[MUD-Dev] Re: licenses for RPGs (fwd)

[Travis Casey]

Frank Crowell wrote:

[snip a bunch]

> I think this still leaves one big question unresolved -- what game
> engine/mechanics can muds use that is a) open and b) usable for
> muds?  Since I don't play on UO, I can't really comment about their
> mechanics, but it seems that Everquest has a decent basis so maybe
> something is that modeled along the lines of EQ.  Or is it practical
> to take something like D20 and then develop a mud version of that?

Well, from one viewpoint, you can use any paper RPG system you want,
and at most simply change the names of things.  A copyright protects
only the expression of a system, not the system itself.  Trademarks
can protect terms used in the system, but simply using different terms
will get around that.  It would take a patent to actually protect a
game system, and no RPG has been patented.

Now, from a more practical point of view, there seems to be a growing
trend for US law to give broader and broader protection to copyrighted
items, especially when copying is being done electronically.  (See,
for example, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the struggle
over deCSS.)  Further, even if you are legally in the right, it may
not be possible for you to win a court case if you can't afford
attorney's fees, etc.

The d20 System Reference Document has been released under WotC's Open
Gaming License.  Thus, you could use its mechanics for a mud.
However, the OGL requires that "Open Game Content" within a system be
expressly delineated, and must be allowed to be copied.  If you want
to give away the source and databases to your mud, that's not a
problem -- you can simply declare the whole thing to be usable under
the OGL.  However, if you want to keep some of your source or
databases private, it could conceivably cause a problem.

The FUDGE system can be freely modified and redistributed, if you do
not charge for it.  With the permission of FUDGE's author, you can
charge for FUDGE-based materials.  Steffan O'Sullivan, the author of
FUDGE, normally grants such permission free of charge, and even has a
standard letter on his web site for you to send him.  The FUDGE
licenses are written in a way oriented towards paper gaming materials,
but I would think that Steffan would probably be happy to let it be
used for MUDs as well.

  http://www.fudgerpg.com/fudge/aboutfudge.html

for more on FUDGE.  That page has links to the licensing info, both
for free and pay materials.

There's a couple of "open RPG" projects inspired by the GPL out there,
but I don't have any URLs handy, and none of them have gotten much in
the way of momentum.  There was also a "DragonNet" project a few years
back, which was developing a generic fantasy RPG to replace xD&D (back
during the time when TSR was threatening to sue anyone who put any D&D
expansion stuff up on the 'net).

Adapting paper RPGs for use in muds isn't that difficult, but there
are a lot of pitfalls to watch out for.  Stuff that works well when
there are five or six player characters surrounded by hordes of
GM-controlled NPCs may not work well when there are more PCs and
dumber NPCs.

Personally, though, I feel that adapting most paper RPGs for muds is
missing out on the benefits that can be had from a computer-mediated
game.  A mud can have systems far more complex than the typical paper
RPG, both in terms of the mathematics used and the amount of
record-keeping needed.  Highly complex paper RPGs don't tend to be
very popular, but I think they're likely to be better starting points
for a mud system than the typical paper RPG.  Unfortunately, most of
them are out of print and hard to find now.  The most complex paper
RPGs that I can think of that's in print are Harnmaster Gold, which is
available from Hyperbooks (www.hyperbooks com), and TimeLords, which
can also be ordered through Hyperbooks (look under BTRC).

--
       |\      _,,,---,,_     Travis S. Casey  <efindel at earthlink.net>
 ZZzz  /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_   No one agrees with me.  Not even me.
      |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (  `'-' 
     '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)
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