Is Originality important ?

[Herobizkit]

I steal stuff all the time. I take everything; video games, books, comics, movies, cartoons, TV shows... if it's published media in any form, it's open material for me to plunder. Yaaar.

For a d20 Modern game, I once designed/copied a village from the opening village scene from the video game "Resident Evil 4". One of my players caught the reference as I was very vivid in its description. He was very proud at the discovery, but went right along with whatever I had planned next. It didn't bother me.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Nah, no points off for plagiarism in D&D. Fun is what is important.

 

[Li Shenron]

Originality is impossible. There's hardly anything new in any adventure or character that was written a hundred times before.

However there is a limit... re-using famous characters in an obvious way is definitely bad.

 

[DragonLancer]

It has happened, but its never a big deal because they are never taken completely, and no one ever minds.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I steal stuff all the time. Everyone does it. The trick is to stealing stuff from so many sources that no one recognizes it, and combining and twisting the things you steal until they become warped beyond all recognition.

 

[gizmo33]

I steal stuff but I've also had things "stolen" from me - ie. I open up a module or a book and see a character name or idea that is like mine but obviously invented independantly.

 

[Dykstrav]

Originality is impossible. There's hardly anything new in any adventure or character that was written a hundred times before.

This is so true that it hurts.

There's a saying among writers; "creativity is hiding your sources." It's similar to the problem Family Guy and South Park face, people constantly compare them to the Simpsons. They all shamelessly rip off campy sitcom and TV cliches, the Simpsons just happened to be out first. But this doesn't stop people from enjoying the other programs.

I've of the opinion that all the really good stories were written thousands of years ago and we've been rewriting them ever since. You can compare just about any movie, novel, video game, or RPG adventure to something in mythology or literature. This isn't a bad thing, it contextualizes your content and makes it easier for your players to digest.

I worry more about being "too original." If you try too hard to make something brand-new, it often results in a bizarre, confusing plot or shallow characters. If the players are trying to figure out what they're supposed to be doing, then it's a good sign that your plot may be overly complex or obtuse. My personal design philosophy is simple plot, complex characters. Worry less about what the characters and NPCs are doing and more about why they're doing it.

 

[Voadam]

I've had players say things like "He's been too useful, its just like in 24, that means he's going to die. This is so cool." Then the game moves on.

I've played a game then later read the series the DM based the adventure on and it was pretty cool.

I use mostly modules and modify them heavily to fit my game. My players enjoy it so I don't think they have a problem with me not being original. They just want a fun game.

 

[SkidAce]

When I do steal something and the players notice...they don't normally shout at me or throw scorn at me.

They say..."hey you got that from XXXXXX....cool" and we press on.

 

[questing gm]

I've had players say things like "He's been too useful, its just like in 24, that means he's going to die. This is so cool." Then the game moves on.

I've played a game then later read the series the DM based the adventure on and it was pretty cool.

When I do steal something and the players notice...they don't normally shout at me or throw scorn at me.

They say..."hey you got that from XXXXXX....cool" and we press on.

It's cool to rip off from others....?! Cool !