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I'm just really curious why they changed the name from Lizardmen to Seraphon.

SG

Because GW thinks they can copyright it and use said copyright to keep anyone else from making vaguely Aztec-themed Lizardman models that just so happen to be compatible with GW kits.

It's the same reason there are no skeletons, orcs, or dwarfs in Age of Sigmar; instead, we get deathrattlers (urgh), orruks, and duardin.

 Spinner wrote:
Because GW thinks they can copyright it and use said copyright to keep anyone else from making vaguely Aztec-themed Lizardman models that just so happen to be compatible with GW kits.

It's the same reason there are no skeletons, orcs, or dwarfs in Age of Sigmar; instead, we get deathrattlers (urgh), orruks, and duardin.

Don't forget those oh so copyrightable Aelfs *Rolls eyes*

 Spinner wrote:
Because GW thinks they can copyright it and use said copyright to keep anyone else from making vaguely Aztec-themed Lizardman models that just so happen to be compatible with GW kits.

It's the same reason there are no skeletons, orcs, or dwarfs in Age of Sigmar; instead, we get deathrattlers (urgh), orruks, and duardin.

GW can copyright the name Seraphon as it relates to specific categories of products, but that does not enable them to prevent other companies from making Lizard Men, or figures or parts that are "compatible with GW's AoS Seraphon(tm)".

Copyright differs in various jurisdictions, but generally you cannot copyright a single word, even if you invented it, so changing the name to seraphon is unlikely to be about the name and copyright.

Talking about IP together with categories of products is usually referring to trademarks.

I should have said GW can trademark the word Seraphon.

You are quite right that words cannot be copyrighted.

I find it odd that it seems Lizardmen are the only race with an explanation of how they fit into the mortal realms. I guess that's why several races have gotten the reboxing/basing treatment but no book to go along with it.

Why the races we are all familiar with are populating the mortal realms seemingly unchanged from their Old World incarnations is the oddest facet of the new setting.

Did they survive the apocalypse? Or have they always been here? Why hasn't thousands of years of history here shaped them in any noticeable sense?

I'm actually okay with the name change because wasn't calling them Lizardmen like calling humans hairless monkeys? Why would they care to be associated with men who they consider far beneath them.

Though I suppose they never called themselves that.

@Eldarain, though I expect future fluff and background books to nicely fit the other races into AoS, the main reason they came to be there was due to Sigmar finding their souls surrounding the old world's remains and using his power(and probably the power of the other incarnates)to build a city around the core and to give life to the old races.

He then put them throughout the mortal realms where they could begin building new civilizations. The Aelves were notably few in number which lead Teclis and his brother to search them out and the former elf queen resigned herself to the realm of life, grief stricken with how much life was lost, where she began recreating the Sylvaneths.

I believe the orruks and Ogors were sent to the realm of beasts to cull the dangerous and supernatural creatures there.

There's alot more to the background than that but I'm just summing things up. Hope that helps!

It does. Been trying to work my way through the releases but haven't seen anything on that. Do you remember where the bulk of that info was?

Haha, everyone keeps asking me that.

I just look up every site that has anything to do with AoS. Warhammer forums, 1d4chan, tropes wiki, Warseer and this site.

I obsess over the fluff more than most ($600+ worth of rpg books just for information attests to that) and constantly keep my ear to the ramblings around the net.

It's all abut the little TM in the corner.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
It's all abut the little TM in the corner.

I don't know to what end though. It's been ruled that third parties can market their items as "compatible with GW's Seraphon/Astra whatever etc"

 Eldarain wrote:

 AegisGrimm wrote:
It's all abut the little TM in the corner.

I don't know to what end though. It's been ruled that third parties can market their items as "compatible with GW's Seraphon/Astra whatever etc"

Yeah but GWs legal staff are so out of touch with reality it probably makes perfect sense to them.

they probably just read these sites and laugh at you guys. Aelfir and duardin have been around a long time. They are nordic words. Shadowbane an online video had a race of aelfir and guess what: they were elves. These words are nothing new. However when i think of elves and dwarves the goofy ones from dungeons and dragons come to mind. Maybe they wanted the races to sound more distinct and not as kiddy

Dreadnok89 wrote:
they probably just read these sites and laugh at you guys. Aelfir and duardin have been around a long time. They are nordic words. Shadowbane an online video had a race of aelfir and guess what: they were elves. These words are nothing new. However when i think of elves and dwarves the goofy ones from dungeons and dragons come to mind. Maybe they wanted the races to sound more distinct and not as kiddy

If you put out a name your customers don't know and think is silly you can feel free to pat yourself on the back about how clever you are but at the end of the day your customers think it is silly.

Dreadnok89 wrote:
they probably just read these sites and laugh at you guys. Aelfir and duardin have been around a long time. They are nordic words. Shadowbane an online video had a race of aelfir and guess what: they were elves. These words are nothing new. However when i think of elves and dwarves the goofy ones from dungeons and dragons come to mind. Maybe they wanted the races to sound more distinct and not as kiddy

So, elf is "kiddy" but aelf, that's for adults?

Along with deathrattlers and the floating islands of the Shimmertarn, yes.

I love the name "deathrattle"!!

Another week, another new user besotted with AoS comes out Swinging telling the "haterz" why they're wrong.

See you next week folks! Same Dakka channel. Same Dakka time.

Dreadnok89 wrote:
they probably just read these sites and laugh at you guys. Aelfir and duardin have been around a long time. They are nordic words. Shadowbane an online video had a race of aelfir and guess what: they were elves. These words are nothing new. However when i think of elves and dwarves the goofy ones from dungeons and dragons come to mind. Maybe they wanted the races to sound more distinct and not as kiddy

Shh... It's ok... Soon it will all be explained to you. It's time you understand us "evil haterz" are not mocking the names themselves... Just the stupidity that led them to be adopted - for pure copyright purposes. Kinda like the Spots the Space Marine incident, this is a symptom of the underlying levels of insanity reached by GW on its IP protection campaign.

Also, you should really star worrying about what word you consider childish, as the word dwarf, for example, when searched on wikipedia gives the two following results:

- Dwarf (mythology), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
- A person or animal with dwarfism

Now... do you really wanna adjectivise a term refering to a rather popular part of Germanic folklore or a person suffering from a medical condition caused by slow growth as childish? Hm...