The big Microlite20 sale

This is probably the most difficult post I have ever had to make, so I’ll come right out and say it: I’m selling the rights to Microlite20. This is everything – the rights to the name, the system, my claim to the game, the domain, the files, everything. Make me an offer.

But first, I guess it’s better if I explain why.

Microlite20 as a game is something I came up with way back when as an experiment to see whether it’s possible to reduce Third Edition D&D/d20 SRD into its purest form. The goal was a game that is fully playable and compatible enough to D&D to work with published adventures and monsters, yet be simple enough to fit in your back pocket. I wanted to create a system that would provide a core foundation and a spark that would ignite the hacker/gamer in all of us – a basic system which invited (nay, demanded) customization, tweaking and all sorts of fun invention.

I think it’s fair to say that (with a lot of help, support and encouragement from countless others), I succeeded.

I have taken the system as far as I want to go. My own group haven’t played the game (nor even expressed an interest) in over a year and that has lead me to have no further emotional investment in the game. I’d much rather it be in the hands of people who are just as excited in the game as I was right at the start.

Along with the rights to Microlite20 there’s the domain microlite20.net which I own and is registered until 11 May 2010. The site itself is hosted at mochahost.com and all domain costs are included in the fees (also paid up until May 2010). The site itself is stable, though the (very active) forums are a problem – they’ve been targeted by spammers so much that I have entirely locked down new registrations. Whenever I open it up just to activate a new user who has requested it, I end up spending half a day clearing down 200+ new fake signons and 2000+ spam messages. If you have recently requested a forum account over there and it’s not been activated yet, I apologise and that’s the reason – it’s a horribly soul-sucking experience.

And before you say it, yes – that IS with captcha in place! If I had the emotional investment in Microlite20 to fix it, I’d export the forums, burn them to the ground and start again. But I don’t.

That’s what’s on offer. Microlite20, the site, the domain, the files and all rights thereof. The only thing I ask if that my blog at http://greywulf.uk.to can remain as an archive for 6 months – I’ll move my day-to-day blogging over to my own site at http://greywulf.uk.to. As Microlite20 was released under the OGL, I expect any future rights-holders to also adhere to the terms of that license for the core rules themselves.

I would love Microlite20 to find a good home – a small publishing house would be ideal – and in the current climate I’m realistic to know that selling Microlite20 isn’t going to mean I can retire and live a life of luxury any time soon. Seriously, if the best offer I get is ten bucks after a couple of months, I’ll take it. If multiple parties are interested in Microlite20 I’ll be in touch with all of them to see who can make the best all-round offer.

This is your chance to actually, totally and legally OWN the rights to your own role-playing game. Not the PDF, not a copy, but the copyright itself!

If you’re interested, mail me – greywulf(at)gmail.com.

UPDATE: Sold!. Many thanks for all the interest, comments and feedback!