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<blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 1458220" data-attributes="member: 10201">OGL has come to be shorthand for &quot;D20 System, but we're not allowed to say so&quot;. However, that isn't really what it means. Anything can be released under the WotC OGL, and so far at least 2 complete game systems (three?) have been: D20 System and Action! Since WotC has not deigned to give us an alternative unique label for their game system, it pretty much has to be called &quot;D20 System&quot;. Whether or not it is eligible for the D20STL, and thus has a D20 System logo on it. So there are really 4 things you're talking about here:1) &quot;OGL&quot;: proper meaning is any game or game product released under the WotC OGL, or perhaps any ogl, but colloquially has come to mean &quot;D20 System&quot; (#2 below).2) &quot;D20 System&quot;: name for the otherwise-unnamed ruleset used in products based on the D20SRD and/or D20MSRD, as well as D&amp;D3[.5]E and several other games from WotC, regardless of trademark status. 3) &quot;D20 System&quot;: formal tradename for the ruleset used in products based on the D20SRD and/or D20MSRD, as well as D&amp;D3[.5]E and several other games from WotC. Technically, requires acceptance of, and abiding by, the D20STL to make this claim.4) &quot;D&amp;D3[.5]E&quot;: name of a particular game line published by WotC (and a few others, under license), from which the D20SRD is derived, and then released under the WotC OGL.So, (4) is not open content. And while huge swaths of it are verbatim identical to material released as (2), technically, the material in D&amp;D can't be reused, even if identical material in the D20SRD can be. So, yes, spells are &quot;part of&quot; the D20 System, whether the speaker is talking of (2) or (3) above. However, they are not an *integral* part of D20 System--you can certainly have a D20 System product that doesn't have D&amp;D-style spells in it, or has different spells, or doesn't have magic at all. Much of the confusion comes from the fact that there is no agreed-upon label for (2) above, with some using &quot;OGL&quot;, and thus confusing (1) and (2) above, and others using &quot;D20 System&quot; and thus confusnig (2) and (3) above. So, when someone says &quot;D20 System&quot; or &quot;OGL&quot; when describing a game, you really don't know what they mean. The former could mean &quot;uses the D20 System&quot; or the narrower &quot;uses the D20 System in such a way as to conform to the D20STL&quot;. Similarly, &quot;OGL&quot; could mean &quot;uses the D20 System&quot; or the much vaguer &quot;is released under the WotC OGL&quot;.My own preference is to recognize that we're not business entities engaged in trade here, and thus not bound by most trademark laws, much less licenses/contracts we're not parties to. We all know that the systems in Arcana Unearthed, D&amp;D3.5E, Spycraft, Mutants &amp; Masterminds, and OGL Horror are the same system, and that that is clearly &quot;the D20 System&quot;, whether they sport the logo or not. That leaves (3) above as the category without a label, and i suggest &quot;D20 System logoed&quot;, or just &quot;D20 logoed&quot; for shorthand, since that is the most accurate descriptor--the defining difference between (2) and (3) above isn't the content, it's the logo.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="woodelf, post: 1458220, member: 10201"] OGL has come to be shorthand for "D20 System, but we're not allowed to say so". However, that isn't really what it means. Anything can be released under the WotC OGL, and so far at least 2 complete game systems (three?) have been: D20 System and Action! Since WotC has not deigned to give us an alternative unique label for their game system, it pretty much has to be called "D20 System". Whether or not it is eligible for the D20STL, and thus has a D20 System logo on it. So there are really 4 things you're talking about here: 1) "OGL": proper meaning is any game or game product released under the WotC OGL, or perhaps any ogl, but colloquially has come to mean "D20 System" (#2 below). 2) "D20 System": name for the otherwise-unnamed ruleset used in products based on the D20SRD and/or D20MSRD, as well as D&D3[.5]E and several other games from WotC, regardless of trademark status. 3) "D20 System": formal tradename for the ruleset used in products based on the D20SRD and/or D20MSRD, as well as D&D3[.5]E and several other games from WotC. Technically, requires acceptance of, and abiding by, the D20STL to make this claim. 4) "D&D3[.5]E": name of a particular game line published by WotC (and a few others, under license), from which the D20SRD is derived, and then released under the WotC OGL. So, (4) is not open content. And while huge swaths of it are verbatim identical to material released as (2), technically, the material in D&D can't be reused, even if identical material in the D20SRD can be. So, yes, spells are "part of" the D20 System, whether the speaker is talking of (2) or (3) above. However, they are not an *integral* part of D20 System--you can certainly have a D20 System product that doesn't have D&D-style spells in it, or has different spells, or doesn't have magic at all. Much of the confusion comes from the fact that there is no agreed-upon label for (2) above, with some using "OGL", and thus confusing (1) and (2) above, and others using "D20 System" and thus confusnig (2) and (3) above. So, when someone says "D20 System" or "OGL" when describing a game, you really don't know what they mean. The former could mean "uses the D20 System" or the narrower "uses the D20 System in such a way as to conform to the D20STL". Similarly, "OGL" could mean "uses the D20 System" or the much vaguer "is released under the WotC OGL". My own preference is to recognize that we're not business entities engaged in trade here, and thus not bound by most trademark laws, much less licenses/contracts we're not parties to. We all know that the systems in Arcana Unearthed, D&D3.5E, Spycraft, Mutants & Masterminds, and OGL Horror are the same system, and that that is clearly "the D20 System", whether they sport the logo or not. That leaves (3) above as the category without a label, and i suggest "D20 System logoed", or just "D20 logoed" for shorthand, since that is the most accurate descriptor--the defining difference between (2) and (3) above isn't the content, it's the logo. [/QUOTE]

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