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Vurbal

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  1. Fantasy Hero with 6E

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Fantasy Hero with 6E

     

    At this point that seems unlikely. Our Fantasy Hero settings have done OK' date=' but not really well enough that we're eager to keep doing more things in that vein while we have better projects in the works. But perhaps some day the hankering to write up Aarn will take hold of me strongly enough for me to work on such a book in my spare time. After all, like most Fantasy connoisseurs I've often wanted to take my own crack at Lankhmar. ;)[/quote']

    I don't generally buy settings, but I would make an exception for that.

  4. New to Fantasy Hero

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: New to Fantasy Hero

     

    You might find some value on my site under the "Fantasy" grouping, from bare bones mechanics to concepts to things to consider, many full blown Magic Systems, and also D&D Conversions.

     

    www.killershrike.com

     

    You might also find something of use on my wiki, including the World of Generica material which is designed from the ground up to be a generic and reusable fantasy setting. Currently the Realm of Barbarica is pretty complete and playable as is, and the Realm of Esoterica which is basically a Spelljammer and Planescape mashup is being built out by the day. There are also a number of simplified Magic Systems on the wiki that might suit your comfort level.

     

    www.killershrike.info

    Let me second this suggestion. Killer Shrike's site would almost certainly get you by until the new edition of FH comes out.

  5. New to Fantasy Hero

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: New to Fantasy Hero

     

    Gah!! No I am really torn. Maybe I will just order Turakian Age and start psyching myself up for ten months. Then again, I bought the big release for 2009 and, well....

     

    By the way this has taught me a little something about myself. Until I win the lottery and can score me a Kindle, I am a dedicated tree-killer. I've had the 6E PDFs since Gencon and can't seem to get into reading online. For reference, it's awesome. I have CKC electronic and I like it a lot. For something I intend to read cover to cover, I need the hardcopy.

     

    Thanks for the advice all. I think I am going to need a new book shelf :eek:

    If you're a HD user you might consider buying the FH character pack to supplement The Turakian Age until the 6E FH is available. Obviously it wouldn't be a full replacement for the book, but I believe that would get you all the templates and package deals referenced in The Turakian Age.

  6. What Are You Listening To Right Now?

    in Non-Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

     

    "Not As Much As Football" by Mojo Nixon from Whereabouts Unknown

     

    I love you more than pickup trucks

    I love you more than shootin' ducks

    I love you more than the pool hall

    But not as much as football

     

    I love you more than Richard Petty

    I love you more than spaghetti

    I love you more than meatballs

    But not as much as football

  10. What Are You Listening To Right Now?

    in Non-Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

     

    The new Living Colour album, The Chair In The Doorway. I love how they're able to continually add more and more influences into their music with every album but still sound like themselves. One song on this album ("Behind The Sun") seems heavily U2 influenced and another ("That's What You Taught Me") has a definite Neil Young and Crazy Horse vibe.

  13. What Are You Listening To Right Now?

    in Non-Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

     

    "Nothing but Flowers" is my second favorite Talking Heads song. The first being "This Must Be The Place."

     

    I was a major Talking Heads fan. "Memories Can't Wait" is way up my list too, though I like the Living Colour cover version a little better than the original.

     

    Living Coulour is playing in Seattle this Sunday. Unfortunately, I have to work. That was my favorite band back in the early 90s. :rockon:

     

    Okay, I'll stop segueing now.

    I actually started listening to more Talking Heads because of the Living Colour version of the song. And now that I think about it they should have a new album out now that I need to buy.

  15. Making a master Table Booklet

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Making a master Table Booklet

     

    There is also the issue of trademarks, which would definitely apply to at least those items which carry the name of the game or the system.

     

    Steve Long has commented on the issue of the extent of the distribution, as far as the "harm of sales" goes. If you want a definitive answer you might want to describe exactly what you want to do and for whom; if your players already have the books and you just make them a service by compiling tables they already have, it's a whole other issue than if they get the Table Booklet so they won't have to buy the books.

     

    Only Steve Long or possibly someone else on DOJ can give you a definite answer, and only if you describe your intent and the circumstances, so you might want to put this under Company Questions. Generally, DOJ seem quite friendly and agreeable if you want to do something reasonable, but of course they also want to avoid pirated material floating around the Internet. :)

    The thing about trademarks is that anyone can use them. They just can't use them in a way that someone would be confused into falsely thinking the trademark owner is being represented. That's not always as easy as it sounds, but if you look around for it you might be surprised how often you see it. Even though they technically fall under the umbrella of intellectual property, trademarks are really more of a consumer protection than anything else.

     

    However, in general I agree that the prudent (and fair) thing is to ask for official permission when there's any doubt. There are a lot of things I'm sure I could (legally) do that I wouldn't because a) I don't want to hurt Hero System sales and B) it would be disrespectful to the people who make a living producing the game I love. If DOJ were to decide not to make a resource kit for 6E I would at least make a GM screen style table compilation for myself. I might or might not provide copies to people I game with who already have the book (not an issue now since my players are also my kids). I can't imagine a circumstance under which I would give them to people who haven't bought the book, nor would I distribute it publicly. I hope others feel the same way. Just because something is legal doesn't make it right.

  16. Making a master Table Booklet

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Making a master Table Booklet

     

    Disclaimer: IANAL, just a layman who has studied US copyright code and caselaw exetnsively. This is not intended to be legal advice and isn't a substitute for consulting a lawyer specializing in copyright law.

    reproducing one chart is fine' date=' reproducing ALL of them is another matter.[/quote']

    Maybe or maybe not. It depends partly on what you mean by reproduce. With the exception of copyrighted artwork and the exact wording of some text, most of the content found in the tables of just about any RPG book can't be copyrighted.

    Copyright does not protect the idea for a game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles. Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author’s expression in literary, artistic, or musical form.

     

    Material prepared in connection with a game may be subject to copyright if it contains a sufficient amount of literary or pictorial expression. For example, the text matter describing the rules of the game or the pictorial matter appearing on the gameboard or container may be registrable.

    In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea' date=' procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.[/quote']

    If the table data itself isn't copyrighted, according to the Supreme Court (Feist Publications, Inc v Rural Telephone Service Co) a collection of it (ie the table) is only eligible for copyright protection if it is inobvious or otherwise original. If it's presented in a logical, or in the words of the court "almost inevitable," way, such as alphabetical or numerical arrangement, it's not a copyrighted element when removed from the work as a whole.

     

    You can still run into copyright issues if you simply copy and paste from a PDF instead of re-creating the tables manually because design elements of the book may provide the creative element required for copyright protection. And some tables, such as the one for Physical Complications on (p425 of 6E1), contain blocks of text substantial enough that they almost certainly qualify as copyrighted elements. Others, like the Limitations Summary Table (6E1 p366) include text that may or may not qualify, although the minimal requirements for originality generally cited by the courts lead me to believe they probably do. Unless you rewrite the copyrighted text you would have to justify it as fair use, which no one but a judge can rule on. For tables that are essentially a collection of numbers representing game mechanics, like the Advantages Calculation Table (6E1 p362) or the Speed Quick-Reference Table (6E2 p17), not so much.

  17. Sean style pointlessness! :)

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Sean style pointlessness! :)

     

    My primary concern would be the ability to act on Segment 12 and then the following Segment 1. Since that's normally reserved for characters with a 12 SPD I would use that as a benchmark for Active Points. You obviously don't get all the benefits of the higher SPD so it should be a little lower. My preference would probably be a naked advantage.

     

    Phase Shift: Naked Advantage: May take Phases on any Segment (+3/4) for up to 60 Active Points (45 Active / 45 Real)

     

    I would probably also limit the character to having Phases on a maximum of 3 consecutive Segments.

     

    Phase Shift: Naked Advantage: May take Phases on any Segment (+3/4) for up to 60 Active Points; May not act on more than 3 consecutive Segments (-1/4) (45 Active / 36 Real)

     

    The real problem is that the usefulness depends on the character and campaign as a whole as much as anything.

  18. Making a master Table Booklet

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Making a master Table Booklet

     

    The trick is number 1.

     

    Making a bunch of copies and passing it around your table is not non-profit educational work.

     

    Making a copy to sit in front of you at the game table you're golden. Making 7 copies and handing them out you're on thin ice at best, blatant violation and denial of sales at worst.

     

    But, I doubt anyone will kick down your door and haul you off to court. Just don't advertise to the whole world and company that you're doing it.

    I suspect if it came up in court it wouldn't matter whether you made 1 copy to pass around the table or multiple copies so everyone had one in front of them. Unless it's the difference between players buying the books or not it doesn't really change the character, just the logistics. If everyone already has the books it would probably be fair use. And of course, as you say, it's unlikely anyone will be going after you if you do this for your own game whether it's actually fair use or not.

     

    Having said that, a better way to go might be to re-create the tables from scratch. Although the tables presented in the book are certainly covered by copyright, the contents of tables rarely is. Most of the time the data contained in a table, aside from the wording of particular elements, isn't. Likewise the rules for a game aren't generally covered except when there are trademark issues, but the wording and layout is. If it were me I would probably use HTML/CSS similarly to how HD exports are done. That would avoid most of the legal grey areas. I might give copies to people who have the books and I'd be fine with using multiple copies in-game. Even though it would probably be legal, I would be unlikely to let anyone who didn't own the books have a copy to keep or do anything else with it that would give someone a reason not to buy them. To me the bigger issues are respect for DOJ and a selfish interest in 6E selling as many copies as possible.

  19. Making a master Table Booklet

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Making a master Table Booklet

     

    Fair use is probably the most vague area of US law by a wide margin so the only way to be 100% sure in most cases is to go before a judge. Still, in most cases you should be able to figure out whether you're violating copyright or not. The guidelines (in the US) for fair use are:

     

    1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes

     

    2. The nature of the copyrighted work

     

    3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole

     

    4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

     

    Considering the first 2 together, creating a new work compiling a bunch of tables from a game book that you've paid for in order to facilitate playing that game is using the work for its intended purpose. Number 3 is clearly in your favor since you're using a nearly insignificant amount of the text. Number 4 is pretty simple as well. If there's no reason to believe the work you're creating will be a substitute for buying the copyrighted work it doesn't affect the value at all. Ergo making a document compiling tables for your own use is pretty clearly fair use.

     

    A more important consideration in this case is DOJ's record of being extremely reasonable when it comes to using their PDFs. Post this in the Company Questions forum and I'm sure they'll give you the official okay.

  21. What Are You Listening To Right Now?

    in Non-Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

     

    "Sam Stone" by John Prine from John Prine

     

    Sam Stone came home

    To his wife and family

    After serving in the conflict overseas

    And the time that he served

    Had shattered all his nerves

    And left a little shrapnel in his knee

    But the morphine eased the pain

    And the grass grew round his brain

    And gave him all the confidence he lacked

    With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back

    There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes

    And Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose

    Little pitchers have big ears

    Don't stop to count the years

    Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios

  22. What Are You Listening To Right Now?

    in Non-Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

     

    "The Times They Are A-Changin'" by Bob Dylan from The Times They Are A-Changin'

     

    Come gather 'round people

    Wherever you roam

    And admit that the waters

    Around you have grown

    And accept it that soon

    You'll be drenched to the bone.

    If your time to you

    Is worth savin'

    Then you better start swimmin'

    Or you'll sink like a stone

    For the times they are a-changin'

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