Requirements

1. This policy applies to Fans only, not business ventures, so if you represent a commercial enterprise, this isn’t the policy for you. While limited commercial allowances are granted by this policy, these permissions are intended for fans, not companies, For the purposes of this Policy, a Fan is defined as an individual or small collective of individuals creating content primarily out of the love of Paizo Material rather than for financial gain.
2. Your product can’t be an RPG or other game product (adventure module, sourcebook, character builder, rules database, video game, board game, etc.) If you want to release an RPG product that uses any of Paizo's IP including both rules and non-rules elements, you’ll need to use the ORC/OGL, Compatibility License, or Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite community content programs.
3. Game accessories used to facilitate or enhance RPG play are allowed. These are typically unwritten merchandise such as (but not limited to) pins, clothing, cosplay props, dice bags, etc. RPG rules text may appear on these accessories in limited form, such as on a GM screen with custom art or as a screen-printed monster stat block on a tee shirt featuring a fan-made illustration of the creature in question. In both cases, the art is the focus of the piece, and they are physical products with limited production and distribution. Products that predominantly feature rules text and Paizo IP (rather than original art or other original IP) are considered rules compendiums and not allowed under this policy.
4. Your project must be unofficial. This means that you can’t say or imply that Paizo recognizes, endorses, or sponsors your project in any way.
5. You must comply with the Usage Requirements section below.
6. Your project must follow the rules of all other IP owners whose content is used in your project. You agree to obtain permission to use any third party’s intellectual property in your project as well. If we find out that you’re using someone else’s IP in your project without their permission, we may deny the use of our IP and require you to take down and/or stop distributing your project. Other people’s IPs are valuable, too, and you need permission to use them just like you need permission to use ours.
7. Don’t do anything that might hurt or damage Paizo. You agree to use your best efforts to preserve the high standard of our intellectual property. You agree to not use this permission for material that the general public would classify as "adult content," offensive, or inappropriate for minors, and you agree that such use would irreparably harm Paizo. You agree to not use Paizo's trade dress—that is, you may not make your material look like ours.
8. Obey the law. The requirements of this policy are not a replacement for the laws of the land in your country, they are in addition to those laws.
9. Limited Commercial Use: If you make any commercial use of Paizo Material beyond what is explicitly allowed by this policy, your rights will be automatically terminated, and any permission granted by this Policy will be immediately revoked. If Paizo believes that you are in the publishing business or that you are otherwise considered to be a commercial user, then you are not granted any right to use any Paizo Material under this Policy.
10. Physical Merchandise Requirements: Making and selling limited, hand-made fan merchandise inspired by our games ("merch") is generally fine and does not require getting express written permission from us. However, you are not permitted to mass-produce or mass-distribute items.
    1. While digital items may reuse official Paizo art or logos, merch should not. Do not use the “Paizo,” "Pathfinder," or "Starfinder," trademarks and logos on your physical merch or in marketing materials when selling it. Do not use official art or assets from our games in merch.
    2. Do not make items that are significantly similar to official items offered by Paizo or any of Paizo’s authorized licensees.
    3. You can only sell items directly to consumers. Do not sell them on large websites such as Redbubble, Displate, Society6, or Amazon or directly through mass retailers.

Usage Requirements

To use Paizo Material under this Policy you must include the following notice in a legible/accessible form in connection with each project, product, or on each website that uses any Paizo Material:

"[This website, product name, Twitch show title, etc.] uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Fan Content Policy (paizo.com/licenses/fancontent). [This website, product name, Twitch show title, etc.] is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com.”

If the Paizo Material you're using clearly credits its authors or artists, including as part of any copyright notice that appears on the material, you must reproduce that credit.

Permissions

As long as you comply with all of the above usage requirements, we hereby grant you the following permissions:

• If your content complies with all rules of this and other policies, you may use the contents of the Community Use Package as well as the cover images on Paizo products to create fan content.
  • You may not alter the color, typography, design, or proportions of the logos or icons found on those materials, or otherwise modify them. If your entire creation is in black & white/grayscale, you may also include grayscale renderings of logos or icons.
  • Product covers may not be cropped, color adjusted, edited, distorted, or modified (except in cases of black & white/grayscale printing, as above).
  • Should an item be removed from the Paizo IP available for use under this policy, you won’t need to remove it from existing projects if it otherwise complies with all other rules, but you may not use it in future projects.
• You may use product descriptions as they appear on the back of each product or in the product listings on paizo.com.
• You may make limited use of the text or artwork published in the Paizo Blog with the following exceptions:.
  • You may not use excerpts of Planet Stories publications, Pathfinder Comics, or any other work of fiction.
  • You may not use any logos, icons, or design marks that aren't otherwise permitted under the Compatibility License.
  • You may not use any photographs published in the blog (because those rights are usually not ours to offer). 
  • You may not use artwork, including maps, that have not been published in the blog, although you may create your own interpretations of material presented in our artwork and maps, provided that your interpretations don't look substantially similar to our materials.
• You may use artwork and maps from Paizo products live or in recordings on Twitch, YouTube, and similar platforms during performances and live streams of adventures, scenarios, and Adventure Paths. Please cite the source of the artwork or maps either in the show notes, captions on screen, or verbally, so your viewers know where it came from.
• You may descriptively reference trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, artifacts, places, etc.), locations, dialogs, plots, storylines, language, and incidents based on the Paizo IP. Note that descriptive references may not also include game rules (like a monster stat block), which are not licensed under this policy.
• You are granted permission to print assets for personal use or to distribute in limited quantities to in-person play groups.

Commercial Allowances and Exceptions

• You are allowed to accept donations on platforms like Patreon or ko-fi, or to generate advertising revenue via YouTube, Twitch, and web ads in connection with your fan content.
• You may put limited Paizo Material behind paywalls or access restrictions as a means of offsetting some of the costs involved in producing content that supports our brands and spreads your passion for our IP.
• Such paywalls must be direct and hassle-free. This means you can’t require survey completions, gate access behind downloads of unrelated products, require opting into email lists (unless the entirety of your project is only available in email form), or other unnecessary annoyances as a requirement to access your project. Be clear about what people are paying for. For example, if you have exclusive episodes of an actual play podcast in which the characters play Pathfinder Society scenarios as side missions that are restricted to paying members of your Patreon, advertise it as such and be straightforward in what Paizo Material is located behind what paywalls.
• If you have Paizo Material behind a paywall, or even freely available but not publicly accessible, you must provide Paizo or an authorized representative of Paizo access to this content free of charge if requested, so that we can ensure our IP is being used within the terms of this Policy.
• You are allowed to have paid sponsorship of your content so long as that sponsor is clearly identified to your audience and you otherwise comply with all laws and regulations concerning sponsorships.
• At this time, the following types of fan content may not be monetized under this policy:
  • Works of literary fiction, including novels, short stories, blog posts, comics, and other forms of fan fiction. However, you can produce and monetize these products using the Pathfinder or Starfinder Infinite licenses.

We reserve the right to deny the use of our IP at any time for any reason or for no reason. This includes, for example, if we think our IP is being used inappropriately (determined at our sole discretion). If we deny you the right to use our IP, you must immediately stop distributing any part of your project that uses or might use our IP.

You agree to indemnify Paizo against any kind of legal claim or dispute brought against us that is related to your project or your use of our IP. If we get sued or caught up in a legal dispute because of your project or for any other reason related to how you used our IP, you must pay our legal fees and costs related to that lawsuit or dispute, including our attorney’s fees and any settlement or judgement amount that we’re required to pay.

The permissions granted under this Policy are personal to you and may not be assigned or transferred without our consent. We reserve the right to amend, modify or terminate this Policy at any time.