posting/distributing stuff for campaign use

[secretID]

Hi. I will soon be running at least one module in a play-by-post game on Hero Central, and I'm looking for advice/permission/whatever for posting maps and other handouts designed for player viewing. I know nothing relevant about copyrights.

 

So:

Can I post such stuff w/in the campaign threads?

If so, do I need to include some kind of statement?

Do I need explicit permission first, and how would I get it?

If none of that will work or it will be too cumbersome, what about just emailing it to the players?

 

Thanks.

[Steve Long]

Re: posting/distributing stuff for campaign use

 

If it's all your own creation, you can post it freely (in fact, you're even encouraged to). For example, many people publish villains, monsters, spell lists, or what have you that they've 100% created on their own.

 

If it's our creation -- stuff you're taking directly out of our books -- or your own take on our creation (e.g., your slightly rewritten version of Mechanon), you can't post it without our permission, and I can tell you right now you almost certainly won't get our permission. We can't make any money if we let people give our stuff away.

[secretID]

Re: posting/distributing stuff for campaign use

 

I suspected the answer might be something like that. Do you have any suggestions as to how I may share with the players the materials that are intended to be shared - e.g., maps, obviously, and the police reports in Shades of Black - the kind of thing that the GM would share with the players at the table? What about email direct to them?

[Steve Long]

Re: posting/distributing stuff for campaign use

 

As long as it's for your own personal use, we don't care if you e-mail them or what have you (especially in the case of things obviously intended to be shared). We just don't want lots of our stuff posted online for anyone to grab for free.