A new trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is here – but fans are calling for the film to be boycotted

Some Dungeons & Dragons fans want to boycott the new film. The reason is a possible change in the licensing of D&D content.

What kind of film is this? From March 30, 2023, the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will be released, in which actor Chris Pine will play the role of the protagonist Edgin.

Edgin is a thief who, along with a group of adventurers, is responsible for a powerful magical relic falling into evil hands. A mistake that he has to iron out over the course of the film.

We include the latest trailer of the upcoming D&D film here:

Fans criticize the licensing change

What is this boycott? On social networks, specifically on Twitter, the hashtag “BoycottDNDMovie” is currently circulating. D&D fans want to call for a boycott of the film.

Why are fans calling for the boycott? The reason for the boycott is a planned change in the licensing of D&D content that could affect fan projects and third-party content. A leaked document with possible changes is the trigger for unrest among fans.

According to the American website gizmodo.com, the old license regulation, the “Open Gaming License 1” (OGL-1), allowed external designers and publishers to develop new products for DnD. It didn’t matter whether they were fan projects or professionally manufactured products from third parties.

gizmodo also reports that a leaked document in December 2022 reads that the OGL was intended to give the community the opportunity to let D&D grow and expand it creatively.

The document also said that OGL was not intended to fund major competitors or “make D&D apps, videos, or anything other than printed (or printable) material for use in gaming.”

On top of that, gizmodo reports that the leak of the new licensing regulation states that developers of crowdfunded works have to pay a 25% license fee on qualifying earnings. An exception is the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter – here only a 20% license fee would be charged.

Some fans see the potential changes to the OGL as a disrespect to third-party D&D content providers (via Twitter).

D&D officials respond to criticism from fans

How do those responsible react to the criticism? On January 18, 2023, Kyle Brink, Executive Producer of Dungeons & Dragons, addressed the criticism in a statement to fans.

At the beginning of the statement, Brink apologizes and admits mistakes. Content creators were hurt and better communication was needed. Brink wants to work on that from now on and promises to be open and transparent and to get feedback on possible changes to the OGL.

Based on this, he announced a kind of “playtest” for the OGL changes. This is a document with suggestions for the new OGL, on which feedback is then collected in the form of a survey.

The document containing the proposals was published on January 20th. You can find it at dndbeyond.com and continue to take the survey.

Finally, Brink shared a list of content that he says will not be affected by OGL changes.

According to Brink, what content will not be affected by the OGL changes?

• Video content (as a commentator, streamer, podcaster or live play cast member on platforms like YouTube, Twitch and TikTok)
  • According to Brink, this content is covered by the Wizards Fan Content Policy. The OGL therefore does not touch any of this and should not do so in the future either.
• Selling accessories like minis, novels, clothes, dice and other items
• Unpublished Works, such as Contracted Services.
  • Commissioned work, paid DM services, consulting and so on are not affected by the OGL.
• VTT Content
• DM’s Guild content
  • According to Brink, content that you publish on DMs Guild continues to fall under a “Community Content Agreement” with the Dungeon Masters Guild
• OGL 1.0a content
  • According to Brink, content published under OGL 1.0a will always be licensed under OGL 1.0a and accordingly will not be affected by future changes to the OGL.

In addition, Brink says in the statement there will be no license fees or financial reporting requirements. We also want content creators to continue to own their content.

Besides the D&D movie, there are also rumors that there will be a game in the D&D universe that will supposedly be like The Witcher:

Dungeons & Dragons is getting a new AAA game – rumor says it will be like The Witcher