Is This Ethical?

[the Jester]

Is there any kind of ethical problem with publishing things that make oblique allusions to things that aren't in the SRD?

For example, publishing a monster designed to be a Far Realms creature and saying it's from "a plane far removed from conventional reality" or something like that?

Or putting Epic feats in a book in disguise (though I guess Epic stuff is at least nominally in the DMG now, right? So I guess some of it's in the SRD...)- feats with epic-level prereqs that don't out and out say "Epic" in the name somewhere or as a descriptor...?

What's the feeling on this kind of thing??

 

[DanMcS]

The Far Realm is inspired by much older fiction, I have no idea why alluding to their common source could be seen as a problem. If it's tentacally and non-Euclidean, so much the better, and no one would fail to recognize it.

By epic feats, do you mean, putting a character with the "Epic Spellcasting" feat in a product? Because that wouldn't be legal. But putting in a feat that required 24 ranks of Concentration as a prereq, no problems with that.

 

[Davelozzi]

All of that stuff is fine as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

The monster would be no problem at all using that oblique reference since it does not use actual licensed material, but I'm not sure about the Epic feats. Does WoTC have to abide by the OGL rules like other publishers, or did they exempt themselves? If they have to abide, then the technical specifications of the prerequisite feats would be available for reference under the open license. My recommendation would be to read the OGL very carefully.

 

[mythusmage]

When filing off serial numbers it is not enough to merely file the numbers off. One must be sure to file off any sign there were numbers there to begin with.

 

[der_kluge]

The point is, that it should be derivitive of anything in the SRD.

If I lived on a deserted island, and was surrounded by nothing more than books of common knowledge, and mythology, and the SRD, could I produce the feat or work?

If the answer is yes, then go you're all good.

What I'm getting at, is that references to the planes are not copyright by WoTC. If you use names that they came up with, then you're breaking the law. Referencing "Hell" is legitimate. And creating Epic feats is ok because Epic rules are in the SRD now. So, you could combine existing feats with Epic level rules and create Epic feats. It's all derivitive of something in the SRD.

 

[Arnwyn]

Based on the examples above, you're going about it fine. (Though it depends on what you mean by "epic-level prereqs"... For example, if you put "Prereq: Level 21+, that's fine and dandy. If you use a feat outside of the SRD and not your own creation as a prerequisite, then you can't.)

 

[Eltern]

From Monte Cook's Chaositech (a great buy):

"Much of what is known of the carach comes from records
stolen from races far older than humanity. Some races—like
the horrible, brain-eating, tentacle-faced monstrosities (who
shall not be named here)—apparently have had significant
experience with the carach, and perhaps the Galchutt as a
whole. (In fact, such creatures may have been spawned by
the Galchutt. According to this theory, they rebelled and
adopted a much more lawful nature.) In any event,
these alien records show that the carach,
when operating in great numbers,
have devastated entire worlds."


Awesome dodge, at least a +4 bonus there

Eltern

 

[Greatwyrm]

Does WoTC have to abide by the OGL rules like other publishers, or did they exempt themselves?

The OGL only gives us permission to play with WotC's toys and only when we follow the rules. They don't need a special license to use their own stuff, only the rest of us do.

Kinda like how I don't have to ask permission from anyone to write checks out of my bank account, but you'd certainly need my permission to write checks from my account. Wait, I guess I do need my wife's permission. Maybe that wasn't a good example...

 

[Pielorinho]

From Monte Cook's Chaositech (a great buy):

[snip]

Awesome dodge, at least a +4 bonus there

Eltern

Wow, that is good -- if you weren't familiar with the SRD, you'd think he was just using standard Lovecraftian elision. Props to Monte, as usual!

Daniel