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<blockquote data-quote="redrick" data-source="post: 7660920" data-attributes="member: 6777696">I am confused by the surprise that a character builder would be off limits (from a legal standpoint.) Under 4e, the only major 3pp character builder I knew was Hero Lab. It required the end user to have a DDI subscription and then use a spider tool to rebuild all the build options from the Wizards website. Sort of a high tech version of saying, &quot;you have to enter all the information yourself.&quot;Similarly, Lone Wolf has indicated that they are developing a 5e character builder, but will release nothing without a clear license from Wizards. In the eyes of people who actually have something to lose, character builders require a license.And, while I don't have the source on my phone, I remember Wizards saying that they still planned to release digital tools when the agreement with Trapdoor fell through. That's not a product announcement, for sure.And finally, a fan receiving a request from wizards needn't be a major chilling action on fan creation. The point of fan content is that we create it for ourselves. Sharing it is great, but one instance of being asked not to do something isn't hardship. I'm not going to consult a lawyer just to keep a cop from asking me to stop standing somewhere. I'm gonna do my thing, and if I get yelled at, I'll stop. In other words, I create my fan content and I'll use it, and maybe I'll share it, and if wizards tells me to take it off my website, I'll move on. Since I'm a fan and not a business making money of an investment, it's not a load of skin off my back.(Now, if I'm selling or profiting off borrowed IP, that's another story!)I want digital tools for 5e. I want PDFs or ebooks or something because I do my reading on an ereader. I was a little angered at the trapdoor debacle, but that doesn't open the door up to freeloaders, ethically or legally.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="redrick, post: 7660920, member: 6777696"] I am confused by the surprise that a character builder would be off limits (from a legal standpoint.) Under 4e, the only major 3pp character builder I knew was Hero Lab. It required the end user to have a DDI subscription and then use a spider tool to rebuild all the build options from the Wizards website. Sort of a high tech version of saying, "you have to enter all the information yourself." Similarly, Lone Wolf has indicated that they are developing a 5e character builder, but will release nothing without a clear license from Wizards. In the eyes of people who actually have something to lose, character builders require a license. And, while I don't have the source on my phone, I remember Wizards saying that they still planned to release digital tools when the agreement with Trapdoor fell through. That's not a product announcement, for sure. And finally, a fan receiving a request from wizards needn't be a major chilling action on fan creation. The point of fan content is that we create it for ourselves. Sharing it is great, but one instance of being asked not to do something isn't hardship. I'm not going to consult a lawyer just to keep a cop from asking me to stop standing somewhere. I'm gonna do my thing, and if I get yelled at, I'll stop. In other words, I create my fan content and I'll use it, and maybe I'll share it, and if wizards tells me to take it off my website, I'll move on. Since I'm a fan and not a business making money of an investment, it's not a load of skin off my back. (Now, if I'm selling or profiting off borrowed IP, that's another story!) I want digital tools for 5e. I want PDFs or ebooks or something because I do my reading on an ereader. I was a little angered at the trapdoor debacle, but that doesn't open the door up to freeloaders, ethically or legally. [/QUOTE]

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