Creature Catalog to be Published

[Grazzt]

As for submissions to the Creature Catalog, all of the conversions and original work was done by myself, Erica, and Boz. Now, as for the actual authorship of the various monsters that we have converted...that would include a long list of people (given that a lot come from the original FF and there were a lot of people in there that did the work).

However, credit will always be given where credit is due. Were it not for the fine work of all of those people, I wouldn't have anything to convert in the first place.

The only people that will be getting ripped off are the ones that try to stand toe to toe with the Bog Beast or Astral Shark or the....oh nevermind...more on that later.

 

[Monte At Home]

Sorry

Erica--Sorry. It was 3 AM when I wrote that. (But take it from Monty Cook, or Monte Cooke, once you start getting your name thrown about on the Internet, it's going to get mispelled. A lot. )

Lizard--You're right. And it would be interesting to find out the answer to your question about minors. I sort of like the idea of an 8 year old prodigy putting out her own d20 product.

 

[DnDChick]

Re: Sorry

Erica--Sorry. It was 3 AM when I wrote that. (But take it from Monty Cook, or Monte Cooke, once you start getting your name thrown about on the Internet, it's going to get mispelled. A lot. )

No harm done...I was just teasing you. I do that, especially to guys. Just ask Scott!

Having grown up with the "C" spelling has biased me so that the "K" spelling just seems somehow off. I took on offense, I promise. I indignation was purely tongue in cheek.

 

[Voadam]

When WotC started putting out ESDs I believe they posted on their website that it was OK to convert all old material to 3e and to post the conversion online, just not to post the original material or to resell the original material.

I had always thought that the CC was based off of that statement from WotC and the same with Eric Noah's and now EN World's conversion pages.

However, that is all separate from the D20 license and the OGL.

I'm assuming that the new monsters are going to be d20 and at least their mechanics will be OGC.

However, this leaves a coulple of questions about conversion of non-OGC material.

Did Necromancer or the people at CC get permission to turn old WotC IP into a d20 product? Similar to Kenzer Co.'s license to use old D&D material to make Hackmaster? Is permission not an issue here? Is the CC going to make all the conversions OGC?

The CC seems different from Necromancer's Orcus stats which is inspired by D&D but derived from public domain. The CC is a straight conversion of old IP.

Btw, I really like the CC site, nice job.

Also, are the creatures that make it into the print book from the site going to still be part of the site and the free download pdf books?

Thanks

 

[Cergorach]

When WotC started putting out ESDs I believe they posted on their website that it was OK to convert all old material to 3e and to post the conversion online, just not to post the original material or to resell the original material.

I had always thought that the CC was based off of that statement from WotC and the same with Eric Noah's and now EN World's conversion pages.

However, that is all separate from the D20 license and the OGL.

I'm assuming that the new monsters are going to be d20 and at least their mechanics will be OGC.

However, this leaves a coulple of questions about conversion of non-OGC material.

Did Necromancer or the people at CC get permission to turn old WotC IP into a d20 product? Similar to Kenzer Co.'s license to use old D&D material to make Hackmaster? Is permission not an issue here? Is the CC going to make all the conversions OGC?

The CC seems different from Necromancer's Orcus stats which is inspired by D&D but derived from public domain. The CC is a straight conversion of old IP.

This is exactly why i started this thread, in my experience CC always presented itself as a conversion site. Never using the OGL or D20 liscence, but instead using the words of Jim Butler to publish their conversions as a fan effort. Now Necromancer Games is going to publish part of the CC as it's own product, part of that product is converted from WotC copyrighted works, i think that's going against some copyright law (should look into that one). On the other hand, if we are talking about original monsters/rules/stats, that's a whole different story.

I really want this to work, but i see so many sinkholes along the way. If Necromancer Games sets a dangerous precedent it might let loose some more unscrupulous publshers...

1. Obviously there are a number of monsters we cant do. I am working with WotC on that issue (and a number of other issues). Could an unforseen legal issue derail this whole project? Its possible. But I dont think that will happen.

This alleviates some of my worries, two companies that big actually communicating... WOW!!! I don't know if you can talk about it, but what's WotC's take on the CC? Kinda curious...

I just wish more companies had the altruistic ideas as Necromancer Games has. "Don't care if this makes any money, it's just so kewl!" Damn, i want that ;-)

 

[Orcus]

You will notice that this product has been announced on the net, but there is no OFFICIAL Necro press release on it. There is a reason for that. First, when I do the official press release, I want to be able to give the fans specifics on what to expect. I am still working those detials out with WotC. Second, I wanted to get discussion going on this project. It sure took off. Faster than I even expected. I figured since this was such a fan based prodcut that I wanted fan based comments on the content and other input.

All the above questions (copyright, content, etc) will be answered when the official Press Release is issued. But for now, lets keep this going!

Clark

 

[Da Man]

When WotC started putting out ESDs I believe they posted on their website that it was OK to convert all old material to 3e and to post the conversion online, just not to post the original material or to resell the original material.

I had always thought that the CC was based off of that statement from WotC and the same with Eric Noah's and now EN World's conversion pages.

This is exactly why i started this thread, in my experience CC always presented itself as a conversion site. Never using the OGL or D20 liscence, but instead using the words of Jim Butler to publish their conversions as a fan effort.

This is what I have been saying since the start of this thread.

I have been under the impression that this was a Fan-Driven site. Is this not true? Is this instead simply a culling ground for publishers to grab and make a profit off of (and, that is exactly what is happening from my viewpoint, regardless of stated altruistic intentions/PR to the contrary)?

If this is not the case, it is certainly the implication.

There are many negative things about this, in my opinion, my own selfish desires to be able to find conversions easily without having to do them myself notwithstanding.

It should be noted that I am ONLY talking about conversions. I am not referring to new material at all. With regard to that, as long as no one ever, not once, asked for a custom monster and the current authors of this work never used someone else's material, then there is nothing wrong.

I find this whole thing to be very disturbing and it gets worse by the minute.

 

[DnDChick]

Monster Muster

For the record, Scott and I did a tally of how many origial monsters we have in the vault that we could use to fill in the ranks if WoTC nixes most of whats on the website. We count 73, plus more on the way.

Many...MOST...of these 73 creepy critters have never before been seen except by Scott and myself. Some have appeared in Asgard, and Morrus has given us his blessing to use them since they are designated as OGC. On a side note: the monsters from Asgard that may appear in the CC book are only those that were designed by Scott or myself.

As it stands now, we have a grand total of 73 original monsters that, through selection of the best for quality, might be narrowed down a little or a lot.

Lets be generous and say that out of those 73-odd monsters we have 60 original creations to bring to the book, plus however many more we can work up before any deadlines.

So even if WoTC vetos a lot of the 1e and 2e conversions, Scott, Boz, and I can turn out a decent-sized monster book if Necromancer Games is still interested in such a publication.

As always, the trio of "powers that be" at the Creature Catalog will be engaging in strictest quality control, to ensure that our monsters meet the high standards of uniqueness, balance, and usefulness that our fans request and deserve.

 

[NeghVar]

This is what I have been saying since the start of this thread.

I have been under the impression that this was a Fan-Driven site. Is this not true? Is this instead simply a culling ground for publishers to grab and make a profit off of (and, that is exactly what is happening from my viewpoint, regardless of stated altruistic intentions/PR to the contrary)?

If this is not the case, it is certainly the implication.

There are many negative things about this, in my opinion, my own selfish desires to be able to find conversions easily without having to do them myself notwithstanding.

It should be noted that I am ONLY talking about conversions. I am not referring to new material at all. With regard to that, as long as no one ever, not once, asked for a custom monster and the current authors of this work never used someone else's material, then there is nothing wrong.

I find this whole thing to be very disturbing and it gets worse by the minute.

Let's say I come up with a really good D20 game and put it on a website. Giving it away to all the masses for nothing. As we go, I have a few of my close friends add some material where neeeded. Now a D20 publisher decides my work is pretty good and wants to publish it. I think it is a good idea, and none of my friends disagree. What do I do?

Now let's say that I decide I would like to post a bunch of conversions of a previous game edition to my website. According to the publisher, this is OK. Again giving it away to the masses for free. After some time a publisher contacts me and asks if they can print my conversions with the permission of the original publisher. What do I do?

It seems to me that if WotC approves Necromancer's plan to release this book, then there is no problem (this is the case). Now if Necromancer games were to publish this book without even approaching WotC there would be aserious problem (this is not the case).

Now from what I can tell, Scott, Erica, and Boz are the only ones that ever had conversions posted on the CC website (Guys - correct me if I am wrong). And if they are all in agreement that the book is a go, who's work is being stolen by Necro?

Seems to me that so far, that CC being published is pretty legit.

But I digress...
Art

 

[Orcus]

"I have been under the impression that this was a Fan-Driven site. Is this not true? Is this instead simply a culling ground for publishers to grab and make a profit off of (and, that is exactly what is happening from my viewpoint, regardless of stated altruistic intentions/PR to the contrary)?

I find this whole thing to be very disturbing and it gets worse by the minute."

Come on now. Lets cut the hyperbole.

This is not a fan contribution site that is being taken and published regardless of the wishes of the fans who contributed. The conversions were all done by Scott (and co). And they approached ME about publishing the stuff, which I thought was a great idea. So calm down on the "publisher grabbing it to make a profit" stuff. Were there any contributors other than Scott (and co) I have called for thier input and objection if any to use of the material (of course, that is mostly moot since Scott and Erica and Boz did it all).

Hopefully you are no longer disturbed now that you have learned it is not getting worse by the minute.

Clark