OSRIC: something for the old schoolers

[Henry]

In principle, I support the OSRIC movement wholeheartedly; I'd hate for the "original rules" to be lost to ever-increasing atrophy of resources. On the other hand, I'm curious to know just how much could be done with OSRIC without getting one's pants sued off. I WotC could work a deal that would OGL the old rules, I feel like there wouldn't be nearly as much hostility by some fans of the 1st edition towards WotC or fans of 3E.

Personally, I don't intend to use it currently, as anytime I get the "old-school" jones, C&C meets my needs as a good compromise between old and new. But for those who see the oAD&D rules as a dying resource, this is a good unifying force.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

OSRIC v0.03, with additional textual tweaks and some cover art, should be uploaded in the next couple of days.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

OSRIC v0.03 is out, although it won't appear on the OSRIC website until the admin's had a chance to upload it.

"Having read what you've done, I'm very impressed" - Steve Marsh re: OSRIC.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

On the other hand, I'm curious to know just how much could be done with OSRIC without getting one's pants sued off.

This discussion, and also this one talk about some of the legal questions and what OSRIC has done to ensure the legality of the document. Of course, even if it is perfectly legal, that's no guarantee that someone won't sue.

Personally, I don't intend to use it currently, as anytime I get the "old-school" jones, C&C meets my needs as a good compromise between old and new. But for those who see the oAD&D rules as a dying resource, this is a good unifying force.

My primary campaign is run with C&C, these days; I agree about it meeting my needs. However, I think OSRIC is great for C&C players, too. Any new "OSRIC-compatible" material is easily used with C&C (just like old AD&D material is easily used).

 

[Ourph]

Personally, I don't intend to use it currently, as anytime I get the "old-school" jones, C&C meets my needs as a good compromise between old and new. But for those who see the oAD&D rules as a dying resource, this is a good unifying force.

From what I understand of OSRIC's purpose, comparing it with C&C isn't really appropriate. If you wanted to publish and sell a C&C module, you'd have to go through Troll Lord Games to indicate it was compatible with the game (they own the trademarks and copyrights). If TLG doesn't want to put out your adventure module, you can't sell it. With OSRIC, the publishers have given you permission to indicate compatibility with their trademarks. You don't have to get special permission and they don't have to be involved in production of your product. You just write it, include the necessary legal documentation, slap an "OSRIC compatible" label on it and put it into production.

 

[Treebore]

The only comparison being made to C&C, as I interpreted his post, is that it is easy to use 1E modules for C&C, so therefore OSRIC modules would be equally easy to use. So us C&C users are a potential customer base for OSRIC material. Us C&C users have it good. Any material or module for any version of D&D is useable by us. Just 1E and 2E are noticeably easier to use/convert than 3E, but not by much.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

From what I understand of OSRIC's purpose, comparing it with C&C isn't really appropriate. If you wanted to publish and sell a C&C module, you'd have to go through Troll Lord Games to indicate it was compatible with the game (they own the trademarks and copyrights). If TLG doesn't want to put out your adventure module, you can't sell it. With OSRIC, the publishers have given you permission to indicate compatibility with their trademarks. You don't have to get special permission and they don't have to be involved in production of your product. You just write it, include the necessary legal documentation, slap an "OSRIC compatible" label on it and put it into production.

Nail head, meet hammer.

C&C has entirely different objectives to OSRIC, and I wouldn't invite comparison between the two. OSRIC is not a commercial enterprise; it's non-profit, free in .pdf format, and anyone may indicate compatibility with OSRIC -- you need not ask for permission first. You also don't need to pay any kind of fee or royalty.

 

[Treebore]

You wouldn't need to claim to be compatible with C&C, just say your compatible with 1E rules and us C&C users are smart enough to figure out the rest. At least those of us who "understand the power" of C&C.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

just say your compatible with 1E rules

I make no such claim for OSRIC. I'm bound by the OGL not to indicate compatibility with anyone else's product without their permission.

If other people say this about OSRIC, well, I can't stop them...

 

[Treebore]

Really? That kind of sucks. How are you going to effectively market OSRIC if you can't even point out it is effectively 1E?