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Purchased Module Security

Good Morning! So I was wondering: I buy all the hardback books for my 5e group. In turn, they pool together and buy+gift the Roll20 versions of the stuff they want to play. We have quite the library. Now they are paranoid as rumors of no OGL and such get tossed around. The #1 concern as I try to get them to buy Dragonlance is "What if the company pulls their license from Roll20 and they empty our libraries?" Can I safely tell them anything we already purchased is safe and at worse we simply would not be able to buy new?
There is some precedent to support that you'd be safe.  For example, I have purchased Volo's Guide to Monsters on Roll20.  Even though the product was since discontinued by WotC (and can no longer be purchased here on Roll20) I still have access to the book here on Roll20. I would think that if Roll20 ever removed access to an item you has purchased through Roll20, they would refund the purchase price.  If they did not, the legal and public relations impact would be immense. -Adam
I tend to agree. Just assuring my players is the challenge. The only common link that seems at risk is the Compendium from the SRD and the Community character sheet with the logo.
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keithcurtis
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My understanding: SRD and OGL have nothing to do with WotC-produced modules. The SRD gives a subset of rules that can be referred to by anybody, and the OGL tells you how you can use them. It is my understanding that the OGL for 5e at least cannot be "pulled". It's built into the language of the contract. WotC modules are not produced under the SRD or the OGL. WotC owns the entire DnD IP and does not need this sort of arrangement. If you have bought a WotC product, you have bought it and it is yours. Although the digital age has ushered in a gray area where they can edit specific content, they are loathe to do this on a large scale. Example: If you bought Volo's Guide to Monsters, although it has been delisted, you still own it, physically or digitally. You just can't buy new copies (save for physical inventory still on shelves). As for the SRD Compendium, given the above assumptions, this would likely need to be a decision by Roll20, possibly tempered by agreements with WotC. In principle, there's nothing to keep the 5e SRD from being provided for free forever (like the 3.5 SRD). Licensing agreements may dictate otherwise.
I would like to respond that in one article on this topic, somebody did reach out directly to Wizards of the Coast on whether they planned to update the Open Game License and System Reference Document or not and Wizards apparently responded with "We will continue to support the thousands of creators making third-party D&D content with the release of One D&D in 2024. While it is certain our Open Game License (OGL) will continue to evolve, just as it has  since its inception, we're too early in the development of One D&D to give more specifics on the OGL or System Reference Document (SRD) at this time." So it sounds as though they still intend to offer support at this time despite the rumors that have been going around. Also, since One D&D is meant to work with 5e, the SRD/OGL situation for 5e would still apply to that edition and can offer something of use even if the new edition did away with that.