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DementedFellow
2008-03-28, 08:34 PM
How is it that certain aspects of D&D are available under OGL but others aren't?

Is it because certain authors offer their works up under OGL? Or is it some other reason?

Basically, I'm wondering how do those in the know what is OGL and what isn't?

Aquillion
2008-03-28, 08:57 PM
How is it that certain aspects of D&D are available under OGL but others aren't?

Is it because certain authors offer their works up under OGL? Or is it some other reason?

Basically, I'm wondering how do those in the know what is OGL and what isn't?It's complicated. First, the most basic answer is that some things are under OGL and others aren't because those are the things WotC decided to place there; the purpose of OGL was to create a 'safe harbor' so other people could contribute things that could be used with WotC products, without infringing on WotC copyrights and what they call 'product identity' (that's why we have, say, Mage's Magnificant Mansion and Mage's Sword instead of leaving the name of the character there -- WotC owns that name and doesn't want anyone else using it.)

More generally, though, (and keep in mind here that I have zero ranks in Profession: Law), there are things that WotC can and cannot copyright or trademark. For instance, they can copyright characters and settings, but not game mechanics like, say, the idea of rolling D20 against skills (they could patent game mechanics, but there are various reasons not to do that, and in any case if it was patented the patent would have run its course long ago.)

So a great deal of what is OGL encompasses things that WotC would probably not be able to prevent you from using anyway -- they don't have a monopoly on the idea of levels, or skill ranks, or feats, or the venetian spell system. But the reason why WotC chose to make it explict that you could use that (via the OGL) was partially to encourage people to make things based on their system (which results in more people buying the core books, after all), and partially to ensure that people who do make things based on their system don't infringe on their copyrights or trademarks.

Additionally, the OGL lets them protect some things that they wouldn't normally be able to copyright or trademark. For instance, you could legally summarize a spell or feat from any book in your own words, even a non-OGL one, as long as you avoid using their copyrighted words or any of their trademarks in the process. But since the OGL forbids that, you'll lose the protection of the OGL if you do, and that means you'll have to hire lawyer to go over every little thing you publish to make sure you're within the limits of the law. Since it's much easier to just stay inside the limits of the OGL, most people do that instead.

Gaiwecoor
2008-03-28, 09:16 PM
Basically, I'm wondering how do those in the know what is OGL and what isn't?

The simple answer? Unless it says it is, it isn't. WotC has published most of its OGL material here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/srd35).

This includes most of Core, Psionics and Divine rules (most of it). Outside of that, if the material doesn't say it's published under the OGL, it's not. The only other work that I know of that is Open comes from Unearthed Arcana. Most of the rules in there are established under the OGL as well.

Anything outside of those two sources, however, probably isn't Open. (I might be wrong; there could be something else. I just don't know about it.)

Tsotha-lanti
2008-03-28, 09:53 PM
Some things (like beholders and mind flayers) are "product identity", and it wouldn't make a lot of sense to put them under OGL. The kinda need to turn a profit somewhere, after all.