Decisive hit? Dungeons & Dragons-inspired Web3 game pivots amid NFT ban

When leaks about an upcoming Dungeons & Dragons license shakeup surfaced earlier this month, there were many fans and creators were horrified apparent changes that may limit their ability to create derivative games, shows and other content.

But in the end, NFTs proved to be the biggest target – in terms of news for Web3 game company Gripnr, which built a project that attempts to capture the allure of fantasy-themed tabletop smashes for a new era. Now the company changes course when it becomes clear that D&D’s parent company will have nothing to do with NFT.

For over two decades, the current version of the D&D Open Game License has enabled fans and companies to create content compatible with the large tabletop experience by borrowing certain elements—such as game mechanics—via a System Reference Document.

Although Wizards of the Coast recently removed some of the more onerous conditions – including mandated royalties – for the new license after significant backlash, the license’s latest iteration remain steadfast in prohibiting D&D’s content from being integrated into NFTs.

“We wanted to address those trying to use D&D in Web3, blockchain games, and NFTs by making it clear that [Open Game License] content is limited to tabletop RPG content,” D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast wrote in a blog postswhich calls its response to third-party Web3 projects one of the firm’s main goals in updating the license.

However, combining elements of Dungeons & Dragons with Web3 technology was pretty much what Gripnr originally set out to do.

The Louisiana-based company began working on The Glimmering, a blockchain-based board game, in late 2021. Leveraging Ethereum’s sidechain network Polygonput it out there to facilitate gameplay while recording currency, items, and experience on the chain, among other features like rewarding creators and those who monitor the sessions of The Glimmering.

Refers to the Open Games License and System Reference Document the game’s whitepaper stating that the two documents would be used to “bring The Glimmering to life.” A meeting was called among some members of Gripnr’s top management immediately after the leak of the controversial license update, leading game developer Stephen Radney-MacFarland narrated Decrypt.

“There was a fair amount of chaos,” he said. “We had to go back and rethink, ‘How are we going to do this?'”

Gripnr decided the best course of action was to move forward with the project while revoke all use of the Open Games License and System Reference Document. And Gripnr believes the game does not infringe on any of the intellectual property that can be protected by Wizards of the Coast.

Radney-MacFarland said the ban on NFTs under the proposed version of the license was not entirely shocking, as the company had previously received communications suggesting that Wizards of the Coast “may not be happy” with The Glimmering. Wizards of the Coast did not immediately respond Decrypttheir requests for comment.

Refuses to roll the dice

Last week Gripnr released one comprehensive response to the latest proposed version of the license, outlining problems it has with modifications that go far beyond a ban on blockchain applications. It eventually laid out a plan to create a new open-source license for tabletop role-playing games.

“The best way forward for Gripnr and many other companies in the industry is to leave [Open Games License] and find licenses or other methods that will allow us to continue our business,” it said. “To be honest and fair, Wizards has no broad right to prevent the use of Web3, blockchain or NFTs in table games.”

The blog post also called it “disingenuous” for Wizards of the Coast to cite NFTs as one of the main reasons for wanting to renew the license, given that parent company Hasbro has sold NFTs before – including digital Funko Pop collectibles and Starting lineup NBA action figures along with NFTs.

Grip no raised $2.5 million in funding, as announced in April 2022, to bring the project to life. But much like vocal backlash from some video game fans against NFTs, the project has met with considerable skepticism from board fans. “NFTs Are Here to Ruin D&D,” Tech Publication Gizmodo wrote last year in a longer explanation of the project.

Although The Glimmering has yet to be released – the on-chain campaign is set to launch in March – Gripnr has launched its Genesis Collection of NFT heroes to use to play the game. Radney-MacFarland cited the heroes’ sales as one of the reasons for pushing ahead.

“We definitely weren’t going to pack up and go home,” he said. “We had already put in a lot of work [and] sold out of our first batch of NFT heroes.”

The heroes have randomly generated attributes that specify a myriad of qualities associated with each character, such as their weapons, armor, and respective backgrounds. On Open seathere has only been one recorded sale of a hero from the Genesis Collection, in October 2022.

A veteran of the board game industry, Radney-MacFarland has worked for both Wizards of the Coast and Paizo, the publisher of Pathfinder – one of D&D’s biggest competitors. The developer said it is currently reworking The Glimmering and making adjustments to accommodate dropping the Open Games license and system reference document.

“I’m frantically going over the things I’ve already built and making changes,” he said.

Currently, potential players can get a feel for what The Glimmering will look like through The Tower of Power, a one-hour play session run on Gripnr’s Discord server. It still uses the version of Gripnr’s game that contains the D&D license, as the current version has not been revoked yet.

The game will still have elements that are staples of the board game industry, including 20-sided dice, spells, adventures and treasures, Radney-MacFarland explained. But some elements, such as certain monsters and parts of the game’s mythology, are likely to change given the need to clearly separate itself from its legendary influence.

“Our orcs will be a little different,” he said. “It’s going to be very familiar to what people are used to playing and a little different in parts, but I don’t think those parts will be too sparkling.”