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Message: <blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 2944262" data-attributes="member: 10201">Except that the Action! Core Rules is an OGL game. And clearly does not belong in that category. There's nothing that says that a game released using the WotC OGL has to be D20 System, but the reverse is definitely true. While you are legally obligated to make a big difference between games bearing the D20 System logo and those that don't, from the consumer's perspective, the distinction is at best moot and at worst misleading--Arcana Evolved is pretty much plug-n-play compatible with D&D3.5E, but doesn't bear a D20 System logo, while Spycraft is pretty much incompatible with D&D3.5E (or D&D3E, which was current when it was released), yet bears the D20 System logo. And, really, the degree of mechanical difference between M&MM and D&D3.5E is less than between some D20 System logoed games, so it doesn't even reflect the degree to which you'll have to relearn when picking up a new game.For that matter, what about Shadows of Yesterday? It's released using *an* OGL--specifically, one of the Creative Commons licenses. Heck, when i was submitting Dread, i felt I had to double-check that what they wanted in the "Best D20/OGL Game" category was really D20 System games, with or without the D20 System Logo, rather than open-game-license games (with or without D20 System), since Dread is the latter. Unfortunately, WotC chose crappy terminology in several cases when inventing the WotC OGL and D20STL, and now we're stuck with it. Fortunately, i really don't think there's much need to distinguish between D20 System games bearing the logo, and those not, on a general basis. Much more useful would be distinguishing between D&D add-ons and things that aren't intended to be directly compatible with D&D, but there's no easy, WotC OGL-compatible way to do that (due to the draconian trademark restrictions)</blockquote>

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