Superlink for Supers RPG

D20, Industry, Roleplaying Games 8 comments

Green Ronin has created a license for its Mutants & Masterminds RPG, in addition to the Open Gaming License it was released under. This new license, called M&M Superlink, is for non-Green Ronin products that are compatible with Mutants & Masterminds. Any new creations will have to be checked by the GR folks at different stages to ensure that both the M&M Superlink and the Open Gaming License are being properly followed. However, this opens the door for new superhero materials to come flooding into the marketplace.

Green Ronin’s M&M Superlink info:

8 comments

  2. Hmmm… calling it a “second license” for the game isn’t very clear, is it? I’ve edited the wording to make my intended statement more clear. Thanks.

  3. This is very interesting. It’s becoming more and more clear just how nicely the OGL is set up. You can start with what is essentially the D20 system under the OGL and not just duplicate it without the d20 logo, but make your own equivalent to the D20 System License Agreement. In fact, given the good things I’ve heard about the M&M system, I might just want to use it whole cloth for something unrelated. (Were I an RPG designer. That is.)

  4. Actually, it’s more of a near-equivalent version of the d20 System Trademark License. Green Ronin still want strict quality control over the brand MUTANTS & MASTERMINDS but they’re willing to grant permission pending review and approval of any compatible Body of Work submitted to them. While it is royalty-free license, unlike the STL, the text of license is not openly available (i.e., posted on the internet). What that means? Once you submit your material to them, you’ll have to wait a long time as they have to sift through the other submissions that were sent before yours. As a game designer, unless it is spelled out to you, you don’t know which content is allowed to use which is not, until Green Ronin sent back you material full of red inks. That can be frustrating, since you’ll have to re-submit the corrected material for review and approval. You have to remember, Green Ronin is not a big company, as they rely mostly freelancers like MnM author Steve Kenson, so the small number of in-house company staff are the ones to edit your work.

  5. Actually, Dai Oni, that’s not exactly the way it’s going to work. We’re not going to do extensive approvals such as you’ve described, and anyone given the go-ahead for their initial proposal will informed of *exactly* what Product Identity can be used *before* they put together their product. (See “Step 1”.)

    Example: “Dear GreenRonin: We plan to do a 32-page chapbook of sinister organizations that can be used in any modern or near-modern campaign.” GR sez: Right on. You go!

    Example: “Dear GreenRonin: I would like to do a book depicting Freedom City in the Twenty-third Century!” GR sez: I’m sorry, Freedom City is reserved product identity. A futuristic city sourcebook is a fine idea, but it would need to be done without reference to Freedom City or its denizens, which are claimed as PI. See page XX of the Freedom City book.

    Example: “Dear Green Ronin: I’ve created about 50 characters for my website and online campaign. I would like to release this as an M&M Superlink PDF.” GR sez: Right on. This would be a great Superlink product. You may reference Power Points and Hero Points in your product; please include the M&M Superlink Identity Statement onyour credits page…blah, blah, blah.

    Once we’re to the step of approving the final product, it’s just to check that everyone did what they said they were going to do, that all the licensing statements are included properly, etc. As we saw when WotC released the OGL, many people (including Green Ronin) failed to implement it properly in the very first products. We’re trying to avoid that problem right off the bat, that’s all.

  6. I want to clarify that my incoherency above was not even intended to be about the M&M Superlink license/process, but was just speculation about other shit. And thanks to Nicole for the clarification.

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