How is Dungeon Masters Guild different from the Open Game License (OGL)? 

The Open Game License and the Dungeon Masters Guild are two distinct and separate things.

Under the DMsGuild program, you can publish D&D material that has no setting or uses the Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, Ravnica, Theros, Arcavios(Strixhaven), Radiant Citadel, Spelljammer, or Dragonlance settings.

Under the Open Game License or Creative Commons, you can typically publish material that has no setting or uses your own original setting.

When you publish material that has no setting, then publishing under the DMsGuild program allows you to use the entire D&D 5th edition rules, not just the subset found in the SRD. It also allows you to sell the material here on the DMsGuild.com marketplace.

This table breaks down the distinctions further:

I want to…	OGL	DMsGuild
design content using 5th Edition rules for D&D	Yes	Yes
publish my original campaign world using 5th Edition rules	Yes	No
print and sell my 5th Edition D&D product on my own (Now there is a path for DMsGuild Print Titles! Click here for info!)	Yes	No
publish content for current, non-third party IP 5e settings, like the Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, Spelljammer and more!	No	Yes
sell my product on an online storefront with built-in customer base, creator tools, and support	No	Yes
use (most) of the famous Dungeons & Dragons characters like Drizzt or Minsc & Boo	No	Yes
have my content included in some of the biggest ttRPG sales in the industry automatically	No	Yes
sell fully supported VTT versions of my titles easily	No	Yes
have my content considered for inclusion in Wizards marketing	No	Yes

Does Wizards own any unique IP that I create in my DMsGuild publications?

Wizards does not own any of the unique IP that you create in your publications. Wizards does own the IP that they contribute, plus the DMsGuild agreement will grant Wizards and other DMsGuild authors a license to use your IP.

What do I include in the legal text within my DMs Guild title?

We recommend a legal section in this general format:

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.

This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

All other original material in this work is copyright 2023 by [your legal name or company name] and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

Can I use creatures like the beholder and mind flayer, which the OGL lists as “product identity,” in my DMsGuild title?

Yes. Product identity exclusions apply only to publishing under the OGL. Product identity has no meaning under the DMsGuild program. Throw in a beholder, make it two!

If I use content from other DMsGuild authors, do I need to credit them?

As more authors contribute to the DMsGuild’s pool of community content, we do not expect to maintain perfect attribution every time an author re-uses elements originally contributed by another author. Such attributions are not strictly required. However, we highly recommend these best practices for all DMsGuild contributors:

• When re-using a larger element that you have taken from another DMsGuild author’s work, include a reference to the original work by linking to the product page on DMsGuild.com within your PDF. For example, if you are using a Rainbow Unicorn creature that you found in another author’s work, you might reference that inside your own work where you provide stats for the Rainbow Unicorn the first time, using an internal citation such as, "(Rainbow Unicorn from Cloud Forest by Jane Doe)."
• On your title’s credit page, make a list of such references.

This DOES NOT apply to artwork/maps on DMsGuild.

More info can be found in our FAQs on Logo and Artwork