Fistfight in my Brain
So, my internal monologue about the GSL keeps going all over the map.
Intellectually, I fear it for the simple fact that its a blank check to WOTC. Basically, it includes terms that extend past license termination and the ability for WOTC to alter the license at-will without notification. These combine poorly in my mind. As far as I can tell, this allows WOTC to add "And you owe WOTC five dollars every year, even after this is license is canceled" and I'm on the hook unless I'm really on top of things and manage to terminate the arrangement and burn all my backstock more or less instantly. It's a preposterous example, but there are plenty of less silly things that are not outside the pale. For example, the license currently says that once you have done a product line in 4e, you can never, ever do it under the OGL, even if you stop doing it under 4e. It would be entirely within WOTC's right to one day change "OGL" to any other RPG system. Sure, these are worries that depend on a lack of good faith on WOTC's part, but cynicism is healthy when you sign the dotted line.
Emotionally, I am all about "Man, I could write a monk! That would be awesome (even if I'd have to call it something else)."
And that's the rub. 4E is fun and full of fiddly bits that would be a hoot to write stuff for. Powers, magic items, feats, classes, monsters - it's a huge blank canvas right now, and there is a simple joyous urge to start splattering paint. It's a potent urge, and every stern objection I have to the terms of the license risks being drowned out in its simple "Yippeeeee!"
Thankfully I can afford to be on the fence about this. I have no existing d20 products that I depend on for income, nor is this decision likely to have any kind of profound impact on my future writing or publication. This is a sideline for me, a curiosity, and I can just see if I end up writing anything for my own table that I feel like doing anything with. But I do not envy the folks for whom there is much more on the line, for whom the risk/reward math is much more critical.
Intellectually, I fear it for the simple fact that its a blank check to WOTC. Basically, it includes terms that extend past license termination and the ability for WOTC to alter the license at-will without notification. These combine poorly in my mind. As far as I can tell, this allows WOTC to add "And you owe WOTC five dollars every year, even after this is license is canceled" and I'm on the hook unless I'm really on top of things and manage to terminate the arrangement and burn all my backstock more or less instantly. It's a preposterous example, but there are plenty of less silly things that are not outside the pale. For example, the license currently says that once you have done a product line in 4e, you can never, ever do it under the OGL, even if you stop doing it under 4e. It would be entirely within WOTC's right to one day change "OGL" to any other RPG system. Sure, these are worries that depend on a lack of good faith on WOTC's part, but cynicism is healthy when you sign the dotted line.
Emotionally, I am all about "Man, I could write a monk! That would be awesome (even if I'd have to call it something else)."
And that's the rub. 4E is fun and full of fiddly bits that would be a hoot to write stuff for. Powers, magic items, feats, classes, monsters - it's a huge blank canvas right now, and there is a simple joyous urge to start splattering paint. It's a potent urge, and every stern objection I have to the terms of the license risks being drowned out in its simple "Yippeeeee!"
Thankfully I can afford to be on the fence about this. I have no existing d20 products that I depend on for income, nor is this decision likely to have any kind of profound impact on my future writing or publication. This is a sideline for me, a curiosity, and I can just see if I end up writing anything for my own table that I feel like doing anything with. But I do not envy the folks for whom there is much more on the line, for whom the risk/reward math is much more critical.