John W. Mangrum

Books of S' and Canon

When it came to the BoSes and canon:

• 1) If the Kargatane didn't write it, I ignored it.
• 2) If the Kargatane did write it, I treated the BoSes the same way "new Who" treats the old Doctor Who series -- plucking out what they want, ignoring what they don't, on a case-by-case basis.

Copyright

Well, on the topic of copyright, keep in mind that from day one, the Kargatane operated under the knowledge (and acceptance) that the rights holders could shut us down at a moment's notice. Particularly since we started out late in a period when TSR was still somewhat draconic regarding fan-made material (an era I like to think we had a small role in ending). In fact, when we created The Book of Souls, our original intention was to submit it to the TSR website for them to post (at the time, the only "safe harbor" for netbooks, as I recall).

As it is, we received the Kargat's wink-and-a-nod blessing, so we went ahead with the Secrets of the Kargatane website. But from beginning to end, we knew we were operating in the murky waters of shared copyright law. And, indeed, a major component of what ultimately stopped us from producing netbooks was that the powers-that-be -- at that point, Arthaus -- explicitly told us not to release anything but adventures.

So here's my take: If you, as fans, want to start statting up and releasing updates on Ravenloft material, go ahead. But if WotC comes to you with a cease-and-desist, don't be surprised, and understand that you have no room to gripe. You're playing with their ball in their backyard.