Thank you for your interest in Dungeon Masters Guild. DMsGuild is a program that allows you to create content (adventures and locations; monsters; character classes, archetypes, and backgrounds; etc.) using Wizards of the Coast intellectual property (IP) and to make some money while you’re at it. Your work might even be noticed by the team at Dungeons & Dragons, who select writers from the DMsGuild for official products, the Guild Adept program, and the Adventurers League.
Getting Started
To get started, you should review our Frequently Asked Questions, which contain all the guidelines for publishing on DMsGuild. Here’s where you can find answers to certain questions:
- Ownership and License (OGL) Questions: Clarification on DMsGuild vs OGL, required legal text, etc.
- Content and Format Questions: Approved settings, allowed (and disallowed) content, tips for how to prepare your PDF, etc.
- Logo and Artwork Content: Required logos, guidelines on branding, links to art packs, rules on cartography and stock art packs, and other important guidelines
- Payment, Pricing, and Accounting Questions: How payment works, queries about Patreon/Kickstarter, how to donate proceeds, etc.
- Fantasy Grounds and Virtual TableTop Content: Everything you need to know about producing Fantasy Grounds .mods for DMsGuild
- Other Questions: Information about best-seller metals, category filters, and other best practices
- It is also very important that you read and understand the Community Content Agreement, which you can find at the bottom of the page when you create a new title.
Getting Published
After you’ve reviewed the guidelines, all you need to do is write your content and then go to Account > My Content > Enter New Community Created Title to publish your first DMsGuild title! Here is a handy checklist to avoid some of our common mistakes from first-time publishers:
- Your title is using art that you have the right to use in your commercial work.
- The DMsGuild square logo, found on the Logo and Artwork Content page, is on the title’s cover and cover image thumbnail.
- The material is using the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition ruleset.
- The material is using an approved setting as listed on the Content and Format Questions page.
- The title includes the legal text found on the Ownership and License (OGL) Questions page.
- You have read and understand the Community Content Agreement, found at the bottom of the Create New Title page. Once you activate your title, the Community Content Agreement applies to this title.
- Remember that if you wish to use a pseudonym to go to Account > My Content > Author Settings and Notifications and enter it in the "Author Name" section.
What's Next?
Congratulations! Now that you’ve published on Dungeon Masters Guild, your content is available on dungeonmastersguild.com or dmsguild.com. You can monitor the website for your sales data, plus ratings and review of your work. To promote sales, we encourage you to create eye-catching covers for your work and publicize through social media and other reputable media outlets where D&D fans gather. Join our community of creators online for more tips and advice:
Be aware that our community spaces share a Code of Conduct as follows:
- The OneBookShelf Team (which manages DriveThruRPG, Dungeon Masters Guild, and other sister sites) aims to cultivate a safe and enjoyable community.
- Any form of harassment, whether that's based on gender identity/expression, race, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, or religion, will not be tolerated on any official OneBookShelf groups or social media platforms.
- To report an incident of harassment either on or outside of OneBookShelf sites and official forums like Discord and FB groups, please contact dmsguild@onebookshelf.com with any documentation and information relating to the incident.
- The staff will review information as a team to determine what actions to take on a case-by-case basis. Such actions could include a warning, removal from our social media platforms, or removal from our sites.
- The staff team's word is final. Just because a rule is not explicitly stated, does not mean it should be broken. If you're unsure, ask a staff member.
- The OneBookShelf Team will be checking official channels outside of e-mail Monday - Friday, once a day. Tagging a staff member for quicker response is not advised nor will it make the communication go quicker. If you need to contact your representative, please use e-mail. Private messages are difficult to organize and we want to be able to help as best as possible.
- Keep all comments appropriate and relevant. We discourage spamming and overusing emojis / gifs / memes. These are fun tools to communicate but please don't abuse them.