A Community SRD?

[Ry]

The Neverwinter Nights did a Community Expansion Pack for Neverwinter Nights that's been successful because it was so widely adopted. Basically it was a collection of excellent mods donated by the community and vetted by an editorial board, then compiled together and edited again for consistency of formatting and interoperability.

I think that the d20 community could do the same thing if it set its mind on it. The discussions I've seen so far of OGC content have stirred up a lot of debate, but I was thinking of something that writers had to deliberately donate to.

I know there are netbooks and whatnot, but they haven't been widely adopted, and the reason I think has to do with the vetting, formatting, and interoperability issues.

Thoughts?

 

[Ry]

bump

 

[WhatGravitas]

I think that the d20 community could do the same thing if it set its mind on it. The discussions I've seen so far of OGC content have stirred up a lot of debate, but I was thinking of something that writers had to deliberately donate to.

Sounds very interesting, but who has the time, the professionalism, and the dedication to such a project?

Personally, I'd really like to see something like this, but... what should fill it? Contents: More spells, more classes, more feats?

Something that resembles a "community-version" of the "Complete" books? (i.e. based on the principles of the classes there without copying them to make the concepts more viable for OGC-publishing?

Something innovative, like a Community Unearthed Arcana?

Our personal D&D/d20 OGL v3.75?

 

[Morrus]

It's the sprt of thing that's been suggested, and started, about a billion times before. Like most community projects, you get an initial rush of interest, and then it all fizzles out. Your best lternative is checkin out some of the OGL compilation books from various publishers (including Monte Cook's Best of d20).

 

[Ry]

But can anyone else use Best of d20's stuff in their own (published) OGL game?

 

[Morrus]

But can anyone else use Best of d20's stuff in their own (published) OGL game?

You can use any OGC in your own published game. I haven't seen Monte's book myself, so I don't know what in it is marked OGC and what isn't, but since it's a compilation of other peoples' OGC, I'd guess that the majority is.

 

[Ry]

I thought it was all by permission though, and isn't this the thing that makes some OGL publishers scream in rage?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Pretty sure everything but the names and flavor text is available in YBD20. It's an astonishingly good book.

 

[Alzrius]

I thought it was all by permission though, and isn't this the thing that makes some OGL publishers scream in rage?

It's courteous to inform someone that you'll be using their OGC in your work, and even moreso to respect their wishes if they ask you not to (or to use it a certain way, etc.) but it's not strictly necessary. You can use any OGC in your own published work.

It is true that a lot of publishers aren't wild about the idea of large collaboration of freely-available OGC, since that could theoretically impact product sales. Why buy product X when most of it (if the book had a large amount of OGC) is freely and legally available on the internet?

 

[Ry]

I just think that the idea of an expanded SRD should appeal to many publishers as well as fans. I mean, in the case of NWN's CEP, part of the reason it's widely adopted is that it's linked right off the main community site. Since Wizards has a schismatic relationship with the OGL right now, THAT's not going to happen soon, but something involving a few other publishers and EN World seems much more reasonable.