[OGCS] What happened to Tempest?

Out of curiosity, how many of you are using Firefox as a browser?

I've been tracing the old map ("Tempest_map_places.jpg", to be precise)with Inkscape - you can see the result in my attachment. The next step will be entering the existing locations and adding political boundaries.

I think one of the problems was that the old maps were so gorgeous that no one dared altering in any way. But if we have a "base map" in vector format, everyone can alter it and add to it without any hassles...

I'm using Firefox - and I'll return to active duty on the Tempest wiki within the next five days

...good idea with the map, Jürgen!

OK, I've just added a map page complete with all the information you need to get the neccessary software...

...and two versions of my latest map, one in SVG and one in PNG format. It now also has the political boundaries of the various countries as I have imagined them.

Any suggestions or complaints about them?

Jürgen Hubert said:

OK, I've just added a map page complete with all the information you need to get the neccessary software...

...and two versions of my latest map, one in SVG and one in PNG format. It now also has the political boundaries of the various countries as I have imagined them.

Any suggestions or complaints about them?

Click to expand...

I generally like it. "Kua" should be "Kuar", and Silynbriel should be a small region between Kuar and Duer Nam, extending east no further than the the center spine of the Deep Mountains. Coldstone can be smaller also, but that's less important. Most of that area is ruin-filled wilderness anyways. That's all I've got for the moment.

I noticed d20 stats in some sections (monsters, magic). I suggest this: new monsters, magic, etc. should be described in fluff terms only, then put a link to the d20 rules section (that would be a new section). My idea is that the setting, while having most D&Dish fantasy staples (dwarves, elves, arcane and divine spellcasters, etc.), should be open to other game systems. So there could be rules sections for d20, True20, Castles & Crusades, HARP, Savage Worlds, and other game systems. That way, Tempest could become more of an universal setting and thus draw in more interests. Just my two cents of course.

Turanil said:

I noticed d20 stats in some sections (monsters, magic). I suggest this: new monsters, magic, etc. should be described in fluff terms only, then put a link to the d20 rules section (that would be a new section). My idea is that the setting, while having most D&Dish fantasy staples (dwarves, elves, arcane and divine spellcasters, etc.), should be open to other game systems. So there could be rules sections for d20, True20, Castles & Crusades, HARP, Savage Worlds, and other game systems. That way, Tempest could become more of an universal setting and thus draw in more interests. Just my two cents of course.

Click to expand...

I have no objection to this, as I am a multi-RPG kind of guy myself. However, it should be made absolutely clear that the non-d20 rules bits are not covered by the OGL, but instead constitute "fan efforts" and do not challenge the copyrights of those companies in any way...

Jürgen Hubert said:

I have no objection to this, as I am a multi-RPG kind of guy myself. However, it should be made absolutely clear that the non-d20 rules bits are not covered by the OGL, but instead constitute "fan efforts" and do not challenge the copyrights of those companies in any way...

Click to expand...

I don't know about HARP or Savage Worlds, but True20 & Castles & Crusades are both OGL games. If someone wanted to take the initiative to get permission from Green Ronin and/or Troll Lords to use their IP and indicate compatibility, that'd be cool. Mixing fan and OGL material might otherwise get...confused. I really doubt anyone would care, but still.

I don't mind separating out mechanics from the gazeteer.

Nellisir said:

I don't know about HARP or Savage Worlds, but True20 & Castles & Crusades are both OGL games. If someone wanted to take the initiative to get permission from Green Ronin and/or Troll Lords to use their IP and indicate compatibility, that'd be cool. Mixing fan and OGL material might otherwise get...confused. I really doubt anyone would care, but still.

I don't mind separating out mechanics from the gazeteer.

Click to expand...

It's probably best if we use a "Category: Rules" tag for all such entries to note that they are handled seperately from the overall OGL - and a "Category: <Insert Game System>" to specify the exact game system.

After all, the OGL requires us to make clear exactly what is and what isn't covered by it, and such category tags seem to be the easiest way to do it...

Jürgen Hubert said:

It's probably best if we use a "Category: Rules" tag for all such entries to note that they are handled seperately from the overall OGL - and a "Category: <Insert Game System>" to specify the exact game system.

After all, the OGL requires us to make clear exactly what is and what isn't covered by it, and such category tags seem to be the easiest way to do it...

Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I'm following you.

Right now, as I understand it, Tempest is entirely OGC. Furthermore, we're sticking to material from the SRD as much as is humanly possible.

I don't mind bringing in OGC from outside the SRD, so long as the OGL is updated properly. I don't mind getting permission from publishers to set up "True20 compatible", "Castles & Crusades compatible", and etc, rules categories. I'm very hesitant to just fare forth and do that on a "fan" basis, however -- if we're going to do that, we might as well just ditch the OGL altogether. Part of the point of Tempest was to make a legal, quasi-generic, open-game content campaign setting for public use. If we start intermingling fan and og content, that gets more complicated.

So I guess I'm wondering...are you proposing one OGL for the setting (fluff), and another for the rules?
One for the setting & d20 rules, and others for different rule systems?
One for the setting, and none for the rules?

If you do want to use fan materials, what about setting up a second (or multiple) wikis (TempestTrue20.wiki, TempestCC.wiki)? This allows the OGL to apply to the Tempest website as a whole without weird exceptions, but still preserves alot of interlinking capabilities.

Cheers
Nell.