A question about d20 compliance.

[DSC-EricPrice]

After months of delays and procrastination we're doing final review on a book for an alternate subterranean druid core class. At the back of the book we made up a table designed to help you make NPC deep druids quickly, in a form similiar to those found in chapter 4 of the DMG. Afterwards, we're beginning to wonder if this stretches or even breaks the rules set up for d20 compliance, which requires of course that you dont talk about how to advance in level or apply the effects of experience. Is creating a table like this in effect breaking that prohibition? Has anyone heard one way or the other, or can anyone cite any reputable publishers who have used such a table in one of their own d20 works? I guess the easy thing to do would be to simply remove the pages, but we really do think the table has value to DMs in a pinch and we'd hate to remove it if its not necessary.

Any thoughts?

 

[Tav_Behemoth]

We used a similar chart of NPCs level 1-20 in the Masters and Minions books; I think it's a great idea, and one of the bits of the DMG that people should steal more often We might not count as reputable publishers, though; our books use the Open Gaming License, but not the d20 System license.

Nevertheless, I believe that the prohibitions in the d20 license you're referring to in no way prevent such a chart, as long as you stick more or less closely to the info presented in the similar tables in the DMG. Specifying how many experience points it took to go from one level of the chart to the next, for example, or stating how many gp of equipment the NPC would have at each level, would be inadvisable.

 

[jmucchiello]

Ask yourself these questions: Given the chart you include in your book, could someone who has never read the PHB (or had it read/explained to him) create a character? Having seen your chart does this person now no longer need to read the PHB in order to make other characters? If you just have a chart, you are probably safe.

Also, I think the prohibition in the d20 license is against something like:

How to Make a Character
1.) Roll 3d6, assign the value to Strength. Repeat 5 times for Dexterity, Con, Int, Wis and Cha.
2.) Choose a feat.
3.) Assign skill ranks using skill points.
4.) etc.

 

[kingpaul]

I don't think there would be an issue with a chart. All a chart is doing is organizing information. As has been said, by following the d20 STL and SG, you can't explain how to create character, no can you explain the effects of leveling up.

 

[Voadam]

Another example is chainmail bikini's beyond monks which has sample characters for their alternate monk class and charts for multiclass progressions to meet certain genre archetypes.

 

[Man-thing]

Mongoose Publishing had similar charts in all the Quintessential II Line to should quick advancement in multiclass paths.