2 ms·
> Is this the same situation with the OGL and Paizo? Is Pathfinder licensed under OGL version X+? Yes. There are two reasons for this, one is that the first e
by Macha 4y ago
> Is this the same situation with the OGL and Paizo? Is Pathfinder licensed under OGL version X+?
Yes.
There are two reasons for this, one is that the first edition of pathfinder had to be, because it used material from D&D 3.5, and then the second edition didn't want to break compatibility with the first edition's ecosystem, and the second is it would violate the copyright of the OGL itself to use a modified version without an "or later version" clause. The same would be true for the GPL, except the GPL expressly provides a mechanism to choose to use the or later clause or not.
- the_af 4y agoAh, I get it! So Pathfinder 1st Ed was based in a version of D&D (3.5) which already used version OGL+! That's the piece of the puzzle I was missing: the minute Paizo decided to fork D&D, they became locked into this unfortunate licensing choice, at the mercy of future license updates. I also understand you cannot decide to use a "pinned" version if the original you're licensing is already using a "plus" version. In hindsight, it looks like a terrible decision for Pathfinder to have accepted those terms. Had I been then, I would have made an entirely new game "in the spirit" of 3.5 but starting from scratch. I guess they opted for the more appealing route of trying to more directly appeal to disgruntled fans or D&D, and now they are facing the downsides of that. It sucks, agreed. I guess this is a lesson about the risks of trying to ride another company's success instead of making your own thing. And yes, it happens with software as well. (I'm still not convinced this will affect companies/games using the OGL for things entirely unrelated to D&D. That'd be surreal!)