I have a minor sideline in the prognostication of future events. Normally, I confine myself to US presidential and papal elections (the last two of which I got right -- I even successfully predicted what the new Pope's regnal name would be), but this is a gaming blog, so I think I should confine myself here to gaming predictions.
Fortunately, I have one and it's this: Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition, will not be an open game -- at least not in the usual sense of "open." The mysterious GSL (né OGL 2.0) has still not appeared and my guess is that it never will. Much more likely is that WotC will partner with a small number of select third party publishers (such as Necromancer and Goodman Games), granting them limited use trademark licenses. Heck, WotC might even call the license they grant to such companies the GSL to save face. They'll almost certainly come out with a press release saying that they're "working with the finest companies in the gaming industry to produce the best 4e support products imaginable." But there will not be an open game license for 4e that anybody can use to make their own 4e-compatible product.
Now that I've said it here, feel free to laugh and make fun of me when it turns out I'm wrong. I don't think I will be, though. The reality is that the guys at WotC who pioneered open gaming and who really believed in it are long gone. Their successors possess neither the zeal for nor the understanding of why the OGL/D20 STL was so successful and so official support for that movement will die. I've said it elsewhere but it bears repeating: the advent of 4e is not so much about making a better D&D -- though I don't doubt that its designers firmly believe that's what they're doing -- as about shoring up the value and profitability of the D&D trademark and IP. By bean-counting metrics, D&D is hugely under-performing compared to similarly well-known IPs and 4e is intended to fix that, which is why 4e won't be "giving the store away for free" this time around.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
D&D in the News
D&D had a news story devoted to it yesterday on MSNBC, the first time I can remember such a thing occurring in many a moon. Sure, Gary's death last month brought the game back into the spotlight, but it mostly in the context of being Gygax's creation rather than as a topic of discussion in its own right. This time, though, it was different and, I suspect, much of what was said in the story will shock and offend a lot of gamers, particularly the hardcore gamers who spend a lot of time online posting to forums and reading blogs about their shared hobby.
The story was entitled "'Dungeons & Dragons' fights for its future" and begins by stating, "It must be tough to be 34 and already see your children overshadow you." Those are harsh words and yet true. The reality is that the computer games D&D helped inspire long ago overtook their erstwhile "parent" in popularity and profitability, a situation that will only get worse as time goes on. As I noted in my post yesterday, the release of D&D in 1974 was a perfect storm, an unpredictable confluence of events that led to the game's faddish popularity for a few years in the late 70s and early 80s -- a popularity it has never regained despite lots of claims by people at Wizards of the Coast that more people play D&D now than have ever done so and that the line is more profitable than ever.
Those claims might even be true in an absolute sense, but, relatively, D&D is not what it was and couldn't be. Those fad years have skewed a lot of people's perceptions, both ordinary gamers and game designers. When Gygax tried to sell his idea to Avalon Hill, he anticipated that there were maybe 50,000 people who might buy and play the game. By today's standards, where a "successful" RPG might sell one-tenth that amount, 50,000 might seem like a lot -- and it was, for an untested and peculiar kind of "wargame" -- but Avalon Hill wasn't willing to take that gamble and so turned Gygax down. In the end, Gary had to start his own company to publish D&D, which quickly sold far more than 50,000 copies and established D&D as the 800-pound gorilla of the roleplaying game industry, a position it has never relinquished, despite years of mismanagement and outright stupidity by its caretakers.
But the reality is that D&D's popularity was a fad, a fad made possible by the parallel growing popularity of fantasy literature, at once inspired by and driving the success of D&D. Remember too that, as a hobby, D&D predates most of what we would today call video games and it would be years before most such computer entertainments could compete with even the most primitive hack 'n slash dungeon crawls. In those halcyon days, D&D succeeded because it gave people something they wanted -- fantasy escapism -- in a way that no other medium could provide. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the entire video game industry, which now overshadows RPGs, arose out of a variety of attempts to reproduce the D&D experience in electronic form.
It took years for it to happen, but the video game industry has succeeded. I say "succeeded" in the sense that it now gives the vast majority of people who, in the past, might have turned to D&D for their fantasy escapism what they want but without the fuss of complicated rules or funny dice or even having to find some friends with whom to play the game at all. Most people nowadays can get the same experience they'd get out of D&D by playing computer games or MMORPGs, with the latter even providing much of the social aspect many "purist" roleplayers say is the true appeal of the hobby. The fact is, though, most gamers are very happy with the experience computer games provide. I observed this years ago, back in the dying days of 2e, when Blizzard, the company that would go on to claim the fantasy gaming crown with World of Warcraft, put out its dungeon crawl game Diablo. A dear friend of mine played it and loved, as did we all, but I still wanted to start up a D&D game and asked him to join. He demurred, saying, without a hint of irony, "Why would I play D&D when I can play Diablo, which has better graphics than my imagination?"
While my friend now regrets having ever said that, the reality is that he was right then and even more right now. For many people, D&D is a very inefficient vehicle for delivering what they want out of a fantasy game. I say that without a hint of either venom for those who prefer computer games (I am a guy who plays in a WoW raiding guild) or disdain for pen and paper games (which I continue to play and design). I simply think that what we are seeing is that the last vestiges of D&D's faddishness are finally falling away and the game is revealed for what it always was: a peculiar little hobby activity for a small group of peculiar people.
Again, I say this without contempt. In fact, I rather look forward to the days when roleplaying is comfortable being what it really is. Those days of tremendous success were oddities. The hobby has been coasting on momentum from the mid-80s and inertia is finally exerting its inexorable pull. My own kids will probably be roleplayers, but only because their father is. They might in turn spread this hobby to some of their friends, but the odds are not great. Like model railroad building or playing bridge (a fad of its own -- the D&D of the 1950s), roleplaying games will eventually become a marginal activity that a small portion of the public finds joy in. For myself, as one of the people who finds such joy, I see no problem in this future. My only concern is that, in their quest to regain something that can never be regained, D&D's current custodians will sell the game's soul and history for a bunch of magic beans.
The story was entitled "'Dungeons & Dragons' fights for its future" and begins by stating, "It must be tough to be 34 and already see your children overshadow you." Those are harsh words and yet true. The reality is that the computer games D&D helped inspire long ago overtook their erstwhile "parent" in popularity and profitability, a situation that will only get worse as time goes on. As I noted in my post yesterday, the release of D&D in 1974 was a perfect storm, an unpredictable confluence of events that led to the game's faddish popularity for a few years in the late 70s and early 80s -- a popularity it has never regained despite lots of claims by people at Wizards of the Coast that more people play D&D now than have ever done so and that the line is more profitable than ever.
Those claims might even be true in an absolute sense, but, relatively, D&D is not what it was and couldn't be. Those fad years have skewed a lot of people's perceptions, both ordinary gamers and game designers. When Gygax tried to sell his idea to Avalon Hill, he anticipated that there were maybe 50,000 people who might buy and play the game. By today's standards, where a "successful" RPG might sell one-tenth that amount, 50,000 might seem like a lot -- and it was, for an untested and peculiar kind of "wargame" -- but Avalon Hill wasn't willing to take that gamble and so turned Gygax down. In the end, Gary had to start his own company to publish D&D, which quickly sold far more than 50,000 copies and established D&D as the 800-pound gorilla of the roleplaying game industry, a position it has never relinquished, despite years of mismanagement and outright stupidity by its caretakers.
But the reality is that D&D's popularity was a fad, a fad made possible by the parallel growing popularity of fantasy literature, at once inspired by and driving the success of D&D. Remember too that, as a hobby, D&D predates most of what we would today call video games and it would be years before most such computer entertainments could compete with even the most primitive hack 'n slash dungeon crawls. In those halcyon days, D&D succeeded because it gave people something they wanted -- fantasy escapism -- in a way that no other medium could provide. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the entire video game industry, which now overshadows RPGs, arose out of a variety of attempts to reproduce the D&D experience in electronic form.
It took years for it to happen, but the video game industry has succeeded. I say "succeeded" in the sense that it now gives the vast majority of people who, in the past, might have turned to D&D for their fantasy escapism what they want but without the fuss of complicated rules or funny dice or even having to find some friends with whom to play the game at all. Most people nowadays can get the same experience they'd get out of D&D by playing computer games or MMORPGs, with the latter even providing much of the social aspect many "purist" roleplayers say is the true appeal of the hobby. The fact is, though, most gamers are very happy with the experience computer games provide. I observed this years ago, back in the dying days of 2e, when Blizzard, the company that would go on to claim the fantasy gaming crown with World of Warcraft, put out its dungeon crawl game Diablo. A dear friend of mine played it and loved, as did we all, but I still wanted to start up a D&D game and asked him to join. He demurred, saying, without a hint of irony, "Why would I play D&D when I can play Diablo, which has better graphics than my imagination?"
While my friend now regrets having ever said that, the reality is that he was right then and even more right now. For many people, D&D is a very inefficient vehicle for delivering what they want out of a fantasy game. I say that without a hint of either venom for those who prefer computer games (I am a guy who plays in a WoW raiding guild) or disdain for pen and paper games (which I continue to play and design). I simply think that what we are seeing is that the last vestiges of D&D's faddishness are finally falling away and the game is revealed for what it always was: a peculiar little hobby activity for a small group of peculiar people.
Again, I say this without contempt. In fact, I rather look forward to the days when roleplaying is comfortable being what it really is. Those days of tremendous success were oddities. The hobby has been coasting on momentum from the mid-80s and inertia is finally exerting its inexorable pull. My own kids will probably be roleplayers, but only because their father is. They might in turn spread this hobby to some of their friends, but the odds are not great. Like model railroad building or playing bridge (a fad of its own -- the D&D of the 1950s), roleplaying games will eventually become a marginal activity that a small portion of the public finds joy in. For myself, as one of the people who finds such joy, I see no problem in this future. My only concern is that, in their quest to regain something that can never be regained, D&D's current custodians will sell the game's soul and history for a bunch of magic beans.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Assembling Your Own OD&D Set
Here's a guy after my own heart: why pay hundreds of dollars on eBay to get your own collection of OD&D books, when you can build them yourself.
Simply awesome.
Simply awesome.
"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."--Robert E. Howard, "The Phoenix on the Sword" (1932)
I can scarcely think of a character in all of fantasy literature who has ever been introduced in so succinct and beautiful a fashion. Conan is the perfect exemplar of pulp fantasy sensibilities.
What is Pulp Fantasy?
I use the term "pulp fantasy" a lot when talking about the history of Dungeons & Dragons and my own particular take on the game. So far as I know, it's not a commonly accepted term and, even if it were, I use the term somewhat idiosyncratically to mean roughly "whatever stories influenced Gygax and Arneson when writing OD&D." Now, I do have a more precise meaning that, because, for example, even though Tolkien was an influence, if a distant one (at least on Gygax, since Arneson, so far as I know, has always acknowledged the Professor as a major influence on Blackmoor, a fact confirmed by his former players on more than one occasion), I don't include his works under the "pulp fantasy" rubric, as they clearly don't belong there. So, what is pulp fantasy and what do I use that term?
In general, "pulp fantasy" roughly equates to what we nowadays call "sword and sorcery." However, the term is more expansive than that, because it also includes authors and stories that do not, strictly speaking, fall under sword and sorcery, such as Burroughs and other "sword and planet" authors, as well as "weird tales" of the Lovecraftian variety. I chose the term because, by and large, most of the authors whom Gygax cites as influences in the famous Appendix N of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide were published in the pulp magazines of the 20s through 50s. There are exceptions, of course, such as Jack Vance, whose "Dying Earth" books (the first of which was published in 1950 and the second in 1966) were hugely influential of D&D, so much so that the game's peculiar form of spellcasting is termed "Vancian" because of its vague relationship to the magic of Vance's far future fantasies.
By and large, "pulp fantasy" stories are those written before 1970 and the adventure of what we now consider fantasy literature. They have a very different cast to them than Tolkien or his legions of imitators. Firstly, these stories feature characters that are, by many standards, morally ambiguous. While rarely outright villainous (though there are exceptions), few are what could be called "heroes" without qualification. To put it another way, pulp fantasy protagonists are very human, full of foibles and flaws that lend a kind of rough verisimilitude to their adventures. Such characters are motivated at least in part by the quest for wealth and power -- just as D&D characters clearly are. That's not all these characters are about, but it's an important component to them. Likewise, pulp fantasies are very character-centric. That is, the threats these characters face are usually quite personal or, at least, possess an immediacy for the character without too much emphasis on the wider world. Pulp fantasies rarely have Sauron wannabe "dark lords" in them except insofar as such antagonists stand in the way of a pulp fantasy character's achieving wealth, power, or the company of a beautiful woman.
Another element of many -- though not all -- pulp fantasies are their lack of naturalism. This is just a fancy way of saying that they're fantasies. You won't find a lot of scientific plausibility to the monsters of pulp fantasy stories. There is no "Ecology of the Deodand" and understandably so. The threats of such tales are not just personal ones, but they exist primarily to drive the particular story the author is telling rather than being part of some grand exercise in world building. Pulp fantasy settings, such as they are, mostly exist as vehicles for stories rather than the other way around. This carries over into early D&D, where settings arose organically through play rather than by design beforehand.
This is what I mean by "pulp fantasy." It is these things that gave rise to OD&D and most of its mechanical and conceptual elements. It is also these things from which D&D has been slowly fleeing for the last 20 or more years of its existence and why I believe the game is need of a restoration.
In general, "pulp fantasy" roughly equates to what we nowadays call "sword and sorcery." However, the term is more expansive than that, because it also includes authors and stories that do not, strictly speaking, fall under sword and sorcery, such as Burroughs and other "sword and planet" authors, as well as "weird tales" of the Lovecraftian variety. I chose the term because, by and large, most of the authors whom Gygax cites as influences in the famous Appendix N of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide were published in the pulp magazines of the 20s through 50s. There are exceptions, of course, such as Jack Vance, whose "Dying Earth" books (the first of which was published in 1950 and the second in 1966) were hugely influential of D&D, so much so that the game's peculiar form of spellcasting is termed "Vancian" because of its vague relationship to the magic of Vance's far future fantasies.
By and large, "pulp fantasy" stories are those written before 1970 and the adventure of what we now consider fantasy literature. They have a very different cast to them than Tolkien or his legions of imitators. Firstly, these stories feature characters that are, by many standards, morally ambiguous. While rarely outright villainous (though there are exceptions), few are what could be called "heroes" without qualification. To put it another way, pulp fantasy protagonists are very human, full of foibles and flaws that lend a kind of rough verisimilitude to their adventures. Such characters are motivated at least in part by the quest for wealth and power -- just as D&D characters clearly are. That's not all these characters are about, but it's an important component to them. Likewise, pulp fantasies are very character-centric. That is, the threats these characters face are usually quite personal or, at least, possess an immediacy for the character without too much emphasis on the wider world. Pulp fantasies rarely have Sauron wannabe "dark lords" in them except insofar as such antagonists stand in the way of a pulp fantasy character's achieving wealth, power, or the company of a beautiful woman.
Another element of many -- though not all -- pulp fantasies are their lack of naturalism. This is just a fancy way of saying that they're fantasies. You won't find a lot of scientific plausibility to the monsters of pulp fantasy stories. There is no "Ecology of the Deodand" and understandably so. The threats of such tales are not just personal ones, but they exist primarily to drive the particular story the author is telling rather than being part of some grand exercise in world building. Pulp fantasy settings, such as they are, mostly exist as vehicles for stories rather than the other way around. This carries over into early D&D, where settings arose organically through play rather than by design beforehand.
This is what I mean by "pulp fantasy." It is these things that gave rise to OD&D and most of its mechanical and conceptual elements. It is also these things from which D&D has been slowly fleeing for the last 20 or more years of its existence and why I believe the game is need of a restoration.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Pulp Fantasy D&D
The second purpose of this blog is to develop what I've taken to calling "pulp fantasy D&D." The idea for this began on my LiveJournal shortly after the announcement of the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. I felt then, as I feel even more strongly now, that, whatever the relative merits or flaws of 4e, "D&D," as an idea, has now moved so far beyond what it was originally intended to be that, when most people use the term, it's meaningless. At best, it's purely positivist: whatever the current holder of the trademark chooses to call "Dungeons & Dragons" is Dungeons & Dragons. I find that approach remarkably unsatisfying and, as I studied the history of the roleplaying hobby more, I came to the inescapable conclusion that D&D was now, both conceptually and mechanically, not the same game Gygax and Arneson published in 1974.
One of the things that's very clear, if you know anything about the history of roleplaying, is that Gygax and Arneson lived in a time before what we now think of as "fantasy" literature existed. That's partly because D&D's success helped create and popularize that genre. Back in the early 1970s, "fantasy" was subsumed within "science fiction." Consider, for example, that in 1970, the winner of the Nebula Award for best novel was Ringworld by Larry Niven, while the winner for best novella was "Ill Met in Lankhmar" by Fritz Leiber. Tolkien's The Lords of the Rings, though published in 1954-1955, didn't achieve widespread influence or fame until the 1960s and 1970s, at once driving the growing popularity of fantasy and benefiting from it. The strange synergy between D&D and The Lord of the Rings remains a controversial one, since early D&D products clearly referenced Tolkien's creations, which were eventually removed due to the threat of a lawsuit by Tolkien's estate. Gary Gygax consistently maintained that he did this to capitalize on the "then-current 'craze' for Tolkien's literature" rather than to any liking for The Lord of the Rings (which he claimed to have in fact disliked).
My own feeling is that Gygax was probably telling the truth, as D&D owes very little, conceptually, to The Lord of the Rings. Instead, as bibliographies in early D&D books attest, the game was in fact inspired by a wide variety of what we'd today call "pulp" fantasies, such as those by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Jack Vance, and Fritz Leiber, along with other less well known authors, such as Abraham Merritt. These fantasies have a very different feel than Tolkien's oeuvre, being primarily escapist tales of pure adventure whose protagonists are often morally ambiguous in their beliefs and actions. Ironically, though, it was the Tolkien elements that many players of D&D latched on to and emphasized, which inexorably dragged the game away from its roots and toward what came to be known as "high" fantasy.
The subsequent history of D&D is one of its ceasing to be an engine of popular imagination and in turn being influenced by the very imaginative movements it helped to create. My own preference is for the older pulp fantasy style that inspired the game in the early 1970s. "Pulp fantasy D&D" is my name for a version of the game that, mechanically and conceptually, returns to the game's literary roots. The high fantasy version of the game, let alone the comic book and video game-inspired versions of the 21st century, hold little interest for me. At minimum, they speak to an outright rejection of the original vision of the game and, at most, outright ignorance of its origins.
Consequently, interspersed with my exploration of the history of the roleplaying hobby, I'll offer musings on how to return D&D to its roots and inspirations. Ultimately, my goal is to produce a playable version of the game that both respects its history and literary origins.
One of the things that's very clear, if you know anything about the history of roleplaying, is that Gygax and Arneson lived in a time before what we now think of as "fantasy" literature existed. That's partly because D&D's success helped create and popularize that genre. Back in the early 1970s, "fantasy" was subsumed within "science fiction." Consider, for example, that in 1970, the winner of the Nebula Award for best novel was Ringworld by Larry Niven, while the winner for best novella was "Ill Met in Lankhmar" by Fritz Leiber. Tolkien's The Lords of the Rings, though published in 1954-1955, didn't achieve widespread influence or fame until the 1960s and 1970s, at once driving the growing popularity of fantasy and benefiting from it. The strange synergy between D&D and The Lord of the Rings remains a controversial one, since early D&D products clearly referenced Tolkien's creations, which were eventually removed due to the threat of a lawsuit by Tolkien's estate. Gary Gygax consistently maintained that he did this to capitalize on the "then-current 'craze' for Tolkien's literature" rather than to any liking for The Lord of the Rings (which he claimed to have in fact disliked).
My own feeling is that Gygax was probably telling the truth, as D&D owes very little, conceptually, to The Lord of the Rings. Instead, as bibliographies in early D&D books attest, the game was in fact inspired by a wide variety of what we'd today call "pulp" fantasies, such as those by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Jack Vance, and Fritz Leiber, along with other less well known authors, such as Abraham Merritt. These fantasies have a very different feel than Tolkien's oeuvre, being primarily escapist tales of pure adventure whose protagonists are often morally ambiguous in their beliefs and actions. Ironically, though, it was the Tolkien elements that many players of D&D latched on to and emphasized, which inexorably dragged the game away from its roots and toward what came to be known as "high" fantasy.
The subsequent history of D&D is one of its ceasing to be an engine of popular imagination and in turn being influenced by the very imaginative movements it helped to create. My own preference is for the older pulp fantasy style that inspired the game in the early 1970s. "Pulp fantasy D&D" is my name for a version of the game that, mechanically and conceptually, returns to the game's literary roots. The high fantasy version of the game, let alone the comic book and video game-inspired versions of the 21st century, hold little interest for me. At minimum, they speak to an outright rejection of the original vision of the game and, at most, outright ignorance of its origins.
Consequently, interspersed with my exploration of the history of the roleplaying hobby, I'll offer musings on how to return D&D to its roots and inspirations. Ultimately, my goal is to produce a playable version of the game that both respects its history and literary origins.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
What's a Grognard?
Welcome to the beginning of a new online venture.
This blog takes its name from the French word grognard, which means roughly "grumbler" or "grouch." The original grognards were a group of veteran soldiers of the Napoleonic wars. Also called "the Old Guard," they had fought under Napoleon in many of his campaigns and, though loyal to him, were often unhappy with the way they were used in battle by the emperor. So they did what any unhappy soldier does in that situation -- they complained. A lot.
(To their credit, les grognards reputedly complained in the presence of Napoleon himself rather than being backbiters. Most versions of the word's origin imply or outright state that the term was coined by Napoleon himself and was one of affection.)
When the board wargames craze took off in the early 1970s (yes, there really was a wargames craze), John Young, the editor of SPI's Strategy & Tactics, one of the most influential wargaming periodicals at the time, took to calling the hobby's old guard -- those who played prior to 1970 -- grognards. Like the original grognards, the wargames versions complained a lot, but they also had a great deal of experience and so were seen as a valuable resource when designing and playtesting new games. The term eventually took broader hold and, since roleplaying games evolved out of wargaming, it came to be used in that hobby as well, although with a bit less affection than either the Napoleonic or wargames version of the term.
RPG grognards are popularly held to be fat, bearded guys who go on and on about how things were better "back in the day" before "the kids" ruined everything. I don't think the history of roleplaying games since 1974 has been one of continual decline, but I do think a lot of good stuff has been lost or at least forgotten since then. One of the purposes of this blog is to discuss that good stuff and its importance for and applicability to the hobby today.
Never fear: there will also be grumbling, grouchiness, and complaining aplenty! I may be neither fat nor bearded, but I can rant about kids today with the best of them.
This blog takes its name from the French word grognard, which means roughly "grumbler" or "grouch." The original grognards were a group of veteran soldiers of the Napoleonic wars. Also called "the Old Guard," they had fought under Napoleon in many of his campaigns and, though loyal to him, were often unhappy with the way they were used in battle by the emperor. So they did what any unhappy soldier does in that situation -- they complained. A lot.
(To their credit, les grognards reputedly complained in the presence of Napoleon himself rather than being backbiters. Most versions of the word's origin imply or outright state that the term was coined by Napoleon himself and was one of affection.)
When the board wargames craze took off in the early 1970s (yes, there really was a wargames craze), John Young, the editor of SPI's Strategy & Tactics, one of the most influential wargaming periodicals at the time, took to calling the hobby's old guard -- those who played prior to 1970 -- grognards. Like the original grognards, the wargames versions complained a lot, but they also had a great deal of experience and so were seen as a valuable resource when designing and playtesting new games. The term eventually took broader hold and, since roleplaying games evolved out of wargaming, it came to be used in that hobby as well, although with a bit less affection than either the Napoleonic or wargames version of the term.
RPG grognards are popularly held to be fat, bearded guys who go on and on about how things were better "back in the day" before "the kids" ruined everything. I don't think the history of roleplaying games since 1974 has been one of continual decline, but I do think a lot of good stuff has been lost or at least forgotten since then. One of the purposes of this blog is to discuss that good stuff and its importance for and applicability to the hobby today.
Never fear: there will also be grumbling, grouchiness, and complaining aplenty! I may be neither fat nor bearded, but I can rant about kids today with the best of them.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Open Game License
All Open Game Content on Grognardia will be clearly marked as such and linked to this license.
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc ("Wizards"). All Rights Reserved.
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5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder's name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute.
7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity.
8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content.
9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License.
10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute.
11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor to do so.
12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so affected.
13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002-2004, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle, David Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.
Advanced Edition Companion, Copyright 2009-2010, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel Proctor.
Aerial Servant from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original
material by Gary Gygax.
Axe Beak from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Beetle, Giant Boring from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material
by Gary Gygax.
Beetle, Giant Rhinoceros from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material
by Gary Gygax.
Brownie from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer Games,
Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Caryatid Column from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Jean Wells.
Castles & Crusades: Players Handbook, Copyright 2004, Troll Lord Games; Authors Davis Chenault and Mac Golden
Castles & Crusades: Players Handbook, 2nd Printing, Copyright 2006, Troll Lord Games; Authors Davis Chenault and Mac Golden
Castles & Crusades: Monsters & Treasure, Copyright 2005, Troll Lord Games; Authors Robert Doyel and Stephen Chenault
Cave Cricket from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, NecromancerGames, Inc.; Authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original
material by Gary Gygax.
Crab, Monstrous from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Crayfish, Monstrous from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material
by Gary Gygax.
Darwin's World, Copyright 2002, RPGObjects; Authors Dominic Covey and
Chris Davis.
Demon: Juiblex „The Faceless Lord‰ (Demon Lord) from the Tome of
Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene,
based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Demon: Orcus (Demon Prince of Undead) from the Tome of Horrors,
copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and
Clark Peterson, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Devil: Amon (Duke of Hell) from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material
by Gary Gygax.
Devil: Bael (Duke of Hell) from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material
by Gary Gygax.
Devil: Geryon (Arch-Devil) from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material
by Gary Gygax.
Ear Seeker from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Erica Balsley, based on original
material by Gary Gygax.
Eel, Electric from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene.
Eye of the Deep from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Floating Eye from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Frog, Monstrous from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original
material by Gary Gygax.
Frog, Monstrous Killer from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based
on original material by Gary Gygax.
Frog, Monstrous Poisonous from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based
on original material by Gary Gygax.
Froghemoth from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Gas Spore from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original
material by Gary Gygax.
Golem, Wood from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors Scott Greene and Patrick Lawinger.
Gorbel from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer Games,
Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Andrew Key.
Groaning Spirit from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original
material by Gary Gygax.
Hippocampus from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Erica Balsey, based on original
material by Gary Gygax.
Jackalwere from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene based, on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Kamadan from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Nick
Louth.
Labyrinth Lord, Copyright 2007-2009, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel
Proctor.
Leprechaun from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Lurker Above from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Mutant Future, Copyright 2008, Daniel Proctor and Ryan Denison.
Authors Daniel Proctor and Ryan Denison.
Piercer from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer Games,
Inc.; authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original material
by Gary Gygax.
Rot Grub from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; Authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original
material by Gary Gygax
Slithering Tracker from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material
by Gary Gygax,
Slug, Giant from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Strangle Weed from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Tick, Giant from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax.
Trapper from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer Games,
Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax,
Turtle, Giant Snapping from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002,
Necromancer Games, Inc.; author Scott Green, based on original material
by Gary Gygax.
Wind Walker from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer
Games, Inc.; author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary
Gygax,
Yeti from the Tome of Horrors, copyright 2002, Necromancer Games,
Inc.; author Scott Green, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
END OF LICENSE
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