Contributing to the Library

Adding Third-Party OGL Content

The rule you want isn't an official Paizo SRD rule, but it was published as Open Game Content by a third-party publisher (such as Kobold Press, Frog God Games, or Green Ronin). Here is how to transcribe published third-party mechanics into the shared Library responsibly.

Guide Hub

This page is about adding published content from third-party publishers (3PP). If you are adding an official Paizo rule missing from the core list, see Adding a Missing SRD Entry. If you are publishing your own original homebrew, see the Section 15 Checklist and the rest of this guide.

Transcribing vs. Authoring

Contributing third-party material is fundamentally different from publishing your own homebrew:

Area Publishing Your Own Homebrew Contributing Third-Party OGC
What you assert "I wrote this and hold the copyright; here is my Section 15 line." "This is a faithful transcription of published Open Game Content from an existing book; I am not the author and claim no rights."
Legal authority You are the copyright holder or authorized creator. The source is already Open Game Content under OGL 1.0a § 1(e). Transcribing the mechanics is explicitly permitted.
Section 15 notice Your name and copyright line are appended to the Section 15 chain. The original publisher receives credit; their existing Section 15 notice must be cited and registered.
Moderation review Automated checks that required declarations and attestation were produced. Human review confirming the transcription faithfully matches the cited book without adding unpermitted Product Identity.
Claimed vs. Unclaimed Publishers

To keep citations reliable and prevent misattribution, publishers on TheCrazyGM operate under strict safeguards:

  • The Seeded Directory: You do not type arbitrary publisher names. Instead, you select the imprint from the seeded Publisher Directory. This eliminates typos, fragmented aliases, and fictitious imprints.
  • Unclaimed Imprints: Many established third-party publishers (such as Frog God Games or Kobold Press) have catalog profiles in our directory that have not yet been claimed by their real-world owners. Any registered user can submit a faithful transcription of OGC published by an unclaimed publisher.
  • Claimed Imprints: When a publisher or verified creator claims their imprint on TheCrazyGM, that imprint becomes protected. Only the verified owner (or designated team members) can publish records directly under that imprint. Attempting to publish citing a claimed imprint you do not own is blocked by a hard permission check.
How to Add a Third-Party Entry
  1. Confirm Open Game Content status. Locate the physical book or PDF's legal declaration page and Section 15 notice. Ensure the feat, spell, archetype, or monster you are transcribing is designated Open Game Content (mechanics) rather than reserved Product Identity.
  2. Transcribe mechanics faithfully. Match the prerequisites, action economy, saving throw DCs, bonuses, and spell ranges exactly as printed. Faithful transcription means verbatim mechanics: do not apply balance patches, table house-rules, or personal wording tweaks.
  3. Strip Product Identity. Remove setting-specific proper nouns, character names, specific deities, proprietary locations, and narrative flavor text. The rule mechanics can stand on their own without proprietary world elements. (See Open Game Content vs Product Identity for worked guidelines).
  4. Select the publisher & cite the book. In the Forge creation form, select the publisher from the Publisher Directory and enter the book's full publication title in the source citation field.
  5. Submit for review. Because third-party entries affect shared compendium data, non-moderator submissions do not publish immediately. The record is saved in your account and placed into the moderation queue with the status core_pending.
  6. Moderation approval. A staff moderator reviews the submission against the source publication. Once approved, the record is published with verified citation data.
The Section 15 Register

Every public third-party record must connect to a valid Section 15 notice in the site's Section 15 register. This ensures that downstream users who reference the rule can easily discover the book's exact copyright line.

The register does not update itself automatically. When a third-party submission is approved (approve_third_party), the publisher's exact Section 15 notice from the source work must be added to the site's register by staff, establishing its anchor (#src-<slug>). This manual review discipline ensures that no invented, truncated, or unverified copyright notices enter the public record.

Why a Moderator Checks It
  • Accurate Mechanics: Compendium records are resolved by character builders, spellbooks, and encounter tools across the site. A transcription error in a prerequisite or bonus propagates to every player using that feat.
  • Product Identity Compliance: Reviewers confirm that proprietary trademarks, setting lore, and faction names were cleanly stripped, leaving only legitimate Open Game Content.
  • Authentic Attribution: Reviewers verify that the cited book actually contains the transcribed rule and belongs to the selected publisher.
Summary: If it's published Open Game Content in a real third-party book, you can transcribe the mechanics faithfully, select the publisher from the directory, cite the source, and submit it for moderation review.
This is a guide, not legal advice. It's a drafting aid and checklist, not a certified or guaranteed-compliant legal review. Rules and policies (including Paizo's own licensing pages) can change — check the reviewed date below and the primary sources it links to. For anything beyond routine attribution, consult a qualified attorney.
Reviewed by Eco, 2026-10-24. Source: Open Game License 1.0a.