Paizo’s Third Draft of the ORC License is at Hand
The third time’s the Charm with the ORC License, as Paizo opens up their own license for open gaming to one final round of comments.
The ORC License is back for a third round of revision/commentary. As Paizo settles in for another round of community feedback, it sounds like this will be the last one before the ORC is finalized. So if you have questions or comments, now’s the time to get them in.
Paizo put the ORC License up on their blog late last weekend, this time with both a clean third draft as well as a redline version that showcases edits from last time.
ORC License, Third Draft – Questions and Concerns
We believe this draft is solid enough to be the final draft of the ORC License but know from past experience that new text can bring the opportunity for new errors or requests for clarification. The community has been phenomenally helpful in refining the language of this license. Now it’s time to take one last look and provide any final comments you may have before we lock the license terms in the very near future.
We’ll keep commentary open on the official ORC License Discord for the next few days, with an eye toward locking the final version of the license by the end of next week. During this time, we’ll fold any necessary improvements into each document and release a Final Interim ORC License at www.azoralaw.com/orclicense, paizo.com, and elsewhere. Publishers will be able to use this version of the license to publish material under the ORC License by including the proper ORC Notice.
Of course, the new draft comes in the wake of Paizo moving further afield from the legacy of the OGL. Now that Drow and other creatures are disappearing from Golarion, the Pathfinder community is taking a newfound interest in the specifics of the ORC License’s third draft.
As you can see, several changes have been made in the definitions alone. One of the biggest changes is transforming Product Identity into Reserved Material instead. Though it does raise questions among the community as to what benefit there is to keeping material reserved and out of something like a Creative Commons if the goal was being truly Open. Still, the third draft has undergone some nuanced and extensive feedback. Check it out for yourself.
The ORC License nears completion, what do you think of it?
