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Does it matter?

Started by Numinous, May 17, 2006, 10:01:40 PM

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Numinous

May 17, 2006, 10:01:40 PM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Xeviat Tranion
I have a question for all the people out there in this wonderful little community I call home.

In building my setting, I have come across a simple obstacle, and a simple choice.  To use the standard D&D cosmology of the great wheel.  however, though it is an imortant issue, I will not address that here.  What I want to know is where do we stop?

Most people here are building their own settings, toiling away to be original, or just make some sense out of the generic material put out by WoTC.  What I want to know, is how far do we go?  I know that it's generally seen as ok to borrow idea ofr your games at home, but if I snatch something from another CS and post it up here in my setting, it's disrespectful...

I guess the short version is, do you respect the people who just tinker a little and use all the crud wizards puts out?  Is it really alright to use other people's ideas almost identically?  Or should everyone alter everything just to make it truly "original"

I don't know if I made my point or not, discuss please...
Previously: Natural 20, Critical Threat, Rose of Montague
- Currently working on: The Smoking Hills - A bottom-up, seat-of-my-pants, fairy tale adventure!

Elven Doritos

#1
May 17, 2006, 10:34:34 PM
I'm hammering out my cosmos as well at the moment, and I'm leaning towards a relatively traditional one. That being said, the whole point of a creative community and also published material is to collaborate and share ideas-- it's not "stealing" but recognizing a cool idea and going with it for what it's worth.

That being said, people get territorial about creative work sometimes, even about forcing themselves to not draw on any resources. I think that sharing ideas and recognizing good ones is one of the most important part of being a creative person-- incorporating those ideas and making them your own is the creative part.

~ElDo
Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night
For it was all ripe for dreaming
Oh, how we danced away all of the lights
We've always been out of our minds
-Tom Waits, Rain Dogs

Raelifin

#2
May 18, 2006, 12:30:53 AM
IMO it becomes an issue when:

1. You don't have a goal. Have the end result (or a rough idea) in mind, if something fits then that's good, otherwise it's bad to keep it.

2. The idea is not "yours" in any way. Think of it like this, say you see a race you like (example: warforged). If you add the race to your setting on a whim it will seem stolen. But, if you think about what that race means to the world and how it would be different with the switch. For example, I have seen many settings where dwarves have been used and most of the original ideas are the same but the setting changes them and makes them belong.

3. The art becomes a clip-board. I see worlds as art, I'm sure many world builders agree. It's okay to use a style of painting or even paint the same thing or even both, but it's not okay to take a photograph and call it your own.

Soup Nazi

#3
May 18, 2006, 06:49:29 AM
I say steal shamelessly my friend. A good idea is a good idea. If you like sombody else's format for something, or ideas related to it, then just post a little acknowledgement or PM them to let them know you plan on using it; 99% of us will be flattered that something we made was inspiring enough to see use in another setting.

If you like something WotC put out and want to copy/paste it for your world, that's what it was written for! Feel no shame or embarrassment that you used other people's ideas. If we didn't want them used we would not have posted them, sold them, or published them for others to see.

I stole ideas from Turin for my ancient faiths. I stole ideas from Xathan for classes and prosthetics. I stole ideas from Epic_Meepo on alignment. I stole ideas from real world history, Eberron, and even a few books I've read here and there (like Dune). I am not at all bothered by the fact that many of the ideas that I use and have used, are not my own, becuase they are good ideas, and I like them. Heck we all use at least some of the same stuff.

-Peace Out-
The spoon is mightier than the sword

Epic Meepo

#4
May 18, 2006, 01:16:08 PM
Reinventing the wheel is cliche.  (In fact, so is the phrase, "reinventing the wheel.")

As long as you aren't stealing exact text from people or claiming that you invented ideas that were first posited by someone else, there's no harm in borrowing things from others.  (Unless you're publishing professionally or trying to present someone else's Product Identity as Open Game Content, I suppose, but that's a different matter entirely.)

The whole reason that people design rules and campaign worlds is to have people use those rules and campaign worlds.  If everyone always just ignored existing material and started from scratch, there'd be no point in having rulebooks, message boards, and online comminuties devoted to roleplaying game material.

(Edited for grammar, at least somewhat.)
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Xeviat

#5
May 18, 2006, 05:11:11 PM
To reiterate what Meepo said; thinking outside of the box isn't all it's cracked up to be. Figure out what you want your setting to be, and use any idea that helps it become that. Again,a s Meepo said, don't claim things as your own if you were inspired by someone else.
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