Beholders

[Kafkonia]

Now, I'm not privy to the contracts involved in the publishing of the slaadi or giths in White Dwarf or the Fiend Folio, but given the way publishing works it's quite likely that Mr. Stross signed away his rights to those creations when they were published.

 

[Joker]

A small beholder-kin. Not as many eyes, and the eyes aren't as powerful.

Except that were a huge pain in the ass in Baldur's Gate with their once a second (not round) Inflict Serious Wounds.

Unless you had that Cloak of Turning...hehehe.

 

[afreed]

* githyanki- see githzerai
* githzerai- these were invented back in the 80s by Charles Stross in one of his fiction pieces, I really think WoTC needs to lay off trying to claim other people's property
* slaad- like gith these creatures were actually first invented by Charles Stross and have been appropriated by WoTC who really should back off the high horse when they're filching other people's creations

This isn't correct. You're right that Charlie Stross is the creator of the gith races and the slaadi, but they didn't originate in his fiction and they weren't "fliched" by TSR or WotC. They were submitted by Stross for publication in the Fiend Folio. Nothing unethical or unusual about it--Stross had an idea, wrote it up, sold it to TSR, and moved on. Virtually every freelancer who's ever worked for TSR / WotC did the exact same thing.

(See http://www.sevendead.com/?page_id=11 for an interview with Stross with all the details.)

I'm a little bemused by the hostility in this thread. Before the SRD, WotC closely protected all the IP; now, they've decided to open up large portions, and people are angry that they want to keep a close grip on the remainder?

 

[Andyr]

I was under the impression that the name of the Githyanki (although with a different concept behind them) first came from the George R.R. Martin novel Dying of the Light, where they're the warrior slave race of another alien species. Whichever came first, the name is definitely used in the GRRM novel.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

This isn't correct. You're right that Charlie Stross is the creator of the gith races and the slaadi, but they didn't originate in his fiction and they weren't "fliched" by TSR or WotC. They were submitted by Stross for publication in the Fiend Folio. Nothing unethical or unusual about it--Stross had an idea, wrote it up, sold it to TSR, and moved on. Virtually every freelancer who's ever worked for TSR / WotC did the exact same thing.

(See http://www.sevendead.com/?page_id=11 for an interview with Stross with all the details.)

Hadn't seen that interview. I knew he originally invented them, he's an author I've got several of his books, and that the name Githyank first appeared in a story titled Dying of the Light. Which I assumed was his since he apparently invented them. Seems Dying of the Light was GRRM and slightly before Stross wrote up either the Gith or the Slaad for the game. However looking at what I see now there's an even greater case that Gith(but not Slaad) can't be considered anyone's IP because they've originated from multiple sources.

I'm a little bemused by the hostility in this thread. Before the SRD, WotC closely protected all the IP; now, they've decided to open up large portions, and people are angry that they want to keep a close grip on the remainder?

I don't know about other people but my aggravation is not with WoTC so much as it's with the very principles of copyright, trademark, and IP law that allow such things. I've always felt that these laws should have NO ability to restrict the use of any idea or invention, just mandated a reasonable royalty directly to the originator whenever their creation was used to make a profit. Because no one should have the right to dictate to others what ideas, inventions, or technologies they are allowed to tinker with especially if no profit is being made.

 

[GeorgeFields]

Lion's Den Press' Iconic Bestiary: Classics of Fantasy has OGL creatures to fill the gap left by some of these. It's a good buy if you want to publish something using one of these creatures not in the SRD.

 

[Nazhkandrias]

Here's a question - would a half-mind flayer be intellectual propert of WotC? If it was, that would be difficult putting that in a non-D&D game!

Gamemaster: A half-mind flayer teleports in front of you!
Player: I take my sword and thrust...
RoboLawyer: BEEP BEEP! INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BEING VIOLATED! COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL BEING REMOVED!
Gamemaster: Well, what does that leave us with? You only have claim to the Mind Flayer half! Not the human one! What're you going to do, leave us with half a creature?
*Splorp* *Wet mass hitting floor*
Player: Ummm... do I get XP for that?

 

[Warren Okuma]

The following monsters are considered "Product Itentity" by Wizards of the Coast and are therefore not part of the SRD:

* beholder
* gauth
* carrion crawler
* displacer beast
* githyanki
* githzerai
* kuo-toa
* mind flayer
* slaad
* umber hulk
* yuan-ti

What no Flumph? I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!

 

[RainOfSteel]

Here's a question - would a half-mind flayer be intellectual propert of WotC? If it was, that would be difficult putting that in a non-D&D game!

Only if you try to publish and/or distribute information about it.

For your own games, the non-SRD status of the monsters mentioned is completely irrelevant.

 

[Particle_Man]

The following monsters are considered "Product Itentity" by Wizards of the Coast and are therefore not part of the SRD:

* beholder
* gauth
* carrion crawler
* displacer beast
* githyanki
* githzerai
* kuo-toa
* mind flayer
* slaad
* umber hulk
* yuan-ti

And Thri-keen. It does not appear as a PC race nor as a monster in the psionic part of the SRD.

Makes me want to do a campaign using only these monsters, as well as creatures that exist on real earth (so humans and animals, basically).