Hello All,
Been trying to read up on this subject, including the PRD Faq, but since much of what I read is years old, I wished to clarify.
I was thinking of publishing some RPG gaming materials like mini-adventures for commercial sale. While I could make them generic, I would prefer to do them system specific. Since Pathfinder v1 is the system with which I most familiar, that is my go to choice.
So, if I wished to publish a book of mini-adventures based on PF1 rules and sell them via OGL, respecting the OGL as I did so, am I able to do so WITHOUT a license from Paizo?
The D&D3e OGL seems to allow this, but from what I got from the Paizo PRD faq, it seems I cannot publish anything commercially using Pathfinder PRD rules unless I obtain a license, and I even after doing so I can only sell the materials via Paizo. Am I understanding that correctly?
If so, would a better path be to simply base the materials on D&D3d and allow players to make any conversions necessary?
Any guidance on this is appreciated.
GP
What you have stated does not sound correct to me.
If you obey the OGL, and don't use any of Pathfinder's product identity, you should be able to use any Pathfinder Open Game Content (and almost all of Pathfinder mechanics and monster stat blocks are Open Game Content, with the exception of a few licensed monsters appearing in APs) while only using the Open Game License 1.0a. You may need to meet specific additional conditions, as part of a separate license, to use the official "Pathfinder-Compatible" logo on your product.
However, I am not a lawyer so I'm only basing this on my non-professional understanding of how it works.
If you're releasing a product compliant with the OGL, and not using any Pathfinder product identity, you should be able to sell your product wherever you can arrange with a dealer to do so.
If you want to use Pathfinder product identity (setting, character names, deity names, et cetera), you're limited to releasing your product through Paizo's Pathfinder Infinity program, and they may pose additional restrictions related to their product identity.
Again, I am not a lawyer. You should probably consult a copyright lawyer to make sure you're in the clear as your product relates to the Open Game License and Open Game Content.
It's very likely you haven't had replies because other non-lawyers are better at not saying anything when they're not lawyers.
So, yeah, the best answer is to have a copyright lawyer review the terms. This is true whether you decide to publish Pathfinder-specific OGL content or OGL 3.5e content.