Black Flag Kobold Press' Black Flag System Reference Document Released

The System Reference Document--called the Black Flag Reference Document or BFRD--for Kobold Press' Black Flag roleplaying game system--launched as a reaction to the Open Gaming License crisis caused by Wizards of the Coast in 2022/2023--has been released under the Open RPG Creative (ORC) License, a viral share-alike license designed to replace the Open Gaming License.

A System Reference Document is a tool for third party developers, and contains the rules text that those creators are permitted to use, along with examples of how certain rules elements--such as subclasses--work.

The document includes lineages, heritages, classes, spells, monsters, and more.

The BFRD is the second major third-party 'alternate 5E' SRD to be released, following the Level Up: Advanced 5E SRD (A5ESRD) from EN Publishing.

Wizards of the Coast announced this week that the 2024 core rules of Dungeon & Dragons would be added to their own System Reference Document in 2025.

 

[Weiley31]

Looks at ToV/Black Flag Pact Magic feature for the Warlock.

Intriguing.

 

[Zaukrie]

That's not the point at all. An SRD is there for designers, not consumers. The point of making it complete as possible is building a robust, active, innovative Open Gaming community (pro and amatuer) around the thing.

Frankly for a company like Kobold, which only exists because of Open Gaming, to hobble it is pretty naughty word.

I share your surprise, and don't at the same time. I would have preferred to see all the stuff there, but I am not shocked we don't.

Hopefully at some point this thread is about what is there....

 

[mamba]

That's not the point at all. An SRD is there for designers, not consumers. The point of making it complete as possible is building a robust, active, innovative Open Gaming community (pro and amatuer) around the thing.

if you are designing new subclasses, then I am not sure why you need all the vanilla ones to do so, you are not supposed to just reprint everything unaltered

Would I prefer more complete SRDs, absolutely, but that does not mean they are obligated to release them or even necessary for their intended purpose

 

[Marc Radle]

Hi folks!

We’ve seen some comments or concerns surrounding the Black Flag Reference Document and its contents. We thought this would be a good time to explain what exactly the BFRD is and what it’s used for.

Simply put, the BFRD is a collection of developer tools. It is a reference document that contains all of the elements of the Black Flag Roleplaying System that are free-to-use for designers and developers that are interested in creating material for Tales of the Valiant (and its inevitable mutations).

Like the 5E System Reference Document, the BFRD does not contain EVERYTHING you can find in the Player’s Guide and Monster Vault. Some material from Tales of the Valiant remains protected IP, which is why you may see some subclasses mentioned in the BFRD that are not fully outlined. We’ve included subclasses for each class so developers and designers understand how we developed our subclasses, but as much as we’d love to we can’t give everything away for free in the reference document.

Hope that helps!

 

[Reynard]

Hi folks!

We’ve seen some comments or concerns surrounding the Black Flag Reference Document and its contents. We thought this would be a good time to explain what exactly the BFRD is and what it’s used for.

Simply put, the BFRD is a collection of developer tools. It is a reference document that contains all of the elements of the Black Flag Roleplaying System that are free-to-use for designers and developers that are interested in creating material for Tales of the Valiant (and its inevitable mutations).

Like the 5E System Reference Document, the BFRD does not contain EVERYTHING you can find in the Player’s Guide and Monster Vault. Some material from Tales of the Valiant remains protected IP, which is while you may see some subclasses mentioned in the BFRD that are not fully outlined. We’ve included subclasses for each class so developers and designers understand how we developed our subclasses, but as much as we’d love to we can’t give everything away for free in the reference document.

Hope that helps!

You probably can't answer this but I am really curious about the answer, so I'll ask anyway: when Kobold was presented with the two options of following the current WotC model of SRD versus the current Paizo model, why did Kobold opt for the former? What drove the decision to be more restrictive, especially given the release of this SRD under ORC?

 

[Weiley31]

Oh nice, the Scythe is in the weapon list now.

 

[mamba]

You probably can't answer this but I am really curious about the answer, so I'll ask anyway: when Kobold was presented with the two options of following the current WotC model of SRD versus the current Paizo model, why did Kobold opt for the former? What drove the decision to be more restrictive, especially given the release of this SRD under ORC?

I'd say this is the answer, or as much of it as you will get

as much as we’d love to we can’t give everything away for free in the reference document.

 

[Reynard]

I'd say this is the answer

Yet Paizo does, and EN Publishing. So that's not a great answer.

 

[Spectral Anomaly]

Marc, just a couple little layout suggestions for future versions of the BFRD. First is put a version/revision number or a date or something on the cover page so people know what they have. Second is include some visual identifier in the monster subgroups so it's easier to see when the subcategory ends (i.e., Demons, Devils, Dragons, etc). Otherwise nice job. This will definitely make keeping 5e alive a lot easier.

 

[Reynard]

This will definitely make keeping 5e alive a lot easier.

How so? It isn't more extensive than the 5.1 SRD at least on first skim, and that's in CC.

I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just legitimately do not understand the point of Kobold presenting this SRD in this form.