A friend bought a homebrew race on DM's Guild and wants to show the others in our group. Would it be legal for them to send an email with the pdf attached? I ask because, if it isn't legal, how is it any different from typing the details out on a notepad doc, then copy and pasting it into that same email, or even writing it down on a piece of paper and sending it?
Obviously, if one person in a group has access to a piece of game content, it's perfectly legal for the rest of the group to use it. And it's perfectly legal to write down a copy of the game content. So where does "sharing content with a friend" end, and piracy begin?
What you are working with here is the IP (Intellectual Property) laws. The main thing here is in not passing off someone elses work as your own. There is also the moral side of it - I suspect that a homebrew race on DMs Guild costs pence, rather than pounds, and as a creator on DMs guild, those small sales do add up.
Ultimately, nobody is going to break down your door and arrest you for emailing a friend a PDF of something you have downloaded legally, any more than they would if you were playing in person and shared a book. However, if you appreciate their work, then I would recommend simply giving your friends a link to where to download the race, so that they can support the creator as well, and keep the creators of DMs Guild motivated to keep making the content!
What you are working with here is the IP (Intellectual Property) laws. The main thing here is in not passing off someone elses work as your own. There is also the moral side of it - I suspect that a homebrew race on DMs Guild costs pence, rather than pounds, and as a creator on DMs guild, those small sales do add up.
Ultimately, nobody is going to break down your door and arrest you for emailing a friend a PDF of something you have downloaded legally, any more than they would if you were playing in person and shared a book. However, if you appreciate their work, then I would recommend simply giving your friends a link to where to download the race, so that they can support the creator as well, and keep the creators of DMs Guild motivated to keep making the content!
Thanks. The question can up because someone in our group is very (and sometimes questionably so; I mean, they don't even use the 5e ******* page) adamant on staying within the laws of content distribution. They were concerned that sharing a PDF from DM's Guild might not technically be legal, even when it's functionally identical to sharing a physical book.
A friend bought a homebrew race on DM's Guild and wants to show the others in our group. Would it be legal for them to send an email with the pdf attached? I ask because, if it isn't legal, how is it any different from typing the details out on a notepad doc, then copy and pasting it into that same email, or even writing it down on a piece of paper and sending it?
Obviously, if one person in a group has access to a piece of game content, it's perfectly legal for the rest of the group to use it. And it's perfectly legal to write down a copy of the game content. So where does "sharing content with a friend" end, and piracy begin?
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What you are working with here is the IP (Intellectual Property) laws. The main thing here is in not passing off someone elses work as your own. There is also the moral side of it - I suspect that a homebrew race on DMs Guild costs pence, rather than pounds, and as a creator on DMs guild, those small sales do add up.
Ultimately, nobody is going to break down your door and arrest you for emailing a friend a PDF of something you have downloaded legally, any more than they would if you were playing in person and shared a book. However, if you appreciate their work, then I would recommend simply giving your friends a link to where to download the race, so that they can support the creator as well, and keep the creators of DMs Guild motivated to keep making the content!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
Thanks. The question can up because someone in our group is very (and sometimes questionably so; I mean, they don't even use the 5e ******* page) adamant on staying within the laws of content distribution. They were concerned that sharing a PDF from DM's Guild might not technically be legal, even when it's functionally identical to sharing a physical book.
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