New Setting For D20

[whorobbedme]

Myself and a few friends are working on a new setting, it has the same feel as D&d with a few new things trown in to fit the feel of this new world.

Im planning on using the 3.5 rules and other things like the God's and reffering to other book's from the 3.5 series

is there anything i have to look out for when doing this?
we'l also be looking for a publisher when were finished, if anyone has any recomandations on who would take us on board

 

[Marius Delphus]

First, the d20 System Trademark License is gone. Your work will be OGL. Read the Open Gaming License very, very carefully. If there's anything in there you don't fully understand, you might consider consulting an attorney.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/srdarchive

Second, put away your 3.5 books, forget everything that's in them, and carefully examine a copy of the System Reference Document. This, and not the 3.5 books, is the material which you may copy or to which you may refer when making an OGL product. Everything else you must make from scratch, except that you may use Open Game Content from other publishers' books -- WOTC books tend to have zero Open Game Content. Remember that you must cite every work whose OGC you use, including the SRD, in your Section 15.

http://www.d20srd.org/
http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/home.html

Third, I have no information on finding a publisher, but best of luck.

 

[Dyson Logos]

During the days of 3.0 & 3.5 if you contacted Wizards directly, you could get dispensation to reference their material from non open game content sourcebooks. However, I seriously doubt they would do this for you now.

 

[whorobbedme]

thanks guys
im sure id be totaly sue'd if it was'nt for this place.

 

[Nylanfs]

Also note that since the errata wasn't incorporated into the SRD before 4e. The errata isn't "technically" part of the OGL. I really wish they had done the SRD for 3e & 3.5e like they did for 4e and it being an actual reference to the book.

Also note that any third party books that you use you HAVE to include all of their Sec. 15 listings (unless you can figure out what they used from each book, good luck with that ). Of course if some books are listed more than once you only have to list it once.

 

[Silversun]

D20SRD.org is a great website for referencing anything in the srd that's open content.

Open content material from Unearthed Arcana is also available there.

 

[whorobbedme]

is there any OGL players hand book and DMG book out there?, so as i can say thats whats need'd to play this game?

 

[Marius Delphus]

Are you asking about citing the System Reference Document in your Section 15? To take it from the top:

Download, read, parse, and internalize the terms of the Open Game License. That document contains a number of legal obligations: things you *must* and *must not* do in order to legally publish an OGL game supplement. In return for following the rules, you are allowed to freely use the System Reference Document and any Open Game Content published under the OGL.

You may want to grab an OGL publication of some kind so that you can see the OGL "in action," as it were. Even free documents are expected to comply with the OGL, which includes having the required OGL text.

The System Reference Document is not, strictly speaking, embodied in a book (although at least one publisher IIRC took large portions of the SRD and published them -- this was and is perfectly legal according to the OGL). It is, however, available online for free at the links shown above. When you find yourself writing game elements into your work, double-check to see they either (1) can be found in the SRD (WARNING: some things in even the core books are not in the SRD), (2) are entirely original to you (WARNING: this means "entirely," not "kind of"), or (3) are Open Game Content already (WARNING: remember to cite the book you use: publishers have gotten in trouble in the past for messing up Section 15 -- and if you don't know what I mean by Section 15, it's time to reread the OGL).

For example, if you find yourself in need of one of the feats or classes from the 3.5 PHB II, you'll find that book is off limits, and you'll have to make do with something else. If you find yourself in need of the affiliation rules from the 3.5 DMG II, you'll find that book is also off limits, and you'll again have to make do with something else. If you find yourself in need of a scorpionfolk from the 3.5 MM II, good news, that's OGC, and you're okay.

[EDIT] If, OTOH, you're asking whether you can say the reader should have his Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide handy, no, you may not say that. One of the provisions of the OGL is that you can't use anybody's trademarks, even to indicate compatibility, without their permission. You see now, I hope, how important completely understanding it is. [/EDIT]

HTH. HAND.

 

[whorobbedme]

cool that answers all my questions