Re: Legality and WotC help with 3rdEd SJ

Lets see if I can't put together a good example that makes sense. Licensing
can be fun.

The goal of the conversion process is to allow new people to play older
modules using 3rd edition rules without WotC having to do any of the work.
With that in mind, they want you to convert rules but to have to own the
original works to use those conversions.

As such, you're looking at 2nd edition adventure that reads:
[flavor text flavor text flavor text]stat block for Dragon[flavor text
flavor text flavor text]stats for magic sword[flavor text flavor text flavor
text]

What the ESD guide would want you to do it write out:
Legal Header Info
Page 5: D20 Stats for Dragon
Page 15: D20 Stats for Magic Sword
Legal Footer Info
Open Gaming License

That's easier to do.. and rather boring to read and makes next to no sense
out of context.

Now with a big book of rules, you can fudge things. Is the fact that
Spelljammer uses binary gravity a description of the setting or is it an
actual rule? Honestly, its both.. but seeing as how the SRD's planar rules
actually have a section on gravity, it isn't too hard to call them rules.
I'm more comfortable having that SRD backup. There is a fine line between
writing out the stats for elves and discussing the culture of the elvin
imperial navy.


Now as for Mind Flayers.. yes, they do appear in the 3rd edition Monster
Manual. Where they don't appear however is in the SRD which is what you are
supposed to be using for doing your conversions. When creating the finalized
version of the SRD, WotC made the strategic descision to keep out every
monster that was distinct to D&D. Mind Flayers, Beholders, Displacer Beasts,
Yaun-Ti.. basically anything that doesn't have have an antecedent outside of
Dungeons and Dragons. They are Intellectual Property and they are gold.
Personally, I don't blame them.

Malhavok's 'If Thoughts Could Kill' adventure originally had mind-flayers as
the badguys of the adventure. They were forced to remove them and ended up
creating a different monster to fill that role as part of the update. This
is Malhavok as in Monte "I created 3rd edition" Cook.



On 5/10/06, Dreamer <dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk> wrote:
>
> > For rules books like the Spelljammer core books, there would seem to be
> a
> > bit more liberty in how you transfer the rules over but you have to
> watch
> > out for Flavor text.
>
> Would you care to expand on why this might be an issue?
>
>
> > Doing the conversion through this document gives a little extra leway in
> > terms of using Trademarks that you wouldn't normally have access to..
> such
> > as putting 'Spelljammer' and other trademarks (I'd tread carefully when
> > using MindFlayers however) onto your document.
>
> Why are there issues about Mind Flayers?
>
> They appear in the 3rdEd MM, which also says they are
> alternatively called illithids.
>
> Did the estate of H.P. Lovecraft get upset, or something?  Or
> Chaosium?
>
>
>