The Draw Steel Creator License allows anyone to make stuff for DRAW STEEL and either publish it for free or sell it. Adventures, hacks, modules, etc. 

DRAW STEEL Creator License

note: This license ONLY applies to DRAW STEEL Backer Packet #1

Just a few basic rules:

  • If you adhere to these terms, you are allowed to publish works based upon and/or declare compatibility with DRAW STEEL without express permission from MCDM Productions, LLC (“MCDM,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

  • You agree not to copy or reproduce any art from our books unless you have our explicit permission in writing.

  • You may use our visual designs as inspiration to create your own original illustrations.

  • You can reuse and freely reference the DRAW STEEL text, mechanics, and game rules, including proper names, locations, and characters.

  • Your product cannot use the MCDM logo or the DRAW STEEL logo unless you have our explicit permission in writing.

  • You are allowed and encouraged (but not required) to use the DRAW STEEL compatibility logo.

 
Powered by Draw Steel Logo
 

  • The following text must be included both (a) in the legal text visible on the outside of your product, and (b) on the website or storefront where you promote the product:

[Product Name] is an independent product published under the DRAW STEEL Creator License and is not affiliated with MCDM Productions, LLC. DRAW STEEL © 2024 MCDM Productions, LLC. 

  • You’re not allowed to give the impression that your product is an official DRAW STEEL product or that MCDM endorses or sponsors you or your product in any way.

  • MCDM takes no responsibility for any legal claims against your product. You agree not to bring any claim against MCDM based on or arising from your use of DRAW STEEL content.

  • You agree that your product will not violate or infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party. For example, don’t make a product with Wolverine or Darth Vader in a DRAW STEEL setting.

And a few general terms:

  • Any legal disputes, controversies, or claims related to this license shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California and be heard before a court in the United States of America.

  • You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold MCDM and its owners, officers, directors, employees, assigns, agents, affiliates, and representatives harmless from and against any liability, claims, actions, demands, and damages (including attorneys’ fees and costs) arising from or relating to your product or your exercise of any rights granted in this license.

  • MCDM may modify or revise this license at any time in its sole discretion by posting the amended license on its website located at https://mcdm.gg/DS-license and announcing the change on at least one of MCDM’s social media channels. The modification or revision will become effective after such postings. MCDM will indicate on the license the date it was last amended. You are responsible for checking the license regularly for changes, and you waive any right to receive specific notice of changes.

  • Our license amendments will not be retroactive. If we amend the license, it will only apply to MCDM content that we release after we announce an amendment. Any of our content that was released before an amendment will still be covered by the old license. You can thus create a product based on our content today knowing that we’re not going to switch up the license terms on you down the road. If you have a product that you’re selling or that’s in development at the time MCDM issues a license amendment, you can continue distributing that product plus any updates, modified versions, and derivative works under the terms of the license that was in place prior to the amendment even if you do not agree to the license as amended. In other words, we’re not going to make you choose between killing off your work or accepting terms you don’t like.

  • If you fail to comply with this license, your rights under this License terminate automatically and without notice. On termination of this license, you agree to immediately stop sharing or distributing any product created under this license.

[Last Edit: August 29th 2024]

FAFA - Frequently Asked For Answers

  1. This license only covers the Backer Packet as stated at the top of the license. Content produced via Patreon, Arcadia, and previous and future products that are not the Backer Packet are not covered under this license.

  2. We cannot give you legal advice, if you have questions about the legality of a product you are producing for DRAW STEEL you will need to seek your own legal counsel to ensure you are in line with the license set forth here.

  3. You can share raw text from the packet but not screenshots of the pages or artwork.

  4. You can contact MCDM to seek permission at creatorlicense@mcdmproductions.com

  5. The backer packet does not have any layout or style guide currently and as such there is no license coverage currently for fonts, border treatments, backgrounds, etc.

Below is the email sent out with the Backer Packet on August 30th, 2024 announcing the DRAW STEEL Creator License:

This is the debut of the Draw Steel Creator License. It grants you the right, if you follow the rules, to use the text in this packet to make your own products according to the constraints of the license.

You’re gonna have a lot of questions, and there is a FAQ; but you will see it’s pretty short.

This is because the license is a legal agreement. We wrote it in plain language (for the most part!) to make it as clear as possible. If you are not confident you understand, if you’re not willing to take the risk that maybe you don’t understand, then you need to talk to a lawyer. Here’s why.

With game rules, we feel an obligation to make sure if folks misunderstand something that we correct it, give feedback, provide errata, etc… But game rules are not a legal document.

Any answers we give about the license could be construed as legal advice, and we are not your lawyers. If we inadvertently give a wrong or bad answer, or our answer is misinterpreted, we could be responsible for that. We made the license clear to avoid these kinds of issues.

Frankly, a lot of the questions we already get, and have always gotten, about our books are covered under normal copyright law and fair use. If you do not know the law, if you are not familiar with copyright and fair use, you should read about it before you worry about the license.

It’s natural to think “well why won’t they answer this question?” But that’s because the license IS the answer. Any questions you have are not questions for us; our answers are already in the license. They are questions for your lawyer.

You may notice, the license only covers this packet. That’s because this is our first go round with something like this, and we are using the Backer Packet as a test case. If it turns out we left something out of the license, or didn’t put something in we should have, we will revise the license for when we publish the next packet or the final game, depending.

There is one clause in the license that might seem alarming—the fact that we can amend the license. That will freak some folks out because they naturally start wondering “well, what happens to my quite-lucrative Draw Steel product if MCDM changes the license, and I hate the new terms?” Good question!

There is language in the license that explicitly states any changes we make to our license only cover new content we make under that new license. Our old content will still be covered under the old license, so IF we make changes to the license, you can keep using the old license and the old content that it covered. You only need to agree to the amended license if you want to use the new content we publish under it.

But in reality, and this is important so I hope folks made it this far, there is no such thing as an agreement that cannot be amended. Someday, everyone at MCDM will be dead, and other people will own Draw Steel and they will have the rights to do whatever they want with it and the license.

So, use it at your own risk! But…you know, we WANT people to use this text and this game. We want folks to be able to make their own stuff, share it, sell it, whatever. So our real advice is just: use common sense. Tons of people make and share stuff online based on other games with open licenses, and they don’t talk to lawyers and nothing happens because most of what people make and share is fine. But if you’re worried then you should talk to a lawyer. We are not your lawyers!