Hi all,
I'm late to the DM's Guild news - but I find it quite interesting.
If I am understanding the rules correctly, the following items would be appropriate to create and upload:
A book of NPCs with backstory/description/and stat blocks. A DM's tool for when they need an interesting character to insert into a campaign.
A book of new races.
A book of new monsters.
It is also my understanding that anything I create and upload then becomes community property I.e. someone else can use the content I created in their own material and sell it.
Any input as to if I understood the rules correctly or if any of my above thoughts would be particularly useful/worthwhile.
Thanks.
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You are correct about all of that. They LIKE it is you can tie them into Forgotten Realms somehow, but that's not necessary. However, you can't really put forth your own setting, or if you do, they then have a stake in it.
That part has been kind of tricky to understand exactly, but its always better to either do setting neutral or Forgotten Realms.
I read the SDR and had a harder time understanding its rules. My questions (for now) are:
Are you able to produce material set in different WOTC settings, such as Greyhawk? If so, can Greyhawk proper be mentioned?
Under Product Identity they list several proper names and a few D&D monsters by name. Can none of these proper names be mentioned in any work we submit to the DM Guild? Why are there so few monsters listed and why would they have chose the ones that they have?
Are other monsters from D&D that are not listed in the Monster Manual (example Norker) available to recreate a 5th edition version of?
Eileen: The SRD is completely seperate for what you can do with the DMs Guild. To create things for the DMs Guild, you can act like you are a WotC employee creating a new product for sale. As in, you can use ANYTHING product identity. You can use mind flayers/illithids, beholders, carrion crawlers, Drizzt, Elminster, etc. HOWEVER! You cannot make anything for Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Birthright, Planescape, Eberron, or any other setting that existed pre-5th Edition except for Forgotten Realms and now Ravenloft. So far, that is.
You can convert any monster, so long as you don't include any mentions of setting material that isn't FR or Ravenloft, from previous editions; any class or race. Heck, you can even convert old adventures (Such as Against the Giants) and sell them in the DMs Guild so long as you set them within Forgotten Realms (or even Ravenloft).
Now, if you wanted to make your own setting, then you would have to follow the OGL and not be able to use any of the IP mentioned. And you wouldn't be able to publish that via the DMs Guild, and would have to use either one of OneBookShelf's other sites (RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, a few others, I think), or some place else (Amazon, Paizo, I think even TableTopLibrary.com which is a new thing from the Frog God Games dudes for 5th Edition OGL stuff).
I've found that I am doing a lot of minor modifications to monsters in the monster manual and then using them as entirely different monsters.
Example: Sea Serpent (treat as young blue dragon, remove fly speed, add swim speed of 40 ft., remove claw attacks, add 2nd bite attack.)
I wonder if this combined with new descriptive text for the monster would be appropriate for a DM's Guild item?
Another question about dms guild stuff - artwork. I assume some people are using original artwork and some are using creative commons license (or similar) artwork in their products.
Does anyone have experience with the specific rules around what artwork is allowed and possibly sites that make tracking down said artwork easier?
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Another question about dms guild stuff - artwork. I assume some people are using original artwork and some are using creative commons license (or similar) artwork in their products.
Does anyone have experience with the specific rules around what artwork is allowed and possibly sites that make tracking down said artwork easier?
I found this article on the DM's Guild site after doing a search for artwork.
What kinds of artwork and maps can I use in my DMs Guild titles?
The artwork (such as illustrations or maps) that you include in your title does not become part of the DMs Guild content that other DMs Guild contributors can then use. Here is general advice for these types of artwork:
Art and maps provided by Wizards of the Coast. The art you find in the Resources for DMs Guild Creators category is owned by Wizards and can be freely used in your DMs Guild titles. No other artwork from Wizards of the Coast titles can be used — only the art specifically released for DMs Guild Creators.
Public Domain Art. Art that you are certain is in the public domain can be used.
Stock Art. Usage of stock art depends on the license associated with that stock art. Most of the stock art sold under the DMs Guild Resources category on DriveThruRPG includes a license that would allow it to be used in your DMs Guild titles.
Commissioned Art. Usage of art that you commission from an artist depends upon your terms with the artist. You must have the rights or license to use the art in your title. The artwork does not become owned by OneBookShelf or by Wizards; you simply must have rights to use it in your commercial work.
Creative Commons. This depends on the type of Creative Commons license. Some allow commercial use, others do not.
Can I use the D&D logo on my DMs Guild title?
The only Wizards logo you can use in your title is the DMs Guild logo found here:
http://www.dmsguild.com/images/site_resources/DMsGuildProductLogoLarge.png
If you go to Product Type on the Left hand side of the DM's Guild website you should see a tab for Product Type in red lettering. Click that and it drops down and shows several choices, at the bottom one will be entitled "Resources for DMG Creators". Click that tab and it sends you to artwork you can buy or download to use.
Alternatively in the search box type in entitled "Resources for DMG Creators" and the correct page should come up for you to review artwork you can buy or get for free to include with your submission.
What is Public Domain Art?
How do you know if a piece of artwork on the internet is Public Domain?
Thanks Eileen, that is incredibly helpful.