There’s now no shortage of tabletop RPG publishers looking for and offering alternatives to Wizards of the Coast OGL. That’s the license which governs third-party publisher access to 5e.
Leading the charge, Paizo is financing a new open game license, putting some money in so publishers can use it without reinventing the wheel. That, after all, is the attraction of the common engine. Developers are free to adopt the new standard without having to invent one first, and one early development is Project Phoenix.
Darrin Drader used to work for Wizards of the Coast, and the designer has contributed to Pathfinder and other RPGs. Darrin, Roderick Waibel and Æsc Adams are the credited authors on the free-to-download open-source game on DriveThruRPG. It’s not yet finished but provides a candidate document and solicits interest and feedback.
In an email to Geek Native, Darrin said;
I’d like to think of this as the Unix Redhat of RPGs. I will be releasing it to publishers via the web for free, and it will have a playstyle that might seem somewhat familiar while being an original game. I will not personally be running a Kickstarter on it or otherwise trying to directly monetize it for myself.
What’s complete so for? The main aspects of the TTRPG are underway or have a project head, and about half the core classes are done.
Correction: 17 Jan 2023 – Project Phoenix initially said Bastion Press, Jim Bulter’s old RPG company, but the publisher behind the OGL that Darrin’s game will use is Paizo Press.
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