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Caladan Brood
Senior Scribe
Norway
410 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 09:21:30
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| I'm well into writing a module based on an adventure idea that never materialized, and for now I'm stealing liberally from 2nd Edition sourcebooks, including maps, art, and lore. I'll edit stuff out again once things have been cleared up and I know what exactly I can do and can't do. But if I'm limited to the art, maps, and templates provided by DMSguild, I can just as well fold, that would be far too limiting, kind of in the way the module creation in Sword Coast Legends works. It's there but so severely limited it has little use. |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6385 Posts |
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Rafael
Acolyte
12 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 11:30:03
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Came here after nearly a decade, to see how you guys would react to this.
While it's an amazing announcement, doesn't it bring with it all sorts of legal troubles? |
Innkeeper at the Comeback Inn, the community for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36891 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 12:56:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Rafael
Came here after nearly a decade, to see how you guys would react to this.
While it's an amazing announcement, doesn't it bring with it all sorts of legal troubles?
WotC wouldn't be doing something like this without extensive vetting from their legal folks. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6385 Posts |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6385 Posts |
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Rafael
Acolyte
12 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 18:42:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Rafael
Came here after nearly a decade, to see how you guys would react to this.
While it's an amazing announcement, doesn't it bring with it all sorts of legal troubles?
WotC wouldn't be doing something like this without extensive vetting from their legal folks.
Well, they better shouldn't!  Personally, I think it's a bold move, but I wonder how it really plays out after a couple of years. |
Innkeeper at the Comeback Inn, the community for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor |
Edited by - Rafael on 15 Jan 2016 18:50:30 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6680 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 21:41:19
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There's no legal detriment to WotC. They say you still own your work, but they control where it is located and accessed. If you elect to sell it they get 50% of the revenue just for hosting it. None of it is 'official' unless they say so, so they are free to continue to make their own products and ignore what will potentially/eventually become a large volume of fan generated gaming material and possibly fanfic of varying quality. No risk and some reward and they are keeping the fans happy by basically saying you can write about the Realms officially and we won't sue you. What's not to like from WotC's point of view? Genius.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 22:09:22
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| They also said this: "We are mostly interested is using the DMs Guild to identify hot new talent. That said, if we REALLY like something and want to use it elsewhere, we'll be in contact with the author(s) to purchase it outright." |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36891 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 22:18:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
They also said this: "We are mostly interested is using the DMs Guild to identify hot new talent. That said, if we REALLY like something and want to use it elsewhere, we'll be in contact with the author(s) to purchase it outright."
I expected them to do that, though I wasn't sure if they would openly say they were doing that. (Not that I was expecting them to be secretive or deny such a thing; I just wasn't sure they'd say it up front)
It reminds me, in part, of the relationship between the American anime fansub community and American anime companies. The companies watch the fansub community to see which titles prove most popular -- and then they license them thru the Japanese companies. The fansub community, in return, ceases distribution of the fansubs once the licensing is announced. The fansub community is, in essence, a kind of market research group for the anime companies. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 15 Jan 2016 22:18:54 |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 22:32:02
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What about if you had a lore idea for the current time line, but it is mostly like an outline? "Since X has happened, the result is Y and Z, etc". Does that count, or would they want a story around that lore?
If, of course, they even want lore |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3811 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 22:34:29
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| It should be something directly usable, so setting info regarding those outlines should be included (something like NPCs, organizations, plot hooks). |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2016 : 22:38:30
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| Hmm this is going to take some thought. The basis of my idea actually comes from a discussion in another thread, in which I had a "what if?" idea. |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6680 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2016 : 07:50:11
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Anyone know how you get a cover image going? Buggered if I know how to make it work.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6385 Posts |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6385 Posts |
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2016 : 14:33:29
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| One thing that could cause this to fail is the fact that there are lots of people who will not purchase "unofficial" products for various reasons. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2016 : 14:35:15
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| I'm mega interested in the Moonsea and the Narfell region. I would like to contribute to those areas. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2016 : 14:40:08
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| I believe I will do a sourcebook on my Shoon project. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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Derulbaskul
Senior Scribe
Singapore
408 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2016 : 15:05:39
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| I really hope this might allow Eric Boyd to legally published Under Illefarn Anew. :) |
Cheers
D
NB: Please remember: A cannon is a big gun. Canon is what we discuss here. |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6385 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36891 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2016 : 16:44:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
One thing that could cause this to fail is the fact that there are lots of people who will not purchase "unofficial" products for various reasons.
For me, it's going to depend in large part upon several factors. In general, I don't pay much attention to unofficial material. I've seen some really good stuff, but I've also seen some utter crap. Most material I've looked at falls closer to the latter than to the former.
It's actually only been in the last several years that I've even embraced 3rd party material. Until 3E and the OGL, I basically ignored every D&D thing that wasn't WotC or TSR.
I've noticed, with non-gaming stuff, that while buying a brand name usually costs more than off-brand stuff, the brand name product is generally better. Levis last longer for me than Rustler, for example, and Smuckers tastes better than Publix brand. My grandmother said repeatedly that you were only buying a brand name, and not a better product -- but when I saw off-brand shoes fall apart quicker than Nike shoes, I began to realize there was a reason people know the brand names and that those brand names had been around for a while.
Having gotten used to this in the non-gaming world, I looked at the gaming market the same way for a long time.
My criteria for buying unofficial stuff:
1) What is the product? I'm more likely to buy something focusing on magic or NPCs, as opposed to say a regional book, if it's not official material.
2) What is the price? I'll spend $5 on a book of unofficial NPCs a lot quicker than I would spent $20 on the same book.
3) Who wrote it? I'll buy anything by Eric Boyd or George Krashos, for example -- those are brand names I trust, if you will. Joe Smith or BadAsp19? If I've not seen good stuff from them in the past, I'm likely not even going to look at what they're offering. On the flipside, though, if everyone starts gushing about how good BadAsp19's stuff is, I'm more likely to at least take a look.
Of course, that's all just me. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36891 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2016 : 16:44:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Derulbaskul
I really hope this might allow Eric Boyd to legally published Under Illefarn Anew. :)
That was one of my first thoughts when I read about this whole thing. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2016 : 18:05:58
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| If I understand right, it would have to be retooled to 5E rules. While I'm not expert in the latest edition, it does seem way easier to grasp than 3E. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6680 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jan 2016 : 02:49:41
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Yes it would need to be re-tooled for 5E and have all the art stripped out ... I'll be dropping Eric a line to see if he's up for it.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6680 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jan 2016 : 06:08:53
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Oh and a question: If Ed was to produce say ... Volo's Guide to the Moonsea (set in the 1370s DR and following on from the last ones), realistically how many of you would buy it and what would you pay? How many do you think he would sell in total? To be clear, Ed hasn't asked me to do this, but I'm curious ....
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jan 2016 : 06:17:20
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| I'm pretty sure any time Ed put up anything on the DM's Guild I'd be up for purchasing it, doubly so if it were a Volo's Guide of some sort or another. |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6385 Posts |
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Rymac
Learned Scribe
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jan 2016 : 06:41:27
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Oh and a question: If Ed was to produce say ... Volo's Guide to the Moonsea (set in the 1370s DR and following on from the last ones), realistically how many of you would buy it and what would you pay? How many do you think he would sell in total? To be clear, Ed hasn't asked me to do this, but I'm curious ....
-- George Krashos
How much would I pay? Arm. Leg. Firstborn. 
If the content was comparable to Ed Greenwood presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms, I'd pay the equivalent price. |
- Ryan |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6385 Posts |
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Holy $417, they did it.
