Answers on the GSL!

[Urizen]

I have my answer, and am very, very Relieved, and grateful to Scott and Linae for this.

My lack of trust has been proven unfounded.

 

[lkj]

The FAQ is up at Wizards. And the questions and answers aren't exactly the same (not contradictory, just a bit different info I think). Also has a little intro blurb from the Rouse.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4news/20080502

AD

 

[Nellisir]

Maybe I missed it, but, what about Castles and Crusades, M&M, true20, etc?
I didn't see a definitive answer for those types of products.. or did I, and not recognize it?

I don't see anything that explicitly prevents them; certainly not M&M and probably not True20. Each, IMO, constitutes a "product line" that could continue using the OGL. IF product line is determined by genre, and not actual branding, then Castles & Crusades would have an issue, assuming TLG wanted to go GSL for some reason. True20 -might- have an issue, but probably not, since it's a universal engine.

It's not entirely clear where the "product line" actually falls; I think releasing the same product under different product names is a bit cheesy and won't fly, but it's not clear (at least after my first reading) if Paizo could have two fantasy worlds and keep one OGL and the other GSL (ie, Forgotten Realms & Greyhawk).

 

[lkj]

(a) Why do they insist on releasing these blurbs on Friday night, just as everybody goes incommunicado for the weekend?

(b) Frankly, without the precise definition of what counts as a "product line", the answers to the first two most important questions are practically content-free. It could be a particular branded imprint, or every fantasy-based product by a given company, or anything in between.

I guess technically you're right. They could come out with a very broad definition of product line. But that seems pretty unlikely to me. This is an FAQ for the general public (presumably those early contact print publishers are still getting the actual GSL early), and a natural assumption for someone in the public reading that is that 'product line' equals something like 'Pathfinder' or 'Dungeon Crawl Classics'. Not that it means 'all products that might be considered fantasy products'.

Like I said, you're right, you can't tell for sure without a detailed definition of 'product line' from the GSL itself-- but I think it would require WotC to be intentionally misleading. If you wanted to say, "If you use the GSL, you can't publish other fantasy products under the OGL", I think they'd just say that.

All that said, I'm sure there will be details in the definition of 'product line' that will cause annoyances. I just have a feeling that if Paizo wants to publish 4E stuff, they aren't going to have to give up Pathfinder OGL.

We'll see.

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[Gryffyn]

Awesome. The FAQ is MUCH clearer. Rock on -- the "poison pill" is not. Hey Clark, thanks for fighting the good fight!

 

[lkj]

Edit: Nevermind. Wasn't reading clearly when I wrote this post. Ignore.

 

[Jack99]

I just have a feeling that if Paizo wants to publish 4E stuff, they aren't going to have to give up Pathfinder OGL.

We'll see.

AD

This makes no sense. Why use the term like product line, if you really mean any product? Seems fairly obvious that Paizo will be able to put out 3.5 Pathfinder product line, while publishing 4e GameMastery adventurers (GM is just an example, they could also just as easily make a new line for their 4e products).

But yeah, I guess we will see

 

[lkj]

This makes no sense. Why use the term like product line, if you really mean any product? Seems fairly obvious that Paizo will be able to put out 3.5 Pathfinder product line, while publishing 4e GameMastery adventurers (GM is just an example, they could also just as easily make a new line for their 4e products).

But yeah, I guess we will see

My friend, re-read my post. We are agreeing. I'm saying exactly the same thing. I said they won't have to stop publishing Pathfinder to use the GSL. That was the point of my post.

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[Jack99]

My friend, re-read my post. We are agreeing. I'm saying exactly the same thing. I said they won't have to stop publishing Pathfinder to use the GSL. That was the point of my post.

AD

LOL.

I am going to bed now, since I obviously can't read a post correctly ATM.

Cheers

 

[Emryys]

Q. Can publishers release new products under both the OGL and 4E GSL?
A. No. Each new product will be either OGL or 4E GSL. If a new product is published under the 4e GSL, it cannot also be published as 3.x product under the OGL; and vice versa.

This will make for some interesting decisions...