The Essence of the GSL

locations, creatures) in their products. It was originally released in the summer of 2008 and very few companies signed it. In fact, it was roundly criticized as draconian and grossly unfair to the 3rd party publishers. WOTC quickly withdrew the GSL for “revision” and released a new version this week.

There are some improvements over the original document, but I am still very, very unimpressed. A particularly onerous section that forced 3PP to remove/destroy old inventory when they leave the GSL contract now has a 6-month grace period to allow them to sell off non-compliant inventory. This is an improvement, but then you get down to the truly evil section.

By the way, I should mention that I am skipping some sections related to the SRD, logo use and “approved” content (ie no sex, excessive violence, hurting anyones feelings, etc) and the clause that allows Wizards to produce a competing product “substantially similar” to what the 3PP publishes. No, I think that true evil in the GSL begins at section 9.3. I reprint it here for your convenience.

9.3 Protection of Wizards’ Rights. Licensee will assist Wizards to the extent necessary or as requested by Wizards to protect any of Wizards’ rights in and to Wizards Intellectual Property. Wizards will reimburse Licensee for any reasonable out-of-pocket costs incurred as a result of providing such assistance, provided that Wizards has approved such costs in advance. Licensee will not institute any suit or take any action on account of any such infringements or imitations, or otherwise institute any suit or take any action relating to Wizards Intellectual Property. Licensee will take no action that will harm, misuse or bring into disrepute the activities, properties or products of Wizards or Wizards Intellectual Property.

Yes, once you sign the GSL, you are now a potential “draftee” in any IP infringement action Wizards undertakes. They kindly offer to pay “reasonable” expenses incurred by the 3PP. Lovely, letting lawyers decide what is reasonable is like letting pigs decide how much slop to eat. No thank you.

Just as a thought experiment, let us assume you want to take Wizards to court and let the lawyers sort out a problem between the two of you. Problem is, WOTC picks the venue and you gave up the right to trial by jury.

18. Choice of Law; Jurisdiction. This License will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, USA, without reference to its choice of law rules. Licensee  irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal and state courts located at King County, Washington with respect to any claim or suit brought by Licensee arising out of or related to this License, and Licensee agrees not to commence or prosecute any such claim or suit other than in the aforementioned courts. LICENSEE EXPRESSLY WAIVES ITS RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL OF ANY DISPUTE, CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION RELATED TO OR ARISING OUT OF THIS LICENSE.

The uppercase lettering was in the original document. At least they are being upfront about what you give up.

I am done. I cannot read this thing any longer without spasms of laughter. I do not t speak for anyone except myself, but I would never sign this contract. There is too much power in the hands of Wizards and too little benefit to the 3PP. There is one great thing that might come of the new GSL If this version is an unpopular as the last one ( and I believe it will be), then more companies will start producing their own systems and worlds and variety can only be good for the gaming community.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Wizards of the Coast Game System License

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

For those coming late to the party the GSL is the license that WOTC makes 3rd party publishers sign before they can sell anything that uses the 4E D&D system. You should read the original GSL. It provides some context for my suggestions. If you are not interested in reading a legal document or old blog posts to catch up on the GSL controversy , let me sum it up for you: it is an evil document. Incredibly unpopular with publishers and pulled within a few weeks of release for “revision.”

Let us move past this old document to the new, “Trask Built” version.

{Lots of Legal Boilerplate, on to the good stuff }

1. Wizards will notify all signatories of any changes to the GSL by mail.

No, this is not a major burden for Wizards. I personally contacted/visited most of the RPG companies in the English-speaking world setting up rpgseek.com. There are less than 400. Not a big deal to do a mass mailing. The original version of “we change it and you have to keep checking back to see if we changed anything” is just rude.

2. You can reprint entire unaltered blocks of text from the SRD, including page numbers for reference.

I get that WOTC wants to sell books, but preventing publishers from reprinting power descriptions and the like was just annoying.

2. You may print an OGL and 4E version of the game simultaneously.

This one really annoyed me in the original GSL. If 4E is so much better than 3.5 in every possible way, what harm does a 3.5 version of the same book cause? Clearly no one is going to buy the “inferior” version, right?

4. “Wizards of the Coast” has final approval on all books published under the GSL. All works must be submitted for approval to the “Community Standards Department” before publication. WOTC reserves the right to require edits before release of any offensive material.

Wizards included a vague “community standards of decency” clause in the original GSL. Vague is not acceptable. Either you let people print what they want or you demand approval on every product, with feedback to fix the problems. Vague is just too dangerous in this age of litigation.

5. If there is a lawsuit between WOTC and the 3rd party publisher, arbitration is the venue of choice. Legal costs are determined by the arbiter.

I am not a lawyer, but even I know that lawyers and trials are expensive. Here is the original GSL’s version of this, “Licensee will be responsible for all legal costs, including Wizards’ attorneys’ fees, associated with any action required by Wizards to enforce the terms of this License.” No small company can afford to pay the legal bills during a protracted suit for both sides! It basically made WOTC lawsuit proof from anyone other than a large company. Arbitration is fair, cost-effective idea.

6. Changes to this document are NOT retroactive. All changes require signatories sign the license again. Currently published products do not have to conform to the new requirements

It will be a cold, dark day in Hell before I ever sign a contract that can change without my consent. Of course, it is very unlikely WOTC would do such a thing, but can you afford to take the risk?

Such is my vision for the new 4E GSL. I am sure there are those that disagree with me or think they have a better idea on how to handle these issues. Feel free to make your feelings known in the comments.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Wizards of the Coast announces a forthcoming revision to the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Game System License (GSL) and System Reference Document (SRD).

“We recognize the important role third party publishing support plays in the success of the 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. We have listened to the community and our valued colleagues and have taken their concerns and recommendations to heart. Our commitment to the health of the industry and hobby gaming lifestyle is reflected in the revisions to the Game System License.”
–Linae Foster D&D Licensing Manager

While the delivery date is not yet firmly established, the revised documents will be available in the very near future.

The new fan site policy, to be made public at a later date, will be posted upon completion.

Happy day! The GSL is the single most restrictive and unfair agreement I ever read and most publishers rightly avoided it. I give Kenzerco credit for leading the charge against this evil document. I am not certain, but I am sure their strong resistance inspired others to either reject the GSL outright or take a “wait and see approach.” I am sure WOTC felt the heat.  With luck this means the new version will allow are more “SRD” approach to the rules. Although I would settle for the ability  to reprint powers and abilities in a module and reference a page number in the PHB. Yes, both were banned under the old GSL. That is what happens when lawyers become involved. Madness ensues.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

From the description, LPJ Design is pitching this as  a logo for those companies that produce 4th Edition, but do not sign the 4th Edition GSL. See my Kenzerco post for more information.

When I went to the link (here ) there was a “not found” error. It looks like it was posted  and then removed. I do not know the reason for the removal, but thanks to Google’s cache, you can still take a look at it.

Anyway, decide for yourself if you think this is a viable idea.

Here is the link to the google cache version , but I also reprinted it below.

With all the recent changes due to the release of 4e, the GSL and the OGL, we here at Louis Porter Jr. Design have decided to create an all new 4^th Edition System Compatible logo which can be used by any and all 3rd party RPG publisher, completely and absolutely free of charge, with any of their products that they wish to support the 4^th Edition of the world most popular RPG, but not the GSL in a similar fashion to Kenzer & Company and Adamant Entertainment recent 4^th Edition release.

The reason for this new 4^th Edition System Compatible logo is the basic failure of the GSL and it use, unify and support of the 3^rd party RPG Publishers who wish do to 4^th Edition System Compatible material but do not support the GSL. This logo; as in similar fashion with the OGL 3.5 System Compatible logo; easily brands and makes 4^th Edition System Compatible material easy to identify with this logo so people can tell on sight what gaming system they are supporting. The initial concept of the OGL was to make the gaming industry stronger by making it possible for more people to create and make products to support the concepts of the OGL.

With the release of 4e and the GSL, many 3^rd party RPG publishers have decided to forgo the GSL completely make 4^th Edition System Compatible material without use of the GSL. And with the limiting nature of the GSL in its current form, it has caused the creation of this new 4^th Edition System Compatible logo. This logo has bee created in several graphic formats including Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Illustrator EPS, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop JPEG and TIFF. Each of these formats comes with three different versions: color, Grayscale and Black and White.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

I am not surprised, the GSL is all stick and no carrot. The potential financial and legal consequences are huge for violating the GSL, but all you get in return is access to 4E. It is far safer to use your own system or stick with the OGL.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

I had heard of this legal principle before in regards to board games, specifically that you cannot copyright “rules.” This is what allows different games to have the same mechanic, such as the many variations on a trick taking card game or “Risk “  clones. I am happy to see someone testing this legal principle with RPGs.

Should Kenzerco pull this off…without an extended legal fight, then the GSL is dead in the water. I hope the GSL withers before it can take root.

By the way, Kenzerco’s president is a copyright lawyer in the real world. This could get interesting.

Hat Tip: Worlds in a Handful of Dice

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

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There has been a lot of speculation around the details of the new GSL, and I feel like there is need for some clarification. Our intention is to encourage publishers to design for 4th Edition, not to jeopardize independent third-party games published under the OGL. With that in mind, publishers are going to be able to decide — on a product line by product line basis — which platform they will use for developing their products. If a publisher has an existing product under the OGL, we would love for them to update it to the GSL; however, that is not a requirement.
–Scott Rouse, Senior Brand Manager

Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Game System License FAQ

Q. Will there be a fee to participate? Do we still have to pay $5,000?
A. The Game System Licenses are royalty-free licenses and there is no developer’s kit fee associated with them.

Q. Can anyone participate?
A. Yes. Interested third party publishers will be required to submit a registration card, agreeing to the terms of use. This registration card will be part of the materials available to publishers on our website beginning June 6, 2008.

Q. When can we start publishing GSL products?
A. The effective start date for sales of D&D 4E GSL publications is set for October 1, 2008. The timing for the d20 GSL has not yet been determined.

Q. Is the new license finished yet? Can you provide a firm timeline?
A. The D&D 4e GSL will be released when we launch Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition on June 6, 2008.

Q. What are the specific details of the license?
A. The specific details will be available to the public upon the release of the licenses.

Q. How will the GSL interact with the OGL?
A. The two GSLs are new licenses, separate from the OGL. They are designed for companies that wish to publish 4th edition compatible products.

Q. Can companies still produce 3.x products under the OGL?
A. Yes, but we anticipate that interest in the 4e GSLs will be greater.

Q. Can publishers release new products under both the OGL and 4E GSL?
A. No. Each new product will be either OGL or 4E GSL. If a new product is published under the 4e GSL, it cannot also be published as 3.x product under the OGL; and vice versa.

Q. I have multiple product lines. If I update one product line to 4th Edition, do they all have to be updated?
A. No. Publishers are able to choose on a product line by product line basis which license will work best.

Q. Will there be a different license for other lines, such as d20 Modern?
A. The d20 GSL will allow for other genres of roleplaying games.

Q. Why are there two different licenses?
A. The D&D 4e GSL is specific to the Dungeons & Dragons brand. The d20 GSL allows for non-fantasy genres. Both licenses tie to the 4th edition rule set.

Q. Do I have to give up my right to publish 3.5 OGL products in order to publish 4e compatible products?
A. No. Publishers are free to print product lines under either the OGL or 4E GSL. We would love to see our industry colleagues convert their entire product offerings to 4E, as we are doing, but we do not expect or require entire companies to convert to the new edition.

Q. Can publishers update their previous publications from older editions to the D&D 4th Edition rules?
A. Yes. Publishers participating in the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition GSL will be allowed, and encouraged, to convert their publications from earlier editions to the 4th Edition rules.