Philotomy Jurament
First Post
I think OSRIC is a great idea, and if it helps publishers and fans to put out material I can use, them I'm all for it. I'm completely uninterested in any personal squabbles -- especially message board squabbles. That kind of stuff makes me roll my eyes, frankly.
As far as legal issues, I'm no lawyer, but I don't see that OSRIC infringes on anyones copyrights or trademarks. OSRIC carefully avoids the use of other peoples' trademarks. OSRIC uses the OGL, so there's no legal question about the use of open game content terms, etc. And it's perfectly legal to publish game rules/algorithms, which are not subject to copyright, so long as you use your own "artistic presentation" of those rules (i.e. you present the rules in your own words, etc). If there's a legitimate legal challenge, it will be decided by the courts. But it looks like OSRIC has been created with potential legal questions in mind, and that the authors have consulted attorneys/solicitors, so I don't doubt that they're better informed on the matter than most of us.
I know that I'm pleased that old-school material I can use with my C&C game is coming to market. Dragonsfoot has some very nicely produced PDFs that are freely available. Troll Lord Games is putting out C&C modules (of course). Goodman Games has released some C&C modules, and their 1E version of Iron Crypt of the Heretics, created as a Gen Con special, sold out within the first hour or so (a small print run, but still a good indication that there's a market for such products). My pre-ordered copy of Pied Piper's Cairn of the Skeleton King arrived this afternoon. It's beautiful. I've also pre-ordered Expeditious Retreat Press's Pod Caverns of the Sinister Shroom, which is an OSRIC module (already available in PDF, but I wanted a print version).
Now, from the list, above, it's obvious that OSRIC isn't the only way to produce material for old-school or "advanced" games, but I'm glad it's out there, and I know that I'll be buying good OSRIC material, if it's produced.
As far as legal issues, I'm no lawyer, but I don't see that OSRIC infringes on anyones copyrights or trademarks. OSRIC carefully avoids the use of other peoples' trademarks. OSRIC uses the OGL, so there's no legal question about the use of open game content terms, etc. And it's perfectly legal to publish game rules/algorithms, which are not subject to copyright, so long as you use your own "artistic presentation" of those rules (i.e. you present the rules in your own words, etc). If there's a legitimate legal challenge, it will be decided by the courts. But it looks like OSRIC has been created with potential legal questions in mind, and that the authors have consulted attorneys/solicitors, so I don't doubt that they're better informed on the matter than most of us.
I know that I'm pleased that old-school material I can use with my C&C game is coming to market. Dragonsfoot has some very nicely produced PDFs that are freely available. Troll Lord Games is putting out C&C modules (of course). Goodman Games has released some C&C modules, and their 1E version of Iron Crypt of the Heretics, created as a Gen Con special, sold out within the first hour or so (a small print run, but still a good indication that there's a market for such products). My pre-ordered copy of Pied Piper's Cairn of the Skeleton King arrived this afternoon. It's beautiful. I've also pre-ordered Expeditious Retreat Press's Pod Caverns of the Sinister Shroom, which is an OSRIC module (already available in PDF, but I wanted a print version).
Now, from the list, above, it's obvious that OSRIC isn't the only way to produce material for old-school or "advanced" games, but I'm glad it's out there, and I know that I'll be buying good OSRIC material, if it's produced.