Questions about License Use, Archetypes, Blogs, and Patreon


Community Use


I’m hoping to set up a blog that will be focused on Character Creation and Design, as well as Character Builds for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (PFRPG). I have been looking at the licensing and copyright information on the Paizo website (as it is very important to me as a game designer and video game artist to follow any and all IP restrictions) and have a couple of questions:

a) So long as my blog is not behind a paywall of any kind (and remains publicly accessible), I am under the impression that I operate under the Community Use License. Is this correct?

b) If I later add, for example, a Patreon Page that allows Patrons to make donations to my continuation of the blog but does not lock the access to that blog behind the need to pay, does that then transfer my license to a Pathfinder RPG Compatibility License, or does the license remain Community Use as the actual content is still free?

c) If, for example, a character build I create makes use of a feat, archetype, racial trait, etc. from one of the Player Companion or Pathfinder Campaign Setting books (for this example, let’s say a ratfolk using the Swarm Monger druid archetype from Blood of the Beast), is this prohibited under the Pathfinder RPG Compatibility License? (I am under the assumption it would be allowed using the Community Use License as Blood of the Beast is listed in the community use approved product list).

d) Are feats, archetypes, racial traits, etc. from books that are not on the Community Use Approved Product List completely off limits (for example, the Swamp Poisoner archetype from the new Potions & Poisons Player Companion)?

e) In respect with the abovementioned, what would be the best way to reference abilities used in such archetypes? Would simple mention of the class features (such as in the NPC Codex references on the PRD) and a “see Blood of the Beast”

So, for example, if my blog had something like the following on there, would that be allowed, and if not, what about it is an offending item (Please ignore any errors in the actual math of the build, this is an example that I threw together super fast using an NPC who I'm using in a current campaign and who is likely tweaked with a couple of different rulesets and may possibly have an extra feat or trait or skill, since she was an emergency we-have-a-game-in-an-hour NPC):

----

Ageha (Aggie) Atomo CR: 9
XP: 4,600
Female Kitsune Butterfly Blade (Slayer)
CN Medium Humanoid (Kitsune, Shapechanger)
Init: +6; Senses: Perception: +12 (+17 vs traps), low-light vision

DEFENSES

AC: 24, touch 17, flat-footed 17 (+6 armor, +5 Dex, +2 deflection, +1 toughening) (+3 vs traps)
hp: 120 (10d10+10+10)
Fort +11, Ref +15, Will +7 (+5 vs traps)

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.
Melee: agile butterfly sword +17/+16/+12/+11 (1d8+6/19-20, x2)
Ranged: mwk light crossbow +16 (1d8/19-20, x2)
Special Attacks: studied stalker, butterfly's kiss (Fort DC 20, unconscious 1d6 rounds), change shape (human, fox), enforcer, vulpine pounce

Spell-Like Abilities (CL Caster Level):

1/day- aura of the unremarkable (DC 20)

STATISTICS

Str: 8, Dex: 20, Con: 12, Int: 14, Wis: 8, Cha: 18
Base Atk: +10/+5; CMB: +9; CMD: 26
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Butterfly Sword), Fox Shape, Two-Weapon Fighting, Enforcer, Realistic Likeness, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Swift Kitsune Shapechanger, Iron Will, Vulpine Pounce

Skills: Acrobatics +18, Bluff +17, Diplomacy +14, Disable Device +23, Disguise +17 (+37 appear human or fox), Intimidate +17, Knowledge (local) +16, Knowledge (nobility) +12, Perception +12 (+17 vs traps), Profession (bodyguard) +12, Stealth +18

Languages: Common, Aklo, Sylvan, Celestial, Elven, Dwarven, Gnome
SQ: trapfinding, trapspotter, butterfly's kiss, realistic likeness (any human or fox),

Combat Gear: oil of lead blades x5, potion of cat's grace x5, potion of cure light wounds x5,
Other Gear: agile butterfly sword (2); +2 mithral chain shirt, ring of eloquence (Common, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome)

FOX FORM

AC: 22, touch 21, flat-footed 13 (+2 size, +7 Dex, +2 deflection, +1 toughening) (+3 vs traps)
Melee: bite +17 (1d3 - 2)
Str: 6, Dex: 24, Con: 12, Int: 14, Wis: 8, Cha: 18

-------------

Thank you very much for your responses! As mentioned before, maintaining IP is very important to my work ethic and I want to be sure that I am complying with all Paizo regulations before I get started!

~ Asara

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Get a lawyer. I mean, an actual one, not some ambulance chasing hack who trolls RPG forums at night...


The FAQ about the Community Use Licence asked those with questions to post here, thus the post.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Maps, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps Subscriber

Look into the OGL. That is the license which will let you use (almost) all of the content you’re talking about. The OGL forbids you from using things termed as Product Identity (such as deity names), so you need a separate agreement to make use of such terms. The Community Use Policy is one such vehicle you can use to make use of Paizo’s PI in your blog. The Pathfinder Compatibility License seems useless for what you are doing.

If you have questions on proper use of the OGL, you can try asking here but nothing substitutes for real legal advice from someone who specializes in IP law.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

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a) As long as you are not a commercial publisher and you are able to adhere to all of the other terms of the policy, that’s correct.

b) It’s okay if you take donations or use advertising revenue to cover the costs of making your project available, but if you were collecting revenue over and above that, we’d consider you a commercial publisher, and the Community Use Policy would no longer be available to you, but the Compatibility License would be.

(Also, note that the Community Use Policy and the Compatibility License are not mutually exclusive. If you want to use the Compatibility License to put the Compatibility Logo on your Community Use project, you can do that, as long as you adhere to the terms of both licenses simultaneously.)

c and d) I think you're misunderstanding what those product lists are.

• Anything we have declared as Open Game Content is available for your use under the Open Game License. This includes most game mechanics (though you must always check the statements of Open Game Content and Product Identity in each source you wish to use, as it does occasionally change). It doesn’t matter if a product is on any list anywhere—if you’re using the Open Game License, you can use any Open Game Content from any source. But the OGL does not let you use other people’s trademarks, and since our product names contain trademarks, you can’t use our product names without a license from us. Which is where the Compatibility License and the Community Use Policy come in:

• If you’re using the Compatibility License, in addition to allowing you to use our Compatibility Logo and say that your product is compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Exhibit B provides a list of products that you are able to reference directly, meaning you can say things like “see Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Equipment™ for more details,” or “for use with Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game: Mythic Adventures™.” If a product is not on that list, you can’t reference it—so, for example, you can’t say you product is “a new chapter for Rise of the Runelords”. (You do still have to reference all products you use in your OGL Section 15 copyright statement, but that’s the only place you can name products that aren’t on the list.)

• If you’re using the Community Use Policy, the Community Use product list provides a list of products for which you can use the cover images and product descriptions. If the product is listed in Section 1 of that list, you can also descriptively reference trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, artifacts, places, etc.), locations, and characters from it. And if your project is a campaign journal or play-by-post or play-by-email game, you can also reference dialogue, plots, storylines, language, and incidents from the Section 1 products.

e) If you're using the Compatibility License, it tells you how you're allowed to reference things. The Community Use Policy doesn't provide any guidelines for that—you're on your own there.

Good luck with your project!


Gorbacz wrote:
Get a lawyer. I mean, an actual one, not some ambulance chasing hack who trolls RPG forums at night...

But who else is going to hire me?

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