OGC Question

[RisnDevil]

Just wondering. Are the names and "aspects" of the demon lords and whatnot Open Content? Can I publish my own .pdf using Mephistophales, or Graz'zt, as established by Wizards? (By as established, I mean more fluff-wise, as I would like to rewrite thier stats.) If not, how much about them can I use?

Thanks,
RisnDevil

 

[EricNoah]

The short, easy answer is -- no, none of that stuff is open content.

The longer more complicated answer is ... if the name of a particular demon/devil comes from legend, folklore, etc. and was not invented by WotC, then you can certainly use those names in conjunction with the open parts of the D&D rules (the SRD's spells, magic items, rules, etc.) to craft your new stats.

And the other complicated answer is ... if you're a fan, making fan-created material, not for profit, WotC is probably not going to worry too much about it.

 

[Nightfall]

Basically it's like this:

Moloch, Mesphistophles, Baal, Orcus, Demogorgon, Pazuzu, Abaddon, Anthrax (just lose the ux), and some others you can probably get away with. But only if they are slightly different from their WotC counterparts.

 

[trancejeremy]

The stuff from real world mythology is okay, but you can't use any of the stats or story elements from TSR/WOTC materials.