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July 23rd, 2020, 18:55 #21
I wish to god that Ryan and WotC would have written the OGL Sec. 15 requirements so that you had to list the items you used, and not just the Sec. 15 from the previous books.
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October 28th, 2020, 21:19 #22
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I have a DMs Guild product I'm publishing that will include a handful of monsters from Volo's. As far as i can tell I can reprint these stat blocks in my work per the license on DMs Guild.
I would like to also release the adventure as a Fantasy Grounds (henceforth FG) module for sale on the DMs Guild in the future. I've been using FG for a number of years and like the program.
I have no desire to step on anyone's toes and have no intention of copying someone else's work, but the DMs Guild license does give me permission to reprint these monsters from Volos.
https://support.dmsguild.com/hc/en-u...-OGL-Questions
https://support.dmsguild.com/hc/en-u...bleTop-Content
From DMs Guild:
"When you publish material that has no setting, then publishing under the DMs Guild program allows you to use the entire D&D 5th edition rules, not just the subset found in the SRD."
"Can I use creatures like the beholder and mind flayer, which the OGL lists as “product identity,” in my DMs Guild title? Yes. Product identity exclusions apply only to publishing under the OGL. Product identity has no meaning under the DMs Guild program."
For the sake of making everyone happy, rather than type the Volo's stuff into my FG mod myself, which seems perfectly legal per DMs Guild, I will instead include links to the official Smiteworks mods so that anyone who buys my adventure will need to also own the FG modules in order to see those monsters. This seems likes an okay compromise that protects everyone, BUT I do agree with the original poster that the license on DMs Guild allows the use of these stat blocks in any DMs Guild product, including in an FG mod.Last edited by BlueDrake; October 28th, 2020 at 22:46.
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October 29th, 2020, 00:09 #23
It does. The safest way to do this would be for you to type the stats in for those monsters and that way you would not be infringing or potentially infringing on anything FG. You could if you were very keen create 2 encounters - one using the links to the official books and one using your own entered data.
Either way you can include the stats.
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October 29th, 2020, 00:47 #24
Since the original discussion here I did have a fairly lengthy discussion with SmiteWorks and OBS on this issue.
FG modules are in a somewhat different Intellectual Property situation than PDFs. Yes, the DMsG license does allow WotC IP to be reprinted (within limits). But what the DMsG license does not address but the FG license does is that their is also copyright on the FG xml itself.
edit: one other thing I do is to not include any flavor text that we usually find on the Notes tab of an NPC. You don't usually need it to run the FG version, and it indicates a willingness to defer to the official sources. imo.
My interpretation of what this means is that an FG module can include creatures et al from a WotC source, but you can not do that by copying the object our of the FG version of the module (since the xml itself is protected). Hence we have to re-enter the stat blocks ourselves for FG products.
Realistically that's not much different than a PDF, since in a Word or Publisher document you can't copy the stat block and have to enter it into your word processor/layout software yourself, we have to do the same with FG.Last edited by LordEntrails; October 29th, 2020 at 00:50.
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October 30th, 2020, 01:03 #25
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I agree the flavor text should be omitted in both a PDF and in FG. The DMs Guild is pretty specific about not copying blocks of text wholesale; I took that to mean anything other than the actual stat block needed to run the monster at the table should not be reprinted.
Thank you both for the replies and clarification.
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October 30th, 2020, 12:16 #26
Yep, our policy at PCGen is to include enough info to calculate the character, but not enough to not need the book. The exceptions are the SRD(s), and Paizo material since we use the Community Use Policy. It can be a fine balancing point for sure.
Paul Grosse
PCGen BoD
PR Silverback
Autobackup Batch file, Always ALWAYS backup your data. Remember to follow the 3-2-1 rule!
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October 30th, 2020, 13:54 #27
you can of course make your own version of a non SRD monster and put it into module destined for the DM's guild which no doubt will be identical to the FG version. Still confused?
Last edited by hawkwind; October 30th, 2020 at 13:57.
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October 31st, 2020, 01:31 #28
identical stats-wise - all good
identical in name or flavour text - no good
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October 31st, 2020, 11:31 #29
why no name as the dms guild licence allows you to reuse wotc stat blocks and names? Now i'm confused?
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brawny hook bold thug
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October 31st, 2020, 12:55 #30
You edited it after I replied. I cant recall your exact wording. For the DMsG you can use the names.
In general you could have a giant floating eye ball with tentacle stalks and multiple spell like attacks called an Eyestrosity but not one called a Beholder.
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