Par5e Mod files & Legal usage

[soMeRandoM670]

Is it legal, to use mod files of like rulebooks for 5e & other UA material?
I was also thinking of using Par5e to create custom ruleset for races & classes from planeshift series released by WOTC.
So, I am wondering if, I par5e say physical copies of XGTE and all other rule books or getting a copy from someone else isn't allowed?

And is that legal, or is it illegal to distrubite those mod files and pass it off as your own to make money if you don't get permission?

And where would I ask, if getting something or making copies to get permission to use?

So, what would be allowed for me use Par5e or other files import into FG. As I seen a lot of talk of Par5e and from my assumption you can't sell what u copy from WotC core rulebooks is that what I am getting but if u make say a module of your own it's possible for u to, sell?
Edit: this all for personal use and I just want, have content use help create encounters for battlemap for my players. or would I have to purchase the rule books again for convience or can I use, Par5e and other stuff. or, if someone else had already done it, u can't copy those files? and what is off limits for that? is it any thing that sold or is it, anything u purchased u have ability have it imported or copy in FG. Just want to know. before do anything as seen par5e talked about a lot is it just for, UA and other stuff? like custom races, custom backgrounds that I want personally. and can u get Par5e mod files from other users or is that something u can't do.

so, if I par5e the rule books myself It's something I can do, but if copy that from someone else who already done it is it fine or, not?

[JohnD]

Personal Use is Personal Use. As soon as you start giving it out to others, free or otherwise, it's no longer Personal Use and you're in not so good territory.

Edit: if you are creating your own homebrew stuff, you're still doing it with 5e framework. I think you can distribute or sell on DMsGuild in that case.

Have a read of the OGL for 5e.

[Mortar]

Par5e isn't available for download anymore, and if you did have a copy of it I don't think it would be overly useful since there have been significant changes to some of the XML formatting. Project:Author or Engineer Suite would be far more useful now.

[Mortar]

Engineer Suite: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?45630-Engineer-Suite&highlight=Engineer+Suite

Project: Author https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?41833-Project-Author&highlight=Project+Author

[soMeRandoM670]

So, I also have Starship troopers rpg , but pazio stopped its production and release its EULA states free to modify and use for personal stuff, what not so is copy pasting a core rule book like that against terms and agreement of fantasy grounds or is it encouraged if it isnt exact copy and paste of entire book and instead just what's needed to play?

And how would I go about creating horde mechanics as I want write rules on how handle that. I'm pretty new as only started look into fg and been using roll20 for two years now but at limit of its usefulness
Edit: and mean modify as in adding content and rules like most rpgs and missions and what not

[Zacchaeus]

As noted above you can create a Fantasy Grounds module for personal use; but you will not be able to distribute that module here or indeed most likely anywhere else.

Changing a ruleset will require you to either create a ruleset or write an extension to do what you want and that's a whole different ball game. Have a look at the MoreCore ruleset - there may be something there that you can use.

[artreri]

I just bought like 5 5E books and THEN found out about Fantasy Grounds... Not too keen on having to spend practically the same money to use them in Fantasy Grounds... I'd say that is a significant detractor from me using it.

There should be some way of conferring a digital add-on for the material to use in Fantasy Grounds.

Who is getting paid for the modules? Start there... Does Wizards set a licence? An additional 50% might be reasonable... but definitely not a complete doubling of my purchases. It would be VERY simple to attach a unique identifier on print purchases that could be used to establish licence for e-content that could be authenticated to prevent fraud.

Very, Very, disappointed. Will definitely be examining those SRD-OGL rules... I mean... Who actually did the work to make the "conversion" or whatever into the modules?

[Zacchaeus]

I just bought like 5 5E books and THEN found out about Fantasy Grounds... Not too keen on having to spend practically the same money to use them in Fantasy Grounds... I'd say that is a significant detractor from me using it.

There should be some way of conferring a digital add-on for the material to use in Fantasy Grounds.

Who is getting paid for the modules? Start there... Does Wizards set a licence? An additional 50% might be reasonable... but definitely not a complete doubling of my purchases. It would be VERY simple to attach a unique identifier on print purchases that could be used to establish licence for e-content that could be authenticated to prevent fraud.

Very, Very, disappointed. Will definitely be examining those SRD-OGL rules... I mean... Who actually did the work to make the "conversion" or whatever into the modules?

To answer your last question first; mainly community developers do the work and it takes hundreds of hours to do the conversions.

You are not buying the same product when you buy a Fantasy Grounds module. You are buying a digital version of them which allows you to do a lot more than you can in the physical books. For example you can create a character by dragging and dropping the class, race, background, equipment and spells directly into the character sheet. You can drag monsters right into an encounter, you can, with one click, roll up a complete treasure parcel using the tables in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Obviously the developer should be rewarded for all of that work, Smiteworks needs to charge something to be in business at all and WotC require their share too.

As I said earlier a module is a different thing altogether from the book. I mean you would not expect a discount to go and see a film made from a book you had purchased and read.

[Nickademus]

I just bought like 5 5E books and THEN found out about Fantasy Grounds... Not too keen on having to spend practically the same money to use them in Fantasy Grounds...

Just to throw this out there... Fantasy Grounds contains the means to make any asset you wish to use in it, including everything from every 5e book. You will have to manually type and format everything, but it is possible. So you don't have to buy everything again. The purchases are just saving you the time of entry.

[artreri]

I am scanning them in... It would be great if there was a more robust authoring tool for making HB materials... Looks like that Par5e was pretty good. Thanks.

I definitely think "the laborer is worthy of their hire"... Just that if it is Wizards... it would be nice to somehow bundle it with the hard copies to encourage the platform usage. I might not have bought the Hardcovers if they were usable and present in their entirety in their Fantasy Grounds Modules.

The licensing is pretty wordy... and I can see that people are making direct support material... I'll need to figure out how the permissions are obtained or the copyrights and trademarks honored in the developing of materials and tools to be used with their content.

[LordEntrails]

The licensing is pretty wordy... and I can see that people are making direct support material... I'll need to figure out how the permissions are obtained or the copyrights and trademarks honored in the developing of materials and tools to be used with their content.
In short, for D&D you have 4 ways your can re-use or distribute content;
1) Using the SRD content in accordance with the OGL (https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/systems-reference-document-srd)
2) You are distributing via the DMsGuild (https://support.dmsguild.com/hc/en-us/articles/360024677993-Getting-Started-on-Dungeon-Masters-Guild)in which case their is a different license (which allows both more re-use than OGL, but limits your rights as well)
3) Using the Wizard's Fan Content Policy (https://company.wizards.com/fancontentpolicy), which basically means you can not distribute for commercial gain or have any type of restriction on distribution (i.e. paywall or require user login), it must not hurts Wizards, and it must be marked as fan content. But, this does really doesn't allow re-use, just 'homebrew' creations.
4) But, if you are not distributing and are just using the materials for your own private gaming groups use, you can do what you want.

[esmdev]

I own multiple copies of 5E in book form. I also own all the rulebook and supplement modules for Fantasy Grounds plus a few adventures. It is totally worth it to me because you can do so much with Fantasy Grounds, especially as a DM that makes it so much easier. Even in a tabletop environment I can use it to track combat, story, maps, treasure, etc., like having a module, dice and DM screen but with everything easier to find and use.

Don't think of it as repurchasing the same product because it is so much more than just the book. Smiteworks has a 30 day full refund period so you could buy the core rules, play it for 3-4 weeks and if you don't see it's value return it. They are really good about that.

[Nickademus]

I definitely think "the laborer is worthy of their hire"... Just that if it is Wizards... it would be nice to somehow bundle it with the hard copies to encourage the platform usage. I might not have bought the Hardcovers if they were usable and present in their entirety in their Fantasy Grounds Modules.

Wizards endorses Fantasy Grounds, Roll20, D&D Beyond, and probably a couple more. If they were to set up a way to get digital material with the purchase of a hardback, they would have to set up a lot of interactions with multiple companies to prevent playing favorites. That's not worth the effort for a company that would rather you pick your digital medium.

[artreri]

Thanks,

DMsGuild looks like the way to for now. I'll check it out in detail and see what the vetting process is for making FG Modules.

[LordEntrails]

Thanks,

DMsGuild looks like the way to for now. I'll check it out in detail and see what the vetting process is for making FG Modules.
No vetting process to distribute on the Guild. That said, I strongly suggest you look to some of the standards that have been done, their is the one in my signature and their is one on the Wiki that I think is the old AAW standard. Also Rob2E has a video or two on the subject, and he does very high quality work as well. Also take a look at some of the official modules, most of those are very well done too. And though I haven't done a review in awhile, take a look at my blog, you will see what I think is important and give you some quality insight; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/blog.php?34276 Finally, try hard to find someone to review it. The author/creator always knows what they know, and often miss things that someone new to the content will stumble over.

[artreri]

Awesome... All great stuff!

I am a retired US Army PSYOP Specialist and the Multi Media Illustrator for 12 Years after a medical issue and then got to be a certified Knowledge Manager and picked up MBA's in Entrepreneurship and Technology & Innovation... now Medically Semi-Retired... I want to at least make some great stuff for my own usage... and hope it takes off from there in the community if useful and distributable:). Best practices and reviews help considerably.

Will be setting up for Waterdeep Dragon Heist first... just wish there was a definitive guide to doing this stuff 'by the rules' for distribution. Or some review authority that could provide feedback on what needs to be added (©'s, notices, etc...), deleted (i.e. if I use something I shouldn't), etc... when working with the Material. At the very least it will be good for my campaigns private use and some experience (update: Have reached out a few places for official feedback on ways ahead... we'll see)

I am NOT a coder however... I know enough to install and modify stuff... or at least enough to know what I need someone else to do. So I hoping to work from within the FG environment and export... but may learn more if I really really have to...

Is there a particular "Conversion" of a adventure into FG that you would recommend (preferably forgotten Realms or Generic) that you feel exemplifies a Adventure Module best practices? That's my biggest interest... taking existing adventures into FG.

[Trenloe]

That's my biggest interest... taking existing adventures into FG.
Which existing adventures are we talking about? If you're doing a direct conversion of an existing adventures, then (assuming that adventure is copyright protected, which most are) you'll need permission of the copyright holder.

As has been mentioned above, there are various different ways to create FG material for distribution. All of these don't work around this base assumption - you cannot just create a FG conversion that is a copy of a D&D product that is covered by copyright without permission of the copyright holder.

[artreri]

It looks like creating and distributing through the DMsGuild covers most of those permissions from what I read from the links. And I have already seen a number of Adventures that have been converted with work arounds such as notifying individuals that certain content must be obtained separately for inclusion into the structure being provided (i.e. They must obtain the electronic copy of the original work and copy and past certain content in themselves). Trust me... I am very familiar with copyrights and usage. And at the very least there is nothing restraining me from anything I build for my private usage and do not distribute in any way... and then approaching for obtaining permission independently if required above and beyond what is already covered if I am working within the DMsGuild framework.

EXAMPLE: This module does not violate copyright laws. This means that you must buy the digital copy of <Insert Title Here> then paste the copyrighted material into this Fantasy Grounds module. The bare minimum is to only paste the actual story. After that, you are ready to play!

[Trenloe]

It looks like creating and distributing through the DMsGuild covers most of those permissions from what I read from the links. And I have already seen a number of Adventures that have been converted with work arounds such as notifying individuals that certain content must be obtained separately for inclusion into the structure being provided (i.e. They must obtain the electronic copy of the original work and copy and past certain content in themselves).
Yep, because they are not including the copyright material that the original product contains. The DMs Guild relaxes some aspects of the WotC Intellectual Property - with very limited scope, but it doesn't remove copyright on their products.


EXAMPLE: This module does not violate copyright laws. This means that you must buy the digital copy of <Insert Title Here> then paste the copyrighted material into this Fantasy Grounds module. The bare minimum is to only paste the actual story. After that, you are ready to play!
They'll also need to copy over maps and images, unless the producer of that limited conversion also includes copyright free maps and images (probably having to create these themselves).


And at the very least there is nothing restraining me from anything I build for my private usage and do not distribute in any way...
Yes, this has been mentioned a few times above.

[LordEntrails]

I'd be happy to walk you through a specific case. Probably wouldn't have time to do a full detail review, but could at least get you on track. PM me your email address and we can connect from there.

[Mortar]

If you are looking to create stuff for 5e then there are a couple resources that will make the task somewhat less tedious.

Use Project Author (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?41833-Project-Author) to create the reference manual

Engineer Suite (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?45630-Engineer-Suite) for items, NPCs, spells

[artreri]

Thanks! Now I just need to figure out how to start Author... lol... I am sure i am just missing the instructions somewhere. I have it in the right folder and it's not loading... NM... Restarted a few times and it worked.

[artreri]

I own multiple copies of 5E in book form. I also own all the rulebook and supplement modules for Fantasy Grounds plus a few adventures. It is totally worth it to me because you can do so much with Fantasy Grounds, especially as a DM that makes it so much easier. Even in a tabletop environment I can use it to track combat, story, maps, treasure, etc., like having a module, dice and DM screen but with everything easier to find and use.

Don't think of it as repurchasing the same product because it is so much more than just the book. Smiteworks has a 30 day full refund period so you could buy the core rules, play it for 3-4 weeks and if you don't see it's value return it. They are really good about that.


I plan on initially using FG for a Table top environment probably run on one or two machines with a TV Display for players. I have not really done enough play-testing to know how the included 5e modules work in game play. Do you feel that the Core Content adds significantly to the functionality within FG? Or do the included modules cover most of that and the Core materials just add information? In other words... did they do a good job of building tables and other automation/aids in from the core material? If I am going to be building some stuff i want it to be most functional for the majority of users and the modules that most of them have to create the best experience.

So say... Dungeon Master's Guide, Player's Guide, Monster Manual vs Just playing with the included 5e stuff? Is it best to make materials that leverage the purchased mods or just the core?