Here actually I think certain common origin is better and I like WOD for that.
Have other kinds of vampiric beings sure, let vampirism spread and evolve, but I simply don't like when there's 20 different super beings all called vampires, and treated as part of one group just because they all feed on mankind.

Now of course the same kind of vampire being some more global phenomen - can be fine, but personally I like idea of single ancestor curse.

Quote from: Wrath of God on April 12, 2022, 03:06:38 PM
Here actually I think certain common origin is better and I like WOD for that.
Have other kinds of vampiric beings sure, let vampirism spread and evolve, but I simply don't like when there's 20 different super beings all called vampires, and treated as part of one group just because they all feed on mankind.

Now of course the same kind of vampire being some more global phenomen - can be fine, but personally I like idea of single ancestor curse.

You're entitled to your tastes like I am to mine. How about we compromise and let GMs decide? We're not enslaved to some 30 year old emo goth canon

Quote from: Wrath of God on April 12, 2022, 03:06:38 PM
Here actually I think certain common origin is better and I like WOD for that.
Have other kinds of vampiric beings sure, let vampirism spread and evolve, but I simply don't like when there's 20 different super beings all called vampires, and treated as part of one group just because they all feed on mankind.

Now of course the same kind of vampire being some more global phenomen - can be fine, but personally I like idea of single ancestor curse.

Thing is, various cultures all have their own ideas of what a vampire is. Vampire is as good a catchall term as any. Leech is a close second.

For example if you tell someone that Bathory was vampire-like in her actions people will usually pick up that its somehow blood related and then all you have to do is explain her method and it becomes clearer.
Same for the Jiangshi and its variants in asia. And it shares similarities with non-hollywood european vampire legends too where it is more the life force that is being drained.
The Lamia and Stirg from ancient Greek legends and I believe the Vetala from India are more close to modern-style examples of blood drinking creatures.

Much akin to if you say something is like a "Kelpie" people will usually parse out that it is some sort of horse-like predatory water monster.

Quote from: Mishihari on April 04, 2022, 03:42:05 AM
Good points all.  My IP attorney bills at $400 an hour and would probably charge me fifteen minutes to answer that question.  Or he might just answer it verbally for free because it's not worth his time to bill for such a small amount and we have an established relationship.  The money is well worth the peace of mind if you have any budget for the project, though finding a good IP attorney can be a bit of a chore.

The point about using such words making your work look derivative is definitely worth considering.

For the actual legality, I'm pretty sure that one cannot copyright single words.  You can trademark a single word for a specific application, and you can check if a word is trademarked at the uspto web site.  If it's not there you're legal, at least for now.  I dunno if they could trademark a word they use after you start using it - that would be a good question for a lawyer.

And lastly, anyone can sue anyone else about anything.  Or in other words you can get sued even if there is no legal justification, and if you don't have the money to defend then you'll either need to fold or find a contingency lawyer and hope you can win a countersuit.  I don't know if this is done much in the RPG industry, but if so it's probably not worth the trouble for a hobby project.

I teach IP Law, and IMO this is all good advice.

QuoteYou're entitled to your tastes like I am to mine. How about we compromise and let GMs decide? We're not enslaved to some 30 year old emo goth canon

Sure. (TBH I'm not against breaking WOD cannon, I merely prefer less to more in basic terms, connecting thing with underlying unity over overblown diversity.)

QuoteThing is, various cultures all have their own ideas of what a vampire is. Vampire is as good a catchall term as any. Leech is a close second.

Sure and most of those cultures are wrong, because even Earth is not big enough for 7000 of different specifically localised vampires, 9000 of animal-based shapeshifter and 300 005 occult traditions. Only few should be real and working, rest are just misconceptions.

"Master" might be up for grabs soon. 

Quote from: Wrath of God on April 13, 2022, 03:22:13 AM
Sure and most of those cultures are wrong, because even Earth is not big enough for 7000 of different specifically localised vampires, 9000 of animal-based shapeshifter and 300 005 occult traditions. Only few should be real and working, rest are just misconceptions.

If the magic system operates on some variation of belief creating reality then all of those should be able to coexist. (See Discworld for examples.) In any case, those numbers are only really a problem if you try to worldbuild a single canonical shared universe where every product has to account for everything ever written previously. I prefer to write more modular and cherry pick what I'm including in a given adventure.

Quote from: Wrath of God on April 13, 2022, 03:22:13 AM
TBH I'm not against breaking WOD cannon, I merely prefer less to more in basic terms, connecting thing with underlying unity over overblown diversity.

When it comes to urban fantasy, I don't like limiting my options or forcing square pegs into round holes. It depends on what I'm writing at the time too. Sometimes I might prefer a single strain of vampirism with some substrains of minor differences, other times I might prefer multiple strains with more dramatic differences.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTalesWhen it comes to urban fantasy, I don't like limiting my options or forcing square pegs into round holes. It depends on what I'm writing at the time too. Sometimes I might prefer a single strain of vampirism with some substrains of minor differences, other times I might prefer multiple strains with more dramatic differences.

I mean we're talking about gaming here, so whatever you put in the writing is your choice.
But I think just like D&D settings are kinda flavourless due to overabundance of everything, so are urban-fantasy or superhero settings where there is just too much things.

And while indeed Mages of oWOD have power to create probably 10 000 different vampire strains, they are hold in check by Paradox (which for some weird reason do not attack other supes despite being colectively disbelieved by most mortals - alas you already noted that oWoD worldbuilding is somehow shoddy in this regard. But on the other hand I'm worldbuilder first, so while I appreciate some setting-neutral urban fantasy engine - that's just fine, I also kinda respect oWoDs trying to bring all those things together.

Quote from: Wrath of God on April 13, 2022, 12:06:40 PM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTalesWhen it comes to urban fantasy, I don't like limiting my options or forcing square pegs into round holes. It depends on what I'm writing at the time too. Sometimes I might prefer a single strain of vampirism with some substrains of minor differences, other times I might prefer multiple strains with more dramatic differences.

I mean we're talking about gaming here, so whatever you put in the writing is your choice.
But I think just like D&D settings are kinda flavourless due to overabundance of everything, so are urban-fantasy or superhero settings where there is just too much things.

And while indeed Mages of oWOD have power to create probably 10 000 different vampire strains, they are hold in check by Paradox (which for some weird reason do not attack other supes despite being colectively disbelieved by most mortals - alas you already noted that oWoD worldbuilding is somehow shoddy in this regard. But on the other hand I'm worldbuilder first, so while I appreciate some setting-neutral urban fantasy engine - that's just fine, I also kinda respect oWoDs trying to bring all those things together.

Until Night Shift, there have not been any urban fantasy tabletop games that give you the option of multiple settings. Every urban fantasy game released has come welded to a single setting with no option for others. In the overwhelming majority of cases there's really no reason for this, as the rules are almost never geared to represent the themes of the setting in any meaningful way that cannot be adequately represented by any other rules system or vice versa.

Sure, Forgotten Realms and Golarion are flavorless due to being so kitchen sink, but not all D&D settings are like that. There's a bazillion of them, official and 3pp, so there's gems here and there. The upside is that you have a huge community to discuss a wide variety of concepts related to fantasy, including completely upending the standard D&Disms and sacred cows. Other genres aren't so lucky. I would really appreciate being able to discuss urban fantasy gaming without being slaved to Rein-Hagen's 30 year old emo goth stuff.

The thing about generic is that it generally doesn't sell as well; in part because a lot of people buy games with baked in settings so they don't have to do the work of designing their own.

Why pay X for a set of rules where you have to design a setting still when you can pay X for a set of rules with a setting included and possibly even with mechanics that integrate that setting into the play experience?

Put another way, there's a reason Masquerade with its specific setting but clunky mechanics was well remembered enough to be able to rise from the grave while Requiem with its more solid mechanics and more build-your-own-mythology lingers like a shambling corpse barely known outside of its diehard fans.

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 14, 2022, 02:13:06 PM
The thing about generic is that it generally doesn't sell as well; in part because a lot of people buy games with baked in settings so they don't have to do the work of designing their own.

Why pay X for a set of rules where you have to design a setting still when you can pay X for a set of rules with a setting included and possibly even with mechanics that integrate that setting into the play experience?

That wasn't my argument.

Quote from: Chris24601 on April 14, 2022, 02:13:06 PM
Put another way, there's a reason Masquerade with its specific setting but clunky mechanics was well remembered enough to be able to rise from the grave while Requiem with its more solid mechanics and more build-your-own-mythology lingers like a shambling corpse barely known outside of its diehard fans.

"Rising from the grave" is an interesting way to describe that. I would call it a dumpster fire.

WoD being married to its bloated mess of lore is also its biggest weakness, because the fans completely lose their shit when the current rights holder decides to make changes they don't agree with. WoD has what are probably the most toxic edition wars in the entire extended tabletop community. At one point they sent the lead dev of Mage 3rd edition so many death threats that he was afraid to open his inbox for years. I'm surprised there hasn't been a deluge of retroclones like there has been for D&D and Warhammer.

The entire reason UndeadMonk was inspired to make his own retroclone was due to the recent V5 edition war.

Quote from: Mishihari on April 04, 2022, 03:42:05 AMMy IP attorney bills at $400 an hour and would probably charge me fifteen minutes to answer that question.

Mine bills $600 an hour, which makes billing in 10 minute increments really easy to calculate.

Gotta be grateful for small blessings.

Quote from: Omega on April 04, 2022, 06:05:32 AMExample. Contrary to popular belief. WOTC did not copyright or TM Tap. What their claim covers is a series of actions and the word Tap I believe.

"Tapping", that is, changing the physical position of a card in a specific way to indicate some effect has taken place, is a game mechanic and the only way to protect game mechanics is to patent them.

Which, I believe, Garfield Games did because WOTC was being sued by Kevin Siembeda at the time over The Primal Order, so they wanted to protect Magic by not exposing it to a potential judgement.