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Hello everybody,
first of all: I have no idea, if I put that in the right forum, so if necessary, please put it where it should belong.
To the topic:
I LOVE the type of high fantasy DnD and Pathfinder represents. I grew up with the books of Salvatore and the like and read them approximately a million times. The cosmology and some of the ecology (maybe?) is my absolute ideal for a fantasy setting.
That said, how problematic is it - from a legal point of view, as well as from a "cheapness" point of view - if I decided to use parts of that cosmology and principles in a world for a novel of my own making?
Stuff that concerns me, for example:
The dragons. I love the concept of chromatic and metallic dragons with respect to Good and Evil.
The planes. Plane of fire, earth, shadow, etc; the nine hells (don't have to be nine ;) ) the abyss and such.
Some of the races used, especially the half-races. Is Tiefling a universal thing in fiction? Or is that pretty DnD/PF specific? Same with other half-breeds, like Aasimars, Planetouched and the like.
Also the type of magic, with the spells and such. Sure thing, a Fireball is probably one of THE most universal things. A Grasping Hand... less so.
My concern is, I don't want my world to feel like a cheap rip-off, but i really love the feeling of the DnD/PF universe.
Am I overthinking this? Or would it even have legal consequences if I have a character with Red Dragon ancestry or a Tiefling show up in my book or something along those lines? Should I just rename those "races"?
Input would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Malthus