--- John Kim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Well, I think the answer to this FAQ is phrased
> badly, but please note the question. The question
> is about copying ideas/content out of a (presumably
> non-OGL) WotC book.
>
> You can freely add your own *original*
> material to the SRD. If you want to add non-
> original material (i.e. putting copyrighted, non-
> open WotC content into your own words), then you
> had darn well better watch your step. Actually, I
> think the answer is quite permissive in that they
are
> admitting that it is possible to copy ideas without
> violating copyright. However, I think the use of
> sarcasm in the answer is off-putting at least.
In the world of roleplaying games, there are certain
things that are so commonplace that I don't think
anybody has a lock on them. You have to have some way
to create a character, and many games have character
"classes" or professions. Even games that aren't
class/level-based often give "templates" for
approximating classes. You also have to have a way to
advance your character's abilities. If there's going
to be magic, you have to have lists of spells or at
least some way of describing how magic works. There
should probably be some way to measure success with
certain skills, such as running, tracking, and so
forth. If psi abilities exist, there should be some
way to describe how they work and how powerful a
character is. My concern is that someone [not
necessarily WOTC] might try to claim that any of these
add-ons to the SRD that are even remotely similar to
an existing game system are an infringement, and then
we're back where we started...worrying that someone
who still thinks that game rules and ideas can be
copyrighted will drag us into court.
In my opinion, the sooner we craft a fully functional
Open game and a common format for describing game
elements such as creatures and spells, the better off
we'll all be. If we get it out there in the open for
long enough and let it achieve some kind of stability,
then it'll be harder to go after [for example] someone
who wants to write a character generation application
or someone who creates an adventure module that
contains a creature that has psi abilities.
Neal
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