3e Conversions

RyanD · Mar 14, 2002

Re: Conversion Doc clarifications (sorry, kind of long)

The question was asked by Jester about how the policy relates to converting ESDs "in whole, or in part".

My opinion is that the policy isn't designed to support conversions "in part". It envisions a complete conversion of a whole product, kept together as a unit, and clearly identified to the public as a conversion of a prior work.

My opinion is that WotC is probably not going to move forward with a license to convert materials "in part" such as a big list of monsters or a big list of magic items. Most of the pre-existing D&D monsters will almost certainly appear in a published WotC product at some point, and will probably move from that product into the SRD, meaning that eventually there will be a "legal" source for all those monsters. While that's probably less true of spells and magic items, it probably is true of the spells and magic items likely to be usable in the 3e environment.

It will be up to the business managers at WotC to determine if they want to move away from the old "don't ask, don't tell" policy with regard to the library of converted monsters, magic items and spells that has been created. I can see reasonable arguments for both sides of the matter and don't have a personal opinion. This is another issue that WotC is going to have to make some official announcements about relatively soon.

Ryan

Ysgarran · Mar 14, 2002

Morrus said:
I don't see that it changes anything. There are still hundreds of documents which need editing. Every one of them would have to be updated every time a change was made to this policy or to the d20 STL. And there's still no guarantee that in two year's time we won't find ourselves in the same situation.

I'll think about it for a while. I'm not sure what the best thing to do is, but I'll figure it out. There is a fairly good chance that I will just wash my hands of the conversion library, but that's not yet set in stone.

Exactly how would each document need to be modified? Would it be a case of ensuring each document needs to contain the correct OG License document?

If it is a case of ensuring the exact 'text' of the license is in the conversion material, then I can write a program to ensure the correct text is inserted into the material. The format of the material might be a problem (i.e. RTF, PDF, fairly easy; MS Word?).

Morrus · Mar 14, 2002

I've discussed the matter with AV, and he has agreed to the following:

1) I have a 6 month reprieve form enforcement of the policy. That should give me plenty of time to sort out the library.

2) He has granted a 30-day 'cure period' after notification by WotC of bad files.

3) He has pointed out that this ppolicy DOES COVER PAPER PRODUCTS as well as ESDs.

4) He will assist in creating a FAQ for would-be converters. I'll pull together all the common questions from this thread.

I'll be reopening the conversion when I get a few spare minutes later today. I will, of course, appreciate any help that people can offer in correcting files.

I will be creating a template for conversion use. I will NOT accept any conversion in future that do not use this template. This is a preliminary version that I have whipped up:

superdan · Mar 14, 2002

Hmmmm....

Anthony Valterra said:
You are not limited to ESDs for conversion. You may convert a paper piece that you own from 1E or 2E! Information to the contrary was in error.

Ryan S. Dancey said:
Q: Exactly what products are covered by the ESD policy?
A: 1st and 2nd Edition AD&D materials available for public download as ESD's on WotC's web site.

Q: What if the product I want to convert isn't an ESD yet?
A: The policy was written for ESD conversions. Some of the text which is "wrapped" around the policy isn't very clear about that, but all the "legalese" in the policy itself is. If WotC wants to expand the policy to include non-ESD products, it would be fairly easy to do so....

If AV really means for non-ESD (and non-AD&D) material to be acceptable for conversion, then the policy must be rewritten. The legalese does not allow for it, even as read by the avowed author.

Zulkir · Mar 14, 2002

Morrus,
Very nice template. You might want to have all of the [insert] pieces in the same bright red color so that they can be easily spotted.

AV

Florin · Mar 14, 2002

superdan said:
Hmmmm....

If AV really means for non-ESD (and non-AD&D) material to be acceptable for conversion, then the policy must be rewritten. The legalese does not allow for it, even as read by the avowed author.

Please not the following, emphasis mine:

>> Wizards shall be the sole source of the original materials, whether they have been obtained as ESDs, scanned, or otherwise procured. All you are authorized to convert to 3E are the mechanics, themselves. For example, if an AD&D encounter describes a scene wherein the adventurers are traveling down a road when they are accosted by a group of orcs, who demand their money or their lives, followed by a stat block that details the orc party, all you are authorized to convert is the stat block. You may add any additional mechanical information necessary to run the encounter in a 3E game, aside from the stat block, but you may not include the encounter itself, or the entire adventure in which it takes place.<<

I'm pretty sure that paper products falls under "otherwise procured".

superdan · Mar 14, 2002

Florin said:
I'm pretty sure that paper products falls under "otherwise procured".

That passage is specific to prohibitions on acquiring full adventure documents.

The policy includes the following specific requirements which cannot be met by non-ESD materials:

You must clearly identify the ESD that has been converted...

Permission is granted to use the full and complete title of any ESD obtained legally from Wizards for a conversion.

Leopold · Mar 14, 2002

Thank you morrus for all your hard work in this. I hope we can get these all up to spec for you regarding this.

Is there anyway someone can give an example of a module in being in 'legal' format?

Leopold · Mar 14, 2002

sample

i did a sample of the ESD license using morus' template. Is this what it needs to look like? Please download this and tell me if this is ok and what needs to be changed.

Once again I am not the author but I am using this as an example.

What i did:

1. Added the link to the ESD. NOTE: WOTC can you PLEASE provide a link to the ESD main page in your document. I spent 20min combing the world for this.

2. Added my email address to it for use.

3. Added link to ESD at the bottom.

4. Added title of ESD at top of document.

5. Deleted and cleaned up a bunch of information that didn't seem to be needed for the licensing. Again this is just MHO on it.

please tell me what you think.

smetzger · Mar 14, 2002

Re: sample

Morrus - I think we need to press for a revision of the document. It is unclear as written and has caused alot of confusion. It will continue to to be confusing. An FAQ is helpful, but is not legally binding.

Again what about conversions of Basic edition?