Content Market Question

[Kendall-DM]

I know it is still on the horizon, but I've been thinking about this since I've been considering putting some heavily altered published material into RW for my campaign with disclaimers. However this got me to thinking about accessibility of items on the content market. I want to make most of my original material available to anyone that wants to use it, I really like that feature. I figure once you make something available, anyone could get it from the Content Market, including my own players. Will there be a way to exclude users from accessing your content (say your own players), because they would have access to everything I would have access to once they download the content, right? Of course, anyone that is devious enough would still be able to get to my content though, even if I could exclude users, so this is probably a moot question. But my inquiring mind wants me to know how this is intended to work. Luckily, none of my campaign specific stuff will be available, but some of my storylines and plots will be, and I don't want my players to have access to things they wouldn't normally know. I don't think I have any players that would do such a devious thing, but one can never be sure.

[Parody]

They'd have to buy the GM version first.

Otherwise I doubt anything would stop them, just like there's nothing stopping folks running a traditionally published adventure from getting a copy of the books and/or PDFs. (Or sneaking a look behind the GM's screen during a break.)

[Kendall-DM]

And that was what I was thinking as well. I don't know why it bothers me, but it does. I have players that just want to know what is really going on, and I could see the less scrupulous of the bunch taking a 'peek behind the screen'.

I may just have to produce a secondary realm only for the content market with non-campaign specific or altered material. Well, nothing to concern myself with at the moment anyways, we've still a way to go before we reach it.

[Dark Lord Galen]

Originally Posted by Parody

They'd have to buy the GM version first.

Otherwise I doubt anything would stop them, just like there's nothing stopping folks running a traditionally published adventure from getting a copy of the books and/or PDFs. (Or sneaking a look behind the GM's screen during a break.)

I agree with Parody on this view. IF your concern is to limit your "prying eyes" of players, frankly there isn't a failsafe. Just as others have said.

Even now there is nothing keep a player from going to the local game shop or half price books or amazon and procuring a copy without your knowledge.
The most sure fast way I have found in 30 years of dealing with this is to not be so "tied to whatever canon" you utilize that your players can do this with impiety. There are those that suffer with, what I would label, "PC gamer-ism" that buy the game and then the cheat book to beat the game sooner. They follow those same matrix for Roleplaying.

Since our tables' campaign is within Greyhawk (the first, longest running, and best), there is a mountain of "canon", "semi-canon", and "Fanon" but that doesn't make any of it gospel to me. I have info from the original writers that extend 10's of years ahead of our current campaign date, but that doesn't force me to use any or all of it. I have often changed it via discussions with them on what they would do "different"..

There are also several places that the PCs have changed events, or I simply didn't like what was originated (example Gygax had some canon around a wrecked space ship with laser, and hand grenades, to me just didn't fit) .

On a differing note, and I must admit, I take a certain level of ZEAL at the looks on those "metagamer / PC gamer's" when it doesn't play out as they have "read". I have broke my players from this habit you describe with differing monsters, traps where they were not indicated, for just a few variables.

And then not all my orcs are CR1 single hit die creatures either... hehehe

From a RW perspective, I have my own campaign and then have compartmentalized others based on canon dates.. If/ when the market place comes into being, I will migrate those for other GH faithful to manipulate in their own way. BUT till we know how that mechanics of it will play out I don't honestly waste a lot of time/ effort on it. why work it two or more times until Rob and the gang get their footing on how they will manage that new piece of the RW puzzle?

As I tell my players, feel free to google, read, etc all you want, I credit that to increasing their player knowledge and supplementing their skill checks, but just because Gygax wrote it that way doesn't mean that is the only way.