From d20 NPC Wiki

Contents 1 SRD particulars - what are they? 1.1 Created vs. Non 2 Wikifying 3 br? 4 WotC "Internet Policy" 5 Main page edit wars 6 Banning? 6.1 EnWorld 7 Stat Block Style 8 Reworking the main page 9 Main Page Blank 10 Semi-Banning Rather Than Locking 11 Policy on Conversions? 12 Layout? 13 Teams? 14 Iron Heroes? 15 adding a Star Wars Saga Edition section 16 Main Page overhaul 17 Wikia Gaming IRC channel

[edit] SRD particulars - what are they?

I'm seeing lots of NPCs that use information not found in the SRD. For instance, there are no beholders in the SRD so we shouldn't have any beholders (or half-fiend beholders) here. There are no warforged in the SRD, so the same applies to them. Third-party sources shouldn't be used unless they've got their own special arrangements.

PsiSeveredHead 15:21, 7 Jul 2005 (UTC)

This website doesn't use the Open Gaming Licence, but the WotC general fansite policy (which I have linked to from the main site), so it is irrelevant whether a certain creature has been released under the SRD or not. Basically, as long as we don't copy monsters verbatim and as long as we don't use the information for profit, we should be fairly safe.

It's probably safe to assume that third-party publishers have similar policies. That said, if such a publisher has any fan site policy that explicitly prohibits that kind of thing, please let me know and alter any relevant entries. But it is probably a good idea to write exactly from which Third Party books you are using stuff, and possibly link back to the publisher. This way we are less likely to get complaints.

Jürgen Hubert 17:44, 7 Jul 2005 (CET)

[edit] Created vs. Non

I understand being able to use all WotC books as a source under the current policy, but I'm also seeing some custom monsters popping up (like Psuedonatural Lavawight; non-WotC template, which has been customized further for just that character, and I'm pretty sure a Lavawight is not a WotC monster either, Death, unique creature CR 26, a custom creature, The Vestige CR 27, a modification to existing WotC creature, A'tuin the Star Turtle, a custom creature, and many others who use The Immortals Handbook as a template guide, which is not a WotC publication). Are these to be allowed? It seems to me that the original intent of this website was to use WotC sources to mix and match NPCs together, resulting in NPCS that were completely adherant to the strictest of rulekeeping, provided the DM allows that particular sourcebook. I like that idea and I think this website should stick to creating strictly-legal NPCs, and let another site, like this wiki be a repository for the custom creations. I don't think adding in a custom feat, spell, armor, or weapon is terrible, but at least do the research and suggest a WotC-compliant option in place of it, should the DM want to not go for it. A good addition to the Help section would probably be a listing of all WotC sourcebooks for newbs to know where the line is drawn. And speaking of drawing lines, do you police the site at all, or do you have an admin team to do any weeding? Not just characters that don't comply with your mission statement, but many duplicate pages, orphaned pages, and stubs exist as well: A quick run through the Orphaned pages list shows plenty of duplicates and stubs needing deletion.

--MidnightLightning 14:09, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

I read through the original messageboard thread which gave birth to this Wiki and found that permission was granted to create custom critters, so, for ease of use, I've done some work to make them their own category. If you'd like to peruse that way, there's top level links in the Additional indices for d20 NPCs page, now, and also a Custom Creations category for you to use to flag entries as custom.

--MidnightLightning 17:07, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

As an incidental note, Lavawight is not only a WotC creature, it's a SRD creature. --Fieari 17:09, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

Strange, I don't see it on the SRD monster index. There's a wight, but not a lavawight, unless it's a sub-category under something else? --MidnightLightning 17:29, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

Check the epic SRD. Here's a direct link: [1] Fieari 17:33, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikifying

I noticed a lot of articles here look kind of ... messy. Anyone can use whatever style they want, but I wonder if the articles look so bland because no one knows how to use bold, italics, lists, and so forth. To help out, I added a link to wikipedia's tutorials.

PS to sign an article, use three or four ~ rather than == followed by your name (four puts a date on it). And don't start a sentence with a space, as it makes your article look really bad. I found that out the hard way. PsiSeveredHead 14:13, 8 Jul 2005 (UTC)

[edit] br?

Hey, why is everyone using <br>-tags instead of, well, just normal line breaks? You know, hitting the enter key and such things. I know that the Wiki software can cope with HTML tags however with "real" line breaks the source code is much clearer and therefore easier to edit ;) . --Oracle of truth

I'm using them because normal line breaks insert extra space between the lines, where a <br> tag doesn't. For stat-blocks, this results in a more pleasing, compact layout. For comparison:

---

Half-Fiend Pixie CR 5 (6 with irresistable dance)

CE Small Outsider (Native, Augmented Fey)

Init +6; Senses Low-light vision, Darkvision 60 ft., Listen +10, Spot +10

Aura Faint evil

Languages Common, Sylvan

---

with line returns, and

---

Half-Fiend Pixie CR 5 (6 with irresistable dance)
CE Small Outsider (Native, Augmented Fey)
Init +6; Senses Low-light vision, Darkvision 60 ft., Listen +10, Spot +10
Aura Faint evil
Languages Common, Sylvan

---

with <br> tags. I think the second is easier to read than the first.

The additional compexity of the source code is worth this. In fact, in my opinion, the source code for the second is cleaner and easier to use as well. Your mileage may vary.

Iron sheep 14:21, 15 Jul 2005 (UTC)

[edit] WotC "Internet Policy"

First off, it would be great to get a link to WotC's "Online Policy" that didn't involve signing up for yet another user account just to see it, but now that I did go through that rigamarole, I see that the WotC "Online Policy" is not an actual contract, nor is it something that you can find on their own website, but rather is a simple quote by an individual who no longer works for WotC... Am I the only one who's a little wary of that?

I'm especially wary, since I was thinking of putting up sample dragons from each age of some of the new dragon races from the Draconomicon, but don't know if posting (say Shadow Dragon) special abilities word for word from the Draconomicon is allowed (since it's not SRD). Or, if I were to do a breakdown of each standard metallic and chromatic dragon dragon (from the SRD) into a character stat block, that seems to be okay, but that's what the Draconomicon's last chapter is; a sample dragon from each age category from each of the ten SRD dragon races. Is that allowed?

--MidnightLightning 14:25, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

It could be claimed that even without that policy, even though we aren't using OGC, that what we do falls under fair use. Esspecially as in most cases using non-core rules, the rule is referenced but not explained, which means that anyone wanting to use that NPC would do well to buy the rulebook anyway. Remeber the qualifications for fair use:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

In answer...

1. We're definitely non-profit.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work is a repository of rules, while our work is a usage of those rules.
3. We're hardly using the smallest fractions. Heck, in many cases, we aren't even using the same terminology. Remember, game rules can't be patented, only copyrighted, so if the exact words aren't used, there isn't even a copyright violation.
4. It could be argued that our work promotes the original product, and encourages people to buy it.

I think we're still safe. Fieari 17:27, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Main page edit wars

Why the huge edits to the front page, which makes it impossible to find the NPCs?

I'm restoring the deleted information. If someone wants to make huge edits again, please post your reasons why on the talk page. Otherwise I'll undo the edits and request the main page be locked. PsiSeveredHead 18:13, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

On a related topic - where's the link to the product list gone to? Infernal Teddy

I'm actually going to revert the front page one full iteration backwards to get the missing links back. The revision put up by PsiSeveredHead is a much older backup and is missing a bunch of the more recent pages. M Jason Parent

Just reset the main page again *Sigh* Infernal Teddy

And AGAIN... Infernal Teddy

[edit] Banning?

Can we ban 209.123.8.145 ?

That account has been destroying pages on a regular basis it seems. I'm back-tracking and fixing the edits (which include the front page on two occasions)

Agreed, it would be a great idea. Anybody know what's up with ENWorld? Infernal Teddy

The procedure for banning is here: Wikicity banning procedure but you have to be an administrator to do so. PsiSeveredHead 17:39, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

It is done. Sorry for not paying attention. If something like that happens again, email me at jhubert at gmx dot de. Jürgen Hubert 23:36, 27 February 2006 (CET)

[edit] EnWorld

It's been hacked. Livejournal PsiSeveredHead 17:37, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

But it's back now. PsiSeveredHead 21:28, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Stat Block Style

Ok. I realize I'm a bit new here but shouldn't we have some sort of common format? Personally, since its easy to read and this is the internet so space isn't a problem for us, I like the new WotC format.
A whole bunch of monsters are missing things like Full Attack vs. Standard-Action attack. (Sometimes it's easy to figure out but sometimes it's not)

Can anyone with slick skills take some of the good looking templates that exist and make a common template for us?
Graf 08:30, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

::SNIP::
Conversation moved to Talk:NPC Templates where it is more relevant

[edit] Reworking the main page

Now that we're getting a little bigger, I think it may be about time for a main page redesign. Here's some thoughts to chew over... I want to gain consensus before actually trying to implement any of this.

1. Move most of the "Introduction" to a "Welcome" page, linked to from the main page. This will free up room for making access to the more regular parts of the site up higher, and still allow newcommers to understand what we're doing.
2. Use CSS to make boxes to put side by side for the various sections, D&D/d20 Modern/True20/etc, with more prominent positions for those sections which contain more data.
3. Consider having a "Featured NPC" like wikipedia has with featured articles. Requirements to be featured should include accuracy in the stats (check it), as well as a history, background information, variants for those who don't have all the books, that sort of thing. We could make it a weekly thing instead of daily, since we aren't THAT big yet...

What do you guys think? Fieari 20:34, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

I put up a little mockup here: User:Fieari/Sandbox1 Fieari 00:09, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I like this one. PsiSeveredHead 15:21, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

I like it too. And since I have the power... Bam! Front page redone Fieari-style! Of course, if anyone has improvements or suggestions to further this style, post here and I'll add them in if there's a consensus. --MidnightLightning 12:14, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Main Page Blank

I'm about to blank the main page. I thought I'd give you a heads-up. --194.80.21.10 09:38, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Okay; as infinitely useful as that notice was, are you a vandal trying to make a name for yourself, or someone from Wikia trying to facilitate their upgrade from Wikicities format to Wikia (as their conversion script ran just before you. Well, 'just before' is relative, since it seems the conversion script did some haywire things with the edit dates for individual pages). For now, I've reverted your edit(s), and have protected the main page. It's been too big of a target for vandals, so if you have any suggestions for a change to the front page, make it here and an admin will take care of it. Sorry for that inconvenience to the dedicated users who haven't been abusing that privilage. --MidnightLightning 12:25, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Semi-Banning Rather Than Locking

Wikipedia has a semi-baninng policy at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Semi-protection_policy. It locks a page from being edited except by people who have registered with wikipedia. I wonder if such a thing exists for wikicities. PsiSeveredHead 13:29, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

It does, and I've reduced the protection on the Main Page to "registered only" rather than "Admins only", since most of the vandals of that page in the past have been unregistered users. I'll also be going through and adding that protection to the Templates that the Main Page uses, to keep them safe as well.

--MidnightLightning 18:07, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Policy on Conversions?

Is there a policy on converting 2e NPCs in adventures to 3e? PsiSeveredHead 19:05, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Layout?

I like the main page's redesign to have the two-column approach, but I'm seeing as the D&D section is growing, we're getting a bunch of whitespace on the right side to match. I will probably, eventually, take a look at the source to figure out how to do this myself, but some of the items that are currently on the bottom in the two-column spanning area could be moved up into the right column to fill it out and prevent so much scrolling, and the D&D links could be added to the left side with the rest of that category.

--MidnightLightning 18:02, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Teams?

Just putting this out there - we've all had times when we needed a good NPC, but how often have we needed a good team of NPCs? Sending one guy out to fight the PCs is usually suicide, even if he's several levels higher. Even if you put several NPCs in a group and call them a team, they may not mesh well. Is there a need for a list of teams built of NPCs designed to work together, or with a list of effective combat tactics through teamwork? --Snikers 05:21, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Iron Heroes?

I noticed that some of the comments here mentioned that the front page was the subject of repeated vandalism. I figured, in this case, it was probably a good idea to come to the discussion area and make a request for an Iron Heroes section under the "Other RPGs" heading. Let me know if there are any objections to creating such a section.

--Cineris, 16:13 10 April 2007

[edit] adding a Star Wars Saga Edition section

If no one objects, I'll be adding a section for the new SW game once it comes out. The rules are pretty different from the previous edition, and the characters aren't categorized by a challenge code anymore, so I figure a new section is warranted.

-- User:Stanoje, 29 April 2007

[edit] Main Page overhaul

I've given the Main Page a code overhaul to simplify it and lay it out a bit better. The outward appearance quite similar, but the code is way way easier to read :) I also added the Wikia Gaming footer, and added links to the related Wikia links on it. Kirkburn (talk) 13:47, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wikia Gaming IRC channel

Hullo! I am Kirkburn, your friendly local Wikia Gaming Helper!

You may be interested to know there is a Wikia gaming IRC channel, #wikia-gaming on chat.freenode.net, where you can hop on, ask for help from users of other gaming wikis, or offer your own experiences. If you are not familiar with IRC clients, you can access it from http://irc.wikia.com/gaming.

Different people may be on sporadically, but we organize weekly chats at a fixed time so we can get the most number of people online at the same time to ask and answer questions, or just to hang out. The admins of some of Wikia's biggest gaming wikis (e.g. WoW, Halo) often attend them. You can find the time for the next chat by following this link.

The next #wikia-gaming chat will take place:

Next meeting
California (PDT)	New York (EDT)	London	Moscow
July 6 1 pm	July 6 4 pm	July 6 9 pm	July 6 Midnight

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me! Kirkburn (talk) 14:17, 25 February 2008 (UTC)