At 06:32 AM 2/3/2001, Alan T. Haley wrote:
>>Incorrect.
>>
>>You can release anything you want under the OGL. It does not have to be
>>SRD derived in the slightest.
>>
>>You can take the SRD, add character creation rules (written in your own
>>words) and release it as "Caverns and Creatures". What you CANNOT do is
>>say, "This game is compatible with Dungeons and Dragons" or "This game
>>uses the D20 System" or make any other reference to any other
>>trademarked term.
>
>So let's say that I develop a certain set of rules but find some aspects
>of the d20 system that I would like to use verbatim. Can I do this? It
>would no longer be d20 (because whatever I've changed has made it
>incompatible with the system), but so long as I don't claim it to be I can
>use any OGL stuff a la carte, right?
Provided you do not violate the OGL -- which means no use of trademarks or
other product identity (see the license for exact definition) without
permission, you can use as much or as little of the D20 SRD as you wish.
You can copy one spell, monster, or item, or take the whole thing.
To give a concrete example:I want to have combat rules for my superhero
game which are based on the D20 system. But a superhero game isn't a heroic
fantasy game;some things will need to be changed. I intend to start by
doing a cut&paste on the whole SRD combat rules, then spend some
significant amount of time slicing, dicing, editing, etc. The net result
will be, I hope, D20-based combat rules good for battle between
superheroes, with rules for slamming people through walls, complex aerial
acrobatics, using lampposts as weapons, etc. I will then release this back
to the world under the OGL.
Someone else might like my rules, but want to alter them -- make them more
gritty, or more 'cosmic'. They can take my contribution and edit it themselves.
The catch is -- they MUST credit me (just as I must credit the original
source of the rules), and, as a derivative work, their variant must also be
released under the OGL. And so on.
The idea is, in a couple of years, you will find something like:
SRDCombat.txt:Combat rules for heroic fantasy
LizardsSuperCombat.txt:SRD-derived combat rules for superheroes
GrittySupers.txt:Rules for combat in 'realistic' superhero universes,
derived from LizardsSuperComat
GunRules.txt:Rules for guns, usable with any SRD-derived combat system.
Contains some items derived from LizardsSuperComabt and GrittySupers.
Etc....
