Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Product Identity? In MY Monsters?

It's more likely than you think.

Notorious bird Prismatic Wasteland is up to his antics again trying to get decent, law-abiding folks to weasel their way around legal trouble, and I'm here to help.

I put together a similar list a while back and I figure it's worth sharing.


First, More Names for the Monsters He Covered

Mind-Flayer: Bathalian (Reaper Minis), Cephalid (Dark Sword Minis), Mind Lasher (Old School Essentials), Octopoid/Gastropoid (The Black Hack), Philosophers (Zak S), Brain Fiend (Fantasy Craft), and, arguably, Genestealers (Warhammer 40K).

Beholder: Eye Tyrant (the alternate, generic name they already have in D&D), Eye Beast (Reaper Minis), Eye of Terror (Old School Essentials), Gazer (Dragon's Crown), Watcher in the Dark (Fantasy Craft).

Personally, the name I'm using is an Oculus.

Yuan-Ti: FUCK YOU WARREN, DEMON SNAKE MEN RULE

...Just... just get rid of the Orientalism, they'll be fine. Really.

I offer to you: Nagendra (Reaper Minis), Librarians (Zak S), and... that's all I could find. Really disappointed to see how many companies just go with "snake men" or "snake folk" for these guys.


Now, For Some Other Monsters

Bullywugs: Gullygugs (Old School Essentials), Boggards (Pathfinder), Squogs (Reaper Minis), Boglings (Greg Gillespie's adventures), and one of my own, Croaks.

Kuo-Toa: Deep Ones (Lovecraft, and seemingly the "default" name instead of "fish-folk" or something terrible), Dagonites (Otherworld Minis), Dagathonan (Dark Sword Minis), Pelagic (Darkest Dungeon).

Myconid (which isn't actually protected, but people like coming up with alternate names): Shrooman (Dungeon Crawl Classics), Funginids (Veins of the Earth), Fungoids (Reaper Minis), Sporling (Fantasy Craft), Mycelian (Old School Essentials).


Personally, what I really need is a good-sounding generic word for "bug-person." Can't (and don't want to) use "Thri-Kreen" or "Formian" from D&D, and everything else I've heard was way too setting-specific or bug-specific. What do y'all got?



-Dwiz

15 comments:

  1. librarians is unfortunately really good

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    1. Right?? It even gives you a dope dungeon type to always pair them with, which you can iterate on endlessly.

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  2. For insects, what about Grublings? Or Grublin if you aren't too concerned with it being too close to "goblin"

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    1. Grubling is an excellent word that I want to say every day, but it definitely has the feeling of gobliny-ness to it. So it implies to me a certain kind of bug person. I'll jot it down but keep an eye out for more.

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  3. My favorite copyright-dodge for Mind Flayers has always been Fighting Fantasy's Brain Slayer.

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    1. Names can't be copyrighted anyway. If copyrightable elements of mind flayers exist, it would have to be unique creative contributions, potentially including things like ceremorphosis. (It's also possible a judge would rule that ceremorphosis is a stock element of literature, not creatively unique enough to be copyrightable. But vampires that sparkle in sunlight would probably qualify as a copyrightable element, even if you didn't call them Cullens.)

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    2. I've always enjoyed how Final Fantasy Tactics just said "eff it" and used "Mindflayer". xD

      https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Mindflayer_(Tactics)

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  4. How about entomites for insect-creatures? It's in the vein of myconid using the scientific name to categorize them. It should be broad enough to cover the various possible species of bug-people (beetles, ants, moths, etc.)

    Or you could just use insectoids, a reformulation of humanoids?

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    1. Entomites is definitely a strong suggestion. And "-ite" sounds buggy, like "termite."

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  5. For insect creatures, my suggestions are: Chitinids (or Chitinoids if sci-fi) because Chitin (said Ki-tin) is what the exoskeleton of insects is made of. Mandiblar, Hivelings and Wurmfolk are my other suggestions.

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    1. I could go for a chitin-themed name for something sci-fi. "Hiveling" is speaking to me the most for a D&D-like fantasy world.

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  6. Myconid => Crushroom (from Dungeon Fantasy RPG)

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  7. Hexaprimates. Insectoboys. Chitin Community Members.

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  8. I am surprised no one suggested Myrmidons for insect-people. The name comes from Greek myrhology; if I'm not mistaken it literally means ant (in ancient Greek) but the Myrmidons were also Achille's tribe.

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