D20 OGC Master Compilation.

[Geist]

Recently I came up with an Idea and figure this would be the best place to get some responses to it, and see whether it would be needed and wanted.

The Idea was to creat a compliation of all the various OGC d20 content into a sort of master document that would be updated every couple of months as new stuff came out.

I figure this would give companies a wider range of things to use in other games and genres and reduce redundancy in books and maybe help with keeping power ramping also.

The only Drawback to this being that with only one to a handfull of people doing the info it would mean that it would either be a long time till it was done or need to be paid for to be used..

Chances are ive forgotten to mention some of my other reasons for this Idea but I figure I will wait and see what sort of responses I get.

So far a couple have expressed interest and a couple were very opposed to the Idea.

 

[HellHound]

The issue here is that such a compilation in electronic form will make it quite easy for a publisher who does not have the best intentions for the OGL to grab all the OGC out there and compile it into a single book.

It would rub me the wrong way personally to see a document like this (unless it was DAMN expensive to buy into) as it would contain the complete texts of MANY products such as Arms & Armor by Bastion Press, Masters of Arms by Second World Simulations and so on... effectively punishing those companies that have been so good as to release the entirety of their products as Open Game Content (let alone the fact that a majority of our own works have been released in their entirety as OGC).

Thus while I think it could be a great tool, there would have to be a SIGNIFICANT dollar cost to access it in order to keep people from being able to use this instead of purchasing the original OGC, and even then it will provide an easier method for a company that does not have the best interests of the hobby at heart to simply issue a book that replicates all these fine books in their entirety (and cheaper, since they won't have to pay for the writers).

 

[jmucchiello]

A far bettter tool would be a list of OGC references. Need rules for ship-to-ship combat? Go to these sources. Need rules for new kind of magic item? Try out the xxx in book yyy or the zzz in book aaa, etc.

I wouldn't want to see a collected OGC work because it would start the lawsuits flying. All those publishers with weak and vague OGC declarations would hit the publisher of the all OGC book with so many lawsuits over what is or isn't OGC that it just could not be worth the trouble to include those publishers' material. Thus only the clear designators of OGC would get included and only they would be hurt by such a resource.

So which would you rather have? Companies that are good at declaring OGC and very open with it turning into companies that are stingier and more vague? Or the current system? If you think this would be a change for the better, then go ahead and gather that OGC. And when I see you email address on the sales page for my titles I'll know when they've reached the end of their sales.

 

[Leopold]

i like joe's idea better

 

[philreed]

I bet the section 15 on something like this would be massive. Anyone reprinting any OGC from such a compilation had better prepare to add a signature for their section 15.

On a serious note, I would consider joining with other publishers to build an online database of all OGC. Something secure where only those publishers who contribute could join in. It would be a valuable tool when working on new projects.

 

[jaerdaph]

I don't think a *public* OGC compilation is a good idea - be it for free or for pay. As others have said, I think it will result in less OGC being generated or declared, which will eventually cripple the Open Game movement.

Here's an idea I had, but I'm not sure it's a good one either - what if third party publishers considered releasing their own SRDs? After a product has had a specific amount of "shelf time", they could add OGC from that product into their SRD.

 

[Abulia]

Considering every Joe and his cat (sorry Joes!) has their own "D20 publishing company" I'm not sure a closed distribution would work. I get the impression that PDF publishers are all pretty much selling to one another…that'd document would get out quick.

Plus, how do you handle freelancers at that point? I've got a WFH to write the next great D20 adventure and need access to this repository, how do I get it?

Just stirrin' up the waters.

Regards,
Don Mappin
Freelancer for Hire

 

[Frilf]

Here's an idea I had, but I'm not sure it's a good one either - what if third party publishers considered releasing their own SRDs? After a product has had a specific amount of "shelf time", they could add OGC from that product into their SRD.

This idea has some merit methinks. I know I would be sending off for Mongoose's SRD sooner rather than later I think calling it and SRD would be problematic, though. Perhaps "Open Resource Document" (ORD) or some other moniker would do better.

This would definitely remove a great deal of the confusion over what is OGC and what is not. However, I believe many companies have done a very good job with this until now, so I'm not too troubled by it either way.

Ian

 

[Ghostwind]

I think a massive OGC compilation is a reallly bad idea. However, Joe's idea of a reference guide has merit. If it only contained the book's title and publisher and no actual content, I do not believe that any harm could be achieved. Think of it more as an index.

Feats:
-Feats, Alderac Entertainment Group
-Ultimate Prestige Classes, Mongoose Publishing

Naval Combat:
-Seas of Blood, Mongoose Publishing
-Broadsides!, Living Imagination
-Seafarer's Handbook, Fantasy Flight Games

Something like this would be useful only to those who either needed to know where to look and then had access to the books.

A huge undertaking at any rate...

[edit: spelling]

 

[jaerdaph]

It would rub me the wrong way personally to see a document like this (unless it was DAMN expensive to buy into) as it would contain the complete texts of MANY products such as Arms & Armor by Bastion Press, Masters of Arms by Second World Simulations and so on... effectively punishing those companies that have been so good as to release the entirety of their products as Open Game Content (let alone the fact that a majority of our own works have been released in their entirety as OGC).

Howdy Hellhound

Just out of tangental curiosity, what do you (and other publishers who do this) see as the benefit of releasing everything in a product as OGC?