The Ripoff Thread

This isn't meant to be nasty or anything. I thougt it would be fun and interesting to list things in D&D possibly or definitely inspired by other sources, or maybe just ended up being similar because of simple synchronicity.

Elemental archons - Palladium fantasy has element-based angels
Elves/Eladrin - harkening back to Tolkien, and dipping into WoW
Tieflings - already noted to be virtual twins for a certain WoW race, also similar in character to Talisanta's Tarterans
Dwarves - the whole slaves to giants thing goes back to the Vanir/Aesir in Nordic myth, where they were an "old" race born at the same time as the immortals.
Boss/Elite/Minion monsters - general MMORPG concept, and a recent one at that
Wizards as alpha strikers - MMORPG concept, especially similar to Everquest wizards (utility plus blaster, with a handful of other effects)
Dragonborn - their history and mercenary culture has a striking resemblance to the Lizardmen of Yrth (a GURPS setting).

Should probably have been a bit less confrontational in the title

D&D's goblins and hobgoblins wouldn't exist without Tolkein (or would be fey, anyway!).
Halflings natch, though brownian motion has brought them in a whole new direction.

As I understand it, we stole Paladins from Three Hearts and Three Lions.
Wizards as Strikers also comes from all fantasy art, ever -- we only ever see wizards flailing about with fire and electricity, even though Charm Person and Illusion are also on the spell list. Go figure.

Glowing magical weapons, professor Tolkein.
Intelligent magical items, Mr. Moorecock (spelling error?) -- items with an ego that take over their wearers and wielders, I've only encountered in the One Ring and Stormbringer, so I decided to blame someone else, for once

Elven resistance to ghoul's paralysis we owe to the Chainmail minis game, where high cost elven troups were decimated by cheap undead minions.

(and, btw, I'm not sure I agree that boss/elite/minion are MMORPG'd -- I think miniature wargames, equally lowbrow and geeky, deserve a lot of the blame there!)

You don't intend to be nasty, but start your thread with a title that is insulting the designers and developers of the new edition? Riiiiight.

rip–off
Pronunciation:
\ˈrip-ˌȯf\
Function:
noun
Date:
1969

1: an act or instance of stealing : theft; also : a financial exploitation
2: a usually cheap exploitive imitation

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pawsplay said:

Dragonborn - their history and mercenary culture has a striking resemblance to the Lizardmen of Yrth (a GURPS setting).

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see... the Dragonborn made me think of Reptilian Klingons instead.

Foci items - Clearly taken from The Dresden Files.

Halflings - Copied Huckleberry Fin.

Rogues - Stolen from WoW. A guy who stabs people from the shadows was there first.

Orcs, Goblins - ripped off that Tolkien guy. How rude.

Cleric - That's a WoWism. What other game has a dedicated Healer class?

Taking out summoning for its own class - Pokemon, anyone?

Paladins - Never seen these guys before Diablo II.

pawsplay said:

Boss/Elite/Minion monsters - general MMORPG concept, and a recent one at that

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Agreed. WoW even calls them elites.

pawsplay said:

Wizards as alpha strikers

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Tim the Enchanter from Monty Python & the Holy Grail.

Bloodied, the concept of changing status partway through a battle, comes from videogames, by way of MM5 and some other recent 3e books.

Rituals - fantasy fiction, myth and folklore. D&D's previous flashbang magic is more like firearms.

Tall elves - Tolkien, myth and folklore.

Devils as fallen angels - Christian mythology.

Non-Vancian magic - all fantasy fiction except for some Vance stories.

Feywild - Celtic otherworld.

Non-caster dragons - myth and folklore.

Gnomes as monsters, not protagonists - myth and folklore.

Conjurer said:

see... the Dragonborn made me think of Reptilian Klingons instead.

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Fair enough. But the Lizardmen in Yrth live in a desert setting, keep apart from humans, and sometimes hire out as mercenaries.

Lackhand said:

Wizards as Strikers also comes from all fantasy art, ever -- we only ever see wizards flailing about with fire and electricity, even though Charm Person and Illusion are also on the spell list. Go figure.

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Hm. I don't see it. In fact, in AD&D art they're usually consulting a crystal ball or summoning something. I do agree that painting an illusion would be hard.

MHB Kruthik = WH 40,000 Tyranids, notably the hormagaunt
MM3 Blackscale lizardfolk = Warhammer Kroxigor
MM3 Poison dusk lizardfolk = Warhammer Skink
MM3 Ibixan = Warhammer Beastman
MM5 Blackwing = Carrion

Mind you, I think D&D yoinking warhammer critters is a good thing.

Draenei- sheesh, first time I saw them in WoW (particularly the females), I swore they were a rip-off of tieflings, which I remembered seeing in Planescape books back in the 90s. And that whole other-plane thing, and the demonic background elements? yeah...

...I'm doing this wrong, aren't I?