Dungeons & Dragons Content Allowed in DMsGuild Products
When you create your own title for the Dungeon Masters Guild, you get access to a dragon’s hoard of resources. Your work can use any of the 5th Edition D&D rules published by Wizards of the Coast, plus decades of published material from the expansive list of D&D settings, spells, items, monsters and more.
Wizards and Roll20 have made additional resources such as stock art, template cover designs, template stat blocks, and other such assets available on DMsGuild for you to freely use in your Dungeon Masters Guild titles. Click Here to See DMsGuild Resources for Creators.
As other authors create content for the Dungeon Masters Guild and expand the Dungeons & Dragons rules and lore through their titles, you are allowed to use this content in your own DMsGuild products. Was there a subplot another author didn’t fully explore? A tavern you’d like to re-use in your own adventure? All Dungeon Masters Guild authors contribute to a pool of community content that can be reused, expanded upon, and explored by other authors in the Dungeon Masters Guild community. When using anything from another DMsGuild creator we recommend trying to reach out to them and collaborating with them directly, or at least crediting them in your product and linking to the original source.
Wizards of the Coast products that were created in collaboration with a third party cannot be used in DMsGuild products. More information below.
Approved Official Settings for Dungeon Masters Guild Products
DMsGuild creators are allowed to use the following official Dungeons & Dragons settings:
- Forgotten Realms
- Ravenloft
- Eberron
- Spelljammer
- Planescape
- Dragonlance
- Radiant Citadel
- The Magic: The Gathering settings of:
- Ravnica
- Theros
- Arcavios/Strixhaven
Other official settings cannot be used in DMsGuild products at this time. This list includes but is not limited to Greyhawk(See Below), Dark Sun, Mystara, etc.
If an NPC, location, monster, or item from an unapproved setting appears in an approved setting it may be used in your DMsGuild product as long as it is set in an approved setting.
For example, Vecna originally appears in the unapproved setting of Greyhawk but then appears in the Ravenloft setting in Vecna Reborn, this means that Vecna may be used in DMsGuild products but Greyhawk can not.
Another example: In the Dungeons & Dragons 5e book “Ghosts of Saltmarsh” some Classic D&D adventures set in Greyhawk are converted for the current rules, this does not mean that Greyhawk can be used but rather these locations/adventures can be used in relation to an approved setting, ie they now take place in Forgotten Realms.
Example for Vecna: Eve of Ruin: Chapter 7 takes place entirely in Greyhawk, but in a single, isolated location, The Isle of Serpents. Similar to the above examples, DMsGuild creators may use The Isle of Serpents location in products supplemental to the Vecna: Eve of Ruin adventure. References to the wider Greyhawk setting are not allowed in DMsGuild content. While Oerth is named in Vecna: Eve of Ruin, only what is written in the book can be used in DMsGuild content. The Greyhawk setting cannot be used for original adventures/products.
Setting Neutral Products
DMsGuild creators are allowed to create products that take place in “no setting.”
A setting neutral product should be easily used as is or added to a setting by the customer. Does your product take place in “a forest” or do the players travel to “a castle”? These would be instances of “setting neutral” adventures.
No Unique or “homebrewed” settings on DMsGuild.
The DMsGuild site is geared toward setting-neutral, or approved Dungeons & Dragons settings ONLY.
If you have a campaign setting, or world, of your own that would fall under the OGL or CC license it should be published on our sister site, DriveThruRPG.
Original, unique settings that you have created cannot be listed on DMsGuild. However, you may create new Domains of Dread or Delight if they stay true to the tone of their settings, create adventures in Realmspace with Spelljammer, discover new places and how they are connected to Forgotten Realms lore, Planescape allows for reality hopping adventures to parts unknown to players or characters, and you can create how it’s all tied together on Dungeon Master Guild.
Use official characters/lore from Dungeons & Dragons published products in your DMsGuild content.
DMsGuild is designed to allow community creators to use approved Wizards of the Coast IP and sell it without having to obtain a special license!
This includes books and products published after 2014.
Wizards of the Coast’s original or owned Dungeons & Dragons intellectual property may be used in your DMsGuild product. This includes iconic heroes like Drizzt Do’Urden, Minsc & Boo, or Laeral Silverhand! You can use terrifying villains like Vecna, Strahd von Zarovich, or the Lord of Blades. As long as they appear in a Dungeons & Dragons book published after 2014.
If a character is NOT the property of Wizards of the Coast they cannot be used in your DMsGuild product. This is typically when Dungeons & Dragons has licensed or partnered with other companies, brands or properties to create a special product.
For example, you cannot use any element from the following products:
- Stranger Things: The Hunt for the Thessalhydra
- Dungeons & Dragons vs Rick and Morty
- Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep
- Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
- Acquisitions Incorporated
- The characters of Arkhan the Cruel, Krull the Tortle, Torogar Steelfist, and their distinct likenesses, which appear in Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
Official Wizards of the Coast Dungeons & Dragons content found in non-roleplaying game products CANNOT be used UNLESS they are also included in a D&D roleplaying game product. For example Minsc & Boo are originally from the Baldur’s Gate video game, however they are also included in several more recent roleplaying game books, therefore they can be used in DMsGuild products. This includes content from novels, movies, tv shows, video games, comics, apps, cards etc.
DMsGuild is NOT for Classic D&D Edition(1e, AD&D, OSR, 3.Xe, 4e) products.
Dungeon Masters Guild titles can only be created for the current Dungeons & Dragons rules established with Fifth Edition (5e).
However, Classic Edition rules may be converted/redesigned for use with current Dungeons & Dragons rules.
Copying/Using information found in Dungeons & Dragons books.
Information from Dungeons & Dragons books may be copied into your product as necessary.
Please refrain from including large amounts of text from a single source.
Information like stat blocks, spell or item effects, summary descriptions, or other information essential for an easy and streamlined experience may be included. Sometimes it’s just as easy to refer the Dungeon Master to the Monster Manual page number or other core rulebook instead.
Converting Classic D&D products to Fifth Edition rules.
With some restrictions, Classic Dungeons & Dragons rules and modules can be converted for use with the current D&D rules and published on DMsGuild.
Creatures, Magic Items, Character Classes, Spells, and other similar content may be converted to the current Dungeons & Dragons rules and listed on DMsGuild as long as large amounts of official content is not copied.
Classic D&D Adventures may be converted to the current Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, however there are two exceptions:
- No direct, full reprints of classic adventures converted to the current rule system.
Classic adventure conversion for Against the Giants or Queen of the Demonweb Pits, can be handled in the following ways:
- a distinctly new adventure that is perhaps a prequel or sequel to the classic adventure content;
- a streamlined, bare-bones conversion guide for someone who already owns the classic adventure (i.e., encounter-by-encounter conversion notes with any rules stats needed, leaving out all other content, augmented with ideas for setting the adventure in the Forgotten Realms); or
- a unique take in the spirit of the classic adventure. Yeah, Acererak’s tomb is horrific, but what about that other lich’s place?
Wizards of the Coast recognizes that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.
- With the above statement in mind, some Classic Edition content cannot be converted and listed on Dungeon Masters Guild. Administrators reserve the right to remove community content for any reason.
Remember when converting Classid D&D products that your title should never supersede the original.
Adventures from Dragon and Dungeon magazines are allowed to be converted as long as the original content is available on DMsGuild.
Non-traditional D&D/ttRPG products: comic books, novels, spell cards, item cards, computer games, apps, etc., on DMsGuild.
Comic books, novels, short stories, cards, computer games, apps, movies and other non-traditional product formats are not allowed to be listed on Dungeon Masters Guild.
DMsGuild products should be designed as supplemental to play, or aid playing Dungeons & Dragons in some way. Typically this is delivered in the form of a PDF or image file.
Audio products are allowed if they are supplemental to playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Note: In the case of Virtual Tabletops, products are allowed to use non-traditional file types if necessary as long as all other DMsGuild guidelines are followed.
We do hope to allow other content, document, and file types in the future, but for now we must abide by these restrictions.
Dungeon Masters Guild offers Print-on-Demand to Community Creators!
Turn your PDF into a Physical book! DMsGuild allows you to create a Print version of your product.
You can find our print-on-demand guidelines here: https://help.dmsguild.com/hc/en-us/articles/12776855666839-Print-on-Demand-Guidelines
Adventurers League & DMsGuild!
DMsGuild is the only place to create and sell your original Adventurers League adventures with the Dungeoncraft program!
More information can be found in our Adventurers League Help Center here:
https://help.dmsguild.com/hc/en-us/articles/12776908616471-D-D-Adventurers-League-on-DMsGuild
Dungeoncraft adventure titles using the Adventurers League guidelines found in the Organized Play section of the D&D website here: https://dnd.wizards.com/ddal_general may be published on DMsGuild. Dungeoncraft titles MUST use the Dungeoncraft Adventurers League filter found at the top of the Enter New Community Created Title page.
If these filters are not used correctly your title could be deactivated.
Current Dungeoncraft rules can be found here: https://yawningportal.dnd.wizards.com/
AL Dungeoncraft titles can also use the Adventurers League Community Logo found in our Logos and Artwork section.