Srd?

[LOTRfan]

Just a question: When making a monster and posting it on this board, would it be considered a violation of the SRD and Product Identity to use a non-core class/prestige class?

[WarKitty]

I think you're missing a verb somewhere?

[LOTRfan]

I apologize for writing that in a confusing manner, I restated the question in the original post

[Oracle_Hunter]

That's legal advice, which we're not allowed to give on this board.

That said, if you're including something that is neither on the SRD nor yours to use according to a license, it's probably a violation of the OGL.

[WarKitty]

Just a question: When making a monster and posting it on this board, would it be considered a violation of the SRD and Product Identity to use a non-core class/prestige class?

From my understanding, as long as you are not reproducing an entire class you should be fine. So saying something has 2 levels in swashbuckler is completely ok, just don't reprint the entire swashbuckler table.

[LOTRfan]

Alright, just wanted to be sure before posting. Thanks.

[TheOOB]

Listing that they have a class and x number of levels(and even what book they are from) should be fine, just don't list the abilities from that class.

[Aroka]

Just a question: When making a monster and posting it on this board, would it be considered a violation of the SRD and Product Identity to use a non-core class/prestige class?

No. It's pretty much impossible for you to violate product identity or the OGL since you're not publishing anything under the OGL at all - you're just posting it on the web. You can't "violate the SRD" because the SRD is not the OGL - it's the resource, not the license.

If you're not publishing anything, the OGL has nothing to do with you. You haven't agreed to it. If you're posting things, copyright does have something to do with you, but game mechanics and rules can't be copyrighted, only their specific representation, so if you posted pages of non-OGL content from a WotC book word for wod, you might be liable.

However!
This forum's rules (which we've all read, understood, and agreed to) impose additional restrictions on what can be posted on this forum, above and beyond the restrictions the law imposes, when it comes to non-OGL material.

Your specific example seems to basically entail writing a line like "fighter 8/purple dragon knight 2". The very fact that people would think there's something wrong with that bespeaks to the horrible state of copyright law and the extent of general chilling effect (especially in the US).

[Project_Mayhem]

If you're posting things, copyright does have something to do with you, but game mechanics and rules can't be copyrighted, only their specific representation, so if you posted pages of non-OGL content from a WotC book word for wod, you might be liable.

So change every fifth word into a lame pun (Forgotten Helms. Plaice attack bonus) and call it a parody. Legally protected in America I think

[Aroka]

So change every fifth word into a lame pun (Forgotten Helms. Plaice attack bonus) and call it a parody. Legally protected in America I think

Would you want to go to court for it? Because corporations might. That's the essence of the chilling effect.

You're much better off just being reasonable. Posting a single feat description to talk about the feat is against the forum rules (technically anyway, subject to mod interpretation), but would be either legal or so insignificant it would get zero attention. (The reason it's against forum rules is probably to protect the entire website from legal threats; if we were posting WotC's copyrighted content left and right, they'd pretty much have to threaten the site with legal action.)

[Project_Mayhem]

Well it was a joke, but yes, corporations are scary.

Nobody who did that for a sizeable amount of text would stay sane anyway, so the point is moot

[DwarvenExodus]

But, for an example, if you had a rules question on, say, a feat you could probably post a one or two line quote.