Please post any questions (or references to relevant threads) here and we'll try to answer them as quickly as possible.
We hope to be able to check in with this message board on a weekly basis if at all possible.
Thanks and take care,
Jackie Cassada and Nicky Rea, Ravenloft developers
Originally posted by Charney
Well, from what I read in the Gaz, a comment from JWM and my own intuition, lots of material for Gaz IV had to be cut (I understand since their was 5 domains). Can we expect it in the form of some web enhancements?
That depends on the stage in which the cuts were made -- if the original author made his or her own cuts, we wouldn't necessarily have access to the material. Lots of writers pre-edit their work before sending it in, writing a draft and then trimming it back or sometimes excising whole portions to meet a word count. (This is from personal experience!)
If we as developers made the cuts, we try to keep a "cut file" of the substantial material cut from the file so we can either add it back if we can or else use it elsewhere -- again, this has happened to material we've written as freelancers.
Arthaus has been trying to get web enhancements for Ravenloft for some time. It's certainly a good idea and one we'll try to keep up with if we can. (No promises, just intentions.)
Hope that answers your question -- though it's not a simple "yes" or "no."
Take care,
Jackie
We should be receiving a finalized schedule for the 2005 Ravenloft books soon - but maybe not til after the holidays.
Count on at least one Gazetteer and probably another Van Richten's Guide. We'll let you all know the other picks as soon as we can.
Thanks,
J&N
We had to push it into 05 because of the need to bring our main books into line with 3.5 D&D...
J&N, the Dark Duo
ashy
While we'd love to see some adventures in the tradition of the original Ravenloft modules, the truth of the matter is that modules don't sell well -- even companies that publish a number of adventures usually expect a loss on those products. Until we get the go-ahead from the people we answer to, we won't be doing any actual Ravenloft adventures.
What we WILL be doing is continuing to provide story seeds and adventure hooks throughout our publications, so that DMs can get ideas for adventures and players can get an idea of what kinds of activities their characters might become involved in.
When the day comes that we can do adventures for Ravenloft, you can bet your "whatevers" that we'll jump on the opportunity!
Until then, we do what we can with seeds and hooks.
J&N (the Dark Duo)
I don't think CotN: Vistani sounds cool, it doesn't roll off the tongue.
Originally posted by DarkDuo
Gaz V will come out in 2004; Gaz VI in 2005.
We had to push it into 05 because of the need to bring our main books into line with 3.5 D&D...
J&N, the Dark Duo
Why a year-long gap between Gazetteer releases? Those books are the crowning glory of the 3E Ravenloft line. Heck, you guys released 3 Gazetteers in 2003. Wouldn't it be more efficient to get the Gazetteers done more quickly?
Delays also seem to plague almost every product in the line; it would kind of suck to have to wait till 2010 for a complete series of Gazetteers.
I've got a few more.
Will Our Hero be be affected by Magic Ratings while writing the Doomsday Gazetteers?
What I mean is whether and how much does Magic Rating rule echo into the forthcoming books of the line. Is it as optional as the alternate morality ruleset in Heroes of Light or will it be more prominent, like Cultural Rating has been?
Do the NPCs of coming products reflect class based drawbacks?
Originally posted by logicbox
Why a year-long gap between Gazetteer releases? Those books are the crowning glory of the 3E Ravenloft line. Heck, you guys released 3 Gazetteers in 2003. Wouldn't it be more efficient to get the Gazetteers done more quickly?
Delays also seem to plague almost every product in the line; it would kind of suck to have to wait till 2010 for a complete series of Gazetteers.
They answered your question before you asked, because they had to republish two books into 3.5.
Since Gaz V is the last on the Core I can wait for a while to see the sixth. And other new material is also enjoyable.
First, to Charney: "S" has been a formidable and perceptive narrator up to this point (Gaz V). She has secrets of her own and a patron who is up to something big.
Whether "S's" story reaches its conclusion before all the Gazetteers are done remains to be seen.
The plotline for the Gazeteers was laid out originally by the Kargatane writers, who have been responsible for the majority of the content of the Gazetteers so far. Since most of them have decided to go their own way as writers, it is doubtful that the storyline as they originally planned it will take the precise twists and turns they intended. (See the above comment about writing in stone!)
To Drinnek Shoehorn: While we can't promise a Children of the Night in 2005, a continuation of the series is a distinct possibility --the books are a good way to introduce adventures within the context of a sourcebook and the idea that we might be able to satisfy, at least partly, the demand for adventure modules in that fashion adds to the practicality of more Children of the Night books.
To logicbox: With a limited number of books in a year, we have to try to put out as wide a variety as possible. Sometimes it's not possible to do more than one Gazetteer in a year -- this past year was a prime example -- we had already planned a Ravenloft DM Guide as part of our 2003 schedule. But then we had to find room for two additional publications -- a revised Players Handbook and a new monsters book -- to bring our main books into compliance with 3.5 D&D. That was the cause of the main delay.
Unfortunately, delays are the bugbear of publishing. Most of the game lines I'm familiar with have had to live with delays -- even book publishers experience delays. Sometimes they are caused by a writer being unable to meet a deadline for any number of legitimate reasons. Sometimes a developer is late or an editor is late or an artist is late. Sometimes a book can be on schedule until it lands at the printers -- and something goes wrong there to delay the book.
Yes it sucks. It also happens.
To Irve: Since the Gazetteers began before the introduction of Magic Ratings, it would be awkward to have them suddenly affect S in ways they didn't before...
They are, in fact, optional rules and are best used when campaigns start up than in midstream -- unless some cosmic event brings them about.
NPCs in the Gazetteers may exhibit some of the class-based drawbacks, though some of them are primarily role-playing driven and may or may not be obvious on paper...
To Jester: we hope to combine new material (such as Legacy of Blood) with more traditional books (Gazetteers; Van Richten Guides) to give people the best variety we can.
Take care,
Happy seasonal celebrations!
Jackie & Nicky
Originally posted by Charney
Well, from what I read in the Gaz, a comment from JWM and my own intuition, lots of material for Gaz IV had to be cut (I understand since their was 5 domains). Can we expect it in the form of some web enhancements?
First off, I thought Gaz IV was terrific. I was up till 3:30 last night finishing it off. With the exception of Invidia I often ignore this corner of the Core and am well pleased with how things have been rounded out. As a fan of Paul Culatta's earlier work I was happy to see the materials in the Valachon section incorporated NPCs and materials from Felkovik's Cat. Thank you.
I have a format question. If there is extra material floating around why is there dead space (pun intended) at the end of the sections? Couldn't artwork or a rference to the House of Lament (or a sidebar on something) have been put in the empty half page on Borca for example?
Thanks for taking the time to peruse this forum and respond! Like many other here I greatly appreciate you lending us your ears from time to time.
-Eric Gorman
As for your format question, here's the best answer I can give, not being a graphic layout specialist. When we plan a book, we decide on the number of pages that book will have -- all multiples of the 32-page folio format. Based on the number of pages, we determine the amount of artwork, the number of pages devoted to full page titles, credits, etc. That helps us determine the overall wordcount of the project. When we choose authors, we assign them a certain amount of words -- their part of the total words allowed in the book.
It's our responsibility as developers to make sure the finished book comes close to the word count. If a book is seriously under word count, we have to come up with the extra words; if it's seriously over word count, we have to perform one of the most difficult parts of our job -- cutting words out of a manuscript.
Even if we end up exactly on word count, however, the manuscript we send to production may still be a little "off" in terms of spacing. Either we misjudged the number of words needed or the placement of sidebars or specially formatted pages has thrown the layout off just enough to produce the blank pages. By that stage, it's too late to get artwork or text to "fill in."
So that's why we can't just fill in the dead space. Hope that helps...
Jackie & Nicky
Originally posted by DarkDuo
The plotline for the Gazeteers was laid out originally by the Kargatane writers, who have been responsible for the majority of the content of the Gazetteers so far. Since most of them have decided to go their own way as writers, it is doubtful that the storyline as they originally planned it will take the precise twists and turns they intended. (See the above comment about writing in stone!)
Jackie & Nicky
Another question concerning the Gaz:
Will the concluison of the plot at least be the same as planned by the K? Or is it doubtful to be as planned?
Here's a story to illustrate --
A thief was sentenced by the king to be hung. Desperate to save his life, the man pled with the king.
"Sire, give me one year more of life and I shall teach your favorite horse to talk!"
Bemused by the thief's request and granted it, thinking, "A year is not so long to wait. At the end of the year, if he does not make good his promise, I shall hang him anyway and to no great loss."
When the condemned thief's cronies heard of the king's decision, they marveled.
"What sort of foolishness is this?" they asked the reprieved thief. You've done nothing more than put off certain death for a year, for no one has ever made a horse talk!"
The thief shrugged. "Who knows the ways of fate and fortune? A lot can happen in a year. Either the king may die, or I may die or the horse may die --- or the horse may talk!"
This story first appeared in a Masterpiece Theatre production of "The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth" or may it was in "Elizabeth Regina" --- and I've loved it ever since.
So, regarding the Gazetteers' plot -- a lot can happen in a year (or two or three)...
Take care,
Jackie and Nicky
There was a man who tried to make his horse live without food. Hadn't the horse died a day too early, the man would have succeeded.
The same story in Ravenloft:
There was a man who tried to make his horse live without food. Hadn't the horse died, the man wouldn't be dead now.
The van Richten's books have conveniently ended with publication dates (the 737 in Walking Dead probably being an amusing error that the sisters can blame on whoever prints their books), yet the Gazetteers need some calculation that could be avoided.
Gaz 5 - Nova Vaasa, Tepest, Keening, Shadow Rift
Gaz 6 - Nocturnal Sea, Vechor, Liffe, Isle of the Ravens, L'ile de la Tempete
Gaz 7 - Sea of Sorrows, Markovia, Dominia, Blaustein, Ghastria
Gaz 8 - Amber Wastes, Frozen Reaches, Shadowlands
Gaz 9 - Verdurous Lands, Wildlands, Zherisia
Gaz 10 - Bluetspur, G'Henna, Odiare, Rokushima Taiyoo, Souragne
Alternatively, I could see the Nocturnal Sea, Vechor, Sea of Sorrows, and Markovia going into Gaz 6, and just leaving the other smaller islands (liek Ghastria and L'ile de la Tempete) purposely undetailed and left to players' imaginations.
I have asked on another thread why the towns of Vor Ziyden and Ilvin were left out of the Borca section of Gaz IV. Is there anyway we could see these sections? And were they cut due to a lack of space?
Originally posted by logicbox
Alternatively, I could see the Nocturnal Sea, Vechor, Sea of Sorrows, and Markovia going into Gaz 6, and just leaving the other smaller islands (liek Ghastria and L'ile de la Tempete) purposely undetailed and left to players' imaginations.
I certainly hope not. The purpose of the Gazetteers (IMO) is to reveal information about all domains, not relegate the smaller ones to the obscurity they are already mired in. I'm not saying that there should be 50+ pages devoted to L'ile de la Tempete, but certainly some info on the island would be appreciated. Otherwise, the Gazetteers become a "let's detail the most popular domains and ignore the rest."
and we suppose the date for Walking Dead just goes to prove that typos exist even in the Dread Realms!Ylem - Legacy of the Blood will include some of the Realms most notorious families -- such as the Boritsis and the Dilisnyas, the Drakovs and the Reniers -- to mention a few. We hope that even though only one Gazetteer is currently scheduled for next year, you'll be happy with the other books on the schedule. We're not yet sure when in 2005 Gaz VI will be published, though. That part of the schedule hasn't been finalized.
After doing the Core in five Gazetteers, Gaz VI will take to the Seas...nuff said for now.
logicbox -- Good guesses. Some of them are fairly accurate, but some of the later Gazetteers may include some new realms as well.
Mortavius -- We may be able to post some of the cut material on Borca at a later date; we'll look into it after the holidays.
And cuts were indeed made from Borca due to space considerations; this is not unusual, since many writers have much more to say than their word count allows.
You're right in the fact that the Gazetteers will try to present some information on just about every place in the Realms, but they can't (and shouldn't) detail everything. We need to leave room for DMs to customize existing places or create their own -- otherwise, there are no surprises for the players.
Take care,
Jackie & Nicky
Take care,
Jackie & Nicky
Eh, I might as well ask about my "personal prejudice" topic too.
Being the pseudo-Darklord House of Lament was cut from Gaz. IV, do you have any upcoming books it might have a shot at making? Yes, I know anything's possible in publishing but thought I might put the burr under the saddle. ;)Thanks again for your time on these boards and on the books.
P.S.: Been so busy with work I forgot what time of year it is - so Happy Holidays!
Originally posted by DarkDuo
logicbox -- Good guesses. Some of them are fairly accurate, but some of the later Gazetteers may include some new realms as well.
New realms? That's swell!
I've got some questions about Masque of the Red Death. Is it still coming out? When can we expect it?
And it would also be very nice to know which authors are doing the writeup for Masque d20...
And lastly: a big kudos to you two. We might be a demanding lot, but I'm sure the future of Ravenloft isn't as horrible as foreseen by some. Happy Holidays to you and the entire board, and here's hoping 2004 will be the best Ravenloft year ever!
Glad to see she's the subject of such speculation.Just cause we're curious by nature, what ARE your thoughts about S's personality. I think that in one of the other threads on this board, someone remarked that she wasn't a particularly "nice" person...comments?
To House of Ill Lament: We may yet find use for some of the places we had to cut. Don't despair.
To logicbox: Masque of the Red Death is coming out in 2004 -- can't give you the exact date cause I don't have my schedule handy -- latter half of the year, methinks.
Authors: Rucht Lilavivat, Harold Johnson, Claire Hoffman, Carla Hollar, Pete Woodworth, Andrew Scott, me and Nicky. (Harold was one of TSR's original Masque contributors and Claire is currently head of the RPGS Living Death campaign which uses MotRD as its setting.)
Yes you are a demanding lot -- it keeps us honest! Thanks for demanding excellence!
Happy holidays to everyone!
Jackie & Nicky
I would like it if some gazetteers were done by other personas. Notably Paridon and the Shadowlands (I could see this cluster done by a knight of the shadows).
But that's just my two cents.
Also I fear that with the Kargatane leaving, the overall S plot will suffer greatly. I fear that because I know how tricky it is to take over someone else's idea.
Originally posted by malken
I'm sure the future of Ravenloft isn't as horrible as foreseen by some. Happy Holidays to you and the entire board, and here's hoping 2004 will be the best Ravenloft year ever!
I'll drink to that!
Have you read the various Book of S_ netbooks published by the Kargatane?
I'm just curious.
Like you, we hope that Ravenloft will be better than ever! We're looking forward to some good times in the next year (well, "good" may be relative with regard to Ravenloft) ;).
Charney - we'll have to see how "S" fares -- we certainly won't leave her in the lurch, but it may be difficult to keep up with the original plotline without the original contributors.
Keg of Ale -- Masque of the Red Death will still take place during the 1890s. We're trying not to recreate the character creation system -- rather we want to tailor it to the period. More on that as we get closer to the actual release date.
Take care,
J&N
J&N
Originally posted by JackieandNicky
We're enjoying hearing your ideas about the future of "S."
Just cause we're curious by nature, what ARE your thoughts about S's personality. I think that in one of the other threads on this board, someone remarked that she wasn't a particularly "nice" person...comments?
I see S as having had a very emotionally deprived life. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father, whom S describes in the introduction to Gaz 3 as "a cold and distant man" suspected S was not his daughter and never forgave her role in his wife's death. S recalls how he called her 'his little "cuckoo's egg",' and shipped her off to distant academies. Of course S claims she was happy to go, but her resentment still echoes off the page. S spent her childhood and adolescence at a series of boarding schools, first in Nartok, then in Dementlieu, and finally at the University of Il Aluk. Did she have any friends? In Gaz 3 we meet Gaston, who was a friend of S's in Dementlieu. S says Gaston "abandoned his studies to pursue stage magic (much to my distain at the time). At subsequent meetings, he demonstrated his burgeoning skills to me." While S and Gaston remained close enough for S to see him again when she returned to Dementlieu, I think Gaston's abandonment of his studies for stage magic hurt S, because it meant she saw much less of one of her few friends.
S continued her academic career after she got a degree at Il Aluk, by doing post graduate work at the Brautslava Institute. At Brautslava she meet some professional colleagues who had skills and interests similar to her own. She might have formed an emotional tie with one or more of them, but they belonged to the Fraternity of Shadows, and they rejected S because she was a woman. That really hurt S. She is still angry about it when she writes Gaz 2.
At some point in this period of her life, S got married. Here's how she describes her marriage. "The more resources a family wields, the greater the chance that its children will be brokered away in arranged wedlock. Indeed, this is how I came by my spouse." In other words, S's family, which had given her no help except for paying for her expensive education, insisted she marry a man she did not love. In the 4 books so far published, S has never mentioned her husband again, but it's worth noting that divorce in Darkon is illegal. Unless her husband is dead, S is still legally married to him.
S's marriage produced at least one child, a daughter. When S "turned her back on Darkon in 751 to study the doom of Il Aluk", she took her daughter with her. Why did S decide to spend 5 years studying Necropolis? S has so far not answered this question. Could it be that she was fascinated by undeath? Or perhaps she shared the common Darkonian view that the destruction of Il Aluk might be the first stage in an even more horrific Doom, the Hour of the Ascension, when the Dead would take back Darkon. If one wanted to, one could picture S as a great hero, studying Necropolis in hopes of finding a way to save Darkon. But this is probably an incorrect interpretation, given the "anti-S" attitude of some of the Gazetteer's authors. Whatever S's motives for studing Necropolis, it's obvious she was absolutely determined to learn everything possible about it. So much so that when her daugher was accidently turned into a Ghoul, S decided that she would not kill her daugher, but would allow her to exist as a Ghoul in hopes her daughter might help her learn more of Necropolis.
That S 'let' her daughter become a Ghoul, is, of course, the single most important thing we know about S's psychology. It's the thing that most clearly makes S a villian, or at least an antihero. When S goes to Sithicus and must confront her sins, this is the sin that weighs upon her. S seems on the surface very unemotional, but we received a strong hint from the authors that S is a very, very unhappy woman in Gaz 3. Each of the sections in the Gazetteer's begins with a non Ravenloft quotation that's relevant to the emotional mood of the following section. In Gaz 3 the Forward, which is about S, is a quote from the Curious Vehicle, by Alexander Drake. As it says, "...and she was gone, the sunsets were in vain, and all nature seemed mourning. After this I busied myself with all kinds of occupation, but without success. Life became sadder and sadder, until finally in despair I took a foreign trip. I travelled far and wide, but always with the same weary despondency and gloom." Why was this quotation chosen to describe S, if S is still not deep in mourning for her daughter?
I think it makes sense to conclude that S loves her daughter very deeply, and that her daughter is probably the only person S has ever loved. Despite some comments to the contary by Ryan Naylor, I think it's at least plausible to believe that one major reason (though not the only reason) why S allowed her daughter to 'live' as a Ghoul was because she couldn't bear to finally kill the one person she had ever loved. I strongly suspect her daughter plays a very important role, perhaps a pivotal role, in whatever metaplot the Kargatane had planned for S. Am I right about that?
I tend to think one reason why S accepted her assignment from Azalin, and why she resents Azalin's secrecy so much, is because she is so starved for emotional contact that she wants, perhaps without consciously realizing it, to establish an emotional relationship with Azalin. She badly wants his respect and friendship. I'm reminded of the reference in Gaz 1 to how Kartakan's must prove their worth before they can marry by performing various "labors" and how S can currently sympathize with this, because she's performing a labor that might earn her Azalin's respect. S strikes me as a very lonely woman, which is one reason why I find her an interesting and sympathetic character.
Glenn Brown
Originally posted by JackieandNicky
Charney - we've not read the Book of S_ netbooks.
J&N
All I can say is 'you should'. It's a very good way to get some insight on how Ravenloft fans think and what they like to see.
So, could you do something to correct this? Either do away with the stone border to leave more space for the actual drawing, or shrinking the pic itself to fit more accurately? I personally suggest the former.
But the borders are a little think and occasionally cut a bit of the art, as seen by the oft severed signature.
Originally posted by Keg of Ale
All I can say is 'you should'. It's a very good way to get some insight on how Ravenloft fans think and what they like to see.
Legally that is a very, very bad idea. For the same reasons why writers never read sumbmissions alone or people like comic creaters never look at original characters.
Because if they do and happen to create a simmilar idea they get sued. Even if it is just coincidence. And it is really hard to prove inspiration or show you invented an idea.
So if they admit they read the Books of S__ and later a character, moster, or event echos something from said book they can get in real trouble, even if it was just great minds thinking alike. Most of us would be flattered to have an idea taken from us, if I found something I wrote for one of the Quoth the Raven issues popping up in a book I would be extatic that they thought my work was quality enough to 'steal'. Others are not so generous.
If it were movie studios and comic writers might read fanfic to see what the communities want, but realistically it is legally impossible.
Maybe one of them will clarify this issue.
Originally posted by The_Jester
Legally that is a very, very bad idea.
Unless I'm sorly mistaken, all things appearing within the Ravenloft setting become fair game for WotC and WW since they own the copyrights. You can't copyright an idea- but characters and locations, you can.
Just like, if they wanted to take the entire story we are doing for 'Ravenloft: Involution' and print a book of the story, I don't believe they are even required to tell us since it takes place in the setting where they own the rights.
I believe they don't do this because its bad for business, but legally if I understand it correctly, its well within their rights.
Can you clear that up duo? I've always wondered that myself.
Usually when an artist does work for a company, most are allowed to use the work for their own promotional purpouses if they inform the company every place its going to be and get permission, but I also know creators that aren't even allowed to show the work they did. They can only say "I worked for Coke" etc.
That's how it was when we did some multi-media work for a kid's site for Time/Warner. We can just say yes we worked for them, but we can't show anything we did. I also did some work for Barnes N Noble.com, WCW, Niké, but can't show any of it.
It depends how nice the company is. Talking to the artists that have worked with WW, they only have good things to say, so they sound like one of the better companies.
To the Duo: About the books of S___ series.. Being self-professed RL fans you MUST read Anchors of faith sometime. It really is one of the best pieces ever written in the world of RL.
Remember, just to send in a submission to some publishers you need to sign something for them to look at it (this I have done).
The Kargate themselves are probably skirting the line because they published unofficially so they could look and everyone else's ideas. They were just netbook publishers and website designers doing unpaid labour. Might be another reason the Book of S___ series died when they became the official freelancers.
Originally posted by The_Jester
I don't think Talon did the portraits for Gaz3. I believe he was too busy with the Tarokka deck. Could be wrong though.
No, he definitely did-- the style of Jackie R's portrait in particular is distinctly his. (And I think his portrait of d'Honaire is quite possibly the best anyone's done of Dominic and one of Talon's best works to date).
Originally posted by The_Jester
there is a very fine line between character and locations(writers) and the world and setting (publishers).
No. I don't think the writers have any claims to rights in this kind of example. In most cases, when you are paid by a company, and work for them, anything you produce while working for them THEY own. Technically THEY created it. It all depends on the details of the 40 page contract you are usually given.
If I create the loveable character "dippy doodle" while working for Niké, large companies like that don't even let me put that in my resume- "created the spokeperson icon dippy doodle for niké" would be a breach of contract. And these companies love nothing more then go to court. Many keep entire lawfirms on retainer, and if they AREN'T sueing someone, that means they are just sitting around, collecting a paycheck for no work and companies don't like that.
Disney sued a man for having tattoos of Disney Characters. They wanted to fine him more then his life's savings and wanted the tattoos removed from his body. I'm sure they would have been content with a good old fashioned flaying for the whole family. Accompanied by Jimminy Cricket in the Foreground singing "When you wish upon a star" as the man screams in the middle of center stage.
The case was thrown out of court, but the law in place now states, if the man had stood out in public, and charged money for people to see the images the ruling would have been in Disney's favor! disney actually fought the decision but lost the appeal.
Those that own the rights to RL own the characters, locations, world and setting. Anything you write about Ravenloft and put up in a public forum i believe they can use however they want. Then again I asked the Duo. Not you Jester. Thanks for playing though. As I said, all the years in the business its been my understanding that it all depends on the contract you sign. Who owns what, what rights [if any] you retain, where you can display your work [if that's an option]. Etc.
This is why I'm surprised to see the posts about the future of "S" being uncertain. I would have thought, when the Kargatane first pitched the idea that those with the decision making power would have asked for a brief outline. Getting that you usually move on to something more in depth, like 1-2 sentences to a paragrah laying out what the meta-plot would be for each book. From there each block of dialogue would be written for each book, as each book is being developed. This way if staff or leadership changes, if the person dies in a car crash, etc you have the idea scoped out, and can proceed.
As my manager explained to me. 'It would be sad if you DID die in that crash, but then after the funeral we still have deadlines and promises of delieverables to keep.'
Its not something you get offended over. Its business.
When you're lucky you get to work at a decent place, that lets you show off your work (within reason) and tell future employeers- yes i created that.
It's also a general 3.5 question.
When writing templates for monsters, can you still put a sample of that template. I noticed the werepanther had no sample but it might have been space contraints.
Also, when making a sample, it was a very good idea (Gaz I and II notably) to use an NPC as the sample (like Coraline, Harkon's mistress has a werefox). For instance, in the Denizens of Dread, the sample elven vampire could have been Lady Adeline and the sample vampire dwarf Mulger d'Ajust. I just thought it was a nice way to give more NPCs, especially for the Gaz.
Originally posted by Charney
Question for the developpers
It's also a general 3.5 question.
When writing templates for monsters, can you still put a sample of that template. I noticed the werepanther had no sample but it might have been space contraints.
Also, when making a sample, it was a very good idea (Gaz I and II notably) to use an NPC as the sample (like Coraline, Harkon's mistress has a werefox). For instance, in the Denizens of Dread, the sample elven vampire could have been Lady Adeline and the sample vampire dwarf Mulger d'Ajust. I just thought it was a nice way to give more NPCs, especially for the Gaz.
They did this in Gaz II for the Necropolitan undead, I loved it! This is a great way to add some of that Monstrous Compendium flavor...
Originally posted by daffy72
No. I don't think the writers have any claims to rights in this kind of example. In most cases, when you are paid by a company, and work for them, anything you produce while working for them THEY own. Technically THEY created it. It all depends on the details of the 40 page contract you are usually given.
Actually, if I'd created original characters for the Kargatane netbooks, and if I saw those characters show up in commercial products without me receiving credit or compensation, I can assure that I'd have something that's actionable.
(It happens that I didn't create anything for the netbooks that wasn't based on somethign that I'd already put into print...)
As for the Duo reading the netbooks to get a feel for What Fans Want, I think their time is much better spent reading actual, honest-to-god printed Ravenloft material, if they want to spend time on getting to know old material.
This is why I'm surprised to see the posts about the future of "S" being uncertain.
Plans and ideas change. For example, there are several characters and plot threads that appear in novels from WotC that I created, yet the way they are handled in said books have nothing or very little to do with what I (and the other creatives I was working with) originally had in mind when we came up with them. The same is true for the old 2nd ed. "Shadow Rift" product. I pitched it, I had some clear ideas as to what I wanted it to be, but when I ended up not working on it, my ideas became secondary.
The same is true for "S." With new writers in the picture, new directions may be developed.
A brief response, prefaced by the fact that Nicky and I are in the process of relocating from our house to temporary accommodations until our new house is ready to move into -- perhaps sometime in January!
Meanwhile, I'm (Jackie) typing this in our old house -- no heat, frozen fingers -- so -- to be quick:
We're not legal experts -- developers seldom are, which is why game companies, like other companies, have legal departments to handle and explain things. However, we do feel that by reading fan-based material, such as the netbooks on the Kargatane site, we do skirt that fine line between ownership of intellectual property and theft of intellectual property...
I've been a freelancer for years. One of my steady gigs is as science fiction/fantasy column writer for Library Journal (since 1984). The columns I write for Library Journal are bought by them and belong to them. I get a byline and I can quote from my own columns so long as I also credit Library Journal. When other people, such as the publishers of the Dictionary of Literary Criticism, want to use my reviews, they need only get permission from LJ, but they usually seek my permission as a courtesy.
The material I wrote for White Wolf/Arthaus is owned by them. I can't write anything using their ideas without express written permission from them -- although most of my contracts do specify that I can write articles for magazines.
In general, we've tended to avoid reading too much unofficial Ravenloft material to avoid liability problems -- likewise, when people send us submissions, we can't look at them unless they person has also signed a disclosure form giving us permission to look at it.
So -- that's pretty much the answer to that.
As for the personality of "S," we were curious as to what was coming across -- she's been portrayed by a number of different writers, and maintaining consistency of personality is sometimes a challenge.
Also, yes, people do change; plans do change. When we took over as developers, we received a brief outline of the Gazetteers, but not a detailed one, so we're working on what we can extrapolate and what we feel is right for the Gazetteers.
As far as advancing time goes, we'll probably keep the Gazetteers internally consistent and not dependent on real-time for the passage of time.
We hope we can do a Van Richten's Arsenal II eventually, but there are some other things we'd like to do, too!
The art design for the books is in the hands of the art director at White Wolf/Arthaus, not the developers.
The sample characters for templates are used when they seem appropriate -- usually in supplements rather than in the basic monster books...look for Millefleur and Glimmer Bones in VR's Guide to the Shadow Fey.
And yes, as Steve says, when you're a freelancer, you essentially waive much of your control over your material, selling it to the company who publishes it. This gives them the permission to change it or ignore it. Most of us have written things that have never seen -- and never will see -- publication. It's just how it goes in the world of freelancing.
Hope you all had happy holidays and are looking forward to the New Year.
Take care, stay warm.
Jackie & Nicky
A brief response, prefaced by the fact that Nicky and I are in the process of relocating from our house to temporary accommodations until our new house is ready to move into -- perhaps sometime in January!
Meanwhile, I'm (Jackie) typing this in our old house -- no heat, frozen fingers -- so -- to be quick:
We're not legal experts -- developers seldom are, which is why game companies, like other companies, have legal departments to handle and explain things. However, we do feel that by reading fan-based material, such as the netbooks on the Kargatane site, we do skirt that fine line between ownership of intellectual property and theft of intellectual property...
I've been a freelancer for years. One of my steady gigs is as science fiction/fantasy column writer for Library Journal (since 1984). The columns I write for Library Journal are bought by them and belong to them. I get a byline and I can quote from my own columns so long as I also credit Library Journal. When other people, such as the publishers of the Dictionary of Literary Criticism, want to use my reviews, they need only get permission from LJ, but they usually seek my permission as a courtesy.
The material I wrote for White Wolf/Arthaus is owned by them. I can't write anything using their ideas without express written permission from them -- although most of my contracts do specify that I can write articles for magazines.
In general, we've tended to avoid reading too much unofficial Ravenloft material to avoid liability problems -- likewise, when people send us submissions, we can't look at them unless they person has also signed a disclosure form giving us permission to look at it.
So -- that's pretty much the answer to that.
As for the personality of "S," we were curious as to what was coming across -- she's been portrayed by a number of different writers, and maintaining consistency of personality is sometimes a challenge.
Also, yes, people do change; plans do change. When we took over as developers, we received a brief outline of the Gazetteers, but not a detailed one, so we're working on what we can extrapolate and what we feel is right for the Gazetteers.
As far as advancing time goes, we'll probably keep the Gazetteers internally consistent and not dependent on real-time for the passage of time.
We hope we can do a Van Richten's Arsenal II eventually, but there are some other things we'd like to do, too!
The art design for the books is in the hands of the art director at White Wolf/Arthaus, not the developers.
The sample characters for templates are used when they seem appropriate -- usually in supplements rather than in the basic monster books...look for Millefleur and Glimmer Bones in VR's Guide to the Shadow Fey.
And yes, as Steve says, when you're a freelancer, you essentially waive much of your control over your material, selling it to the company who publishes it. This gives them the permission to change it or ignore it. Most of us have written things that have never seen -- and never will see -- publication. It's just how it goes in the world of freelancing.
Hope you all had happy holidays and are looking forward to the New Year.
Take care, stay warm.
Jackie & Nicky
A brief response, prefaced by the fact that Nicky and I are in the process of relocating from our house to temporary accommodations until our new house is ready to move into -- perhaps sometime in January!
Meanwhile, I'm (Jackie) typing this in our old house -- no heat, frozen fingers -- so -- to be quick:
We're not legal experts -- developers seldom are, which is why game companies, like other companies, have legal departments to handle and explain things. However, we do feel that by reading fan-based material, such as the netbooks on the Kargatane site, we do skirt that fine line between ownership of intellectual property and theft of intellectual property...
I've been a freelancer for years. One of my steady gigs is as science fiction/fantasy column writer for Library Journal (since 1984). The columns I write for Library Journal are bought by them and belong to them. I get a byline and I can quote from my own columns so long as I also credit Library Journal. When other people, such as the publishers of the Dictionary of Literary Criticism, want to use my reviews, they need only get permission from LJ, but they usually seek my permission as a courtesy.
The material I wrote for White Wolf/Arthaus is owned by them. I can't write anything using their ideas without express written permission from them -- although most of my contracts do specify that I can write articles for magazines.
In general, we've tended to avoid reading too much unofficial Ravenloft material to avoid liability problems -- likewise, when people send us submissions, we can't look at them unless they person has also signed a disclosure form giving us permission to look at it.
So -- that's pretty much the answer to that.
As for the personality of "S," we were curious as to what was coming across -- she's been portrayed by a number of different writers, and maintaining consistency of personality is sometimes a challenge.
Also, yes, people do change; plans do change. When we took over as developers, we received a brief outline of the Gazetteers, but not a detailed one, so we're working on what we can extrapolate and what we feel is right for the Gazetteers.
As far as advancing time goes, we'll probably keep the Gazetteers internally consistent and not dependent on real-time for the passage of time.
We hope we can do a Van Richten's Arsenal II eventually, but there are some other things we'd like to do, too!
The art design for the books is in the hands of the art director at White Wolf/Arthaus, not the developers.
The sample characters for templates are used when they seem appropriate -- usually in supplements rather than in the basic monster books...look for Millefleur and Glimmer Bones in VR's Guide to the Shadow Fey.
And yes, as Steve says, when you're a freelancer, you essentially waive much of your control over your material, selling it to the company who publishes it. This gives them the permission to change it or ignore it. Most of us have written things that have never seen -- and never will see -- publication. It's just how it goes in the world of freelancing.
Hope you all had happy holidays and are looking forward to the New Year.
Take care, stay warm.
Jackie & Nicky
J&N
Originally posted by Mortavius
A good example of the company owning the rights to the characters is Soth. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman were outraged at TSR's decision to move Soth to Ravenloft, but they could do nothing, because Soth was TSR's property, not theirs.
Margaret and Tracy also had contracts that made ownership and control of the character clear. The netbook situation is much more complicated.
Basically, TSR/WotC owns all the material that has been published under contract. Because the material is work-for-hire, the company is considered the originator of the ideas and heir to all copyrights.
If the netbooks were not contracted or published under a formal, written agreement signed by all parties involved, the company does not technically own the material. If no formal written agreement exists, the netbooks only exist at the whim of WotC. The writers actually did not have specific permission to use the existing WotC characters and settings, or post them on the Internet. So WotC could have them shut down, or seized, at any moment. They could not republish the new material created by the author, not without specific permissions being signed, but they could ask for damages based upon copyright and trademark infringement.
Similarly, the netbook authors could claim that no formal contract exists for their work, so no formal permission for the material to be used in future products has been granted. If a contracted Ravenloft author picked up something from one of the netbooks--and it could be proved that the netbook was the sole source for the idea--then the netbook author could technically claim that the material he created had been used without permission. (That's not to say the netbook writers could make any claim on Strahd, even if they used him in a netbook, because that material can be traced back to WotC and the pre-existing copyrights kick in. But a cool magical anti-solar sunhat for Strahd that was created in the netbook would not be fair game for someone to use later without permission.)
This is not so farfetched. Marion Zimmer Bradley had some knotty legal troubles because of Darkover fan fic she'd read. Most published authors do not read fan fic for that reason. Though I would have liked to have read the netbooks, I've avoided them. I would think that, unless formal agreements can be hammered out, the current RL development team needs to steer clear of them.
Cheers,
James Lowder
Originally posted by daffy72
Disney sued a man for having tattoos of Disney Characters. They wanted to fine him more then his life's savings and wanted the tattoos removed from his body.
I don't know about any fines, but IIRC they did ask that he get no more character tattoos.
Problem is, Disney (or any company with a lot of trademarks) generally has to pursue breaches aggressively, lest some later group say 'Well, they weren't concerned with the usage here,' setting a precedent for broader permissions. That Disney may be really bullheaded and obnoxious in their pursuit of such suits is a matter for discussion somewhere else.
[friggin' lag.]
not only are they copywrited, they are trademarked as well.
So something like a wise cracking rabbit and WB could possibly have a suit. Depending on what the personality of that rabbit is.
I had a cooky idea a few years ago and wanted to do flash animation for fun and my portfolo i was going to do the star wars story with the WB looney toons- you'd be surprised how well suited they are... the green bird martians as the storm troopers... bugs bunny as han, the red monster as chewie... daffy as a winey luke where bad things happen constantly.. etc. but you couldnt do it even for non profit fun.
Lucas on the other hand, is super cool in that respect- he has no problem if someone does a fun star wars thing as long as you dont dare try to make money with it.
So basically, if someone writes fanfic and posts it, which is a violation of copyright law, and then someone who owns the actual copyright writes a similar story, the fanfic writer can sue if they can convince a judge that their work was similar and that the company must have read their work and stolen it, even though their work, being illegal fanfic, was partially stolen from the company in the first place?
Does that mean that if I write up Ravenloft Gazetteers V-(whatever), and write many different versions, and posted them all over the Internet, I could sue Arthaus if any of the real Gazetteers came out and were similar to my illegal works, if I could convince someone that at some time, someone who worked on one of the real Gaz's actually saw my work?
Urgh...I know that's not likely to happen, but still...the idea that someone who writes illegal fanfic could sue the owner of the copyright (who should, by all rights, be suing the living crap out of the fanfic writer just for admitting to authoring illegal fanfic, if anyone's going to be getting sued) is a bit sickening.
Most of the material is already owned by WotC. They can do what they like and squash you if they chose to for playing without permission with their copyrighted material.
Now in theory if you came up wityh all new material for Nova Vassa that might be you intellectual property. Provided it clearly wasn't derivative of past work (not just based on old stuff but truley new) *AND* the offical Gaz had your same ideas and character names then maybe you might be able to bring a suit.
But its a hard standard to pass because the courts generally frown on the idea of owning broad ideas. Strahd of Castle Ravenloft, cursed to forever hunt and loose Tatyana is presuamably protected. Vampires won't be. Even vampires cursed to forever loose a reincarnating love intrest won't be.
-Eric Gorman
Originally posted by Belac
About fanfic...
So basically, if someone writes fanfic and posts it, which is a violation of copyright law, and then someone who owns the actual copyright writes a similar story, the fanfic writer can sue if they can convince a judge that their work was similar and that the company must have read their work and stolen it, even though their work, being illegal fanfic, was partially stolen from the company in the first place?
As I said, MZB had a real problem over some Darkover material a fan had written. I believe she eventually won out, but just getting dragged into court is enough of an expense and enough of a hassle that writers now tend to steer well clear of fan fic.
Cheers,
Jim Lowder
Even if you started on a GazVI it would be unlikely to win as proving the fanfic or netbook is the sole source of the idea is tricky. Since the Gaz are based aroung pre-existing cultures and sections of books it is hard to prove sole inspiration of ideas. They could easily been inspired by the same books or concepts that inspired the fanfic writer.
Originally posted by James Lowder
Similarly, the netbook authors could claim that no formal contract exists for their work, so no formal permission for the material to be used in future products has been granted. If a contracted Ravenloft author picked up something from one of the netbooks--and it could be proved that the netbook was the sole source for the idea--then the netbook author could technically claim that the material he created had been used without permission. (That's not to say the netbook writers could make any claim on Strahd, even if they used him in a netbook, because that material can be traced back to WotC and the pre-existing copyrights kick in. But a cool magical anti-solar sunhat for Strahd that was created in the netbook would not be fair game for someone to use later without permission.)
This is not so farfetched. Marion Zimmer Bradley had some knotty legal troubles because of Darkover fan fic she'd read. Most published authors do not read fan fic for that reason. Though I would have liked to have read the netbooks, I've avoided them. I would think that, unless formal agreements can be hammered out, the current RL development team needs to steer clear of them.
Cheers,
James Lowder
Thanks, Jim. That's the explanation we didn't have the words for but felt was the reason behind our reluctance to read the netbooks, even though they've been highly recommended by Ravenloft fans!
J&N
Originally posted by James Lowder
Similarly, the netbook authors could claim that no formal contract exists for their work, so no formal permission for the material to be used in future products has been granted. If a contracted Ravenloft author picked up something from one of the netbooks--and it could be proved that the netbook was the sole source for the idea--then the netbook author could technically claim that the material he created had been used without permission. (That's not to say the netbook writers could make any claim on Strahd, even if they used him in a netbook, because that material can be traced back to WotC and the pre-existing copyrights kick in. But a cool magical anti-solar sunhat for Strahd that was created in the netbook would not be fair game for someone to use later without permission.)
This is not so farfetched. Marion Zimmer Bradley had some knotty legal troubles because of Darkover fan fic she'd read. Most published authors do not read fan fic for that reason. Though I would have liked to have read the netbooks, I've avoided them. I would think that, unless formal agreements can be hammered out, the current RL development team needs to steer clear of them.
Cheers,
James Lowder
Thanks, Jim. That's the explanation we didn't have the words for but felt was the reason behind our reluctance to read the netbooks, even though they've been highly recommended by Ravenloft fans!
J&N
Originally posted by James Lowder
Similarly, the netbook authors could claim that no formal contract exists for their work, so no formal permission for the material to be used in future products has been granted. If a contracted Ravenloft author picked up something from one of the netbooks--and it could be proved that the netbook was the sole source for the idea--then the netbook author could technically claim that the material he created had been used without permission. (That's not to say the netbook writers could make any claim on Strahd, even if they used him in a netbook, because that material can be traced back to WotC and the pre-existing copyrights kick in. But a cool magical anti-solar sunhat for Strahd that was created in the netbook would not be fair game for someone to use later without permission.)
This is not so farfetched. Marion Zimmer Bradley had some knotty legal troubles because of Darkover fan fic she'd read. Most published authors do not read fan fic for that reason. Though I would have liked to have read the netbooks, I've avoided them. I would think that, unless formal agreements can be hammered out, the current RL development team needs to steer clear of them.
Cheers,
James Lowder
Thanks, Jim. That's the explanation we didn't have the words for but felt was the reason behind our reluctance to read the netbooks, even though they've been highly recommended by Ravenloft fans!
J&N
sigh...
J&N