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shadzar
2009-08-20, 03:42 AM
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4dnd/genconS2

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/seminar_6.jpg

Hogwarts. Harry riding that griffon Buckbeak while wearing his quidditch uniform.

Nice to see JKR allowing the franchise to be used for D&D when it wasn't allowed for an encyclopedia about the books.

Who paints a picture so distinctly/blatantly looking like the Harry Potter stuff from the movies and uses it for Forgotten Realms?

Can the IP theft stop now WotC?

I don't bother much with 4th edition or WotC stuff, but this is just a shock and a bit degrading to see stooping so low for D&D to have to steal ideas like this. Have they really run out of new ideas? But then again it has always been OK for D&D to steal from everything else (Tolkien, Lieber, Vance); so I don't know why this irks me so much.

kpenguin
2009-08-20, 03:45 AM
While I do see the similarities, I don't think that's Harry.

The castle doesn't look like Hogwarts, the beast seems to be a giant eagle not a hippogriff, the rider has long hair and is wearing a cloak.

Kurald Galain
2009-08-20, 03:47 AM
Nice to see JKR allowing the franchise to be used for D&D when it wasn't allowed for an encyclopedia about the books.
Because JKR totally invented people flying on giant winged critters, and red robes, and magical academies. Man, those Tolkien, Pini, and Pratchett guys totally ripped her off!

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 03:47 AM
First, that's a giant eagle, not a griffon.

Second, Buckbeak was a hippogriff, not a griffon.

Third, that doesn't look like Hogwarts at all. Hogwarts spikes much higher and has a larger garden.

ericgrau
2009-08-20, 03:51 AM
From only seeing some of the movies maybe once each, I do see a striking resemblance. Maybe some people can get into scary detail about what's different, but regardless this certainly is as similar as can be without blatant plagiarism. The style is really close. Ya, I think the idea comes from Harry Potter.

Eloel
2009-08-20, 03:54 AM
Who paints a picture so distinctly/blatantly looking like the Harry Potter stuff from the movies and uses it for Forgotten Realms?

I thought it WAS HP till this point. WotC is now officially the least creative company in the history.

kpenguin
2009-08-20, 03:57 AM
I thought it WAS HP till this point. WotC is now officially the least creative company in the history.

Why? Because they drew someone with black hair and red robes riding a giant eagle flying over a castle?

Eloel
2009-08-20, 04:05 AM
Why? Because they drew someone with black hair and red robes riding a giant eagle flying over a castle?

Hmmm. Yes?

elliott20
2009-08-20, 04:06 AM
I could just imagine how the teaching material at hogwarts would change

there would be a class for teaching people how to play a batman wizard, a class on teaching people how to avoid blaster spells, etc.

Myshlaevsky
2009-08-20, 04:08 AM
What is this picture of? Is it some big plot thing or is just a generic illustration for the Realms? If it's the latter, it's probably just an intended reference. I don't really see the problem.

Kurald Galain
2009-08-20, 04:10 AM
I could just imagine how the teaching material at hogwarts would change

there would be a class for teaching people how to play a batman wizard, a class on teaching people how to avoid blaster spells, etc.

Heh. I can totally imagine Hermione as a munchkinnish optimizer.

"Harry! Don't take that feat, it's mathematically ineffective! I read about it in the library!"

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 04:12 AM
By the way, does any school in the modern world have a class dedicated entirely to the school's history?

Cause apparently Hogwarts does.

kpenguin
2009-08-20, 04:12 AM
Hmmm. Yes?

If simply drawing that makes them the least creative company in the world, I shudder to see how you react to mockbusters from The Asylum.

In all seriousness, this picture does nothing really to make me think its HP, other than simply being regular fantasy. If it were not for this thread, I would not think to make the connection.


By the way, does any school in the modern world have a class dedicated entirely to the school's history?

Cause apparently Hogwarts does.

No it doesn't. It has History of Magic, but no class specific to the history of the school.

You may be thinking about that book Hermione's always babbling on about, Hogwarts: A History

Wings of Peace
2009-08-20, 04:14 AM
Maybe I'm just not that big of a Harry Potter fan but really to me it looked like an elf riding a griffon towards a castle. If we really want to take the leap into comparing color schemes and such then I am going to accuse the Thayvians of blatant intellectual theft.

kamikasei
2009-08-20, 04:14 AM
That's a serious reach. It's a guy on a giant bird flying toward a castle.

a) Hogwarts isn't on the coast.
b) Harry doesn't wear a red cloak.
c) Aside from being a castle, there's no real resemblance.


By the way, does any school in the modern world have a class dedicated entirely to the school's history?

Cause apparently Hogwarts does.

No, it doesn't. They have a "History of Magic" class, and separately there's a book called "Hogwarts: A History" that Hermione keeps referencing and no one else seems to have read.

...What's the garbled pseudolatin for "ninja begone!"?

elliott20
2009-08-20, 04:15 AM
Heh. I can totally imagine Hermione as a munchkinnish optimizer.

"Harry! Don't take that feat, it's mathematically ineffective! I read about it in the library!"

or rather...

"I read about it on the internet at some forum board dedicated to a comic about adventuring stick figures!"

on second though, library is fine. She gets enough flak for being a nerd as is. no need to dig that hole any deeper.

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 04:17 AM
No, it doesn't. They have a "History of Magic" class, and separately there's a book called "Hogwarts: A History" that Hermione keeps referencing and no one else seems to have read.

...What's the garbled pseudolatin for "ninja begone!"?

Shinobis Begonus!

So they have a book. Still weird.

Now I fully expect someone to come saying Oxford has a book named The History of Oxford. In which case I'll claim all of you Brits can go to hell. :smalltongue:

kpenguin
2009-08-20, 04:20 AM
I'm quite sure that nearly every major school anywhere has its own book, if not more than one. Given that Hogwarts appears to be the only, or at least most prestigious, academy for wizards, it is not "weird" at all.

Coidzor
2009-08-20, 04:34 AM
^: It appears to be the only school in the UK and have been founded as part of a plan to end rampant civil war within their inbred circle of magic-users. So, historically significant, probably.

Hmm...It would at least necessitate the magic system being expounded upon. haha.

This thread's title is rather misleading in that regard. I was sort of imagining the look on his face when all his wand did was cast about 49 more of the last spell he cast before crossing over and then become useless other than as an item familiar which hadn't been invested in properly.

I can see why it would be reminiscent of Harry Potter, but I don't think I would have necessarily made the connection without it already being stated for me.

Nor do I really see the fact that it would remind some people of HP as a bad thing, as it certainly does not seem close enough to be infringement.

Myiven
2009-08-20, 04:43 AM
The image also shows the castle next to an ocean shore. I'm fairly certain Hogwarts was inland.

kpenguin
2009-08-20, 04:44 AM
I guess that could be the lake that's next to Hogwarts... but I doubt it.

KIDS
2009-08-20, 04:45 AM
I see an elven messenger delivering something to the arcane academy somewhere.

Since schools of magic, flying birds and people flying on those birds are not a trademark of Harry Potter, I don't see a problem with this.

Wings of Peace
2009-08-20, 04:46 AM
I guess that could be the lake that's next to Hogwarts... but I doubt it.

And one of those shrubs is the Womping Willow. :smallsmile:

Autopsibiofeeder
2009-08-20, 04:52 AM
Well, Harry Potter is so incredibly full of cliche material (which is ok, imho) and at the same time became so incredibly popular that everyone from now on that tries to make (write, paint or film etc.) something fantasy-ish that bears some cliches will be easily suspected of unoriginality, having stolen ideas from a (pretty good) story with a lot of unoriginal content. The irony :).

kpenguin
2009-08-20, 04:59 AM
What makes everyone think that's a magical academy rather than just a fantasy castle?

Jack_Banzai
2009-08-20, 05:01 AM
Those look like fountains, not a Quidditch field.

Coidzor
2009-08-20, 05:02 AM
What makes everyone think that's a magical academy rather than just a fantasy castle?

Well, there's the mental association made by the thread title.

and then there's the mental associations that led the OP and others to make the associations that made the thread in the first place.

Or maybe it's just something about lit up castles in the evening in a fantasy setting.

Zeful
2009-08-20, 05:13 AM
What makes everyone think that's a magical academy rather than just a fantasy castle?

The OP. I can see what he's talking about. Red and Gold were griffondor's colors, which the rider is wearing. But then Red and Gold tend to be common the world over for their "regal" status. It's a big castle, Hogwarts is a big castle. And so on.

However there are more than enough differences to balance out the easily justifiable similarities.

kpenguin
2009-08-20, 05:18 AM
Well, there's the mental association made by the thread title.

and then there's the mental associations that led the OP and others to make the associations that made the thread in the first place.

Or maybe it's just something about lit up castles in the evening in a fantasy setting.

Being lit up makes me think there's a ball or some sort of party, not that it's a school.

shadzar
2009-08-20, 05:20 AM
Those look like fountains, not a Quidditch field.

Well if he was playing, Harry would be on his broom and not riding a griffin. I just said it looks like Harry's GriffinGryffindor quidditch uniform.

I know Beaky was a hippogriff and he pooped in the film, but the griffon is the symbol for Gryffindor, and with the red and gold outfit riding what CAN be a griffin, it only strengthens the connection further.

We can't see the body to tell if it is lion-like so we can only guess as to eagle or just eagle-related.

So yes there is a fountain in the courtyard, not a quidditch pitch. :smallwink:

Also the Black lake is right outside Hogwarts, so the sea/ocean/whatever also fits.

Either someone really screwed up with the similarities, or it was done on purpose for whatever reason.

kamikasei
2009-08-20, 05:34 AM
Either someone really screwed up with the similarities, or it was done on purpose for whatever reason.

Or: it's a guy in a cloak on a giant bird flying towards a castle, and you're reading far too much in to it.

The cloak is clearly a cloak and not robes. It does not resemble Quidditch robes except in colour.

The giant bird is to my eyes much more reminiscent of Lord of the Rings than of Harry Potter.

The castle is simply a castle. Its layered structure doesn't much resemble Hogwarts from any of the movies.

Your reaction is way over the top. It's just a picture that happened to remind you of something, it's not theft or plagiarism or anything like it.

DMfromTheAbyss
2009-08-20, 05:41 AM
It's a bit of a stretch to call this a rip off. The similarities are vauge and unmeaningful. It certainly looks like any number of other fantasy novel covers I've seen though... I love Harry Potter, but if someone said there he is, I'd have to say I don't see it, looks all wrong and the artist could have been doing a D&D illustration for all I can tell. :smallsmile:

bosssmiley
2009-08-20, 05:46 AM
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4dnd/genconS2

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/seminar_6.jpg

<trim>

Can the IP theft stop now WotC?

It's not IP theft. Despite the best efforts of Disney and their ilk you can't copyright public domain iconography. You see HP; I see generic fantasy. :smalltongue:


WotC is now officially the least creative company in the history.

I'll see your WOTC and raise you GW. Their one good idea was to swap generic medieval for renaissance/age of discovery in the Warhammer world. Everything else in their settings (from Spess Mhrns to Tyrannids to the shape of Ulthuan) has been done before.

shadzar
2009-08-20, 05:47 AM
All you doubters that don't see the multitude of similarities then just wait until something comes out saying Elminster was "gay" all along. That will cement it. :smalltongue:

I did think for a second of the eagles that helped Gandalf, but I just instantly saw Hogwarts when I looked at that image.

Good thing it is another bird-like creature flying in and not a winged-horse drawn carriage of else we could say Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were coming to visit. :smalltongue:

Lord Loss
2009-08-20, 05:47 AM
Let's go WOTC, rip off another bloke! Like ya did for ILLITHIDS and then TRADEMARKED em!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH_u2RO35z4

kamikasei
2009-08-20, 05:49 AM
All you doubters that don't see the multitude of similarities then just wait until something comes out saying Elminster was "gay" all along. That will cement it. :smalltongue:

And now I'm wondering if this entire thread was supposed to be a joke.


I did think for a second of the eagles that helped Gandalf, but I just instantly saw Hogwarts when I looked at that image.

And that's fine. But it's a long way from "this immediately made me think of X" to "this is clearly either accidentally or consciously ripping off X". Perhaps, dear shadzar, the fault lies not in the artists, but in yourself.

kpenguin
2009-08-20, 05:51 AM
And it definitely doesn't lie in the stars.

Rainbownaga
2009-08-20, 05:57 AM
Yeah, because a story about a school for witches and wizards was such an original idea in the first place *cough*worst witch*cough*

horngeek
2009-08-20, 06:01 AM
As has been said... this image isn't ripping off HP.

I don't see Wizadry School at all in this image, I see castle.

Also, on the GW thing: their uniqueness is how they tie it all together and make it GRIMDARK.

Androgeus
2009-08-20, 06:12 AM
Shinobis Begonus!

So they have a book. Still weird.

Now I fully expect someone to come saying Oxford has a book named The History of Oxford. In which case I'll claim all of you Brits can go to hell. :smalltongue:

First link when googling "Histroy of oxford university book" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Illustrated-History-Oxford-University/dp/0198201583), should we go to hell now? (it is the oldest university in England, what do you expect?)

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 06:14 AM
First link when googling "Histroy of oxford university book" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Illustrated-History-Oxford-University/dp/0198201583), should we go to hell now? (it is the oldest university in England, what do you expect?)

Yes, you should.

*banishes UK to hell*

Why do schools need books of their history, anyway?

kamikasei
2009-08-20, 06:18 AM
Why do schools need books of their history, anyway?

You seem to be assuming that the institution commissions someone to write up its history. Maybe institutions with histories just tend to have people write books about them, as people are wont to do about anything that holds still long enough and many things that don't.

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 06:20 AM
I guess it's a cultural thing, though. I don't know any such histories about schools in my country.

Thespianus
2009-08-20, 06:20 AM
Why do schools need books of their history, anyway?
Because it can be tricky to remember 1000 years of achievement otherwise?

Sure, Plano High School in Texas might not need one in a few decades, but why would anyone be surprized that universities like Bologna (http://www.eng.unibo.it/PortaleEn/University/Our+History/default.htm)and Oxford publish books on their histories?


The University of Bologna was probably the first University in the western world. Its history is one of great thinkers in science and the humanities, making it an indispensable point of reference in the panorama of European culture.
But, yeah, writing a book about it seems stupid. "Quidditch Through the Ages" seems reasonable, though... ;)

kamikasei
2009-08-20, 06:24 AM
I guess it's a cultural thing, though. I don't know any such histories about schools in my country.

Are the schools in your country famous, long-standing institutions?

(I actually have no idea where you're from, so...)

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 06:25 AM
Long-standing, yes. Famous? I have absolutely no idea.

oxinabox
2009-08-20, 06:27 AM
JK rolling refused to let anybody amke an encylopdia about the boojks cos she's doing it herself.
She needs money so bad she refuses to let any compertion on vbooks about books.

I see the resableance, but really no.

I suspect some european universities would have classes that include there own history as part on the content.

History of mathematics.
Gluttienburg, Ecole polutechnique, cambridge.

Kurald Galain
2009-08-20, 06:29 AM
Why do schools need books of their history, anyway?

Because Wikipedia pages are too easy to vandalize...

kamikasei
2009-08-20, 06:31 AM
Why do schools need books of their history, anyway?

I should also point out: to sell to tourists.

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 06:35 AM
I should also point out: to sell to tourists.

That's the most sensible reason ever given so far.

You win a cookie.

Forbiddenwar
2009-08-20, 11:06 AM
I guess it's a cultural thing, though. I don't know any such histories about schools in my country.

I guess all of us americans can go to hell too?
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=history+of+harvard&dblist=638&fq=ap%3A%22harvard+university%22&qt=facet_ap%3A
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=history+of+yale&qt=results_page

And in these cases they are published by the university
/thread derail

AstralFire
2009-08-20, 11:12 AM
...I don't even have words for this thread.

PinkysBrain
2009-08-20, 11:14 AM
If all you can read into this image is Harry Potter you are incredibly over-obsessed with him ... perhaps next time instead of re-reading the series again try some different fantasy books?

Tiki Snakes
2009-08-20, 11:25 AM
...I don't even have words for this thread.

I do, 'desperate'.

Shad - For someone who 'doesn't bother much with 4th edition or WotC stuff' you really have your ear to the ground.

Swok
2009-08-20, 11:26 AM
{Scrubbed}

AstralFire
2009-08-20, 11:30 AM
I do, 'desperate'.

Shad - For someone who 'doesn't bother much with 4th edition or WotC stuff' you really have your ear to the ground.

Oh, so you noticed that too, huh? :smallamused:

Newspaper
2009-08-20, 11:33 AM
when I look at that picture 'Harry Potter' comes to mind, but i don't see why that's a bad thing. D&D has been making nods to just about every fantasy book/film/comic/etc. since it's beginnings.

Jack_Banzai
2009-08-20, 11:39 AM
when I look at that picture 'Harry Potter' comes to mind, but i don't see why that's a bad thing. D&D has been making nods to just about every fantasy book/film/comic/etc. since it's beginnings.

Yup. Conan the Barbarian, Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, Lord of the Rings, even kung-fu movies were instrumental inspirations in the early days of D&D. D&D and the barbarian movie renaissance of the 70s practically sustained each other, for god's sake.

Umael
2009-08-20, 11:59 AM
I consider the picture to be little more than a homage to J K Rowlings.

(Honestly, people! If you are going to rip on WotC or 4E, do so on solid foundations instead of your inferences! Even if you are correct, the fact that the picture can be easily interpreted in a positive light reflects poorly on your judgement!)

Random832
2009-08-20, 12:12 PM
I guess it's a cultural thing, though. I don't know any such histories about schools in my country.

And what country is that? America? We don't have any schools old enough to have history.

AstralFire
2009-08-20, 12:13 PM
And what country is that? America? We don't have any schools old enough to have history.

Not to mention that they still have books anyway.

kc0bbq
2009-08-20, 12:19 PM
And what country is that? America? We don't have any schools old enough to have history.We don't? A school founded in 1636 isn't old enough to have "history"?

EDIT: 1635, actually.

Totally Guy
2009-08-20, 12:21 PM
I think my secondary school had a book written about it. But only because the deputy headmaster was going for a phd in history and knew all about the school.

ThunderCat
2009-08-20, 12:27 PM
Yeah, it's a total HP rip-off :smallmad:

I mean, come on, it's got a castle in it. Castles certainly didn't appear often in the fantasy genre before Harry Potter.

And a red cape. Seriously, red! J. K. Rowling's got a patent on that colour, everybody knows that :smallfurious:

And the rider's got dark hair, how obvious can it be? :smallsigh: People don't have dark hair outside the HP books.

And people riding giant eagles, that's like.... wait, HP didn't have giant eagles in it :smallconfused:

My vote goes to 'desperate'. The elements in that picture are totally cliché, and were so long before HP. Now that I've been aware of it, I can see some resemblance (but then again, telling people something before they see a picture can do that, after all, several people commented on a magical school that was nowhere in the picture :smallwink:), but I think it's very likely that the artist was just told "We want a picture of a couple of riders on giant eagles above a castle" perhaps with a few details like "by the ocean" or "in a storm", and decided on a red cape and dark hair.

I guess it's a cultural thing, though. I don't know any such histories about schools in my country.When buildings are old enough, and enough important events have taken place in them, they tend to have books written about them. Why should schools be any different?

Random NPC
2009-08-20, 12:29 PM
Can the IP theft stop now WotC?


Can Rowling stop the IP theft?

http://fumettidicarta.interfree.it/Garage_Ermetico/LIBRI_MAGIA/TimHunter.jpg

Books of Magic, by British author Neil Gaiman, tells us the story of the greatest Magician in the Universe, Timothy Hunter (a normal teenage boy who lost his mother), learning the ropes to become the new Merlin.

January 1990.

Kemper Boyd
2009-08-20, 12:37 PM
This is probably the dumbest attack on WotC I've seen today, and I can't even understand why anyone would make a thread like this. Shadzar, what did Wizards ever do to you?

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 12:43 PM
This is probably the dumbest attack on WotC I've seen today, and I can't even understand why anyone would make a thread like this. Shadzar, what did Wizards ever do to you?

They dared publish something he didn't like.

You know, 4th Edition.

Drider
2009-08-20, 12:53 PM
I'm quite sure that nearly every major school anywhere has its own book, if not more than one. Given that Hogwarts appears to be the only, or at least most prestigious, academy for wizards, it is not "weird" at all.

Was'nt there a french all girls, russian, and some other school in the four cups thing?

The Rose Dragon
2009-08-20, 12:55 PM
Was'nt there a french all girls, russian, and some other school in the four cups thing?

I'm pretty sure he meant "in the British Isles". There are a lot schools of wizardry in Harry Potter universe (there is even one in Turkey! (which happens to be my country, by the way)).

Umael
2009-08-20, 01:01 PM
They dared publish something he didn't like.

You know, 4th Edition.

Now, now, people. Let's not poke fun at Shadzar's hatred of WotC. I know it's epic and even Demogorgon quails before it, but it needs to be treated with love and respect and to have someone clean up after it when it makes a mess.

(Shadzar, I hope you know I am so totally teasing you about your reaction to 4E and WotC. This isn't about you, personally, at all.)

Kurald Galain
2009-08-20, 01:14 PM
Was'nt there a french all girls, russian, and some other school in the four cups thing?

Yes. That was an amazing feat of plagiarism: they built two entire countries just to rip off JKR!!!

erikun
2009-08-20, 01:18 PM
All you doubters that don't see the multitude of similarities then just wait until something comes out saying Elminster was "gay" all along. That will cement it. :smalltongue:
Wait wait wait.... are you saying that Harry Potter is just a ripoff from Forgotten Realms?! :smalltongue:

Friv
2009-08-20, 01:22 PM
Yeah, because a story about a school for witches and wizards was such an original idea in the first place *cough*worst witch*cough*

That's not really IP theft either, though. The idea of a Wizarding School as a concept has been around for years and years - hell, Bram Stoker wrote about one - and isn't really much of a stretch.

See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WizardingSchool for a very long and probably partial list of such institutions. Plus it's basically just a subsection of all the other schools people go to for weird stuff (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExtranormalInstitute).

Tallis
2009-08-20, 01:30 PM
Well if he was playing, Harry would be on his broom and not riding a griffin. I just said it looks like Harry's GriffinGryffindor quidditch uniform.

That's a cloak, not a robe and the symbol on it isn't a griffon. The only similarity I see is color.


I know Beaky was a hippogriff and he pooped in the film, but the griffon is the symbol for Gryffindor, and with the red and gold outfit riding what CAN be a griffin, it only strengthens the connection further.

We can't see the body to tell if it is lion-like so we can only guess as to eagle or just eagle-related.

I can see the body and it's clearly an bird. The proportion and tail are totally wrong for a lion body. If you look at the other one in the background you can also see what appears to be bird feet. Lion feet would be thicker and hang down more. Plus it looks like there's only 2 where a griffon would have 4 legs.


So yes there is a fountain in the courtyard, not a quidditch pitch. :smallwink:

Also the Black lake is right outside Hogwarts, so the sea/ocean/whatever also fits.

Either someone really screwed up with the similarities, or it was done on purpose for whatever reason.

Comparing the castle to what is seen in the HP movies you see that the color scheme and architecture are all wrong.
I don't know if you just watched a HP movie marathon or what, but you seem to be reading a lot into that picture that isn't actually there. Just because you are reminded of Harry Potter doesn't mean that that is what was intended. Even if it was, why would that be a big deal?

kamikasei
2009-08-20, 01:34 PM
All you doubters that don't see the multitude of similarities then just wait until something comes out saying Elminster was "gay" all along.

Point of curiosity.

What's with the quotemarks here?

kc0bbq
2009-08-20, 01:42 PM
Was'nt there a french all girls, russian, and some other school in the four cups thing?JKR's French school was not an all-girl school, that was a movie construct. Beaubatons was mixed in the book.

OMG EVEN THE MOVIES ARE IN ON IT! :D

Zeful
2009-08-20, 01:46 PM
Point of curiosity.

What's with the quotemarks here?

Probably due to the fact that JK Rowling didn't out Dumbledor in the actual books, and simply said it after the fact.

AstralFire
2009-08-20, 01:54 PM
JKR's French school was not an all-girl school, that was a movie construct. Beaubatons was mixed in the book.

OMG EVEN THE MOVIES ARE IN ON IT! :D

Didn't JKR say that was her intended thing, though?

Though I think it's... really kind of... dumb to have the only major school in two different countries only educating one gender.

Coidzor
2009-08-20, 02:12 PM
Though I think it's... really kind of... dumb to have the only major school in two different countries only educating one gender.

Which, combined with their foreignness is why they didn't have a ghost of a chance.

kc0bbq
2009-08-20, 02:39 PM
Which, combined with their foreignness is why they didn't have a ghost of a chance.Fleur does surrender pretty quickly in the second challenge....

Androgeus
2009-08-20, 02:45 PM
Comparing the castle to what is seen in the HP movies you see that the color scheme and architecture are all wrong.

I'm suprised that the castle in the movie even looks like a normal one seeing as it was filmed in many different ones up and down the country(s)

shadzar
2009-08-20, 08:19 PM
I do, 'desperate'.

Shad - For someone who 'doesn't bother much with 4th edition or WotC stuff' you really have your ear to the ground.

Well I like watching idiots be idiots, and the recent week long downtime just to switch some servers over for new forums, that also took out the entire WotC website in the process as well corrupted the DDI login for people is just so funny. Also I got the D&D feed in RSS and it just pops up when the brow2ser is opened. :smalltongue:


when I look at that picture 'Harry Potter' comes to mind, but i don't see why that's a bad thing. D&D has been making nods to just about every fantasy book/film/comic/etc. since it's beginnings.

It isn't, for regular people, but after the recent case involving HP IP.....I just got wondering which giant would win that battle if one should happen:

JKR with Warner Brothers
OR
WotC with HASBRO

I also think it is about time D&D stopped making nods, since it has already taken all the classic stuff, and stop trying to use everything new that becomes a fad. Rather it should try to create something itself for a change and stand by its own creations. Unlike posting pics of Fantasy Grounds rice on its website for their own Game Table. You shouldn't need another company or individuals artwork to illustrate your ideas. They could have used REAL dice to show what they looked like.

It is time for D&D to stop being ripping ideas of from anybody, and make something new. Otherwise it might be just as well if D&D goes to where it took many ideas from and then tried to claim ownership of them....into the public domain.

So why are the designers only able to be copy-cats there? Where are the original designs?


The most funny thing is how strict HASBRO is with the D&D IP, yet all of it was stolen from other places. It is like the game Monopoly.



Now, now, people. Let's not poke fun at Shadzar's hatred of WotC. I know it's epic and even Demogorgon quails before it, but it needs to be treated with love and respect and to have someone clean up after it when it makes a mess.

(Shadzar, I hope you know I am so totally teasing you about your reaction to 4E and WotC. This isn't about you, personally, at all.)

Orcus fears my level of disdain towards WotC and 4th edition. :smallbiggrin:


Wait wait wait.... are you saying that Harry Potter is just a ripoff from Forgotten Realms?! :smalltongue:

No, from Gaiman(see image up thread).


Point of curiosity.

What's with the quotemarks here?

As Zeful said. Because if it was really important to the story rather than trying to appease another portion of an audience it would have been in the books that the one Dumbledore loved was Grindlwald(sp).

But who he loved was not really important, as the theme of the books was love in general it really doesn't matter. The fact that he DID love someone was what strengthened Dumbledore within the books. IF you only count love as being "intimate", then Lily's love for Harry is just wrong. :smallfrown:

But since the theme was love in general....it was the one thing that Voldy never had, nor learned.

oxinabox
2009-08-20, 08:31 PM
Heck, didn't dnd have wizarding schools before harry potter was published?
a bit of the fluff for wizards in many of the splat books mentions wizarding acadmies.
Tamora pierce had them before.
as did dozens of authors.

50% of the fantasy genre is to a lesser of greater extend a fanfic of tolken.
eg orcs, hobits, elves, dwarfs.
He totally redefined them, where they weren't his creations.

PinkysBrain
2009-08-20, 08:38 PM
BTW, the Unseen University is by the water also ... so did JKR steal that from Terry Pratchet?

HCL
2009-08-20, 08:49 PM
OK first off that is just a fantasy castle.

Secondly there is no philosophical or economic basis for "Intellectual property" so "ripping it off" may be "illegal" but it sure as **** is not a crime.

horngeek
2009-08-20, 08:51 PM
Yeah, it's a total HP rip-off :smallmad:

I mean, come on, it's got a castle in it. Castles certainly didn't appear often in the fantasy genre before Harry Potter.

And a red cape. Seriously, red! J. K. Rowling's got a patent on that colour, everybody knows that :smallfurious:

And the rider's got dark hair, how obvious can it be? :smallsigh: People don't have dark hair outside the HP books.

And people riding giant eagles, that's like.... wait, HP didn't have giant eagles in it :smallconfused:

My vote goes to 'desperate'. The elements in that picture are totally cliché, and were so long before HP. Now that I've been aware of it, I can see some resemblance (but then again, telling people something before they see a picture can do that, after all, several people commented on a magical school that was nowhere in the picture :smallwink:), but I think it's very likely that the artist was just told "We want a picture of a couple of riders on giant eagles above a castle" perhaps with a few details like "by the ocean" or "in a storm", and decided on a red cape and dark hair.
When buildings are old enough, and enough important events have taken place in them, they tend to have books written about them. Why should schools be any different?

:smalleek: I was about to post on the assumption that this was being serious...

I agree with the sarcasm in this quote.

Yoren
2009-08-20, 08:51 PM
Actually if you forced me to apply a name to the castle I'd say it looks more like the Tolarian Academy from MTG than Hogwarts.

Either way its a castle, with a giant eagle, and a dude with a cloak; pretty generic stuff.

Tiki Snakes
2009-08-20, 09:19 PM
They dared publish something he didn't like.

You know, 4th Edition.


3rd, actually.

Shad- There's a saying. You should not complain about things you do not need to subject yourself to. You claim to not be interested in modern editions of dnd, but you keep coming back to them, and have a dnd rss feed!

Stop picking the scab, and maybe it will heal.

Sir_Elderberry
2009-08-20, 09:34 PM
BTW, the Unseen University is by the water also ... so did JKR steal that from Terry Pratchet?
The river Ankh hardly counts as "water".

Faleldir
2009-08-20, 09:47 PM
Is anyone else slightly disappointed that this thread isn't about a new Harry Potter RPG? I mean, I wouldn't play it, but bringing in new fans is always good.

AstralFire
2009-08-20, 09:48 PM
Is anyone else slightly disappointed that this thread isn't about a new Harry Potter RPG? I mean, I wouldn't play it, but bringing in new fans is always good.

It would be incredibly boring because cool stuff like 'set things on fire' would be reserved for the epic NPCs and you'd have to content yourself with optimizing Expelliarmus.

chiasaur11
2009-08-20, 09:56 PM
Ah, but if you read "The Science of Discworld", you'll find that Ponder Stibbons and the rest of UU created the Earth, and since Terry Pratchett invented the UU, we're all ripping off Terry Pratchett.

Tiki Snakes
2009-08-20, 09:56 PM
It would be incredibly boring because cool stuff like 'set things on fire' would be reserved for the epic NPCs and you'd have to content yourself with optimizing Expelliarmus.

Not to mention that the height of power, killing someone in a single shot, is apparently about as terrifyingly powerful as....a small handgun? >_>

Random NPC
2009-08-20, 09:57 PM
So why are the designers only able to be copy-cats there? Where are the original designs?

Because no matter what cool idea designers can come up with, Shakespeare did it already. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheZerothLawOfTropeExamples?from=Main.ZerothLawOfT ropeExamples)

Kylarra
2009-08-20, 10:05 PM
Not to mention that the height of power, killing someone in a single shot, is apparently about as terrifyingly powerful as....a small handgun? >_>You also need intent to kill, as opposed to "hey, what's this button do... <bang>".:smalltongue:

AstralFire
2009-08-20, 10:12 PM
You also need intent to kill, as opposed to "hey, what's this button do... <bang>".:smalltongue:

As much as Torg Potter is usually terrible filler in a great webcomic, the last one wasn't so bad...

http://sluggy.com/images/comics/080425a.gif
http://sluggy.com/images/comics/080426a.gif
http://sluggy.com/images/comics/080428a.gif

Kurald Galain
2009-08-21, 03:30 AM
It is time for D&D to stop being ripping ideas of from anybody, and make something new. Otherwise it might be just as well if D&D goes to where it took many ideas from and then tried to claim ownership of them....into the public domain.
Exactly! In the world of roleplaying, D&D is alwasy ripping off everyone (in particular, it has been ripping off World of Warcraft for decades now) and nothing ever imitates D&D. It is high time for something original, like magical starships with unique gravity laws and crystal spheres! Or perhaps dinosaur-riding cannibals with magical trains!

Thespianus
2009-08-21, 03:48 AM
BTW, the Unseen University is by the water also ... so did JKR steal that from Terry Pratchet?

UU is by the Ankh, right? Not really "water", if I remember my Pratchett right. ;)

kamikasei
2009-08-21, 03:52 AM
As Zeful said. Because if it was really important to the story rather than trying to appease another portion of an audience it would have been in the books that the one Dumbledore loved was Grindlwald(sp).

Grindelwald. And I don't think it was ever said it was important to the story. It was a minor detail, that's why it was mentioned in an interview rather than in the books. That an author knows more details about the worlds she creates than need to be included in the books does not mean she's "trying to appease" anyone.

Jack_Banzai
2009-08-21, 03:52 AM
I also think it is about time D&D stopped making nods, since it has already taken all the classic stuff, and stop trying to use everything new that becomes a fad. Rather it should try to create something itself for a change and stand by its own creations. Unlike posting pics of Fantasy Grounds rice on its website for their own Game Table. You shouldn't need another company or individuals artwork to illustrate your ideas. They could have used REAL dice to show what they looked like.

It is time for D&D to stop being ripping ideas of from anybody, and make something new. Otherwise it might be just as well if D&D goes to where it took many ideas from and then tried to claim ownership of them....into the public domain.

So why are the designers only able to be copy-cats there? Where are the original designs?

Really? Please.

shadzar
2009-08-21, 03:59 AM
UU is by the Ankh, right? Not really "water", if I remember my Pratchett right. ;)

Yes it is, and Sir_Elderberry already mentioned it. It is a confusing thread, so don't feel bad you were ninja'd. But you do remember correct.

Then again Discworld is all a spoof of D&D used for satire of other things.

I expect next to see the TARDITAS (Time And Relative Dimension In The Astral Sea) in D&D....

Anywho...this thread has been a good thought exercise for some to learn some things and remember others. Still I wonder where is the new stuff? If we take away HP, then we are looking at just a run of the mill generic fantasy pic...FOR WHAT?

The pic has no context to with what it connects in the article.

Coidzor
2009-08-21, 04:07 AM
You also need intent to kill, as opposed to "hey, what's this button do... <bang>".:smalltongue:

And apparently it's part of the process of making oneself in into the closest thing to a lich around...

Eldariel
2009-08-21, 06:18 AM
UU is by the Ankh, right? Not really "water", if I remember my Pratchett right. ;)

Now you made me want to stat up Ankh of Mishra as an artifact for D&D. Congrats.

AstralFire
2009-08-21, 10:52 AM
Anywho...this thread has been a good thought exercise for some to learn some things and remember others. Still I wonder where is the new stuff? If we take away HP, then we are looking at just a run of the mill generic fantasy pic...FOR WHAT?


Exactly! In the world of roleplaying, D&D is alwasy ripping off everyone (in particular, it has been ripping off World of Warcraft for decades now) and nothing ever imitates D&D. It is high time for something original, like magical starships with unique gravity laws and crystal spheres! Or perhaps dinosaur-riding cannibals with magical trains!

Or a desolate world where all the gods are dead or crazy and magical experimentation is used to force crossbreeding sapient (if dumb) races for slave labor.

Keshay
2009-08-21, 10:54 AM
As much as Torg Potter is usually terrible filler in a great webcomic, the last one wasn't so bad...

That's a great comic, I was thinking of something along those lines the other day.

"What would happen if a bunch of Death Eaters were cornered by a SWAT team?"

Only thing I could think of is a bunch of dead Death Eaters. Then again, actually getting them cornered woudl be difficult inof itself, but that's besides the point. One savvy individual with a gun could probably have significantly mitigated the enitre Voldemort situation pretty easily.

As to the OP. I suppose if one were to squint just right, or had never had any exposure to any other form of Scifi or fantasy besides Harry Potter, sure that looks just like Harry Potter.

Except Harry does not have past shoulder-length hair. Hogwarts does not look like that (as described in the books its a haphazardly arranged structure whereas that is a terrific example of a symmetrical castle.) That's very obviously a giant eagle and not a hippogrif or griffon (one would have to have never seen a picture or read a description of either of those creatures in order to mistake the animal in that picture for one), etc, etc, etc...

Expand your horizons and read something besides HP, then maybe you'll see the foolishness of calling palgirism on a very generic fantasy illustration.

kamikasei
2009-08-21, 10:57 AM
Expand your horizons and read something besides HP, then maybe you'll see the foolishness of calling palgirism on a very generic fantasy illustration.

Apparently even if it's not ripping off HP, it comes in for criticism for being too generic and not really about anything. Heads shadzar wins, tails we lose.

RTGoodman
2009-08-21, 11:14 AM
The pic has no context to with what it connects in the article.

It's an article about Forgotten Realms. I'm gonna assume, and I could be wrong here, that it's a friggin' picture from one of the FR products that they talked about. Or it's some art they commissioned, thought it looked cool but hadn't used it, and decided to use it to spruce up the thing and make it more aesthetically pleasing. You know, like art does.

chiasaur11
2009-08-21, 11:14 AM
UU is by the Ankh, right? Not really "water", if I remember my Pratchett right. ;)

Well, it's water in the same sense as Harry King's guard animals are dogs.