Are you considering publishing under the Infinite programs? Do you have questions about what you can and cannot use? Are you unsure about where the limits lie? Check out what one reader called "Gamemasters' Guides for the Real World." These guides introduce American intellectual property law and how it operates in the roleplaying game design arena. Right now there is an overview of USA intellectual property law, advice on hiring your attorney (which I am not), and a deeper dive on the difference between publishing under an open gaming license that covers some sections of the OGL (the same one used when producing third-party products for Dungeons and Dragons and for Pathfinder). Once DriveThruRPG/One Book Shelf and Paizo release the full text of the Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite Community Content Agreements, I'll be releasing a follow up product that covers the details of those specific licenses, too.
Disclaimer: these guides are meant to be general and educational in nature. They do not apply the law to your specific situation. Events in your situation may--and likely do--change how the law might apply to your particular project. I AM NOT YOUR ATTORNEY. If you have questions about your specific situation, I refer you to the second guide listed below, Attorney Hiring Tips, the contents of which should be pretty self-evident.
Intellectual Property in RPGs ($4.99/Pay What You Will) This guide covers the very basics of the USA's intellectual property law, as applied to roleplaying games. The guide covers copyrights, trademarks, patents, and how they apply in the RPG world. The guide then goes over a few types of pre-existing material that creators can leverage in their own creations without incurring legal liability, such as stock characters and publicly-licensed content.
It's PWYW because I want this to be for everybody. If you grab a free copy, please take the time to rate or review it!, I published it on DriveThruRPG.com as a Pay What You Will Product. It's been reasonably popular. This is my original post from the the r/RPGdesign subreddit (here) in the spring, reformatted and updated to be more user-friendly. Because the underlying content here is publicly available and because I believe that game designers deserve a good primer on interacting with the law, this product will always be a Pay What You Will title. That said, one of the best ways motivators that I have for publishing future products is the success of my current products. So, if you are in a position where you can spare $5, send it my way. It'll get reinvested in a future guide. I'm not making money off of these things!
Attorney Hiring Tips (FREE) This guide presents some of the things I would consider when looking for professional representation as a game designer. One of the few ways a lawyer can provide legal advice without accidentally forming an attorney-client relationship is by advising someone on tips and tricks for choosing their attorney. I'd feel pretty bad telling people to pay me for tips on how they can pay someone else (though, to be fair, I also have a few tips on how you might find pro bono representation), so this product will always be a completely free title.
Publishing Under an Open Game License: Pros and Cons ($7.99) This guide expands on my Intellectual Property for RPG Designers guide, exploring what it means to publish under a license. It contains a section-by-section review of the Wizards of the Coast Open Gaming License 1.0. If you are an RPG designer considering whether to publish under the OGL or under base intellectual property principles, this guide offers a basic exploration of the top-level issues.
Will Paizo or OBS/DriveThru be making a copy of the Community Content Agreement public before Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite launch on Oct. 13?
Normally when you publish under a Community Content Creator program for One Book Shelf/DriveThruRPG, you're asked to verify that you meet the terms of the Community Content Agreement for that program (DMsGuild, Cypher, etc.) when you upload your title. Since Pathfinder Infinite isn't active yet, there's not a way to view the Agreement. I know that y'all have done a great job putting out FAQs, but I'd like to make sure that what I'm doing meets all the terms of the agreement before I invest a significant amount of time into it.
I...do not understand how these three can be the points of contact for this issue.
I'm not going to comment on the merit of the accusations that have been leveled against several Paizo staff because I don't know whether they are meritorious or not. But Jeff, Erik, and Tonya are all highly implicated by those accusations. Establishing a point of contact that's not also implicated in a scandal should be one of the first things Paizo does if it intends to have any credibility in responding to the situation. If there is merit to any of the accusations, that's like having the fox guarding the henhouse!
Paizo, I would suggest that you switch these points of contact out for either your PR team or your legal team (in house or outside).
It’s been awhile since I’ve had to draft a crisis communication, but here’s what it should have said as far as I am concerned:
What the statement should have said:
Recently, three long-time employees parted ways with the Paizo family. Paizo as a whole is sad for this loss, but these decisions were made with the best interests of Paizo, Pathfinder, Starfinder, and our fan community in mind. After those departures became public, several allegations were laid down by other former employees. I and the rest of the Paizo family am saddened by these statements. Many of them predate my time at the helm of the company, but leadership is about addressing matters as they stand rather than fighting about how or why they arose.
For legal reasons, I cannot speak publicly to these personnel issues or to other issues that might be the subject of future litigation. However, even Paizo’s detractors publicly admit that our company’s history shows a dedication to diversity and inclusion both in our hiring practices and through representation in our published products. We continue to aspire to those ideals and our future products will continue to reflect them. Everyone fails to live up to their ideals, but that does not excuse attempts to atone for past misdeeds or mean we should not attempt to create a better, more welcoming, and healthy work environment for our employees--whatever may have happened in the past.
Paizo’s employees are our company’s lifeblood and we could not exist without them. Internally, we must have a clear picture of the current state of affairs if we are to improve. For that reason, Paizo has retained [insert name of outside law/consulting/etc. firm here] to conduct an internal investigation into our company and its culture, focusing on worker health and safety. Because a creative company lives or dies on the comfort of its creative talent, they will also be empowered to investigate company culture.
I have asked them to investigate all of these matters and deliver a report—including recommendations for improvement—to me. Paizo staff will be able to speak to these issues to outside investigators anonymously and without fear of reprisal. After they deliver their report, a group of Paizo employees including Publisher Erik Mona, myself, and cross-sectional representatives from all of Paizo’s departments (including non-management employees) will review those recommendations and come to consensus on a course of action. When we have done so, we will report on those planned actions to our public fanbase.
I remind you that just because something was said does not mean it is true. I ask that our fans have patience with us while we investigate this matter and bear with us while we get to the bottom of the issue. In the meantime, Paizo will continue to publish the groundbreaking and revolutionary content as we have done for two decades.
My office door is open to any Paizo employee that would like to raise these issues. In an effort to be transparent with our fanbase, I ask that public inquiries be directed through our media department, ideally as a response to this message, so as to not overwhelm our media department.
- [Signature]
But, I'm not internal to Paizo, so I may not know everything going on...
Following up on the primal dragon question, one of my players wants to be a Draconic sorcerer tied to a primal dragon. I was thinking the easiest way to do that would be to update the Draconic bloodline by mixing it with the Elemental bloodline (since it is primal).
Spell list: arcane to primal
Bloodline Skills: Arcana to Nature; keep Intimidation
Granted Spells: Keep existing Draconic spells that are on both primal and arcane lists; for Draconic bloodline spells not on primal list adopt the granted spells from the Elemental bloodline (letting the chosen energy type be the same as the primal dragon's breath weapon)
Bloodline Spells and Bloodline Magic: Stay the same
Does this seem fair/not gamebreaking?
Home game and I am GM, so I know I can allow anything. But, I try to remember that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should... And, if this qualifies as asking you to do design, my apologies in advance!
I mean, I'm do have almost every starfinder ap so I'm very aware of this. Part I'm confused about is "why is it still being posted in blog and included in backmatter at same time?" Like, gm doesn't really need separate player's guide if its included in a blog
I'm fairly sure the question being asked here is this (and if it's not, it is also my question, so I'd still appreciate a response:
Given that the Player's Guide is being offered for free online, it appears that these pages are superfluous to the printed product purchased by the GM and could be better utilized by including different backmatter content that is not redundant to a free Player's Guide PDF.
I recognize that there's some value to making the document accessible both ways (for starters, doing both lets GMs avoid copyright infringement for copying or printing the Player's Guide out of the back of the book). But, now that the Player's Guide is being made available for direct download (a la a PF AP Player's Guide), has there been consideration to going all the way with SF Player's Guides? By "going all the way" I mean making a product page for the SF AP Player's Guide to make it more accessible to future users? That would allow replacing the now redundant content with something else in the actual printed AP volume/AP PDF.
I suspect the answer is, "Yes, we've considered it, but have made the decision not to take this action at this time." And, that's fine. Paizo just made a big change to the Adventure Toolbox backmatter beginning with this AP, so there's already some experimenting going on. And Paizo might not want to muck up the results of one product experiment by jumping in with a second one running at the same time. But would you mind clarifying, Aaron?
It might or might not be the right forum to suggest new products, but I agree on the combo bindings of the old adventures. This might be somewhere that Paizo could work with a vendor like DriveThruRPG for a print on demand option (or another POD vendor--I just know DTRPG does that). Even something that's just the six 96-page softcovers printed back to back would be a really great option!
On the subject of Kingmaker, you've been the development lead on all three of the AP rerelease compilations. Do you prefer to chart new ground by putting a new AP together or do you enjoy the process of smoothing off the rough edges (not that there usually are many!) of a previously released AP?
Paizo staff have hinted that Bestiary 3 completes the "core" of Bestiary books and that a new approach to monster books is coming. What will this look like? Should we expect themed books that include player options, setting material/GM-based rules, items, and related monsters? Something else? Is that what the Mwangi Expanse book will look like? If so, what does that mean for crossover between the Rulebook and Lost Omens lines?
I have seriously been dying to find out the answer to this question since Erik Mona alluded to this during GenCon last year and Mark Seifter's interview on Know Direction this winter only whetted my appetite more!
Thanks for taking the time to answer everyone's questions on this thread. I enjoy reading your answers even when I'm not asking questions.
I've been running a homebrew campaign with heavy four elements themes. One of my players expand their role to investigate Outer Dark mysteries. I'm actually thrilled because "monsters from the dark between the stars" is a great additional theme because the "world" is actually a planetoid-sized spaceship (unbeknownst to the PCs)! I've settled on adding some Nyarlathotep elements in his role as encouraging finding forbidden knowledge/unearthing dark secrets (aka that they are hitching a ride on a planet-sized spaceship). But, I'd like to find ways to blend the themes if possible.
Has Paizo released any products with Outer God/Elder God/Lovecraftian or Dominion of the Black monsters or themes that tie in well with the four elements. If not, do you have any quick and dirty advice for how to blend the two?
Because you like all posts to have questions, thank you in advance for your thoughts.
Nothing like putting up a customer service post to get the actual Post to make a delivery! It's arrived; I'm very excited! You can close this one as a success as soon as you open it.
I hope this finds you well. I'm writing about my order, which lists as having shipped on January 20, 2021. It's a subscription order, so I'm pretty attuned to regular shipping times. Packages from Paizo generally take 2 days, so I expected it on January 22. However, it still has not arrived by today, which is January 26. Could you please look into what's happened and whether a shipping label was generated but the package wasn't actually placed into transportation?
Feel free to contact me via this thread or via email (or phone, if it's tied to my account, though I'm not typing it on a public message board) if you have any questions.
Thank you for giving us this update. I really appreciate Paizo's willingness to put this information forward and keep lines of communication open. Y'all are a wonderful company. I'm sorry to hear that distribution channels are shut down at the moment. I hope that your employees are safe and that you are able to resume operations with a minimum of headaches for them and for Paizo when it's safe for them to return to work.
Thank you for being forthright with your customers and putting your employees' well-being first! I join everyone else in saying I'm sad things have come to this, but I support your decisions to respond as you have. Please stay safe.
Gov. Inslee's Order exempts warehouse workers from the stay at home requirement. Paizo's banner still states that its warehouse is operating--hopefully in a manner that allows its workers to practice social distancing. Is this the case?
I ask because I am expecting a subscription shipment and am trying to make decisions regarding how to handle both this month's shipment and those going forward until we return to a new normal--whatever that may be.
In the meantime, I want to salute you for your decisions to prioritize employee wellness over corporate profits. We are all in this together and Paizo's response is another great reason to support the company.
I want to thank the folks at Paizo for everything you're doing through this process. I especially appreciate the updates on the separate customer service thread. Since that one is locked, I figured I'd say thank you here!
Ummm...this looks AWESOME! But, there's no way any of my PCs will have a level 9 character before the special happens this summer. Is there any plan to have a higher level pre-gen for this scenario?
Thank you for keeping us apprised about what's going on! It's really nice to understand what is causing the delays. Hope that the rest of the board joins me in expressing my appreciation for you and your entire team! After all, without y'all, there would be no shipments to receive!
Put me down for +1 on team get map folios their own subscription. I have a great love for cartography, but have not cared for the map folio line for some time. Lost Omens line has an opportunity to be something new--release the map folio albatross that weighed down the PF1 campaign setting line!
First of all, y'all really knocked it out of the park with everything in 2E. I am really loving it!
I've got a question about Norgorber's permitted alignments. I'm considering creating an alchemist character that will then take a cleric dedication feat in service to Norgorber in his role as Blackfingers. But, I couldn't do that without making my character evil. Can you suggest an alternative deity so I could have a good or neutral alchemist/cleric of alchemy character? I was thinking Nethys, but that seemed off too, with 2E's strong division between magic and alchemy.
Thank you again--I've already read through Lost Omens World Guide and can't wait to see the rest of the changes for Golarion as the line progresses!
This was a very welcome email yesterday and y'all are handling this issue very well. Thanks to everybody at Paizo for the thoughtfulness you've put into this issue. Overall, this is a fantastic solution for people and I really appreciate that y'all have come up with an option that rewards dedication to the games.
Thanks John! They’ve played part of Into the Unknown. But, I thought it would be fun to expose them to some of the other scenarios y’all have done that really highlight that science fantasy encompasses space stations, starships, and aliens. But, it can also encompass reality television, pop stars, and so much more than people default to when they hear sci-fi or fantasy.
I have a group of newcomers to the game and we are playing a few scenarios before the special at GenCon. Will playing this beforehand spoil stuff from the special?
In Know Direction 182, Mark Seifter talked about how you and Mark Moreland worked with the design team to create the four new types of magic for PF2 on a physical vs. mental axis and another axis I'm forgetting right now.
On the show, Mark said that they're not planning on talking about the two axes and how they interact in the playtest or in the PF2 core. But, I'm fascinated. How did you first think of categorizing magic into four different types across two axes? Does the type of magic used play into decisions you made for lore about Golarion?
I made this order, but it hasn't shipped yet. I made it before my June subscription order was generated. I wanted to give it some time before I asked y'all to check in to it. Would you mind taking a look? Thank you!
I’m great with goblins as a Core PC race. Times change, players change, and Paizo has every right to move forward with their game.
PF2 looks to be so much fun. I'm loving listening to the Glass Cannon Podcast playtest and loving most of what I'm seeing coming out both in terms of mechanics and flavor. And, I’m not terribly worried about including goblins as a core PC race. But, IF goblins are going to be included, I have some concerns with the way the actual quoted text from the PF2 rulebook depicts goblins.
Jason Bulmahn’s Blog Post wrote:
As a people, goblins have spent millennia feared, maligned, and even hunted—and sometimes for understandable reasons, as some rural goblin tribes still often direct cruelty, raiding, and mayhem toward wandering or vulnerable creatures. In recent decades, however, a new sort of hero has emerged from among these rough-and-tumble tribes. Such goblins bear the same oversized heads, pointed ears, red eyes, and jagged teeth of their crueler kin, but they have a noble or savvy streak that other goblins can't even imagine, let alone understand.
Considering the vast conflicts that exist in America today between rural and urban populations, I have some concerns that a publisher based in America that (presumably) wants to market to both urban and rural customers would choose to draw the equation that:
2E’s Implied Statements Via the Goblin Ancestry wrote:
Rural = cruel, comfortable with raiding, engaged in mayhem
the concept of civilized races versus savage races is, believe it or not, incredibly racist!
The concept of civilized portions of one “race” versus savage portions of that same “race” is (believe it or not) EXACTLY racist, in the real world. Because that is what racism literally is: one portion of a race, homo sapiens, deciding that another group of homo sapiens were somehow less.
Even if the “race” here is a purely fictional construction, the depiction sets up a dichotomy where the “civilized” “race” of goblins is somehow better than the “savage” race of goblins.
I’d prefer that we try and avoid statements that imply that the rural goblins are somehow incapable of engaging in “civilized” behavior and that the goblins that will end up being PCs are somehow “noble savages.”
Again, I’m all for including goblins in PF2. I’d just prefer that we stray away from some of the tropes that underpinned colonialism the world over (and that, ironically, now promote urban v. rural conflict in the U.S.). Please work on rewriting this entry such that it avoids these pitfalls.
Paizo is a good company and works hard on these initiatives. I doubt anyone on staff had a light bulb go on above their head and then said, "You know what will really make this 'goblins as a PC thing' really work? Let's bake 19th century racial theory into their descriptions to differentiate the PC goblins from the monster goblins!" But, that interpretation is pretty easily found in the text quoted. Paizo can and (I hope) will do better.
I really like how y'all have started hard-baking Golarion as the assumed campaign setting into the hardcover rules books. Is this likely to continue in the next edition?
\My phone converted my daughter's name "Tatiana" to "That's Yana." My friend suggested that the phrase "That's Yana!" should now mean "Awesome!", "Sweet!", and "Totally Tubular!" I decided I'll be using that in my games. So....
Paris's Starfinder Head Canon wrote:
Yana! is the title of the third single released by Strawberry Machine Cake from their album Triaxian Summer Camp Friends. The titular Yana is a fabulously chic girl who has it all. The group’s millions of mega-fans quickly adopted the name as an expression of everything good and fashionable. Teens everywhere are still saying, "That's Yana!" when they encounter something they like.
This is AMAZING! Thank you bunches. I really, really, really love the CD case!
FWIW, I went with a Swedish band called The Sound of Arrows, which is a little less anime-ish, but a little more in line with my group's musical tastes while still hitting that saccharine note.
Maryland's in the Northeast Region. Virginia's in the Southeast Region. There's a 68 square-mile piece of real estate between them that doesn't have a region. We already can't be a state or elect voting representatives to Congress. Can we please have a Starfinder Society Region?
Paizo, THANK YOU! Not sure if it was this request or just that the order came in two shipments. But, it's coming and I couldn't be more excited! THANK YOU!
