Updating old adventures (Darksun and Diablo) - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Updating old adventures (Darksun and Diablo)

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
perplex
Mar 08, 2009 18:39:54 I originally posted this in the adventure are but its more of a general question at the moment so I'm relisting it and adding a bit to it.

I'm planning on starting a DarkSun Campaign for 4th edition once I get the PHB2 as Goliaths should fit in nicely for half giants and some of the primal classes seem like they will work out nicely even with the current abscence of psionics.

To start with just to get some players some experience with the system and the darksun world, I was going to update some of the Official Adventures that were released when the setting was popular such as Road to Urik and run those. To make sure i'm not going to break it too much I was thinking of posting my redo up here for critique but I'm wondering how annoyed Wotc will be with posting such an item.

Do you think it would be fine to post as its over 10 years old and I doubt it'll hurt sales of the adventures?

Sorry for the wall of text just need to know how specific I can post the information to get feedback on the write up.

I also want to know the answer to this as a long time ago when 3rd edition was just coming out, they released a mini game loosely based on Diablo 2 and Dnd 2nd edition. This One Shot featured the players stopping the return of The Butcher and featured random dungeon designs in the nature of Random Dungeons PG 190 of the 4th edition DM's guide. I think doing an updated version of that would also be an interesting project.

Thanks in advance
#2
Seeker95
Mar 08, 2009 20:00:09
Do you think it would be fine to post as its over 10 years old and I doubt it'll hurt sales of the adventures?

I would not suggest it. At least not in anything resembling the adventure itself.

It isn't a sales thing. It is a copyright enforcement precedence thing. If they let this slide, they are setting precedence to allow other material, perhaps less old and less unrelated to current sales.

A way you can safely post updates would be to list the encounter areas and say "what you did". For example:
Area 1c:
Replace "3 orcs" with
✦ 2 orc raiders (level 3 skirmisher)
✦ 2 orc berserkers (level 4 brute)
✦ 1 dire boar (level 6 brute)

Replace "Crossbow Trap" with
Pendulum Scythes (DMG page 88)

This way the conversion only becomes useful to someone who already has the module.
#3
guivre
Mar 08, 2009 20:08:26
I would not suggest it. At least not in anything resembling the adventure itself.

It isn't a sales thing. It is a copyright enforcement precedence thing. If they let this slide, they are setting precedence to allow other material, perhaps less old and less unrelated to current sales.

A way you can safely post updates would be to list the encounter areas and say "what you did". For example:

This way the conversion only becomes useful to someone who already has the module.

The word you're looking for is precedent and it's irrelevant to the question.

WotC can ignore copyright infringement a thousand times and it wouldn't hurt their case should they choose to pursue damages on the 1001st.

In any event it's best not to post copyrighted material without permission.
#4
perplex
Mar 08, 2009 21:51:01 I realize that an exact copy of a module wouldn't be very good. I was more thinking of listing the story as a sort of bullet point way. How it starts, what leads encounter A into encounter B, how it resolves or leads into the next adventure. Then listing the fights as the difference from 2nd edition to 4th would be considerably different but people would be able to critique that for capturing the flavor of Darksun and if the fights seem balanced.

But no matter how bare bones I post it, its still based on someone else's work. Which is fine to modify for personal use (DnD's all about addlibbing) but your right it could be a problem to post it

I'll keep any posts about it on the generic side then.
#5
voska66
Mar 09, 2009 12:42:23 Go for it, post it. It would probably fall under the fair use exceptions as long as you don't post the entire adventure. As well since WotC is the copyright holder and they run this site they have control to remove anything that exceed what fair use would allow. So I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 perplex Mar 08, 2009 18:39:54	I originally posted this in the adventure are but its more of a general question at the moment so I'm relisting it and adding a bit to it. I'm planning on starting a DarkSun Campaign for 4th edition once I get the PHB2 as Goliaths should fit in nicely for half giants and some of the primal classes seem like they will work out nicely even with the current abscence of psionics. To start with just to get some players some experience with the system and the darksun world, I was going to update some of the Official Adventures that were released when the setting was popular such as Road to Urik and run those. To make sure i'm not going to break it too much I was thinking of posting my redo up here for critique but I'm wondering how annoyed Wotc will be with posting such an item. Do you think it would be fine to post as its over 10 years old and I doubt it'll hurt sales of the adventures? Sorry for the wall of text just need to know how specific I can post the information to get feedback on the write up. I also want to know the answer to this as a long time ago when 3rd edition was just coming out, they released a mini game loosely based on Diablo 2 and Dnd 2nd edition. This One Shot featured the players stopping the return of The Butcher and featured random dungeon designs in the nature of Random Dungeons PG 190 of the 4th edition DM's guide. I think doing an updated version of that would also be an interesting project. Thanks in advance
#2 Seeker95 Mar 08, 2009 20:00:09	Do you think it would be fine to post as its over 10 years old and I doubt it'll hurt sales of the adventures? I would not suggest it. At least not in anything resembling the adventure itself. It isn't a sales thing. It is a copyright enforcement precedence thing. If they let this slide, they are setting precedence to allow other material, perhaps less old and less unrelated to current sales. A way you can safely post updates would be to list the encounter areas and say "what you did". For example: Area 1c: Replace "3 orcs" with ✦ 2 orc raiders (level 3 skirmisher) ✦ 2 orc berserkers (level 4 brute) ✦ 1 dire boar (level 6 brute) Replace "Crossbow Trap" with Pendulum Scythes (DMG page 88) This way the conversion only becomes useful to someone who already has the module.
#3 guivre Mar 08, 2009 20:08:26	I would not suggest it. At least not in anything resembling the adventure itself. It isn't a sales thing. It is a copyright enforcement precedence thing. If they let this slide, they are setting precedence to allow other material, perhaps less old and less unrelated to current sales. A way you can safely post updates would be to list the encounter areas and say "what you did". For example: This way the conversion only becomes useful to someone who already has the module. The word you're looking for is precedent and it's irrelevant to the question. WotC can ignore copyright infringement a thousand times and it wouldn't hurt their case should they choose to pursue damages on the 1001st. In any event it's best not to post copyrighted material without permission.
#4 perplex Mar 08, 2009 21:51:01	I realize that an exact copy of a module wouldn't be very good. I was more thinking of listing the story as a sort of bullet point way. How it starts, what leads encounter A into encounter B, how it resolves or leads into the next adventure. Then listing the fights as the difference from 2nd edition to 4th would be considerably different but people would be able to critique that for capturing the flavor of Darksun and if the fights seem balanced. But no matter how bare bones I post it, its still based on someone else's work. Which is fine to modify for personal use (DnD's all about addlibbing) but your right it could be a problem to post it I'll keep any posts about it on the generic side then.
#5 voska66 Mar 09, 2009 12:42:23	Go for it, post it. It would probably fall under the fair use exceptions as long as you don't post the entire adventure. As well since WotC is the copyright holder and they run this site they have control to remove anything that exceed what fair use would allow. So I wouldn't be too worried about it.