Originally Posted by
Voctor
The thing is, most video games don't seem to need the OGL. If I make a game where characters level from 1 to 20, have 6 attributes, use Vancian magic for spellcasters, gain abilities at the same rate, use the same probabilities, etc. all of that is just game mechanics which don't have legal protection as far as current precedent would seem to indicate. As long as I don't use a patented mechanic (very rare, but the Nemesis system from Shadows of Mordor is an example), use their IP (Beholders, etc.), or use copyrighted expression (exact copy paste of text WoTC wrote) there's probably not much they can do about it. Of course having the OGL made the rules more clear so a group could make that game without fearing that they may need to defend themselves in court.