64 posts · 4808 views · started 2013-09-04 15:20 UTC
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-04 15:20 UTC
#1
I would love a seperate forum spot for us to put custom hero/villains as well as mod ideas and promo versions of character cards.
Right now it would just go into General and I don't want to fill that up with "here's a new idea on whoever I was tinkering with!" threads.
Is there any chance of getting a section like that? We had the villain contest, but that is closed off now, any way we could retitle that section and open it, or get a new spot to put stuff?
I know I'm not the only one who tinkers around with creating their own characters, and I'd love to look at and try other peoples stuff. It'd be nice to have a spot just for those things.
I understand it is possible the >G guys would rather not encourage that, and I totally understand if that is the case.
They don't want custom heroes/villains posted on here. The only exception was during their villain contest. If you go to BBG, you can find a lot of custom characters.
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-04 15:59 UTC
#3
Wow, on the FAQ no less. I've read that too.
Thanks, I'll go check BGG, but I generally dislike that site.
I wouldn't be too surprised if this stance changes in the future, after all planned expansions are released, but that is just my own personal speculation.
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-05 19:32 UTC
#6
I ddin't think of the intelectual property side, but yeah, they have to protect themselves.
I really like Spiff's environments, I need to actually print them out though, I just wrote it on some paper.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-06 03:15 UTC
#7
Those laws exist for no other reason than to make creative people miserable for the benefit of uncreative people. Tragic.
AR
arenson9
2013-09-06 03:48 UTC
#8
I think they also exist so that people can reap the rewards of their creativity rather than having others immediately copy their work and sell it as their own.
NI
Nielzabub
2013-09-06 04:10 UTC
#9
True, if those laws didn't exist, there are plenty of people who could release and make money off their own personal expansions to the game, or make a new game with different characters and the exact same mechanics.
RE
Reckless
2013-09-06 05:09 UTC
#10
So I guess I should scrap my Gentiles of the Nick Nolteverse idea then? And I was so hoping that people could play as Subsolute Zeroni and Tachylbox agianst the dubious Errant Jade...
Original creation. Do not steal.
NI
Nielzabub
2013-09-06 05:23 UTC
#11
Sorry Reckless, I'm going to have to steal Tachylbox. You can keep all the others though.
PL
PlatinumWarlock
2013-09-06 14:57 UTC
#12
I want to play the Irrepressible Bunky.
RE
Reckless
2013-09-06 15:52 UTC
#13
On the subject of derivitive works, has anyone else noticed that DC has been using Sentinels superhero names recently? Granted, their Teen Titans Bunker character is nowhere near as interesting and cool as Sentinels Bunker, but there is now a Tempest in Ame-Comi Girls' Teen Hellions. They're an all-female reimagining of the Teen Titans, with Tempest being a female Aqualad styled after a "kawaii" version of the creatures from The Trenches in the first New 52 Aquaman arc (yeah, I know, it IS wicked creepy). It's actually surprisingly well written for being little more than an eye candy ongoing series...
I know these names are probably coincidence, but if a Tachyon or Absolute Zero character shows up any time soon then Greater Than Games may have to get Paul to make a few phone calls.
PW
pwatson1974
2013-09-06 16:02 UTC
#14
Aqualad has been Tempest in DC for quite a few years before 52 happened, so I think that one's a stretch.
SI
Silverleaf
2013-09-06 17:01 UTC
#15
Well, my upcoming game will contain Fanfic, Agent Alert, Exparrot, Jim'll Fix It and Bra. I'm claiming copyright right now.
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-06 17:56 UTC
#16
Everyone knows Tachyon is just a rip off of Particle man.
That's why if you look at her incap sides, TLT the guy is clearly holding a triangle, and in her original, two purple triangles bending and molding into an Pythagrian death trap.
My original character Tackymon is much better, a super hero who mixes Rastafarian influences with 70's Glam rock.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-06 20:35 UTC
#17
If that was the case, there would be no reason for the law to prohibit anything OTHER than selling. The whole "we have to aggressively defend our IP" thing is the reason an utterly terrible Fantastic Four movie got made years before the Jessica Alba one, and was locked away in some back room in Hollywood. They never had any intention of releasing it, they just excreted the thing out so that they could prove to a judge that they were still interested in retaining the IP. This prevented anyone else from making an FF movie that might actually have been good, or at least accessible to the public.
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-06 20:58 UTC
#18
If it was just selling it that was outlawed, then we could remake Sentinels in PDF form and just all print it out. No sales, but we'd all be taking their ideas with no compensation.
GR
Greywind
2013-09-06 21:08 UTC
#19
Eh, I've seen Corman's FF.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-07 05:19 UTC
#20
I believe that would be an acceptible risk. Enough of the fans would be ethical, I think, and would want to reward the company for having designed this awesome game, by paying for it…unless they can't pay for it, in which case I don't think it's fair to deny them the fun. Basically the way Shareware works with computer programs; you know you should pay if you're able to, but you get the product regardless. And ultimately I think going down in history for having created something excellent is a better Legacy (heheh) than sitting around in an office threatening to sue people for cutting into your profit margin. I mean, the law might be protecting a small business like G2G some, but it protects a monstrous juggernaut like Warner Brothers a lot more, when they deserve protection less, and usually use their shield as a weapon to grind lesser beings into the dirt.
RE
Reckless
2013-09-07 05:33 UTC
#21
Ah. My mistake! Either way, Sentinels Bunker is way more interesting than DC Bunker.
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-07 14:14 UTC
#22
I agree it allows giant corporations to bully people, but our Government has been supporting that in any industry for well over 100 years, whether IP rights are involved or not.
In the case of IP rights though the abuses to creative people and the time spent with no compensation would be far worse than what we see today, and it would destroy the independent gaiming industry that is giving us such quality entertainment right now.
NI
Nielzabub
2013-09-07 14:32 UTC
#23
At any rate, no one is stopping you from creating and sharing a custom character. You just can't do it on this site.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-07 22:03 UTC
#24
That's equivalent to saying that nobody is stopping you from living somewhere, it just can't be in your own house. This is THE Sentinels forum; there is no other place remotely as appropriate for anything Sentinels-related.
BL
BlueHairedMeerkat
2013-09-07 22:38 UTC
#25
This is not your house; this is the house of Greater Than Games. They bought it, they decorated, they pay the bills. There are plenty of other nice places around, like BGG, but just because this forum has been set up for us it doesn't mean we own it.
RE
Reckless
2013-09-07 22:40 UTC
#26
I dunno much about DC or Marvel and their message boards (if they have any official ones), but do they really want you popularizing your tales of Original the Character hanging out with Spider-Man and Aquaman all the time?
Maybe I'm a bit boring, but I generally stick to Greater Than Games and their creations (or official endorsements of other peoples' creations such as the "Create-A-Villain Contest") when it comes to mechanics. I'm sure other people come up with great ideas for homebrewed cards, but that's not an aspect that really impacts my playing Sentinels of the Multiverse. Also, a lot of this game rests on thematics and the plot developed by the creators, so I tend to put custom characters and cards in the same category as fanfiction. There isn't anything wrong with it, but I don't feel like that is an "essential" thing that Greater Than Games needs to support directly on their own site.
If the creators are worried about legal mumbo-jumbo, then fine. Do away with fandecks until further notice. But hearing about some forumite's new character they've inserted into the Sentinels Multiverse seems like something that isn't really a need to include in the forum. This fandom is full of fan-created work that is fantastic (randomizers, statistics, deck boxes, etc.), and including a fan creation on one of those sites will do nothing but add credibility to your creation. It by no means is a void that needs to be filled on this forum.
I'm sure, in time, there will be a homebrewed section on this forum that people can use. In the meantime, there are already sites and groups willing to hear about a fan creation.
PY
Pydro
2013-09-08 03:30 UTC
#27
GtG encourages people to make their variants, and they even said as much in the podacst about Sentinels Tactics. I could be wrong, but the rule is to protect GtG from us, so that we don't sue them. Consider this, someone puts up a character, and later, GtG comes out with that same exact character. What happens now? We all know that Christopher knows all the characters already, but that won't stop someone from suing them. Also, with having everything planned out, should he then have to change something, because one person had an idea. Regardless of whether they win the lawsuit or not, it will be a hassle, so their lawyers told them not to have any ideas here. 99.9% of the people might not care, but you only need the one who does (or thinks he can get something). This was my understanding at least.
To be clear, I don't currently even have any fan-creations that I would want to post (beyond a tweaked version of Omnitron which I've already discussed in general terms without any complaints). It's just that I object to the mentality that creates a rule specifically prohibiting the possibility of anyone exercising their creativity, just because it MIGHT conceivably go wrong. It's like murdering children in case they grow up to become serial killers; it's an act whose immediate cost far outweighs its potential risk.
This can EASILY be taken care of with a single sentence in the forum terms, something to the effect of "In no event shall the Company be held liable for any coincidental similarity between the Company's publications and material posted to this forum". Some companies go further by claiming that everything posted to their forum becomes their property, but that's even more evil than regular copyright law. (The real evil is the very existence of litigation, but as so often true in war, the existence of one weapon mandates the creation of more of them for the sake of defense, resulting in the world becoming ever more dangerous until it eventually self-destructs.)
I fail to see what's an issue about it. Doujinshi are a huge part of the reason manga have become as popular as they are in the first place. The greater creative freedom possible when not working inside some corporate monolith almost invariably produces more appealing results. GTG itself is proof of that.
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-08 04:28 UTC
#29
It isn't just law but precedent and the possibility of arguments that you don't want made that cause rules like this to exist.
Lawyers have their job, and they do it. I may not like what happens, but I understand enough to know that protecting what is yours is never something you take lightly, which is why you listen to your lawyers.
SP
Spiff
2013-09-08 20:38 UTC
#30
It's just that I object to the mentality that creates a rule specifically prohibiting the possibility of anyone exercising their creativity, just because it MIGHT conceivably go wrong.
Welcome to the real world. I remember being at a concert back in the day, where a fan ran up and handed something to the singer while he was monologing between songs. He took it pleasantly enough, but when he opened it to see what it was, he dropped it to the stage like it was kryptonite and kicked it off into the front row, explaining that it looked like a song, and he didn't want to be in any kind of position for someone to say that some future song of his was in any way derivative of that song they just tried to hand him.
You can exercise your creativity anywhere you want, just not here. :)
RA
Rabit
2013-09-08 21:07 UTC
#31
If we as a society weren't so focused on suing everyone to try to make a buck, it wouldn't be an issue…
But we are, so it is.
I agree with arenson9 that this will soon no longer be an issue, and we might even be able to have a forum focused on home-brewed creations. Hopefully sooner than later.
RA
Rabit
2013-09-08 21:28 UTC
#32
And just thought of something else: Having the >G folks work on getting the legal review/approval on this will probably take away from current work on new sets / games, not to mention that answering rulings questions is also probably higher priority than this.
There's only so much they can do with the time they have.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-09 01:25 UTC
#33
Those are part of the system of law.
Lawyers have their job
Whether they should is another story IMO. "Loan shark" is a job description, after all. So is "thief" or "murderer". Only the whims of a governing body decide which of these careers is legitimate and which is criminal. Just because a society has a concept of "laws" does NOT mean it requires lawyers, because the definition of "lawyer" is "someone who argues over what a law does or does not mean". In a society which had only the minimal necessary number of laws, and revised them as necessary due to the passage of time, there'd be no need for prosecutors and defense attorneys, because you could just ask the governing body to clarify anything ambiguous, and regard any law which requires too many such queries as needing to be thrown out and replaced with a simpler, cleaner version.
I may not like what happens, but I understand enough to know that protecting what is yours is never something you take lightly, which is why you listen to your lawyers.
We disagree on this as well. I say that if someone doesn't like what happens, they have a right and an obligation to change it. And I don't think "ownership" is an institution terribly deserving of protection. When a plot of land sits undeveloped or a building stands empty, because it profits the owners to let that space go to waste even though people are going homeless, I say "ownership" should not be protected, but disregarded freely in favor of "need".
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-09 02:48 UTC
#34
I may not like what happens, but I understand enough to know that protecting what is yours is never something you take lightly, which is why you listen to your lawyers.
We disagree on this as well. I say that if someone doesn't like what happens, they have a right and an obligation to change it. And I don't think "ownership" is an institution terribly deserving of protection. When a plot of land sits undeveloped or a building stands empty, because it profits the owners to let that space go to waste even though people are going homeless, I say "ownership" should not be protected, but disregarded freely in favor of "need".
Are you serious here? We are talking about a card game still right?
Aside from that, freely disregarding ownership in favor of need, who would you let decide where need comes in? Do we keep some kind of court system, a ruling party, or are we going full anarchy here, because while I'm down with that, it in no way would be a happy communal world, it would just set us back to rebuilding governments that would end up right where they have always been.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-09 14:53 UTC
#35
No, we are talking about the principles under which a society should operate, which apply regardless of whether the subject is real estate or entertainment (both of which are fundamental rights IMO, although one is obviously more important).
Aside from that, freely disregarding ownership in favor of need, who would you let decide where need comes in?
Generally, the needy person. With some check based on common sense being administered by the general population.
Do we keep some kind of court system, a ruling party, or are we going full anarchy here
There would be no formal authority, but something resembling the old tribal system of a council of respected elders would tend to keep things from getting completely ridiculous. The Internet has made us a global community, so we ought to organize our society along such lines, with a goal of minimizing suffering for all involved, generally by defusing conflict. The result would bear a vague resemblance to the administration of loosely-moderated forums, such as this one or the Goblins community, where the overall rule of "don't be a d***" is about the only one that's needed.
Getting back on the subject, if I understand the policy right, it would be perfectly legitimate to create homebrew on another site, and then link to it here, yes? That way, the admins can just not follow the link.
RE
Reckless
2013-09-09 16:33 UTC
#36
I think the general understanding is that if we want homebrew decks then we should look elsewhere. Homebrew formats (playing as villains, multiple villains in one game, etcetera) are less dangerous because you're just using the components given to you in a different fashion. I don't pretend to understand the distinction. I just accept it as the rules.
Your best bet is to go to BoardGameGeek, post/find what you want, and go from there. I don't know what their policy on links is, so you might want to check with the admins before posting any links up.
MC
McBehrer
2013-09-09 16:58 UTC
#37
Dude, seriously, whining and complaining aren't going to get them to change the rules, and the rules are there for a good reason, whether you understand it or not. So please, just get over it.
SP
Spiff
2013-09-09 17:15 UTC
#38
So please, just get over it.
That is not likely to be a very useful comment in a conversation with someone who obviously cares very deeply about the topic. I'd agree that complaining about the state of society at large in a forum for a superhero card game probably isn't too useful either though. ;)
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-09 20:57 UTC
#39
There would be no formal authority, but something resembling the old tribal system of a council of respected elders would tend to keep things from getting completely ridiculous.
Except that this has been done already. It led us where we are now. The best you can do is try to hit a reset button and set society back, it will still progress to where we are now.
Disclaimer: I'm using small and large in reference to area and people contained.
Small government is great, but they lose to large governments, which is why people build larger ones, because if there are enough resources population goes up, and if there aren't we look for new recources. That naturally leads to expansion, which leads to resource competition. Without infrastructure that facilitates transportation of food, infrastructure that requires a large government, population numbers have to be far lower.
As for >G, they have to exist in the world they live in, and that's why these rules are here. They need lawyers to protect them from other peoples lawyers, it sucks that they have to worry about that, but it would suck more if they didn't have any protection from people stealing their ideas.
SP
Spiff
2013-09-09 21:48 UTC
#40
I'd like to ask that we don't debate our views on big and small government here on the >G forums. I don't see that going anywhere good, and it's not going to make >G change their policies about fan creations. In fact, this topic may be a good candidate for being locked down by an admin before it spirals towards the Bad Place.
PY
Pydro
2013-09-09 22:01 UTC
#41
Is the Bad Place SotM’s version of the Forbidden Zone?
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-09 23:00 UTC
#42
Thank you Spiff. I pretty much do "get over it", as the only alternative to launching an extremely short armed insurrection against an unjust but invincible regime. But I reserve the right to complain now and then, as a way of venting my spleen, lest the constant pressure of silencing my soul's righteous fury in order to survive in our Fallen world should give me an ulcer.
I didn't have in mind "small government" so much as "large anti-government". The population would be educated in their own self-interest in order to protect them from the attempts of others to take advantage of them. The system of such education would be administered solely by those enlightened enough to understand the importance of ensuring it is never corrupted; they would run it in such a way as to exclude from the organization anyone ambitious enough to want to use the organization to their own purposes, instead of its stated ones (an intentional aversion of Pournelle's Iron Law). Put more succinctly, give the crown to whoever LEAST wants to be king, simply to keep anyone at all from being king. The "crown" would be something like root admin access to the ultimate database containing all information; everyone could view said database, but nobody would have the ability to edit it, except the single person most thoroughly proven to have no interest in corrupting the data.
As for >G, they have to exist in the world they live in, and that's why these rules are here. They need lawyers to protect them from other peoples lawyers, it sucks that they have to worry about that, but it would suck more if they didn't have any protection from people stealing their ideas.
They could just trust to fate; the odds are fairly good that nobody would have both motive and opportunity to act in any way that would actually cause them significant harm. The lawyers are so afraid that someone MIGHT bring suit that they never even consider whether it's LIKELY. To paraphrase a Vorkosigan book, "the evils they wish to protect against are imaginary; the ones they commit in the course of such protection are real".
RE
Reckless
2013-09-10 00:00 UTC
#43
It sounds like you're very willing to take a chance with other peoples' creative property. That's like gambling with someone else's money because you "just have a good feeling."
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-10 00:22 UTC
#44
More like telling them to gamble with it. I'm not trying to keep the proceeds for myself or anything. I just think the world is legitimately a better place when people don't let fear of consequences stop them from doing awesome things. Although I'm a hardcore pacifist, I tend to agree with the common warrior ethos that, because death is inevitable, dying sooner but gloriously is a profitable trade. Applying that ethos to a person is questionable, since people have feelings and stuff, but applying it to a corporation makes perfect sense, because corporations are artificial constructs and devoid of emotions, survival instincts, or human rights. No corporation should ever outlive its purpose; if it can be dissolved, but leave a legacy which people will still praise twenty years later, then it has done better than if it "sold out" and stayed operational that whole time at the expense of its original principles.
NI
Nielzabub
2013-09-10 01:05 UTC
#45
I just don't see too much of a problem with the current situation. It would be one thing if the Greater than Games Folk hunted down people who use their mechanics to make custom characters and serve them legal warnings, but they don't. There is a very active forum on Boardgamegeek dedicated to custom characters that the G>games folk regularly visit. There was a post somewhere on the forum where someone had a link to a custom Bunker built deck on BGG and Christopher totally okayed it.
There are also many variations and mods of existing characters on this forum that G> have not at all interfered with, and so I don't think it's completely fair to compare them to companies like 4Kids and Toei that get youtube parodies pulled or like Sony who served a cease and decist letter to fans who were doing their own 3D Chrono Trigger remake, it's not like they're ever going to make one.
If I remember correctly, part of the reason Richard Launius was contacted to collaborate on Infernal Relics was he had posted Nightmist and Gloomweaver on the BGG forums.
Even though it would be cool and convenient to share custom hero designs on this website, the reasons G> gives for not allowing that are reasonable, and they don't stop people from doing it anywhere else, and so even though I can understand and sympathize with your position, I really don't think people's creativity is being stifled, and again it's really not fair to compare the G> folk who really work hard for their fans to mindless corporations that only care about money.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-10 16:01 UTC
#46
This makes absolutely no sense. If the game's designers can go and look at custom stuff on other forums, why on Infinite Earths wouldn't they be able to look at it here? I can sort of understand the logic behind them not being able to look at it at all, in case it influences their design process and leads to frivolous plagiarism suits. But this…I can't fathom how it could possibly be okay for Christopher to see something elsewhere but not allow it to be here.
it's really not fair to compare the G> folk who really work hard for their fans to mindless corporations that only care about money.
I wasn't so much "comparing" them as drawing a parallel. Ultimately, the system is the same, regardless of how you use it.
MC
McBehrer
2013-09-10 19:23 UTC
#47
... Drawing a parallel IS, by definition, comparing them.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-10 21:11 UTC
#48
It would be a comparison if I was saying one was greater than the other. Simply saying that they bear some similarities isn't a comparison, as it's not evaluating them compared to each other; it's simply noting the presence of a link between them.
MC
McBehrer
2013-09-10 21:17 UTC
#49
That's not how the word works. If you say one is like the other, you are comparing them. If you are saying one is better than the other, that's an EVALUATION. You were comparing them.
TH
TheJayMann
2013-09-10 21:29 UTC
#50
Technically, to say things are similar is comparing, while to say things are different is contrasting. I remember my middle school math. (Or was it elementary school math? I don't remember.)
NI
Nielzabub
2013-09-11 00:59 UTC
#51
As noted earlier saying that there are some similarities is a comparison. Whether you're drawing a parallel, contrast, or comparison between the two, you are creating an association between G> and the mindless, soulless corporations that want nothing more than to crush people's individuality for their own personal gain. Again, G> gives its fans a lot more creative freedom with its properties than most companies and artists. Having the restriction of not being able to put original characters on the main site is a small restriction, especially since the Sentinels community has many other networks and outlets. Is it a bummer, yes, but it's not the end of the world or freedom. Why is it okay to post original characters on BGG and not the main site? Probably has to do with liability, even if there are similarities between a character created on BGG and G> the distance between the two is much greater and probably easier to deal with legally then it would be if the character was posted on the main site. I'm not actually a lawyer and I don't think you are either, which means that neither or us is really qualified to talk about what G> could actually do to circumvent possible lawsuits. I can agree that it's a little unfair, but an alternative exists and the reason behind the decision is an understandable one. If you want to do something about it, you can create a site or even Google plus community dedicated to SOTM custom characters. If that gets shut down for no reason other than existing, then I'll probably join the revolution.
MC
McBehrer
2013-09-11 03:23 UTC
#52
Which it won't; Chris et. al. are all really cool guys who wholeheartedly endorse creating custom characters. They CAN'T allow us to put it on their site because if they coincidentally release a hero similar to a custom one on the site, then some asshole could sue them. That's just a factual thing that, while unfortunate, is no less true because of it. But if we were to make our own site specifically for Sentinels Homebrew, I'm sure they'd say "go for it," just like they did with house rules and everything else.
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-11 05:30 UTC
#53
I'm not a priest of Zeus either, but I feel qualified to talk about what >G can do to prevent itself from being smited with holy lightning. Namely, nothing, because Zeus is a figment of the imagination who has power only when large numbers of people agree to beat up whoever they've decided he doesn't like. The law is the same - an imaginary bully whose torments are inflicted by and upon real people, of which which the latter deserve better and the former should know better.
In any event, I still say that it'd be trivially easy to have a "we are not responsible" clause in the forum terms which would cover >G's arse against any possible lawsuit, and would remove this (admittely also trivial) inconvenience of their fans. Oh, and I'm still waiting to hear whether it's okay to link to offsite creations, although I'm suspecting so since it looks like several people have already done it.
NI
Nielzabub
2013-09-11 05:59 UTC
#54
I think you are highly overgeneralizing the legal system. Yes, it can be used to bully people, but it can protect them too. The implication is that G> is using the law to bully its fans and limit their creativity, which I don't agree with. The little man can be just as much of a bully using the law as a corporation, and if the problem could be solved with a simple disclaimer, they probably would've done it. Even though the general consensus is usually that lawyers are evil, but I doubt the ones employed by G> are sitting in a dark room cackling, "Muwaha Yes! The stifled creativity of fans make us stronger and more powerful. Quick! Someone hand me a baby, I forgot to eat breakfast this morning."Considering how lenient G> is with someone like Spiff who has made tons of SOTM related material, if you haven't checked out his site you should, such as environments and alternate character cards, I'm willing to give some benefit of the doubt to the team and their lawyers.
On an unrelated note, I can never find the forum for custom characters on BGG, could someone link it for me?
JA
jagarciao
2013-09-11 07:28 UTC
#55
I don't think Envisioner is saying that GTG is using the law to bully anyone, I believe his line of thought is more along the lines that GTG is allowing the fear of a potential lawsuit to prevent them from providing a better service to the fans. For instance, if someone were to post something that later became a character and that someone then sued GTG for stealing their idea, I am sure GTG could pull out early drafts or notes, or something else that would ultimately prove that their character design predates the fan's post and eventually get the suit dismissed.
Having said that, I have to agree with GTG on their decision because such a lawsuit would tie up resources and take up a lot of time and potentially delay the release of future products and affect the company on a magnitude that is much higher than the inconvenience of not being allowed to post custom characters on the GTG site, especially when an easily accessible public forum for that can be found on BGG.
If GTG would take the position of allowing such submissions and be willing to shoulder the burden of potential legal action I would applaud their stance... but given the potential consequences of such action (even with the low probability of negative consequences) I have to agree with their decision to just not risk it. We all have to pick our fights and I think that one is just not the right one for a company of this size that is currently so heavily engaged in other creative endeavors.
MA
Matchstickman
2013-09-11 07:40 UTC
#56
There isn't really a specific forum for custom characters, but there is a forum for all variants, house rules and new characters included.
And then go to the box marked "Linked Forums" and click on the bit marked "variants", that will bring up all variants from the various Sentinels Forums on BGG, base game and expansions.
DP
dpt
2013-09-11 17:04 UTC
#57
Here's a direct link to the most relevant forum: http://boardgamegeek.com/forum/1051076/sentinels-of-the-multiverse/variants
EN
Envisioner
2013-09-11 18:28 UTC
#58
But in its absence, the protection continues and the bullying vanishes. It's much the same as with guns - having a gun might protect you from other people who also have guns, but the nonexistence of any guns anywhere would protect everyone.
The implication is that G> is using the law to bully its fans and limit their creativity, which I don't agree with.
I don't think they're doing so intentionally, it's just an inevitable side effect of their participating in the system.
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-11 19:19 UTC
#59
But in its absence, the protection continues and the bullying vanishes. It's much the same as with guns - having a gun might protect you from other people who also have guns, but the nonexistence of any guns anywhere would protect everyone.
. . . from guns.
If you get rid of the legal system you only get rid of the harm the legal system does, there is a whole lot of harm that isn't started by the legal system. If you get rid of the legal system, you have to create a new one to stop that harm. Just like if we get rid of current government and revert to a tribal structure, there is still government, it is a tribal government.
The minute people get together and start acting as a group for group benefit you have a government.
The minute a group of people get together and agree not to kill or steal from each other you have a legal system.
From there it evolves into more formalized and bigger goernments and systems.
RE
Reckless
2013-09-11 21:42 UTC
#60
Are we really bringing up the danger of firearms on the subject of not being able to post up "Original the Superhero" on the Sentinels forum?
Really?
SI
Silverleaf
2013-09-11 21:56 UTC
#61
All we need now is for someone to mention Nazis.
MC
McBehrer
2013-09-11 21:57 UTC
#62
... Nazis.
RA
Rabit
2013-09-11 22:05 UTC
#63
Okay, let's stop. At this point this has devolved pretty far from a useful conversation, and is so far off topic as to be inappropriate even for these forums.
The reality is we can't have home-brewed creations on the site. At some time this will likely change, but for now we have the BGG links posted above to facilitate such contributions.
Feel free to discuss anything else that's appropriately related to home-brewed creations, but lets drop the theoreticals of why it's not allowed here and the societal impacts (if there are any) of such decisions. Sorry to be a hassle, but seriously, Spiff pointed out this was going to happen…
(And Silverleaf and McBehrer? Nicely played. )
PH
phantaskippy
2013-09-12 18:21 UTC
#64
So, over at BGG there is a thread about making a christmas vilain decka nd environment deck.
I think it could be a really cool fan creation for the holidays.
If anyone is interested go check it out.
I think it would be cool to get it together and playtest it so that it was an actually cool little holiday comic based thing.