Permission to use?

[Irongron]

Hi.

Recently joined this forum, primarily to get some interesting ideas for additions to my game server (non profit, community based). We are a large D&D, 3e, Forgotten Realms environment using a lot of homebrew additions (new class, skill changes and wotnot).

Obviously I don't want to use anyone's ideas without permission, especially as it may appear in a video game (again, our server is not commercial, but the studio making the base game most definitely is!).

Should I message the poster of ideas I like? Just go ahead and use stuff? Any advice greatly appreciated. I've been working with the Forgotten Realms for 10+ years, including (once) professionally, but I'm always looking for mechanical and flavourful ideas to make the setting more enjoyable for our players.

[BerzerkerUnit]

Hi.

Recently joined this forum, primarily to get some interesting ideas for additions to my game server (non profit, community based). We are a large D&D, 3e, Forgotten Realms environment using a lot of homebrew additions (new class, skill changes and wotnot).

Obviously I don't want to use anyone's ideas without permission, especially as it may appear in a video game (again, our server is not commercial, but the studio making the base game most definitely is!).

Should I message the poster of ideas I like? Just go ahead and use stuff? Any advice greatly appreciated. I've been working with the Forgotten Realms for 10+ years, including (once) professionally, but I'm always looking for mechanical and flavourful ideas to make the setting more enjoyable for our players.

If you are using something for a private game you will not be sharing publicly or online in any form, like using a homebrew subclass for your PC, there's nothing stopping you, but if you use something without permission and use it to promote a for-profit enterprise like a youtube channel (for example, if a critical role pefromer made a PC using a subclass they found here and then T-Shirts for that character) or gaming supplement, you could find yourself in a potentially actionable position.

If that's your intent, message posters and ask. It's good to have a boilerplate contract ready for a licensing agreement of some sort. IP law is annoying at its best and career destroying at its worst, best to protect yourself and not be the kind of crappy person that thinks just because it isn't copyrighted that's the same as it being yours.

[Irongron]

Thanks for the advice.

For clarity it is most definitely not for profit, but is an online D&D RP server with a few thousand players, and very much a public presence, occasionally popping up in the gaming press.

You can see the kind of homebrew content (especially classes) by browsing the player made 'Arelith' wiki. (I naturally want to avoid any links to the thing itself)

Honestly, NwN something of a grey area. Essentially it was a d&d digital sourcebook from an age when WoTc were seemingly more comfortable with that kind of thing. Last year they went ahead and scrubbed all mention of us from the 'digital games' section D&D homepage, I guess (and really only a guess) because its native servers are non commercial, entirely free, yet also fully licensed to use D&D Forgotten Realms content.

When looking for ideas I'm generally most interested in creatures and items, and embellishments to various races. All minor stuff really but if anything does catch my eye here I'll go ahead and PM the author.

[Tzardok]

As long as you credit me, I'm generally open to allowing my stuff to be used (though I should warn you that some of it is based on other's intellectual property, like items taken from The Leged of Zelda). I'd still like a notification though. Take a look at my thread, (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?651594-Tzardok-s-Miscellaneous-Homebrew-Repository) maybe you'll see something you like. :smallsmile:

[Irongron]

As long as you credit me, I'm generally open to allowing my stuff to be used...:

Thank you, this is much appreciated and already had an enjoyable hour reading through some of your ideas. The mephits I'm sure I can put to some use. I will let you know if I add them!

[Vaern]

Whenever I post homebrew content here I do wo with the intention that it should be free for others to use. It's a public forum that can be accessed without even needing to create an account, after all, so posting something here with the expectation that you can be selective about who can see or use it would be kind of silly. I wouldn't think that asking permission to use content from the forum should be necessary, but I am certain that the people who made that content would still appreciate knowing that someone likes their creations enough to use them at their own table :P


(though I should warn you that some of it is based on other's intellectual property, like items taken from The Leged of Zelda)

I'm sure I don't know what you mean. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25093248&postcount=224) I would never take items from Zelda. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25904302&postcount=278) Or (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=23343131&postcount=240
) any (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25896802&postcount=270) other (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24668097&postcount=207
) property (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=23335960&postcount=102), for that matter.

[Melayl]

I don't have a whole lot of homebrew on here, but I'm with Tzardoc. As long as you credit me (and preferably add a link back to the original), I'm fine with not-for-profit use of my stuff. I'd appreciate being told, too.

For profit use is something that could be discussed, if it ever came up.

[sengmeng]

Check the signature

[Irongron]

Again, thanks a lot!

I know I'm pretty vague about the project itself but I think it's all there in my profile. I just don't want to shamelessly promote it on these boards with links etc.

Also I'm aware that in some ways online RPGs are in some ways the anathema of tabletop RPG, devoid of their in-person social dynamic, use of imagination (hard to picture stuff yourself when the game provides them!) and, most of all the absolute freedom of action and possibility provided by the tabletop experience. A video game, despite all best efforts will always be a comparatively rigid experience.

The amount of effort given by those posting here on providing extra content is pretty humbling, and I've rarely seen it matched (at least for old editions of D&D) elsewhere online.