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Can I write a book of my D&D game?


Can you reprint screen shots of a game application or program without permission?How can I get a copyright for my e-book?Can my work be stolen if I post excerpts and ideas on critique sites?How can I trust that the proofreader and designer of a book will not plagiarize our work?Unofficial Fan Fictions - How can I Secure Them?How much can I copy before it is considered plagiarism?Write a book with “protected” characters/ideas without copyright?Can I use an old painting of Lilith as my book cover?Can I copy images from published books and use them in my paper?License for incorporating game-play and characters of a video-game in a novel?













4















I am a long time Dungeon Master of Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder. My games run in a custom world of my own making. However, I utilise a lot of the traditional lore and races of D&D.



I'm quite proud of one of my current storylines and have been thinking about turning it into a book. Of course to do this I will need to get the permission of the players to use their characters, assuming I get this is there any other reason I can't publish this?



Things I'm concerned about are the particular interpretations of the classic fantasy races, the classes/abilities of the characters and most importantly the magic system. To experienced players I expect these things to be fairly recognisable, and I'm trying to work out how much I need to modify it in my writing.



Can I publish a story from my D&D game without plagiarising D&D lore?










share|improve this question





























    4















    I am a long time Dungeon Master of Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder. My games run in a custom world of my own making. However, I utilise a lot of the traditional lore and races of D&D.



    I'm quite proud of one of my current storylines and have been thinking about turning it into a book. Of course to do this I will need to get the permission of the players to use their characters, assuming I get this is there any other reason I can't publish this?



    Things I'm concerned about are the particular interpretations of the classic fantasy races, the classes/abilities of the characters and most importantly the magic system. To experienced players I expect these things to be fairly recognisable, and I'm trying to work out how much I need to modify it in my writing.



    Can I publish a story from my D&D game without plagiarising D&D lore?










    share|improve this question



























      4












      4








      4








      I am a long time Dungeon Master of Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder. My games run in a custom world of my own making. However, I utilise a lot of the traditional lore and races of D&D.



      I'm quite proud of one of my current storylines and have been thinking about turning it into a book. Of course to do this I will need to get the permission of the players to use their characters, assuming I get this is there any other reason I can't publish this?



      Things I'm concerned about are the particular interpretations of the classic fantasy races, the classes/abilities of the characters and most importantly the magic system. To experienced players I expect these things to be fairly recognisable, and I'm trying to work out how much I need to modify it in my writing.



      Can I publish a story from my D&D game without plagiarising D&D lore?










      share|improve this question
















      I am a long time Dungeon Master of Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder. My games run in a custom world of my own making. However, I utilise a lot of the traditional lore and races of D&D.



      I'm quite proud of one of my current storylines and have been thinking about turning it into a book. Of course to do this I will need to get the permission of the players to use their characters, assuming I get this is there any other reason I can't publish this?



      Things I'm concerned about are the particular interpretations of the classic fantasy races, the classes/abilities of the characters and most importantly the magic system. To experienced players I expect these things to be fairly recognisable, and I'm trying to work out how much I need to modify it in my writing.



      Can I publish a story from my D&D game without plagiarising D&D lore?







      fantasy copyright plagiarism roleplaying






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 4 hours ago







      linksassin

















      asked 4 hours ago









      linksassinlinksassin

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      658216






















          2 Answers
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          3














          Plagiarism would be taking exact text from the various game manuals and representing it as your own. So don't do that.



          But you probably weren't going to anyway, because you want to tell a story, not publish a game log. When you tell a story you use the language of description, not specification -- powerful fireballs and mighty blows with great-axes, not third-level spells doing 5d6 damage and axes that do 2d12 (+3 for strength 18) etc. (It's been years since I've played D&D; please forgive my made-up stats here.) Mechanics get in the way of storytelling, and mechanics are the part most tied to a particular game system. Unless you're targeting the gaming market specifically, you probably want your fantasy story to not clearly identify the game system at all -- readers don't need to care whether it was D&D or GURPS or RuneQuest or Fate or a product wholly of your own imagination.



          There is one thing to watch out for, but it's not about plagiarism or copyright -- beware of trademarks. If there is a named monster type or special artifact, you might want to change the specific names just in case the publishers decide they care. (A similar concern might have caused Gygax to switch from "hobbits" to "halflings".)






          share|improve this answer































            0














            It's imperative that you research what all is trademarked.



            Write your book as you see fit, then before final editing/publishing, remove trademark/copyrighted terms/names/phrases from your book and replace them with an alternative that is not trademarked.



            Otherwise, you would need permission to use each one. This would be the easiest legal way around this.



            If you do not want to go a traditional publishing route, you could always publish your writing online as "fan-fiction", which, of course, is not breaking any commercial-use copyright laws - assuming you are not making money directly from your writing. (But I believe you could still have a Patreon or such, receiving "donations" for your work, rather than being paid for your work directly).






            share|improve this answer























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              2 Answers
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              2 Answers
              2






              active

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              active

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              active

              oldest

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              3














              Plagiarism would be taking exact text from the various game manuals and representing it as your own. So don't do that.



              But you probably weren't going to anyway, because you want to tell a story, not publish a game log. When you tell a story you use the language of description, not specification -- powerful fireballs and mighty blows with great-axes, not third-level spells doing 5d6 damage and axes that do 2d12 (+3 for strength 18) etc. (It's been years since I've played D&D; please forgive my made-up stats here.) Mechanics get in the way of storytelling, and mechanics are the part most tied to a particular game system. Unless you're targeting the gaming market specifically, you probably want your fantasy story to not clearly identify the game system at all -- readers don't need to care whether it was D&D or GURPS or RuneQuest or Fate or a product wholly of your own imagination.



              There is one thing to watch out for, but it's not about plagiarism or copyright -- beware of trademarks. If there is a named monster type or special artifact, you might want to change the specific names just in case the publishers decide they care. (A similar concern might have caused Gygax to switch from "hobbits" to "halflings".)






              share|improve this answer




























                3














                Plagiarism would be taking exact text from the various game manuals and representing it as your own. So don't do that.



                But you probably weren't going to anyway, because you want to tell a story, not publish a game log. When you tell a story you use the language of description, not specification -- powerful fireballs and mighty blows with great-axes, not third-level spells doing 5d6 damage and axes that do 2d12 (+3 for strength 18) etc. (It's been years since I've played D&D; please forgive my made-up stats here.) Mechanics get in the way of storytelling, and mechanics are the part most tied to a particular game system. Unless you're targeting the gaming market specifically, you probably want your fantasy story to not clearly identify the game system at all -- readers don't need to care whether it was D&D or GURPS or RuneQuest or Fate or a product wholly of your own imagination.



                There is one thing to watch out for, but it's not about plagiarism or copyright -- beware of trademarks. If there is a named monster type or special artifact, you might want to change the specific names just in case the publishers decide they care. (A similar concern might have caused Gygax to switch from "hobbits" to "halflings".)






                share|improve this answer


























                  3












                  3








                  3







                  Plagiarism would be taking exact text from the various game manuals and representing it as your own. So don't do that.



                  But you probably weren't going to anyway, because you want to tell a story, not publish a game log. When you tell a story you use the language of description, not specification -- powerful fireballs and mighty blows with great-axes, not third-level spells doing 5d6 damage and axes that do 2d12 (+3 for strength 18) etc. (It's been years since I've played D&D; please forgive my made-up stats here.) Mechanics get in the way of storytelling, and mechanics are the part most tied to a particular game system. Unless you're targeting the gaming market specifically, you probably want your fantasy story to not clearly identify the game system at all -- readers don't need to care whether it was D&D or GURPS or RuneQuest or Fate or a product wholly of your own imagination.



                  There is one thing to watch out for, but it's not about plagiarism or copyright -- beware of trademarks. If there is a named monster type or special artifact, you might want to change the specific names just in case the publishers decide they care. (A similar concern might have caused Gygax to switch from "hobbits" to "halflings".)






                  share|improve this answer













                  Plagiarism would be taking exact text from the various game manuals and representing it as your own. So don't do that.



                  But you probably weren't going to anyway, because you want to tell a story, not publish a game log. When you tell a story you use the language of description, not specification -- powerful fireballs and mighty blows with great-axes, not third-level spells doing 5d6 damage and axes that do 2d12 (+3 for strength 18) etc. (It's been years since I've played D&D; please forgive my made-up stats here.) Mechanics get in the way of storytelling, and mechanics are the part most tied to a particular game system. Unless you're targeting the gaming market specifically, you probably want your fantasy story to not clearly identify the game system at all -- readers don't need to care whether it was D&D or GURPS or RuneQuest or Fate or a product wholly of your own imagination.



                  There is one thing to watch out for, but it's not about plagiarism or copyright -- beware of trademarks. If there is a named monster type or special artifact, you might want to change the specific names just in case the publishers decide they care. (A similar concern might have caused Gygax to switch from "hobbits" to "halflings".)







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 4 hours ago









                  Monica CellioMonica Cellio

                  15.2k23383




                  15.2k23383























                      0














                      It's imperative that you research what all is trademarked.



                      Write your book as you see fit, then before final editing/publishing, remove trademark/copyrighted terms/names/phrases from your book and replace them with an alternative that is not trademarked.



                      Otherwise, you would need permission to use each one. This would be the easiest legal way around this.



                      If you do not want to go a traditional publishing route, you could always publish your writing online as "fan-fiction", which, of course, is not breaking any commercial-use copyright laws - assuming you are not making money directly from your writing. (But I believe you could still have a Patreon or such, receiving "donations" for your work, rather than being paid for your work directly).






                      share|improve this answer




























                        0














                        It's imperative that you research what all is trademarked.



                        Write your book as you see fit, then before final editing/publishing, remove trademark/copyrighted terms/names/phrases from your book and replace them with an alternative that is not trademarked.



                        Otherwise, you would need permission to use each one. This would be the easiest legal way around this.



                        If you do not want to go a traditional publishing route, you could always publish your writing online as "fan-fiction", which, of course, is not breaking any commercial-use copyright laws - assuming you are not making money directly from your writing. (But I believe you could still have a Patreon or such, receiving "donations" for your work, rather than being paid for your work directly).






                        share|improve this answer


























                          0












                          0








                          0







                          It's imperative that you research what all is trademarked.



                          Write your book as you see fit, then before final editing/publishing, remove trademark/copyrighted terms/names/phrases from your book and replace them with an alternative that is not trademarked.



                          Otherwise, you would need permission to use each one. This would be the easiest legal way around this.



                          If you do not want to go a traditional publishing route, you could always publish your writing online as "fan-fiction", which, of course, is not breaking any commercial-use copyright laws - assuming you are not making money directly from your writing. (But I believe you could still have a Patreon or such, receiving "donations" for your work, rather than being paid for your work directly).






                          share|improve this answer













                          It's imperative that you research what all is trademarked.



                          Write your book as you see fit, then before final editing/publishing, remove trademark/copyrighted terms/names/phrases from your book and replace them with an alternative that is not trademarked.



                          Otherwise, you would need permission to use each one. This would be the easiest legal way around this.



                          If you do not want to go a traditional publishing route, you could always publish your writing online as "fan-fiction", which, of course, is not breaking any commercial-use copyright laws - assuming you are not making money directly from your writing. (But I believe you could still have a Patreon or such, receiving "donations" for your work, rather than being paid for your work directly).







                          share|improve this answer












                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer










                          answered 2 hours ago









                          Margaret BeltMargaret Belt

                          13127




                          13127






























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