What does the royalty pay for?

[sveden]

While reading about Hero Lab I read that each copy of Hero Lab includes a royalty payment to the company that owns the game.

In regards to 4e, if we are paying a royalty to WoC why don't we get all the feats, skills and powers included with our 4e license?

Why do I then have to pay to get that content from WoC?

[chiefweasel]

It all depends on what agreement the IP company has made with LW. I know that with my dealings with WoTC they have been notoriously difficlut. They license and the content that can be put into HL might be tightly controled by the WoTC folks.

Conversely Piazo wants everything they make to go into HL, but this creates the other side of the problem, too much content not enough time to create it.

[sveden]

Thanks for the reply.

I just would like to know what IP or part of WoC's IP we are paying for. Because as far as I can tell the DDI downloader that supplies the placeholders for feats, skills and powers is provding "public" data that anyone could use without any IP agreement with WoC.

[ChrisRevocateur]

Originally Posted by sveden

Thanks for the reply.

I just would like to know what IP or part of WoC's IP we are paying for. Because as far as I can tell the DDI downloader that supplies the placeholders for feats, skills and powers is provding "public" data that anyone could use without any IP agreement with WoC.

I could be wrong, but in the case of 4E and WotC, I don't think you're paying for ANY of it. I don't think they get one cent from HL for 4E licenses. I think that they just used the bare bones skeleton for the rules to legally put it out, and what you're actually paying for when you get the 4E dataset is the unfettered access to the Authoring Kit and Savage Worlds. I believe I've heard the developers say that they include 4E and Savage Worlds with the Authoring Kit so that you can look at those systems as examples of how you can create your own.