An Apology, and a Path Forward

Hey folks,

We’ve recently become aware that our methods of procuring artwork for the books is unacceptable. We should have asked for permission to use artwork before including it in Reclaim the Wild materials. By failing to do this, we’ve upset artists, and the art community as a whole. And fairly so! 

So let’s get right to it: we apologize. We apologize for the pain and confusion we’ve caused. Reclaim the Wild was intended to be a fun game for all Legend of Zelda fans to share, but for the game to live up to that goal, we have to do better. We have to do things the right way.

To that end, we—the creators of Reclaim the Wild, and the moderators of its community—discussed how best to move forward. Here’s what we’ve decided upon:

1. To begin with, we’ve removed the PDFs for the Reclaim the Wild Core Rulebook, the Rebuild the Wild supplement, and the Ravage the Wild Bestiary, from the two download sources. This serves as an immediate stopgap, to prevent further copies of the PDFs with non-permissioned art from being downloaded. (We’ve already taken this step.)
2. We’ll remove all non-permissioned art from all official Reclaim the Wild sources. This includes not only the PDFs, but articles on the website, as well as sample characters. To be clear, this means that the only art that will remain is: Art that we’ve received direct, affirmative permission for, Official Nintendo art, and public-domain works.
3. Only then will the PDFs go back up for download, no longer laden with the fruit of the poisonous tree. Even if they have less art in them than they do currently! We acknowledge this makes for a lessened reading experience for players and GMs, but we ask for your understanding, and to pardon our dust.
4. Then, we begin filling in the gaps, asking direct, affirmative permission for art usage.
5. As part of the new books, we’ll attribute the art directly from the image, as well as including them in the broader Artist Credits page, which will include page numbers.

As this is quite a bit of work, we don’t have an exact ETA for when a given step will be completed. However, know that this work is now our highest priority, and that we consider its completion a requirement for the release of the next version of the rules (1.07).

To the artists who’ve come to us to discuss this issue in a civil, thoughtful, open way, we thank you. Without that discussion, we would not have fully understood the depths of your frustration, how our actions caused you pain, and what we could do to make things right.

To the players and game masters who’ve enjoyed Reclaim the Wild, we also thank you. When concerned artists approached us, you reacted in a civil, courteous, and kind manner. Your goal wasn’t to put up walls, but to listen and understand—and to help make sure things got better. You’re exactly the kind of community we want to be a part of.

As we undertake this endeavor, we ask for your patience and understanding. We hope this apology, plan, and our actions, all serve as steps towards making Reclaim the Wild a game that is not only fun, but ethical, in both design and presentation.

— Elemental Knight, creator, Reclaim the Wild