Site Design or just Full RPG

[Zala]

So I made a post earlier, but I want to be sure, is RPG setting design allowed here, or is the forge strictly just for development of RPG with their own rulesets, etc.?

[Ron Edwards]

Hi,

I am pretty sure it will be OK, but I need to know a little bit more. Are you talking about a setting you'd like to publish in any way?

Best, Ron

[Zala]

Hi,

I am pretty sure it will be OK, but I need to know a little bit more. Are you talking about a setting you'd like to publish in any way?

Best, Ron

Yes sir. I used to have a website called Ironbeard Publishing but I had to shelve the entire thing due to some real life issues. My goal was to do somewhat of an open design project to create a generic setting usable with the WotC 3rd edition, 4th edition, pathfinder, Dragon Age...what ever system you were comfortable with.

The end result would be a free PDF document available for DM's and players to use as a basis for a campaign world. Included would be maps, races, organizations, etc. I wanted to be able to get it out there as a means to generate interest in the site, and then hopefuly begin creating material from there. Im driven more by my love of fantasy and RPG's than I am about revenue at this point.

Is this a kosher endeavor for The Forge?

[Ron Edwards]

Totally acceptable!

To give you an idea of what I was thinking about, here are some examples of the range of possibilities.

1. A person wants to write an adventure or setting for a game published by someone else, and wants to make it a commercial product. In this case, there are two questions: whether the "someone else" allows this, and who will be the publisher.

If the "someone else" (with the game) says yes and they will also be the publisher, then this is an example of freelancer work-for-hire and isn't an acceptable topic at the Forge. But if they say yes, or have previously announced that such work is open license in some way, and the creator of the new material is the commercial owner and controller of the work, then it's Forge compatible.

2. A person wants to write an adventure or setting for a game published by someone else, and wants to make it freely available. In this case, the work is best described as fan or user appreciation, and commercial ownership doesn't come into it, so it's fine for the Forge too. The creator ought to be aware that various companies have various views about doing this, so they have to decide how they communicate with the company - but they don't need permission except as a courtesy.

3. A person wants to do either of the above but making the material more generic, less associated with a given game, but probably clearly identified with certain rules-sets and ways to play which can be recognized by the reader. "Compatible with," is the usual presentation. In this case, for-sale vs. for-free isn't a big issue, and the project is Forge compatible.

I hope that helps, and thanks for checking in. From what I can tell you're squarely in #2.

Best, Ron

[Zala]

Thanks Ron!

Ill put some more docs up for viewing on my setting design post and hopefully garner some more interest.