The inclusion of setting with your mechanic.

[jc_madden]

Yes I was aware of that little bit of info.  I recall a famous song by Steely Dan - "Riki don't loose that number, it's the only one you'll want.  Send it off in a letter to yourself...."

[inky]

Now, here's the stickyness. You have to prove your work was in fixed form before a rivial/conflicting form. Easiest way is to create a draft document and mail it to yourself, and place it in a secure place when you recieve it back.
The stamped mail date creates an unquestionable date by which the work was fixed, and if its not opened until the Hearing in question, the judge or jury or however far it goes will obviously see that the work contained had to have been created by the date on the envelope.

Researched small press and comic production years ago, this is a trick that was actually used by artists and authors that stands.

For the record, I don't think this method has any legal basis, although I know a lot of people have talked about it and (I assume) used it. There's a mention of it in the US government's copyright faq, for instance. Frankly, I think you'd be better off talking about it on a forum like this one; if it really came to a suit you could presumably get people here to testify that you were discussing it on such-and-such a date.

[greyorm]

We have discussed the whole "mailing it to yourself" here before repeatedly (though I can't find the thread right now). As I recall, in Europe (spec. Britain?) the practice apparently has some merit. In the US, however, the practice is absolutely and utterly without merit. In the States it is an old wives' tale that provides zero legal protection.

If any (would-be) game publisher is worried about copyright, how to protect it and so forth, my advice is to talk to a copyright attorney. It will help you sleep better at night.

[Precious Villain]

Hey JC,

To get back to your original question, I'd rather buy the rules and the setting in one book.  In fact, I don't purchase games to get rules I shop for the setting.  Even with D&D I was there for the setting.

I think I'd feel that a game which offered me a bunch of settings and one big batch of rules is potentially trying to rip me off by getting me to buy more books.  Just my take on it, although I know the approach has been done before by big publishers (with Silhouette and Storyteller engines at least).  But note that I *don't* play either game . . .

[jc_madden]

Yes I believe I have made a decision to include them together.  Now I just have to figure out which one will have the widest appeal.  I feel equally strong about all of them so this will be a tough call.  

#1 An alternate fantasy genre where when a person is born they're souls are trapped inside a magic gem and are essentially enslaved because what happens to the gem happens to them.

#2 A mix between western fantasy and ancient Asian culture.  Fireballs and funky martial arts powers mix together with several unique forms of magic to choose from.

#3 Ragnarok has come and gone and the aftermath has left many of the Norse gods dead and some resurrected.  The children of the fallen take up the mantles of their fathers and begin to rebuild.  Mankind struggles amongst the wreckage and terrible artifacts left on the battlefields can be recovered and used for good or ill.

#4 Post apocalyptic Alaska, focusing on the native tribes and a shamanism.  The pollution of the oceans has created a sort of reverse evolution where many of the sea animals have mutated and adapted to life on the surface once more.  Herds of brontosaurus-like whales sift through the algae beds of the costal wetlands as the temperature has risen. dramatically.

[Dangerboy]

My opinion is that you go in this order: 3, 1, 2, 4.

And if I remember correctly, poor man's copyright won't help you win a court case in the US. I'm not even sure if the judge would allow you to use it as one more evedence of proof.

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Please take all discussion of copyright, protection of IP, and similar issues to the Publishing forum. Don't continue that topic here.

Best,
Ron

[JusticeZero]

On the one hand, I am often frustrated when I pick up a game that potentially has a good system, but it is welded to a setting I dislike by specialized mechanics and skill sets.
On the other hand, I am very frustrated when I am given a game where it is so 'wide open' that I can't riff off and have a game going immediately without having to build a chunk of system to touch it to the ground.
D&D was the perfect mix of that for me. There's enough  fragments of world to go on, but that world is vague enough that I can do what I want without being constrained by some specialized mechanic. I could pick up the DnD books, flip through it on my way home, and have people making characters in my own setting within an hour. They're still "playing DnD", but it's my corner of the world, and I didn't have to spend a week developing the magic system, equipment, and skill lists from scratch.

[ironick]

The post-Ragnarok setting really intrigues me.  Neat twist on post-apoc fantasy, and Norse mythology is underused in rpgs, in my personal experience.  Now take that comment with a huge lump of salt, because I really don't have an extensive fanstasy rpg background.

Nick

[Doehring]

I was thinking of your question and thought that even if you are planning on selling just your system you might want to offer a light version, this is something Gurps does and that is the only major company that I could think of that sells the system olone, other companies that make there systems available for others to use would be tri stat system and d20 both of which offer there system for free.