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My only gripe - if it can be called that - is not being able to reprint monsters in adventures, but it's such a mild gripe to me that it's hardly worth mentioning.
In terms of reprinting Monster Stats.
I was just wondering how publisher's were looking to get around this in terms of printing adventures (or even if they are looking to). Why was this kept in the GSL (what do WotC fear those who sign the GSL doing with these)? It just seems like an annoyance for 3PP's to deal with. Are there any major ramifications of this that have not yet been realized?
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I can understand WotC not wanting another company to put together a compendium of creatures to compete with their own Monster Manuals.
However, would it have been so difficult for them to include a clause in the GSL that allows the rprinting of monster stats, but limits this to only being reprinted in modules?
Plausible, if I'm allowed to reprint monster stats of everything in the SRD, I can sell my own MM. I, as a non-lawyer type, can't think of any other major reason to keep that in there.
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This is something I've been confused about. Let's say I want to make a variation of the Guardian Mummy (let's call it an Avenging Mummy).
The primary differences are that the new mummy is one level lower and causes a different disease instead of mummy rot.
Can I make an entirely new stat block since this is a new monster? Short of that, can a make a partial stat block referring only to parts differing from the original mummy guardian?
Key question for publishers: How different does a derived stat block need to differ from the original stat block to be acceptable? i.e. just a different level or just different powers or some variation thereof? What if only the STR is different?
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Last edited by caudor; 6th March 2009 at 06:20 AM..
Well, from a business stand point it makes a lot of sense. At the very least, I'm sure things like d20srd.org, as incredibly useful as the site was, amounted to a lot of consternation.
And that's to speak nothing of the publishers which actually repackaged and sold the SRD, in not just PDF forms but in print as well.
It's not ideal, but I can't think of a better option. How are you supposed to define a 'module?'
This is something I've been confused about. Let's say I want to make a variation of the Guardian Mummy (let's call it an Avenging Mummy).
The primary differences are that the new mummy is one level lower and causes a different disease instead of mummy rot.
Can I make an entirely new stat block since this is a new monster? Short of that, can a make a partial stat block referring only to parts differing from the original mummy guardian?
This is legal, as far as I know. You can make up another monster type of an existing monster, change some stats and print the whole thing.
Clark alluded to this with his "Magic Missile" repurposed as "Magic Missile [Classic]"
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The main problem with creating custom monster variants is that some of the abilities you might want to reuse might not be in the SRD.
Then call the power something else and keep the mechanics. Pretty sure they can't keep you from using mechanics like 1d10 + 7 thunder damage and push target 4 squares, since they are in the GSL.
But IANAL
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I'm doing the 4e version of Final Redoubt's first adventure, The Throne of God, right now. I have to change most of the monsters for the setting anyway, for instance both undead and hobgoblins have something called the Infernal Taint in The Echoes of Heaven. So this makes for monster stat blocks that are similar to the ones in the MM but different enough that I have to redo them completely. I could rewrite the few powers I want to be identical, but I want to adhere to the spirit of the law as well as the letter. They gave me the license after all.
So I have about seven powers which are straight from the MM (like the hobgoblin's resilience and phalanx powers). These are in the stat blocks referencing the MM (not defined or rewritten to be identical mechanically with different text), but I also put in a sidebar in Act One telling GM's to begin their prep here. In this box I list all the powers references from the MM in a convenient block. This allows a GM to take five minutes and copy the powers out of the MM or print the refereneced monsters from the DDI.
I think this is the best of both worlds. The GMS have a minimal amount of prep they have to do out of the referenced books. I don't violate the letter of the license, and yet I maintain the spirit of the license by still insuring that they have access to the MM.
Here's a dumb question that I haven't seen addressed. How does everything work in regards to non-WOTC monster books? Say Goodman Games allows people to harvest Dungeon Denizens for 3rd party adventures, and then Necromancer does the same thing with their hopefully inevitable Tome of Horrors? Is THAT okay? Or if someone decides to do a series with more versions of creatures. The "Kobold Kompendium" and it's got tons of new Kobolds with different abilities.
Just curious...
Chris
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Well, from a business stand point it makes a lot of sense. At the very least, I'm sure things like d20srd.org, as incredibly useful as the site was, amounted to a lot of consternation.
Right. I am sure WoTC was consternated that folks weren't using their own free copy of the SRD, that they released themselves. For everyone. Several times.
Because of course if folks weren't using d20srd.org to get around having to buy the PHB, they'd... uhh... use WoTC's own SRD to get around having to buy they PHB.
Or something.
Quote:
And that's to speak nothing of the publishers which actually repackaged and sold the SRD, in not just PDF forms but in print as well.
Yes, let's not speak of that thing that WoTC predicted would happen in the very first FAQ they ever released for the SRD-- and if I may paraphrase, said, "If people are stupid enough to pay you for something we're giving away for free, go for it."
Let's not speak of that ever again.
Nothing that happened with regards to the OGL came as a surprise to WoTC. So it is not as if the GSL is designed to somehow tweak the rules and if folks just "play nice" this time around, everything will go "as intended."
The GSL is a complete rejection of the OGL as it was conceived and intended.
So I have about seven powers which are straight from the MM (like the hobgoblin's resilience and phalanx powers). These are in the stat blocks referencing the MM (not defined or rewritten to be identical mechanically with different text), but I also put in a sidebar in Act One telling GM's to begin their prep here. In this box I list all the powers references from the MM in a convenient block. This allows a GM to take five minutes and copy the powers out of the MM or print the refereneced monsters from the DDI.
Holy crap, I never even thought of this!
Is this your IP or can I steal it without permission?
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Is this your IP or can I steal it without permission?
Oh dear God please steal that idea, or come up with a better one I can steal. My only purpose on this is that when I run a playtest in 4e, I'm annoyed by the fact that I have to look up those powers every fight. If you put out an adventure and don't mitigate that one annoying thing as much as possible, I'll be very mad at you when I run that adventure.
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