Help interpreting Open Game License

[cthuluftaghn]

Hi all,

My wife and I are working on a D20 source book. Page 1 is a copy of the Open Game License. Now... what does it mean?

I gathered that I cannot mention the name "Dungeons & Dragons", "Wizards of the Coast", or the name of any other D20 publisher without their "expressed written consent".

A brief list of questions is as follows:

1. Can I refer to the System Reference Document by name?
2. How do I declare exactly what is/isn't open game content?
3. I can mention SRD races, classes, feats, etc., by name, right?
4. What is involved in obtaining "written consent", should I want to refer to someone else's material in my game world?

I'm sure I'll come up with more, but I want to sell this sucker some day, and I'm not a lawyer.

 

[Orcus]

Oh my...

Here is a bit of advice: Dont get involved in something that is going to take your time and money unless you know what you are doing. Your comments show that perhaps you havent done all your homework. I dont mean this as a flame. I am just trying to help you. Please make sure to investigate what is involved before you spend your time and money. Please realize there are important ramifications to all of this. Too many people start out with a "hey, this is all just fun and games, I can worry about that legal stuff later" attitude. That just gets you into hot water. You have taken the right first step by posting here for advice.

This should get you started:

http://www.d20reviews.com/Eric/d20guide/d20intro.htm

You should also go to the open gaming foundation web page and join the d20 and OGL discussion lists.

Good luck!

Clark

 

[2WS-Steve]

What Clark said...

Also joining the Open Gaming Foundation is extremely useful. Many of the people on that list have a deep understanding of the licenses and you'll learn a lot by paying attention to the discussion. Moerover, since books (even fully written ones) have a long lead time between conception and publication you should be able to pick up what you need to know during that time. Also, until you start contracting art and sending stuff to a printer your main investment will probably be time which, for most publishers, is time they would have spent writing game material anyway.

 

[cthuluftaghn]

Thanks for the link. I'll start there.

And yes, this is the very beginning of me "doing my homework", so to speak.

Our only investment will be time, and I didn't want to waste a lot of it going off in a direction that isn't allowed due to the terms of the license. Between the two of us, we'll be doing all of our own writing, art, editing, and publishing... so $$ isn't a concern.

 

[The Sigil]

After agreeing with the "do your homework" sentiment - because you could get into serious trouble if you don't - here are some quick answers as I understand them - I'm sure I'll get corrected quickly if I'm wrong .

1. Can I refer to the System Reference Document by name?

Yes.

2. How do I declare exactly what is/isn't open game content?

That's the fun one. There is no specific methodolgy. The only rule is that all "rules-related" stuff has to be Open Game Content. If you choose to add more, that is your perogative. If you want my personal suggestion, make it "6-year-old-with-a-highlighter" clear (meaning you could give a 6-year-old a highlighter and he could go through the book and highlight all the OGC without highlighting anything else on the first try). Suggestions are: different font face for OGC, put all OGC in shaded boxes, put a notation "this page is OGC" on the bottom of pages and make sure all your OGC winds up on those pages. You could also say Chapters 1,5, and 8 are OGC. Whatever it is, make it Frickin' Simple.

3. I can mention SRD races, classes, feats, etc., by name, right?

Yes. If it is in the SRD, you can mention it.

4. What is involved in obtaining "written consent", should I want to refer to someone else's material in my game world?

Just that - you need to get a signed letter from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) stating that you have the right to refer to their materials X, Y, and Z in your product <blah>. Usually this means a quick e-mail to the publisher explaining what you want to do and they'll tell you what hoops you'll have to jump through. Note that you do NOT need written consent to use something that has been designated as OGC.

For a more thorough treatment and discussion, try the suggestions given by prior posters.

--The Sigil

 

[cthuluftaghn]

Okay... bear with me as I learn this, folks. I assure you, I'm very intelligent. It's just that all this "legalese" is new to me. Once I catch on, I'll be teaching the lot of you a thing or two ...

Based on my initial reading of some of the info that has been given to me...

I can make mention of, alter, use, print, whatever... any material that has been previously published as OGC. This includes the SRD, and any subsequently published material specified to be OGC. This, in general, includes any variation of the basic D20 rules.

Anything in my book that I wish to be MINE... which, for the most part, would equate to the art, geographical features and names, character names and personalities, etc., (the stuff that makes my material unique) I should mark clearly as Product Identity. This will protect me from having someone else make money off publishing material from my unique game world.

Am I on the right track? Again, this is Day 1 of doing my homework, so sorry if this is elementary OGL stuff... consider me an OGL Kindergartner.

 

[RangerWickett]

Well, as a caveat to the 'use anything that's OGC,' you have to credit the original source. In section 15 of the license, you have to include whatever is included in the section 15 of any other product you take OGC from.


Um, that made no sense. Lemme try again.

Okay, say you want to use some of the spells from Wild Spellcraft. The spells are all listed as OGC in the book, which means that it's cool for you to use them. However, in your book's version of the License, you have to make sure that the Section 15 mentions Wild Spellcraft. What you'd need to do is crack open Wild Spellcraft to it's version of the License. Anything in section 15 in there needs to be in the section 15 of your book.

 

[Malessa]

Thanks to all... I've read through all of the suggested material, and I have a pretty good understanding of what I'm up against, and I'm sure I can handle it. I've finished all the legal mumbo-jumbo pages for our book... I only need to fill in the specific heading and page references for OGC as I go along.

One more question... I notice that the term "Dungeon Master" does not appear in the Defined Game Terms.

I have seen the term "Dungeon Master" used in non-WotC publications, and it is added in the mandatory sentence "Dungeons & Dragons®, Dungeon Master®, and Wizards of the Coast® are Registered Trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, and are used with Permission."

Does this mean that the authors of those books have obtained special permission from WotC to use the term "Dungeon Master"? Or is there a provision somewhere that I have not seen yet?

 

[Orcus]

You have to use "DM" since Dungeon Master is a WotC claimed trademark and you agree not to use their trademarks except as provided in the license. Some even go so far as to use "GM," though it isnt required. Same with the book names. You can say Player's Handbook, but you have to use MM and DMG for the respective books.

Clark

 

[cthuluftaghn]

Okay... worked long and hard over the past 2 days, but I've got it down.

I've edited all references that aren't allowed. I've included all of the required statements within the book, and on the cover. I've written a comprehensive list of what is Product Identity. I have also begun to define my OGC, though that still needs to be filled in as I write. I've given credit where credit is due, and I sent in my contact card to WotC.

Now, I just need to re-word my section on character creation to point to PHB references, since I can't describe that process. Other than that, I thank you for your help... I believe I'm well on my way. If anyone thinks of anything that needs to be added to this thread, it could turn into a useful learning tool.

Regards,
c