A Third-Party 5E Setting On Kickstarter? Ravenloft-inspired DARKPLANE!

Darkplane is a Kickstarter by a chap called Graham Ward, and appears to be a D&D 5E campaign setting heaviliy influenced by Ravenloft and Call of Cthulhu. "Weird horror, cosmic mystery, and occult intrigue take center stage in this massive new setting for 5th edition." Rewards include the setting in PDF or physical form, with a boxed set at higher tiers. The physical book is a 200-page 6"x9" softcover, graduating to an 8.5"x11" paperback, and then hardcover at higher levels. The artwork looks gorgeous.

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In the absense of any kind of official license, the number of publishers finding other ways to produce third-party content for 5E is growing. This particular example has a curious approach to that, though - "This project will not be published or distributed in any way that violates copyright laws. It's a personal project that will be delivered as a gift to those who help fund its creation. No profit is expected, and no infringement intended. If no other avenue is provided, in a worst-case scenario, it will be printed without system-specific rules and backers will be provided with digital packets of the "crunch" for printing." I think that means he's saying he's not selling the product, he's giving it as a personal gift in exchange for a personal gift of money.

Click on the image above or here for the Kickstarter!

 

[Sailor Moon]

What he could do is put out a campaign setting and ask for donations to create it. If you donate then you get a copy. He could then, for free, give out any statblocks to anyone who wants them. He would be perfectly with in his right to do so and nothing could happen.

 

[DarkplaneDM]

I want to thank everyone for their kind words about my Kickstarter project and the setting itself. I've been developing it for a long time now, and it's been the most rewarding hobby I've ever had. I want to clarify that it is in fact a hobby. I'm not interested in making money off the setting right now, but I also want it to take a form that's as high in quality as can be managed. That's the reason for the kickstarter. I'm too poor to just commission artwork and print a book. With the the help of the modest fan-base that's risen up around Darkplane, I know we can make something awesome.

That said, it's important to me that everything be done in a way that's legal. I've done a lot of research and consulted a lawyer with regard to the legality of the Kickstarter. There are contingencies in place if a problem should arise, but I'm confident that there won't be any problems.

Thanks again for taking notice of what I and the Darkplane team are trying to do. It means the world to me.

 

[DarkplaneDM]

Getting drunk

Thanks to all who have backed today! We're at 75% after less than 10 hours!

 

[DarkplaneDM]

Getting drunk

I am dubious about a project where the creator pledges to get drunk if I give him money.

In case the clarification means anything to anyone, I don't actually drink alcohol myself for personal reasons. I'll be toasting with a soft beverage. The alcohol consumption will be performed beside me by my "stand-in" (a good friend who can hold his liquor). Hope that information helps.

Cheers,
Graham

 

[tripleneck]

2 things I like about this are: 1) I feel like his pledge levels are fair & affordable for what you get. 2) I like the authors he cites as inspiration for the setting. I'm really into the Weird Tales aesthetic of Clark Ashton Smith, Lovecraft et al.

 

[Greg Benage]

I think that means he's saying he's not selling the product, he's giving it as a personal gift in exchange for a personal gift of money.

Because it's flipping hard to produce free content without the safe harbor of an open license! I'd like to produce my old-school-hexcrawl-exploration-focused-sandbox-structured-as-contemporary-adventure-path and offer it for free. Problem is, I don't do illustrations or cartography. For my players, I mercilessly loot illustrations and maps from the internet, but that's not acceptable for something I'm going to distribute. I love the D&D community and I'm eager to offer my efforts free of charge, but I'm not willing to reach in my pocket for a few hundred dollars worth of illustrations and maps (let alone several thousand). Seems likely that's what this guy is thinking: he just wants to get his stuff out there without having to open his wallet to do it. I'm sympathetic.

 

[DarkplaneDM]

Seems likely that's what this guy is thinking: he just wants to get his stuff out there without having to open his wallet to do it. I'm sympathetic.

Make no mistake, I've been opening my wallet for years on Darkplane. I'm not shy about committing what I can to the project. But I'm a full-time actor and writer (not the rich kind). There's a limit (higher than my wife would like) to what I can do on my own.

Many of our backers are people who have played in Darkplane games in my home, friends' homes, and at conventions and meetups. We're a close-knit circle, and I see this project as a way to create a physical keepsake of those years of gaming that also draws new friends into the fold. Not a product. Not a business. A gift from friend to friend. We're pooling money to create something we believe in. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Krypter]

>Darkplane
>Not Garth Marenghi's Darkplane

A single tear falls from my eye and drops in slow motion to the ground. Then explodes in a fireball.

 

[Lord Nikon]

You can create anything you want for any game you want. Just leave IP out of it and you are able to sell it.. people sell things all the time with the follow, "Designed for use with the most popular fantasy roleplaying game in history" -- Mechanics can't be copyrighted as much as WOTC thinks they can, that court case was lost.

 

[Zaukrie]

This looks cool. Gotta read more when not at work.