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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tellerian Hawke" data-source="post: 6564414" data-attributes="member: 6790669">Ok, so if I understand you correctly:A) I could, for example, publish my "house rules" (which are game mechanics / methodology to begin with, and not copyrightable in the first place) and designate those as OGC.B) In the same vein, I could publish my unique epic-level spells, and designate the Character Names as Product Identity, but designate the spells themselves as OGC. Thus, I could publish a copy of "Ellis Kvar's Prudent Ward," and designate "Ellis Kvar" as Product Identity, but the spell itself would be OGC, and you can feel free to cut / copy / paste the spell into your own materials, even to the point of renaming it to suit your needs. (e.g., You could rename it "Oliver Blackbladder's Prudent Ward of Greatness," and that would be perfectly fine.)C) I could also publish a campaign setting, with original maps, characters, places, events, histories, deities, etc. and ALL OF THAT STUFF would be Product Identity, but I could designate the stat blocks as OGC; that way, if I create a character named "King Norbinvar" and make him a 13th level Paladin, and proceed to list his stats and his history, I could designate the name (Norbinvar) and the unique history behind him (names of places, people, events, etc.), and the name of his spiffy sword (let's call it, "Orczapper") as Product Identity, but you could feel free to copy his game stats, rename him, and rename his spiffy sword, and then copy / cut / paste that stuff all over the place. (Thus, you could have King Blondebeard, a 13th level paladin, with the exact same stats, and a sword that kills orcs by the name of "Orcbegone," and you're good to go.) If Norbinvar had an evil brother Slagbeer, who killed his (Norbinvar's) wife, Lissette, and her ghost now roams The Vostmir Swamp in search of vengeance, all of these proper names and places would be Product Identity. But where do you draw the line? How much re-naming of people, places, and events can occur under OGL? I was taught in school that simply changing proper names, but copying or paraphrasing someone's story, is still plagiarism. Does the OGL allow someone to look at my stuff, go through and change the names / places / events, draw a few new maps, and then sell it as their own?</blockquote>

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