The Path Forward in Light of the OGL Changes

Hi folks,

A lot of you probably have questions about the future of Lair Magazine with the OGL changes. Since my last update to all of you early last week, my core publication team and I have had many discussions which have led to a decision about our short- and long-term direction with regards to the pending OGL changes.

The way we see it, OGL v1.0a seems destined to be unusable, whether because WotC pushes forward with this "un-authorization" business, or because they just drop the matter but refuse to designate it as "un-revocable" -- which means they could decide at any point in the future to attempt to revoke it again.

Since WotC seems hell-bent on stopping creators from using v1.0a to further increase WotC's own monopoly in the RPG sector, we feel the most prudent action is to begin transitioning away from using the OGL completely.

However, that doesn't mean we will stop creating 5e content. Our roots are in 5e and we know that many in our community will continue playing 5e, even if they’re not going to give WotC any more money. With that in mind, we aim to take this bad situation and turn it into a chance to reach a wider variety of game systems – possibly even including some that many are trying out now for the first time.

It is with all of this in mind that my team and I are embarking on creating a new content-creation methodology which we’ve dubbed the d20 Variable System (for now). This is not going to be a new game system; there are enough other creators making those right now. This is going to allow us to publish 5e-compatible content without using the OGL at all. Furthermore, down the road, it would also allow us to make our content compatible with other RPGs such as Pathfinder 2e.

Our long-term goal is to eventually be able to make our resources usable with various systems, such as D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e, and others, such as Kobold Press's recently announced Black Flag. Please just bear in mind that will probably take us some time. The immediate goal is to get off the OGL so that we can continue to publish 5e-compatible products.

Next Steps to Implement the d20 Variable System:

• Create and review as a team the methodology that would be applied to our publications to make them System Variable.
• Have our legal counsel review the d20 Variable System to ensure legal compliance.
• Work with our writers so that they can begin creating resources using the new methodology.
• Begin publishing Lair Magazine and other DM Lair products using the system.

What's Our Timeline? We have begun working aggressively on this. However, how long it takes to implement is unknown at this time. Part of the answer to that question, too, is how much time WotC gives us before they try to shut down everyone using OGL v1.0a.

Thank you so much for all of your support, both emotional and financial, as we feel our way forward in what feels like an uncertain future.

-Luke and The DM Lair Team