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[dq-rules] Re: DQOS r000217 and lots more...
> 5. BIG ADDITION: I put the rules.zip file (sorry this is how I got it
> from download, the unzipped result is a rules.pdf file) in the eGroup
> dq-rules' vault. It is stuff I got on the web site of the boys in New
> Zealand (I am not 100% certain, but I think this is where it came from
> and I can't check since they have disappeared for about a year now).
> Now this is the stuff a lot of people hasn't seen. If you have never
> seen it, you'll probably feel overwhelmed because it is 160 pages
long,
> but it is like another Poor B. A., like lots of stuffs folks, and I
> have quite a bit more coming. >>>>>>>>>John R. check out the copyright
> (page 4?) on that thing and do you know what the GNU there is for or
> what is is??? Thanks.
This is definitely the work of the Seagate Adventurer's Guild, I
approached them at the beginning of DQPA to come in as members this is
the response I got from Andrew Withy:
"John;
(A little background)
I am a member and ex-secretary of the Seagate Adventurers Guild. The DQ
Guild has dropped to 50 regular players & ~ 8-10 concurrent adventures,
down from 70-80 players a few years ago. On behalf of our club, I
would like to know the advantages of joining DQPA.
We run a multi-GM universe, which we have (slowly & painfully) learnt
means a different style of rules and GMing. For instance, the Illusion
college in DQ II is a fine, creative and interesting college. However,
it becomes unplayable when 15 different GMs interpret the limitations
of the college differently. We have had to create an entirely different
college to fulfill the needs of our campaign. These limitations, and
others based on the length of the campaign, would not be shared by most
campaigns. Our input would be distinctly different and slanted towards
our own needs. With GMs with up to 17 years experience in DQ, we are
unlikely to be co-operative members of a greater whole based on
different experiences and needs.
We can not allow you to use our rulebook in any formal sense, as this
would be breaching copyright that the WotC hold on DragonQuest. We are
only reprinting & annotating for private use at the moment, which is
vaguely covered by NZ copyright law. However, providing the rule book
for US usage will create legal problems.
After a full discussion, we are unkeen on you continuing to seek the DQ
trademark, for purely selfish reasons. This is likely to either remind
WotC of DQ's existence, and encourage a re-print, or you may
get the rights and re-print a version yourself. Either way, our legal
position in maintaining our rulebook becomes weaker. We have already
approached TSR & WotC (a Guild member owns a games importing business &
has a professional relationship with some of the WotC hierarchy) for
the DQ name and been turned down.
Right, now that the negative bit is over, it's great that you are
organising a DQPA. I look forward to hearing how our organisation and
yours can help each other. I'm sure that we can both gain benefits from
the association.
Andrew"
A few of Seagate Members are also members of DQPA: Martin Dickson,
Brent Jackson, Keith Smith. The group maintains a couple of web sites,
a listing of GM's is here: http://webnz.com/dragonquest/GM.html and it
seems they have snapped up the Domain name dragonquest.org.nz
The GNU (stands for GNU's Not Unix) Project was launched in 1984 to
develop a complete Unix-like operating system which is free software:
the GNU system. Variants of the GNU operating system, which use the
kernel Linux, are now widely used; though these systems are often
referred to as ``Linux'', they are more accurately called GNU/Linux
systems. http://www.gnu.org/
The GNU Project is largely responsible for the development of the
"copyleft" concept whereby copyright is maintained but modified by the
GPL (General Public License) http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.txt
distribution terms, which are a legal instrument that gives everyone
the rights to use, modify, and redistribute the program's code or any
program derived from it but only if the distribution terms are
unchanged. Thus, the code and the freedoms become legally inseparable.
What I find interesting is that they are attempting to freely
distribute something that is derived from a copyrighted work for which
the rights to freely distribute have not been given.
JohnR