I have been weighing all the options available in regard to how and when to
release the D20 materials for public use with the Open Gaming License. The
factors involved are the current state of the work, the time needed by R&D
to distill the existing manuscripts down into usable reference documents,
and an interest in preserving some elements of "surprise" for the 3e D&D
launch.
Here is a proposal I would like to consider and receive feedback on:
The D20 System Reference Document does not need to be released all at once.
Instead, we release it in stages based on the release schedule of various
works in progress.
The first part would be the PHB extract containing races, classes,
equipment, the combat system, the skill and feat system, and the spells and
spellcasting system. We would probably also have to include some
information about the revised XP/Challenge Level system to allow designers
to code CLs for adventure design. We would release this portion of the
document as soon as it can be readied - based on R&D's estimate, that's
sometime in June.
The second part would be the DMG extract, the Prestige Classes, and the
Magic Items and other items of interest. We would release that material one
month after the previous section - sometime in July.
The third portion would be the MM extract, containing monstrous feats,
monster templates, the monsters themselves, and information describing how
to give monsters character levels and "grow" their hit dice. Again, that
book would be released after the previous section - i.e. sometime in August.
The fourth portion would be tied to Star Wars and doesn't need to be
released until after we ship the core Star Wars book (there are so many
legal issues here that I have no idea if or when we'll >ever< be able to
release the Star Wars stuff as an Open Game, but we should try anyway).
The D20 System Trademark License still needs work. We probably won't be
able to release the D20 STL until after 3e is on sale due to the complexity
of working with trademarks and general trademark licenses. There's no tie
between 3e and the D20 Trademark license; it's just a timing thing based on
how busy the legal department is and other stuff that my team has to work on
between now and the release of 3e.
I expect to be ready to release the D20STL sometime in August, possibly as
late as September.
In addition to the staged release outlined above, we would "hold back"
certain elements of the 3E design for marketing purposes and not add them to
the D20SRD until the that material is on sale. These elements would include
certain new spells, magic items, and monsters that are new to 3e and unique.
Stuff that already exists in the 2e game would not be held back.
The advantage of this plan is that it gets the D20SRD in your hands faster
than waiting for the complete work on 3e to be finished. The downside is
that you'll have to cope with an evolving "living document" in the D20SRD
for the rest of the year and be ready to monitor releases of information to
stay current. Also, there's a headache with not having the D20 Logo
available for use by GenCon, but I see no good way around the problem at
this time.
Comments?
Ryan
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