Dumb Newbie's dumb question

Vradna · Jun 24, 2005

Firstly, apologies if this thread is in the wrong area. Oh, and to my newbieness regarding D20, OGL and SRD. I am after an answer to a -hopefully- general question about D20:

If something doesn't appear in the SRD, I can't use it in my published work, right?

For example, because the 'Samurai' character class from Oriental Adventures doesn't appear in the SRD, I cannot use it in any D20 book I care to write and publish. True or False? I am just curious how this all works: It's been a long time between gaming sessions.

JimAde · Jun 24, 2005

Ok, I'll be the first to say it:

"I am not a lawyer"

With that out of the way: You are right. If you want to publish something you can only use Open Game Content (the SRD and anything else declared to be Open Game Content from WotC or other publishers).

There is another issue, though: You have a lot of freedom to use Open Content if your product is simply an OGL (Open Game License) product. If you actually want to use the "d20" name and logo, there are a whole bunch of other issues, including the fact that WotC can just declare they don't like your content and pull the logo.

If you are just publishing something on a web site for free distribution, you should be fine as long as you only use Open Content and include a proper copy of the Open Game License. If you are planning to publish anything for sale, I strongly suggest you hire a lawyer to make sure you're doing everything right.

Vradna · Jun 24, 2005

If you actually want to use the "d20" name and logo, there are a whole bunch of other issues, including the fact that WotC can just declare they don't like your content and pull the logo.

Thanks for your help. In my haste, I didn't see the "Do's and Don'ts of D20 Publishing" over at WoTC

Thanks again,

Henry · Jun 24, 2005

As an aside, it of course wouldn't stop you from making your own samurai, but you'd better be sure to purge the OA samurai (and the Complete Warrior, and Sword and Fist) samurai from your mind, and come up with one yourself that doesn't imitate it. It's almost better (if you're publishing) to not have READ the WotC supplements.

AmorphousBlob · Jun 24, 2005

Vradna said:
Firstly, apologies if this thread is in the wrong area. Oh, and to my newbieness regarding D20, OGL and SRD. I am after an answer to a -hopefully- general question about D20:

If something doesn't appear in the SRD, I can't use it in my published work, right?

For example, because the 'Samurai' character class from Oriental Adventures doesn't appear in the SRD, I cannot use it in any D20 book I care to write and publish. True or False? I am just curious how this all works: It's been a long time between gaming sessions.

Doesn't sound dumb to me. For the record, anyone who asks the question without being a jerk about it is a genius in my book. (Though, don't push your luck.)

HellHound · Jun 24, 2005

Vradna said:
Firstly, apologies if this thread is in the wrong area. Oh, and to my newbieness regarding D20, OGL and SRD. I am after an answer to a -hopefully- general question about D20:

If something doesn't appear in the SRD, I can't use it in my published work, right?

For example, because the 'Samurai' character class from Oriental Adventures doesn't appear in the SRD, I cannot use it in any D20 book I care to write and publish. True or False? I am just curious how this all works: It's been a long time between gaming sessions.

I'm going to be the odd man out here and say, flat out, DO NOT consult a lawyer. Lawyers are an incredibly expensive way to get a very non-commital answer that will not actually help you in the long run. Instead, DO rely on the existing expertise of other d20 & OGL publishers that is available to you via these boards and the OGL & d20 mailing lists. We are happy to help, and full of useful knowledge. And some of the publishers are lawyers too!

The answer is that you can only use material that is released under the OGL in your OGL licensed product. The SRD is released under the OGL, as is the majority of Unearthed Arcana, and most third-party d20 products (such as the Quintessential Samurai from Mongoose, for example). However, a vast majority of these products also have clear and delineated designations of IP. Anythign designated as IP cannot be used in your OGL publication without specific permission from the publisher in question.

Fo example, we are releasing a product shortly that uses material that is painfully obviously not released under the OGL (feat names and spell names from several of WotC's "Complete" series - specifically Complete Warrior & Complete Divine). So we had to go get permission to use this material from Wizards, and the make sure to use a clear designation that this material is NOT open game content.

Committed Hero · Jun 24, 2005

Henry said:
As an aside, it of course wouldn't stop you from making your own samurai, but you'd better be sure to purge the OA samurai (and the Complete Warrior, and Sword and Fist) samurai from your mind, and come up with one yourself that doesn't imitate it. It's almost better (if you're publishing) to not have READ the WotC supplements.

Well, samurai will look similar from version to version, but yes, avoiding clear plagairism is the key. WotC has only come down on a few products - one for using creatures noti n the SRD, and one for having content that they thought was improper (the latter was released under the less-restrictive OGL mantle, however).

Also, as a clarification I don't think WotC could "just declare they don't like your content and pull the logo" - there are some guidelines [font=&quot]enumerated for them to follow (the material must comply with "community standards of decency" as this applies to violence, sexual themes and prejudices). I would think that you as an author would know if your ideas approached those lines.
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HellHound · Jun 24, 2005

including the fact that WotC can just declare they don't like your content and pull the logo.

I agree that this is beyond the scope of WotC's powers as given in the d20 License. They only have this power if the product fails to comply with the loosely defined community standards of decency - and this only applies to graphic violence, sexual themes and prejudices.

As committed hero pointed out, most authors will know if they are pushing those lines.

MoogleEmpMog · Jun 24, 2005

The irony here is that his specific example is, IIRC, available in almost identical form in open content.

I recall AEG's Rokugan Campaign Setting book having a nearly identical version of the samurai from OA that is Open Content (AEG and WotC had an unusual relationship on the OA and Rokugan releases because of license issues about the setting). Unless the Rokugan samurai is one of the few things in that book not OGL.

JimAde · Jun 24, 2005

HellHound said:
I agree that this is beyond the scope of WotC's powers as given in the d20 License. They only have this power if the product fails to comply with the loosely defined community standards of decency - and this only applies to graphic violence, sexual themes and prejudices.

As committed hero pointed out, most authors will know if they are pushing those lines.

Maybe I overstated things.

Obviously HellHound and others who have actually done d20 publishing have a good handle on these things. But to me, WotC having veto power on the content (regardless of the details) is problematic. If I were publishing something (which I've never done so take this for what it's worth) I'd stick with the OGL and skip the d20 branding.