Other Games with an Open Game License or Similar
With everything going on with Wizards of the Coast and the OGL, I figured we should take a look at other Open Game Licenses and see what games out there allow you to make your own content for them. There are a lot more than I knew about! Let’s dive in.
Open Game Licenses
Cypher System
Just recently released, the Cypher OGL (COGL) looks like it does just about everything the WotC OGL does. It also includes a System Reference Document (SRD), allowing you to duplicate sections of the rulebook for reference in your own work. It makes sense, given Monte Cook’s influence on D&D for the past 20 years as one of the lead designers on 3rd Edition. The Cypher system is the same one used for Numenera and The Strange.
Fate
This is also a complete OGL/SRD combo. Fate has a LOT of content out there, and varying degrees of complexity, so it’s very flexible. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve played of Fate, especially Fate Accelerated, so it’s definitely one worth checking out if you want a very open game with lots of modularity.
Gumshoe
Gumshoe’s a great system for games where you wanna sneak around and solve crimes. Their license is even more open, as it’s a Creative Commons license allowing you to do whatever you want with it. They have an SRD with everything you need as well.
OpenD6
The system we all know and love, the D6 system which was used for Star Wars and Ghostbusters back in the day, has an Open Game License. It’s a nice, light rule system that can work for a ton of genres, so definitely worth checking out.
Powered by the Apocalypse
While it doesn’t have a full SRD, Apocalypse world, Dungeon World, Monster Hearts and thousands of other games utilize the Powered by the Apocalypse system. It’s not even necessarily a system, but rather a guideline. No official license exists as far as I can find, due to each game being so very different, but there is an SRD for Dungeon World.
Blades in the Dark
Blades in the Dark has an SRD, which it has released under the Creative Commons. There have been a bunch of great games released under the Forged in the Dark ruleset.
Not Quite as Open
Zweihander
The Zweihander RPG has a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license, meaning you can make content for it, as long as you don’t make money. HOWEVER, you can use their, where you sell on DriveThruRPG and make 60% profit, making DriveThruRPG kind of G&P’s DM’s Guild. They provide art assets you can use for free as well.
Genesys
The same system that powers the FFG Star Wars system allows you to make content for DriveThruRPG via their Genesys Foundry. It’s not an Open Game License, since you do need to purchase the rulebook (which I do recommend,) but they do allow you to make content for their Android setting, and a few different settings they own, or make your own content for your own game. They also provide art assets.
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Are there any others you can think of that I should add to the list? Let me know!
Cairn (https://ciarnrpg.com) has a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and has a great SRD, translations, addon rules, additional monsters, additional spells, a complete d666 list of spell names and descriptions, additional relics, conversions, additional information, and tools on its website.
One Cairn derivative that is particularly promising is the Brighter Worlds RPG (https://brighterworlds.com). It too has a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and a great open website that includes a full SRD. It is still under development, but you can pick up a fully playable PDF from itch.io with whimsical art from Itch.io. What’s interesting about Brighter Worlds is that it significantly drifts the mechanics of Cairn, adding a bunch of modular crunch to a what started as a very light game system. Brighter Worlds isn’t on the crunchy level of Pathfinder or Cipher System, but there is some good stuff there and it is a good example of what can be done with the solid under-structure of Cairn.
If you want to use the Into the Odd rpg system as a basis for your games or materials, Chris McDowall has created the Mark of the Odd license and SRD. You can find it here: https://www.bastionland.com/2020/11/mark-of-odd-licence-and-srd.html
Knave 1.0 by Ben Milton (Questing Beast on Youtub) is released under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: You are free to share and adapt this material for any purpose, including commercially, as long as you give attribution” according to the game’s DriveThruRPG listing. When you buy a copy of the game, it even comes with a Word document of the source text to make adaptations easier. Ben is currently at work on a more comprehensive version of Knave, Knave 2.0, that his patreon backers have access to. It is my understanding that it will be released under the same license.
13th Age’s Archmage Game Engine has an Open Game License and a Compatibility license listed here: https://pelgranepress.com/2014/02/19/13th-age-archmage-engine-licensing-overview/
Strangely Pelgrane’s Drama System SRD is released under the OGL and the Creative Commons. More here: https://pelgranepress.com/2013/09/19/dramasystem-srd/
This is a fantastic list! Thanks!
No problem. Happy to help.