Open Game License/1.1/Non-Commercial

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<Open Game License/1.1

Any non-commercial use of Licensed Content (defined below) is subject to this agreement; by using Licensed Content in this manner, You agree to the terms of this agreement. This agreement contains Your consent to jurisdiction in Washington State for any disputes between You and Us, and Your agreement that any such disputes will be resolved in individual litigation heard by a judge rather than a jury. If a dispute ever occurs, We hope You agree with Us that it’s best all-around if it is handled quickly, efficiently, and with the least expense possible.

  1. CONTENT COVERED (AND NOT). Dungeons & Dragons involves several different categories of content created by the creator (the You), and by Wizards of the Coast, and its parents, affiliates, suppliers and distributors (Us or We). Here are the different kinds of content and how they relate to this license.
    1. Content Covered
      1. Usable D&D Content (Licensed Content) – This is Dungeons & Dragons content that is included in the SRD v. 5.1, including basic game mechanics and a curated selection of classes, monsters, spells, and items that allow You to make content compatible with Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition.
      2. Not Usable D&D Content (Unlicensed Content) – This is Dungeons & Dragons content that has been or later will be produced as official – that is, released by Wizards of the Coast or any of its predecessors or successors – and is not present in the SRD v. 5.1. Unlicensed Content includes things like the most famous Dungeons & Dragons monsters, characters, magic spells, and things relating to the various settings used in Dungeons & Dragons official content over the years – what the old Open Game License referred to as Product Identity. Unlicensed Content is NOT covered by this agreement, and You agree not to use Unlicensed Content unless Your use is specifically authorized by a separate agreement with Us. If You want to include that content in Your work, You must go through the Dungeon Masters Guild or other official channels.
      3. Your Content- These are the characters, classes, settings, spells, items, new rules, and other creations that You have crafted. They are Your original contributions to the works that You want to sell. This license permits You to combine Your content with the Licensed Content and commercially distribute the resulting works.
    2. Works Covered
      This license only applies to materials You create for use in or as roleplaying games and as game supplements and only as printed media and static electronic files such as epubs or pdfs. It does not allow the distribution of any other form of media. And does not apply to creation of anything else.

      COMMENTS:

      To be clear, OGL: Non-Commercial only allows for creation of roleplaying games and supplements in printed media and static electronic file formats. It does not allow for anything else, including but not limited to things like videos, virtual tabletops or VTT campaigns, computer games, novels, apps, graphics novels, music, songs, dances, and pantomimes,. You may engage in these activities only to the extent allowed under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy or separately agreed between You and Us.

    3. Licensed Works. For a work to be a Licensed Work under this OGL: Non-commercial, it must meet all four of the following:
      1. it qualifies as a covered works as defined in Section I.B;
      2. it contains both Licensed Content and Your Content,
      3. it does not contain Unlicensed Content; and
      4. it contains the text of this OGL: Non-Commercial within the body of the work.
  2. LICENSE. If, and only if, You fully comply with the terms and conditions of this agreement, You may copy, use, modify and distribute Licensed Content around the world as part of Licensed Works on a non-commercial basis, meaning for free: not in exchange for money or any other thing of value.
    1. We may offer others the ability to use Licensed Content or Unlicensed Content under any conditions We choose.
    2. You may not transfer Your rights and duties under this agreement under any circumstance or for any reason. This license is not sub-licensable.

      COMMENTS:

      As We said in the intro, commercial distribution is any distribution You get paid for in any form: money, crypto, barter, Your brother doing Your chores for a week, whatever. It does not include donations people give You to support Your work as long as they can have access to Your work for free if they choose to, and You informed them of that in a clear and obvious way.

  3. OWNERSHIP. You agree that We own copyright, trademark, and patent rights, if any, in the Licensed Content and the Unlicensed Content. We reserve all rights not expressly given to You through this agreement. You agree to include any copyright or other rights notices included with the Licensed Content in Your Licensed Works, and You may not impose any additional, different, or inconsistent terms or conditions with respect to the Licensed Content in any license You grant to any Licensed Works.
  4. IDENTIFICATION OF LICENSED CONTENT. You must identify in Your Licensed Works which content is Licensed Content and which content is Your Content, in a way that allows a reader of Your Licensed Work to understand the distinction without checking any other document.

    COMMENTS:

    You can identify content in any manner You want to, whether that’s using a different font for Licensed Content than for Your Content, or putting an asterisk next to Licensed Content and telling readers what those distinctions mean; citing to the SRD whenever You use Licensed Content (Dragonborn (SRD p. 5)); or putting a separate index or list in the back of Your Licensed Work that lists out what, exactly, You used from the SRD; or something else We haven’t thought of but You did. How You do that is entirely up to You; if Your readers can tell what’s what, We’re satisfied. But it is not enough to simply include a statement that Your Licensed Work includes Licensed Content (what used to be called Open Game Content). If the only way a reader can distinguish what You created from what We did is to check Your Licensed Work against the SRD, You are not in compliance with this provision.

  5. SHARE-ALIKE. We are letting You use Licensed Content for free because You are using it on a non-commercial basis. If you want to better protect your ownership, You may register under the OGL: Commercial. You agree that others can do the same with Your work. This means:
    1. Each time You distribute or otherwise make Your work available, You offer the recipient a license to the work on the same terms and conditions granted You under this license.
    2. You may not impose upon others any terms that alter, restrict or otherwise change the terms of this license or the recipient’s exercise of the rights granted under this license.
    3. You must distribute a copy of the license alongside Your work. For clarity, the license should probably appear either at the front or the back of Your book – but it must be in the book.
    4. The version of the license You enclose with Your work must be this license. You must keep intact all notices that refer to it and You must keep its disclaimer of warranties.
  6. DONATIONS. Your distribution of Your work must be non-commercial. This means that You cannot require that anyone give You anything of value in exchange for Your work or copies of Your work. However, You are permitted to accept donations through Patreon, Ko-fi, or other similar platforms provided that the donations are not a condition of the receipt of Your work, and You make that clear and obvious to Your donors. In other words, if You make Your work available for free and ask others to contribute what they like to You so that You can continue to do so? You’re fine. But if any of Your work is available only to subscribers, patrons, or any other word for people who give You money for access to it, then Your non-free work is subject to the OGL: Commercial and all of that income is revenue under that license.
  7. WARRANTIES AND DISCLAIMERS. You represent and warrant that:
    1. You are over 18 years of age or, if younger, have had Your parent or guardian review these terms and agree to them on Your behalf.
    2. You have power, the authority, and the right to enter into this agreement and perform the obligations it asks of You.
    3. If We require additional paperwork or documentation from You in connection with a Licensed Work, You will provide it to Us as soon as possible.
    4. You will comply with any other requirements We have related to this agreement, such as registering or creating an account with Us.
    5. Your Licensed Works do not and will not infringe upon any third party’s intellectual property rights or any of Our rights not licensed to You via this agreement or any other.
    6. You will not state, suggest, or imply that Your Licensed Works are endorsed by, or associated with, Us, except that You must include the text of this OGL: NonCommercial within the body of the work to indicate that Your Licensed Works are compliant with this agreement.
    7. You will not violate the law in any way relating to this agreement or Your Licensed Works.
    8. You will not use any of the content or works covered by Section I for any harmful, discriminatory, illegal, obscene, or harassing purposes.
    9. You will not do anything that could harm Our reputation, that of Dungeons & Dragons, or the reputation of the Licensed Content or Unlicensed Content. For purposes of clarity, this provision does not apply to criticism of Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, or the Licensed Content or Unlicensed Content that does not independently violate these provisions.
    10. You will not attempt to circumvent or go around this agreement in any way.
  8. TERMINATION. This agreement may be modified or terminated.
    1. Modification: This agreement is, along with the OGL: Commercial, an update to the previously available OGL 1.0(a), which is no longer an authorized license agreement. We can modify or terminate this agreement for any reason whatsoever, provided We give thirty days’ notice. We will provide notice of any such changes by posting the revisions on Our website and by making public announcements of the changes through Our social media channels.
    2. Termination:
      1. We may terminate the agreement immediately if:
        1. You infringe upon or misuse any of Our intellectual property, violate any law in relation to Your activities under this agreement, or if We determine in Our sole discretion that You have violated Section VIII.G or VIII.H. To be clear, We have the sole right to decide what conduct violates Section VIII.G or Section VIII.H and You covenant and agree that You will not contest any such determination via any suit or other legal action. To the extent necessary and allowed by law, You waive any duty of good faith and fair dealing We would otherwise have in making any such determination.
        2. You breach any other term or condition in this agreement, and that breach is not cured within 30 days of Our providing You notice of the breach by communicating with You as provided in Section VIII.A.
        3. You bring an action challenging Our ownership of the Licensed Content, Unlicensed Content, or any patent or trademark owned by Wizards of the Coast.
    3. You may terminate this agreement at any time by (i) ceasing all distribution of all Your Licensed Works; and (ii) providing Us with written notice.

      COMMENTS:

      We know this may come off strong, but this is important: If You attempt to use the OGL as a basis to release blatantly racist, sexist, homophobic, trans-phobic, bigoted or otherwise discriminatory content, or do anything We think triggers these provisions, Your content is no longer licensed. To be clear, We want to, and will always, support creators who are using the OGL to help them explore sensitive subjects in a positive manner, but We will not tolerate materials We consider to be in any way counter to the spirit of D&D. Additionally, You waive any right to sue over Our decision on these issues. We’re aware that, if We somehow stretch Our decision of what is or is not objectionable under these clauses too far, We will receive community pushback and bad PR, and We’re more than open to being convinced that We made a wrong decision. But nobody gets to use the threat of a lawsuit as part of an attempt to convince Us.

    4. Upon Termination
      1. Upon termination of this agreement by Wizards of the Coast, You will cease all sales and distribution of Your Licensed Works.
      2. Your obligation to pay royalties survives the termination of the agreement. So do the following provisions: Sections III, VII, and IX-XI.
  9. INDEMNITY. If You get in legal trouble, or get Us in legal trouble, here’s what will happen:
    1. If We are on the receiving end of any legal claims, fees, expenses, or penalties related to Your Licensed Works, You’re responsible for paying all Our costs, including attorney’s fees, costs of court, and any judgments or settlements.
    2. If a claim is raised against You in connection with a Licensed Work, and You aren’t defending such a claim to Our satisfaction, We have the right, but not the obligation, to take over the defense of that claim against You. If We do so, You will reimburse Us for Our costs and expenses related to that defense.
    3. We may, at Our discretion, seek to intervene in a case brought against You in order to join in the defense of the claims, while leaving You and Your counsel in charge of Your own defense. If We do so, We will defend at Our own expense and cost. As for Our IP, that’s Ours to defend – You don’t have any obligation to defend Dungeons & Dragons IP Yourself, and in fact wouldn’t have standing (the legal right) to do so.
  10. OTHER PRODUCTS. Sometimes, great minds think alike. We can’t and won’t cancel products out of fear that they’d be seen as similar to Licensed Works. Therefore:
    1. You agree that nothing prohibits Us from developing, distributing, selling, or promoting something that is substantially similar to a Licensed Work.
    2. You own the new and original content You create. You agree to give Us a nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, sub-licensable, royalty-free license to use that content for any purpose.
    3. For clarity, nothing contained in this Section impacts Your agreement that Our Licensed Content, Unlicensed Content, and anything else You are not otherwise expressly authorized to use, under the terms of this agreement or any other agreement, remains Our sole property.
  11. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THE PERMITTED CONTENT AS IS AND MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND CONCERNING YOUR USE OF THE PERMITTED CONTENT EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE. YOU BEAR ALL RISK OF USING THE PERMITTED CONTENT AND SUCH USE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK.
  12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. We have no liability to You for any types of damages in connection with Your use of the Licensed Content including without limitation any indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages, so long as Our conduct at issue was not grossly negligent or intentional.

    COMMENTS:

    We’re giving You a license, not agreeing to take on potential liability when We do so. To be honest, We’re not really sure what We could do while making Dungeons & Dragons content available to You that could ever be grossly negligent, but Our lawyers say We need to include that last clause under Washington law, so in it goes.

  13. MISCELLANEOUS.
    1. Notices. Any notices You send to Us must be sent to Us via email to . We may send notices to You to any email or physical address We can locate for You, including the email address used for Your registration with D&D Beyond, if You registered an account on that platform.
    2. Entire Agreement and Disclaimer of Reliance. This agreement governs Your use of the Licensed Content and, unless otherwise stated in this agreement, any prior agreements between Us and You are no longer in force. This agreement consists only of the terms expressly included herein, and not any matter not expressly included herein. For purposes of clarity, the introduction preceding the agreement and the comments and explanations accessible through links within the body of this agreement are not a part of this agreement and have no legal force or effect. In accepting this agreement You represent and warrant to Us that You have relied only on the terms of the agreement and the advice of Your own counsel, if any; You have not relied on anything that is not expressly a part of this agreement.
    3. Updates and/or Amendments by Wizards of the Coast. It may be necessary for Us to update and/or amend this agreement in the future and We reserve the right to do so. If We do, We will provide notice of those updates. You have the right to either proceed under the terms of the updated/amended agreement or follow the provisions of Section VIII for Termination.
    4. No Waiver of Rights. If We fail to exercise any right We have under this agreement, that failure will not prevent Us from exercising that right in the future.
    5. Assignment. The rights granted to You under this agreement are granted solely to You and You may not transfer those rights to another person or entity, unless We give You written permission to do so. We, in Our sole discretion, will determine whether to allow You to transfer the rights granted to You.
    6. Severability. In the event that any part of this agreement is held to be unenforceable or invalid for any reason, the balance of this agreement will be enforced as if that part which is unenforceable or invalid did not exist.
    7. Governing Law/Jurisdiction/Class Action Waiver. This agreement and all matters relating to its interpretation and enforcement will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and any disputes arising out of or relating to this agreement will be resolved solely and exclusively through individual litigation, and each party hereto irrevocably waives the right to participate in any class, collective, or other joint action with respect to such a dispute. You consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal and state courts located in King County, Washington for the resolution of any dispute arising out of or relating to this agreement.
    8. Waiver of Jury Trial. We and You each waive any right to a jury trial of any dispute, claim or cause of action related to or arising out of this agreement.
    9. Review by Counsel. You agree that You have reviewed this agreement carefully and have had ample opportunity to obtain advice as to the meaning of the terms and agreements contained herein from such advisors, including attorneys, as You deemed appropriate or necessary.
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