fall under the OGL?
Here is the guide to the use of Wizards of the Coast intellectual property:
https://company.wizards.com/fancontentpolicy
Two parts that are most interesting to you are:
Can I use all of Wizards’ IP?
...
- 26.2k
13
votes
Can a translation of a text declared as OGC be declared as Product Identity?
I am not a laywer, but I believe the Open Game License specifies that translations of Open Game Content must also be Open Game Content:
"Open Game Content" means [...], and means any work ...
- 361k
12
votes
Online SRD vs Official PDF SRD
*Disclaimer, I do freelance work for the owner of the Open Gaming Network websites, including d20pfsrd.com, 5esrd.com, and others.
5eSRD.com is a compilation of Open Gaming Content from multiple ...
- 2,247
12
votes
Accepted
Can I use UA material if I'm writing a D&D 5E OGL supplement to be sold on DriveThruRPG or Amazon?
No; UA is copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast, and not publishable under the OGL.
The only official D&D fifth edition content that the Open Gaming License (OGL) lets you republish is the content ...
- 50.3k
11
votes
Accepted
Are monster names covered as identity under the OGL or otherwise copyrighted?
Aboleths are open-game content, per the D&D 3.5e System Reference Document. That is why you can find it on various SRD sites, for example d20srd.org, and also why OGL games like Pathfinder can ...
- 361k
10
votes
SRD summary translation legal?
Yes
As long as you satisfy the requirements of the license, the OGL specifically grants permission to translate open game content.
From section 1, definitions part "g":
"Use", &...
- 3,474
10
votes
Accepted
What does the OGL mean for things based on d20 elements, but which aren't games?
Here's the thing about the OGL. You don't actually need to use it just to reuse unpatented game mechanics.
What the OGL does is provide what's known in legal terms as a safe harbor, in return for ...
- 2,247
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