DSP and legality

[torrasque666]

Would it be safe to say that at this point Dreamscarred Press is considered 1st party with Paizo among the boards? Because from the standpoint of someone who sees a lot of "No 3rd party" games, I want to know if DSP is still really considered 3rd party.

[PsyBomb]

It is still 3rd Party, unfortunately. I personally allow it at all my tables, since on the whole it is better balanced and more playable than Paizo, but you still need to ask your DM.

[Gemini476]

DSP is still 3rd party Pathfinder, it's just 3rd party that's often better than the 1st party.

1st party has a pretty strict definition. Paizo's Pathfinder products, for instance, are first party for the Pathfinder brand but third party for d20.

DSP are a separate company from Paizo, so they will remain 3rd party until the day they either release their own game or gain control of Pathfinder somehow (possibly by being bought up by Paizo).

[Pluto!]

It's not written by the system publisher and it's not written by you, the user. That's what 3rd party means.

(That said, "Third party" shouldn't be a pejorative. Especially if we're talking a game made by Paizo.)

[Yanisa]

It's not written by the system publisher and it's not written by you, the user. That's what 3rd party means.

(That said, "Third party" shouldn't be a pejorative. Especially if we're talking a game made by Paizo.)


Wait, did you just imply that homebrew is "2nd party"? :smalltongue:

[tyckspoon]

Wait, did you just imply that homebrew is "2nd party"? :smalltongue:

Contractually speaking, the first and second parties are the two parties involved in the contract. Third parties are anybody outside the original contract. When applied to production of things like games, the first party is the original/owning company, the second party is the consumer, and 3rd party is everybody else. So homebrew that is written by *you* would be 2nd party; homebrew from everybody else (including your stuff when somebody other than you uses it) is 3rd party.

[Yanisa]

Contractually speaking, the first and second parties are the two parties involved in the contract. Third parties are anybody outside the original contract. When applied to production of things like games, the first party is the original/owning company, the second party is the consumer, and 3rd party is everybody else. So homebrew that is written by *you* would be 2nd party; homebrew from everybody else (including your stuff when somebody other than you uses it) is 3rd party.

Well, this is far beyond my knowledge, but it still sounds odd to consider homebrew part of the legality, even though wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_source) seems to state the same things. It also seems to imply that any sequel book or any playtested book is second party in a sense.

A second-party source is controlled by the second party, such as a customer who has written some product requirements, or a prior book or article written by the same author.

But for the legality, like the thread title asks, DPS is third party. (Regardless of how confusion 2nd party is.)

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Well, this is far beyond my knowledge, but it still sounds odd to consider homebrew part of the legality, even though wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_source) seems to state the same things. It also seems to imply that any sequel book or any playtested book is second party in a sense.


But for the legality, like the thread title asks, DPS is third party. (Regardless of how confusion 2nd party is.)This is why people say things like "All Paizo products accepted, homebrew and 3rd party products allowed on a case-by-case basis." Homebrew and 3rd party are thought of as distinct things aside from the contract definition. Even though someone publishing some d20 rules is just homebrew where you put your money where your mouth is.