4e D&D GSL Live

[alanpossible]

Just a thought....

But is there anything to stop someone from developing 4e material under the GSL and then releasing *their* IP to the public domain?

Seems like an obvious loophole is for someone/some group of people to develop a perfectly legitimate and compatible Wizarde, Kleric, Fightar, Elhf, Harfling, ... and make them freely available for anyone to use and copy.

It would be like developing an OGL under the GSL

Just curious

 

[Papa-DRB]

I'm not sure that there was actually anyone mainstream that had any reasonable belief they would be able to make computer products for 4E.

That was a no brainer in my mind.

While I agree that no one in the mainstream (read "big" companies) would probably try, there are a lot of "little" companies / open source groups that would have wanted to make a Character Generator for DnD 4.

PCGen, HeroLab, DMGenie, CMPs- RPG Foundry, TOS, etc.* as well as Joe's excel sheet. Now all these folks can't make it via GSL, and I don't think they will take the chance on just going ahead and doing it anyway.

Being a PCGen user/contributor, I know that there has been much discussion on adding the features needed to be able to provide the 4E datasets, which will probably still happen (adding features, not datasets), but then it will be up do Mary user to input her own data.

-- david
Papa.DRB

* Sorry if I missed anyone, it is my lunch time and I am also having a Senior Moment....

 

[Knightfall]

QFT. Consider me to be a guaranteed sale of a full-color Pathfinder ToH.

Me too. I want it!

Does Snoopy happy dance!

 

[Jraynack]

Just a thought....

But is there anything to stop someone from developing 4e material under the GSL and then releasing *their* IP to the public domain?

Seems like an obvious loophole is for someone/some group of people to develop a perfectly legitimate and compatible Wizarde, Kleric, Fightar, Elhf, Harfling, ... and make them freely available for anyone to use and copy.

It would be like developing an OGL under the GSL

Just curious

You can only enter into Public Domain something that is entirely yours (as you mentioned, IP). However, any (I mean any reference) to 4th Edition is used only by WotC's permission. For example, you could not use the name kobold and reference or redefine it using 4th Edition rules and make it public domain.

A publisher cannot even reproduce rules in 4th Edition. The only thing you could put up as Public Domain is flavor text, original names (names of powers, rituals, characters, and so forth, that you created, but not the acutally mechanics.)

So the short answer is no, but a good thought. There is one exeption -70 years after the authors death (unless an extention is filed by relatives or a corporation) their work is automatically submitted into the public domain.

I don't know about anybody else, but I am counting the days .

 

[useridunavailable]

The underlined sections destroy virtually any ability to have even the slightest amount of overlap, since they account for nebulously-"similar" things, and worse, reference "contents" as being applicable as conversions.

This means that if Necromancer games ever publishes a 4E version of even a single monster from ANY of the ToH books, then the entire line of products now falls under the purview of section 6.1, disallowing them from selling the existing OGL versions forever.

Talk about restrictive. :/

What it doesn't do is prevent someone from publishing a product through one company under the OGL, forming a second company, reprinting a 4e version of the same material through the second company under the GSL, then simply choosing not to invoke the first company's right to sue the second company for copyright infringement.

Wouldn't this be possible? The GSL only seems to apply to multiple products published by the same licensee...

 

[joela]

ToH for PfRPG

Clearly, as I understand that existing license, there wont be a "Tome of Horrors" for 4E. I'm not losing the right to make an OGL version. Period. In fact, I am pretty sure that I will be announcing a full color Pathfinder version of the Tome of Horrors shortly. That said, I am still considering a monster book for 4E.

We'll see....

Clark

Even though I have all the Necro ToH books (3?), I'll definitely be interested in one for Pathfinder.

 

[Lizard]

QFT. Consider me to be a guaranteed sale of a full-color Pathfinder ToH.

Where's the "Can't talk, drooling" icon?

 

[Zaukrie]

This thread makes me sad.

And, the more I read about the GSL, the more I think i will buy less WotC product.

We've made the switch to 4E at my house, but I think this is enough for me to play with for a long time. Unless some things are cleared up, and I see Necromancer games products, I'll assume WotC is not really interested in open gaming anymore (which is their right, certainly), and I'll buy less WotC product. yes, this is a change from a post earlier in a different thread.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

My group I DM for will be staying with C&C, and the 3.5 group I play in has decided to now go Pathfinder (until the GSL came out the group was on the fence.) That's about fourteen people's gaming funds that will be going to Troll Lord Games and Paizo.

 

[Drkfathr1]

I fear this will just further fracture the RPG market again. Welcome back to the days of 2nd Ed.