Copyright/Courtesy rules?

[shadow_archmagi]

What are the rules regarding the use of the maps already on this website? Would anyone be horribly offended if I were to loot the place for settings in my D&D campaign(s)? We're just the typical bunch of basement dwellers; not for profit and entirely unknown to anyone not actually playing.

I realize there is a map request system, but it'd be faster (and more fun for me) to just design a campaign around one of the many existing beautiful worlds and cities that're already here.

[Midgardsormr]

Unless otherwise stated in the thread, you can use anything you find here in your personal games as you like.

For the purposes of redistribution or modification and reposting, there are often licensing guidelines in the thread where the map was posted, and sometimes in the author's signature. Many people here use Creative Commons (CC) licensing, and the entire Collaborative Worldbuilding Project (CWBP) is licensed under CC NC-BY-SA, which means Non-Commercial—you can't sell any part of it or any derivative works you make based upon it, Attribution—you must attribute the original artist if you redistribute a map, and Share Alike—any derivative works must also use a CC NC-BY-SA license.

Not all the maps bear such a license, though, and some belong to actual companies with lawyers, so if you are in doubt about a particular image, please contact the artist, either via private message (which unlock when you reach five posts) or in the thread containing the image you're inquiring about.

edit: And if you do use a particular map in your game, please let the cartographer know! We like to hear how our work gets used.

[shadow_archmagi]

Splendid!

That was precisely the response I was hoping for. I can't imagine why I'd redistribute anything, and it'll be quite the strange day when I start earning money off of D&D (Unless the weekly Pizza Fund counts ;-D), so I should be safe.

EDIT: Rather than make a new thread, I'll just ask my second question here.

What's the best way to move these maps out of pixel form? It'd be good to have a paper copy for ingame purposes (computer is in an inconvenient spot and no one has a laptop) but it seems that most of the maps are enormous (GLEE!), making printing problematic. Is the 20 page jigsaw my best bet, or is there some snazzy way to do it?

[Ascension]

A lot of the pdf stuff will require the ole "tape them together" method and chew up printer ink. For the most part, the jpg stuff will be 1-4 pages; I print directly from the default windows thingy and it lets me print the whole thing on one page. This might result in some of the text being too small to read but it serves just fine for printing a map as a quick reference guide. Check out PosteRazor for slicing up big images to print over multiple pages.

http://posterazor.sourceforge.net/

On a side note, I think this might be something we should sticky for those who just want to snag a quick map for a spur of the moment game session and know what they can and can not do with it.

[Gamerprinter]

Is the 20 page jigsaw my best bet, or is there some snazzy way to do it?

Just as an alternative, I print maps for gamers as a business. Just send me an Email and point to which one - just so you know, if I print Guild maps, I add a dollar and donate to the Cartographers' Guild.

My price is $2.99 a square foot so a 24" x 36" full color map print is $17.94 + $1 donation to CG

Send me an Email - click the link to my site, visit the contact page and send me an Email.

GP

[torstan]

Ascension - I agree. I've taken Midgardsomer's response and put it into a FAQ entry in the FAQ discussion forum. I think it would make a good addition.

[ravells]

Just as an alternative, I print maps for gamers as a business. Just send me an Email and point to which one - just so you know, if I print Guild maps, I add a dollar and donate to the Cartographers' Guild.

My price is $2.99 a square foot so a 24" x 36" full color map print is $17.94 + $1 donation to CG

Send me an Email - click the link to my site, visit the contact page and send me an Email.

GP

Just a stray thought that entered my head as I was reading this GP, your printed maps might be of even more interest if you could devise a way where the buyer could enter his own label names for locations to fit them into his adventure .... sort of like the moonpig greeting cards if you see what I mean.

As a start you could just have unlabelled maps and have the buyers send you emails saying what they want the locations to be called and then just label them yourself, although having it automated on site would be way cooler.