[toyg]

> if I make it stylistically similar to Warcraft I risk being seen as an uncreative

By doing it inside the same universe imho you're already putting your hands up, there. You're admitting it yourself when you say "I'm not a writer".

I agree you're in a top spot, but if you're going to invest significant amounts of time in your project, I think you owe it to yourself to protect it from somebody else's lawyers. There is nothing wrong with admitting your influences... Warcraft itself was a originally a Dune II clone with a fantasy skin!