The TSR Internet Policy Revisited

     Ever since TSR first introduced its Internet policy, there has been a 
grumble of disapproval over the net.  While the policy was meant to be a
plain-English translation of how to avoid infringing TSR's copyrights and
trademarks, some saw it as a strong-arm tactic.  In an effort to clear up
this misconception, what follows is some detailed information concerning
what can and cannot be done with TSR property.

     WHAT IS PROTECTED?
     All of TSR's copyrighted material (including characters and their
distinctive likenesses, unique magical items, monsters, artifacts,
artwork, and other material) cannot be used in personally published
materials unless the personally published materials are stored only on
TSR-approved sites (MPG-Net (ftp.  mpgn.  com), America Online, and
GEnie).

     WHAT YOU CAN POST ON APPROVED SITES
     The current TSR-approved sites are: ftp.mpgn.com; America Online;
GEnie.  You are allowed to post anything using TSR's copyrights, including:


     1.) New monsters, spells, etc.  including all of the pertinent game
         information (AC, HD, casting times, etc.).

     2.) Computer programs that you have created for the game.

     3.) Complete adventures that utilize all of the AD&D game mechanics.

     4.) Short stories and other written works set in a TSR campaign
         world.

     TSR reserves the right to delete material that is morally
unacceptable.

     WHAT YOU CAN POST OUTSIDE OF APPROVED SITES
     You are free to post the following types of information on the net:

     1.) An index of spells, monsters, races, classes, etc., telling
where they can be found in TSR's products.

     Example: Melf's Acid Arrow, 2nd level conjuration (Page 186 of the
Rev. PHB).

     2.) Generic adventures that reference typical fantasy creatures found 
in most fantasy RPG's ("This room contains three Skeletons").
     A solution: Create your adventure just like a module that TSR
produces, including all of the pertinent information like AC, THAC0, etc.
Post it on an approved site.  Then make an advertisement for your module
and post it on the net along with where it can be found.

     3.) New Spells and creatures that you have created, described in a
general manner, so that they can be used in any fantasy RPG (don't
describe them in AD&D game terms like THAC0, AC, etc.).

     4.) Short stories, novels, and other written works that do not draw
on specific TSR worlds, characters, monsters, etc.  (generic fantasy).

     WHAT YOU CAN'T POST ANYWHERE

     Text and artwork that has been copied from TSR products.  For
example, you can't make a text version of the Revised Player's Handbook
available.  This would include items like an electronic index of spells,
with all the spell information from the Revised Player's Handbook.

     WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN USING AND REFERENCING TSR MATERIAL?

     Use of copyrighted material means that you are building something
around an established TSR creation.  For example, writing an adventure
around the drow, creating a subclass of psionicist, or creating a list of
unique spells of the FORGOTTEN REALMS(R) world are all examples of using a 
TSR materials.  You're free to create such works, but you can only release 
them to your personal gaming group or on official TSR-approved sites.

     Referencing a copyrighted work or trademark is just that, a
reference.  For example, a statement that "this adventure can be easily
adapted for the AD&D(R) game" is acceptablr.  A reference to TSR material
does not limit where you may distribute your original creation.  Of
course, you're still free to distribute original works through
TSR-approved sites.  And, of course, you cannot reference TSR trademarks
in a manner that is likely to cause confusion about your relationship to
TSR.

     PROFIT
     You cannot create anything that is based on TSR material and release
it for profit.  You can't write shareware programs that use material from
TSR products (character generation software, monster random-encounter
programs, etc.) and charge for "unlocking" them, nor can you release a
program as "begware" (begging for money for your efforts).  In short, you
can't use TSR material for monetary gain.

     ELECTRONIC ACCESSORIES
     If you want to distribute programs based on TSR games, you must
release them to a TSR-approved site (MPG-Net, America Online, or GEnie). 
You still can't seek payment through shareware or begware, even if you do
send them to an approved site.  In essence, you're doing this as a labor
of love.  Who knows, you just might write the next generation of
role-playing software, and TSR might decide to offer you all sorts of
incentives to write other software.  Then again, TSR might not.  Create
software for the same reasons that a writer writes--because the story is
there.

     THE JOY OF TEXT
     Adventures and short stories have done much to create the flavor and
feel of the various TSR campaign worlds.  If you've got the creative urge
to write a short story, adventure module, or gaming supplement, and you
want to make it available to the general public, there are a few things to 
keep in mind.

     You can't base your work on a TSR game world unless you post it to a
TSR-approved site.  If you want to post it anywhere else, use a generic
fantasy setting or a campaign world of your own creation.

     You can reference generic fantasy monsters, spells, etc.  in your
work.  For example, you could include elves in your adventure, but not
TSR's drow elves.  (Yes, the Scottish mythology includes a race called
drow elves, but true mythological drow are not the same as TSR's drow.  If 
your story is about a race of elves that live underground, have dark skin, 
white hair, lavender eyes, worship a spider god, etc., then you are
infringing TSR's rights).

     PERSONAL USE
     Of course, you're free to create your own material based on the
official AD&D materials for your personal use.  You can create a spell
planner that includes spell statistics and give it those you play AD&D
with (no more than a dozen, realistically), write a nifty campaign
supplement for a TSR campaign world and give a copy to your gaming group,
etc.  What you can't do is post a copy of it on the internet for everyone
to use (although you could upload it to a TSR-approved site, given the
exceptions stated above).

     Keep in mind that the internet web sites, ftp sites, and such are 
essentially self-publishing houses.  Whatever you upload to one of these
sites is no different than if you had went to a printing company and
printed off 10 or 10,000 copies of your post.  Legally, it makes no
difference that you're not charging for your effort.  While many players'
intent is not to infringe upon TSR's intellectual property, TSR must take
certain actions to protect itself from the actions of unscrupulous people
and other companies.

     BUT I WANT TO GET PUBLISHED!
     TSR offers a variety of ways for you to get your hard work published. 
 DRAGON(R) Magazine is always looking for up-and-coming writers to
contribute to its pages.  DUNGEON(R) Adventures is always looking for
quality adventures that take place in any of TSR's campaign worlds (and
worlds of your invention as well).  POLYHEDRON(R) Newszine is another
source for your writing.

     You can get a list of submission guidelines for DUNGEON and DRAGON by:

     email:  TSRinc@aol.com
     ftp:  ftp.mpgn.com
     WWW:  http://users.aol.com/tsrinc/

     Likewise, you can receive a copy of the guidelines for POLYHEDRON
Newszine by contacting the RPGA at rpgahq@aol.com.

     CLOSING
     TSR wants you to continue to enjoy all of our game worlds, but at the 
same time TSR needs to protect its investment of time and money in
creating high-quality products from the few out there who would abuse
TSR's permissions.

     As TSR continues deeper into the electronic jungle, additional sites
will undoubtedly be authorized to make life on the internet even easier
for the creative minds that lurk out here.  Currently, the only internet
site available for uploads is ftp.mpgn.com.

     TSR can not provide legal counsel for the internet by answering every 
hypothetical question on what can and cannot be done with TSR intellectual 
property.  Follow these guidelines and, if you're in doubt as to the
legality of what you'd like to do, post it to a TSR-approved site.

     AD&D, DRAGON, DUNGEON, FORGOTTEN REALMS, and POLYHEDRON are
registered trademarks of TSR, Inc.  Copyright 1996 TSR, Inc.  All Rights
Reserved.
     TSR grants permission to distribute this document in its original
form.