Jon Chambers's page

I am developing a new RPG system, but given that Pathfinder is my favourite so far, I fear I may inadvertently use IP or something copyrighted, leaving myself open for litigation.

I don't actually intend to compete with Pathfinder. On the contrary, I seek to promote Pathfinder. I want to be able to state that I am a fan of Pathfinder, built a game that took inspiration from Pathfinder and even use Pathfinder as a point of reference when describing what makes my game so new and different.

My game, is essentially Pathfinder, without any complex character creation or combat. It's almost the opposite of the Beginner Box. All the huge open world player driven narrative that the beginner box lacks, my game has. All the combat, game play, minis and maps that the Beginner Box has, my game lacks.

This means my game will get potential Pathfinder players into the hobby by teaching them how to play a character and think outside the box, rather than teaching them about turn based combat, status effects, hit points and tactical positioning.

This allows people to experience a deeper, more enjoyable higher level of play that most Pathfinder players don't experience until their 4th or 5th session if they're lucky. I even want to include something to the effect of "If you enjoyed this game, but wished that combat was more detailed and provided you with more interesting and tactical choices than a single skill check, buy a copy of Pathfinder." Then possibly a guide to help them choose if the Beginner Box or the Core Rulesbook is more appropriate for them.

So, I'd like to hear the usual rules for Copyright and Intellectual Property, and given the potential free marketing opportunity I'm presenting you with, I'd like to get in touch with someone who has the authority to relax the usual rules and grant special permission to use certain things provided I make it clear that I am merely a fan of Paizo, and that Paizo is in no other way connected with my product.

Can someone help me get my head around this? The charter that comes later in the game, serious cash money for taking out a fortress, awesome. But the first charter of the game, thematically, I don't get it. "I hereby give you permission to explore a bandit ridden forest," seems to be the gist of it, and every time I read through it I always think, "and the payment is...?"

Yes, there is lots of treasure and what-not hidden in the stolen lands, and the commission to come later makes the first commission worth while and XP is a currency of its self, which the exploration gives, etc.

However, this is not my question. My question is, what good is a charter that gives permission to enter a dangerous forest? Can't that be done without a charter?

I'm sure I'm missing something. There is no way a campaign that is otherwise perfectly water-tight can have such a gaping hole. What did I miss? I'm confused.