Naming non-OGL material ok?

[ChimericDream]

Hey, I'm back with another question about something. I know that I can't reprint, in any way, anything that isn't open game content, but I have a different question. Say I'm statting an NPC or deity for my setting (which will be published online), is it ok to give said NPC levels in a non-OGC class or give them non-OGC feats/spells? Basically, in such situations, I'd merely like to something that says, "Information about x is found in the book y on page z." or something like that.

Everything that's OGC I'm linking to the SRD, and I've got the OGL on my site. Everything else is original, but I'd like to use the warmage class and some of the fighter feats from PHB2 on a few deities. I'd rather not have to recreate these things, and won't be posting them on the site... merely using them to build other OGC NPCs.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Stormborn]

Not without expressed written permision. So no, you can't. Better to find a 3rd party source for an equivalent that is OGL.

EDIT: I could of course always be wrong, I am not a lawyer, etc. But thats my understanding of it.

 

[Committed Hero]

Stormborn is right, in that absent some kind of fair use agreement the OGL doesn't allow you to do this. If it's for a non-commerical fansite, and all you're doing is statting up a character, you can probably fly under the radar.

 

[Yair]

Stormborn is right, in that absent some kind of fair use agreement the OGL doesn't allow you to do this. If it's for a non-commerical fansite, and all you're doing is statting up a character, you can probably fly under the radar.

Not only that, the OGL expressly forbids it. While you arguably be able to get away with such a minimal use of references to other intellectual property in a normal copyrighted, work, the OGL forbids the use of "product identity" without its owner's consent.

 

[Aussiegamer]

you are allowed to discuss it but not verbattium it.

This saying the PrC with this ability seems over powered is OK, but you can'y just post the whole thing

 

[Arkhandus]

Yep. No referencing non-OGC material in an OGL product.

I don't of any particular 3rd-party Open Game Content classes or feats that would be equivalent to the warmage or PHB2 feats, myself, unfortunately....

However, I can offer to lighten your workload a bit if you still want to use something equivalent. I love to tinker and tweak things, and I'm always homebrewing classes, races, monsters, feats, spells, items, and junk, so I'd be willing to whip something up in short order that would approximate a replacement for the warmage, and whatever feats you wanted to use.

Just stuff of similar theme and function, nowhere near identical. Only spells I would reference in the spell list would be from the SRD, too (so likely just from the Player's Handbook), using the names for them in the SRD (like how Melf's Acid Arrow is just 'Acid Arrow' in the SRD).

I wouldn't expect any recompense or name-recognition either, mind you; I can just e-mail (possibly through EN World, if accessable through your user profile) an RTF or Word document, or just post the material here for copying and pasting yourself.

All I'd really need is some vague details on what the feats do, what prerequisites they have, and what the warmage gets for basic stats and class features. I.E. what feats are among the prerequisites of the PHB2 feats, what the feats generally do, is the warmage kinda skilled outside of spellcasting and fighting, is the warmage is kinda tough or similar to the sorcerer, is the warmage more like a bard, sorcerer, or ranger in accuracy, whether the warmage gets bonus feats or not, whether they get a familiar or not, if they know all spells on their list or just a few, and if their spell progression is more like a bard's, a sorcerer's, or a wizard's. Just basic, vague details; I don't own a PHB2, but I do know a little about the warmage, such as its ability to cast in some armor without worring about ASF, and their focus on evocation magic primarily (not sure if they get any conjuration, abjuration, necromancy, or transmutation, but I wouldn't see a problem with some of it if battle-focused).

 

[Ben Robbins]

Hey, I'm back with another question about something. I know that I can't reprint, in any way, anything that isn't open game content, but I have a different question. Say I'm statting an NPC or deity for my setting (which will be published online), is it ok to give said NPC levels in a non-OGC class or give them non-OGC feats/spells? Basically, in such situations, I'd merely like to something that says, "Information about x is found in the book y on page z." or something like that.

I can't imagine you'd have a hard time getting permission from the publisher -- you are basically recommending their product.

 

[Aussiegamer]

well you might not be :\ and it takes time and effort

 

[Morgenstern]

If you like their work enough to be building on it, it's worth the time and effort.

 

[Owen K.C. Stephens]

I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.

You are unlikely to get permission from WotC to use any content of theirs (not in the SRD) in any OGL project.

If you want to do a fan site type thing, you may have less trouble.

But by the rules of the OGL, you absolutely may not use any non-OGC material from other publishers without their explicit permission.

Note that you -may- be able to reference material from other games legally if you don't use the OGL. No one can copyright game rules, only specific expressions of them. Here you enter contested and murky legal areas that deal with copyright, fair use, trademark law, and a lot of other things legal firms get paid lots of money to wrestle with. I don't recommend it, but it should be mentioned as a possibility if you want to pay for actual legal research from an expert.

Owen K.C. Stephens
d20 Triggerman

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