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1. Embed this notice
   silverwizard (silverwizard@convenient.email)'s status on Friday, 13-Jan-2023 23:31:50 JST silverwizard
   The most annoying thing about the current "wizards of the coast is evil" debacle is that this like.... like... uh... our third rodeo? This century? Just from Dungeons and Dragons?
   • Embed this notice
     Patch Arcana (patcharcana@furry.engineer)'s status on Friday, 13-Jan-2023 23:58:47 JST Patch Arcana

     in reply to

     @silverwizard I really enjoy all the "kids these days" takes I'm seeing from the kids these days who don't understand that WotC has always been like this, they do this at least once an edition, and that the d20 system is at best only loosely coupled to D&D itself and even still is only one of dozens of RPG engines, not even counting stupid niche ones like mine.

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     silverwizard (silverwizard@convenient.email)'s status on Friday, 13-Jan-2023 23:58:47 JST silverwizard

     in reply to

     • Patch Arcana
     @patcharcana The important thing is that Wizards can't copyright D&D.
     
     They can copyright their writing down of D&D - but not D&D.
     
     And the core conflict the OGL solved was people having incredibly petty and stupid arguments about what that was, and then the entire budgets of gaming companies going to lawyers instead of books.
     
     Fun Fact that this kind of fuckery is why most card based games have a mechanic called Exhaust
     
     You see - you can't copyright "turn a card on its side to indicate you've used it" but you *can* trademark the term Tap to mean that.
     
     Because Wizards sucks.
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     Patch Arcana (patcharcana@furry.engineer)'s status on Saturday, 14-Jan-2023 00:03:11 JST Patch Arcana

     in reply to

     @silverwizard This is my general point.

     Even if they somehow managed to kill *their specific implementation of TTRPG rulesets* they still can't kill analagous operations and they DEFINITELY have no impact on mechanics that are entirely novel to theirs.

     If WotC fucking imploded tomorrow, CoC and all the other BRP games would remain entirely whatever.

   • Embed this notice
     silverwizard (silverwizard@convenient.email)'s status on Saturday, 14-Jan-2023 00:03:11 JST silverwizard

     in reply to

     • Patch Arcana
     @patcharcana No no! It's worse than that!
     
     Wizard's wants a piece of that sweet sweet Critical Role action!
     
     Let's say that Critical Role decides that it's not worth it, and decides to leave D&D.
     
     They don't need to go from Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons to Call of Cthulhu or Burning Wheel or whatever. They can go to Nith Nedition Nungeons and Nagons, a game with *exactly the same rules* as D&D, but owned by them, and be legally in the clear
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     Patch Arcana (patcharcana@furry.engineer)'s status on Saturday, 14-Jan-2023 00:11:05 JST Patch Arcana

     in reply to

     @silverwizard If you think I'm saying otherwise I've not expressed myself clearly.

     Nobody owns the concept of rolling dice, and most of the premises of High Fantasy are so old that they're public domain where they aren't just straight folklore. That's why the old 3.5 SRD included basically the entire game except for anything where a specific character or a truly novel creature (like the Illithids) was mentioned.

     So we can't use Tanis Half-elven specifically without giving them a cut. wgaf

   • Embed this notice
     silverwizard (silverwizard@convenient.email)'s status on Saturday, 14-Jan-2023 00:11:05 JST silverwizard

     in reply to

     • Patch Arcana
     @patcharcana Sorry, I'm trying to make the larger point.
     There's a company called USAopoly that just... makes knockoff Monopoly, because Parker Brothers owns the pictures of a train and the free parking picture, not the rules of Monopoly.
     
     The main thrust of this is basically, "Wizards barely owns shit, and they're throwing a fuck of a fit over how they wanna get paid more"
     
     I think we're saying the same thing but not quite getting it, I dunno. It's when you say "Public Domain" which this isn't even, this is freer than that.
   • Embed this notice
     silverwizard (silverwizard@convenient.email)'s status on Saturday, 14-Jan-2023 00:12:17 JST silverwizard

     in reply to

     • Patch Arcana
     @patcharcana OK - sure - yes - everyone should be not playing D&D - that has been the case since TSR.
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     Patch Arcana (patcharcana@furry.engineer)'s status on Saturday, 14-Jan-2023 00:12:18 JST Patch Arcana

     in reply to

     @silverwizard I'm only mentioning other engines because I have a vested interest in promoting them and because the Kids These Days needs reminding that this shit isn't even the original underpinning of the hobby, never mind a foundation of it.