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Old 01-13-2023, 05:11 AM   #1
Anders
 
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Default Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

Following the controversy around Wizards of the Coast decision to unilaterally change their Open Gaming License, Paizo has decided to strike back with the own, Open RPG Creative License.

https://paizo.com/community/blog/v57...en-RPG-License

Is this bad? Good? What will it mean for the future of roleplaying?
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Old 01-13-2023, 05:38 AM   #2
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

As they state in the article, the Open RPG Creative License (ORC) is still in the draft stage and they're also looking for a non-profit entity to own the license itself. The first part is important because it means we don't know how it will compare to any variant of the OGL. The second part is important because it means they're trying to look for someone who won't alter the terms of the license in order to profit from it.

If they manage to combine those two parts into something reasonable, they could end up with something that's even more beneficial for the entire roleplaying scene than the OGL has been so far.
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Old 01-13-2023, 06:10 AM   #3
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

Of course, there was already creative commons, which I've been using for my own free releases since it was made public in 2002. (Before that, GPL.) If you want freedom, there are already court-tested licences out there and you don't need to write a new one.
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Old 01-13-2023, 07:16 AM   #4
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

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Of course, there was already creative commons, which I've been using for my own free releases since it was made public in 2002. (Before that, GPL.) If you want freedom, there are already court-tested licences out there and you don't need to write a new one.
The potential benefit of creating a license specific to a niche is that you can tailor it to suit the needs of that niche, instead of having to work around broadly defined areas in a more generic license.

Both GPL (GNU or otherwise) and Creative Commons have some clauses that could be troublesome for a publisher. Releasing an additional open license gives publishers more options to pick the one that suits their needs the best. Each available license obviously also adds more upfront time to pick the right one, but once the most useful license has been chosen the amount of work needed is the same.
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Old 01-13-2023, 07:33 AM   #5
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

To me this seems like the perfect time for Steve Jackson Games to step in and release a new and improved GURPS (or rerelease the last edition). I can't think of anything better than a Generic Universal rules system at a time like this. :D
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Old 01-13-2023, 08:26 AM   #6
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

Making GURPS 5th edition is a two-year job. GURPS just doesn't have the manpower to do that.
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Old 01-13-2023, 02:10 PM   #7
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

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Originally Posted by warswics View Post
To me this seems like the perfect time for Steve Jackson Games to step in and release a new and improved GURPS (or rerelease the last edition). I can't think of anything better than a Generic Universal rules system at a time like this. :D
An open licensed version of GURPS would be pretty sweet, however...
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Old 01-13-2023, 02:15 PM   #8
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

One other thing... as Steve Jackson is trained as a lawyer (if memory serves), I would be quite interested in his take on all of this. I keep checking the Illuminator, but nothing so far.

Then again, staying out of this might be the more sanity-saving maneuver.
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Old 01-13-2023, 02:41 PM   #9
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

I know very little of the Paizo games. I was always under the impression the original Pathfinder was pretty similar to D&D 3.5. From my reading of the announcement, are they saying the latest edition is dissimilar enough from D&D to be its own product? For those that play Pathfinder, do you think this is true? And do you think a court would agree?
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Old 01-14-2023, 04:16 AM   #10
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Default Re: Paizo unveils new, perpetual and irrevocable gaming license

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Originally Posted by KDLadage View Post
An open licensed version of GURPS would be pretty sweet, however...
It would, but I think it's vanishingly unlikely. (Which is fair enough even if it's not to my taste; Steve and Phil get to decide what to do with their company's products.)

I am amused to see Chaosium jumping on the "open" bandwagon after their horribly restrictive BRP licence of 2020 which basically killed the third-party BRP publishing halo. And if you want to publish for Call of Cthulhu, you can be small enough to be on MiskRepo or huge enough to pay big-time licencing fees, nothing in between. Again, it's their right to do that, but it's not consistent with openness.
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