Dungeon Fantasy Non-Lawsuit Historical Books

[Harald387]

Originally Posted by b-dog

I would like to request some Dungeon Fantasy books that use non-lawsuit historical books. For example, there could be a desert setting complete with a monotheistic god (who for lawsuit purposes) is not based on any real world god or religion (wink wink nod nod…). It could seem superficially like GURPS Arabian Nights but the god and religion and the monsters and cultures would be lawsuit free. Or maybe there could be something like GURPS Silk Road with cultures and religions that seem very similar to real world religions and cultures but from a legal standpoint they are not.

Religious myth and folklore aren't intellectual property, and nobody is going to "sue" SJG over publishing GURPS rules that treat a real-world religion or culture well (or poorly).

However, giving that sort of material a treatment that remains respectful to the source in a way that doesn't alienate and offend the real people who follow that belief structure is something that the gaming industry as a whole has failed horribly at in the past. Getting it right is hard*, getting it wrong is easy, and the consequences of getting it wrong are a PR nightmare. I'm really not surprised that the DF line and the DFRPG stick with the generic instead of trying to dance around that third rail.

*I think I did a good job with the work I've done for the Nordlond setting, but I'd seriously question the judgment of anyone who said I was the best choice to write 'Dungeon Fantasy RPG: Desert Adventures' with a true-to-life Middle Eastern flavor, for instance. At a minimum I'd want a consultant and a really good sensitivity reader, and even then I'd expect my efforts to be inadequate.