| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Yospeck |
Posted - 18 Nov 2012 : 14:36:56
Hey folks (first post, but hope to become a regular).
I've started DMing an FR Campaign a couple of months ago, which was actually my first step into the D&D world at my players request after we completed a 3yr Star Wars: Saga Edition campaign. I love the FR setting and the D&D lore in general, and I'd like to see if I can make a little extra money on the side by selling adventures.
Now, I know the red tape that ties up WOTCs IP and the OGL stuff, but what I'm thinking of is using the adventures I make for my group, applying them directly to the FR setting and tidying them up for public consumption but distributing them for free on places like RPG Drive-Thru, etc.
Now where I'm hoping to make a little extra cash is from selling map packs specific to the adventure, high detail, printable, hand drawn illustrated maps (basic maps will be provided in the adventure so these ARE optional extras) but still linking it to my free adventure.
Whilst I'm not going to act solely off what anyone says, if anyone has experience in this and can give me a definitive "No, you couldn't do that" then it would help :P
Cheers
Yospeck |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Markustay |
Posted - 23 Nov 2012 : 01:51:11
The Sarbreener group based in the UK had much the same problem, and they actually HAD permission to use the IP ('had' being the operative term). They were one of those 'living' campaigns, until that project was officially canceled.
They continued to use the IP for some time, producing quite a lot of material for it, but when they started doing non-profit 'fund-raisers' for charity the axe dropped. Even though the point wasn't profit, they were still collecting money based on things they were doing with property they did not own, nor any longer have permission to use.
And as much as I feel for the guys (who were just trying to do 'good deeds'), the point is that a company HAS TO defend its intellectual properties, or those properties fall into the public domain, which means they no longer have control of material they created. Morality has nothing to do with it - they have to do what they have to do because thats how the system works.
If you do not ask for money, you fall into a 'grey area'. You are still not legally allowed to use their property without their permission, but they can pretend to 'look the other way'. Its the 'making money' part that the line gets drawn.
Which is why none of the fan-fic maps I create are available as purchasable prints, even though many people have requested I 'allow' that feature. The moment I do that, I'm dead meat, and rightly so. Everything I use is their property, and I know it, and I usually remember to put that down somewhere on any finished (non-WIPs) I do. I should just put a big disclaimer right on my DeviantART page (thanks for making me realize I could be doing more to cover my arse and theirs).
What you'd be attempting is a bit of side-stepping of this problem, buts it's an obvious ploy, and they'd have to do something about it. That's just how it is. |
| Yospeck |
Posted - 19 Nov 2012 : 17:55:33
I suppose when there's legal grey with stuff like this WOTC are going to be able to out lawyer anyone anyway :D Think I might just make all my adventures system/setting neutral then and steer clear of any WOTC content period. Thanks for the responses guys. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 18 Nov 2012 : 19:08:41
quote:
Originally posted by Yospeck
Interesting. Haven't some people from here made entire Campaigns for FR? I was looking at some stuff on Impiltur and came across the "Northern Journey", which was a fan written unofficial adventure made for non-commercial purposes.
The free stuff isn't the issue as much as the selling stuff part is. WotC once shut down a character sheet website not for having the custom-made sheets, but because the guy asked for money to store in-use character sheets on his site. From what I understand, his costs were just to defray the storage price, but that was enough for WotC to come down on him like a ton of bricks.
There was a lot of commotion on the interweb when this happened, with most people taking the "he wasn't making a profit, so WotC is evil!" stance. Even though it's well-known that I'm more than ready to criticize WotC when I think they've done wrong, I still had to disagree with the general consensus on that one -- he was asking for money for something based on their IP. |
| Yospeck |
Posted - 18 Nov 2012 : 15:08:56
Interesting. Haven't some people from here made entire Campaigns for FR? I was looking at some stuff on Impiltur and came across the "Northern Journey", which was a fan written unofficial adventure made for non-commercial purposes. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 18 Nov 2012 : 14:56:02
Well, you likely can not do this legally. You certainly can not provide free adventures with FR logo, or use any of the copyright or trade marked material related to D&D.
As to selling maps, this also could be a problem legally if you provide a map of Waterdeep, because Waterdeep is protected IP. A generalized map of an area not named might be legal, if it is not labeled as a FR map.
The production of anything for the FR line without permission of WotC is a theft of IP, it does not matter if you give it away or sell it. Providing either reduces the ability of WotC to sell its own products.
WotC generally has not acted on all fan based material used locally, it almost certainly would act if you sold FR material. |
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