Oops, I Did It Again: Random PC Generator

[Heffe]

Teg - out of curiosity, any other ideas for 4e in particular in terms of sourcebooks or anything else, or are you still mainly focused on the older editions?

[Tegyrius]

I'm not really interested in working on 4e story or setting material. While I'm coming to appreciate the system (while still acknowledging some significant shortcomings), Free League's setting is not to my taste. Anything I do for 4e in the foreseeable future will probably be along the lines of rules or equipment conversions.

More importantly, I'm profoundly uncomfortable with the current Free League Workshop terms for T2k products. The required copyright statement for every other FL game line in the Workshop leaves original content ownership with the creator. The required T2k copyright statement omits that clause and seems to assign ownership of that content to Free League and GDW (ref: screen shot taken 19 March 2022 for reference, Workshop guidelines article on DriveThruRPG). As a semi-pro author in this industry with 1.1 million paid words in print, I am wary of the precedent of giving Free League rights to any of my work for free. If they want ownership of content I create, I am open to discussing my availability for standard work-for-hire contracts at my usual word rates.

- C.

[Heffe]

Makes sense. Thanks!

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Tegyrius

More importantly, I'm profoundly uncomfortable with the current Free League Workshop terms for T2k products. The required copyright statement for every other FL game line in the Workshop leaves original content ownership with the creator. The required T2k copyright statement omits that clause and seems to assign ownership of that content to Free League and GDW (ref: screen shot taken 19 March 2022 for reference, Workshop guidelines article on DriveThruRPG).

This is a big reason I haven't "published" my 4e adventure yet. It's pretty much done, except for layout and formatting. I might have to bite the bullet if I want it to see the light of day. It's basically in limbo, ATM.

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[Heffe]

I assume you guys have asked FL for comment on it? Have they responded with anything?

The omission there is clearly glaring, but given the nature of business I wonder if there might a benign reason for the choice to remove it.

[Tegyrius]

I have not. As previously noted, I don't have a lot of drive to write in the 4e setting, so it's not been a priority for me. I understand that other creators brought the concern to Free League's attention at least as early as March, when I took that screen shot.

Thread drift incoming...

I am hesitant to ascribe malice in this industry, as experience has taught me that ignorance or lack of understanding (especially in international business) are much more likely explanations for something that looks sketchy. However, the fact that FL hasn't changed the terms of the license agreement after being contacted by others - and, to my knowledge, hasn't even responded to those inquiries - makes it hard for me to believe that omission is unintentional.

While this is not my primary means of supporting my other hobbies, I've had a number of friends over the years whose RPG freelance work was a significant fraction of their total annual income. So when I see a publisher who's making profit off creators' work and is neither paying them for the rights (which has been the vast majority of my freelance experience) nor allowing them to retain those rights, my inclination is to see it as exploitative.

That's not to say that I have an issue with you or other creators choosing to participate in Free League Workshop for 4e. Everyone makes their own business decisions, and I suspect that many of the creators with material in Workshop are fans who are just happy to put something out there for the community and earn a bit of cash to sink back into other gaming material. But for myself, I've been doing this too long, and have invested too many hours of my life into honing my craft, to put my usual amount of effort into a sourcebook just to hand it over to Free League.

- C.