What is open source gaming?
“Gods & Monsters” is a fantasy role-playing game released under the Gnu Free Documentation License. More information about the license is available within the game book and at the Gnu FDL web site.
Open gaming basically means is that while “Gods & Monsters” is copyrighted, the license allows you to use the game, edit it, and modify it, as long as you agree that your modifications are also available under the Gnu Free Documentation License.
Of course, you can make non-FDL, “Gods & Monsters”-compatible adventures and add-ons without infringing on the copyright; just don’t copy or edit the text from “Gods & Monsters” to make your “aftermarket accessory” or otherwise transform the work. It is only when a copyright is infringed or a derivative work is created that a license such as the FDL is invoked.
- GNU Free Documentation License: Free Software Foundation
- “The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document ‘free’ in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.”