Goodman Games Releasing 4e Adventures Prior to October 1st

[kave99]

check out the "ready to play" on pg 9 of the PH points players to 3pp

 

[pemerton]

check out the "ready to play" on pg 9 of the PH points players to 3pp

I think there is an interesting question about the extent of implied licence the PHB grants to purchasers of the book to reproduce parts of iWoTC's copyrighted text - after all, it is a set of rules intended to be used to play a game, and the game can't be played without reproducing power texts, monster statblocks, etc.

But I don't know how far that gets 3PPs, who want to reproduce not for the purpose of play, but for their own commercial publishing purposes.

 

[CountPopeula]

Back on earth, a healthy RPG hobby requires a healthy company that regularly updates D&D and produces content for it. Besides, while WotC might be the only company in the RPG industry that's not a 'small business' by any standard definition, they're certainly not a large one unless you count all of Hasbro.

I don't think this is necessarily true. You could argue that every industry needs a leader, but on planet Earth, that leader doesn't have to be the same. Dungeons and Dragons doesn't even have to be in print for the TRPG industry to succeed or flourish.

For argument's sake, let's say my company is in complete control of an industry, and my nearest competitor sells something like 1/10th of the amount of core product I do. And let's assume that my company's name is synonymous with the industry itself, like Band-aid or Xerox. Let's further say that I use draconian licensing agreements, apply content standards to third parties, and generally act like kind of a jerk to all the small companies I deign worthy to suckle at my teat. I am the 800 pound gorilla of the industry, without me the industry would have died and faded into obscurity, I AM the industry.

Now let's say I have a shiny new product, the third edition of my product. Something the entire industry has been eagerly awaiting for years. And I feel like I don't need my biggest third party publishers, they need me.

Now let's say that my biggest, most influential third party partner decides to publish their new product with my competitor and not me. I have no reason to be worried, right? I mean, I'm the industry leader, I'm the brand name.

Now let's say my company is Nintendo, and Square just announced Final Fantasy 7 for the Sony Playstation.

Hasbro/WotC need third party publishers. Period. And the OGL assured that third party publishers were using their system. If the GSL is unacceptable to third parties, what Wizards should be afraid of isn't that someone might publish compatible material without their permission. What they need to fear is that someone will put out something really excellent that sells a big pile of books for their competition. Tengen publishing Nintendo games without a license didn't hurt Nintendo, but Square publishing Final Fantasy 7 did.

Also, for the record, Nintendo did sue the crap out of Tengen for patent infringement.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

The goodwill issue is not something I have any competence to elaborate on, but one way of dealing with the copyright issue might be to do what someone else suggested above, and include no stats at all except generic descriptions using non-copyrighted/non-trademarked descriptions (goblin level 2 x2, etc).

Which, oddly enough, is what the GSL requires you to do anyway.

The module text would then, in effect, be nothing but fluff (which just happens to generate a playable D&D adventure when read in the context of the 4e core rulebooks).

Leaving, as the sole purpose of the GSL, the ability to use the D&D logo on the (back?) cover of your product.

I think the evidence points very strongly towards Goodman eschewing the GSL and using only the permissions already allowed under copyright.

 

[DaveMage]

If they do go the copyright route, I wonder if they will have pregens in the modules like they normally do....

 

[Tav_Behemoth]

Keep in mind that there are both Axis & Allies and Risk variants/support products on the market and Hasbro has not shut those down.

Wikipedia's article on Hasbro's HeroScape says:

Heroscape spawned much fan-generated content and material, including custom terrain, like jungles made out of aquarium plants, battle boards, ruins, buildings, and sci-fi terrain. Also created are custom figures, which permit fans to include elements from their favorite films, such asStar Wars, Hellboy, and the xenomorph from Alien.[citation needed] A secondary market for such figures grew quickly, but Hasbro expressed disapproval over the market, as the reselling of unlicensed Heroscape merchandise is a violation of the intellectual property of both Hasbro and the various source materials from which the unlicensed figures were drawn.

Others argue fan-generated content actually helps to promote the game itself.[citation needed]

It'd be interesting to see how Hasbro "expressed disapproval" and what effect it had.

 

[AllisterH]

Wikipedia's article on Hasbro's HeroScape says:



It'd be interesting to see how Hasbro "expressed disapproval" and what effect it had.

Keep in mind that Hasbro was probably on the hook FROM the OTHER guys.

Do you think when Lucas et al heard about the "custom figures"that they took their grievances to the people who made such custom figures?

Hell, no. They're making their displeasure known to HASBRO and even Hasbro doesn't mess with Lucas. (especially given that he has a stake in Hasbro).

 

[hexgrid]

Which, oddly enough, is what the GSL requires you to do anyway.

I'm pretty sure the GSL allows you to include stats. You just can't reprint stats from the books.

I think pemerton is saying that going copyright only, including stats at all is questionable because a large amount of WotC IP is required to make sense of them.

Not arguing the point myself, btw. I don't feel strongly about about the issue- I'll just buy what looks useful to me.

 

[Zaukrie]

You can still find plenty of fan created HS minis on Ebay. Most of them are DDM minis, put onto HS bases, and with HS cards created for them. They go for outrageous sums sometimes.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I'm pretty sure the GSL allows you to include stats. You just can't reprint stats from the books.

Yes, I know.

The GSL seems designed to provoke one of these two outcomes:

1) Goodman Games (and others) write adventures which reference "goblins" or "kobolds" and does not include stats-- in which case, why use the GSL at all?

2) Goodman Games (and others) write adventures using the GSL, which do include stats, and we end up with literally hundreds of kobold and goblin variants scattered across dozens of published works.

Neither of these is what I would exactly call optimal.