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User Created Content

OK watched the stream of the discussion you guys had this afternoon on LUGcon, and I started to think about making an adventure to publish through this site.  What exactly is out there that is open game license, and played on here relatively frequently?  I assume the only answer that fits both of those is Pathfinder.  I have never published anything before and not sure where to start but I have a collection of self made adventures for various campaigns and systems for personal use. First, is there a list of games besides d20 that you can make adventures for and sell for profit without going through a bunch of red tape? Second, art what are some good resources for public domain art to use for tokens? Third tiles and maps, I know I can make my own with websites like pyromancers, but what else is good and won't get me into legal trouble? For personal games I just use tiles I found on the internet and didn't think at the time about copyright since I was never going to use them to make a product for sale, or just use google image search and use those maps. Basically I would like to try making an adventure to share with everyone and see how it goes I just don't want to get into legal trouble doing so.    
1371442440
Pat S.
Forum Champion
Sheet Author
BFRPG is open sourced. Basic Fantasy Role-Playing System
Tokens are rough, but if you have PF or gimp you could always take a picture of grass or terrain and filter it to look more animated. If you can draw and want to make characters, use a wacom tab?
The easiest thing to do would be to stick to a system that is OGL. Even then I would read the agreement to be sure, but for the most part those systems are designed with the idea people will write third-party adventures for them. Examples of that include D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder. If you want to get into other systems (D&D 4E, GURPS, etc.) then there are specific licensing agreements you'll need to consider. Obviously there are other 3rd party folks writing modules for those and there have been for some time (not on our site, but in general), so it's doable. You just may have to do more legwork to make it "official."  For art, we would require that all art (maps, tiles, tokens, etc.) included in the module is either a) originally created by you, or b) you have obtained an agreement with the creator to use it in your module (whether that's via a profit-sharing agreement, for payment, or for free because it's released under an open license; that's something you have to handle on your end). Of course, I am not a lawyer, so please do your own research, as I could be wrong on any one of these points :-).
1371798006
Saul Wynne
Pro
Marketplace Creator
For a long time,I too wanted to create a module for Roll20, I am a creator on the marketplace, you can see my artwork and sets in the marketplace ->  Saul Wynne I have emailed back and forth with Nolan in the past and he thought it would be great idea if i did a module and I would be happy to chat sometime about it , feel free to PM me. 
Would love to see modules by you, Saul-- your assets would be great for it.
1371851997
Saul Wynne
Pro
Marketplace Creator
Thanks Nolan for the vote of confidence , appreciate it :-) Just need a wordsmith / Game System Guru / Guru'ess (GM).  Any future Team mates, PM away, ( This will be a profit share Team : agreed by all, before any work commences ) If you ever dreamed of having your story's told .. Your characters brought to life ....now's your chance to set the scene, let the Roll20 Massive enjoy the worlds you create....... here's you chance....  don't let it slip you by!  This could be the start of a great Adventure or two ... watch this space ...
I am reeeeeally confused about all of this copyright stuff. I now understand that the "From the Web" section of the art token/map/etc. search is not necessarily fair game for free use - some of it might be copyrighted and thus off-limits for personal use. Am I correct in assuming that the "From the Marketplace" section is open to anyone to use for free? Unless, of course, the picture is at the top with a yellow background behind it and has a "Buy in Marketplace" link beneath. Is that more or less correct? Am I getting warmer? I just want to know what I can use without stepping on anyone's toes :p
For your personal use in games you run on roll20 everything is fair game from what I understand.  Now the problem comes if you create content that you are wanting to sell through the marketplace for other people to buy, then you need to have artist permission, create it yourself, or use art that is public domain.   I weird grey area might also exist if you stream your normally private games using art just found on the web and have a donate button, a few streamers on twitch do have this and I have no clue as to the legality.  I suggest if you are going to create an adventure for the market place you talk to artists on here that already sell stuff, like Saul above, he seems open to the idea of helping those of us who can write adventure modules but do not have any artistic talent when it comes to maps and tokens. Disclaimer: not a lawyer just a guy trying to figure this all out myself and this is what I have learned so far.
As an idea, give your module rough sketches and ideas, but I have found most of the time the campaigns come pretty bare-boned.  I am working on an original campaign myself, and am creating art for it as well. Beyond the dungeon maps ( which are easily thrown together in gimp ) and some scene images most of this campaign is flexible to fit into any DM world. This game is an outlet for the mentally creative, and fantasy seeking individual. I believe we are deeper into the game when we take a hand in creating our own tokens to play with, and enjoying a story as it unfolds before us as we surround ourselves with great company. Some visual cues may be necessary, but most can be better imagined. 
Katie G. said: I am reeeeeally confused about all of this copyright stuff. I now understand that the "From the Web" section of the art token/map/etc. search is not necessarily fair game for free use - some of it might be copyrighted and thus off-limits for personal use. Am I correct in assuming that the "From the Marketplace" section is open to anyone to use for free? Unless, of course, the picture is at the top with a yellow background behind it and has a "Buy in Marketplace" link beneath. Is that more or less correct? Am I getting warmer? I just want to know what I can use without stepping on anyone's toes :p Everything on Roll20 (including the stuff on the Marketplace) is licensed only for personal use. If you want to create a commercial product, you are going to have to get in touch with the original author and get a license agreement for them. There is nothing built in to Roll20 that you can just take and start using in a commercial product without checking with the author first. As I said, there may be some authors out there who will be more than happy to let you use their art assets in commercial works (e.g. some of the folks on the Web Search may be fine with that). Others may want a revenue split, others may want up-front payment. But regardless, I would check with each author in advance, because honestly if you send us a module and the art isn't original, the first thing we're going to ask to see is a license agreement signed by the art's creator saying they are okay with you using it in your module before we could list it for sale.
Oh, I don't want to sell any modules or anything :) Sorry for the confusion! I just don't have any computer know-how and so it would be kind of difficult for me to make my own tokens/maps/etc., but I also don't have a whole lot of money so buying everything would be equally difficult. I'm looking to use tokens/maps/etc. in my campaign - just for me and my players to see/use (on roll20 only), as story aides. It seems like everything is copyrighted these days though, and from what I've been able to research so far it sounds like one can get into trouble with copyright holders even when one is not trying to make any money off of infringing. That's why I'm trying to figure out what exactly I'm allowed to use in my game and what is "iffy". Sorry if I was vague before, and thanks for all of your quick replies :)
Well, then you definitly can use everything from the Marketplace, and yes.. Some may be copyrighted from the internet search, but I can't really see that being a problem in a personal game for your own use only. I'm no lawyer, but as it's on the internet, and thereby easily copiable with no way to ever discover it, I can't see it illegal to use in a roll20 campaign, the same way I can't see it illegal to print out and hang on your wall or on your table.  That being said, everything directly linked to any RPG, be it modules, stories, rulesets, maps, tokens, and whatever, is intended for personal use. Be it your table at home, or your table online. So I really don't think you can even go wrong there. 
Thanks! I'm probably just being paranoid ^_^;
You won't be caught anyhow. I think this is more of a theoretical discussion :-) and it would be good to know if you're sure everything is a-ok.