Page 1 of Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook Seems to Contradict Recent Controversial Decisions

Dungeons and Dragonsplayers are calling attention to how Wizards of the Coast’s planned licensing changes contradict the Player’s Handbook. Recent leaks revealed that Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro plan to alter the longstanding OGL licensing agreement, which creators and fans fear could stifle third-party support of the pen-and-paper game. In a push for community support against the plan,Dungeons and Dragonsplayers point to the Player’s Handbook as justification for leaving the OGL unchanged.

The OGL, for the past 20 years, has allowedDungeons and Dragonsthird-party content creators to own and profit off their work without the involvement of Wizards of the Coast. A leaked version ofwhat Wizards of the Coast named OGL 1.1makes some significant changes to the agreement. Notably, it charges royalties for revenue over $750,000, allows Wizards of the Coast to end any license for any reason, and perhaps most significantly, grants Wizards of the Coast a “non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, sub-licensable, royale-free license to use of” any OGL-licensed content.

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The Player’s Handbook is the firstDungeons and Dragonsmaterial that any player is likely to read. It contains everything players need to know to start playing. It’s not a license, of course, but it representsDungeons and Dragonsin a way that the OGL doesn’t. Now players are calling attention to the Player’s Handbook’s first page, or more specifically a letter fromDungeons and Dragonswriter Mike Mearls.

The note from Mearls reads as follows. “Above all else,D&D is yours. The friendships you make around the table will be unique to you. The adventures you embark on, the characters you create, the memories you make -these will be yours. D&D is your personal corner of the universe, a place whereyou have free reignto do as you wish. Go forth now. Read the rules of the game and the story of its worlds, but always remember that you are the one who brings them to life.They are nothing without the spark of life that you give them,” with the emphases added by players. The message is clear. Players believe Wizards of the Coast’s changes to the OGL are the antithesis of the philosophy drivingDungeons and Dragons.

Wizards of the Coast has not commented on the most recent leak surrounding these planned changes to the OGL. It has previously, at the very least, said thatWizards of the Coast will be sharing more soonregarding the OGL. Wizards of the Coast may be hoping that anger will diminish over time and that it can make the OGL change later on.