What I Can and Cannot Reference as a 3PP


Product Discussion

Sczarni RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

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I apologize if this isn't in the correct place for this question.

I was working on a couple of projects that involved material from the Player Companion line and decided to make sure that should they be printed by a third party publisher everything was okay as long as I referenced the sources correctly. This would, of course, include proper referencing in the section 15.

When I looked up the Compatibility License though I noticed that there was a very specific list under Exhibit B: List of Products which May Be Referenced.

Am I not allowed to reference material not on Exhibit B? For example, am I not allowed to use or reference material found in the Player Companion: Adventurer's Armory, such as an item that is only found in that book?

Would I need to contact someone and gain special permission for books not included on that list, including other 3PP products?

How would I check to see if a particular product can or cannot be referenced?

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

CalebTGordan wrote:

I apologize if this isn't in the correct place for this question.

I was working on a couple of projects that involved material from the Player Companion line and decided to make sure that should they be printed by a third party publisher everything was okay as long as I referenced the sources correctly. This would, of course, include proper referencing in the section 15.

When I looked up the Compatibility License though I noticed that there was a very specific list under Exhibit B: List of Products which May Be Referenced.

Am I not allowed to reference material not on Exhibit B? For example, am I not allowed to use or reference material found in the Player Companion: Adventurer's Armory, such as an item that is only found in that book?

Would I need to contact someone and gain special permission for books not included on that list, including other 3PP products?

How would I check to see if a particular product can or cannot be referenced?

From what I understand, you cannot reference anything that is not on that list in any third-party publication. It's one of the biggest headaches I've had when writing for a 3PP, and one of the main reasons that I put a lot of effort into becoming a Paizo freelancer... there's so much more freedom as far as what you can reference and use.

Now, much of the content in the non-reference-able books is still OGL content, so while you can't reference it, you could probably reprint the rules content of it, if you're comfortable with that. If it's an item, I personally would probably do so. If it were an archetype, I would probably just avoid it, come up with your own version of the archetype that is significantly different, and publish that, then reference it in your future publications.

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A LAWYER, THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, CONSULT A LAWYER FOR ANY ACTUAL LEGAL ADVICE PERTAINING TO PAIZO'S LEGAL RIGHTS AS A COMPANY.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

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Full Round Action summon Liz Courts


Robert Brookes wrote:
Full Round Action summon Liz Courts

Dude... summons are one-round typically. She can't show up until the start of your next turn.


Basically, you can create content for mechanics - new feats, classes, archetypes, etc., and you can create new setting material. However, you cannot use Golarian setting material, or any supplement that directly supports or adds to Golarian content. You cannot make new material for Golarian - that's for Paizo developers only.

You can support 3PP material, as long as you use the same additions to the license that the 3PP material supports, with your own extension of the license.

I'm a freelancer for Rite Publishing, and we've used content created by other 3PP that we added to and included in some of our material.

Otherwise follow the rules on the Compatibility license - to the letter.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Anguish wrote:
Robert Brookes wrote:
Full Round Action summon Liz Courts
Dude... summons are one-round typically. She can't show up until the start of your next turn.

Summoning a Lilith requires a little extra love and care!

Sczarni RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

This is helpful. Thank you.

Just to provide some possible scenarios as example of what I am looking at:

1) Someone has an archetype gain proficiency with two weapons that are both found in books not mentioned in Exhibit B. Can we reference those items, as in use their name and mention where to find them? Or would we need to cut that?

2) I did want to expand and do something with regents, a whole set of alternative rules in the Player Companion: Alchemy Manual. Is that something that we could legally do? If so, what would we need to make sure we did?

3) I would like to mention or even reprint a feat is in The Dungeoneer's Handbook, the Torchbearer feat. If not reprint than I would at least like to add to the number of torchbearer archetypes available to use. Can I do that?

4) I am working on a line of PDFs that present magic shops. Some of the ideas are adapted from the Magical Market's line, (patronage and barter, for example,) but have been altered, expanded, or rewritten. I am not copying anything directly or making any direct references, but it is similar in some respects to the Player Companion book. Do I need to worry?

Webstore Gninja Minion

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*arrives in a cloud of brimstone, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon-scented smoke*
Alrighty. Let's clear up a few things.


  • You can use material designated as Open Game Content from our products—this includes many many different titles well beyond what's listed in Exhibit B of the Pathfinder Compatibility License.
  • You cannot use proper names in your material, but you can use the mechanics. For example, you can use the Red Mantis Assassin prestige class—you just cannot call it that. It would have to be Red Lotus Assassin or something like that.
  • Exhibit B is a list of products that you can freely reference by name in your product—but please use the FULL name of the product as it's listed there. It's "Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Combat" not "Ultimate Combat" or "Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat." Full name, no exceptions (and no page number references, either). Note that the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box and Strategy Guide are not on this list—this is deliberate.

And time for some examples!

  • "Man, the river druid archetype is really awesome. That would work perfectly for that undine I had in mind for that encounter." My statblock line would read "Male undine druid (river druid) 10." I cannot reference this product by name in any of the product's text or ad copy. I am required to take the Section 15 statement of Pathfinder Player Companion: People of the River and add it to the Section 15 OGL statement for Liz's Awesome River Adventures, as per the requirements of the Open Gaming License.
  • "Oh man, Festering Ulunat is an awesome name, I wanna add it to my adventure!" Nnnnnope. Proper names are considered Product Identity, and you can't use the name. Mechanics are a different story, and mechanics are frequently declared as Open Game Content. So yes, you can use the statblock, you'll just come up with a new name...although this is kind of a "meh" solution, IMO, and not the best foot forward for a writer to take, especially when you can't explicitly state the source of the mechanics in the text.
  • "Wait, so how can I reference the fact that I got stuff from books not included in Exhibit B?" Well...this is where you're going to have to get creative in your abbreviations, or sacrifice some word count to reprinting mechanics, or hyperlinking to a rules reference site, or... You'll have to figure out a system that works for you.

And as an addendum, I Am Not A Lawyer. I just happen to see a lot of third-party products cross my inbox and by necessity have to look at the Pathfinder Compatibility License frequently. :D

Webstore Gninja Minion

CalebTGordan wrote:
1) Someone has an archetype gain proficiency with two weapons that are both found in books not mentioned in Exhibit B. Can we reference those items, as in use their name and mention where to find them? Or would we need to cut that?

Depends on what the name of the weapon is, but you couldn't reference the product it's from in your text. (You could reprint the relevant rules, though.)

CalebTGordan wrote:
2) I did want to expand and do something with regents, a whole set of alternative rules in the Player Companion: Alchemy Manual. Is that something that we could legally do? If so, what would we need to make sure we did?

Yes, you just can't reference that reagents come from the Alchemy Manual in your product text—but you would have to reference it in your Section 15 statement.

CalebTGordan wrote:
3) I would like to mention or even reprint a feat is in The Dungeoneer's Handbook, the Torchbearer feat. If not reprint than I would at least like to add to the number of torchbearer archetypes available to use. Can I do that?

Yes, you could reprint it, as long as it does not contain Product Identity. Again, update Section 15!

CalebTGordan wrote:
4) I am working on a line of PDFs that present magic shops. Some of the ideas are adapted from the Magical Market's line, (patronage and barter, for example,) but have been altered, expanded, or rewritten. I am not copying anything directly or making any direct references, but it is similar in some respects to the Player Companion book. Do I need to worry?

Section 15 again is your friend.


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- You cannot reference (see Awesome Book #1) anything by Paizo that is not on the Exhibit B list. But that doesn't mean you cannot use that information.

Let's say for example I am working on Heroes of the Middle Kingdoms and I have an aasimar-like race in it and I want them to be able to select the Blinding Light feat.

I cannot say in my text:

XXXXXXXXX may also select the Blinding Light feat (see Player's Companion: Blood of Angels) even though they are not an aasimar.

But what I can do is... include the text of the Blinding Light feat itself.

Blinding Light
You use your impenetrable luminescence to disorient harbingers of darkness.
Prerequisites: Inner Light, aasimar, daylight spell-like ability.
Benefit: Whenever an enemy unsuccessfully attempts to counter or dispel your daylight spell-like ability, it must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Charisma modifier) or become blinded for 1 round as its mind is overwhelmed with celestial light. This is a supernatural mind-affecting effect.

As it is a piece of game mechanics and according to the Open Content declaration on p.1. It also doesn't contain any product identity (as defined on p. 1) so I don't need to adjust it if I don't want to.

When I build my section 15 I must include the section 15 from Blood of Angels as well so my section 15 would have:

Section 15
(what is required by the Compatibility License if I want to claim compatibility)
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Inc.; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
The Book of Experimental Might. Copyright 2008, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.
Tome of Horrors. Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors: Scott Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin Baase, Casey Christofferson, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original content from TSR.
(what is located in Blood of Angels)
Open Game License v 1.0a © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc; Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Angels © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Amber E. Scott.
(any other sources I use)
(my copyright for my book of awesome)

Generally Section 15s are edited to remove repeated items.


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Curses, beaten by Liz.

Sczarni RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

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Thank You everyone! Much love sent out for helping me figure this out.

When I next meet Liz I will have to present cookies.


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Yes, I may have to buy Paizo-Con tickets. But only if Liz will be there so we may all may make offerings of cookies and Eggnog.

Also, thank you all very much. I just finished sourcing art and besides that all I had left was writing my section 15 to finish my first project and go on to start a Kickstarter. So, this set of posts is a great help to me.

Good luck Caleb!


So, as I understand it, this makes it difficult to tell readers where to find material that's referenced if you don't want to go ahead and reprint it in the book. Is that the intention? Is it best practice to reprint things that you reference just so it's easy for the reader? Or just leave the reader to figure out where a referenced item is from, either by searching online or going line-by-line through the OGL at the end of the book?

Webstore Gninja Minion

SteelDraco wrote:
So, as I understand it, this makes it difficult to tell readers where to find material that's referenced if you don't want to go ahead and reprint it in the book. Is that the intention?

I don't know if that was the intention, but that's how it's worked out in practice if you didn't want to waste word count on copy/pasting mechanics.

SteelDraco wrote:
Is it best practice to reprint things that you reference just so it's easy for the reader?

I have followed the practice of "reprinting all mechanics" when I have done my freelancing in the past (which has led me to avoid some mechanical choices to avoid eating too much of my word count). "Best" or not is relative, but I know as a GM, I like having them reprinted and handy.

SteelDraco wrote:
Or just leave the reader to figure out where a referenced item is from, either by searching online or going line-by-line through the OGL at the end of the book?

Most readers don't go through the OGL, so it's not an ideal solution for that particular reason. If you're creating a PDF, you *can* hyperlink to the relevant product (or to a rules reference website).


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Gotcha. I had considered linkifying the text, but that tends to look a little off-putting when reading a PDF, in my experience.

Thanks for the further clarification, Liz. Much appreciated.


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Robert Brookes wrote:
Full Round Action summon Liz Courts
Liz Courts wrote:
*arrives in a cloud of brimstone, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon-scented smoke*

I so want co-workers that show up when summoned. Can I get a copy of yer spellbook?

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