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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Henry" data-source="post: 651842" data-attributes="member: 158">Where courtesy ends, litigation begins. Sad, but true.In my opinion, the player has a right to an original name and concept, but unless it has been copyrighted or trademarked, there is very little one can say or do to prove otherwise.I do have to ask those who feel that the player's PC is his and his alone: Where do the limits begin and end? The character concept? the background as it applies to the DM's campaign? Related names of family and friends in the PC's backstory? Trying to separate out a willingly shared work of fiction is a maddening proposition, unless a prior agreement has been reached.In truth, it is totally worthless to get worked up about.Lisa: I have to add one thing to your comment about "D&D as (non) art." While it does seem a weird thing to say, it's nonetheless true that it fits the definition.From the American Heritage Dictionary Online:ART1. Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature. 2. A nonscientific branch of learning; one of the liberal arts. 3. A system of principles and methods employed in the performance of a set of activities: the art of building. 4. A trade or craft that applies such a system of principles and methods: the art of the lexicographer. 5. Skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation: the art of the baker; the blacksmith's art. I've removed definitions that directly relate to art as a graphic medium.When someone creates notes on a campaign world, it's a form of entertainment they are working on, but that entertainmentcan also can be an expression of someone's internal beliefs, consistencies, and feelings. Douglas Niles said once in an interview that the Dark Sun Campaign setting reflected to a small extent his view on environmental preservation - it grew out of his concern for real-world environmental issues, applied to a magical fantasy world. Tracy and Laura Hickman created Ravenloft as a tribute to Bram Stoker's Dracula, introducing their gamers (and through TSR to D&D gamers as a whole) to the thrill and sensual gothic horror that was captured in Stoker's work, before it was lampooned and mischaracterized by a half-century of movie and bad TV shows.Many of the elements of creation in D&D campaigns take on elements of art, just from external observation. DM's work and re-work world histories; they alter NPC's and places and events; they alter maps to fit geographic features and changes to their landscapes through player interaction. They in short slave over a product, sometimes for money, and sometimes for the sheer fun of creation of a unique setting that pleases them and their limited audience.Before it's dismissed out-of-hand as worthwhile as a dime-store novel, one needs to think about how much creative effort is poured into telling stories, sharing ficitonal accounts, and editing for poignancy. The poet Homer told campfire stories. We teach those stories in prep schools and universities now. It's not as far off as one would think.</blockquote>

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