1. Professionally edited: all grammar, spelling, capitalization, and terminology made correct and consistent.
2. Organized: everything alphabetized and organized by topic.
3. Professional art and production values.
4. Comprehensive: everything from the boxed set to the supplements to the Strategic Review and Dragon articles compiled in one edition (maybe even some of the Judges Guild stuff.
But I don't want any changes made to the game. Everything as originally designed.
This sounds fairly close to something I'd like to have too.
ReplyDeleteWould this be possible under the OGL? At least for the LBBs?
ReplyDeleteWould this be possible under the OGL? At least for the LBBs?
ReplyDeleteYou could create something fairly close to the LBBs under the OGL, but it wouldn't be identical.
Would significant parts have to be left out or altered to make it OGL compatible? In what ways would it be lacking do you think?
ReplyDeleteWould you be willing to make the compromises you would have to to make it OGL?
ReplyDeleteWould significant parts have to be left out or altered to make it OGL compatible? In what ways would it be lacking do you think?
ReplyDeleteI have not yet done a full examination of what sections of the LBBs couldn't be reproduced under the OGL with ease. Some of Volume 3 (Underworld & Wilderness Adventures) would almost certainly be among them, but I don't think it'd be impossible to recreate them. And given that what's being talked about here would have a new layout, organization, and presentation, I think most of the usual worries about copyright infringement would be rendered less worrisome.
If this is possible, I would happily do the illustration, layout, and graphic design work.
ReplyDeleteI too would pitch in. I have friends who are artists and I'm not a bad writer. I'm in the middle of another book, but I could find time. :)
ReplyDeleteIf this is possible, I would happily do the illustration, layout, and graphic design work.
ReplyDeleteDrop me an email and we can talk about this a bit. I think it's quite doable.
Here's why I don't think it is possible under the OGL:
ReplyDeleteHold Person spell, p. 25 of Men & Magic
This is just one example. This spell, as described in M&M, has a different effect than the spell of the same name in later additions. what exactly this "effect" is is debated by various adherents to the original rules. Some allow the caster to "command," targets of the spell (as if super-charmed. Others interpret the reference to "Charm Person" as being a guideline toward the "type" of persons that can be affected.
The (intentional?) vagueness of the spell description would be difficult to convey in a "re-worded" (i.e. OGL compatible) version of the game).
--Jimm
The (intentional?) vagueness of the spell description would be difficult to convey in a "re-worded" (i.e. OGL compatible) version of the game).
ReplyDeleteDifficult, yes, but not impossible. There are several retro-clone products currently available (most notably Original Edition Characters and Delta's book of spells) that present very pared down, even ambiguous, descriptions of many of the LBB spells that are compatible with the OGL.
Are they identical to what's in the LBBs? No, not by a long shot in some cases, but I think, for most of us, they're close enough, especially for a project like this.
Clearly, an analogous document of each part of OD&D should be well within the bounds of the OGL. As so many products have proven.
ReplyDeleteThough, I must admit an affinity for High Gygaxian. I wouldn't want to lose that flavor, which I'm not sure how you do that under the OGL.
I find the clones to be generally too bland. A little kruft is good. My preferred clone, S&W is perhaps the most flavorless. But that's also the beauty of it because it allows the text to be so terse.
The hold Person spell is just one example. The "flexibility" present in the core (LBBs) OD&D would be nigh impossible to replicate, IMO, without duplicating much of the text verbatim. Swords & Wizardry is a good example. I like S&W a lot, but the biases of the authors toward a certain interpretation of OD&D is certainly present.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply, here, but you guys should check out the thread linked below on the OD&D forums. A couple of people got together and made single-volume PDFs of the 3LBBs. They look great when printed at Lulu. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://odd74.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=workshop&action=display&thread=5091
iamtim: THAT'S IT! wow, amazing, amazing, amazing. I particularly like the formatted version Il Male™ posted.
ReplyDelete