OGC question?

[trentonjoe]

Is Forgotten Realms info OGC? If I wanted to publish a short story could I mention Waterdeep or Everska? Could someone worship Correllian Lanthian (the chief Elf god) if I spelled it right?

Would saying, "They were on their way to Waterdeep," be breaking the rules?

I am sorry if this seems like a silly question.

 

[The Sigil]

Is Forgotten Realms info OGC? If I wanted to publish a short story could I mention Waterdeep or Everska? Could someone worship Correllian Lanthian (the chief Elf god) if I spelled it right?

No. No. No.

Would saying, "They were on their way to Waterdeep," be breaking the rules?

Yes.

Nothing in the Realms is OGC. Look in your FRCS (or any other WotC book, for that matter). You'll notice a statement on the title page or near the table of contents to the effect of

"This product contains no Open Game Content."

If it's Realms, you cannot touch.

You could probably get away with mentioning Realms material on a fan website (e.g., "the journal of our FR campaign") but that falls under fair use.

But using it in a short story as you described is right out.

You might be interested in dropping by the Fast Forward Entertainment website to find out why - look for d20/OGL announcement. FFE used "Drawmij" and "Heironius" and other such stuff and has been forced to destroy their products (obviously, those that have been sold are sold, but all their stock has been destroyed for the products in question). This is of course their fault, but it's a "word of warning."

--The Sigil

 

[trentonjoe]

The FFE situation is what made me ask. Thanks for the help, off to edit some stories!

 

[CRGreathouse]

Would saying, "They were on their way to Waterdeep," be breaking the rules?

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is that it's possible to say this and remain legal, but you'd leave the 'safe haven' of the licenses. Don't do it, unless you're looking for a test case, and even then only carefully.

 

[trancejeremy]

If it's fan fiction, while technically against the law, many companies deliberately look the other way so as to not alienate fans.( And it keeps some star trek fans off the streets)

But no, you can't publish something commerically based on FR stuff. Unless it was a parody (like Mad Magazine)