Racial flex stats are up!

[webrunner]

The fly in that particular ointment is that you only need the login and password to update the program, which you no longer need (or indeed can) do. I guess a case could be made, but it's a pretty weak one.

Legally availability or abandonment have no bearing on copyright law. Trademark law is another story, of course. It's the abandonware argument: technically abandonware is illegal. It's just not enforced because it's abandoned.

"Unenforced" is not the same thing as "Unenforceable"

 

[JPL]

All I know is that +2 Dex, +2 Int = gnome stealthy rogues are all kinds of awesome. Maybe give him a short bow and get into some alchemical applications for a classic "pixie dart" kind of vibe.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

The problem is with using the files other people created for the CB loader. If you were to only use the CB loader for upload-files you create yourself (and don't distribute them either) that would be fine. However when you download the WotC rules-files other people prepared and upload them you're pirating WotC's material, not different from downloading the newest rules book.

The thing is cbloader works by merging your content, or whatever you get from 3rd parties, into the CB database. There's no need to copy anything owned by WotC in this process. You get/make a house rules file, use the tool to merge it, and then just run CB. Anything that belongs to WotC remains totally distinct from your own stuff. In fact that was the whole idea. People discovered they could pretty easily edit the CB database (XML files, not too hard to hack on). The problem was updates would then obliterate your changes. cbloader is just an XML merge. You make your changes in a separate file that won't get nuked by an update. After each update you just merge your edits back in.

Obviously if someone clones text from newer WotC material they might run into a copyright issue, but that's not the fault of cbloader any more than it is the fault of a PDF authoring tool if you paste someone else's text into your PDF and distribute it.

Yes, section 6 of the EULA does allow WotC to terminate people's use of the old CB. That still wouldn't make cbloader illegal, it is up to you to comply with the terms of your license. cbloader doesn't allow you to bypass any technical protection measures (there are none to bypass) either, so again the DMCA can't be used to say it facilitates violating the license.

Section 2 (IIRC) also forbids 'derivative works'. Again, it is up to WotC to decide to terminate your license. Since you're also only creating a 'derivative' that you use personally it isn't even clear this is applicable. Maybe an argument could be made that cbloader ITSELF is a derivative work, I don't really know.

 

[twilsemail]

Can you guys please take your entirely OT conversation into a different post?

I'm sure it's possible that someone, at some point, might actually want to read about this CBloader issue. How would they ever find that information if the topic is labeled "Racial flex stats are up!" I mean, they'd likely assume that this was a thread about some kind of racial flex stats that were recently posted by WotC.

 

[666Sinner666]

While I would have LOVED for Genasi to get charisma as an option I can see why they might have avoided it. I think it would make them TO good at being DragonSorc resistance machines. For that I give the dev's a +1.

Gnomes have to be one of the biggest disapointments in that whole list.

It would be nice if WOTC took all the current monster races they have stats for and made a monsterous race handbook fleshing them and making them more playable PC races. Personally, I think it would sell rather well. But I'm probably just hitting the pipe to hard today.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

While I would have LOVED for Genasi to get charisma as an option I can see why they might have avoided it. I think it would make them TO good at being DragonSorc resistance machines. For that I give the dev's a +1.

Gnomes have to be one of the biggest disapointments in that whole list.

It would be nice if WOTC took all the current monster races they have stats for and made a monsterous race handbook fleshing them and making them more playable PC races. Personally, I think it would sell rather well. But I'm probably just hitting the pipe to hard today.

Hard to say. At the very least they could put out some more monster race articles. It seems safe to say that an article on Kobolds would be well received. A few of the other interesting races might be worth a good look at as well, Kenku, Bullywugs, Lizard Folk, Goblins, and Orcs seem like obvious possibilities. Doesn't seem to me it would be too tough to put out at least a couple articles a year in that vein. Unearthed Arcana could hit up the more esoteric non-humanoid races for those wanting to experiment a bit more (centaurs, dragons, whatever).

 

[Obryn]

However, and this is a huge distinction - the software that we are discussing does not modify the character builder in any way, shape or form. It is entirely external.

As to a previous comment about having to delete or stop using it if no longer subscribing to DDI, which is itself ridiculous (if it's even true), most of the folks I know still using it (with "hacks" or not) are subscribers.

Well, there are two shaky parts.

(1) cbloader decrypts an encrypted database
(2) 99% of everyone using cbloader grabs files of copyrighted content. (Don't rely too much on 'game rules can't be copyrighted' - there's a lot of closed content in there, too.)

With that said, I personally love it. But I think it's shaky.

-O

 

[SabreCat]

I'm beginning to find the "+2 to any two stats for any race" house rule more and more appealing. They made some great choices with this, and some shaky ones, but any way you slice it, somebody's not-even-unusual character concept is going to be mechanically shafted by the options the D&D developers decided on. As evidenced by most of the non-CBloader-related discussion in this thread.

After all, why not Gnomish Fighters? ^.^

 

[Herschel]

Bad example as Fighters can operate just fine with a 16 strength.

 

[mneme]

Hersh: True, although it helps to have -some- bonus to stats that fighters benefit from. The best Gnomes can do (now) is Int/Dex, where they're sacrificing defense (key for fighters) for a setup that's best if they're a slayer. Although the Invis is nifty for a fighter.

Int used to be completely dire for fighters (nothing except AC, no access); with the proliferation of feats, I guess it's not nearly as dire.

Corellon's Wrath Style is narrow, but interesting (tmp hps are nothing to sneeze at, but you have to use a bad power for them).
Arena Specialist is actually quite good.
Spear and Shield Style is quite strong +1 reach on Tide of Iron!
Warding Shield Style--+1 to AC of an adjacent ally when you hit with Tide of Iron is pretty fun -- too bad you can't (I think) combine Warding Shield Style and Spear and Shield Style.

Charisma....Actually Harlequin Stile is pretty fun (+Cha to all defenses against target of Brash Strike).