2d20 LICENSED WORLD BUILDERS GUIDELINES

Welcome to the 2d20 Licensed World Builders! We can't wait to visit the worlds you’re
dreaming up and share them with the community. These guidelines will give you all you need
to prepare for making, producing, and publishing content for the 2d20 Licensed World
Builders. Please note this is the version of the World Builders Programme that utilises
Modiphius’ licensed or in-house properties. If you would like to create your own IP please
use the 2d20 World Builders programme.

What is it?

The 2d20 Licensed World Builders is a way to publish and distribute gaming content you
have written using the 2d20 system for Modiphius Entertainment’s licensed properties.

Currently this programme covers:

● Achtung! Cthulhu

Further properties will be added over time.

Content could include scenarios, regions, campaigns, monsters, NPCs, and more. You
create content, format it to our design template, and then upload the PDF to the site. Your
work will become part of the 2d20 Licensed World Builders content on DriveThruRPG – and
can be accessed by the community and, also can provide a financial return to you.

Modiphius has provided easy to use style templates (in both MS Word and Adobe InDesign)
to help you create your own content.

Can I sell the content I create?

Yes, you can make money from your published community content – or make it freely
available (it is entirely up to you). Any retail sales are split between you, DriveThruRPG, and
Modiphius. As creator, you get 50% of the sale. For example, if your product retails on the
site for USD $10.00, this is how the split of revenue is made:

● $5.00 to the creator

● $3.00 to DTRPG
● $2.00 to Modiphius
You set the price. The financial process is fully automated, requiring no additional
administration from the creator. You can read DriveThru’s notes about this here:
https://support.drivethrurpg.com/hc/en-us/categories/201257283-Community-Content-Progra
ms).

Note: The 2d20 Licensed World Builders follows the same revenue model and rules as the
existing community content program for D&D on DMs Guild.

What kind of products are welcome in the 2d20 World Builders?

We welcome all kinds of content for use with Modiphius licensed IPs from complete
scenarios, regions, spells, NPC’s, monsters and their lairs, ancient artefacts, futuristic
weapons, spaceships and more! Please ensure what you create is in keeping with the
property you intend to publish for. Products may be in English or any other language.

What rules can I use in my product for the 2d20 World Builders?

Your work should draw on the 2d20 rules for that specific property. For example if you are
writing an adventure for Achtung! Cthulhu you should utilise Achtung! Cthulhu NPC stats. If
you want to create new systems that don’t currently exist in a property, you can draw on
rules from the 2d20 SRD or from any 2d20 game books published by Modiphius. You may
use setting content only from the specific properties listed in the What Is It section. If you are
unsure, please query us at support@modiphius.com.

What can’t I use in my 2d20 World Builders product?

● You may not use any material that infringes on copyright held by someone else.
● Conversions of content from other roleplaying games or other copyrighted media,
comics, or fiction (short stories created as part of your roleplaying game materials are
fine).
● Software or apps.
● Products that infringe on the intellectual property of others.
● Crowd-funded content.
● Copyrighted material included in Modiphius Entertainment products under license.
Please check the copyright statements in your Modiphius products to determine
ownership and copyright or message support@modiphius.com.

In addition, you must ensure that:

● Your work does not contain material that a reasonable person would consider
libelous, defamatory, racist, hate speech, homophobic, transphobic, or discriminatory;
that violates the copyrights or trademarks of another party; or that violates the law.
● Your work does not contain material that a reasonable person would classify as
extreme adult content, such as pornography or extreme violence.
● If you believe something within your content may require a trigger warning, we
recommend detailing this in the product description.

Who owns material in your 2d20 World Builders product?

As you are writing material for a licensed IP, any material you create becomes the property
of Modiphius Entertainment or the licensed property owner. If you would like to own and
produce your own IP content under this programme please instead see the main 2d20 World
Builders programme.

Modiphius owns any 2d20 rules content you create, and other 2d20 World Builders may also
use the rules content.

How do credits and copyright work?

Our template features the trademark and licensing language you must include on the Credits
Page of your work. This acknowledges that 2d20 is a trademark of Modiphius Entertainment
and is used with permission.

You must include the 2d20 World Builders logo on the cover of your product. The logo
comes in two options, one of which is usable on a dark background, and the second on a
light background. You can use whichever looks best. You can find the logos in the Logos and
Templates Zip file provided.

You should include credits for those who wrote, provided art, layout work, graphic design,
editing and proofreading. If you use our Art Pack, please credit the art to Dim Martin.

Please make sure the following copyright notice is included in your product:

The 2d20 World Builders logo is a trademark of Modiphius Entertainment and is used with
permission via the OBS Community Content programme. All 2d20 rules in this product are
copyright 2022 Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.

Each product should include this first legal line, plus the one relevant to the property you are
creating for.

All Properties

The 2d20 system and Modiphius Logos are copyright Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. 2022. All
2d20 system text is copyright Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. Any unauthorised use of
copyrighted material is illegal. Any trademarked names are used in a fictional manner; no
infringement is intended. This is a work of fiction. Any similarity with actual people and
events, past or present, is purely coincidental and unintentional except for those people and
events described in an historical context.

All Rights Reserved, except the Modiphius Logo which is Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.

Achtung! Cthulhu

Achtung! Cthulhu is a Registered Trademark of Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. The Achtung!

Cthulhu, Nachtwölfe, Black Sun, Section M, and Majestic logos are © 2012-2023 Modiphius
Entertainment Ltd.
If you intend to use art that is not part of our Art Packs, ensure that you have clear
permission to do so and credit the artist or source.

What art can I use to make my product look better?

We have an Art Pack available that you can use to decorate the pages of your content.

While you can hire artists or purchase a license for art assets, you can also find art and
photographs that are free to use online, many of them in the public domain. Below are a few
directories and image search tools to get you started. Be mindful about checking the rights of
use, as not all the photos in these directories and search widgets will be for commercial use.

If you do pay an artist to paint content for use with a Modiphius licensed property, then the
rights in the image must be assigned to Modiphius.

US Library of Congress Prints and Photograph Online Catalog

The US Library of Congress's Prints and Photograph Online Catalog is vast! It contains
various collections of images which could be of interest to 2d20 World Builders.

Images from before 1923 are considered in the public domain, as are certain images after
that date. Check the Library of Congress's advice about using images from its Prints and
Photographs collection. You should review the status of any image you intend to use with
these guidelines, and reference the source in your credits page.

The New York Public Library Digital Collections

The New York Public Library Digital Collections has over three quarters of a million items
featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts and more. It is possible to search only the
public domain materials in the collection, making it a useful and easy resource for creators.
The site also has an in-built feature enabling you to properly attribute anything you use.

The British Library on Flickr Commons

The British Library has released over 1 million images onto Flickr Commons for anyone to
use, remix and repurpose. The images cover a diverse range of topics. The great thing
about this resource is you know every item in it has no restrictions on its use!

Additional resources

● New Old Stock – Vintage photos from public archives, many between 1900-1950.
● creative commons search – Guides you through photographs by keyword, beta tool
allows for one-click attribution information.
● unsplash Photos available free, for commercial use.

You can also use Google's Advanced option on an image search to find photos by keywords
and use rights.

Do not use art created by someone else without permission.

Art created by AI programmes (such as Midjourney and DALL-E) may allow free or
commercial use, but check their terms and conditions first.
Note: Per DriveThruRPG’s rules, you should include a disclaimer indicating that
AI-generated art is used in any product that contains it.

I already have a Modiphius 2d20 license, so how does this affect that?

The 2d20 World Builders is a separate element from our licensing structure and is not
designed for those with existing Modiphius 2d20 commercial licenses. If you have a
commercial license already you do not need to use this programme.

How do I prepare the PDF of my title for sale?

There are a few steps to walk you through if you’re a creator using DriveThruRPG for the
first time. There’s also an additional step for you as a community content creator. After
creating your content, go to your account page and look in the "My Content" section. You
can use the "Add a new title" link after you agree to the Community Content Agreement.

You can find a variety of tutorials, templates, and resources to help set up your digital files in
DriveThruRPG’s Knowledge Base:
https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/360005905633-Digital-
PDF-s

NOTE

Do not security-lock your Digital PDF. For our watermarking security process to work, the
PDF files must be unlocked (so they can still be edited). We add the watermark at checkout
and then lock the file ourselves.

Once content is published, it can be found in the 2d20 World Builders.

After your product goes on sale, your account will begin to accrue a 50% royalty every time
your title sells. You can withdraw your accumulated royalties via PayPal by going to the My
Money section of the Account page. Note that the My Money section of your Account page
will not display until you have a balance accrued.

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR CREATING 2d20 WORLD BUILDERS CONTENT

General Helpful Tips

● If you are writing a clever twist in your scenario, make sure to tell the Gamesmaster
upfront, don’t withhold it!
● If specific clues are required to discover who the enemy is, try to make sure they’re
available in more than one place. This doesn’t mean they have to be identical but
could be the same information presented in different ways. For example, the location
of the enemy gang is listed in a corporate intelligence briefing, is known by a private
detective, could be gained from bribing a rival gang - and so on!
 ● Keep your language clear and direct. Your text is a tool for a Gamesmaster to use; try
not to use overly technical or poetic prose to explain something that could be said in
fewer words. Many people do not have English as their first language, so simpler,
jargon-free text makes your content much more accessible for everyone.

Avoid Clichés

There are a number of tropes that have been overused in roleplaying writing. There’s never
really a unique new story, but you can have clever twists — just be creative and try to
imagine a different twist on classic ideas. Here are obvious ones:

● A desperate race to stop a gang, corporation, cult, or secret agent triggering a bomb,
summoning a god, or ending the world.
● Using a powerful being, war machine, or entity simply as a physical threat to fight.
● If the main enemy in your story can be defeated simply through violence, there
should be consequences to doing so — what about the human cost, the damage to
facilities or resources?

Technical Tips

Proofread your content before putting it up on DriveThruRPG. If at all possible, ask a friend
(or several friends) to help you pin down any errors including grammar, spelling, punctuation,
or logic errors in the scenario itself. Try using Grammarly to help you spot errors yourself; it
can also help rewrite sentences.

Common Problems:

● Passive voice: Using active voice makes your writing more direct and exciting to
read. Don’t say “the ghost can be seen,” say “you see the ghost.”
● Spacing: Use only one space, not two, between sentences. Using two spaces is a
legacy from the days when manual typesetting or typewriters were the norm; with
modern word processors and layout, a single space is the standard.
● Numbers: For numbers "one" through "nine," spell them out. For 10 or higher, use
digits instead.
● Fonts: Use a font that doesn't cause eye strain to read.
● Length: More is not better when it comes to length. Don't feel that you need to offer
Gamemasters lengthy paragraphs covering hundreds of years of backstory, or
multi-page prose descriptions of artefacts. Keep things short and simple, allowing
Gamemasters the time and freedom to effect their own style for a scenario.

By using our templates, you can avoid a number of design issues, allowing you to focus
more on your content.

Let us know you have joined the 2d20 World Builders!

It's a lot of hard work to create a product, so please let us know to help us celebrate with
you! If you're on social media, tag us to let us know about your content. We will be looking
for the best content each month to share with the 2d20 community.
You can find a 2d20 WorldBuilders chatroom on our Discord channel here (in the Modiphius
menu on the left of the screen) where you can meet with other creators, get advice or
solutions, discuss the 2d20 system and more.

You can also find a 2d20 World Builder’s forum on the Modiphius site for more detailed
conversation.