Unearthed Arcana SRD?

[Trickstergod]

No, nay, never...*clap clap clap clap*...no nay never no more! There'll be no UA SRD, no never, no more...

Will I play the wild rover? No never, no more...heh. That's simply delightful.

And now back to the thread at hand....

 

[Alzrius]

Producing products under the OGL without using the d20STL allows for one to ignore the restrictions that are inherent in the d20STL Guide. Some companies might be producing a product in which they wish to add character generation rules, or rules that show how to apply experience to a character, or even might contain artwork of an explicit nature, and thus would be a no-no under the d20STL.

There are a myriad of restrictions in the d20STL Guide, if one counts all of the terms that must be left untouched (such as how "AC" is defined, etc.).

Even the slightest infraction can result in the loss of the license, in perpetuity, and the requirement that all stock be destroyed, as well as requiring the company to track down all existing copies of any work produced and requesting that the current owner of that stock destroy those copies.

It could get quite expensive for an offending company.

So then, making a product an OGL product (as opposed to a d20 product under the OGL) means that you can use the materials of other OGL systems (such as the d20 system) without having to adhere to things like the d20STL? That seems odd; why then bother to use the d20 License at all, if you can reap all of the benefits by just making your product a straight OGL product? The only benefit I can see to using the d20 License would be using the d20 trademark for the recognition factor.

Nope. They do not need to adhere to anything more than the requirements outlined in the Open Game License if they are using Open Game content.

This still strikes me as being almost too good to be true. It seems like there's almost nothing to lose, and a lot to gain in avoiding hassles, by just not using the d20 License altogether and making your product wholely OGL without being d20. How, exactly, does that work? Is there a clause in the OGL itself that allows companies to use any of the rules-system subsets posted under the OGL without having to abide by the additional terms and restrictions of those system subsets so long as they don't use that subset's trademark?

Thanks. I have a ton of respect for you, and what I read in posts you make to these boards, and I wouldn't want my sharing what I know with you to be confused for anything less than respectful.

Likewise, my friend.

 

[Mark]

The only benefit I can see to using the d20 License would be using the d20 trademark for the recognition factor.

That is indeed the primary benefit. Most companies place a great value on that. For print companies, where one gets stocked in stores, and the ability to visibly be recognized as useful to customers using the d20 System, can be the difference between low/no sales and adequate sales. Some might even contend that the only way to ever hope for good to excellent sales numbers in the current market climate is to publish under the d20STL in addition to using the OGL. Some companies, who have their own marketing engines find benefit in producing some products under the OGL only, as well as products under the OGL and d20STL. I'm not sure if there are any publishers of OGL-only products, who do not also use the d20STL, that have achieved any sizeable level of success.

This still strikes me as being almost too good to be true. It seems like there's almost nothing to lose, and a lot to gain in avoiding hassles, by just not using the d20 License altogether and making your product wholely OGL without being d20. How, exactly, does that work? Is there a clause in the OGL itself that allows companies to use any of the rules-system subsets posted under the OGL without having to abide by the additional terms and restrictions of those system subsets so long as they don't use that subset's trademark?

While the OGL doesn't prohibit usage of any OGC provided the terms of the OGL are properly followed, one of those terms prohibits compatibility claims without additional agreements such as the d20STL. One could, in actuality, be completely compatible but cannot claim such in the product or in the marketing of a product without such a separate arrangement.

Metaphorically speaking, if I tell you that if you want to eat a sandwich, you have to sit in a chair, but further tell you that if you want to eat a sandwich and wear a blue shirt, you must also sit crossleged. You might derive some benefit in attracting people who are interested in sandwich-eaters by virtue of wearing the blue shirt but, either way, you still have to be seated in a chair. It's really a matter of whether you find sitting cross-legged comfortable and how great you find the benefit of wearing a blue shirt. Sometimes it is a matter of where the people setting the table will place your chair.

Likewise, my friend.

Thanks!

 

[Davelozzi]

Metaphorically speaking, if I tell you that if you want to eat a sandwich, you have to sit in a chair...

I for one wasn't confused at all -- until I read this.

 

[Mark]

I for one wasn't confused at all -- until I read this.

Would you like chips and a small drink with that...?

 

[pensiv]

I for one wasn't confused at all -- until I read this.

A game must follow the d20 license if it is to advertise that it is "d20 compatible."

The Open Gaming License is a license independent of d20 that stresses making content freely reproducible. You cannot reproduce Open Game Content without also publishing the work it's reproced in under the Open Gaming License.

You can publish work under the Open Gaming License that is technically compatible with d20, but doesn't use the d20 license and imprint.

An example of a reason not to use the d20 license with a product that is technically d20 compatible is if you want to publish character creation guidelines in your product. Describing a process of character creation is strictly forbidden by the d20 license (for the purpose of selling the D&D Player's Handbook), unless you, the author, gets specific permission by WotC to both publish character creation guidelines AND use the d20 license/imprint.

(correct me if I'm wrong)

 

[pensiv]

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[pensiv]

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[pensiv]

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It seems shutting down the server at the moment I made my post caused it to be posted more than enough times.