List of Open Games

[Lupin]

Miscellaneous CC open games/SRDs from my own personal notes. Some of these are tiny RPGs from itch.io and such.
EDIT: Added links for most. A few are direct PDF links, most are to landing pages.

Quest (Creator's Resource PDF) CC-BY-4
OpenQuest (RTFs) CC-BY-4
Dungeon World SRD CC-BY-3
Lightning 5e (Sly Flourish PDF) (Still in development, current ver: 0.25) CC-BY-4
Knave (1e) CC-BY-4
Maze Rats CC-BY-4 (license is barely mentioned in-document, tho)
M20 Fifth: Adamantine Ed CC-BY-4 version (Though the "Weapon Damage by Class" chart under Equipment was adapted from a CC-BY-SA document so it might not legitimately be CC-BY but CC-BY-SA.)
Eldritch Gambit SRD CC-BY-4
Dragon's Teeth CC-BY-4
Blackmarsh setting book CC-BY-4
Caltrop Core SRD CC-BY-4
Ironsworn SRD CC-BY-4
Crack! Rules v1.0b (Text only) CC-BY-4
Dungeons of the Dungeons CC-BY-4
Tricube Tales (Phone PDF, text only) CC-BY-3
Tunnel Goons (probably CC-BY-4; technically site says ambiguous "CC 4.0 International License", but quotes the permission summaries for CC-BY not CC-BY-SA)
Paragon SRD v.1.0 CC-BY-4

Proprietary:
Genesys by Jeff Clough ("The terms of the Genesys license let you use the Genesys System in your own works, even if you charge money for them. It is designed to be the ultimate “free” system [...etc]")

CC-BY-SA stuff:
Basic Fantasy 4e
Mini Six Bare Knuckle Edition
Cairn RPG SRD

 

[J.Quondam]

TRIPOD system by Graham Spearing is CC-BY-4 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International). It's the system used in Osprey Game's Gran Meccanismo, by Mark Galeotti.

 

[Reynard]

Is Cepheus Engine open? I see the website has an SRD but I can't tell if it is Open or has a proprietary license.

 

[J.Quondam]

Is Cepheus Engine open? I see the website has an SRD but I can't tell if it is Open or has a proprietary license.

I believe it is, yes. Its blurb on dtrpg refers to itself as Open Gaming Content (ie, OGL), and the Legal page on the Cepheus SRD site appears to confirm it's OGL v1.0a.

 

[J.Quondam]

Fwiw, that Open Gaming Network site lists the following systems ref documents as open (many of which have been mention here already):

Traveller SRD​

5th Edition SRD​

Dungeon World SRD​

13th Age SRD​

d20Hero SRD​

d20PF SRD​

Gumshoe SRD​

FateCore SRD​

Starjammer SRD​

OGN Articles​

Fudge SRD​

Here Be Monsters​

d20 Anime SRD​

PF2 SRD​

4 Color SRD (Astonishing Super Heroes)​

Into The Unknown​

ACK SRD​

2d20 SRD​

Everyday Heroes SRD​

Heroes and Monsters SRD​

Gods and Monsters SRD​

Cepheus SRD​

Five Torches Deep SRD​

Forge Engine SRD​

Cairn SRD​

Open Fantasy SRD​

Monad Echo SRD​

True20 SRD​

Warrior, Rogue, Mage SRD​

Basic Fantasy SRD​

OSE SRD​

QuestWorlds SRD​

Black Flag SRD​

PF2SRD (ORC)​

Year Zero SRD (OGL)​

That's just a copy-paste of their list of available SRDs; it's not clear from that which are under what licenses.

 

[Reynard]

Fwiw, that Open Gaming Network site lists the following systems (many of which have been mention here already):


Traveller SRD
5th Edition SRD
Dungeon World SRD
13th Age SRD
d20Hero SRD
d20PF SRD
Gumshoe SRD
FateCore SRD
Starjammer SRD
OGN Articles
Fudge SRD
Here Be Monsters
d20 Anime SRD
PF2 SRD
4 Color SRD (Astonishing Super Heroes)
Into The Unknown
ACK SRD
2d20 SRD
Everyday Heroes SRD
Heroes and Monsters SRD
Gods and Monsters SRD
Cepheus SRD
Five Torches Deep SRD
Forge Engine SRD
Cairn SRD
Open Fantasy SRD
Monad Echo SRD
True20 SRD
Warrior, Rogue, Mage SRD
Basic Fantasy SRD
OSE SRD
QuestWorlds SRD
Black Flag SRD
PF2SRD (ORC)
Year Zero SRD (OGL)

That's just a copy-paste of their list of available SRDs; it's not clear from that which are under what licenses.

Is OGN focused on OGL only games? it does not look like it has been recently updated.

 

[J.Quondam]

Is OGN focused on OGL only games? it does not look like it has been recently updated.

Yeah, it mostly is as far as I know. But looks like there are a couple newer, non-OGL ones at the bottom if you scroll down (eg, ORC).

 

[Thomas Shey]

I know the normal version is derived from MongTrav, but I don't understand all the implications of that.

 

[velkymx]

Cresthaven RPG is under the creative commons license.

 

[Lupin]

Cresthaven RPG is under the creative commons license.

There are in fact several Creative Commons licenses, and the difference really matters for anyone building off of them. I'm not a lawyer but this is my basic take on them.

- CC-0 and CC-BY are by far the most generous: republish the original, or create derivative works. CC0 is effectively declaring it to be in the public domain. CC-BY is only one step away: all you have to do is cite your source.

- CC-BY-SA is kinda-sorta like the OGL (but not exactly): you are required to make whatever creative work you build upon the CC-BY-SA source ALSO CC-BY-SA, and it carries forward to anyone building off of yours. (Whereas the OGL didn't require anything you add to be open but you can if you choose.) This means you have to make it available for free even if you are selling it.

- CC-BY-NC-SA, the one Cresthaven uses, is basically the equivalent of following the Wizards Fan Content Policy. Only noncommercial, share-alike derivative products allowed. If you use anything from Cresthaven in the thing you make, you can't sell it.

- There are also CC-BY-ND / CC-BY-NC-ND, which are "no-derivatives," meaning you can only redistribute the source material without alteration. With "NC" (noncommercial) it means you can't use it to make money.

Some of these are perfectly useful for building upon in a personal, social, or otherwise noncommercial way. Or for, essentially, fan content. But for like, an RPG publisher, there's a massive difference between the legality of using original CC0/CC-BY material and using original material licensed with, say, CC-BY-NC-ND.