How To Publish Your D&D Content! | DMs Guild

[@BobWorldBuilder]

What's your favorite homebrew or 3rd party D&D creation?

[@WraithMagus]

The "Improved Crafting Herbalism" is the one I'm using most heavily for now, and that's also pay-what-you-want, however, there's about a dozen or so small side supplements like that which I enjoy. I tend to make major content like dungeons myself, but really appreciate others doing the legwork of coming up with plug-and-play systems like how to introduce crafting into 5e (with WotC's currently instituting its War on Treasure meaning there's no support in the base game....) Other things I really enjoy are the "Bits of the Wilderness" books, which allow for randomly rolled bits of setting. Using this and that herbalism supplement together, when the players were trudging through a swamp, I rolled and hit a number where I'll read out a bit of random setting from the Bits of the Wilderness - Into the Swamp section where they found a bunch of downed tree trunks covered in mushrooms, and the ranger immediately tried checking to see if they were usable in herbalism. Being rather blindsided, I started doing a bunch of rolls (which made the paladin really nervous about how I was rolling a bunch of d20s and d100s all of a sudden), and they were actually poisonous mushrooms (except for a few mundane edible ones), but ones which the dwarven rogue (with poisonmaking skill) could use towards his own ends. Nothing like stumbling into completely unplanned content! A couple other things I can't help but mention is the "Sane Magic Prices" book, which tries to fix the problem of one-use potions of flying costing 100 times as much as unlimited-use brooms of flying, as well as Lands, Lords, and Ladies, which is a good way to get an idea of the economics of peasant life. (Both pay what you want, so check it out for free, and then come back and pay if you felt it helped you.) Lands, Lords, and Ladies is more technically-driven than most of the official supplements I've seen in past editions (like Strongholds Handbook), but if you have players that enjoy that stuff, go for it. It's more useful as a tool for understanding the scale of the economy outside of dungeon raiding, which 5e is terrible at exploring.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Those all sound insanely useful! Thanks for sharing! Particularly the herbalism one catches my interest because I’ve been very slowly conceiving of an herbalism-based class. Keep going back on my ideas though, thinking it may work better as a subclass or even just a feat and supplemental rules. So I’ll have to check that one out.

[@WraithMagus]

@@BobWorldBuilder I use it as a minor skill (or "Tool Proficiency" as 5e tries to sweep it into the rubbish bin). The ranger has herbalism, the rogue has poisonmaking, the wizard has alchemy, and even the DMPC cleric has cooking. (The paladin... has flute and calligraphy, which is harder to make use of...) The advantage of this, of course, is that crafting can then be a party-wide skillset. When the ranger finds poison mushrooms using his herbalism, he can give them to the rogue to make poisons from them. The whole party can therefore be invested in crafting, rather than it being this one thing that one party member has to do on the side to take advantage of some class features that might slow the rest of the group down wheras everyone else is ready to go. If every party member has something to do with crafting while in downtime (especially if there's a reason to rely upon more than one skill, such as the ranger finding materials for the rogue's poisonmaking), then it becomes a team effort. That can furthermore encourage the players to coordinate on how best to use their resources. One player alone will keep trying to use the same tricks over and over, but the whole party working together will come up with more clever ideas to pull one over on your plans as a DM.

[@circlexc908]

Awakened undead homebrew player race

[@isaackarr6576]

@@WraithMagus Magic items like potion's of tanning or a stone of tanning that allow's you to use a fire cantrip to tan.

[@benthomason3307]

taking 50% of my earnings actually makes sense when you think about it. It's _their_ trademarks and intellectual property I'm piggybacking on, after all.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah, it's a little steep for individual creators, but they really provide you with EVERYTHING you need

[@rconnor2006]

This is quick, simple, and covers basically everything you need to know. Thanks for the video!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks! That was exactly my goal :)

[@ChrisMoneymakerDHRG]

I have a Ravenloft Adventure/ Campaign in the first round of play testing right now. I am defiantly book marking this video for when I upload it to the DM's Guild. Thanks for the great advice. The step by step will be really helpful when the time comes to go live with it on the DM's Guild.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Happy to hear you found this useful! Good luck with your module :)

[@farman2table]

I saw the thumbnail for this and literally exclaimed out loud "ooh!"

[@BobWorldBuilder]

You know, that's great to hear! I redesigned the thumbnail at the last minute, because the original wasn't very eye-catching lol

[@farman2table]

@@BobWorldBuilder it gets the point across, simple and clean

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah, I try to keep simplicity in mind when making them

[@marshbrown1965]

As long as WotC continues claiming Public Domain as their copyright I cant use DMSguild or resources supporting them. WotC has a long history of immature and impulsive actions, including theft of actual copyrighted material and bullying of fan content creators with false copyright assertions against the fan content, citing as private interest items which are clearly labeled in copyright law as not copyrightable by default. The entire mechanical system for the game is Public Domain as multiple court precedents going back from 1876 to present and the copyright code law which can be read at www.copyright.gov/title17/title17.pdf clearly lay out. "Fed. Code Annotated Title 17-Chapter1-Section 102 (b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work."

[@katybechnikova2821]

My question is: If I don't want to make money from my thing, do I have to follow these rules? Hypotetically.

[@benthomason3307]

How will the OGL 1.1 debacle affect the DM''s guild?

[@animateom]

This was super useful. Thanks. Could you tell me what kinds of things you can create for the DM’s Guild besides written adventures? Can you create monster collections? Items? Maps? Could you maybe (and I know this is a ton of work) create a step by step series of tutorials for creating said adventures. Thanks!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yes, you can create and publish collections of monsters and items! I haven’t seen a collection of maps, but I’m sure it could be done. I actually have a video in my “Blood In The Woods” playlist about how I wrote and published that little one shot

[@animateom]

@@BobWorldBuilder Awesome, thanks! I'll check it out.

[@jamesking4736]

I have a question, where can you find templates for text, I been working on a few things I would like it to appear more professional but I can't find blank PDFs for classes/subclasses for 5e as if they appeared in a book and I don't want to upload a basic png

[@BobWorldBuilder]

There are some links in the description to free resources - the Adventure Template (for some layout/font help) and the GM Binder (for full 5e look). I've never used the second one, which seems a little complicated, but it's used by many DMs Guild creators, and I think there are online guides for how to use it.

[@SableBear296]

I’m working on a DMsguild adventure right now, thanks for the video! Wish me luck guys

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Awesome! Hope this helps :)

[@SableBear296]

Bob World Builder it definitely did! The current title is “The Treacherous Tomb of Professor Arthur Blasingim” if you want to look out for it.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Cool! Thank you for the heads up

[@HeatherVerhagen]

Cool, I'm looking into doing some for Ravenloft in the nearish future. (I say nearish future because I'm currently in school as a Communications major.) There are really cool domains of dread in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, but I want to make adventuring in them more accessible for DM. I'm a writer, not an artist, so I'm thinking about using art packs. I shouldn't need a ton of art, mostly maps and creatures.

[@BiggstheCat]

Thanks for the guide. In the process of making my 1st adventure currently. I ran Blood in the Woods as a Fantasy Grounds Unity module and really enjoyed it so Kudos!

[@jerichojeudy]

I wrote an adventure and I’m hesitating between selling it third party on Drivethru, vs selling it on DMs Guild. I get the feeling that the market is much larger on the DMs Guild, and that it would be a better place to sell even though they take 50% and retain the right to use my work for their commercial endeavours… :/ Am I reading this right?

[@jonpartner1885]

Can the DM's guild be used to sell just maps? Rather then whole content. I have created new setting maps and looking to put them up somewhere

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That’s awesome! If the maps are “setting neutral” like dungeons or terrain encounter maps, or even town/cities that could be plugged into an official setting, yes. If they are large scale maps of countries and continents with labels indicating your own setting, you should probably use DriveThruRPG instead. I’m actually in the market for some forest maps right now so let me know if that’s something you plan to sell :D

[@jonpartner1885]

@@BobWorldBuilder I'll definitely check it out thanks. And the maps I make are more like regional maps what kind of map are you after is it a battle map or more regional in style?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

@@jonpartner1885 battle map -- see my email reply! :)

[@generrosity]

Neat! I am going to be helping a friend of mine to write up his scenarios and world over the course of various modules. We've been asking friends their favourite module write-ups that have been a joy to run to pick up layout/style (character notes at the right places, page references, not confusing index), but struggling to find good feedback. Any suggestions on good layout to check out?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Some of the best laid-out products that I’ve reviewed are Treasures of Saltmarsh, Complete Devout Handbook, Festival of Magic, Step Right Up, and Warriors of Sehanine (video coming this Wednesday). I believe all of those authors hired layout artists, but you can check out my supplements linked the description too - I did those myself in MS Word based on the ‘Adventure Template’ mentioned in this video. Good luck and feel free to reach out with any other questions. Self-publishing material is very rewarding :)

[@Zeemis]

I'm watching this now for the first time and my dreams of creating a module was quickly squashed by that ridiculous 50% royalty

[@kenneththibodeaux9490]

Ok so how do i fix the cover sheet? I can upload a photo for the cover but can’t put the thumbnail of the dmguild logo nor can I put a description. Please help😅

[@jackservans6906]

It's worth noting that Theros is also an allowed campaign setting now.

[@trashbandityt]

Having trouble understanding the copyright portion. Even if my creation is original content and not using anything that is already publish, do I have to put the DMs Guild logo? I wanna make a homebrew mini source book with my own Subclasses, Items, Monsters and more. Is there any way to check if my upload is within the agreement and legal grounds BEFORE I submit it?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Everything posted to DMs Guild needs to have that logo and the legal text, but if you're not using content from WotC books (besides what's covered in the 5e SRD) then you can post to Drive Thru RPG. The legal text becomes something you have to make up on your own based on the OGL, but there are videos by other creators on how to use the OGL, and the benefit is that you keep ~70% of your earnings instead of 50% on DMs Guild!

[@ginamoneypenny5875]

So I can't use or write 2e content cuz everything after that blows ******?!?!

[@superk-boy5299]

You said that if you want to post your own setting, that is for Drivethrurpg, could you be more specific? I wanted to share an area in my homebrew setting and am unsure which of these two sites to use as an outlet.

[@jahnrevelkin6862]

What if i want to make 4e monsters into 5e to have more voriety of existing monsters And do u need to know codeing to make content on the sight

[@darthhuntanoth3134]

I can't even open dms guild. As soon as i click the site it says "no scanning allowed"

[@Dr.G555]

Thank you. Very informative

[@Hydraulicat63]

Man, this almost didn't age well 😭 I'm so glad.

[@zenmaps4793]

Excellent tutorial, thank you. New Sub from me!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Awesome! Thank you so much for subscribing! :)

[@SpieleSuchti894]

do people actually spend money on dms guild?

[@HeatherVerhagen]

I have a question regarding payment. Does anyone know if you can have multiple people paid for the same book, etc? Asking because I may want an artist friend to help me regarding formatting, etc, and I'd like for her to get part of the cut.

[@ThePowerWithinOnline]

I imagine after you receive payment, you would divvy it out to all of your partners as you see fit.

[@telgore2561]

Thanks for making this and bringing an unexpected dose of positivity to my day

[@BobWorldBuilder]

My pleasure! Thank you for your support :)

[@bsabruzzo]

I know you aren't a lawyer and can't give legal advice. but... I have an idea for a 5e compatible setting and lore with new races and such. It fits within the OGL and SRD... mostly. Some of the races and classes require pointing to WotC books and already created information outside the SRD. There is a clear defined line where it is possible to split the new races and lore to it's own book and a second book that fits well within the DMsGuild's rules. My question is, if I were to split it this way, putting the DMsGuild qualifying items there nd not mention the lore (one rule is that the content can't be printed or sold outside the site) and put the OGL/SRD qualifying new lore and races in a separate publication, but mentioning the DMsGuild material is available, in your non-lawyerly opinion, what are the possible hurdles?

[@jjzombieman]

I am fairly new to dnd, and I write my campaigns on google slides, will I be able to sell them on DMs Guild and a google slide?

[@emilyaw3831]

Is your campaign set in a homebrew world or a published world? If a homebrew world, you will need to rewrite it to be setting-neutral. If not, then you'll need to check to see if this world is allowed on DM's guild. (Example: the Forgotten Realms and Eberron are allowed, but Exandria and Middle Earth aren't.) As for Google Slides, you can export them to a PDF, but I recommend rewriting them as a word document instead since people expect to see a vertical instead of horizontal layout. Legally, you aren't supposed to host them anyone else, but realistically if you share it PRIVATELY you should be alright.

[@clarencepsaila4743]

Thank you! I am writing a huge campaign for my friends which I really believe will be amazing. We will first play it with two groups to test it, and if it lives up to my expectations I will post it!

[@Coophack6584]

Finally good Dmguild creation tips

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thank you! I couldn’t find any videos like this when I was starting out, so I made this as a resource for fellow new writers. Glad you found it helpful :)

[@Coophack6584]

I have one mod drafted but I still have no idea if its legal for dmsguild. A lot of people I have talked to; refused to help me. For example: I hate GM binder I use Homebrewery

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Coophack6584 Most likely it’s fine. If you send it to [e-mail], I can give it a read and let you know if notice any red flags

[@shadoww4818]

Question: If I have a supplement that fits the criteria for DM's guild, but doesn't use it's exclusive resources, Can i submit it to both DM's guild And RPGDrivethru?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Excellent question. I’m pretty sure cannot do that. Both sites are actually run through the same main site: onebookshelf. And I’m pretty sure the same product cannot exist in both places

[@shadoww4818]

@@BobWorldBuilder Okay, so I submitted it to DM'sguild but for some reason the images I added using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC were removed upon upload. Is there a way to make them stay without purchasing the Adobe suite?

[@shadoww4818]

the item is here btw www.dmsguild.com/product/310524/Yokai-Races?view_as_pub=1

[@BobWorldBuilder]

@@shadoww4818 I'm not familiar with Adobe, so unfortunately I don't have a good answer. Here is where you can email their support team: support.dmsguild.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

[@sammcgurran8142]

So would you be allowed to reference/mention Red Hand of Doom? Its obviously not 5e content, but there are a bunch of conversion guides on the DMsGuild that must reference the 3e adventure.

[@zeldaandTwink]

is the realms of dread considered Ravenloft, orignial/ non-sepcific, or flat out banned currently?

[@CrashGem]

Extremely helpful. Thank you!

[@WhatsUpGazpacho]

Souper helpful, cheers

[@BobWorldBuilder]

You’re welcome! 👍🏻

[@lolstation6286]

my problem is the 5th edition which is horrible to write a campaign

[@BobWorldBuilder]

I’m the future, I suspect they’ll open it up to past editions. What’s your preferred edition?

[@lolstation6286]

@@BobWorldBuilder new edition doesnt mean its better......5th edition lore is horrible as fuck and the mechanics are so simple and bad....perception yea ofc i can hear and see exaclty the same. to sum up 5th edition its not dnd and has nothing to do with dnd .. i would call it mickey mouse and dragons but i believe u cant even understand this joke

[@holdenm6452]

@@lolstation6286 Hey it's totally fine to dislike 5e, but try not to be so discouraging. I know your not trying to offend anyone and just 5e, but you're coming out a little harsh. Sorry for being a dick, but mind being less harsh?