Vampirism Narrative Content License (VNCL)
                        Version 1.0, 30 December 2025

    0. Preamble

    Many Minecraft mods include original narrative content — such as in-game
books, letters, dialogues, lore entries, and descriptive texts (collectively,
the “Narrative Works”) — created by individual writers, developers, or community
contributors. These works are distinct from the mod’s underlying code and deserve
separate licensing to protect authors’ moral rights and ensure proper attribution.

    While the mod’s software may be distributed under a standard open-source or
modding license (e.g., MIT, LGPL, or All Rights Reserved), this Vampirism Narrative
Content License (VNCL) governs only the Narrative Works, granting limited rights
for their use within the mod ecosystem while preserving authors’ creative integrity
and ensuring coherent narrative stewardship.

    This license applies automatically to any mod that includes it in its distribution
and explicitly designates its narrative content under VNCL.

    1. Definitions

    The "Licensed Mod" means any mod or software distribution that includes Narrative
Works and expressly adopts this license in its documentation, source, or resource files.

    "Narrative Works" means all original textual storytelling content (including
but not limited to in-game books, lore entries, dialogues, and descriptive texts)
included in the Licensed Mod and intended as creative expression.

    All such content is presumed to have an author. If authorship is not
explicitly attributed, the Mod Maintainers are designated as the administrative
contact and rights steward for the purposes of this license, but this does not
by itself imply or transfer original copyright ownership.

    "Mod Maintainers" means the current official developers, maintainers, or owners
of the Licensed Mod, as reasonably recognizable from the mod’s official distribution
channels (e.g., project page, repository, or documentation).

    "Narrative Stewardship" means the authority to:

        (a) decide how Narrative Works are integrated into the Licensed Mod’s lore,
        structure, and presentation;

        (b) approve or perform Adaptations for lore consistency, technical reasons,
        or localization;

        (c) request removal or alteration of harmful or lore-breaking Adaptations;

        (d) give or withhold permissions for uses of Narrative Works within the Licensed Mod
and its forks that this license states require authorization from an author or, where
applicable, the Mod Maintainers, but not for uses of Narrative Works outside the
Licensed Mod or its forks.

    For the Licensed Mod, Narrative Stewardship is held by the Mod Maintainers.

    An "Adaptation" means any modification, translation, abridgment, or contextual
adjustment of a Narrative Work for the purpose of integration into the mod, lore
consistency, localization, or technical compatibility.

    A "Commercial Use" refers to selling, licensing, or otherwise directly
profiting from the Narrative Works themselves (e.g., printed books of lore, paid
mods containing the texts, NFTs of story content). Revenue from ancillary
activities (ads, donations, sponsorships) that feature the content as part of
commentary, gameplay, or critique is permitted.

    An author is considered "Unreachable" if, after reasonable good-faith efforts
to contact them using the last known contact details or channels associated with
their contribution, they do not respond within at least 60 days, or if their
contact information is no longer valid or accessible.

    2. Grant of Rights

    Subject to the terms of this license, each author of a Narrative Work (including
the Mod Maintainers, where applicable) grants you a worldwide, non-exclusive,
royalty-free license to:

    a) Reproduce the Narrative Works as part of the Licensed Mod or its recognized
    distributions.

    b) Create Adaptations of the Narrative Works, but only for the following purposes:

        1) technical integration into the mod (e.g., formatting, line breaks, JSON
        structure),

        2) lore consistency adjustments approved or performed under Narrative
        Stewardship by the Mod Maintainers,

        3) translation into other languages by the Mod Maintainers, original authors,
        or community members, subject to Narrative Stewardship by the Mod Maintainers.

    c) Distribute the original or Adapted Narrative Works solely as embedded content
    within the Licensed Mod or its forks.

    d) Rely on the Mod Maintainers, acting under Narrative Stewardship, as the primary
    decision-makers for questions of lore consistency, allowed Adaptations, and the
    continued inclusion or removal of Narrative Works within the Licensed Mod.

    3. Conditions

    You must:

    a) Respect original authorship.

    If a Narrative Work includes a specific author attribution (e.g., "by Lena R.")
    in its source, resource, or documentation files, you must preserve that credit in
    a comparable manner to the original (e.g., in-game, in-file headers, or
    documentation). Preserving the original author's name is required. Credit to
    translators or editors is not required by this license but is appreciated and may
    be included at the distributor's discretion, especially if the translated version
    of the Narrative Work is used.

    b) Do not falsely claim authorship.

    You may not present any Narrative Work or Adaptation as your own original creation,
    nor imply endorsement by the author or Mod Maintainers without permission.

    c) Do not reuse Narrative Works outside the Licensed Mod in derivative software,
    standalone publications, merchandise, or other mods without explicit written
    permission from the author(s).

    Where the author is Unreachable or not listed, this license does not grant any party,
    including the Mod Maintainers, the authority to permit such uses outside the
    Licensed Mod.

    This restriction does not apply to short quotes, screenshots, or gameplay footage
    used in reviews, guides, videos, or fan discussions, as long as the source
    (Licensed Mod) is clearly credited or mentioned and no Commercial Use of the
    Narrative Works themselves occurs.

    d) Respect the right to request removal of harmful adaptations.

    If an Adaptation of a Narrative Work is, in the reasonable and good-faith judgment
    of the original author or the Mod Maintainers, demonstrably harmful — specifically
    if it:

        1) materially distorts, mutilates, or otherwise modifies the work in a way that
        is prejudicial to the author's honor or reputation,

        2) introduces hateful, defamatory, illegal, or commercially exploitative
        content; or

        3) significantly contradicts established lore in a manner that harms the
        coherence of the Licensed Mod's universe,

    then the author or Mod Maintainers may request, in good faith, that the distributor
    or creator of such Adaptation cease its distribution and remove the offending content.

    Such requests should be exceptional and based on clear harm, not stylistic,
    interpretive, or minor continuity differences.

    Where an author is Unreachable, the Mod Maintainers, acting under Narrative
    Stewardship, may exercise this right on the author’s behalf to protect the work,
    the coherence of the Licensed Mod’s universe, and the mod’s narrative direction.

    e) Do not engage in Commercial Use of the Narrative Works or their Adaptations
    (e.g., selling books, merch, paid mods/add-ons, or monetized reproductions) unless
    separately authorized in writing by the author(s).

    Where the author is Unreachable or not listed, this license does not grant any party,
    including the Mod Maintainers, the authority to permit Commercial Use of the
    Narrative Works or their Adaptations.

    Non-monetized fan content (e.g., free wikis, YouTube videos with ads, Twitch streams)
    is not considered Commercial Use under this license.

    4. Rights Reserved

    Except as expressly granted herein, all rights are reserved by the original authors (or
Mod Maintainers, where authorship is unspecified), including but not limited to:

    1) the exclusive right to publish the Narrative Works outside the Licensed Mod;

    2) moral rights of integrity and attribution under applicable law;

    3) rights to characters, settings, names, and lore elements introduced in the
    Narrative Works, which are owned by their respective creators or are used in the mod
    under implied or explicit non-exclusive permission.

    Nothing in this license transfers ownership of copyright or related rights. Authors
retain full ownership and may license their Narrative Works under additional terms outside the
scope of this license.

    Where applicable law recognizes moral rights, this license is granted with full respect
to the author's right of attribution and integrity. Narrative Stewardship by the Mod Maintainers
is intended to manage integration and coherence within the Licensed Mod, not to remove or
override legal moral rights.

    5. Narrative Control

    a) Within the context of the Licensed Mod, the Mod Maintainers hold Narrative
    Stewardship and have final say over:

        1) which Narrative Works are included, excluded, or replaced in the Licensed Mod;

        2) how Narrative Works are ordered, presented, and connected in the mod’s lore;

        3) which Adaptations are accepted for official inclusion in the Licensed Mod.

    b) Authors may request changes, corrections, or removals of their individual
    contributions. The Mod Maintainers should consider such requests in good faith,
    but the final decision on the mod’s overall narrative direction and internal
    consistency rests with the Mod Maintainers.

    c) Where an author is Unreachable, the Mod Maintainers may, in good faith and in
    line with the established tone and lore of the Licensed Mod, act in their stead for
    all practical decisions permitted or required by this license concerning the
    inclusion, adaptation, or presentation of Narrative Works within the Licensed Mod
    and its forks, including:

    1) approving or declining Adaptations for inclusion in the Licensed Mod;
    2) requesting removal or alteration of harmful or lore-breaking uses in the
       Licensed Mod or its forks;
    3) managing narrative coherence and integration of Narrative Works.

    For the avoidance of doubt, Mod Maintainers may not grant permission for any use of
    Narrative Works outside the Licensed Mod or its forks, or for Commercial Use, where
    this license refers to authorization from the author(s).

    6. Termination

    If you break the terms of this license, your right to use the Narrative Works ends
automatically. However, people who received lawful copies from you before the violation
keep their rights.

    7. No Warranty

    The Narrative Works are shared "as is," with no promises of quality, accuracy, or
safety. By using them, you agree not to hold the authors or Mod Maintainers liable for
any issues.

    8. Severability

    If any part of this license is found unenforceable, the rest remains valid.

    9. Contact

    To ask about permissions, report concerns, or clarify authorship, contact the author
listed with the work. If no author is listed, or the author is Unreachable, contact the
Mod Maintainers, who may act under Narrative Stewardship for that work.