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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nellisir" data-source="post: 5124148" data-attributes="member: 70">I think Gilwen is a little more on the mark here.You could take a generic +1 longsword and call it "Zarg's Blade", which would be allowed under PI, but the mechanical rules description of what a +1 sword does (adds +1 to your to hit and damage rolls) would still be OGC. I suppose you could write "plus one" and make an argument that you are not copying the text of the OGC source, and "plus one" is PI, but it would be difficult and childish.Also as someone noted, there are 3 classes of content: open, closed, and PI. Unique characteristics, such as proper names, usually fall into PI, but general descriptions or sentences ("the rusted sword has 4 runes inscribed on it.") are usually left to be closed, rather than the specific protection of PI.Mechanical rules usually have to be OGC by virtue of deriving from the SRD, unless it's a completely new class of rules.  Power points fall into this category, and Void from Rokugan (which are just another sort of power point). The way those rules manifest might still be OGC, however - Void feats are OGC, since feats derive from the SRD.There's a decent amount of common sense and reasonable interpretation that has to be applied when you get into tiny permutations of OGC vs PI vs closed. There isn't a magical formula that says "this is OGC and this is PI", and some publishers exploit that uncertainty.And while OGC has to be "clearly designated", that doesn't necessarily equate to "at a glance", which implies one could look at the content, independent of another reference, and determine whether or not it is OGC. It's my personal opinion that "clearly designated" means one ought to be able to figure it out without reference to another product, but at least one very prominent publisher writes their designations to be otherwise.</blockquote>

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