First, let me start by saying what ever Wizards of the Coast wanted to achieve with the new OGL update missed the mark by a mile. I am also not going to go over the current OGL debate of everything going on, there is already a lot of good (and bad…) information floating around the internet. No, this is going to be more about what the future holds for D&D and tabletop gaming in general.
So before we get into the future of tabletop gaming, we do have to understand a few things about the current state of D&D and why there is so much outrage surrounding this charade. D&D for a lot of us is part of our lives, we grew up playing and it helped shape who we became. It allowed us to explore sides of ourselves and understand at a fundamental level who we were in a relatively safe environment. While i may not speak for everyone, I know that for a lot of us, D&D is more than just a game.
This is why there is so much outrage at Wizards of the Coast. They have effectively ruined decades of trust that was built up in something that, to many of us, is more than just a game. And just like in life, once trust is broken, it never goes back to where it was no matter how much you apologize. The several attempts by the executives running D&D to set things right have fallen on deaf ears mostly because of the amount of pain they have caused by their actions. This is the core of the problem they face and why it will take years of work in order to repair.
So what does this mean for tabletop gaming in general? Well it means that your going to see companies like Kobold Press and others working to create their own system. It means soon your going to have a lot more choice when it comes to tabletop rpg’s and I for one can’t wait to see what great things rise from the ashes of this debacle. Who knows, maybe Your Friendly Dragon may try their hand at creating their own system.
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