Upfront
a) I expect the answer to be no
b) I'm asking before I put ANY thought into pursuing this avenue
Is there anything like an Open Game License that allows for community content to be SOLD. The obvious example would be a custom adventure module.
I have seen zero "community support" in the form of custom content. Paired with the overprotective tendencies of Disney, FFG, LFL: I suspect that's the reason why.
Thanks in advance.
There is a good amount of fan made content that gets shared between the community and FFG/Disney hasn't minded over the last seven years. There isn't is an OGL style license allowing anyone sell or officially publish created content.
There is the Genesys foundry, which uses essentially the same system with a few tweaks. As long as you scrub off the star wars serial numbers you can publish or get stuff from there.
On 12/1/2019 at 5:18 PM, Ahrimon said:There is the Genesys foundry, which uses essentially the same system with a few tweaks. As long as you scrub off the star wars serial numbers you can publish or get stuff from there.
Anything in particular on there that is Star Wars/Not Star Wars on there, that you know of? I hadn't bothered to look, but perhaps I will now.
I believe there was a thread a while back that discussed an issue with selling any SWRPG content digitally.
IIRC, because of the Disney acquisition there is a distinction between digital games and physical ones. Since Disney gave the rights to digital Star Wars games to EA, any digital publishing of SWRPG books would technically fall under their control and so either EA would take some profits or it would be a breech of contract. That's why there are only physical copies of the books and no digital support beyond these forums (and the fan-made stuff of course).
So technically, no there is not digital Star Wars content through FFG and any attempt for a fan to sell content under the "Star Wars" name would likely be shut down. That being said, Ahrimon's comment about buffing off the Star Wars logo on Genesys content would technically work. Of course, one must be particularly careful when dealing with large companies and iconic brands. The word "protective" doesn't feel like it sufficiently covers it.
Yeah, for Star Wars that's hard no, The product restrictions and license fees and so on just can't allow it.
Genesys does have something similar to an OGL where you can sell your own unique IPs that leverage their system.
So far biggest issue is by doing it you legally sign over the IP to FFG. This probably is more about FFG protecting themselves legally than trying to mine players for IPs. So if your IP and an IP they've been working for months happen to be super similar, you can't sue.
Still, if you think your RPG setting is so amazing that you'll want to license novels, video games, television shows, and movies about it...
12 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:So far biggest issue is by doing it you legally sign over the IP to FFG. This probably is more about FFG protecting themselves legally than trying to mine players for IPs. So if your IP and an IP they've been working for months happen to be super similar, you can't sue.
This runs counter to every bit of information given about the Foundry. At launch, the Foundry agreement did include what was basically copy/paste boilerplate language that gave FFG ownership of any original IP that a contributor sold through the Foundry. It’s my understanding that this language was quickly revised to be in line with what FFG’s stance has been since the program’s launch: that any original settings/IP sold through the Foundry remains the property if its creator(s). The agreement does reserve the right to refuse or remove content that is in violation of copyright.
2 hours ago, evo454 said:IIRC, because of the Disney acquisition there is a distinction between digital games and physical ones. Since Disney gave the rights to digital Star Wars games to EA, any digital publishing of SWRPG books would technically fall under their control and so either EA would take some profits or it would be a breech of contract. That's why there are only physical copies of the books and no digital support beyond these forums (and the fan-made stuff of course).
Nah, it's been this way since the beginning, Disney has nothing to do with it. Well, besides not redoing the license. But PDFs have been a part of the "Digital Games" license since PDFs were a thing.
1 hour ago, Ghostofman said:Genesys does have something similar to an OGL where you can sell your own unique IPs that leverage their system.
It's really nothing like the OGL. It's not an open license. All it is is an agreement that you are able to sell Genesys content on their storefront using only approved Genesys content (right now that's Android and Terrinoth only) or your own IP. You are unable to use any part of the book, but are encouraged to refer to rules and page numbers as needed. And you can't sell anywhere else. And there is a specific type of material you can make. Apps/programs are most certainly off limits.
1 hour ago, Ghostofman said:So far biggest issue is by doing it you legally sign over the IP to FFG. This probably is more about FFG protecting themselves legally than trying to mine players for IPs. So if your IP and an IP they've been working for months happen to be super similar, you can't sue.
Also, as @Nytwyng mentioned, this was the case when the Foundry first launched, but it has been corrected. You own your IP and only "give up" enough rights to legally allow FFG/OBS to sell your stuff and split the profits.
1 hour ago, c__beck said:Nah, it's been this way since the beginning, Disney has nothing to do with it. Well, besides not redoing the license. But PDFs have been a part of the "Digital Games" license since PDFs were a thing.
Yep. The terms of the RPG/tabletop gaming license date back to the original WEG days, before PDFs even existed. They remain largely unchanged to this day. Same with the video/electronic gaming license. It’s a reasonable conclusion that no licensors are interested in modernizing them, even if their contract cycles line up, because LFL could decide to change the terms such that the licensors lose out more, much like happened when the Kenner toy license was revised many moons ago.
On 12/3/2019 at 11:14 AM, Nytwyng said:much like happened when the Kenner toy license was revised many moons ago.
What happened to the Kenner line? Well aside from slowly coasting to a stop and going silent sometime around 1986 or so.
8 hours ago, Desslok said:What happened to the Kenner line? Well aside from slowly coasting to a stop and going silent sometime around 1986 or so.
Short version: Since the franchise was still new and several of the big players in the toy business passed on Star Wars, the original contract was very good to Kenner. Down the line, the contract was revised, and the new terms significantly decreased how much Kenner stood to make from Star Wars toys.
Check out the Star Wars episode of Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us . The whole thing is pretty fascinating.
2 hours ago, Nytwyng said:Short version: Since the franchise was still new and several of the big players in the toy business passed on Star Wars, the original contract was very good to Kenner. Down the line, the contract was revised, and the new terms significantly decreased how much Kenner stood to make from Star Wars toys.
Check out the Star Wars episode of Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us . The whole thing is pretty fascinating.
Hasbro failed to make a payment after buying Kenner Toys and then had to renegotiate the star wars license. Basically the really sweet deal Kenner had was lost and the new deal was nowhere near as good.
10 minutes ago, Daeglan said:Hasbro failed to make a payment after buying Kenner Toys and then had to renegotiate the star wars license. Basically the really sweet deal Kenner had was lost and the new deal was nowhere near as good.
Thanks! Been a while since I watched the episode, so the finer details of why it was renegotiated were lost to me.
And LFL’s licensing deals are just really weird in the minutiae, too. Ever wonder why the Star Wars Funko Pops are about the only ones on a base and with a minor bobblehead feature? (There are some others, but most have no base and solid or swivel heads.) That’s what makes them different than the action figures in the toy license or the statues in other licenses.
6 hours ago, Nytwyng said:Thanks! Been a while since I watched the episode, so the finer details of why it was renegotiated were lost to me.
And LFL’s licensing deals are just really weird in the minutiae, too. Ever wonder why the Star Wars Funko Pops are about the only ones on a base and with a minor bobblehead feature? (There are some others, but most have no base and solid or swivel heads.) That’s what makes them different than the action figures in the toy license or the statues in other licenses.
Because if they were normal funko-pop they would be considered action figures and Hasbro(?) has the exclusive license to make Star Wars action figures.
1 hour ago, Ahrimon said:Because if they were normal funko-pop they would be considered action figures and Hasbro(?) has the exclusive license to make Star Wars action figures.
Right.
1 hour ago, Nytwyng said:Right.
Its lawyers....it doesnt have to make sense....case in point PDFs are electronic gaming.
On 12/1/2019 at 6:18 PM, Ahrimon said:There is a good amount of fan made content that gets shared between the community and FFG/Disney hasn't minded over the last seven years. There isn't is an OGL style license allowing anyone sell or officially publish created content.
There is the Genesys foundry, which uses essentially the same system with a few tweaks. As long as you scrub off the star wars serial numbers you can publish or get stuff from there.
This is great guidance. I am looking to publish small adventures and character sets with each of the play- inside ships I'm building for Legion and SWRPG that are star-wars-like but not exactly star wars. Hadn't thought about Genesys which uses the same dice system we love. I'm going to look into that for sure!
Midnightskygames.com and AdventurersSTEW.com is where I share my campaign's adventures.