That Time WotC Stole the Name of My Campaign Setting

[@NevisYsbryd]

>Never become publicly traded Based.

[@ThaiThom]

100%

[@stevenmcreynolds4970]

Wow that’s almost as shady as sending the Pinkertons to collect a magic card they mistakenly sent…

[@cernunnos_lives]

Or firing 1000 employees just before Christmas

[@guanglaikangyi6054]

They didn't send the card, it was rhe store, but still, you're right.

[@CheezMonsterCrazy]

As much as I'm not a fan of WotC, I really don't think they intentionally took the name from you. I don't even think yours is the first use I've seen of the name, in some variation of spelling. A simple google search reveals that Ichoria is a demon world in Warhammer 40k, first described in White Dwarf 282 in 2003.

[@sammyboi1983]

I agree with this tbh. Every time Esper said ‘is it a coincidence?’ in this video I said out loud ‘yes probably’. If he’s creative enough to make up that word, someone else is too. And WoTC has *teams* of someone else’s whose job that is to do. I’m sorry but I’m just not seeing it. Also, asking for proof that something is a coincidence is really, really hard. And do you really expect a big company to give you copies of confidential information to satisfy your question? I’m trying to be sympathetic here, because WoTC is a hive of scum and villainy, but I really don’t think Esper is right about this. Sorry.

[@Red_Devil_2011]

"Ichoria/Ikoria" sounds like "generic fantasy name #1000000." I watched the video to see if he had any evidence, yet his ONE and only reason was "it sounds like it." Maybe "word plus 'ia' at the end" isn't all that original, man.

[@Thing0ne]

Horseshit, wotc apologists need to stop already

[@johnteixeira1791]

I think the reason people associate ichor with "icky" isn't actually the pronunciation, but because in our lifetime it's almost always used when describing the dead or undead. Even to the point that before I ever looked up the etymology of the word, I thought it genuinely meant congealed blood or perhaps the decomposing liquid "juice" of the dead. I could be wrong but that's how I've always seen it.

[@douglasseelye5073]

its a term in pathology refering to a foul smelling discharge from a wound or abcess as well as a corpse

[@scabbyscumbag]

I thought ichor classically speaking was God's blood.

[@brauliosotelo6526]

You're tripping, bro. The ogl didn't even have anything to do with magic the gathering. I doubt one of the small mtg dev team would bother to steal a name. It seems like that would be such a bizarre thing to steal. Plus, there's literally no proof on your part. I like your stuff most of the time, but that seems like a huge leap to take.

[@lelagrangeeffectphysics4120]

I think that espers has just become cynical, he has a business of which he depnds on, and sincerely believes that he can keep the ol D&D fan appearance while being a for profit company, this will end very badly if poorly managed, this is just a marketing gimmick.

[@MerlinTheCommenter]

First off, you have no idea how much WORSE it is in the MTG department. That department is infamous for rugpulling Dr Richard Garfield, the actual creator of Magic, (who, btw, is still making games). Secondly, if WOTC’s Magic department is so innocent then all they have to do is make their innocent reply and provide some sort of timed proof. Whats so hard about that? Doesn’t seem like a problem at all here. They don’t because they rugged Esper. That’s the reality. When you’re guilty: it’s always better NOT to reply. They probably asked legal department before responding lol, why else mention Esper get his lawyer ready.

[@jasonroberts4116]

Hey man, looks like there’s a warhammer 40K Ichoria dated 2015…homebrew? Ichoria is a genus of moths in the subfamily Arctiinae…discovery 1876 Icaria, also spelled Ikaria (Greek: Ικαρία, [ikaˈri.a]), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. Someone made a alt history Ichorian Republic as well Your name is similar to many inspirations above

[@aaronapley258]

Nah, obviously the Pinkerton's stole his idea and sold it to the Chinese Government

[@johnduquette7023]

Even without any thought, it's a sequence of phonemes that rolls off the tongue easily. With some thought, one could independently stumble into parallel logic to his for the name quite easily. It's certainly not a 1/10,000 "chance," as the influences they've already drawn on is a finite set. I wouldn't be shocked if WotC did try to steal his idea, but this evidence is flimsy at best.

[@graveyardshift2100]

Unfortunately this is something that is going to become much more common as time goes on. More people become creators, more things get made, more things end up having similar names and themes.

[@Red_Devil_2011]

@@johnduquette7023 Yeah, his ONE and only reason was "it sounds like it." Maybe "word plus 'ia' at the end" isn't all that original, lol.

[@asepsisaficionado7376]

I’m gonna be honest, I don’t think they had any clue about your setting’s name. From my experiences, fantasy writers often end up converging on similar-sounding words. It’s like the bouba/kiki effect, some words just have a “fantasy” sound.

[@Majiger]

Maybe, but when as a company you get ousted for a) trying to basically take creations that are not your own and profit from them solely and b) were caught trying to pass off AI art as "original" creations, there is a high chance that it's not simply a coincidence and in fact deliberate.

[@EnkiTeaches]

In their defense, they do use Greek words to make the names for their MTG settings quite often. (Phyrexia [phi rex] and Ixalan [ixos] for instance.) I disagree with a lot of what they've been doing, but I am willing to give WotC the bennifit of the doubt on this one. I have only recently become aware of your channel, myself, but are there other connections between your world and the MTG set?

[@JamesFromKC]

Broken trust by WOTC makes it difficult to dismiss these feelings

[@GeneBrodeJr]

That is really sad to hear. I know coincidences happen, but the fact that the OGL 1.1 came out after that would have put you in a sling if you kept on using that name. Thankfully the doc was leaked and prevented it from turning even uglier. I wonder what it would be like now if they had just kept the OGL change. It might have made even more new games come out faster. I'm thankful for your community and work!

[@darkqueenfenrisulfr]

I do think is a coincidence, since Ichoria is also in warhammer , and is a moth and there is a greek city called Icaria

[@matthewlambert7508]

Evil can't create

[@underfire987]

1000% and the ideolougs that run wotc are by the fruits of their actions like their radical ideology show nothing but evil.

[@danielericksen2679]

This comment is sparking a LoTR trilogy reread for me this weekend. Godspeed Melon

[@redfaux74]

No but it can steal. Staying neutral only guarantees one thing. You are the first victim.

[@underfire987]

Lol my comment got deleted was in support of your statement

[@k-aw-teksleepysageuni8181]

Only copy or destroy.....

[@manfredconnor3194]

Back in the late 80s I invented this really cool world with flying ships, airships, ethers, floating castles & islands. With navigators who "had the eye" and knew how to spot ripples, rifts, sinks and other anomalies & phenomenon in the Ethers. I spend 3-6 months working on it and was super proud of it. One day I rolled it out to my players and one of them said, "Oh look! He has just invented Spelljammer!" I was like "What?!" 2 of my players started pulling Spelljammer books and materials out. I was crestfallen. We are just serfs and now it will only become worse.

[@graveyardshift2100]

Lmao I had an idea for a Transformers story that had them be used as mechs to fight Godzilla like monsters. Told my friends about it and they were like "Sounds like *anime name* mixed with *anime name*" And all I could say was I just had no knowledge of those shows.

[@krispalermo8133]

@@graveyardshift2100 theory of convergence evolution of universal ideals.

[@MerlinTheCommenter]

This is why I’m a firm believer of creating the actual product and trademarking it even if it sucks first before promoting it. Call it a loss leader and know that no one can tell you that you didn’t have the idea first.

[@RealWorldGames]

It's built from an old word that Wotc also knew. Imagine if someone said your city of mazes was copying Dragon Maze ( the Magic set) which was in Ravnica city of guilds.

[@Red_Devil_2011]

"Ichoria/Ikoria" sounds like "generic fantasy name #1000000." I watched the video to see if he had any evidence, yet his ONE and only reason was "it sounds like it." Maybe "word plus 'ia' at the end" isn't all that original, man.

[@MaxFury75]

Esper, with you being an artist with many talents and a businessman, I think it would be worthwhile to register important names that you create as a registered trademark. I'm surprised to see how many people come up with similar ideas around the same time. Coming up with a unique name (or domain name ) is hard, so maybe look into that. I'm in agreement with "never being a publicly traded megacorp," but even a small biz can have similar access to protecting their IP. Best wishes my friend!

[@yellingintothewind]

Ichor is the generic term for the non-blood circulatory fluid of insects and other primitive animals. Hence the association with slimy creepy things. It's spider guts.

[@johnduquette7023]

Haemo-lymph.

[@captainnolan5062]

Maybe you (or WoTC) got the idea for the name "Ikoria" from "Ichor Wellspring", or "Ichor Slick", or one of the many other "Ichor" named Magic the Gathering cards (such as Drown in Ichor, Fountain of Ichor, Ichor Drinker, Ichor Elixir, Ichor Explosion, Ichor Rats, Ichor Shade, Ichor Synthesizer, Ichorclaw Myr, Ichorid, Ichormoon Gauntlet, Ichorplate Golem, Ichorspit Basilisk).

[@LynnFredricks]

It is possible that some consultant saw it, forgot about it, then thought they came up with it. That happens. You can't expect to make a legalistic claim to any company and not get a nasty legalistic response from an in house lawyer (that's sort of their purpose, soul sucking as it is). But the RPG industry, especially the cottage industry, plays very, very loose with IP. There is a continuous stream of Kickstarters that use trademarks of others contrary to what is allowed. Creators name their products without even doing a simple search on Google to notice that there's a very close product with the same name or even consider a name for which the domain name is available.

[@sethsybrandy3218]

Esper is based. I appreciate your calm and level-headed discourse to retrieve story-telling from the belly of dragons.

[@TheAzureSkyy]

I've had a continent named ikoriah in my world since 2002. So it could be a coincidence but still sus.

[@XaryLoon]

Did you know that Novara (at least this is how the subtitle write it), your old campaign, is an Italian city? Icoria is also the International Conference on Research in Advertising (ICORIA), and advertising is something that WOTC do, and the first conference was held. Far from me defend WOTC, but this is something that happened many time before, not something so inusual. MTG and D&D are almost separated office in WOTC, and in italy we see this in the fact that while in MTG Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter mantained their name in the cards, in the handbook thei are using Cancelli di Baldur as a translation. Simply, Ichor is not an unusual word in fantasy, is connected to titans that are central in Ikoria, and Ikoria is more correct as a pronunciation to Ichor for ma as an italian than how you are pronouncing Ichoria. To give yo an example, i developed a campaign in Eberron that featured country-size alchemical circle that used a magical stone as a focus 1 year before the Fullmetal Alchemist manga revealed its plot twist about a country-size alchemical circle that used a magical stone as a focus. I doubt Arakawa-sensei stealed the idea from a guy in italy...

[@viniciusklaussnerfonsecaco1952]

Wow Esper, didnt know you had a Brazilian wife, greetings from Brazil! And it seems that you speak some portuguese too!

[@esperthebard]

Sim eu falo Português, am abraço!

[@Atlasbr001]

2 videos back he said some lines of portuguese. It suprised me lol

[@Nyo_Fight]

eu conheci ele por um canal secundario br, esqueci o nome pq faz muito tempo que ele nao posta lá

[@thaisahickey8374]

@@Nyo_FightEsper e Você ☺️

[@Nyo_Fight]

@@thaisahickey8374 deus abençoe 🙏

[@CyphersBasement]

Back when I was bothering with creating custom Hearthstone cards online for the community, there were a growing number of coincidences to do with Blizzard taking from community members to fill out their expansions. Though my design for a Legendary Rogue weapon seems to have been almost exactly copied, there was an even crazier "coincidence", where a community member's card had both its name AND its effect copied 1:1. This situation reminds me of all that a bit much, and I'm not happy about it.

[@esperthebard]

I feel your pain. And if they would least give people a response, that would make big difference. "No, see how it was just coincidence" or "Yeah, we got inspiration from your idea, here's your acknowledgement" ... but no, just cold silence

[@CyphersBasement]

​@@esperthebardI would wish for our names in credits, but then, it opens up the floodgates for speculation on court cases, which is my guess as to why they don't thank us for anything that we are responsible for.

[@jasonuerkvitz3756]

I think somewhere there once was a team member from WoTC who was panicking due to a pending deadline to name the setting of an upcoming Magic set. Too busy playing Minecraft to actually do any creative work himself, and having had all of his ideas crushed and laughed at over the last couple of years, he hit the interwebz at the last minute to data mine for inspiration--hell, he may have been an avid watcher of your KZbin channel--and stumbled upon your campaign setting name. Later at a board-room meeting, he said, "I've a name for the new Magic set, dumb-dumbs!" "What is it mindless drone?" "I call it, Ikoria (with a "k" not a "ch"): Land of the Titans." "Nice, mindless drone, but what does that have to do with Godzilla?"

[@jakewarman7277]

Hey did you ever credit Mr Rex for your monstrous Heroes books? He made monstrous race classes before you did. There is a chance that this is a coincidence as well but still.

[@markmongan]

When I was a teenager and choosing a name for myself/character, who I'm going to be forever I came up with the name Santhius. I loved it. I kept it and still have it. I googled it and turns out it was a Spanish football player haha

[@salgarellius7434]

Esper I am brazilian and I am so happy to hear you have a connection to us. Be strong, be brave. I love your channel

[@Sword_And_Sorcery]

Probably not

[@ZaxPBG]

I respect your conviction in making this post, and empathise. It still could have been a coincidence. Sometimes ideas, including words, just have their time, especially in the creative arts. But it could also have been stolen. Especially since they were so stonewally in response to your question; which is nonetheless pro forma corporate, as you point out. Appreciate your mission.

[@esperthebard]

@ZaxPBG Thank you Zax! I'll probably never know exactly what happened. A hard thing to live with when you're passionate about something. But this video is a big step in me moving on.

[@dokchampa9324]

This reminded me of that time my friend started a new campaign that I was a part of, and the setting of it was called Al'naar. Then, not long after, while that campaign was still ongoing, I started my own campaign with another completely separate friend group and one of the players submitted his character named Al'nar, literally the only difference being the lack of double A. This is despite the fact that I never mentioned the campaign to them, they had absolutely no connection to the friend who was DMing it or any of the other players besides me, and that the setting of that campaign was based upon middle-eastern/arabian cultures meanwhile the character they submitted didn't have any kind of connection to those. Compared to that cosmic coincidence, I cannot help but feel like you're vastly underestimating just how common of a word "Ichor" is, especially when looking at a use case such as this. Not only is it an english word, which is already vastly more probable as a pick than a random word from a random other language like it was in my case (which is even less probable when you consider that the DM of the Al'naar campaign was American, meanwhile both me and the Al'nar player are Polish), the word meaning essentially "blood of god" makes it a prime target for any kind of fantasy-themed adventure that has to do with gods, and then there's the fact that there are only so many ways you can transform it into a word that sounds like a name of a place, adding "ia" at the end being the most obvious solution. There is absolutely 0 doubt in my mind that the WOTC using a similar name to your campaign setting is just a pure coincidence, and honestly suggesting that it is anything but feels a bit more than arrogant and self-important. It'd be another thing if there were other overlapping features, like weirdly similar lore or characters, but just the name? Really? This is more than a bit ridiculous.

[@LaneLibra]

Big Esper fan here and... yeah im having a hard time imagining how one could suspect ip theft on this one... and even if they did borrow inspo for the name... its spelled differently and although names are important... Ichoria just isn't that good of a name... I get the sort of background that he built into the name but... it just isn't like an amazingly good name. "Ichor" is not commonly understood as being associated with divinity, in fact quite the opposite... its known as like foul demon juice... puss, acid, gore... that type of stuff and whats more is that... There's no way that somebody seeing "Ichoria" for the first time would get any sense that its refering to the word Ichor anyway... it's just not a great name for a fantasy setting. All that being said... seems pretty unlikely that they 'stole" it but even if they did.... big whoop. I am very much in favor of shit not being corporate and woke and trashy tho so I am 100% behind Esper in all his other endeavours... I bought a hard copy of his emporium of esoterica.

[@thenobody_]

Aura creatures (among others) were 'stolen' from 4chan's /tg/ board's custom card threads. Aetherborn were originally databorn...iykyk.

[@teeVillain]

I am stealing that "Blood of the Gods" making magic. Thank you.

[@THELUBINTHEMORNING]

Esperanthe real deal. Always has been. Dnd Tubers have come and gone, sold out, and bought in. Esper is one of us.

[@Thyme2GreenHorn]

Hi Esper, merry Yule! Just purchased a PDF copy of Monstrous Heroes from your website as a small token of thanks and appreciation for all the wonderful storytelling, world building and battle scenarios since the channels inception and up to the present date. I used to comment under the handle 'Idris Eldritch' so I've been a fan for at least 5 years now. May your adventures continue to be many!

[@RicardoMitra]

But we have Ichoria at home already. 🤗 But seriously, i more and more enjoy you as a creator.

[@carlitoshernandez1149]

I already liked you. Stop giving me more reasons.😅

[@joydjinn8692]

Maybe someone at WotC is a big fan of yours.

[@redfaux74]

Obviously.

[@xxTerraPrimexx]

Speaking of Ichoros, when is the setting book coming to Kickstarter :P (I have everything else you have done so far)

[@KermodeBear]

Please and thank you. Esper, take my money.

[@UkeToru-o5f]

So much hate that you'd literally find a way to feed that hate. Maybe take a step back and watch yourself what this hobby is doing to you.

[@Jaeger_Bishop]

This is also why I'm not announcing anything publicly, until I know I can have a strong enough legal foot to put to a$$ for when someone like WotC, decides that what's mine is theirs.

[@AnonAdderlan]

This can also backfire as first use is a valid legal defense.

[@VioletDeliriums]

WoTC is not a someone, except to the neoliberal who believes that "a corporation is a person." WoTC is a virtual thing that exists as a legal agreement.

[@NoumenonAndPhenomenon]

That's why trademark, intellectual property and the process of third party settlement (law) exists. For one to create a register of available names, concepts etc so people don't unintentionally creates similar entities. Secondly so that you have documented proofs of you being the creator of such. If you're about to start a band and settle for a name you do the due diligence of going trough the available options that's not gonna cause legal issues later down the line. If the name you settle for isn't coming up in any registry then it's rational to assume it's available. You simply can't expect every single entrepreneur to fine comb the entire desert for every single potential out of ethical concerns. It would be an impossible task draining the company of resources and in the long run simply make it impossible to create anything. Lesson is that if you create something you have to trademark it and be willing to fight for it. It's simply not rational to expect people to just follow ethical perspective of some people, while not others blindly when it's so obvious how human nature functions. We create institutions for this exact reason. USE THEM.

[@jrmoneyloser]

Hasbro / WotC has shown their cards....and they're mighty shitty. 😝

[@cydraiyne8323]

I remember your “drawing stories“ . They were amazing! I don’t remember what you called it but looking at the pics in your background I remember. I suck at drawing, but always wanted to do something similar. Great work

[@adamcolbyledbetter]

I've been spending the last 2 years trying to write my own campaign. Of course it all began with 5e. To be perfectly honest I brought my work to a standstill when the OGL situation began. Don't get me wrong, I was never looking for profit. It's an artistic expression, that's all. But I'll be damned if someone is going to take full credit for something I've been working that hard on. They could have at least mentioned you in passing as thanks for the idea instead of trying to hide the fact.

[@tomyoung9834]

“Squeeze them, Piter! Squeeze them! The Spice. . . Must flow!”

[@paulchi2221]

Nice mention of Crossed Swords! Yes, it was a Neo-Geo game. One of my favorites as well.

[@TheBittersweetFox]

Crazy story man. I am sure WoTC is full of crap in general. Did you learn Protugeese before the trip or after?

[@thaisahickey8374]

Yes, He did learn some Portuguese before the trip.

[@Skyharpy123]

Thanks Esper for bringing back my inspiration for the game.

[@HenriFaust]

BTW, _ichor_ is the common name for hemolymph in arthropod species (i.e. bugs). That's why people think ichor is gross.

[@Cptbaron]

Amazing - I also started a D&D campaign based on my experiences with crossed swords!! ⚔️

[@guanglaikangyi6054]

1:49 Brazil mentioned 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@esperthebard]

@@guanglaikangyi6054 Isso mesmo 🤙

[@EcoInstant]

Esper, I appreciate getting to the heart of matter! I am going to join your discord and see if we can collab.

[@CommandoWallace]

They probably get like a dozen emails like that a year

[@jbaidley]

Dude, don't become Nancy Stouffer. Co-incidences happen.

[@ForeShadow20]

Now you can use Kaladesh after they distance to it.

[@AnonAdderlan]

Funny you mention that, as I intend to use _'Kaldesh'_ (the _correct_ way of spelling "land of art/tomorrow") as a setting name for exactly the same reasons.

[@felony211662]

We are more in numbers and together we will be victorious

[@shanehiggs1779]

Well yeah, the OGL debacle opened many eyes...and unfortunately many of those eyes turned right around and went back into their fold, leaving no real lesson learned. Recommend you check with a copyright lawyer about this. Although you may mot have officially applied for one (assuming that's the case), you may have the equivalent of a "poor man's copyright" by virtue of the electronic distribution you've done with what is essentially your intellectual property. It's worth a look.

[@SáreOfAlaska]

Guys. Nobody can tell you how to play D&D. It's a system. Use it as you wish. Ignore the corporate machine.

[@Ryotbh]

As much as I would love to rag on WotC because they deserve it. It is not at all unusual to add 'ia' on to common words or names in order to create a place name. Ichor is a common enough word in fantasy writing that simply adding 'ia' on to it is hardly new or innovative. In fact, changing the spelling of ichor to be more phonetic ("Ikor"), I would argue is more creative.

[@midnightgreen8319]

Buy better games folks

[@dragonsgameroom]

Have you ever looked up the names of the cards to see if they are themed after other things in your campaign world. If that is the case then it would seem more intentional. Either way it's a good conversation to have especially for anyone that plans to share their IP in a public space even just streaming a home game.

[@Jaeger_Bishop]

Truth is. These guys have probably screwed so many people over, them telling you to lawyer up is probably instinctual at this point. They know they're backstabbing cowards and thieves, but will use litigation to make damn sure the dildo of consequences, stays as far away from them as possible.

[@shinmalestat9272]

If the OGL is what opened your eyes you should look into the story from 2020 about the diversity hire at WotC that claimed he was mistreated and his ideas stolen while he worked there. WotC internal operations is pretty dirty and I personally have lost all respect for a company I once wished I could work for.

[@VioletDeliriums]

Once again, I recommend that you abandon anything you do with WoTC products. There are far better fantasy TTRPG available today. As long as you persist to stick with their products, your quest will fail. You simply cannot fight the corporate monster directly. Please look for other opportunities, there are far better games than WoTC versions of D&D out there...I actually grow weary of hearing people whine about WoTC. I have left several D&D channels because people waste their time on this nonsense all the time...and some of them are big KZbin names. You don't need to even acknowledge that WoTC is a thing, and by ignoring them your creativity will be freed...And remember, capitalism ruins everything. (Say it three times out loud to yourself, each time getting louder.) It ruined healthcare insurance and it certainly ruins art. In fact, it is also ruining your channel...which is becoming increasingly dependent upon WoTC-bashing content, not your creativity. But, I guess your views are increasing? So it must be good then, right?

[@MGP2210]

I think it is a naming coinicidence, but you are correct WOTC has proven themselves to be ruthless c0rpos. Thumbs down to public trading for many companies and business types.

[@mysterionlibrary]

I am not even sure how would this OGL 1.1. work with some settings adaptations to the DnD? What if I had created my own world with GURPS system and for any purpose convert it to the DnD 3.5/4/5? What if I already own exclusive license on this setting? They can't stop me playing in their game with any licensed modifications, such as TES, WH40k or any other licensed (even if this license belongs to me) setting, and I didn't sign any contracts, so they can't use my creations anyway. It is lawless!

[@Dreamfox-df6bg]

The point was not that you can't use it. The point was that they can use it, copyright it and make money from your UNPAID work. As soon as you convert it to D&D it would have been theirs. You agreed to that by using D&D. And after the comment that they have 50 years of content they can feed into an AI for new product, you can bet that they would have fed anything they could get their hands on into that AI as well.

[@Joshuazx]

10:47 "What can we do?" Stop playing 5e, stop encouraging ppl to buy and support 5e products. Stop talking about wotc. Let them lose customers.

[@mercaius]

It is true that it just happens sometimes. I remember the playtest for MrRhexx's adventure he is working on mentions a place called Ogri'la, which should be pretty identifiable to any old school WoW player. But I feel the vibes all the same man. Sorry to see it happen in such fashion.

[@ultrakitten674]

I have two examples of these from my naming things. i never played wow but named a dwarf city ironhold because metal + hold sounds dwarven. i also named a elven city falinesti because i loved dragonlance back in the 90s so i used "nesti" on my elven cities(based on qualinesti and silvanesti). I found out that Falinesti is an elder scrolls wood elf city when i played ESO. neither were intentionally taken but I ended up in the same place

[@CameronLaClaire]

😂😂😂🤣 Ridiculous😂

[@docnecrotic]

WotC made a downgraded and piddly rip off of my Puppeteer Parasite when they made their remake of Spelljammer. At least thanks to Fraternity of Shadow's Quoth the Raven Magazine, the original version has been properly restored.

[@thegreatpumpkinsloftiestcr315]

Nope, nope nope. Ichord was the skeleton wielding the magic flail in baldurs gate sword coast

[@TheMuseForge]

I haven't published anything on drivethruRPG or the DM's Guild for the reason of corporate plagiarism, on top of the two year long and ongoing debacle of Hasbro/WotC mismanagement.

[@SáreOfAlaska]

Nah hey lifted it. Welcome to being a creative type.

[@deannekellogg8514]

I just want to say that your voice is excellent. Have you done voice acting? 😄😉 Good luck to you and your endeavors

[@mixelplix]

Yet content creators on youtube keep peddling this crap for them

[@foxcell]

Well found some of my old notes of my Bourne kingdom setting basically 14th century England using D&D monster happy times

[@arnijulian6241]

Not surprising they ripped off your work as your content has something to it! I'd but both your books if not for the £71 delivery. I like what you do Esper but that is to sharp for my blood. Perhaps one day if I happen to be flush with to much free time on my hands as I already have Games & RPG's to get through.

[@cosmiccowboy9358]

Ichor archaic meaning is discharge from a wound

[@adambaldinger4507]

Always trademark names of settings and such and similar spellings. So you gets paid cant trust businesses

[@Privateer_24]

And God brought the animals to the man and whatever he called them that was their name. Cant get any more pointed than that.

[@j.r.warren5794]

The truth is simple. Anything posted on the internet is free domain unless you take the proper steps to protect your intellectual property. If you can prove that you created the name you can take it to court. Having said that, Corporations know this, and most have an army of lawyers to gum up the process for months or even years if need be. Most people can't retain a lawyer for that long and the corporation wins be default. They know how to use the law to their advantage.

[@PauloRogerioDePinho]

You came to Brazil? Amazing!

[@thuglifegame7573]

Is this your new approach to content?

[@VioletDeliriums]

Whining about WoTC is not good content. I have left other channels because they do this persistently. For example, Prof. Dungeonmaster was awesome, until he started talking abut WoTC like he prefers to play Corporations & Crises. The truth is, there enow exists enough better fantasy RPG material from non-WoTC sources that no one must be dependent upon WoTC anymore.

[@vangelisgru7271]

Not suprised after the non scandal of khaladesh

[@smoore6461]

I am not even shocked in the least. I am not really able to give WOTC the benefit of the doubt. It is not really Political to say or imply that a large company is doing scummy underhanded things. Someday people will get to the point that they understand that giving money to companies that hate you is not a great idea. I'm Sorry, that happened to you Esper. making a legal issue out of it would likely do nothing but cost you a lot of money. I think you did the right thing just changing the name as long as it still fits with your feel and love of the world!

[@certifiedfunnyguy]

Ichoria was a demon ruled planet in Warhammer in 2003 Esper could have just stolen it from there(he didn't it just isnt a very creative name). It isn't a very creative name.

[@JeremyNoblitt]

I'm still developing my own game too. I wish I could figure out how to publish. I feel like a complete moron because I see so many others publishing and I can't figure out step one.

[@katelynslounge9736]

there are videos and articles on this topic. but basically its simple create the product, make it presentable, find or create a website or something similar that sells games and make contact with them, then you either publish it yourself or with a company that publishes for people but dont let them scam you.

[@redfaux74]

It is hard not to get scammed. You need to have a person invest in you. They give you a little. They get 90%. 😢

[@jasonz7788]

Why would they do that? Cause esper beat WOC to it!

[@Adam_First]

Great video

[@erikwhitney7403]

Well spoken. Of course they took it. But would they give you any evidence to prove against it or for it. No way.

[@son-lee3537]

Been a fan for a long time. Just want to say why come out with this now?

[@f.a.santiago1053]

I would love to see what you do with ShadowDark.

[@THELUBINTHEMORNING]

Buy community content. Boycot WOTC. Boycot AI.

[@aaronabel4756]

WoTC responding that you should talk to your legal representative was them basically saying "yeah we took it, what are you going to do about it NERD?, yeah that's what I thought".

[@AA_AlegriaApenas]

They know that a giant company can buy their way into everything

[@scoobydoo316us]

Are you dong VS anymore. Seems like your new direction has been either scaring people against Musk or some other direction. To each their own but that is what brought me here. I have a handful I listen to regularly so enjoyed you having something different.

[@dennisthornton4434]

A geas 😊

[@strixfiremind]

My own philosophy for a creative/entertainment business is much like your own; make a good game/film/book and the profit will follow - chase the profit at the cost of your art, everything will fall apart. The art must come first.

[@redfaux74]

Yes but you die poor. That won't work for a man with a wife and children. You must have a way to make it profitable first. Must. No one comes forward to save a dying business. They remember the good donuts, burgers.... But they don't put a second mortgage on their home to save the business.

[@strixfiremind]

@redfaux74 agree to disagree. Serve shit for profit, starve

[@redfaux74]

@strixfiremind - I'm not saying you try to sell garbage. You have to have a gold product for people to buy it. But you have to make a profit to get it to people. It doesn't mail itself or reproduce itself. If you don't make a profit then you cannot survive. Everyone involved has to get paid or they don't eat or pay their bills. You start with gold. But you MUST make money to get it to people. Nothing is free. Every step costs money and time. And time IS money.

[@strixfiremind]

@redfaux74 enter someone like myself; nothing but time now. Sure, I could use more money and I'll get there, but thus far I've just been designing and playtesting for 2 years, mostly happily even.

[@dxjxc91]

WotC's response doesn't confirm they stole the name, just that they don't care enough to even give a real answer. Which certainly isn't better...

[@internetcatfish]

I recommend you copyright your content so you will have the option to take legal action if it comes to that. Unfortunately, you have to make sure you can protect yourself from big corporations stealing your IP.

[@joeschlosser687]

Love you Esper but this is a reach…

[@danharris7645]

Cool.

[@mattminus]

This video was so dumb that I just bought a 2024 DMG to support WotC.