I just sent to the site today to read a little while I was relaxing and just to find this:
All files withdrawn at the request of Wizards of the Coast.
It's too bad...that was a great reference site for 3.5 material.
Some of the files did have too much information, but many of them were ways to locate monster/feat/class variant X/etc. I am wondering why they took so long to take it down. The site was never a secret, and had many links to it coming from the WoTC boards.
I don't know if saying Monster X is in book __, page ___ is against any copyright laws, but it seems silly to block those, but then again I guess WoTc figured it was easier to say take it all down than it is to look at each file individually.
The site actually sold a couple of books for them, but since they are not selling 3.5 anymore I guess it is not helping them now.
I don't know if saying Monster X is in book __, page ___ is against any copyright laws,
It's not. Hopefully Crystal Keep puts those types of files back up posthaste.
Very unfortunate news, in any case.
That is very very sad news indeed.
Mind you this is just MY opinion but it seems to me that wizards will not be satisfied until everything 3/3.5 is removed to try and force people to play 4th ed.
No I do NOT intend to start a flame war and yes I do own a 4th ed book it is simply my observation.
I tried to find something on Crystalkeep the other day and realized they took the files down. But, I went to Canonfire and found the info I wanted on the Wiki.
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Mind you this is just MY opinion but it seems to me that wizards will not be satisfied until everything 3/3.5 is removed to try and force people to play 4th ed.
Then they will forever be unsatisified as the SRD will always be out there and 3.5 books are too - and being traded on Ebay as well (and somewhat in demand judging by the price PHBs go for).
A company can never force people to play a game, hopefully the people at WotC are smart enough to realise that.
It's even worse than that. They kill off 3rd edition stuff even if they DON'T try to sell 4th edition stuff, which they gave up on a little while ago.
What other good sites have been shut down or neutered like this, out of curiosity?
I'm familiar with the Ema's fiasco, but was curious if there was a bunch of others...
I'm familiar with the Ema's fiasco...
I wasn't. Where can I find more info about that, as this is the first I've heard?
I'm familiar with the Ema's fiasco...I wasn't. Where can I find more info about that, as this is the first I've heard?
Offhand, I can't point you to direct links, but the gist was that Ema's was producing power cards that WotC felt treaded on their IP and trade dress, and after some discussion, the entire site was downed.
I hadn't been there for a while, and hadn't seen the 4E power cards, but apparently, they looked identical to the WotC-sold cards, so in this particular case, that's a big violation.
Sucks to see the entire website toasted, though.
I'm familiar with the Ema's fiasco...I wasn't. Where can I find more info about that, as this is the first I've heard?Offhand, I can't point you to direct links, but the gist was that Ema's was producing power cards that WotC felt treaded on their IP and trade dress, and after some discussion, the entire site was downed.
I hadn't been there for a while, and hadn't seen the 4E power cards, but apparently, they looked identical to the WotC-sold cards, so in this particular case, that's a big violation.
Sucks to see the entire website toasted, though.
I read about it, I just didn't realize it was Ema's.
From what I read, the problem was that the cards on the site were word-for-word reprints of info found in WotC books. WotC was obviously not happy about that.
Uh, Crystal Keep has always been very much in the darker side of grey morality, and it's always been WotC's right to give them a cease and desist for some incredibly borderline activity.
Rather then angst about them taking it down, you should be thanking WotC for letting it stay up through the entirety of 3.x. TSR would've shut them down on the spot.
well fortunately for me, I did manage to get the PDFs before it went down. Saves us tons of time in our games and we've actually been out looking for 3.5 books we need.
I guess some people will champion WoTC no matter what they do. C'est la vie.
Personally, I never cared for Crystal Keep, I always thought their information was a pain to sort through, but I've used it on multiple occasions and I'm sorry to see that they've been forced to take it down.
Guess they were loosing out money on their pdf sales due to Crystal Keep, since they're competing so fiercely and all.
What kind of bizarro world do we live in where "You probably shouldn't decry them as the Great Satan" turns into championing them?
Oh, right.
Nerds.
They weren't losing money on pdf sales or anything silly like that. Crystal Keep was insanely on the "NOT SO LEGAL" side of copyright laws. That's it. That's the entire thing. That's the whole shebang. It's not about WotC personally hating you or wanting to DESTROY 3e or worried that their sales are going to go down or anything stupid like that. Crystal Keep was walking the line of legal and illegal so a cease and desist was sent out.
What is the difference between the PFSRD and Crystal keep?
What is the difference between the PFSRD and Crystal keep?
Crystal Keep had a lot of non-SRD/OGL material on it. It had the full stats for every base class as just one of the things it provided.
What is the difference between the PFSRD and Crystal keep?Crystal Keep had a lot of non-SRD/OGL material on it. It had the full stats for every base class as just one of the things it provided.
It was probably the main offender, and was actually the first document to become unavailable. The other ones followed a few months after...
While I found it extremely practical (especially to 'gauge' a class form a book I didn't own), I agree that it was pushing the boundaries of copyright laws a bit far.
What is the difference between the PFSRD and Crystal keep?Crystal Keep had a lot of non-SRD/OGL material on it. It had the full stats for every base class as just one of the things it provided.
Yeah, but the PFSRD also has the full stats for every base class too.
Yeah, but the PFSRD also has the full stats for every base class too.What is the difference between the PFSRD and Crystal keep?Crystal Keep had a lot of non-SRD/OGL material on it. It had the full stats for every base class as just one of the things it provided.
...No, it has the full stats for every core base class that is OGL. It doesn't have stats for classes from Complete Warrior or from issues of Dragon that are not OGL. That's what Crystal Keep had. That's why it was illegal. It had non-OGL materials on it.
Crystal Keep was insanely on the "NOT SO LEGAL" side of copyright laws.
Well, hang on now. Remember that game rules are exempted from copyright restrictions in the U.S., so they had a leg to stand on.
Crystal Keep was walking the line of legal and illegal so a cease and desist was sent out.
That's more like it; I certainly agree that they were in a grey area that probably wasn't worth going to court over.