Licensing Thoughts..

[imported_Rasyr]

Up until this point, I have been basically licensing Novus under a license based upon the Savage Worlds model, but I want to make it a little bit easier for folks, so, I was thinking about changing the license to something more along the lines of what BTRC does for EABA -- http://www.btrc.net/images/stories/freedownloads/eaba/eaba_osl_112.pdf

Some things I would like to change include the following:

1) Specify that this license is on a "per product" basis, not an entire product line

2) Specify that I have the right to revoke the license on a "per product" basis, or even for an entire company if needed

3) Include a reciprocal license for new system material (i.e. FHG and other OS licensee's can use any new races, monsters, spells, talents, etc. created by a licensee) -- requires the licensee to be credited in a specific manner (in the credits page, not like how the OGL has the chain attrib section)

4) Require that any setting specific items (such as creature or spell names) also include a generic name that can be used by other licensees

Comments? Thoughts?

[Trentin Bergeron]

I like it. I would be inclined to participate with a licensing model like this. It creates a neat community effect. 

[imported_Rasyr]

That is pretty much the idea.

It would allow me to stop those who abuse the license (i.e. an entire company) or even just prevent an unwanted product (such as some like the "Book of Erotic Fantasy").

It would also require a way of allowing others to re-use the material (and I was thinking of including some sort of clause that require the majority of a product to be material that is not "re-use Novus" material -- thus allowing for pulling from multiple sources, but NOT doing so simply to repackage and reselling the work that others have done (i.e. a person would not be allowed to take and create a product that is nothing but monsters cribbed from multiple other sources to create a monster collection).

And with the anti-abuse clauses, that would allow me to also stop folks from doing so as well.

Basically, this would be granting license to material, so nobody will lose ownership of what they create (which was, IMO, one of the problems with the OGL, once something was released under the OGL, the creator essentially no longer owned it, which is why so many companies obfuscated their OGL IP declarations. I want to avoid things like that.

[Trentin Bergeron]

Any more thoughts on this? Why OOC do you not just release it under the OGL? This would open up all kinds of materials that then could be adapted to Novus.

I am getting ready to kick the tires on Novus with my group. I am looking for a system to publish with.

How do you feel about "rules" only supplements? Like an "Arcana Unearthed" for Novus? All optional rules obviously.

We've tried Fantasy Craft (too much to fiddle with) and HARP (the stuns and critical tables are HORRIBLE fun-ruining... let's just say my players were not happy). We're currently trying out 13th Age, but I'm not super excited about some of the wonky stuff (like recoveries, and 4 battles per day stuff).  I really dig what I've read with Novus, but there's more I would want to add to flavor it to my setting. Of course, I have to play it to believe it.

[imported_Rasyr]

Any more thoughts on this? Why OOC do you not just release it under the OGL? This would open up all kinds of materials that then could be adapted to Novus.

The biggest problem with the OGL is that once something is released under it, there is no control over the results.

And by that, I mean that there is no method or mechanism that requires licensee's to be properly reciprocal with new system material. I have seen so many abuse the OGL by making ONLY the stats of new creatures OGL, not even giving them a name or a basic description. And I want to avoid things like that. I want rules and specific creatures/spells created by one licensee to be used by other licensees. Now, I also think that if they want to use your material, they should at the very least purchase a copy of your product to get that material. Only fair.

Additionally, the license seems a bit cumbersome to me, with the chain of predecessors (i.e. section 15, IIRC) that is required. Licensees for Novus won't be required to include an entire licence (taking up 1 or 2 pages). A simple blurb in the credits "This product produced under license found at xxxxxxxx" should be MORE than sufficient.

I just need to block out the time to sit down and seriously work on the new license I described above...

I am getting ready to kick the tires on Novus with my group. I am looking for a system to publish with.

I am glad that you are considering Novus.

How do you feel about "rules" only supplements? Like an "Arcana Unearthed" for Novus? All optional rules obviously.

Works for me...  Books of optional rules are fine! Settings are fine! Adventures are fine!

The entire intent of the stipulations on the current license is to prevent certain people or products. By certain people, I essentially mean those companies/products who have taken action in the past that I find morally reprehensible or bad overall. For example, I know of at least one or two company that I would not want touching Novus simply because of their general attitudes towards copyrights. I also would not want products such as the nearly infamous "Book of Erotic Fantasy" to be produced for Novus.

About the only type of product (that does not fall into the guidelines from the above paragraph), that I would be uncomfortable being released and would not want released under the free license would be one that replicated the core rules in its entirety, or even the majority of the Character Creation chapter, since such products would be direct competition for the core rules. So products containing character creation rules are something that I would like to have done using a royalty-based license. Just about everything else supports the core rules (which was the original purpose of the OGL, but it didn't work out that way in practice.

We've tried Fantasy Craft (too much to fiddle with) and HARP (the stuns and critical tables are HORRIBLE fun-ruining... let's just say my players were not happy). We're currently trying out 13th Age, but I'm not super excited about some of the wonky stuff (like recoveries, and 4 battles per day stuff).  I really dig what I've read with Novus, but there's more I would want to add to flavor it to my setting. Of course, I have to play it to believe it.



Don't forget that I was the original author of HARP... heheh.. but then again... the combat tables are one of the things that I think I made some mistakes with...

And Novus was specificially designed to be easy to modify (and I am more than willing to offer suggestions) to fit specific settings (I need about 10 clones to get done all the things I want to do with Novus).

I do hope that once you begin play using Novus that you find it extremely to your liking and that you wish to continue playing it and even using it for releasing your own products.