Black Sabbath tribute characters

[Snarky]

since characters for stuff like this are not copying heroes, but emulating rock stars, what are the rules.

 

rip Ozzy

[lemming]

I do have a character named "Fairy Wears Boots" and while post-Ozzy, thought about a thug mastermind "The Mob Rules"

[PartyKake]

I wonder what powerset would be the best fit for a war pig.

[momentarygrace]

The most appropriate name for a tribute character is off limits anyway.... 😞 

 

 

 

[El D]

So long as you aren't using the name of an actual band member from Black Sabbath anything just inspired by should be fine. War Pig, Paranoid (Perry Noid?), Child of the Grave... I wouldn't try to run around as Mozzy Mosbourne but song references should be okay.

 

'Child of the Grave' is actually a really good name for a Necromancy MM, come to think of it.

[Scarlet Shocker]

Salad Bloody Salad; Plant/pain

 

 

I was never a heavy metal fan but as an honorary "Black Country Mon" I love what he gave to my adopted home territory. As a music fan and radio presenter with an eye on the jazzier side of the tracks I encountered his mentors (allegedly) in Jazz Sabbath, a small jazz quartet that he unashamedly plagiarised and ripped off.

 

What listening to them taught me was that Black Sabbath had a very great body of work. It wasn't simply thrashing guitars and making noise. Listening to it you get some genuine musical craft and for all Ozzy's feigned weirdness and deliberate strange there was real, actual musical talent in Black Sabbath and they did change music for ever in a very positive way.

Edited 17 hours ago by Scarlet Shocker
addendum

[Uun]

If you weren't aware, Ozzy's final concert on July 5 raised $190 million for charity (Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice). Highest grossing charity concert ever.

[Forager]

18 hours ago, Snarky said:

since characters for stuff like this are not copying heroes, but emulating rock stars, what are the rules.

 

rip Ozzy

 

Are you talking about a character that is Ozzy, just a parody, or someone inspired by him? Ozzy Osbourne is probably a trademark and protected by intellectual property law. Not every person is trademarked, but a lot of celebrities are.

 

Your take on a slurring, debaucherous rockstar with a goth aesthetic and British accent wouldn't violate any laws. That's an expy. If you named him Spazzy Spazbourne, he's a parody. That's all legal, but nobody knows how a GM would interpret them.

 

On it's face, the ToS seems to only prohibit violations of intellectual property law, but those are not widely understood, so I don't know if the application in-game matches that.

 

The typical forum goer response to this sort of thing is often unnecessarily cautious. 

[Snarky]

16 minutes ago, Forager said:

 

Are you talking about a character that is Ozzy, just a parody, or someone inspired by him? Ozzy Osbourne is probably a trademark and protected by intellectual property law. Not every person is trademarked, but a lot of celebrities are.

 

Your take on a slurring, debaucherous rockstar with a goth aesthetic and British accent wouldn't violate any laws. That's an expy. If you named him Spazzy Spazbourne, he's a parody. That's all legal, but nobody knows how a GM would interpret them.

 

On it's face, the ToS seems to only prohibit violations of intellectual property law, but those are not widely understood, so I don't know if the application in-game matches that.

 

The typical forum goer response to this sort of thing is often unnecessarily cautious. 

I was more curious because someone asked in game.  

I am still quite busy on my “every contact/every mission” with my Nosferatu padody/copy (not trademark protected)

 

This thread was a way to honor Ozzy, answer specific questions about homage characters for Black Sabbath, and answer general questions about how to be inspired by something but not violate ToS.  
 

Thank you for the thoughtful and informative response.