Among the questions we’re asked by SyncRPG users, some of the most common are,

Why do we have to have to use the collections system to associate NPCs, maps, and macros?

and,

Why can’t we share a completed VTT campaign file for other users to download?

While we understand the desire to create “pre-packaged” content like our own Tempest Adventure Modules, there are several reasons why the site was designed the way it was. The primary one is that we want to encourage people to break large creations into the “smallest sharable units.” To us, these are things like characters, maps, and macros, which we refer to collectively as assets. While sharing one file with everything ready to go certainly seems like the easiest solution, it’s important to note that each individual component has value, independent of the entire creation.

CR 7 LeCleyr 0 Toggle Statistics XP 3200 human (Varisian) swashbuckler 8

Lawful Evil Medium Humanoid (Human) Init +12; Senses DEFENSE AC 23, touch 17, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor +4 Dex +3 dodge) hp 73 (8d10+8) Fort +3, Ref +10, Will +4 Defensive Abilities Charmed Life (4/day) OFFENSE Speed 30 Melee Brine's sting +14/+9 (1d6+4+16 Precision/15-20/Ã—2) Ranged +1 longbow +11/+11/+6 (1d8+1/Ã—3) Space 5; Reach 5 STATISTICS Str 14 Dex 18 Con 12 Int 10 Wis 14 Cha 13 Base Atk +8; CMB +10; CMD 27 Feats Armor Proficiency (Light), Buckler Proficiency, Careful Speaker, Dodge, Far Shot, Improved Initiative, Martial Weapon Proficiency - All, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Simple Weapon Proficiency - All Skills Acrobatics +7, Appraise +0, Bluff +7, Climb +6, Diplomacy +10, Disable Device +6, Disguise +1, Escape Artist +7, Fly +3, Handle Animal +1, Heal +4, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (local) +9, Linguistics +1, Perception +10, Perform (oratory) +8, Profession (sailor) +14, Ride +3, Sense Motive +7, Sleight of Hand +7, Spellcraft +0, Stealth +3, Survival +4, Swim +8, Use Magic Device +1 Languages Aquan, Common, Varisian SQ Deed: Dodging Panache +1 (Ex), Deed: Superior Feint (Ex), Deed: Swashbuckler Initiative (Ex), Deed: Swashbuckler's Grace (Ex), Swashbuckler Finesse Source: herolab

That swashbuckler NPC which you created to lead the thieves guild in your homebrew campaign may be exactly what another gamemaster is looking for to fill out an encounter in their own game. That GM may not need any of the sidekicks you created for him, or the detailed map of the guildhall you put them in. Sharing the NPC itself as a standalone asset that a GM can use in whatever way they like is much more valuable to the community as a whole. Similarly, a GM you’ve never met may really like a macro you made to run an innovative trap or haunt, even if they don’t know anything else about the campaign you’re running.

Storing and sharing these as individual assets allows other GMs to pick and choose exactly what they want, without anything they don’t. They can look at NPCs, maps, and macros, picking the brains of GMs all around the world, and drag-drop them right from the site into their own games.

The other major concern this model addresses is copyright enforcement. Allowing users to upload fully customized VTT map or campaign files would effectively allow them to bypass any sort of intellectual property protections we might put in place. It would become almost impossible to guarantee that none of the art was ripped out of a Paizo module, or the text taken from some third party publisher’s setting. We take the protection of the intellectual property of writers, artists, and publishers very seriously, and we are able to do what we do precisely because of the limits placed on what art you can use for your tokens, what maps are available in the library, etc. If you create something using our tools, with art we’ve licensed, that creation can be shared on the site without infringing on anyone’s copyright, and we don’t have to worry about getting a takedown notice. It’s like the OGL for VTT components, the assets on SyncRPG belong to all of us!

It’s a little odd at first to those who have used VTTs in recent years, painstakingly placing each and every token and piece of art onto the map before their play sessions, but when you start thinking about your dungeons or encounters as a collection of shareable assets instead of one megalithic campaign file filled with maps, tokens, and macros, you expose your creations to others a la carte, and everyone can sample from your dishes with a drag-drop.

Discuss 'Assets on SyncRPG: Creations ala Carte' on the SyncRPG forums