Name for "open" version of D&D and spinoffs

[InkwellIdeas]

I'm just wondering if anyone has thought of or stumbled across a good name for D&D 3rd edition/3.5/Pathfinder/Conan/etc. I want to say that some rules I'm designing should be compatible with most of these games. Of course, because those spinoffs each change a different subset of those rules it is impossible to guarantee compatibility. But I think there should be a term for this games that are based on "Open D&D."

I sort of like "Open D&D" but I have a feeling "D&D" might run afoul of copyright/trademark in the RPG context, and certainly "Open Dungeons and Dragons" would.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Why not: "Compatible with d20 OGL Games."?

 

[freyar]

d20 is a trademark, too, right? And I believe the OGL forbids claims of compatibility w/o separate licensing.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

d20 is a trademark, too, right? And I believe the OGL forbids claims of compatibility w/o separate licensing.

d20 System is a registered trademark.

A d20 is a die.

 

[freyar]

d20 System is a registered trademark.

A d20 is a die.

But seriously, though: IANAL, so I'd worry that skirting that close to the trademark would potentially be inviting WotC to give you trouble (should they care to).

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Then why not call it Open Fantasy?

Or, better yet, Open Fantasy RPG. Fantasy, after all, is a genre.

 

[Aus_Snow]

There have been a few versions of this kind of thing floating around:

Not sure exactly how many companies are adopting it / them. But, on that note, you could always check out recent releases for this systems / these systems, and see what logos / terminology they've used.

 

[Remus Lupin]

See, the thing is, if the SRD exists, then referring to it can't be a violation of WOTC's copyright, can it? And the license that allows you to publish using the SRD is the OGL. So I can't imagine how labeling a product as d20 OGL compatible would be problematic.

But then, I am also NAL, so, what do I know.

 

[El Mahdi]

I'm not a lawyer either, but even RPGNow lists the system as D20 OGL. I can't imagine they'd do that if there was a problem with it.

But I like the sound of Open Fantasy also.

 

[InkwellIdeas]

Thanks for the opinions. I like "Open Fantasy" except that it would overshadow any other fantasy games created with an open license. I agree that "d20" by itself seems like it should be neutral enough. "3.5 System" doesn't seem quite right to me and that's why that graphic wasn't quite a good fit for what I wanted. I think "Open d20 Fantasy RPGs" best represents a term for these games while hopefully not running afoul of trademark issues. (And Fantasy could be substituted with Modern also.)