Luegene Cards
2011-06-14, 11:14 AM
Okay, quick premise set up: I've been building a new pen&paper game system for the last several months that uses a few rudiments of the d20 system. Right now, my plans for it include a partial/full release here and on somethingawful, I mean, if I can get it playtested to where I think it's a decent game, or at least maintain some dignity if it ends up sucking.
The pipe-dream - and I hope this doesn't count as an advertisement infraction, since there's currently no product - would be to see the game released for sale via download or limited printing - and I'm worried that the minimal crossover between my system and D&D would get me sued into oblivion, which is part of the reason I'm posting here instead of Wizards. Also, in my limited experience in posting and extensive experience in lurking on both boards, people here seem to really know their hobby inside/outside/upsidedownside (Clever ego-stroke for maximized positive response! Score one for Luegene!).
So, without going into great and lengthy specifics of the game, it uses the same dice as D&D and a handful of the same stats, like initiative and +hit. Asides from that, the amount of conversion to make a 3rd or 4th ed character playable in my game or vice-versa would be basically impossible; the bulk of the mechanics are entirely different, but I love d20s. d100's don't have that 'YES I rolled a nat 20' feeling, and d10s don't allow for enough randomness, imo. So, know if this could get me sued if I made it / released it / tried to sell it? Or is this the sort of thing that I'd need to have a, uh, pen&paper lawyer look at once its done? I'm pretty criminally uninformed, so any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and indulging me!
The pipe-dream - and I hope this doesn't count as an advertisement infraction, since there's currently no product - would be to see the game released for sale via download or limited printing - and I'm worried that the minimal crossover between my system and D&D would get me sued into oblivion, which is part of the reason I'm posting here instead of Wizards. Also, in my limited experience in posting and extensive experience in lurking on both boards, people here seem to really know their hobby inside/outside/upsidedownside (Clever ego-stroke for maximized positive response! Score one for Luegene!).
So, without going into great and lengthy specifics of the game, it uses the same dice as D&D and a handful of the same stats, like initiative and +hit. Asides from that, the amount of conversion to make a 3rd or 4th ed character playable in my game or vice-versa would be basically impossible; the bulk of the mechanics are entirely different, but I love d20s. d100's don't have that 'YES I rolled a nat 20' feeling, and d10s don't allow for enough randomness, imo. So, know if this could get me sued if I made it / released it / tried to sell it? Or is this the sort of thing that I'd need to have a, uh, pen&paper lawyer look at once its done? I'm pretty criminally uninformed, so any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and indulging me!