With the D6 System finally in preliminary OGL form, now is the time it seems to get cracking on some D6-based awesomeness.

I'm seriously considering reviving the A Song in the Dark project under the D6 mechanics.  I had a bit of a decent start to a Fallout-inspired system, and I wanted to keep it going given the similarity of genre even, but the truth is I'm no system monkey, my patience for doing it only goes so far.

With D6, I could get going again because the system's all written for me already really, and so bog simple and embedded in my brain that I barely need a book to pen a D6-based game anymore.  I'd actually started writing my own OSRIC-like D6 analogue during the buyout talks, and was literally doing it solely from memory, and only stopped because I couldn't think of good alternate terminology for some of the core mechanics.  

I could start dreaming about the setting again, and droning on about the society and biology of the Aralia and their influence on pre-Sumerian history and all that rot.  

I also think it could be kind of fun to do a dungeon fantasy mod for it.

Quote from: J Arcane;305434With the D6 System finally in preliminary OGL form, now is the time it seems to get cracking on some D6-based awesomeness.

Are the docs available now?  The OGL seems to make a false start every couple of weeks.  I'm starting to feel like it's an elaborate troll of the gaming community!

Quote from: Hairfoot;305436Are the docs available now?  The OGL seems to make a false start every couple of weeks.  I'm starting to feel like it's an elaborate troll of the gaming community!

According to Hellsreach's announcement, the text of the books is now all under the OGL.  There's no "SRD" document up yet, because he's still hellbent on this horridly convoluted automatic custom SRD builder thingie, but it doesn't mean beans to me because I probably wouldn't bother anyway.  I can just as well write it from memory, and I prefer the older SWR&E version of the system anyhow, so my game is likely to more resemble than than the newer stuff, filtered through the lens of my setting and my faulty memory.

Ah.  I don't actually know the D6 system, but from what I've heard it seems potentially awesome.  I was hoping the OGL would make it easy to peruse, but apparently not.

I would be, if I could get the basic rules conveniently in PDF or SRD document form. Probably in a fantasy genre, I have the setting, I'm just searching for the right system, d6 may be a good fit though 4e may be more commercially viable.

I'm working on Stormrift right now.  Got a design blog up (in my sig) for anyone who is interested.  

The d6 System seems to have evolved a bit from the Star Wars days I remember so well.  The Legend system in particular seems to add a few neat wrinkles, but I think I'm going to stick with the core rules, plus a few additions.  

I too would like to see the SRD in .pdf or .doc format as I'm almost to the point where I need to start putting rules to the setting.  Hope something comes out soon.  

Pete

Until the D6 OGL and SRD is locked down and made public, I would not touch it.  You don't want to be X months and Y dollars into a project just to find out that Hellsreach decides to yank out the rug.   His track record is sketchy.  

Patience, padawan game designers!  Wait until we see a final doc.

Quote from: Spinachcat;306046Until the D6 OGL and SRD is locked down and made public, I would not touch it.  You don't want to be X months and Y dollars into a project just to find out that Hellsreach decides to yank out the rug.   His track record is sketchy.  

Patience, padawan game designers!  Wait until we see a final doc.

I see no reason to play the skeptic card at this time.  If anything, my skeptic's card is encouraging me to do so, for the following reasons:

1)  Game mechanics aren't copywriteable anyway, so there's nothing he can do on those grounds.  D6 being OGL is no less the meaningless formality that D20 and the 4e GSL are.  I was already planning an OSRIC'd D6 system prior to the announcement anyway.

2)  The statement was made in a verifiable public statement before a ridiculous number of witnesses, so it's not like he can suddenly change his mind and pretend it never happened, and besides which the OGL doesn't work that way.

3)  WEG may finally be out of the red, but they're hardly in the position, both in terms of finances, and in terms of public goodwill, to be filing any lawsuits.  

I say fuck it.  The announcement is good enough, lets take what we've got, because even on the assumption that the whole rest of the OpenD6 initiative is going to be a total bust, at least we'll be keeping the damn thing alive, and probably better than WEG has been for the last several years.

Quote from: J Arcane;306050I see no reason to play the skeptic card at this time.  If anything, my skeptic's card is encouraging me to do so, for the following reasons:

1)  Game mechanics aren't copywriteable anyway, so there's nothing he can do on those grounds.  D6 being OGL is no less the meaningless formality that D20 and the 4e GSL are.  I was already planning an OSRIC'd D6 system prior to the announcement anyway.

2)  The statement was made in a verifiable public statement before a ridiculous number of witnesses, so it's not like he can suddenly change his mind and pretend it never happened, and besides which the OGL doesn't work that way.

3)  WEG may finally be out of the red, but they're hardly in the position, both in terms of finances, and in terms of public goodwill, to be filing any lawsuits.  

I say fuck it.  The announcement is good enough, lets take what we've got, because even on the assumption that the whole rest of the OpenD6 initiative is going to be a total bust, at least we'll be keeping the damn thing alive, and probably better than WEG has been for the last several years.

I think this is one of the few areas where we are in total agreement.  

It's always easier to design a setting if you already have a game system in mind, but not having a system shouldn't be a gamebreaker.  If Open d6 tanks (something I seriously doubt), you'll still have plenty of setting material to convert to another system.

You know, it's kind of funny the Wizards of the Coast-like animosity and distrust people seem to have towards Eric and WEG.  I mean, it's not like he/the company did anything to anyone personally.  He just made a few bad business decisions, certainly not enough to be trashed as he has on public forums (not saying that you Spinachat were trashing him, just commenting out loud from some of the posts I've seen from others).

Quote from: J Arcane;306050I see no reason to play the skeptic card at this time.  If anything, my skeptic's card is encouraging me to do so, for the following reasons:

1)  Game mechanics aren't copywriteable anyway, so there's nothing he can do on those grounds.  D6 being OGL is no less the meaningless formality that D20 and the 4e GSL are.  I was already planning an OSRIC'd D6 system prior to the announcement anyway.

2)  The statement was made in a verifiable public statement before a ridiculous number of witnesses, so it's not like he can suddenly change his mind and pretend it never happened, and besides which the OGL doesn't work that way.

3)  WEG may finally be out of the red, but they're hardly in the position, both in terms of finances, and in terms of public goodwill, to be filing any lawsuits.  

I say fuck it.  The announcement is good enough, lets take what we've got, because even on the assumption that the whole rest of the OpenD6 initiative is going to be a total bust, at least we'll be keeping the damn thing alive, and probably better than WEG has been for the last several years.

Why do you care if it is "open" then? I don't think you understand the purpose of the OGL. The point is that you get to reuse written rules (usually expressed in the d20 term as an SRD). The OGL allows for the reuse of a document or parts of a document. If you are going to "OSRIC" a system then, well, to be honest you do not need anyone's permission. You make a version of the rules in your own words and go from there. No need for the OGL, an SRD or author's permission. Folks are doing this with 4e already and have done it with versions of D&D for some time.

Now, the real interesting part is his STL. I think that is where an advantage might be gained if you intend to sell your work. If you are not...well, then you should not feel held back by the OpenD6 initiative, just do not cut and paste any actual rules text.

Quote from: HinterWelt;306102Why do you care if it is "open" then? I don't think you understand the purpose of the OGL. The point is that you get to reuse written rules (usually expressed in the d20 term as an SRD). The OGL allows for the reuse of a document or parts of a document. If you are going to "OSRIC" a system then, well, to be honest you do not need anyone's permission. You make a version of the rules in your own words and go from there. No need for the OGL, an SRD or author's permission. Folks are doing this with 4e already and have done it with versions of D&D for some time.

Now, the real interesting part is his STL. I think that is where an advantage might be gained if you intend to sell your work. If you are not...well, then you should not feel held back by the OpenD6 initiative, just do not cut and paste any actual rules text.

I care if it's "open" because 1) it may just be a courtesy, but it's still that, and I prefer to be more open about this sort of thing, and 2) as you say, it does allow me the pleasure of more directly utilizing existing terminology (I had a hell of a time coming up with a replacement for the "pips" concept).

I think the STL as I've heard it described for D6 is indeed a wonderful idea, if he intends to hold to that requirement that developers introduce their new material back into the open core, however, the truth is there's really no brand strength left behind the D6 System name at this point, so it's not really any more of a selling point than just using OpenD6.  Plus, I'm sure I'm going to catch heck for this after my previous arguments, but for this particular project, and this one alone, I just don't feel comfortable opening it up quite that much.  I had always intended to make the system portion of the game open source regardless of what I used, but after 10+ years I'm a bit protective of the setting portion of it.

Quote from: J Arcane;306107I care if it's "open" because 1) it may just be a courtesy, but it's still that, and I prefer to be more open about this sort of thing,

I am with you on that but if you are considering "OSRICing" the system, well, then I think you are a little conflicted. To be clear, I do agree with your sentiment though, of wanting the author's approval before copying (or making derivative works) of their work.

Quote from: J Arcane;306107and 2) as you say, it does allow me the pleasure of more directly utilizing existing terminology (I had a hell of a time coming up with a replacement for the "pips" concept).

I do not think that would be as big a problem as you might thing. Pip is common usage for a mark on a die. So, you could most likely use a whole lot of it. The key thing is not to use any trademarks (WEG, D6?) and to not copy, word for word, any rules text. Now, there is a separate problem with "derivative works" but you can get around this with a bit of rules addition, modification.

Quote from: J Arcane;306107I think the STL as I've heard it described for D6 is indeed a wonderful idea, if he intends to hold to that requirement that developers introduce their new material back into the open core, however, the truth is there's really no brand strength left behind the D6 System name at this point, so it's not really any more of a selling point than just using OpenD6.  Plus, I'm sure I'm going to catch heck for this after my previous arguments, but for this particular project, and this one alone, I just don't feel comfortable opening it up quite that much.  I had always intended to make the system portion of the game open source regardless of what I used, but after 10+ years I'm a bit protective of the setting portion of it.

I disagree on the brand. I think there is some juice left there. That is why I would consider a Neb D6 or a Shades of Earth d6. The Brand as I see it, is somewhat nostalgic and tied to SW but also continues to have a core audience. In terms of small press levels of sales I see it as viable. Of course, YMMV.

As to protecting your setting, I understand. I am the same way with my settings. I tend to open the mechanics allowing for folks to extend if they want but keep the setting to HinterWelt. Why? Two reasons. First, I honestly think most folk interested in creating setting books will make their own. They can (and have) done this with Iridium using the rules (monsters, items, etc). Second, to protect our core product lines. HinterWelt would have a much more difficult time of it if Roma and SA! could be co-opted by a larger company. SA! particularly is doing well making it a more likely target. Your reasons, of course, would be different.

I would probably at least like to do something with it - but - since I never PLAYED it, I don't know a thing about how it works, or even where to find a copy of the rules. I suppose I'll have to wait for the SRD to be able to read the mechanics and decide from there.

Quote from: Werekoala;306125I would probably at least like to do something with it - but - since I never PLAYED it, I don't know a thing about how it works, or even where to find a copy of the rules. I suppose I'll have to wait for the SRD to be able to read the mechanics and decide from there.

Here's a rundown from wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D6_System

Hum. Seems pretty straightforward, almost deceptively so. Almost makes me wonder why you'd need a system like this when you could come up with something almost as basic? I'm assuming there must be more to it than the Wiki article stated.

So once they "release" this mechanic, then you'd use the resolution system as the "base" and then build off of that, making it as complex or simple as you want? Magic and such, for example, would use that mechanic but with additions for mage skill, damage, level of spell (if you go that route), etc. Does that sound about right?