Hmmm,
I think we've drifted a little bit here. The original question was the use of the word "Illithid" to describe a mind flayer. I don't think that there is anything in the spirit of the work that makes it bad to use a Mind Flayer in the commonly accepted way. Afterall, they were put into the SRD so that developers could use them in their adventures. I can't exactly put it in one of my adventures if I have to justify why my Mind Flayer is a humanoid with an octopus for a head.
Illithid on the other hand is specifically a D&D term. It's not in the dictionary at all. It doesn't show up in web searches in anything that's not D&D related. It is a term that doesn't just refer to a single creature either. There is an entire mythos built into the name Illithid. There are the related species, there is the old slavery of the Gith races. There is the huge war. Mind Flayers as Mindflayers are just single creatures that you might run across in a dungeon. There is a difference.. A big one.
-----Original Message-----
From: John Kim [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002 12:21 PM
To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
Subject: RE: [Ogf-l] If Thoughts Could Kill - Illithid reference violatio n?
On Mon, 14 Jan 2002, Lenze, Troy, (DC-Cap) wrote:
> Actually, looking at the SRD entry for Mind Flayer, and forgetting
> what I know about it, I'd assume that the Mind Flayer was some kind of
> humanoid monster with four tentacles for arms, and probably green and
> slimy with a big lamprey-type mouth. Nowhere in the description does
> it say they are humanoid or where on their bodies the tentacles are
> located. So, I'd say that WotC at least has a chance of claiming the
> "tentacle-headed humanoid" version of the mind flayer as IP.
Well then your reading skills are poor. The description block
clearly states "If pressed into melee combat, a mind flayer lashes
its enemies with the tentacles ringing its mouth."
The details of the SRD entry are somewhat besides the point,
however. One cannot copyright the concept of "a tentacle-headed
humanoid". WotC doesn't own that general concept, so I don't see how
that fact by itself can make something a copyright violation.
- John
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