I've always wondered why my post "Last Post Before..." is constantly viewed. I had thought it might be because people were thinking "Oh, no, a last post from Matt?"
I just discovered it's because the post includes the words "scrambled eggs." I'm not sure how it works, but googling "scrambled eggs" can lead you to my post. That's where the traffic comes from. My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look upon my scrambled eggs, ye mighty, and despair.
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Friday, October 28, 2011
Rappan Athuk Design Log 2
I probably won't be posting these each and every day, but I have another 20 minutes or so before my computer is done backing up, so I'll post something fairly quickly. There's still a lot of basic introductory thinking from the last month or so to catch up on.
In the first design note in the series, I covered two essential facts about the upcoming Rappan Athuk release:
First, that in order to keep the dungeon's original feel, the new levels are being written in the original rule sets, and then for the PFRPG they are being converted -- the same method that was used for the originally published 3e version. That underlying patina from the old school rules is one of the key features of Rappan Athuk.
Second, that my particular new levels are being concentrated toward the upper portion of the dungeons, in order to provide enough challenges to allow a party using the old school rules to accumulate the required experience for survival in the lower levels.
In this design note, I'm going to start covering a few of the underlying concepts of a megadungeon: what makes a so-called "megadungeon" distinct from a "lair," or a "module," or a "mission," or any of the other various terms that might be applied to adventure scenarios. Obviously, Necromancer Games considered there to be some structural distinction between what was being done with Rappan Athuk as opposed to what was being done with other 3e products that were getting released at the same time. What was this distinction? Most of the old-schoolers who read this blog probably already have a good idea of the points I'm going to make, since this is a topic that has been discussed a fair amount in the blogs and message boards frequented by people who play 0e and 1e.
Megadungeons: the Defining Characteristic
I think the most salient characteristic of a megadungeon is that it's created for use in repeated adventures. It's more in the nature of a mini-campaign than it is in the nature of an adventure that has a conclusion of some kind. Although the grandfather of all megadungeons, Greyhawk Castle, contained a conclusion-like encounter at the very lowest level (like Rappan Athuk also has), failing to reach that encounter doesn't represent failure. Indeed, merely reaching that encounter/situation is an unexpected achievement.
Corollary of Repetition: Size
As with most mini-campaigns, a megadungeon contains the potential for the players to ignore any plot hooks or missions, and simply to define their own missions ... or just wander around to see what they might find. It is equally possible that they might have such opportunities available to them, because the megadungeon is large enough to support "ongoing events" or time-sensitive goals which the characters might be hired to pursue. It's a very flexible environment.
One corollary immediately emerges from this. The dungeon has to be really big in order to support that kind of freedom of action. It needs long corridors and many rooms. This is the antithesis of a module or scenario that's designed to allow the characters to follow one specific mission, because if there is a specific succeed/fail situation then the geographical terrain has to allow the characters to find the objective in a reasonable time frame. Usually when the characters have a mission inside a megadungeon, it is necessary for them to be directed toward a specific area, be given a partial map, or be working in an area of the dungeon that they have already mapped out. For most mission-based adventures it is crucial not to have a situation where the size of the terrain is so big that the mission becomes a random chance of finding the right pathway out of a multitude of possibilities.
Distinction: Missions need Pathways
Although there are several other corollaries to the definition of a megadungeon as an underground mini-campaign, I'll wait for later posts to develop those other corollaries. For the time being, it's worth just looking at the particular design principles that shape a megadungeon's large space as opposed to a mission-based adventure's necessarily smaller or more directed pathways to the mission. Again, this isn't to say that a mission isn't possible in a megadungeon, simply that when the players are following some mission that they didn't invent for themselves in a megadungeon, some kind of geographical direction is probably required to make a mission-adventure feasible. This is not a weakness of the megadungeon format, it is a contrast to an adventure that's designed solely for a mission, a one-shot task, in which most likely it makes no sense to bother with wider-ranging geography beyond that which is required for the particular mission.
How it Applies to Rappan Athuk
Rappan Athuk, from the perspective of post-2000 rules, is already quite immense. However, as mentioned in my past post, it's pretty small from the perspective of the older rules. This is partly also because mapping/exploration tends to have a larger role in old-school gaming than under newer rules -- this is partly a nudge from the rules, but I think it's also just a generational difference from the types of fiction my generation read as opposed to the current brand of fantasy. I'll get to that in a later post, but if exploration is a heavier component of the dungeon, you obviously need room to explore. Rappan Athuk has built toward this from the first printings in which there was limited page space up to Rappan Athuk Reloaded, which included more levels, up to the printing now in development, which is not only going to include even more levels, but in which at least the Swords & Wizardry version will be based on old-school design rather than just "First Edition Feel." For those who play the PFRPG version of the dungeon, there will be some parts of the dungeon that have even a stronger old-school vibe than the existing levels that were published for 3e.
That's enough for now. Again, if anyone is interested in getting some background glimpses into the thinking and the methodology that's coming into play, I recommend grabbing a copy of the Tome of Adventure Design, which is being used by both myself and Bill in our level design, and may also to a large degree come into the way in which the Pathfinder conversions are being done.
Even the Pathfinder conversion is going to be more balls-out old school in nature than the 3e versions, and the Tome of Adventure Design is a partial introduction to why and how. Admittedly that's a bit of an advertisement, but it's true nonetheless. For Rappan Athuk scholars and super-fans, that book will be part of the invisible backbone of the "Big" Rappan Athuk book.
Hope you enjoyed the post!
Matt Finch
First Design Note
Second Design Note
Third Design Note
In the first design note in the series, I covered two essential facts about the upcoming Rappan Athuk release:
First, that in order to keep the dungeon's original feel, the new levels are being written in the original rule sets, and then for the PFRPG they are being converted -- the same method that was used for the originally published 3e version. That underlying patina from the old school rules is one of the key features of Rappan Athuk.
Second, that my particular new levels are being concentrated toward the upper portion of the dungeons, in order to provide enough challenges to allow a party using the old school rules to accumulate the required experience for survival in the lower levels.
In this design note, I'm going to start covering a few of the underlying concepts of a megadungeon: what makes a so-called "megadungeon" distinct from a "lair," or a "module," or a "mission," or any of the other various terms that might be applied to adventure scenarios. Obviously, Necromancer Games considered there to be some structural distinction between what was being done with Rappan Athuk as opposed to what was being done with other 3e products that were getting released at the same time. What was this distinction? Most of the old-schoolers who read this blog probably already have a good idea of the points I'm going to make, since this is a topic that has been discussed a fair amount in the blogs and message boards frequented by people who play 0e and 1e.
Megadungeons: the Defining Characteristic
I think the most salient characteristic of a megadungeon is that it's created for use in repeated adventures. It's more in the nature of a mini-campaign than it is in the nature of an adventure that has a conclusion of some kind. Although the grandfather of all megadungeons, Greyhawk Castle, contained a conclusion-like encounter at the very lowest level (like Rappan Athuk also has), failing to reach that encounter doesn't represent failure. Indeed, merely reaching that encounter/situation is an unexpected achievement.
Corollary of Repetition: Size
As with most mini-campaigns, a megadungeon contains the potential for the players to ignore any plot hooks or missions, and simply to define their own missions ... or just wander around to see what they might find. It is equally possible that they might have such opportunities available to them, because the megadungeon is large enough to support "ongoing events" or time-sensitive goals which the characters might be hired to pursue. It's a very flexible environment.
One corollary immediately emerges from this. The dungeon has to be really big in order to support that kind of freedom of action. It needs long corridors and many rooms. This is the antithesis of a module or scenario that's designed to allow the characters to follow one specific mission, because if there is a specific succeed/fail situation then the geographical terrain has to allow the characters to find the objective in a reasonable time frame. Usually when the characters have a mission inside a megadungeon, it is necessary for them to be directed toward a specific area, be given a partial map, or be working in an area of the dungeon that they have already mapped out. For most mission-based adventures it is crucial not to have a situation where the size of the terrain is so big that the mission becomes a random chance of finding the right pathway out of a multitude of possibilities.
Distinction: Missions need Pathways
Although there are several other corollaries to the definition of a megadungeon as an underground mini-campaign, I'll wait for later posts to develop those other corollaries. For the time being, it's worth just looking at the particular design principles that shape a megadungeon's large space as opposed to a mission-based adventure's necessarily smaller or more directed pathways to the mission. Again, this isn't to say that a mission isn't possible in a megadungeon, simply that when the players are following some mission that they didn't invent for themselves in a megadungeon, some kind of geographical direction is probably required to make a mission-adventure feasible. This is not a weakness of the megadungeon format, it is a contrast to an adventure that's designed solely for a mission, a one-shot task, in which most likely it makes no sense to bother with wider-ranging geography beyond that which is required for the particular mission.
How it Applies to Rappan Athuk
Rappan Athuk, from the perspective of post-2000 rules, is already quite immense. However, as mentioned in my past post, it's pretty small from the perspective of the older rules. This is partly also because mapping/exploration tends to have a larger role in old-school gaming than under newer rules -- this is partly a nudge from the rules, but I think it's also just a generational difference from the types of fiction my generation read as opposed to the current brand of fantasy. I'll get to that in a later post, but if exploration is a heavier component of the dungeon, you obviously need room to explore. Rappan Athuk has built toward this from the first printings in which there was limited page space up to Rappan Athuk Reloaded, which included more levels, up to the printing now in development, which is not only going to include even more levels, but in which at least the Swords & Wizardry version will be based on old-school design rather than just "First Edition Feel." For those who play the PFRPG version of the dungeon, there will be some parts of the dungeon that have even a stronger old-school vibe than the existing levels that were published for 3e.
That's enough for now. Again, if anyone is interested in getting some background glimpses into the thinking and the methodology that's coming into play, I recommend grabbing a copy of the Tome of Adventure Design, which is being used by both myself and Bill in our level design, and may also to a large degree come into the way in which the Pathfinder conversions are being done.
Even the Pathfinder conversion is going to be more balls-out old school in nature than the 3e versions, and the Tome of Adventure Design is a partial introduction to why and how. Admittedly that's a bit of an advertisement, but it's true nonetheless. For Rappan Athuk scholars and super-fans, that book will be part of the invisible backbone of the "Big" Rappan Athuk book.
Hope you enjoyed the post!
Matt Finch
First Design Note
Second Design Note
Third Design Note
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Rappan Athuk Design Log 1
I'm going to start a design log for the various parts of Rappan Athuk that I'm involved with. In terms of the old-school, Swords & Wizardry and 1e side of it, that will include pretty much everything about the entire dungeon -- lots of the input will be coming from Bill Webb, since he originally wrote the dungeon using first edition Advanced D&D, but in terms of structuring it as a whole, integrating the old work with the new, I'll probably be the lead person at that level. This leaves Bill to be free to edit the completed product with clear eyes, which is critically important. It's not generally a good idea to be both the designer and the editor, so although it's not a super-formalized division of labor, I think that's how it's going to pan out, for the most part. Bill created lots of original pieces, I will integrate those from the perspective of the S&W/1e rules, and then Bill will edit the results.
I'm doing two main tasks that are linked to each other. The first of these is simply writing several new levels (9-10). As a matter of keeping the feel of Rappan Athuk, it makes sense to retain the dungeon's original method of writing for the original rules, and then for the newer edition version, adapting the original-rules feel into the parameters of the newer system. All of the underlying design of Rappan Athuk has been done using 1e rules and design principles, and having parts of it that are designed using newer rule sets could conceivably create some areas that simply don't feel like Rappan Athuk. That isn't to say that for the Pathfinder version the dungeon won't be designed to work with the Pathfinder rules and design principles, but it means that, like the old 3e versions of Rappan Athuk, there will be the underlying dynamics of a true old-school dungeon.
For this initial design note -- and I don't know how often or how regularly I will have the time to dash these out -- I'll focus on one quick issue that has already been raised on one or two old-school message boards, and that is, essentially, square footage.
There is a radically different level progression speed in Original/First Edition D&D than there is in the post-2000 versions of the game. In order to create a megadungeon in which the characters can assault the lower levels, they need to have the potential to gain levels that will let them do so. As it stands right now, the upper levels of Rappan Athuk don't contain enough monsters or treasure (once treasure is scaled to the older systems) to allow that advancement.
Therefore, my focus is on the uppermost 8 levels of the dungeon, which is really (approximately) only 4-6 normal "dungeon levels" as meant in the 0e/1e sense of how difficult a particular depth is, and these correspond to roughly dungeons levels 3 up to about 8, depending on which part you're looking at. I'll write more about the structure of Rappan Athuk's levels, interconnections, and varying difficulties in later notes, but for now my point is simply that I'm focusing on the upper levels in order to provide enough stuff for level advancement to work properly in the megadungeon sense.
The Pathfinder converters are already dealing with the converse issue, which is that apparently a party could accumulate enough xp to become too high level for the lower areas of the dungeon. I don't know how they're going to work with that, but my job is to make it work for old-school rules, and this is the first job -- more square footage in the uppermost levels.
That's enough for now, since ... I actually have to go work on this relatively herculean task rather than blabbering about how I'm going to do it. Probably I will have another post about the overall structure of Rappan Athuk's "cross-section" map fairly soon. So if you're interested, click to follow the blog. I might also from time to time grab some comments or design notes from some of the other folks who are involved in the process.
Final note -- the Tome of Adventure Design is out for preorders, should be delivered before Christmas, and the pdf is delivered immediately when you order it. Since it has some of my general thoughts on old school megadungeon design in it, if this topic is interesting to you, it also gives something of a window onto what's going on behind the scenes of the Rappan Athuk project. And if you're an inveterate dungeon designer yourself, I think it's a great resource -- it's what I use whenever I draw a creative blank.
Stay tuned -- same bat channel and all that!
Matt Finch
First Design Note
Second Design Note
Third Design Note
I'm doing two main tasks that are linked to each other. The first of these is simply writing several new levels (9-10). As a matter of keeping the feel of Rappan Athuk, it makes sense to retain the dungeon's original method of writing for the original rules, and then for the newer edition version, adapting the original-rules feel into the parameters of the newer system. All of the underlying design of Rappan Athuk has been done using 1e rules and design principles, and having parts of it that are designed using newer rule sets could conceivably create some areas that simply don't feel like Rappan Athuk. That isn't to say that for the Pathfinder version the dungeon won't be designed to work with the Pathfinder rules and design principles, but it means that, like the old 3e versions of Rappan Athuk, there will be the underlying dynamics of a true old-school dungeon.
For this initial design note -- and I don't know how often or how regularly I will have the time to dash these out -- I'll focus on one quick issue that has already been raised on one or two old-school message boards, and that is, essentially, square footage.
There is a radically different level progression speed in Original/First Edition D&D than there is in the post-2000 versions of the game. In order to create a megadungeon in which the characters can assault the lower levels, they need to have the potential to gain levels that will let them do so. As it stands right now, the upper levels of Rappan Athuk don't contain enough monsters or treasure (once treasure is scaled to the older systems) to allow that advancement.
Therefore, my focus is on the uppermost 8 levels of the dungeon, which is really (approximately) only 4-6 normal "dungeon levels" as meant in the 0e/1e sense of how difficult a particular depth is, and these correspond to roughly dungeons levels 3 up to about 8, depending on which part you're looking at. I'll write more about the structure of Rappan Athuk's levels, interconnections, and varying difficulties in later notes, but for now my point is simply that I'm focusing on the upper levels in order to provide enough stuff for level advancement to work properly in the megadungeon sense.
The Pathfinder converters are already dealing with the converse issue, which is that apparently a party could accumulate enough xp to become too high level for the lower areas of the dungeon. I don't know how they're going to work with that, but my job is to make it work for old-school rules, and this is the first job -- more square footage in the uppermost levels.
That's enough for now, since ... I actually have to go work on this relatively herculean task rather than blabbering about how I'm going to do it. Probably I will have another post about the overall structure of Rappan Athuk's "cross-section" map fairly soon. So if you're interested, click to follow the blog. I might also from time to time grab some comments or design notes from some of the other folks who are involved in the process.
Final note -- the Tome of Adventure Design is out for preorders, should be delivered before Christmas, and the pdf is delivered immediately when you order it. Since it has some of my general thoughts on old school megadungeon design in it, if this topic is interesting to you, it also gives something of a window onto what's going on behind the scenes of the Rappan Athuk project. And if you're an inveterate dungeon designer yourself, I think it's a great resource -- it's what I use whenever I draw a creative blank.
Stay tuned -- same bat channel and all that!
Matt Finch
First Design Note
Second Design Note
Third Design Note
Monday, October 24, 2011
Rappan Athuk
This is the BIG announcement today from Frog God Games. Quoting from Bill Webb's blog:
October 24 2011
FGG-The Big Announcement
The background of the big announcement goes all the way back to1978, when I read a small book by Gary Gygax detailing the use of outdoor and wilderness adventures in D&D. This book, along with what has affectionately been termed the “Skull Dungeon” of John Holmes fame, formed the basis of my thinking when I began to write my own vast dungeon that I called Rappan Athuk.
A decade ago, I released the first few levels of Rappan Athuk as a book, which wasfollowed by a series of releases of different parts and pieces (29 levels in the first 3 books, andanother 7 or so later in Rappan Athuk Reloaded).
To my surprise, even though I expected it to be a success,Rappan Athuk turned out to be one of the major hits of the Third Edition decade. Even though it’s not the largest dungeon that was ever published (it might be this time!), it quickly picked up a reputation for being one of the deadliest, and if you haven’t heard, “Don’t go down the Well” or “Beware of Purple Worms,” you probably weren’t attending gaming conventions or reading the RPG internet during the Third Edition years.
Rappan Athuk Reloaded,which contained a lot more of the original dungeon, became an immediate collector’s item. With only 1000 copies ofRappan Athuk’s expanded version in existence, many players unfortunately could never get a copy. This was probably fortunate for a lot of player characters, but it means that many people who wanted to see the dungeon’s broader scope never got to see what they were missing.
Well, it’s been almost 10 years since I wrote the last few chapters of Rappan Athuk Reloaded. As you would expect, I haven’t been idle during that time. In fact, over the last few hundred gaming sessions I’ve run, I have continued to write up my notes from levels that were never published, and add new levels as adventurers continued to explore
.Many of the mid-level areas have been fleshed out (the ultimate adversaries, of course, remained the same), and several new upper levels have been added as adventurers avoided “The Well” and “The Mausoleum” in attempts to delve deeper into Rappan Athuk’s depths. I have been mulling over what to do to get this monster out to all of you. So here goes…
Weighing in with over 50 dungeon levels and dozens of wilderness areas, Rappan Athuk will be released next summer as a hardbound, library-stitched book in both Pathfinder and Swords and Wizardry formats. The book contains 18 more levels even thanRappan Athuk Reloaded, as well as the outdoor adventures supporting them. I am also working on a leather cover (or faux leather) for thebinding.
This thing is truly the granddaddy of all dungeons. It represents years of play testing, years of adventure, and hundreds of player character deaths. Many parts of my campaign that have transpired over the years are included in its pagesfrom the dead remains of fallen heroes, to marks left on walls, to cryptic scribblings left by lost or dying adventurers.
Just like the dungeons of the early 1970s played by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson,Rappan Athukis like a living being, big enough to be used for thousands of hours of play. From the Goblin city of Greznek to the Hall of the Titan Cyclops, from the Well of Zelkor to the Mithril gates, and from the Well of Agamemnon to the Abyssal pocket-plain and to the throne of Orcus himself—this terrifying place will create memorable experiences for all players and Game Masters.
This Tome represents the completed manuscript, including the wilderness surrounding the dungeon, three villages nearby, and the dreaded Temple of Tsathogga, where the sinister, evil priests of the frog-demon seek dark secrets and dark powers lost when the army of light destroyed the temple of Orcus at the site.
This book will be available for pre-order in March or April 2012. Retail price and page count are still to be determined (though it will probably be about $125 and 1000 pages or so). The pre-ordered copies will contain bonus material as a pdf enhancement that were cut from the final manuscript and will not be available after the pre-order period ends.
So once again, in this new decade of gaming, we will have the chance to say, “Don’t go down the Well.”
Tome of Horrors Stat Blocks (C)
It has been a while since my last post -- sorry about that. Here is the latest installment of stat blocks from the Tome of Horrors (Swords & Wizardry), this time the entire set of entries under the letter "C." These are courtesy of Razberry Ranid, with whom I'm working to derive all the stat blocks for those who want to copy/paste into their own adventures.
The Tome of Horrors is still for sale at Frog God Games HERE. (make sure to hit the right button for the S&W version)
Also strongly recommended as a really awesome resource for adventure Designing, the Tome of Adventure Design, which is HERE.
And now, the stat blocks:
The Tome of Horrors is still for sale at Frog God Games HERE. (make sure to hit the right button for the S&W version)
Also strongly recommended as a really awesome resource for adventure Designing, the Tome of Adventure Design, which is HERE.
And now, the stat blocks:
Cadaver: HD 2; AC 6 [13]; Atk 2 claws (1d4 + disease) and bite (1d6 + disease); Move 6; Save 16; AL C; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Disease, reanimation
Cadaver from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Cadaver Lord: HD 5; AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 claws (1d4 + disease) and bite (1d6 + disease); Move 9; Save 12; AL C; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Disease, reanimation, create spawn, command undead, magical abilities, spell resistance (20%), +1 magic weapons to hit
Cadaver Lord from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Carbuncle: HD 1; AC 1 [18]; Atk Bite (1d2); Move 9; Save 17; AL N; CL/XP 2/30; Special: Discord, foresight, telepathy 100 ft.
Carbuncle from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Albie Fiore.
Carrion Moth: HD 5; AC 3 [16]; Atk 4 tentacles (paralysis) and bite (1d6); Move 12/24 (flying); Save 12; AL N; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Drone, paralysis, stench
Carrion Moth from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Casey Christofferson and Scott Greene.
Caryatid Column: HD 5; AC 5 [14]; Atk Longsword (1d8+1); Move 9; Save 12; AL N; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Immune to magic, half damage from normal weapons, shatter weapons
Caryatid Column from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Jean Wells.
Caterprism: HD 6; AC 3 [16]; Atk 4 legs (1d8) and bite (1d6); Move 9; Save 11; AL N; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Crystal silk, crystalline mandibles
Caterprism from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Erica Balsley.
Caterwaul: HD 5; AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 claws (1d4) and bite (1d6); Move 21/9 (climbing); Save 12; AL C; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Screech
Caterwaul from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Albie Fiore.
Cave Cricket: HD 1; AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 kicks (1d4); Move 12; Save 17; AL N; CL/XP 1/15; Special: Chirp
Cave Cricket from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Cave Fisher: HD 3; AC 3 [16]; Atk Filament (see text) and 2 claws (1d6); Move 6; Save 14; AL N; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Filaments
Cave Fisher from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Lrence Schick.
Cave Leech: HD 5; AC 9 [10]; Atk 8 tentacles (1d4 blood drain) or bite (1d6); Move 3; Save 12; AL N; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Blood drain
Cave Leech from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Cave Moray: HD 4; AC 1 [18]; Atk Bite (1d6); Move 6; Save 13; AL N; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Recoil attack, surprise on 1-3 on 1d6
Cave Moray from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Cerberus: HD 20 (120 hp); AC 0 [19]; Atk 3 bites (3d6); Move 24; Save 3; AL C; CL/XP 29/6100; Special: Breath weapon, howl, petrifying gaze, poisonous bite, +1 or better weapon to hit, regenerate 1d6 hit points per round, magic resistance (20%)
Cerberus from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Cerebral Stalker: HD 9; AC 7 [12]; Atk 2 claws (1d6+2) or bite (1d8+2); Move 6/3 (burrow); Save 6; AL C; CL/XP 11/1,700; Special: Consume brain, create zombie, fear gaze, web
Cerebral Stalker from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Chain Worm: HD 12; AC 1 [18]; Atk 1 bite (2d6) and tail sting (2d6 + poison); Move 9/6 (climb); Save 3; AL N; CL/XP 12/2,000; Special: Poison, trilling
Chain Worm from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Cherum: HD 24; AC -3 [22]; Atk 2 claws (2d8 + 1d6 fire) and bite (4d6 + 1d6 fire); Move 6; Save 3; AL N; CL/XP 27/6,500; Special: Fiery aura, swallow whole, regenerate 5 hp/round, immune to fire and poison, vulnerable to cold, spell resistance (30%)
Cherum from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Chrystone: HD 5; AC 4 [15]; Atk Longsword (1d8); Move 9; Save 12; AL N; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Breath weapon, spells, immune to magic, resistance to non-magical weapons (50%), shatter weapons
Chrystone from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Patrick Linger.
Chupacabra: HD 3; AC 5 [14]; Atk 2 claws (1d3) and bite (1d4); Move 9; Save 14; AL N; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Drain blood
Chupacabra from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Erica Balsley.
Church Grim: HD 5; AC 7 [12]; Atk Bite (1d6); Move 15; Save 12; AL L; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Howl, +1 or better weapons to hit, soul defender
Church Grim from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Erica Balsley.
Churr: HD 6; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 claws (1d6) and bite (1d6); Move 9/6 (climb); Save 11; AL N; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Constrict, howl
Churr from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Clam, Giant: HD 4; AC 5 [14]; Atk Bite (swallow); Move 3; Save 13; AL N; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Acid, surprise on 1-3 on 1d6
Giant Clam from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Clamor: HD 4; AC 3 [16]; Atk sonic ray (2d6); Move 24 (flying); Save 13; AL N; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Sonic burst, mimic, +2 magic weapons to hit, invisibility
Clamor from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Erica Balsley.
CLOCKWORKS
Clockwork Brain Gear: HD 5; AC 2 [17]; Atk None; Move 0; Save 12; AL N; CL/XP 3/60; Special: Control clockworks, dream
Clockwork Brain Gear from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Mike Mearls and Scott Greene.
Clockwork Overseer: HD 2; AC 2 [17]; Atk Slam (1d6); Move 15; Save 16; AL N; CL/XP 2/30; Special: None
Clockwork Overseer from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Mike Mearls and Scott Greene.
Clockwork Drone: HD 1d6; AC 2 [17]; Atk Slam (1d3); Move 9/24 (flying); Save 18; AL N; CL/XP B/10; Special: None
Clockwork Drone from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Mike Mearls and Scott Greene.
Clockwork Scout: HD 1; AC 2 [17]; Atk Slam (1d4); Move 15; Save 17; AL N; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None
Clockwork Scout from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Mike Mearls and Scott Greene.
Clockwork Parasite: HD 4; AC 4 [15]; Atk Bite (1d4); Move 9; Save 13; AL N; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Control host, self-repair
Clockwork Parasite from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Mike Mearls and Scott Greene.
Clockwork Swarm: HD 4; AC 2 [17]; Atk Swarm (1d6); Move 15; Save 13; AL N; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Distraction, minimum damage from slashing and piercing weapons, self-repair
Clockwork Swarm from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Mike Mearls and Scott Greene.
Clockwork Titan: HD 7; AC 0 [19]; Atk Slam (2d8); Move 12; Save 9; AL N; CL/XP 8/800; Special: None
Clockwork Titan from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Mike Mearls and Scott Greene.
Clockwork Warrior: HD 3; AC 2 [17]; Atk Slam (1d8); Move 9; Save 14; AL N; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Self-repair
Clockwork Warrior from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Mike Mearls and Scott Greene.
Clockwork Bronze Giant: HD 14; AC 0 [19]; Atk 1 Weapon (4d6 plus poison) or 1 fist (2d8); Move 12; Save 3; AL N; CL/XP 16/3,200; Special: magic resistance (25%), +1 magic weapon needed to hit, throw rocks (2d8), lightning heals, immune to most spells
Clockwork Bronze Giant from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Clubnek: HD 2; AC 6 [13]; Atk 2 claws (1d4) and beak (1d6); Move 15; Save 16; AL N; CL/XP 2/30; Special: Burst of speed
Clubnek from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by M. English.
Cobra Flower: HD 6; AC 5 [14]; Atk Bite (1d8 + 1d6 acid); Move 3; Save 11; AL N; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Squeeze
Cobra Flower from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Coffer Corpse: HD 2; AC 5 [14]; Atk Slam (1d6); Move 9; Save 16; AL C; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Death grip, weapon resistance, deceiving death, cause fear
Coffer Corpse from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Simon Eaton.
Colossus, Jade: HD 30; AC -6 [25]; Atk 2 slams (4d8); Move 12; Save 3; AL N; CL/XP 36/9,200; Special: Breath weapon, +3 weapons to hit, immune to fire, immune to magic
Jade Colossus from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene and Casey Christofferson.
Cooshee: HD 3; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 claws (1d4) and bite (1d8); Move 15; Save 14 (12 vs. charm); AL N (L tendencies); CL/XP 4/120; Special: Sprint, trip, surprise on 1-3 on 1d6
Cooshee from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Corpse Candle: HD 6; AC 8 [11]; Atk Incorporeal touch (1d6); Move 6/18 (flying); Save 11; AL C; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Hypnotic lights
Corpse Candle from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Corpse Orgy: HD 14; AC 2 [17]; Atk 4 slams (2d6); Move 6; Save 3; AL C; CL/XP 16/3,200; Special: Absorb body, pain shriek, half damage from blunt weapons
Corpse Orgy from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Corpse Rook: HD 6; AC 6 [13]; Atk 2 claws (1d6) and 3 bites (1d8); Move 6/24 (flying); Save 11; AL C; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Rend
Corpse Rook from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Corpsespinner: HD 12; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 bite (2d8 + poison); Move 9/6 (climb); Save 3; AL N; CL/XP 13/2,300; Special: Create corpsespun zombie, poison, web
Corpsespinner from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Crab, Monstrous: HD 3; AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 claws (1d4); Move 12/9 (swimming); Save 14; AL N; CL/XP 3/60; Special: None
Monstrous Crab from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Crabman: HD 3; AC 3 [16]; Atk 2 claws (1d6); Move 12/9 (swimming); Save 14; AL N; CL/XP 3/60; Special: None
Crabman from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Scott Greene and Erica Balsley, based on original material by Ian Livingstone
Crag Man: HD 6; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 piercing slams (1d8+2); Move 6; Save 11; AL C; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Pierce, piercer hellstorm, passwall
Crag Man from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Crayfish, Monstrous: HD 4; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 claws (1d6); Move 9/15 (swimming); Save 13; AL N; CL/XP 4/120; Special: Surprise on 1-2 on 1d6
Monstrous Crayfish from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Crucifixion Spirit: HD 12; AC 4 [15]; Atk Incorporeal touch (1d8 + paralysis) or crucify soul; Move 9/18 (flying); Save 3; AL C; CL/XP 15/2,900; Special: Crucify soul, paralysis
Crucifixion Spirit from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Crypt Thing: HD 6; AC 2 [17]; Atk 2 claws (1d6); Move 12; Save 11; AL N; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Teleport other, +1 or better weapons to hit, turn as 10 HD monster
Crypt Thing from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Roger Musson.
Crystalline Horror: HD 7; AC 0 [19]; Atk Shard spray (3d6) or cL (1d6); Move 12; Save 9; AL C; CL/XP 10/1400; Special: Shard spray, bend light, +1 or better weapons to hit, resistance to cold (50%)
Crystalline Horror from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Crystallis: HD 14; AC 2 [17]; Atk 2 claws (2d6+3); Move 6/6 (burrow); Save 3; AL N; CL/XP 17/3,500; Special: Crystalline claws, wounding, petrification breath
Crystallis from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Copyright and the OSR (part 2)
The first installment in this essay is here.
Preliminaries
This is a continuing general commentary on intellectual property as it pertains to the OSR (by which here I mean people who are currently distributing materials for out of print D&D or retroclones).
I'd like to address a comment from the first installment, made by Austrodavicus. He makes the point that by not naming names but mentioning products, I could create the potential for a witch hunt and rumors. In a different context I'd have to think more about whether it's better to name names or not, but in this case, since part of the issue raised by the community is legality, I will not create a pointer for a potential litigator to follow. Austrodavicus's point may be valid in other contexts, but I'd have to think it through more and I'll do that if/when it arises.
Disclosure
Something that I mentioned in the last post, and that was expanded by people in the comments is the issue of disclosure. By this I mean the effect of the publisher's telling people in advance about what the product is (in terms of legality and other intellectual property matters). In other words, if I thin I'm getting a pirated version of the real rules and I get a retro-clone, I'd be upset. If I thought I was getting a legal retro-clone and I get a pirated copy of the original rules, I'd be upset. I agree with the commentators on the first post in this series that part of the negative reaction to the rulebook (Holmes one) was that people expected a retro-clone and got something they considered to contain copyright violations. Quite a few of those people, I suspect, wouldn't have minded getting a book with copyright violations if they'd known that was how the book had been done. After all, whether it's legal or not, there is demand for new copies of the old books. I'll get to that in a second. I do think, however, that almost by definition the people who want retro-clones and the people who want copies are two different groups. There's quite a bit of overlap when you're talking about modules, since the product of a retro-clone is supposed to be usable with the regular rules, but when you're talking about buying the actual rulebooks themselves, I think the overlap is much smaller. You either want to use a clone or you want to use the real rules. So, disclosure by a publisher is fairly important in the case of a rulebook.
On the other hand, the obvious problem. Disclosure of a copy would involve someone saying outright, "I am breaking the law." Not a very good strategy for avoiding a lawsuit, and in fact violating copyright is also a criminal offense in the USA as well as grounds for a civil lawsuit.
Which leads to three different approaches with a very, very uncomfortable middle ground in there as well. The first approach is to create a retro-clone (whether using the OGL or not -- it would theoretically be possible to make one without the OGL, but the legal risk would be high). The second approach is to create a simulacrum in which safe-harbor rules are used to mimic the effect of the original but not the methods. The third approach is to go balls-out and copy the original. The uncomfortable middle ground is to copy text or to screw up the copyright issues in other ways, but to avoid mentioning that. In some cases it's possible to fall into that middle ground unintentionally -- there are some subtler issues in copyright law that could be accidentally violated, and the less the author knows about copyright law, the larger these errors might be. I've written about some of these issues on blog comments and in message board posts, so I'm not going to go into them in detail at this point. There's also the risk that while I know a fair amount about copyright law, I'm not an expert qualified to write a treatise about it. There would be gaps.
Approach #3: Deliberate Pirating
It's worth mentioning a practical exception to copyright, and a misconception. First the misconception because it's simple: distributing something for free has nothing to do with whether you're violating the law. Tenkar has pointed this out on his blog, and it's worth repeating since it seems to be a very, very common belief. If you distribute a copyright violation to one single person, you are violating the law. The chance of getting caught at that is obviously very low, and the chance that the copyright holder would care is obviously also quite low (unless it's a personal issue rather than a financial one). But you would be breaking the law.
Now the practical exception. You are generally allowed to make a copy of something for personal use. This allows making backups, as the obvious example. It might (and I think it does, although that's no guarantee) extend to making copies of something for your own gaming group. Why doesn't that fall afoul of the previous paragraph? Because the nature of a cooperative game tends to involve the sharing of baseline information -- the game is designed to do this. If I write a module using mindflayers and the D&D rules, I'm *clearly* not violating copyright because the rules were sold to me for that purpose. A copy of the rules themselves aren't as clear an issue, but if the reason for my copied-rulebook is to incorporate my house rules, it would be pretty hard to argue that this isn't personal use that was contemplated by the original seller.
But there's a big caveat there -- this would only really apply to your actual, real, gaming group. Not to someone on the net. So this isn't really of much use to someone who wants to distribute copies in general. The reason that I mention it is to distinguish it from the misconception above. Just because you give it away for free doesn't mean that it's personal use. It's obvious that if you're selling it, that's not personal use, but the converse doesn't hold true: the definition of personal use isn't "given away free," it requires more than that.
Cool Stuff
Obviously I'm not in favor of rulebook-piracy, or I wouldn't have bothered to create any retro-clones in the first place. On a personal level I didn't like the idea that most of the sharing of resources in our community was forced to be based on piracy and that the scarcer rulebooks themselves were increasingly relying on piracy to keep the games going at all.
On the aspirational side, too, I hoped that retro-clones (because of their legality) would make it easier for a publisher to feel comfortable about spending some money to create co-operative modules more easily: hiring a cartographer or artist, as the best examples. I'm one of the people who wants to expand the hobby -- I don't argue with the people who don't care about that as a goal, but it's my goal.
However...
It should also be patently obvious that I'm a fanboy of the original rules, or I wouldn't have bothered with any of this. My personal moral rules don't let me pirate them myself, and I don't see piracy as a viable way of preserving or expanding the game ... but I can't help but cheer quietly when someone comes up with an artistic but piratical labor of love with those rules. I like a rebel. I like to see a work of art. Given the way I view laws and morality, I ought to shake my finger and say "tsk, tsk." But I have a moral/legal failing ... I tend to have an "attaboy" response, even though I think it's wrong.
There are two OD&D copies out there (maybe 3), and I mean copies. I'm not talking about Swords & Spellcraft or Swords & Wizardry: I'm talking about literal copies of WhiteBox OD&D, although I believe both are reorganized to read more smoothly. I'll call one of these the Frazetta copy, and the other the Austin copy. Note: I have paged through one of these, and seen pictures of the other. Comments about the content come from people whose opinions I trust, but other than basic visuals I haven't read these books in depth. I do not know the links to them -- please don't ask, I deliberately avoided making any sort of note about how to access them.
The Frazetta copy includes no house rules, although I'm told that it does contain some of Philotomy Jurament's musings as additional material. It's a beautiful thing; Frazetta art works really well with OD&D. On the other hand, I do have a couple of serious reservations because (a) Frazetta's art is still owned by his estate (ie, his kids), and I make a gut-level distinction between using material that is out of print, blocked from distribution by the owner, and providing no benefit to the creator (OD&D) ... versus material that is still available, provides benefit to the creator's children. I have a bit of a problem with the fact that Frazetta's art is in there, although I can't deny that it's awesome. (b) I would have a real problem if they copied Philotomy's musings without permission, but I don't know if they did or not.
The Austin copy includes house rules, and the art is done by the gaming group that uses these rules. This one is probably not piracy at all -- the copy I saw was in the hands of the guy who wrote it, and this might truly be a "for personal use" book. The art is the opposite of the pirated Frazetta art in the first book I mentioned -- it's unpolished and raw ... and it's full of awesome swords & sorcery energy, with power you can't imagine. It's possibly the best piece of homebrewed creativity I've ever seen. You might be able to find one of the draft copies of this out there somewhere, I don't know. I'm sorry to keep this one vague, and I would really like to point people to it, but I can't do that. I'm not going to "out" anyone.
I'm not sure if there will be a part three to this essay or not. I don't have anything outlined, but I know it's a big enough topic that I've certainly left out lots of interesting thoughts. I just haven't had those interesting thoughts yet. :)
Quick Edit: about the two OD&D versions that I mentioned, I don't know how complete they are. I assume the Frazetta one contains all of the LBB material, but the Austin clone probably doesn't - the book is too thin. So the Austin Clone is probably, like Princess Bride, that group's "good parts" version of OD&D.
Preliminaries
This is a continuing general commentary on intellectual property as it pertains to the OSR (by which here I mean people who are currently distributing materials for out of print D&D or retroclones).
I'd like to address a comment from the first installment, made by Austrodavicus. He makes the point that by not naming names but mentioning products, I could create the potential for a witch hunt and rumors. In a different context I'd have to think more about whether it's better to name names or not, but in this case, since part of the issue raised by the community is legality, I will not create a pointer for a potential litigator to follow. Austrodavicus's point may be valid in other contexts, but I'd have to think it through more and I'll do that if/when it arises.
Disclosure
Something that I mentioned in the last post, and that was expanded by people in the comments is the issue of disclosure. By this I mean the effect of the publisher's telling people in advance about what the product is (in terms of legality and other intellectual property matters). In other words, if I thin I'm getting a pirated version of the real rules and I get a retro-clone, I'd be upset. If I thought I was getting a legal retro-clone and I get a pirated copy of the original rules, I'd be upset. I agree with the commentators on the first post in this series that part of the negative reaction to the rulebook (Holmes one) was that people expected a retro-clone and got something they considered to contain copyright violations. Quite a few of those people, I suspect, wouldn't have minded getting a book with copyright violations if they'd known that was how the book had been done. After all, whether it's legal or not, there is demand for new copies of the old books. I'll get to that in a second. I do think, however, that almost by definition the people who want retro-clones and the people who want copies are two different groups. There's quite a bit of overlap when you're talking about modules, since the product of a retro-clone is supposed to be usable with the regular rules, but when you're talking about buying the actual rulebooks themselves, I think the overlap is much smaller. You either want to use a clone or you want to use the real rules. So, disclosure by a publisher is fairly important in the case of a rulebook.
On the other hand, the obvious problem. Disclosure of a copy would involve someone saying outright, "I am breaking the law." Not a very good strategy for avoiding a lawsuit, and in fact violating copyright is also a criminal offense in the USA as well as grounds for a civil lawsuit.
Which leads to three different approaches with a very, very uncomfortable middle ground in there as well. The first approach is to create a retro-clone (whether using the OGL or not -- it would theoretically be possible to make one without the OGL, but the legal risk would be high). The second approach is to create a simulacrum in which safe-harbor rules are used to mimic the effect of the original but not the methods. The third approach is to go balls-out and copy the original. The uncomfortable middle ground is to copy text or to screw up the copyright issues in other ways, but to avoid mentioning that. In some cases it's possible to fall into that middle ground unintentionally -- there are some subtler issues in copyright law that could be accidentally violated, and the less the author knows about copyright law, the larger these errors might be. I've written about some of these issues on blog comments and in message board posts, so I'm not going to go into them in detail at this point. There's also the risk that while I know a fair amount about copyright law, I'm not an expert qualified to write a treatise about it. There would be gaps.
Approach #3: Deliberate Pirating
It's worth mentioning a practical exception to copyright, and a misconception. First the misconception because it's simple: distributing something for free has nothing to do with whether you're violating the law. Tenkar has pointed this out on his blog, and it's worth repeating since it seems to be a very, very common belief. If you distribute a copyright violation to one single person, you are violating the law. The chance of getting caught at that is obviously very low, and the chance that the copyright holder would care is obviously also quite low (unless it's a personal issue rather than a financial one). But you would be breaking the law.
Now the practical exception. You are generally allowed to make a copy of something for personal use. This allows making backups, as the obvious example. It might (and I think it does, although that's no guarantee) extend to making copies of something for your own gaming group. Why doesn't that fall afoul of the previous paragraph? Because the nature of a cooperative game tends to involve the sharing of baseline information -- the game is designed to do this. If I write a module using mindflayers and the D&D rules, I'm *clearly* not violating copyright because the rules were sold to me for that purpose. A copy of the rules themselves aren't as clear an issue, but if the reason for my copied-rulebook is to incorporate my house rules, it would be pretty hard to argue that this isn't personal use that was contemplated by the original seller.
But there's a big caveat there -- this would only really apply to your actual, real, gaming group. Not to someone on the net. So this isn't really of much use to someone who wants to distribute copies in general. The reason that I mention it is to distinguish it from the misconception above. Just because you give it away for free doesn't mean that it's personal use. It's obvious that if you're selling it, that's not personal use, but the converse doesn't hold true: the definition of personal use isn't "given away free," it requires more than that.
Cool Stuff
Obviously I'm not in favor of rulebook-piracy, or I wouldn't have bothered to create any retro-clones in the first place. On a personal level I didn't like the idea that most of the sharing of resources in our community was forced to be based on piracy and that the scarcer rulebooks themselves were increasingly relying on piracy to keep the games going at all.
On the aspirational side, too, I hoped that retro-clones (because of their legality) would make it easier for a publisher to feel comfortable about spending some money to create co-operative modules more easily: hiring a cartographer or artist, as the best examples. I'm one of the people who wants to expand the hobby -- I don't argue with the people who don't care about that as a goal, but it's my goal.
However...
It should also be patently obvious that I'm a fanboy of the original rules, or I wouldn't have bothered with any of this. My personal moral rules don't let me pirate them myself, and I don't see piracy as a viable way of preserving or expanding the game ... but I can't help but cheer quietly when someone comes up with an artistic but piratical labor of love with those rules. I like a rebel. I like to see a work of art. Given the way I view laws and morality, I ought to shake my finger and say "tsk, tsk." But I have a moral/legal failing ... I tend to have an "attaboy" response, even though I think it's wrong.
There are two OD&D copies out there (maybe 3), and I mean copies. I'm not talking about Swords & Spellcraft or Swords & Wizardry: I'm talking about literal copies of WhiteBox OD&D, although I believe both are reorganized to read more smoothly. I'll call one of these the Frazetta copy, and the other the Austin copy. Note: I have paged through one of these, and seen pictures of the other. Comments about the content come from people whose opinions I trust, but other than basic visuals I haven't read these books in depth. I do not know the links to them -- please don't ask, I deliberately avoided making any sort of note about how to access them.
The Frazetta copy includes no house rules, although I'm told that it does contain some of Philotomy Jurament's musings as additional material. It's a beautiful thing; Frazetta art works really well with OD&D. On the other hand, I do have a couple of serious reservations because (a) Frazetta's art is still owned by his estate (ie, his kids), and I make a gut-level distinction between using material that is out of print, blocked from distribution by the owner, and providing no benefit to the creator (OD&D) ... versus material that is still available, provides benefit to the creator's children. I have a bit of a problem with the fact that Frazetta's art is in there, although I can't deny that it's awesome. (b) I would have a real problem if they copied Philotomy's musings without permission, but I don't know if they did or not.
The Austin copy includes house rules, and the art is done by the gaming group that uses these rules. This one is probably not piracy at all -- the copy I saw was in the hands of the guy who wrote it, and this might truly be a "for personal use" book. The art is the opposite of the pirated Frazetta art in the first book I mentioned -- it's unpolished and raw ... and it's full of awesome swords & sorcery energy, with power you can't imagine. It's possibly the best piece of homebrewed creativity I've ever seen. You might be able to find one of the draft copies of this out there somewhere, I don't know. I'm sorry to keep this one vague, and I would really like to point people to it, but I can't do that. I'm not going to "out" anyone.
I'm not sure if there will be a part three to this essay or not. I don't have anything outlined, but I know it's a big enough topic that I've certainly left out lots of interesting thoughts. I just haven't had those interesting thoughts yet. :)
Quick Edit: about the two OD&D versions that I mentioned, I don't know how complete they are. I assume the Frazetta one contains all of the LBB material, but the Austin clone probably doesn't - the book is too thin. So the Austin Clone is probably, like Princess Bride, that group's "good parts" version of OD&D.