D&D 5E Everybody's got to have a Patron deity. Where did it come from?

[Yaarel]

It seems to me, if WotC gave legal permission for players to access the D&D Modern setting. It could easily have no references to polytheism. And it wouldnt interfere to much with whats going on with the Forgotten Realms setting.

A Modern campaign setting where Paladins are cops, Wizards are techies, Bards are celebrities. Fun.

I would happily contribute to a Modern setting, if it had its own kind of DMs Guild.

Then I could just play the game without needing to reinvent it.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

One track is, you must use the Forgotten Realms setting (with all of its polytheism), and if you do, you can freely access everything else in all the other 5e publications, the entire Players Handbook, the Elemental pdf, the DMG, the Monster Manual and other monster books, the Sword Coast and other setting publications, all the adventures, everything that WotC has to offer. You can even make money if you contribute to the Forgotten Realms setting, selling your work in the DMs Guild. As long as the work conforms to this world of polytheism, you have a wealth of resources to enjoy.

If, on the other track, you are creating your own homebrew campaign setting, too different from the Forgotten Realms setting, then you get bare bones. The 5e SRD pdf. And that is it.

What if you had a pocket dimension, nominally accessible from the Forgotten Realms, but through which divine magic was blocked entirely? And someone only crossed over once every thousand years? You could effectively have your own setting, with entirely new classes and races that aren't influenced by anything you want to ignore, while still technically existing within that setting. Would that work?

I remember reading about a time when fantasy literature was less well-received than science fiction, so authors would write fantasy stories that technically took place on different planets, and human spaceships would put in a token appearance just so they could claim the sci-fi label. It's basically the same idea.

 

[Lanefan]

At this time, it is not my plan to become an indy designer. I just want to play some D&D. Any effort that do towards this play, I want to freely share with others.

If all you want to do is freely share it (as in, no money involved) among your own crew, I highly doubt anyone's going to give a fig.

Hell, I and a few others have pretty much rewritten the 1e PH, much of UA, and a chunk of the DMG from scratch over the years in order to build the game we want, and the results are there for anyone as wants 'em. No reason you can't do the same.

I have to rewrite the entire set of rules from scratch.

Or find a system that hews closer to what you want, and tweak that.

Lanefan

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

It seems to me, if WotC gave legal permission for players to access the D&D Modern setting. It could easily have no references to polytheism. And it wouldnt interfere to much with whats going on with the Forgotten Realms setting.

A Modern campaign setting where Paladins are cops, Wizards are techies, Bards are celebrities. Fun.

I would happily contribute to a Modern setting, if it had its own kind of DMs Guild.

Then I could just play the game without needing to reinvent it.

Possibly, but IIRC the Modern setting was a pretty close analogue of the real world, just with fantasy elements. Thus it is likely to be inclusive of many religions, rather than just picking one and declaring it to be the only valid one in the setting.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

I want a have a comprehensive set of playable D&D 5e rules − that dont refer to polytheism in any way, shape, or form.

So, I should just delete the references from the 5e products that are already out.

Easy, yes? No.

Besides the normal situation of any world-building requiring enormous work, and inconvenient issues like trying to edit a pdf, here is the situation.

The legal department at WotC intentionally created two tracks for how to use the D&D 5e system.

One track is, you must use the Forgotten Realms setting (with all of its polytheism), and if you do, you can freely access everything else in all the other 5e publications, the entire Players Handbook, the Elemental pdf, the DMG, the Monster Manual and other monster books, the Sword Coast and other setting publications, all the adventures, everything that WotC has to offer. You can even make money if you contribute to the Forgotten Realms setting, selling your work in the DMs Guild. As long as the work conforms to this world of polytheism, you have a wealth of resources to enjoy.

If, on the other track, you are creating your own homebrew campaign setting, too different from the Forgotten Realms setting, then you get bare bones. The 5e SRD pdf. And that is it.

Of course, if all of your efforts are strictly for your own personal use, you can do what you want.

But if the work that you are doing for your campaign world, is serious, longterm, public, or who knows, later monetizable, then you need to be careful about the legal status of what you are doing. You cannot mix your homebrew setting with *any* IP content in any D&D 5e product, except the 5e SRD. Because. If you do, the D&D police really will come to your door, and tell you that you are doing it wrong. Namely, the WotC lawyers with cease-and-desists, or worse.

I understand why WotC is doing this. It is a good business model, compromising between complex issues, mostly for mutual benefit.

The problem is. There is no safety valve for me. The only WotC setting that is legally permissible at this time is Forgotten Realms. It is precisely the setting that I dont want because of its polytheism. So have no access any D&D 5e product but the SRD.

For example, the only feat that I am allowed to use in my homebrew monotheistic setting, is the Grappler feat. I have to make up all of my own feats.

And the only background that I am legally allowed to use for my monotheistic setting, is the Acolyte background that says the character is a polytheist who is especially dedicated to a ‘pantheon’ of gods. Heh, how annoying is that!

All of the classic D&D spells are in the SRD, yet I look at the Elemental adventure spells that I like that I cannot use. I will have to design my own elemental spells.

In order to make my monotheistic campaign happen, I have to build mostly everything from scratch, honoring the same legal conditions that indy publishers have to comply with.

At this time, it is not my plan to become an indy designer. I just want to play some D&D. Any effort that do towards this play, I want to freely share with others.

This is an overwhelming investment, just to play a game.

I just want a campaign setting that has nothing to do with gods. And it is really is hard to do.


I have to rewrite the entire set of rules from scratch.

Only if you want to publish them. For your home-brew you can do anything you want.

But more importantly, you stated you wanted a setting neutral PHB. That's generic. You can use all of the PHB and publish it on DMsGuild.

Since you probably don't need the DMG, I'd recommend moving whatever rules you choose to keep as an appendix or worked into the rules. For example, my Adventuring chapter includes the rules for wilderness hazards (including some stuff from OotA).

Simple, quick, you get to share, you might make some money.

Then you can share independently all of your campaign setting. You don't have to worry about feats and stuff, because that's in the generic PHB you already made available...legally.

You can't tell us that you want a setting neutral PHB, then say you can't make it because they won't let you include all of your home-brew setting information. Then it's not setting neutral.

It's very simple - you put all of the (modified) WotC IP in one book, and all of the home-brew stuff in another.

PS- Ravenloft is available too, and if there was ever a D&D setting crying out to be monotheistic, that's it.

PPS - And as for the acolyte, c'mon - it uses the same type of text as the AD&D PHB that you've said "explicitly supports" monotheism: "You have spent your life in the service of a temple to a specific god or pantheon of gods...Choose a god, a pantheon of gods, or some other quasi-divine being"

 

[Ilbranteloth]

If all you want to do is freely share it (as in, no money involved) among your own crew, I highly doubt anyone's going to give a fig.

Hell, I and a few others have pretty much rewritten the 1e PH, much of UA, and a chunk of the DMG from scratch over the years in order to build the game we want, and the results are there for anyone as wants 'em. No reason you can't do the same.

Or find a system that hews closer to what you want, and tweak that.

Lanefan

For occasionally sharing amongst players, sure.

But you can't post it online. But not to post online free for everybody. It doesn't make a difference if you are making money or not. As was shown by all of the folks that received cease and desists in the first year of 5e when they posted spell lists for free online, etc.

But it's also not hard to meet the requirements anyway. So I think it's better to do that so you won't run into any trouble.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I want a have a comprehensive set of playable D&D 5e rules − that dont refer to polytheism in any way, shape, or form.

So, I should just delete the references from the 5e products that are already out.

Easy, yes? No.

Besides the normal situation of any world-building requiring enormous work, and inconvenient issues like trying to edit a pdf, here is the situation.

The legal department at WotC intentionally created two tracks for how to use the D&D 5e system.

One track is, you must use the Forgotten Realms setting (with all of its polytheism), and if you do, you can freely access everything else in all the other 5e publications, the entire Players Handbook, the Elemental pdf, the DMG, the Monster Manual and other monster books, the Sword Coast and other setting publications, all the adventures, everything that WotC has to offer. You can even make money if you contribute to the Forgotten Realms setting, selling your work in the DMs Guild. As long as the work conforms to this world of polytheism, you have a wealth of resources to enjoy.

If, on the other track, you are creating your own homebrew campaign setting, too different from the Forgotten Realms setting, then you get bare bones. The 5e SRD pdf. And that is it.

Of course, if all of your efforts are strictly for your own personal use, you can do what you want.

But if the work that you are doing for your campaign world, is serious, longterm, public, or who knows, later monetizable, then you need to be careful about the legal status of what you are doing. You cannot mix your homebrew setting with *any* IP content in any D&D 5e product, except the 5e SRD. Because. If you do, the D&D police really will come to your door, and tell you that you are doing it wrong. Namely, the WotC lawyers with cease-and-desists, or worse.

I understand why WotC is doing this. It is a good business model, compromising between complex issues, mostly for mutual benefit.

The problem is. There is no safety valve for me. The only WotC setting that is legally permissible at this time is Forgotten Realms. It is precisely the setting that I dont want because of its polytheism. So have no access any D&D 5e product but the SRD.

For example, the only feat that I am allowed to use in my homebrew monotheistic setting, is the Grappler feat. I have to make up all of my own feats.

And the only background that I am legally allowed to use for my monotheistic setting, is the Acolyte background that says the character is a polytheist who is especially dedicated to a ‘pantheon’ of gods. Heh, how annoying is that!

All of the classic D&D spells are in the SRD, yet I look at the Elemental adventure spells that I like that I cannot use. I will have to design my own elemental spells.

In order to make my monotheistic campaign happen, I have to build mostly everything from scratch, honoring the same legal conditions that indy publishers have to comply with.

At this time, it is not my plan to become an indy designer. I just want to play some D&D. Any effort that do towards this play, I want to freely share with others.

This is an overwhelming investment, just to play a game.

I just want a campaign setting that has nothing to do with gods. And it is really is hard to do.


I have to rewrite the entire set of rules from scratch.

Okay, I’m beginning to understand why this seems so complicated for you.

Here is a serious question, and I think the only one that matters. Do you plan on publishing or streaming your setting?

I’ve created a homebrew world, it is not Forgotten Realms and I do plan on streaming RPG games one day when I have the resources, so that may become an issue for me. However, I’m not planning on selling my setting. It’s not good enough for that. So, frankly, until I get a Cease and Desist on a streaming channel that does not yet exist I am doing whatever I please because they have no reason to stop me.

IF you’re planning on selling your homebrew world, yes, the SRD is incomplete to the point of ridiculous and makes your life difficult. If you just want to run games at your FLGS… you don’t need to worry about that legal stuff. WoTC is not going to show up at your table with Cease and Desist orders because you aren’t playing in the Forgotten Realms. Trust me, if they were doing that these forums and others would light up like Christmas trees and the backlash would wreck the company. Frankly, I doubt they even mess with live streamed games either. Critical Role is explicitly not in FR and Mercer has put a few classes on DMs Guild and even worked out a deal to get his setting published. He’s had a hard time rewriting somethings (can’t use Sarenray after all because Pathfinder) but the stream has been chugging along with no legal challenges to my knowledge.

So, if you are not choosing to publish, use anything you like.

For occasionally sharing amongst players, sure.

But you can't post it online. But not to post online free for everybody. It doesn't make a difference if you are making money or not. As was shown by all of the folks that received cease and desists in the first year of 5e when they posted spell lists for free online, etc.

But it's also not hard to meet the requirements anyway. So I think it's better to do that so you won't run into any trouble.

Spell lists make sense, that is rules text, but what about setting material?

IF I post a setting where elves and dwarves live in harmony under the sea, WoTC can’t tell me that my homebrew setting violates their IP. Maybe they could if I claimed it was a DnD setting, but that is a slippery line if I say “this is the setting I used for my DnD campaign” because I could move that setting into different systems and then it isn’t a DnD setting, it is just a setting.

There is a tumblr friends of mine go to all the time that is overflowing with homebrewed monsters and classes and races, some of which are from things like Dark Souls which is a very specific setting and would seem to cause them problems with both DnD and the video game company. Yet, they are still up there.

Also, technically, a setting could be under a different SRD. How restrictive is the 3.5 SRD or the 4e SRD in terms of setting material? Evil Hat, Pathfinder? It’d be a nightmare to pursue something like that in terms of someone posting city names and a continent and saying this is the setting they used for their college game.

As long as you avoid selling your setting or claiming it to be official, I don’t think you are really going to get a lot of flak. And if you need to change the rules, well, you print that part out and hand it to the players directly.

 

[Sadras]

How does Enworld get it right again with En5ider?

 

[Shasarak]

Name another game company that provides 80% of their system free of charge for you to do whatever you'd like with it - including make money. I'm not sure I know of any other company that makes homebrewing easier.

WotC has been providing their system free since 2000 so that is hardly something new.

 

[Arilyn]

WotC has been providing their system free since 2000 so that is hardly something new.

Yes, and there are many games that are open these days. All of Pathfinder, except as related to Golarion, Fate, Gumshoe, Appocalypse engine. More that are open than are not these days it seems.