Does referencing specific monster actions break the 5e SRD/OGL

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I'm writing my own supplement for 5e, using the OGL/SRD, and have a chapter on monsters. I'm wondering if I can safely use standard monster actions such as Brave, Aggressive, Charge, Camouflage, Grappler, etc etc, without breaking the license? Or do I have to use all custom actions. Or can I even only use some, and not others?

Best Answer

Anything in the SRD is open-game content, and thus you can use any of it in any OGL-licensed product. So if you can find those actions in the SRD, you can use the any or all of the text describing that action in your own work, edited or not as you like. That includes wholesale copy-and-paste of actions.

In the case of those you list,

  • Brave: yes (Knight, Gladiator)
  • Aggressive: yes (Orc)
  • Charge: yes (many, e.g. Boar)
  • Camouflage: by itself, not that I could find in a quick search, but
    • Underwater Camouflage: yes (Octopus, Giant Octopus)
    • Stone Camouflage: yes (several, e.g. Xorn)
    • Snow Camouflage: yes (Winter Wolf).
    • and adapting any of these (say, to a new environment, or to an environment-agnostic version) is allowed.
  • Grappler: yes (Mimic)

Technically, being absent from the SRD doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t use it—if you can find it as open-game content somewhere else. But I’m pretty sure all of Wizards’ OGC is in the SRD, so in practice if something isn’t in the SRD, you can’t use it.

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