The Playtest Agreement

I'm A Banana · May 24, 2012

They call it "OPTA"

It doesn't seem to be violating the terms of the OPTA to link to it or discuss it, so I was hoping the braintrust here (including smarter folks than I) could help us all parse the leagalese surrounding it a little better.

Some things that leap out at me (IANAL, etc.):

You're not allowed to share it. You -- and only you -- are granted a right to personally use the playtest material only as defined in the agreement. That appears to mean that if you print out copies of the rules and give them to your players, you just violated the agreement. Your players must have their own copies of the rules.
Wizards is technically employing you."Work-for-hire"? Man, talk about not paying a living wage! Also, apparently you give Wizards some limited power of attorney and they own the copyright on anything you give them.
You can't modify or make new stuff. Want to make your own monster? Want to swap race and class? Want to invent a spear? NO. DO NOT. IT IS A VIOLATION, FOLKS. You can't create derivative materials. You can't even "use them for your own benefit," so I guess if you wanted to wipe your bum with them, that violates it, too. You CAN talk about your thoughts and opinions, and that's pleasant of them to let us talk about those.
NDA's are over! Anyone who previously playtested is no longer under NDA, so they can open their yaps now.

There's also a FAQ which covers much of the same ground.

The key points for most casual folk seem to be that no, you can't modify this, and no, you can't make new stuff from it, and no, you can't make copies for your group.

The FAQ, a little out of left field, also claims that you can't playtest the game online, or take video or audio of your playtest and share that. So if you were hoping to do a G+ hangout with your old high school buddies and post the results to YouTube, Wizards wants you to know that both of those things are not cool at all.

I'm a little vague on what happens if you DO violate the agreement -- if WotC's Fun Police will come to your house on Saturday if you make copies and give them to your group and run the game with invented monsters, put you in handcuffs, and take you in front of Mearls to be beaten with a disenchanter's snout or what -- but it seems pretty clear that these things ARE a violation.

PS:
OPTA-MUS PRIME

Yora · May 24, 2012

I expect breaches as soon as people have read through it. ^^

Uzzy · May 24, 2012

Eh, the package is already being shared on certain popular imageboards. That was inevitable.

Gryph · May 24, 2012

Seems fairly reasonable and I was surprised it was that brief.

With the game rules still being a work in progress, I think they have a legitimate concern that playtesters could create something that mirrors work that WoTC is doing but hasn't made part of the playtest materials yet. This broad assertion of copyright during the playtest should let them fend off any IP issues arising that scenario.

The designers certainly know that a good portion of the gaming community are want to be game designers and writers, I'm sure most of them started the same way. Once playtest materials are out there, folks are going to start modifying and extending them. Makes sense to assert clear ownership to that product from the fans upfront.

Quickleaf · May 24, 2012

Kamikaze Midget said:
You're not allowed to share it. You -- and only you -- are granted a right to personally use the playtest material only as defined in the agreement. That appears to mean that if you print out copies of the rules and give them to your players, you just violated the agreement. Your players must have their own copies of the rules.

That's how I read it too. Pretty much prevents my group from participating in the playtest - most of my players wouldn't put in the effort to download playtest rules. Well, maybe that's a good thing, making sure they only get really dedicated playtesters.

Trance-Zg · May 24, 2012

Quickleaf said:
That's how I read it too. Pretty much prevents my group from participating in the playtest - most of my players wouldn't put in the effort to download playtest rules. Well, maybe that's a good thing, making sure they only get really dedicated playtesters.

If you call dedication to wait...let's see 2 hrs to start the download as the download page is still "loading"...

yeah, 5 people will go through that one...

I'm A Banana · May 24, 2012

Trance-Zg said:
If you call dedication to wait...let's see 2 hrs to start the download as the download page is still "loading"...

Well, WotC isn't going to get many casual folks into this playtest for that reason.

Which might be what they want, or at least a high enough price to pay.

Not everyone spends a lot of time thinking about their magical gumdrop elf.

Quickleaf · May 24, 2012

Kamikaze Midget said:
Well, WotC isn't going to get many casual folks into this playtest for that reason.

Which might be what they want, or at least a high enough price to pay.

Not everyone spends a lot of time thinking about their magical gumdrop elf.

You are right...Dwarves and halflings too!

mach1.9pants · May 24, 2012

I tell you, despite having agreed to (and obviously not read) the OPTA, there is no way I am not going to run this with at least 2 people who will not be official signers of OPTA... my bloody kids! Stupid legalise rubbish, all it is doing is punishing the honest. The rules are going to be freely available (as said already are) without the OPTA, but attempting to stop people using this as DnD 9Making stuff up and sharing that with friends) is ridiculous. ENWs policy on following the OPTA means that much of the really interesting discussion won't be held here. Once again punishing the honest.
Add this to adding DRM tp games, pointless stuff that only effects the LG and LN aligned!

I'm A Banana · May 24, 2012

The FAQ covers a lot of the same ground....but also reveals some weird stuff the agreement doesn't seem to cover.

Like:

FAQ said:
Can I run an online game via email, Skype, Google Hangout or a play-by-post forum?

No, you may not run an online game on third parties sites at this time.

Can I create a video or podcast of my playtest to share with others?

With the exception of any contests or promotions, unfortunately you cannot create podcast or video content of your playtest to share publicly.

Can I run a playtest on the Virtual Table for anybody who wants to check it out?

No, you will not be able to run a playtest using the Virtual Table.