D&D 5E What map of Faerun can I use for DM Guild?

BMaC · Jan 24, 2016

Has that recent huge, high-res been cleared for use in submissions to the DM Guild? I haven't seen anything to indicate that's the case.

Quickleaf · Jan 24, 2016

[MENTION=6802386]bristolscale7[/MENTION] While I don't have a direct answer to your question, I can offer some insight. There are some maps out there that are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

A description of that license is here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/# and legalese is here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

...but what it amounts to is 3 points:

Share & Adapt — You can share and adapt the map, even for commercial use.
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

For example, there's a map on this page of Zakhara created by username HandsomeRob: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/File:Zakhara.jpg

Since it allows commercial use, then it's good to use for DM's Guild.

However, the only sticking point is if you include a map released under Creative Commons in a DM's guild product, then according to ShareAlike I believe you're obligated to release the entirety of your product under Creative Commons.

Not sure on this last point. Maybe someone better versed in law and CC could comment?

Staffan · Jan 24, 2016

Something released under a CC-ShareAlike license would not be usable in the DM's Guild, because then the work would have to be released under the same license and the two are incompatible. It's basically the same problem as using Open Content in the DM's Guild.

Similarly, you wouldn't be able to use a non-commercial CC, because the DM's Guild is commercial, or a non-derivative CC because your work is derivative. So the only CC license that would apply is the basic CC-BY.

Also, that particular map is released under the GNU Free Documentation License, which is not the same thing as Creative Commons (though it's similar to CC-BY-SA).

MonsterEnvy · Jan 25, 2016

Wizards released that Map for free. So I am guessing it would be ok. But you could always give them a tweet to find out.

caudor · Jan 25, 2016

Since Wizards allows us to create material for the Forgotten Realms, it would make sense to allow us to have access to some basic maps. However, that does not mean the maps are part of the IP that is permitted. I'm interested to learn what the response will be.

BMaC · Jan 25, 2016

Oh f*&$, I can't use any CC material in DM Guild?

JohnLynch · Jan 25, 2016

bristolscale7 said:
Oh f*&$, I can't use any CC material in DM Guild?

You can outside of the DM's Guild though.

BMaC · Jan 25, 2016

JohnLynch said:
You can outside of the DM's Guild though.

That's grim. Wikimedia commons has thousands of images that cannot be used for DM Guild. Ouch.

Staffan · Jan 25, 2016

bristolscale7 said:
Oh f*&$, I can't use any CC material in DM Guild?

Not unless they're CC-BY, no.

JohnLynch said:
You can outside of the DM's Guild though.

I think that would run into the same limitation: you can't use a CC-SA-licensed work with the OGL because they're incompatible licenses, and (unless given away) you can't use CC-NC-licensed work because it's commercial. As far as I can tell, there are two ways you could use a map or other illustration released as under a more restrictive CC license:

1. Ask the artist and get their permission. There's nothing in the CC license that prevents the artist from giving you a separate license. If they made the map as a fan, they will most likely allow it (although they're under no obligation to do so).

2. Separate the work into two - e.g. "The Dungeon of Foo" in the DM's Guild, and "The Dungeon of Foo Map Pack" released as CC-BY-SA or whatever. Then instruct the reader of the adventure to download the Dungeon of Foo Map Pack at www.wherever.com and they're off to the races. At least my limited legal knowledge suggests this would work, but there could be a law or clause somewhere that makes it problematic.