> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:ogf-l-admin@;opengamingfoundation.org] On Behalf Of > Robert J Defendi > Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 2:56 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: [Ogf-l] New to the List > > > Dude. I had read all that.
Glad to hear it. Sorry if I was a nag. But every so often, somebody has to make sure new folks are reading the licenses and the FAQs, and your question seemed like a good opportunity. > Of course, this time I read it > it's obvious that I can't use classes from splat books. > Evidently, I burned myself out on the first search of > material and didn't get everything from it I should. 'Sallright. It happens to all of us. There's a lot there, and no one can keep it all straight all the time. > Okay, so that leaves me with a clarification of one of my > questions. I'm converting some material to d20 right now. I > have characters that by all rights need to be WAY over > twentieth level. Without violating the license or creating a > new class system (like Everquest did), what would you all > suggest I do. Is it legal to list a character's level as > thirty, then make a note that this work doesn't' contain > information on character's above twentieth level? Here's another one of those things that needs to be said from time to time: I am not a lawyer. Nor am I The Guy with a Law Degree Who's Not a Lawyer (but who teaches law). This is just what I understand, so you'll want real legal advice before you release. Given that... This actually sounds pretty good to me. It's both within the letter and within the spirit: LETTER: You never once mention the Epic Level Handbook or the material in it. Thus, you haven't derived from any non-open work. SPIRIT: For those who know the game, you've strongly IMPLIED the Epic Level Handbook; and if they want to know what level 30 means in game effects, they have to go buy the book. That's the "spirit" behind the d20 license: "You can use our logo, as long as it has a decent chance of selling our books." So I think that if you did JUST what you said, you'd be fine. As soon as you mentioned ONE special power or ability from the Epic Level Handbook, though, your ground might get shaky. > A new question. I one of those documents (I think it was the > d20 guide, it seems to say you can reference the PH, the DMG, > the MM or Psionics Handbook. In the FAQ's it says you can't. > Is one of these out of date, or am I misreading again? First, you're right: the FAQ here (http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=dt20010417d) appears to be out of date. It says: **************************************************************** Q: Can I reference the Player's Handbook or any other published d20 product? A: You can reference "Player's Handbook," because that's not a trademark. "Dungeon Master" and "Monster Manual" are, so you can't reference the DMG or the MM. **************************************************************** This contradicts the latest guide, as we'll see below. Now the details of referencing the books contain some subtleties. Some of the book titles contain trademarks, so the license precludes you from using them; but it doesn't preclude you from using abbreviations that don't include the trademarks. It allows you to use other titles either in long form or abbreviated. Still other titles are just plain off limits for now. (And yes, you might find some argument under trademark law that makes you think that you can use an off-limits title; but remember that Wizards can change the d20 System License at will. If you find some sort of loophole, they'll just close it; so it may be easier to keep with the spirit they intended.) Here's the relevant text from the latest guide: **************************************************************** Citations of other Wizards of the Coast products in Covered Works: You may refer to the Dungeon Master's Guide as the DMG, the Monster Manual as the MM. You may cite the Player's Handbook by title, or as the PHB. You may cite the Psionics Handbook by title. You must not cite page number references, because pagination may change in future printings. You may cite chapter, heading, and subheading titles from the DMG, the MM, the PHB or the Psionics Handbook. Example: "See DMG Chapter 3, Special Abilities, Charm and Compulsion for more information." At this time, you may not make reference by title to any other Wizards of the Coast products. **************************************************************** Let's hope that, as soon as d20 Modern is out, we see most of its crunchy bits entered into the SRD, and the guide updated to allow us to reference it where appropriate. Don't forget: there's also the mandatory citations. From the latest guide: **************************************************************** Mandatory Trademark Use: You MUST include, visibly and in a readable size, on the cover or back cover (or title page of works without covers) of the Covered Product, one or more of the following text blocks: "Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons(R) Player's Handbook, Third Edition, published by Wizards of the Coast(R)" or "Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons(R), Third Edition Core Books, published by Wizards of the Coast(R)" or "Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons(R), Third Edition Core Books, and the Psionics Handbook, published by Wizards of the Coast(R)" or "Requires the use of a Roleplaying Game Core Book published by Wizards of the Coast(R)" Elsewhere in the work, at a reasonable size, you must include the following text: You must also include the following legal text in a reasonably legible font, point size and color somewhere in the work: "Dungeons & Dragons(R) and Wizards of the Coast(R) are Registered Trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, and are used with Permission." If you do not use "Dungeons & Dragons" anywhere in the work, you may instead use the following legal text: "Wizards of the Coast(R) is a Registered Trademark of Wizards of the Coast and is used with Permission." Permission is granted to translate this text into a non-English language, provided that the English text is also included, and that the translated text is identified as non-official. **************************************************************** Hope this helps! Martin L. Shoemaker Martin L. Shoemaker Consulting, Software Design and UML Training [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.MartinLShoemaker.com http://www.UMLBootCamp.com _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
