d20 NPC Wiki:NPC Policies and Help
From d20 NPC Wiki
| This page is an official policy on the d20 NPC Wiki. It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that all users should follow. Feel free to edit the page as needed, but please make sure that changes you make to this policy really do reflect consensus before you make them. |
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Legal
This fan site does not utilize the WotC Open Gaming Licence. Instead, it utilizes the WotC Online Policy. Sean K Reynolds describes the policy on this site as well.
The WotC Online Policy can be summarized as follows:
- You can't utilize anything here to make money, such as publishing it in a professional product.
- You can use creatures, templates, and other rules not in the SRD, such as Metabreath Feats from the Draconomicon, or Mind Flayers and Beholders.
In order to follow the spirit of these rules further, and avoid any possible legal problems, it would be preferable that when you use anything that is not Open Game Content on this wiki, that you not copy any text verbatim from these sources. This will encourage the purchase of the original source texts, supporting the industry, and help stave off potential legal issues.
What to include?
Please do not simply copy NPCs from published sources - including the System Reference Document! This Wiki is only intended for fan material - while NPCs and monsters using materials from the SRD and other sources are not a problem, actual copying from the SRD or other sources might be objected to by Wizards of the Coast or the copyright holder.
What do we mean by fan material? We mean NPCs, characters with fully calculated levels, or monsters modified by templates, advancement, or sheer customization. While stats for a basic Aboleth would not be welcome, an Aboleth with the fiendish template and five levels of Psion added to it would be welcome.
We have unfortunately seen several instances of users abusing the power to edit any page on the website, and so this must be said for official policy reasons: While we embrace users editing pages to contribute to the community, actions that hamper, harass, or detract from the community (i.e. Vandalism) will result in blocking, banning or other actions as seen fit by the administrators of this site. Please see the Vandalism page for more information on what constitutes vandalism and the likely consequences of posting such content.
How do I edit NPCs or other pages?
Click the "edit" tab at the top of every page to edit that page. If you're not sure whether an edit is called for, click the "discussion" tab and edit that page to leave a note for others (don't forget to sign your name) to start a discussion whether or not an edit should be done.
How do I include an NPC?
Once you've determined that this NPC follows the rules above, you may add it to the wiki. You can create the page in one of two ways.
- Type the name of your NPC into the search box on the left. When it tells you the page does not exist, click the red link to create the page.
- When using this method, make sure to go back to the index pages (like the CR index, or other indexes anyway to add your link, otherwise no one will be able to find your NPC.
- Create a link to it on one of our index pages, linked to from the main page. Once you've added the link, click on it to create the page.
- Links are created by surrounding the text with square brackets: [[Main Page]] creates Main Page
- If in doubt, look at the markup used by other users for their entries, and copy what they've done.
When posting to an index page, consider using the CRlink template, which will highlight the various aspects of your character in an easy to read format for the listing.
Other Formatting Guidelines
Choose a descriptive name for the NPC or monster. This name should be more than a one-word summary - instead of naming an NPC "Thug", consider naming him "Generic Human CR2 Thug". Click on that new link and you will create a new page for the NPC.
After the title, first state if you are using any additional rules for that NPC other than those found in the Core Rules - for example, if you are using any specific supplements for feats, prestige classes, and so on, then list these so that other GMs immediately know if they have access to those same rules.
After this, enter the stat block for the NPC or creature. Entering your monsters in a format such as the New Stat Block Template will make it easier for others to use your characters, but as long as others can read and understand it, it should be okay.
That's basically it. If you want, you can add further material - typical combat tactics, or examples of play where you used that NPC or creature, but none of these are necessary. You should also add a link to your creature from the other index pages so that Wiki users will have an easier time of finding it.
Templates
The use of wiki templates (different from d20 templates) can make adding your NPC easier. Follow the instructions on our NPC Templates page for more help.
Categorizing
The use of categories can make finding the perfect NPC for a GM's campaign much easier. To categorize an NPC, simply put [[Category:CATEGORYNAME]] at the bottom of your page. Some wiki templates automatically add your NPC to a category. If you would like your NPC to show up alphabetically under a different character than the start of the article name (for example, adding a character called "CR2 Orc" to the "CR 2" Category, it's rather redundant to have it show up under the 'C's, since if everyone did that, all the articles would be under the 'C's), put a pipe character followed by the name you would like it sorted by (i.e. [[Category:CR 2|Orc]] for the prior example).
At the very least, your NPC should have a category for its Challenge Rating, its Type and/or Race, and any class levels it may have. For example, an Orc Barbarian 1 would have the following categories:
What if I don't have an NPC to add?
There are still other tasks that need doing about the wiki that would be grateful for your assistance. Check out the Tidy Category to find pages that exist, but need some wikification to be more usable by the DMs who utilize this site. Or look under the Abandoned Category to find articles that have been left incomplete for a time and need completion by someone. You can also look at the Orphaned Pages list and find a list of pages that are not linked from anywhere else in the wiki; pick one and determine where in the list of indexes this page should be listed, so that people can find it by clicking, rather than searching for it. If you run across any pages that would fit into these categories, please add them by using the Tidy Template or I Warn Template. Finally, if you use an NPC in your campaign, please leave a message on that article's "discussion" page, and flag it with an Approval, Caution, or Warning badge, to assist future DMs on the quality of that particular creation.