Lawyer: The Critical Role/Daggerheart license IS a scandal... that can be avoided. | The Rules Lawyer
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From the pinned comment:
Main takeaways:
- No this is not worse than the OGL scandal, however the license is currently objectively worse than what Hasbro currently publishes D&D under and can be revoked/revised for future works and updates to previous works at any time.
- I share Dungeons and Discourse’s main point: we want a competitor to D&D to succeed and for any TTRPG having a thriving a 3PP community is vital to that. That’s the purpose of these critiques.
- Yes, I have seen the Roll for Combat stream where they say that people are overreacting to the license. I respond to it at 9:13, and welcome people to see RFC’s stream.
- I make specific comparisons between Darrington Press’ GCL and other companies’ licenses post-OGL crisis, which do not have similar problematic provisions.
- I learn during this stream that DP has said they have heard the community’s concerns and suggested there will be changes when they release a Homebrewing Kit for Daggerheart. I’m happy they are, and hopefully this video helps ensure they make changes addressing community concerns - I did this stream/video because I was worried that the video I respond to would make DP (and other TTRPG companies) not feel like they have to. As I say in this video, one scenario is that this contract was drafted by a lawyer not familiar with the TTRPG hobby (and that DP’s leadership “left it to the lawyers”).
- DP may have valid reasons to not go with the licenses I cite that other TTRPG companies are following. But if that is true, they should explain what they are.
0:00 Intro
3:13 As bad as OGL scandal?
4:15 What other TTRPG companies are doing
6:03 Analysis of license
15:00 Dungeons & Discourse: Clickbait?
20:49 Darrington Press’s response
21:42 Reacting to Bob World Builder -
I truly enjoy Ronalds content, he is such a great guy and activist.
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It seems to me like all the Youtubers actually agree: This Daggerheart license is not as bad as OGL but there are some parts which raise concerns.
It isn’t a problem for now but imagine a future where someone big (like Hasbro or Disney or…) buys the rights to Daggerheart and wants to extract more money from the IP. Having experienced WotC, the TTRPG community is sensitive about it, so it seems appropriate to demand some more explanation from Darrington Press.
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It seems to me like all the Youtubers actually agree: This Daggerheart license is not as bad as OGL but there are some parts which raise concerns.
It isn’t a problem for now but imagine a future where someone big (like Hasbro or Disney or…) buys the rights to Daggerheart and wants to extract more money from the IP. Having experienced WotC, the TTRPG community is sensitive about it, so it seems appropriate to demand some more explanation from Darrington Press.
I think the issue is that Bob is severely understating the extent of the problems with the licence as it currently is. He’s putting a lot of faith in DP to act in good faith and suggesting that having this good faith is a reason to be against making the licence put in black-and-white the terms of that good faith.
Bob also goes to a lot of effort to personally attack the people who are trying to encourage DP to do better. Claiming that they’re just stirring up drama, all while he is himself stirring up drama in comparison to their attempts to discuss the actual issues. Play the ball, not the man, as they say.
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I think the issue is that Bob is severely understating the extent of the problems with the licence as it currently is. He’s putting a lot of faith in DP to act in good faith and suggesting that having this good faith is a reason to be against making the licence put in black-and-white the terms of that good faith.
Bob also goes to a lot of effort to personally attack the people who are trying to encourage DP to do better. Claiming that they’re just stirring up drama, all while he is himself stirring up drama in comparison to their attempts to discuss the actual issues. Play the ball, not the man, as they say.
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Bob’s got “new hobby horse” glasses on. He likes the game, and is treating criticism of the company publishing it as an attack on the game itself, which…
He’s been playing 5e for years. He should know better.
I should mention, too, that Bob was an early playtester, so he also has “chosen fan” energy around this. It’s surprisingly how often people are not aware of how their feelings are easily manipulated by being “seen” by “important people”. Influencers are amazingly easily and cheaply bought.
And I don’t mean this as a slight to Bob. This is normal and natural human behaviour. He likes the game, and that’s legit. But people don’t go to war over things they like. They go to war over how others make them feel valuable.
