D&D 3E/3.5 House Rules v. 3.5.7

[Sammael]

If anybody cares, you can download my 45-page House Rules document from link removed by administrator ~ see below.

Despite the many changes, I'd like to think my game is still D&D. Actually, a lot of stuff in the document aren't really changes, but new options, new feats, new usages for skills, summarized character generation info, etc.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Still DnD...very much so.

There are quite a few changes, and lots of stuff from a variety of official sourcebooks.

And no OGL license or even a slight nod to the use of copyrighted material and trademarks contained herein....

I would highly suggest pulling this document from the board. There can be legal repercussions to the hosts of this board from your posting of this document. I prefer to keep the community healthy and able to share ideas freely.

Its up to a moderator to make the removal mandatory.

 

[Piratecat]

It looks like you did a gorgeous job, but that's quite illegal to post online; it's full of copyrighted material not covered by the OGL. As such, I've removed the link. You may wish to make that only available to your gaming group.

Thanks,

 

[Sammael]

Well, I've posted a link to the document on the WotC boards in the past, and never had a mod react to a it, but I understand your decision.

However, I'd be grateful if you could point out exactly which stuff, other than possibly FR racial modifiers (many of which are changed), is copyrighted? Many things in the document have sidenotes that mention "see book ABC page XX." Stuff like domains for FR deities are available on a large number of websites, and are only present in the document because I've made changes to them. Other things, like weapon group proficiencies, I wrote long before I bought Unearthed Arcana (although I may have clarified the language a bit after reading it).

The only possibly problematic OGL thing (in retrospect) could be the 1-page summary of psychic rules from Green Ronin's Psychic's Handbook (and the summary is so brief that it is basically impossible to do anything with it unless you have access to the said rulebook). Now, if I placed an OGL at the end of the document, would it cover that part?

At any rate, I'm not confrontational, just curious. Lots of websites have house rules for "copyrighted" material, and I don't see WotC pursuing them for it. In fact, there is at least one site that gets mentioned on the news here quite frequently that has a bunch of FR-related house rules. Would it be better (if not exactly "legal") if I converted my document into HTML and made a site out of it, and then posted a link to the site in general (rather than a page containing the rules)?

 

[Sammael]

Oh yeah, and then there's the image for the front page I took from WotC's Eberron gallery. That one's probably problematic, I guess.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

However, I'd be grateful if you could point out exactly which stuff, other than possibly FR racial modifiers (many of which are changed), is copyrighted? Many things in the document have sidenotes that mention "see book ABC page XX." Stuff like domains for FR deities are available on a large number of websites, and are only present in the document because I've made changes to them. Other things, like weapon group proficiencies, I wrote long before I bought Unearthed Arcana (although I may have clarified the language a bit after reading it).

Not having seen the document, I can't say about the racial modifiers. However, if you're using the names of the FR races, I'm fairly certain that counts as a violation. Everything in Unearthed Arcana is OGC (except product identity like character names, images, and so on), so no worries there. Check the licensing info in the Psychic's Handbook, on the copyright page, which will tell you exactly what is and is not OGC.

Beyond that, dump the images, and slap an Open Gaming License in the back and a designation of open content on the front. Otherwise, you do not have the right to freely distribute it. I'm not sure how the laws work concerning putting up a website in your district. In mine, it seems to be legal because I'm not sending the document to anyone, just letting them download it, but in yours it could be different.

I usually write up a completely non-OGL version of my campaign documents, and then eventually make an OGL-compliant version. My current campaign document stands at 160 pages, and contains stuff from Eberron, Dragon Magazine, and Complete Divine, among other sources...so it's probably not going to see an OGL version.