The price of an adventure?

[Beoric]

Well the fact they lock your creative work into the Guild forever sucks, but on the other hand the only way somebody could use IP like Forgotten Realms, The Third Imperium, etc. would have been by a negotiated license which would be costly and not trivial to get.

My view is that DriveThru's default community content license is a scam for content that original to the creator except for the system. However when there is a setting involved, then I view it as a good deal for people who want to publish something commercially but do it with the time and budget they have for a hobby.

But most of the companies involved don't want existing works (old or new) copied verbatim and lightly changed to put up. Hence why the answer to Beoric question is more complex then it you would think.

I meant give away the product to consumers, not give it away to WotC. I don't care if WotC ends up owning it, I get a tremendous amount of pleasure from Eberron and I'm happy to let them keep it.

But if I have to jump through hoops to distribute a free product that includes a lot of baked-in advertising for other WotC products (it would include, for example, the locations for various events in published adventures, but you need to buy the adventure to use it), then I'm just not going to bother.

 

[Agonarchartist]

No professional writer can afford the terms of the DM's guild. It's ridiculous, and, if you'll notice, you don't find professional working writers releasing their work there. Nearly everything is poorly written, with generic art, has no real value, and everything that is there is in a 'race to the bottom' setup by design.

It's obscene and only people who undervalue their efforts will take those terms. I ask myself why WotC or DTRPG (both doing business in scales of eight figures and up) would do such a thing, and the answer seems clear to me.

 

[robertsconley]

I meant give away the product to consumers, not give it away to WotC. I don't care if WotC ends up owning it, I get a tremendous amount of pleasure from Eberron and I'm happy to let them keep it.

It doesn't hurt to ask. https://support.dmsguild.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

But if I have to jump through hoops to distribute a free product that includes a lot of baked-in advertising for other WotC products (it would include, for example, the locations for various events in published adventures, but you need to buy the adventure to use it), then I'm just not going to bother.

It is Wizards IP, so their rules. Especially we are since talking about a setting, Eberron, not a set of rules like 5th edition. The way I view it is that the community content program is that is a reasonable alternative to either paying a lawyer to negotiate the use of their setting IP, or nothing. Or rather the wink-wink nudge-nudge many folks do when sharing their takes on a beloved IP.

 

[robertsconley]

No professional writer can afford the terms of the DM's guild. It's ridiculous, and, if you'll notice, you don't find professional working writers releasing their work there. Nearly everything is poorly written, with generic art, has no real value, and everything that is there is in a 'race to the bottom' setup by design.

No professional writer will be able to negotiate a license with Wizards to use Forgotten Realm IP, Eberron IP, etc. unless your name Weis or somebody who has similar amount of market pull. Even then it will narrow for a specific IP like Dragonlance.

It's obscene and only people who undervalue their efforts will take those terms. I ask myself why WotC or DTRPG (both doing business in scales of eight figures and up) would do such a thing, and the answer seems clear to me.

What obscene are the programs that only offer a system like Cypher and still have the restrictive no derivatives clause. The ones that are centered around a setting like Jonstown (Glorantha), or have a OGL alternative for the system (like DM's Guild) are fine. There are almost no companies out there who are willing to share their setting IP under a less restrictive license.

The sole exception to the system only content programs is Genesys. The Genesys community understood the implication of the no derivatives clause and the outcry caused Fantasy Flight to change the license. So no only the Geneys based product itself can be sold on the program. If you make an original Genesys adventure and then make a 5e version and sell that elsewhere that is OK under the Genesys program. But that not the case with other system only community content. Except, some like Zweihander and Heroforge, the administrator who enforces the license doesn't care and will say yes if asked.

But I said a couple of time when it comes to sharing sharing a company setting IP, the community content programs are about as good as it gets except for the no derivatives clause.

If one really cared about this issue then they would create a compelling setting and release it as open content, then support it.

 

[Agonarchartist]

If one really cared about this issue then they would create a compelling setting and release it as open content, then support it.

I can't think of anything compelling regarding a setting appearing in, anything recently at all.

I just think giving up all rights and getting a 50% cut is bullshit. I don't know, (Not having information how license agreements work) but I don't think that's common or standard. It might be, but I wonder why anyone would take that deal.

Do you think magpie is giving 50% to ViacomCBS?

 

[robertsconley]

I can't think of anything compelling regarding a setting appearing in, anything recently at all.

I just think giving up all rights and getting a 50% cut is bullshit. I don't know, (Not having information how license agreements work) but I don't think that's common or standard. It might be, but I wonder why anyone would take that deal.

Do you think magpie is giving 50% to ViacomCBS?

No not for magpie, but I think would be the case if it was based on Star Trek an IP that owned by CBS. That the point I been trying to get across. There are systems and setting. For anything that just about a system, yes the programs are a crappy deal. For setting owned by the company running the program no. Because the author never had any rights to make content for that setting to begin with.

As for compelling that for the folks to decide for themselves. What I can say that there are some folks I know personally who would release content on the Guild if Wizards allowed Greyhawk. Why? Because they are fans of Greyhawk and this would be the only way of releasing the material.,

 

[Beoric]

It is Wizards IP, so their rules. Especially we are since talking about a setting, Eberron, not a set of rules like 5th edition. The way I view it is that the community content program is that is a reasonable alternative to either paying a lawyer to negotiate the use of their setting IP, or nothing. Or rather the wink-wink nudge-nudge many folks do when sharing their takes on a beloved IP.

To be clear, I agree, I just have a personal limit on how much time I am willing to spend. I am also spoiled in that I am used to dealing with businesses that are willing to work to get my business, as opposed to doing me a favour by taking me on as a client (which, let's be honest, DMSGuild is to some extent). Allow me my narcissistic self-entitlement.

 

[The1True]

as opposed to doing me a favour by taking me on as a client

Sort of like the Airline Industry?
ooh ooh or Customs 'Brokers' (remember those motherfuckers?)

 

[Beoric]

ooh ooh or Customs 'Brokers' (remember those motherfuckers?)

Those bastards! I remember paying more for my wedding presents from the U.S. than the people who bought them for me. They wouldn't let you see the thing until you had paid: I remember paying $80 fo what turned out to be a needlepoint my aunt had sent me.