Creature Catalog to be Published

[Orcus]

I guess I dont see how someone giving something away for free is duped if someone else uses it and they get more exposure as a result. It will be interesting to see. As of yet, I havent been contacted by anyone who did a submission. So I will make this as clear as possible:

If there is someone out there who submitted something to the Creature Catalog and would be offended if that submission is included in the published product please contact me at clark@necromancergames.com.

I will be happy to consider pulling any such submissions from the final product (presuming there was not another source for the submission and that their contribution is verifiable) or taking other remedial action so that there can be no claims that I am doing anything sneaky.

Since the CC site is hosted here I am pretty confident that this is the best forum to make that announcement. I will take silence as acceptance.

Clark

 

[DnDChick]

Dont worry...Im not a PC fanatic who is going to jump on you and rip your eyes out for using gender specific terminology. lol But thanks for thinkin about me!

 

[Monte At Home]

Crediting

Clark/Scott/Erika:

I always applaud attempts at the proper crediting of authors.

I know from experience that with the conversion from original D&D to 1st to 2nd (and now 3rd) Edition, tracking down the actual authorship on some of the monsters found in various sources can be really tricky. If you need any help, I have access to some really good resources on this topic and would be glad to help out making sure credit goes where credit is due.

(It gets really complex if you start dealing with monsters that existing in 1st edition but were very substantially changed in 2nd...)

Lizard:

I'm with you in your post up until you wrote the word "moral," but I don't want to derail the thread. For what it's worth, let it be said that there's a dissenting opinion from one d20 designer. Just because there's nothing illegal about taking the material that others have created and doing whatever we want with it does not mean that we shouldn't rise above that and instead treat each other with respect and consideration.

If someone took open content from Book of Eldritch Might II (and in case anyone's wondering, there's a fair bit of it) and reprinted it inserting expletives throughout (perfectly legal under the OGL), I couldn't take legal action, but I'd feel justified in speaking out against them. I'll always stand by the idea that as a friendly community of developers, there's no reason we should ever use each others' OGL material without talking about it.

Monte

 

[Morrus]

Well, for my part I think this is damn cool news! Whenever I see another member of this community 'making it', it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

I didn't submit anything to the CC, but had I done so this book would still have my heartfelt blessing. As I see it, Clark and Necromancer are doing a Good Thing (tm) here, and I'd be very happy to see more Good Things (tm) of this type happening in the future.

I'm sure that any active members of the community who submitted know about this by now. It's been all over the forums, it's been on the EN World front page and it's been on the CC front page. I certainly think that they have been 'made aware' as far as is practically possible that their OGC will be included in a published product.

 

[DnDChick]

Awesome!

Too very kewl to hear kudos from one of the BIG NAMES in the industry! Thanks Monte!

But...um...I hate to have to call ya on this but my name's spelled with a "c" and not a "k." Believe it or not, but there is a lot of contention in the "girls named Eric/ka" community as to which is the proper or correct spelling. lol

Yeah...I wont call someone on gender-specific or gender-exclusive terminology, but I will call someone on which way my name is spelled. Screwed up priorities huh? lol

 

[Upper_Krust]

Congratulations all concerned!

Will unique heavyweights such as Anthraxus (etc.) be in the book? If so can I get a 'Special Thanks to...'?

 

[Mac Golden]

Clark and Scott,

Looking forward to getting my hands on the finished product. Will it be hardback?

Best,

Mac Golden

 

[DnDChick]

From what I understand it will indeed be a hardcover book.

 

[Mystic Eye]

Clark and Scott,

I think you guys have your work cut out for you on this one but I applaud you for your efforts and look forward to this publication.

I have dealt with Clark on a few occassions, met him at Gen Con, etc, and believe myself to be a good judge of character. I will state that I feel he will do everything within his power to give credit where it is due and do right by everyone he can. Of that, I have no doubt.

Doug
http://www.mysticeyegames.com

 

[Lizard]

Re: Crediting

Monte:By 'moral', I meant "It's not stealing". People who reuse OGC are not "pirates" or "thieves" or "parasites". (Unlike, say, people who distribute copyrighted work without permission)

I agree with you that reuse should involve respect, and that it's a good thing for the community to treat each other with respect. Someone does have a right to be offended/upset if their work is used in a derogatory manner, but this is simply one of the risks of creating open content. It will happen, certainly, that someone who has contributed OGC will find themselves 'credited' in a work they find morally or ethically repulsive -- just as the creator of PGP had to accept the fact his program was going to be used by fascists and pedophiles. We're all adults here (presumably -- can minors legally agree to the terms of the OGL?), and we know the risks.

My message was in response, primarily, to the growing tone that contributers to the CC were somehow being 'ripped off' when their work was used for profit.