Character Creation Software - Straight Answer Please

[dinelendarkstar]

This question is for Linae Foster.

So I want to be clear, is the license saying that someone CAN NOT for any reason make a Character Generator?

Are you really trying to tell us that the HeroForge's and PCGens can no longer be made?

And it would be nice to actually get a straightforward answer on this.

dinelendarkstar

 

[kenmarable]

Uh... I'm sure one of them could be by to answer you directly, but the GSL is very clear on this already. No, people cannot make those under the GSL. Whether the "fan site policy" will be more lenient for fan-created and/or not-for-profit software, we'll have to wait and see.

That being said... operating under US copyright laws with really good legal advice, you might be able to bypass the GSL entirely and create unlicensed character generator software.

You may not like that answer, but the GSL already has a straightforward answer, and that answer is "No, you can't."

 

[dinelendarkstar]

Well I see the license as saying that published products can't have a character creator. Since character creation software by itself isn't a published product, (book, pdf or magazine) I really don't see that line as applying to software like HeroForge or PCGen, etc.

 

[tomBitonti]

Well I see the license as saying that published products can't have a character creator. Since character creation software by itself isn't a published product, (book, pdf or magazine) I really don't see that line as applying to software like HeroForge or PCGen, etc.

bold added by me.

I don't think that is true. I'm pretty sure that software is very much a published product.

 

[PatrickLawinger]

Well, I would guess you can't do this under the GSL, if you are going to use the license. Going ahead without the license is possible ...
The problem is, do you have the time and money to have a good IP lawyer review your software/web-based product in order to make sure you are clearly in "fair use" territory? I think it has been mentioned in some other posts (might be on another board-I have only skimmed some of the threads). Fair Use and what exactly falls under fair use is somewhat murky. It would require knowledgeable legal advice to insure you don't step where you shouldn't and, let's face it, that would be a huge expense to do properly. This is pretty much why anyone publishing material for 4e is going to use the GSL.
In addition, if you do it wrong and get sued, WotC can step forward and show the court how they created a license allowing FREE use of their IP to create compatible products. That would undoubtedly be a major point in their favor.

Software products like character generators, etc. are specifically forbidden by the GSL. If you want to go that route, you'll have to stick to "fair use." Personally, I would, um, let someone else do it.

Patrick

 

[Grazzt]

bold added by me.

I'm pretty sure that software is very much a published product.

Yeah. By all definitions (that Ive seen or know) it is.

 

[Urza]

Are you really trying to tell us that the HeroForge's and PCGens can no longer be made?

They're saying that HeroForge and PCGen can't support 4e, that's what they're saying.

Any character gen, free or not, is competition for DDI.

 

[dinelendarkstar]

They're saying that HeroForge and PCGen can't support 4e, that's what they're saying.

Any character gen, free or not, is competition for DDI.

Linae, any comments? I'd really like to hear it straight from you.

Can HeroForge or PCGen exist for 4E and under the GSL?

 

[Urza]

Can HeroForge or PCGen exist for 4E and under the GSL?

Even if they "can" there's another problem, the GSL doesn't allow them to still support OGL.. that's a lot of games that suddenly lose PCGen support.

Personally, I don't see what parts of the SRD can even be used to create software... after all the GSL is a license that lets you use the SRD, and the SRD is nothing but terms.

 

[Morrus]

The license is very clear about it: you cannot use the license to publish character generation software, just like you couldn't use the d20 STL to do so. So no logo on your software, in short.

Whether you can do so without the license has the same answer as every other such question in the history of the universe: it falls under normal copyright law, and you'll need to consult a lawyer if you're unsure. Nobody from WotC will give you legal advice on that.

The fan site policy might present a third avennue for doing so, but you'll need to wait and see.