
Jace Anderson 680 |
I understand that I must not reference page numbers, but I don't understand why that would be against the OGL. Not only can I not find where it specifies that within the OGL, but even moreso I don't understand why that could be against the rules. I want to specify where to find a few monsters in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary to make it easier to run with little game prep. Would I be able to instead reprint the statblocks for the monsters I use (Skeleton, Dire Rat, Zombie) if I specify at the end of the statblock that it is OGL content?
Apart from this, I noticed that Paizo has been omitting their own sources in certain publications of their section 15. If I use a source and copy their section 15, that they omitted their own sources from, would I be able to be reprimanded for it? (For instance, the Bestiary does not reference The Core Rulebook.)

skizzerz |

Not referencing page numbers is part of the Pathfinder Compatibility License. For statblocks, as long as the statblocks does not contain any PI, I don’t see why you would not be able to reproduce it (so long as section 15 is updated accordingly).

Dasrak |
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Standard "I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice" disclaimer
I understand that I must not reference page numbers, but I don't understand why that would be against the OGL.
It's not the OGL but rather Paizo's compatibility license that makes that stipulation. The OGL and the Pathfinder Compatibility License are two separate things.
The reason is actually stated in the license itself, although it rings a little hollow to me when Paizo themselves routinely reference page numbers across different books. However, whether they're internally consistent with their own reasoning is irrelevant; it's still a contract stipulation.
Would I be able to instead reprint the statblocks for the monsters I use (Skeleton, Dire Rat, Zombie) if I specify at the end of the statblock that it is OGL content?
The OGL itself states how you can use and reprint OGL content. There are many websites that reproduce Pathfinder monster statblocks in their entirety, so nothing should stop you from doing so too if you follow all the same rules.
Apart from this, I noticed that Paizo has been omitting their own sources in certain publications of their section 15.
Paizo owns its own copyrights and doesn't need to worry about infringing them, and thus the protection of the OGL is unnecessary in the case of republishing their own work. I'd imagine they don't feel the need to go through the full OGL motions (and the bloat that would involve in terms of the list of sources) in cases where they don't need to. You're not Paizo, so you do need to follow the rules of the OGL to make use of Paizo-published OGL source material.

Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises |
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To expand a bit on what Dasrak said
Standard "I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice" disclaimer
Same here.
The point of the OGL is that you can legally plagiarize. You can literally copy wholesale whatever you want AS LONG AS it is declared open content and you reference it properly.
So yes, you can copy wholesale from the bestiaries as long as you copy that bestiary's section 15 into your own section 15. Or you can copy the entire cleric class out of the core book, except for the deities since Paizo says they are product identity and not open.
The idea of this is to make it easier for someone else to make material for it. We're in a small industry with small sales. We can't afford to have lawyers check over everything we do. So Wizards set it up so that anyone can do whatever they want as long as they follow a few simple rules. The operative phrase when using the OGL is "play nice."
Those rules include: when you use OGL material from someone else's book, copy their section 15 into your own section 15. You are under no obligation to make references to that book elsewhere. So if you own the book you are referencing, like Paizo does with their own books, they don't have to reference it. Think of it like this: if they screw up referencing their own books, who is going to sue them? Themselves?
Paizo, like Wizards before them, have added second license that let's you say "its for Pathfinder." Their rules include don't say the page number that the material you're using is on. That where that page number part comes in, not in the OGL.