SRD Update 2/13?

[Aeolius]

Ixitxachitl have also been removed. Hrmm...no ixitxachitl or kuo-toans. Is WotC going to do their own undersea supplement, then?

 

[333 Dave]

Aeolius (enough vowels?), check your MM. No Ixi's there either...

 

[Aeolius]

Aeolius (enough vowels?), check your MM. No Ixi's there either...

whoops... a non-caffeinted moment, there Granted, ixitxachitl and marid are both in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer

 

[reiella]

Oddly enough ,Pthstic (Whatever) and Neothilids are both in the Psionics Monster SRD...

The new Slayer SRD PRC is hilarious though .

 

[trancejeremy]

Hmmm. Mind Flayers are probably the biggest problem.

A whole lot of d20 products use mind flayers. Umber Hulks are pretty popular too.

And no more DJ Devastator in Xcrawl. I liked him. <sniff>

It's going to be interesting to see what WOTC does. Some companies now don't really play by the rules correctly now, using material from outside the SRD. WOTC has let them slide, AFAIK. Will they start playing hardball? or at least do something?

 

[Gez]

I was wondering about Yuan-ti and Mindflayer since the critters were absent from the d20 Modern SRD.

Still think it's a poor idea to entirely remove the creatures from the SRD. With things like Slayer's Guide to Yuan-ti floating around, they should have knew they were going to make several long-announced products cancelled or illicit.

Also, I don't remember having seen many pictures that seemed in my eyes to be copy of WotC-owned art. Except the Sohei chick of OA appearing in Monte Cook's Book of Hallowed Might (in the spell section, casting a spell creating a messenger bird). Otherwise, I guess that if beholders look like big ball with eyestalks, mindflayers look like squid-headed men, and yuan-tis being like the snake-folk in E. Rice Burrough's Pellucidar, it's only logical. Maybe WotC wanted third-party publishers to illustrate them as a floating CD, a can of coke with 4 pipes, and Earthworm Jim respectively, but that would have kinda ruined the purpose of having D&D-compatible d20 products, and gamers would have shun them. Wizards don't care, of course, but why the hell bothering to make an OGL license in these conditions ?

Rangers being two-weapon wielding wilderness genociders is ALSO something quite exclusive to D&D. As IP of wizards, they should be removed from WotC (they could not, however, remove the slot-system of magic, since it's well established they copied it on what Vance imagined in his Dying Earth books).

That said, I remember having fought Gazers (floating starfish-like eyeball with 5 tentacles and magical powers) in Ultima Underworld 2, and having morphed into Opsis (floating eyeball with two tentacles and magic powers) in ShadowCaster. D&D may have invented the Beholder*, but everyone and their neighbours have been making floating eyeballs with tentacles and eyestalks.

* I'm not sure of that, by the way, their shape is quite typical of 50's pulp stories.

I guess Creature Collection Revised won't have the blurb saying that beholders are creatures of Mesos, though...


By the way, just checked the PsiSRD Prestige Class: they are those from Bruce Cordell's redo of them on montecook.com. (LOL at the "Pyrokenticist", by the way.) The SRD should thus include in its Section 15 this, then: Malhavoc Press is a trademark owned by Monte James Cook. “If Thoughts Could Kill” Copyright 2001 Bruce R. Cordell. ; shouldn't it ? It's the Section 15 of those free PDF...

 

[Ranger REG]

Still think it's a poor idea to entirely remove the creatures from the SRD. With things like Slayer's Guide to Yuan-ti floating around, they should have knew they were going to make several long-announced products cancelled or illicit.

In Wizards' defense, the publisher knew full well the risk of using Draft sections of the SRD under the Gentleperson's Agreement.

Also, I don't remember having seen many pictures that seemed in my eyes to be copy of WotC-owned art. Except the Sohei chick of OA appearing in Monte Cook's Book of Hallowed Might (in the spell section, casting a spell creating a messenger bird). Otherwise, I guess that if beholders look like big ball with eyestalks, mindflayers look like squid-headed men, and yuan-tis being like the snake-folk in E. Rice Burrough's Pellucidar, it's only logical. Maybe WotC wanted third-party publishers to illustrate them as a floating CD, a can of coke with 4 pipes, and Earthworm Jim respectively, but that would have kinda ruined the purpose of having D&D-compatible d20 products, and gamers would have shun them. Wizards don't care, of course, but why the hell bothering to make an OGL license in these conditions ?

Because they have done more than enough to release the more crucial part of the rules system, sans the character creation and advancement rules, for game designers to publish their product using this system.

Not many rules system from major game companies like SJG's GURP or Palladium's Megaversal are willing to open theirs up ... for free.

Rangers being two-weapon wielding wilderness genociders is ALSO something quite exclusive to D&D. As IP of wizards, they should be removed from WotC (they could not, however, remove the slot-system of magic, since it's well established they copied it on what Vance imagined in his Dying Earth books).

It does not make sense since many players would prefer the classes to be open, but I don't think they give one iota about the unique D&D monsters that are not fit to be used as PC anyway.

That said, I remember having fought Gazers (floating starfish-like eyeball with 5 tentacles and magical powers) in Ultima Underworld 2, and having morphed into Opsis (floating eyeball with two tentacles and magic powers) in ShadowCaster. D&D may have invented the Beholder*, but everyone and their neighbours have been making floating eyeballs with tentacles and eyestalks.

But is the Gazer the exact same likeness as the Beholder, powers and all?

By the way, just checked the PsiSRD Prestige Class: they are those from Bruce Cordell's redo of them on montecook.com. (LOL at the "Pyrokenticist", by the way.) The SRD should thus include in its Section 15 this, then: Malhavoc Press is a trademark owned by Monte James Cook. “If Thoughts Could Kill” Copyright 2001 Bruce R. Cordell. ; shouldn't it ? It's the Section 15 of those free PDF...

That's up to Bruce Cordell (still an employee of Wizards last time I checked) and Monte Cook. Chances are Malhavoc Press may have borrowed the errata'ed version from Wizards who have yet to incorporate into the next printing of the Psionic's Handbook.

Why don't you ask Bruce Cordell and get the answer straight from the source?

 

[Gez]

But is the Gazer the exact same likeness as the Beholder, powers and all?

Exact likeness, no.

But look at some picture of sosarian gazers.

From Ultima Underworld 1, and from the more recent Ultima 9

For more pictures of beholders and quasi-beholders, click me.

A little note on the Opsis, excerpted from Raven Software's website:

Opsis are large, floating orbs with tentacles. They are not built for physical combat, but have a number of other abilities. Opsis can throw cold blasts, cause their enemies to flee in fear or make them move in slow motion, plus create missiles and fire them at enemies. They can also kill foes outright.

Sounds like 5 eyestalk powers for a variant beholder, doesn't it ? Cause fear, slow, disintegrate, and two energy attack powers.

That's up to Bruce Cordell (still an employee of Wizards last time I checked) and Monte Cook. Chances are Malhavoc Press may have borrowed the errata'ed version from Wizards who have yet to incorporate into the next printing of the Psionic's Handbook.

That's probably the reverse -- the psionics handbook errata never adressed the spellcasting (oops, powermanifesting) progression of the prestige classes.

Why don't you ask Bruce Cordell and get the answer straight from the source?

Maybe I'll do.

 

[Knightfall]

FYI...

Both the Githzerai and Githyanki are NOT in the psionics SRD. Not surprising since the mind flayers were taken out too.

{EDIT}

TheAndy posted this on GamingReport.Com.

http://www.gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=7270&mode=thread&order=0



I do like the idea of them planning on releasing material from both Deities and Demigods and the Epic Level Handbook though.

Later,

KF72

 

[HellHound]

The lack of Gith comes as no surprise, since the Gith weren't in the draft SRD either.