The SRD updates: What will this allow us to do?

[EarthsShadow]

I am just curious and since I am not the top person to ask anything related about the SRD and I just play the games, what does this new update mean as far as 3rd party support and what are companies now allowed to release?

 

[Mindcrime]

Well, it means books that currently use the creatures that were dropped from the SRD* (mind flayer, beholder, yuan-ti, and a few others) have to be rewritten before they get reprinted since they are now verboten. So, say, my Slayer's Guide to Yuan-Ti, well, it will probably become extinct since the whole book is about a creature we're no longer allowed to use. And god help anyone who has done something with mind flayers - you know how cool mind flayers are, and how much people like to use them, and how extensively they are used when they're put in a product (because, come on, who can resist?) Well, all that has to be canned.



Chris
*The reason publishers could use these creatures before the official release of the critters SRD is because of the 'gentlemen's agreement' they had with WoTC that let them use the unofficial, draft-form of the critters srd, which did include them.

 

[HellHound]

Oh ****

Well, there goes the Mind Flayer book from Paradigm Concepts.

And **** did I work hard on that one.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

You know I noticed that the four psionic prestige classes are the revised versions from Monte Cook's site, they have the +1 manifester levels at certain levels.

 

[Voadam]

Oh ****

Well, there goes the Mind Flayer book from Paradigm Concepts.

And **** did I work hard on that one.

The loss of mindflayers is probably the biggest hit to the d20 community although yuan ti and beholders get used a bunch. I was looking forward to this mind flayer one, that cover rocked.

I'm betting most existing ones will change flavor text such as in Librum Equitis Combined I think there is a Yuan ti disciple class, I'm betting Hellhound will change the Yuan Ti references to "Serpent Men" or something similar like "Serpent folk"?

Mindcrime, does the slayer's guide make any use of the stats for the Yuan Ti or do you think it could be easily changed to "Slayer's guide to Serpent Folk" when it goes to pdf?

 

[HellHound]

Also the Slaadi have been cut.

Another blow... I was working on a Slaad book for Paradigm Concepts too.

AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

 

[Mindcrime]

Voadam, it relies heavily on the three breeds. The way the book is written, Yuan-Ti can be dropped and replaced with "Se-Jing" (from our history of hte Yuan-Ti, that was their original name, from Chinese myth.) But, the culture we created has very strong reliance on the three breeds, unfortunately. I guess it could be rewritten....but that's a lot of work.

Chris

 

[Tewligan]

Well, that's odd. Does anyone know why those creatures in particular were dropped from the SRD?

 

[HellHound]

What *IS* interesting is that the Slaad Lords are OGC, but the Slaad themselves aren't

 

[EarthsShadow]

probably control of specific creatures...this way, if there is a creature that someone wants specific information on they have to now purchase a WotC book for information pertaining to those said creatures. Personally, I don't like the fact that Yaun-ti got axed because I was looking forward to the Yaun-ti book (forgive if i misspelled it).

That said, does this update also open the lock on psionics?