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Can the GNU be applied to an RPG system?
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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 5580555" data-attributes="member: 177"><p>In theory, yes. But there's a risk. You see, you have to properly extract the rules, and not use *any portion* of their particular way of stating those rules. If you do that poorly, so some of the Intellectual Property is left in, you can be nailed by the copyright.</p><p></p><p>For example, the arrangement of a table telling you what bonuses, feats, and abilities that a class gets per level is covered by copyright. You can't just copy their table - you have to give a novel arrangement of that same information. </p><p></p><p>Or, for example, the names of monsters - some are public domain, others aren't. If you don't know which is which, you can let "illithid" slip into your copy, and you soon get legal papers from WotC and a lawsuit on your hands.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>No, the OGL gives you a prescribed way to use material so that you *know* what they allowed, and what they didn't - even if some of it was technically their IP, they allow you to use it so long as you follow the terms of the license. The material in the SRD was fair game - you could use it verbatim, without having to worry about how you restated it. Stuff not in the SRD wasn't. Clear and simple, no guessing, no risk if you follow the terms of the license.</p><p></p><p>The GSL is more restrictive than the OGL, putting more restrictions on what you could and couldn't do with their material.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 5580555, member: 177"] In theory, yes. But there's a risk. You see, you have to properly extract the rules, and not use *any portion* of their particular way of stating those rules. If you do that poorly, so some of the Intellectual Property is left in, you can be nailed by the copyright. For example, the arrangement of a table telling you what bonuses, feats, and abilities that a class gets per level is covered by copyright. You can't just copy their table - you have to give a novel arrangement of that same information. Or, for example, the names of monsters - some are public domain, others aren't. If you don't know which is which, you can let "illithid" slip into your copy, and you soon get legal papers from WotC and a lawsuit on your hands. No, the OGL gives you a prescribed way to use material so that you *know* what they allowed, and what they didn't - even if some of it was technically their IP, they allow you to use it so long as you follow the terms of the license. The material in the SRD was fair game - you could use it verbatim, without having to worry about how you restated it. Stuff not in the SRD wasn't. Clear and simple, no guessing, no risk if you follow the terms of the license. The GSL is more restrictive than the OGL, putting more restrictions on what you could and couldn't do with their material. [/QUOTE]
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