Yeah, that's about right.  WEG is supposed to be putting up a website where you can select the rules you want to include in your game, and download them all together in one document that you can just plug your setting material into, add images, and run with it.  It's been "almost ready" for quite a while now, so maybe it'll be up and running soon.  If Eric gets the OGL tacked onto the current PDFs and posts them, like he recently posted over at the fan site, you can download them for free from his website.

One of the main draws of using the "D6 System" is its familiarity with hordes of players (mostly us older farts).  As it was the original system used for the Star Wars RPG, a lot of folks remember it from that.

I found a copy of the Star Wars game by WEG from 1987 (1st edition I guess) at Half Price Books the other day - is that the d6 system? If so, I'll pull it out and put it on top of the stack so I can skim it and get a feel for the rules.

Quote from: Werekoala;306173I found a copy of the Star Wars game by WEG from 1987 (1st edition I guess) at Half Price Books the other day - is that the d6 system?

Yes.

It's the foundation of what the D6 system is today.  There are newish additions to what's listed in the Star Wars book, like Character Points being used to enhance rolls, the Wild Die, as stated on the wiki, and a few other things that some might consider enhanced, or hindered, the rules.  I personally like the 1st edition Star Wars rules because they were very loose and helped keep the whole cinematic feel that the game was supposed to present, but I'm just as comfortable with the newer variations.  Like all rules, you can decide what you want to work with and what you think will slow you down.

Or, as Drohem so very succinctly put it...yes.

Sweet. I actually got three books, all hardback and in near-mint condition. I love Star Wars, not so hot on the d20 versions of it however, so I figured I'd take this one for a spin since its mentioned so often.

There's a great community just for D6 Star Wars.  Check out the Rancor Pit Forums.  You'll find a lot of great info on the rules, house rules, etc.

Quote from: HinterWelt;306117I 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.

My original reasoning for wanting to do an OSRIC'd generic D6 system was simply that I was seriously concerned at the time that the system was going to once again be left to die in a drawer, and so while I felt it might be seen as a dick move taking the system like that without permission, it was more important to me to see that the system was released in an open fashion one way or another.  I likened it to the way Linux came about, in a sense, and I think the name I'd come up with it even referenced Linux/GNU.

OF course, I would've felt much better being able to work with the game on direct permission, but there was no way I could pony up the dough to buy it (this was during that whole phase), I didn't think any of the disorganized forum rabble were ever going to pull it off, nor did I think he would get any real, serious buyers.  

Now of course, that's no longer necessary, because the thing's OGL anyway.  

QuoteI 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.

Well but also, not just terminology, now, if I need a rule for something, say, falling damage, I can just copy whatever I need straight out of the books.  If it's a rule from the Star Wars version of course, I still have to go to the trouble of rewording things, but with the whole corebooks from new-WEG being OGL, I don't even need to do that much with those (though I'm enough of a style freak that I probably would anyway).  

QuoteI 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.

I'd like to believe this, after all, I loved SWD6 R&E so very very much, I just don't think what I've seen of the D6 relaunch's success so far gives me no reason to believe such, I'm afraid.  

QuoteAs 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.

If it were any game but ASITD, I honestly wouldn't care much.  Evenmorn, Ancient Sands, any of a dozen other wierd little ideas I've had over the years I would be glad to open up to the world, and welcome it really, because I'm mostly too lazy to bring them to their fullest potential.  

But not that one.  It's like my own prodigal son at this point, I've been kicking it about since like 1996, when it was first born as little more than a bad Rifts clone with a single core idea, and has evolved so much over time.  IT was always to be sort of my masterpiece, the one RPG idea I actually gave enough of a crap to want to see really, truly succeed.

Quote from: J Arcane;306205Well but also, not just terminology, now, if I need a rule for something, say, falling damage, I can just copy whatever I need straight out of the books.  If it's a rule from the Star Wars version of course, I still have to go to the trouble of rewording things, but with the whole corebooks from new-WEG being OGL, I don't even need to do that much with those (though I'm enough of a style freak that I probably would anyway).  

Well, if you "OSRIC'd" it then that would not have been a problem either. Well, it is moot but also be aware that he needs to issue his OGL for the SRD and that may not involve the books as printed. So, for instance, my ISCR is the Iridium SRD. It has all the rules for Roma in it but it does not have the setting information or the spells (mostly I wanted to keep the bulk down) but it does have rules for making spells. So, the OGL can be very specific and until we see the exact wording of the license and the text attached, you really can't do too much.

Mind, I have not been following closely but I thought Eric has not released the actual SRD text files right? So, you would have nothing to copy rules from.

Quote from: J Arcane;306205I'd like to believe this, after all, I loved SWD6 R&E so very very much, I just don't think what I've seen of the D6 relaunch's success so far gives me no reason to believe such, I'm afraid.  

Go spend some time on the WEG Fan forums or RPG.Net. It does not take much in today's market to make a profitable book. In the end, I do not have hard numbers but my impression, a properly produced book could be profitable. I would question a full color, leather bound uber book but I am not really in that market.

However, I could see a setting that fleshed out some missing genre (say fantasy) or pulp. Minimal art. Say, a production budget of under $1000. I think, HinterWelt at least, could recoup that in the first 90 days and turn a tidy profit.

Quote from: HinterWelt;306214Mind, I have not been following closely but I thought Eric has not released the actual SRD text files right? So, you would have nothing to copy rules from.

According to the announcement I read, the text of the new WEG D6 books, Fantasy/Space/Adventure/etc., are all OGL'd in their entirety now, unless I misread something.  The only hitch there is I never actually bought any of those books, so I'm sort of short on a reference as well, like some of the other folks here.  I was always more of an SWR&E fan, and didn't care much for the changes in the later models, so never bothered.  Much like some people felt about OSRIC vs 1e, I didn't feel the need to bother with the newfangled version when the old one worked fine.

Of course, SWR&E isn't OGL, and never will be, even if the system itself is, so it doesn't necessarily serve as an SRD at all.  So I'm probably going to have to nab D6 Space at least probably.  

QuoteGo spend some time on the WEG Fan forums or RPG.Net. It does not take much in today's market to make a profitable book. In the end, I do not have hard numbers but my impression, a properly produced book could be profitable. I would question a full color, leather bound uber book but I am not really in that market.

Oh I know, esepcially with Lulu and the like these days, the only out of pocket costs are editing and art and such.  My target monthly profit is only a couple hundred bucks for my game.  I'd like to make a lot more obviously, but you have to make do with what you can in such a small market, though I'm partly hoping to maybe team up with a proper publisher and push the game for a bigger fate.  

QuoteHowever, I could see a setting that fleshed out some missing genre (say fantasy) or pulp. Minimal art. Say, a production budget of under $1000. I think, HinterWelt at least, could recoup that in the first 90 days and turn a tidy profit.

Absolutely, and that's pretty much what I'm aiming at.  I just don't thing that the label on the back being "d6 System" instead of "OpenD6" is going to make any big difference in accomplishing that.

Quote from: J Arcane;306222According to the announcement I read, the text of the new WEG D6 books, Fantasy/Space/Adventure/etc., are all OGL'd in their entirety now, unless I misread something.  

QuoteThat may have been my musinderstanding. Eric said many variation when we were talking over the OGL and what kind of licensing was going on. It was my understanding that he had to edit for content and form and would be producing a master reference document free of IP he did not have rights to. I coudl be totally wrong on that.

Quote from: J Arcane;306222The only hitch there is I never actually bought any of those books, so I'm sort of short on a reference as well, like some of the other folks here.  I was always more of an SWR&E fan, and didn't care much for the changes in the later models, so never bothered.  Much like some people felt about OSRIC vs 1e, I didn't feel the need to bother with the newfangled version when the old one worked fine.

Of course, SWR&E isn't OGL, and never will be, even if the system itself is, so it doesn't necessarily serve as an SRD at all.  So I'm probably going to have to nab D6 Space at least probably.  

I would just make sure of that before you lay out the cash. That would be a kind of weird way of using the OGL, not wrong but a bit awkward.

Quote from: J Arcane;306222Oh I know, esepcially with Lulu and the like these days, the only out of pocket costs are editing and art and such.  My target monthly profit is only a couple hundred bucks for my game.  I'd like to make a lot more obviously, but you have to make do with what you can in such a small market, though I'm partly hoping to maybe team up with a proper publisher and push the game for a bigger fate.  

Have you considered Pathfinder or 3.5 OGL then? They might have a larger audience. Our dual statted books did quite well for us. Just a thought.

Quote from: J Arcane;306222Absolutely, and that's pretty much what I'm aiming at.  I just don't thing that the label on the back being "d6 System" instead of "OpenD6" is going to make any big difference in accomplishing that.

Oh, certainly. My point was to tap the die hard core and sell to the fringe, the players of SW back in the day with nostalgia running through their veins. This might be easier with the OpenD6 logo than not. Also, I meant brand in the much larger sense than just the tm.

QuoteHave you considered Pathfinder or 3.5 OGL then? They might have a larger audience. Our dual statted books did quite well for us. Just a thought.

Doesn't really fit the setting to me.  I like D&D, I just don't much think it's good for things that aren't it.  

Part of why I was interested in this particular system is that it is quite flexible, I like it, and I think it's rather more trivial to tune it to the feel you need than it is with D20, which when it comes to genre emulation is frequently like trying to hand carve Monticello out of a life sized chunk of rock.

Quote from: HinterWelt;306214Say, a production budget of under $1000. I think, HinterWelt at least, could recoup that in the first 90 days and turn a tidy profit.

Define "tidy profit"

Quote from: Spinachcat;306239Define "tidy profit"

I would expect 3K with little effort. Possibly double that if I put my mind to it. True20 worked out nicely for us but they have a larger audience that is more structured and the market there is hingry for certain types of products.

Quote from: J Arcane;306238Doesn't really fit the setting to me.  I like D&D, I just don't much think it's good for things that aren't it.  

Part of why I was interested in this particular system is that it is quite flexible, I like it, and I think it's rather more trivial to tune it to the feel you need than it is with D20, which when it comes to genre emulation is frequently like trying to hand carve Monticello out of a life sized chunk of rock.

Well, I can see that. Just made the suggestion based on your comment on brand awareness and strength.