Paizo Launches Open RPG Creative License with Other Publishers in Wake of D&D's OGL Debacle
The news regarding changes to the Open Gaming License for Dungeons & Dragons has been a huge snafu for Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, and D&D. Many other companies have used this as an opportunity to build goodwill with the community. Paizo, the company behind Pathfinder which many believe to be the main target of the OGL changes, recently announced a system-neutral open RPG license called the Open RPG Creative License or ORC. The key parts of ORC are that it’s designed to be open, perpetual, and irrevocable!
You can, and should, read the entire blog post from Paizo, but in short, they don’t believe Wizards of the Coast can “deauthorize” OGL 1.0a and are willing to fight in court about it. It also talks about how ORC is designed for any game publisher to join in with “their own unique open rules reference documents” for creators to use. The thought process behind ORC is as follows:
We believe, as we always have, that open gaming makes games better, improves profitability for all involved, and enriches the community of gamers who participate in this amazing hobby.
It’s important to note that ORC will not be owned by an RPG company, but rather Azora Law, an IP law firm that represents several publishers, including Paizo. The idea is that this will provide increased safety and security of ORC and prevent a similar debacle as what’s happening now with the OGL. It’s also exciting that Paizo isn’t starting ORC alone. Rather, Chaosium, Kobold Press, Legendary Games, and more have already agreed to ORC with Paizo.
Other important notes include the fact that Paizo will continue to release Pathfinder and Starfinder products and many upcoming products will still state that they’re published under OGL 1.0(a) because they’re at the printers and the ORC hasn’t been finalized. Then, there will be products released without any license and then when the ORC is finalized, products will list it. If you head over to Paizo’s store and use the code OpenGaming during Checkout, you’ll get 25% off your purchase of the Core Rulebook, Core Rulebook Pocket Edition, and Pathfinder Beginner Box.