Dungeons and Dragons Comic - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dungeons and Dragons Comic

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
velairennil
Mar 26, 2011 5:00:07
Hello, if I posted this in the wrong place, I apologize but I do have a few questions…

I’m an artist and I’ve been playing dnd since 2004 (I think… ) I have fallen in love with my PC and the campaign my PC has played in. I’ve recently started to play 4e and my tiefling bard/psion hybrid does have a few house-rules. (like the fact that she is more like the tiefling I had in 3.5). To me this story is great so I want to create a comic series for it. I will be drawing this series regardless of the answers I receive but I do want to know how WotC feels about these kinds of things and if they support it or not. So here are some of my questions:

Does WotC support this?

Do they mind if they’re credited?

Do they help with publishing?

Do I have to change everything like making up my own campaign setting and…changing the names of the unique races ect?

I’m very passionate about doing this so I just don’t want to run into copyright issues if I do succeed and make money off of a passion.
#2
DavidArgall
Mar 26, 2011 14:16:46 speaking as a guardhouse lawyer... The answer to each of your questions is bad for you.

    WOTC is not your friend and would actively be your enemy if you got big enough to notice. And they do have lawyers, a set of laws that absurdly overprotect copyright holders, and a hostile attitude. Like many stakeholders, they assume that any money you get or might get would have gone directly into their bank account and pay no attention to evidence that you are more likely to promote sales than reduce them.
    Now there is plenty of grey area, but the more you use the words "D&D", "Dungeons & Dragons", and a variety of other terms, the more you are inviting a cease and desist order. So yes, you had best create your own campaign world and rename just about everything in it. Recall here that TSR tried to copyright "Nazi". While they got slapped down for that, that is still the sort of attitude WOTC is apt to display. So if you can't find a use of a term other than in D&D books, don't use it. [Comedy and jokes in general have a lot more room here, but you sound like you have a serious story you want to tell.] A bit of good news is that most D&D terms are words like "dragon" which were in the public domain well before the first D&D game started. So they can't be validly copyrighted. But they still have the lawyers who can think up clever theories showing why black is white and you are unlikely to have the money to pay for your lawyer. So you should avoid D&D terms as much as possible.
[Note here that while crediting WOTC is nice, it is called leading with your chin. You are openly stating you are using WOTC intelectual property and negating nearly all your legal defenses.]
    Now it is possible that in a year or so, you can bring your stuff to WOTC and they will offer to pay you to have it in Dragon. The odds are very long, but it could happen. But even then, they will want full control and it becomes their stuff which you won't be able to use once they become bored with it.

     You can write a comic based on your D&D adventures. Lots of people do it with varying levels of skill and success. But there are potential legal problems, and WOTC is not going to help you.
#3
Seeker95
Mar 26, 2011 15:09:21 DavidArgall's antagonism notwithstanding, he facts are accurate.
Contact a lawyer if you intend to do anything with your idea.
#4
velairennil
Mar 26, 2011 20:08:29 Thanks for your help. I wasn't sure if they promoted the idea because they promote story-telling, character creation and everything in between. I know nothing about business and legal matters and no I can not afford a lawyer XD. But thank you very much.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 velairennil Mar 26, 2011 5:00:07	Hello, if I posted this in the wrong place, I apologize but I do have a few questions… I’m an artist and I’ve been playing dnd since 2004 (I think… ) I have fallen in love with my PC and the campaign my PC has played in. I’ve recently started to play 4e and my tiefling bard/psion hybrid does have a few house-rules. (like the fact that she is more like the tiefling I had in 3.5). To me this story is great so I want to create a comic series for it. I will be drawing this series regardless of the answers I receive but I do want to know how WotC feels about these kinds of things and if they support it or not. So here are some of my questions: Does WotC support this? Do they mind if they’re credited? Do they help with publishing? Do I have to change everything like making up my own campaign setting and…changing the names of the unique races ect? I’m very passionate about doing this so I just don’t want to run into copyright issues if I do succeed and make money off of a passion.
#2 DavidArgall Mar 26, 2011 14:16:46	speaking as a guardhouse lawyer... The answer to each of your questions is bad for you. WOTC is not your friend and would actively be your enemy if you got big enough to notice. And they do have lawyers, a set of laws that absurdly overprotect copyright holders, and a hostile attitude. Like many stakeholders, they assume that any money you get or might get would have gone directly into their bank account and pay no attention to evidence that you are more likely to promote sales than reduce them. Now there is plenty of grey area, but the more you use the words "D&D", "Dungeons & Dragons", and a variety of other terms, the more you are inviting a cease and desist order. So yes, you had best create your own campaign world and rename just about everything in it. Recall here that TSR tried to copyright "Nazi". While they got slapped down for that, that is still the sort of attitude WOTC is apt to display. So if you can't find a use of a term other than in D&D books, don't use it. [Comedy and jokes in general have a lot more room here, but you sound like you have a serious story you want to tell.] A bit of good news is that most D&D terms are words like "dragon" which were in the public domain well before the first D&D game started. So they can't be validly copyrighted. But they still have the lawyers who can think up clever theories showing why black is white and you are unlikely to have the money to pay for your lawyer. So you should avoid D&D terms as much as possible. [Note here that while crediting WOTC is nice, it is called leading with your chin. You are openly stating you are using WOTC intelectual property and negating nearly all your legal defenses.] Now it is possible that in a year or so, you can bring your stuff to WOTC and they will offer to pay you to have it in Dragon. The odds are very long, but it could happen. But even then, they will want full control and it becomes their stuff which you won't be able to use once they become bored with it. You can write a comic based on your D&D adventures. Lots of people do it with varying levels of skill and success. But there are potential legal problems, and WOTC is not going to help you.
#3 Seeker95 Mar 26, 2011 15:09:21	DavidArgall's antagonism notwithstanding, he facts are accurate. Contact a lawyer if you intend to do anything with your idea.
#4 velairennil Mar 26, 2011 20:08:29	Thanks for your help. I wasn't sure if they promoted the idea because they promote story-telling, character creation and everything in between. I know nothing about business and legal matters and no I can not afford a lawyer XD. But thank you very much.