[MUD-Dev] d20

[Travis Casey]

Friday, August 03, 2001, 7:24:45 PM, Timothy O'Neill Dang wrote:
> Jeff Freeman <jfreeman at verant.com> wrote:

>> According to the FAQ, you can't use the d20 system to create an
>> "Interactive Game".

>>   http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=dt20010417d

>>  Q: Does the definition of an "Interactive Game" preclude me from
>>  creating an online RPG, MUD, MUSH, MOO, etc.?

>>  A: Yes

> It's difficult to be certain because of the entanglement of the
> two licen ses (the Open Gaming License and the d20 System
> License), but as I read them you could use the basic game systems
> as defined in the "System Reference Document" even for interactive
> games.

Further, one can easily argue that you can use their system,
regardless of the existence or nonexistence of the OGL and d20 STL.
The "d20 System" is protected only by copyright, not by patents --
and thus, only the *expression* of the system is protected, not the
system itself.

And, for that matter, the core ideas of the "d20 System" are widely
used in other paper RPGs -- Talislanta, Palladium, Arduin, Bard
Games' "The Compleat X" series, etc.  Unless you use the system
"as-is" with no or almost no modification, it would be impossible to
tell which of those systems you derived your mechanics from.  And,
of course, an idea that's "in the air" like that is generally
considered free for everyone to use.

--
Travis Casey
efindel at earthlink.net

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