Comments on: The Off Pitch

By: Rai

Rai — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 05:15:54 +0000

An actual human response is so nice, especially when they offer criticism that is actually helpful and will help you be better.

By: Alphastream

Alphastream — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 22:51:43 +0000

Hi, Tom! Paizo's policy is similar, and not without reason. There is a long history of RPG companies needing freelance help and looking to people who were big fans and who were running games. Look no further than the first D&D Basic set! Over time it ebbs and flows. Paizo led the way a few years back, using their RPG Superstars program to identify talent. Some of those early contributors are huge contributors now. They also do the same with Pathfinder Society. Recently, Wizards has done that - for many DDI issues more than half of the contributors have organized play experience. Kobold Quarterly is an excellent place to get started; you can write for either edition! I have some thoughts on writing for DDI here, and I've linked to this article from it as well.

By: Tom Coenen

Tom Coenen — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:24:58 +0000

Thanks for the article, it’s nice to see other people excited about the submission window.
I’m also excited about it, but I’m hesitant with 5E on the horizon that a submission won’t matter much.
And I agree that it’s all about the acknowledgement, if I ever got published in an official magazine, I’d probably encase the published article and hang it on the wall.

@Alphastream, I didn’t know yet about LFR or AoA. I did know about Paizo’s submission for their Golarion setting.

By: Alphastream

Alphastream — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:57:23 +0000

I enjoyed reading this, thanks! I agree with much of what you write and have a few related thoughts. I primarily write because I want to contribute. I completely understand those that do it for fame and/or money (and those _are_ fine pursuits), but for me the primary drive is to contribute. There are a number of ways to contribute. One is to provide useful context. Write an adventure and people might use it or use parts of it. That’s cool. Another way to contribute is to try to advance the science of the game a bit. We can sometimes do a bit of educating or push the rules one way or another such that gamers might think of or approach the game a bit differently. I try to do that with some of my pieces.

For those looking to contribute, I highly suggest organized play. Programs such as Living Forgotten Realms or Ashes of Athas are great ways to get your creation into the hands of others. A single LFR adventure will often be played by more than 1,000 players. That will be far greater than the number of people that actually play a Dungeon magazine adventure. With more DMs and usually more artistic freedom, organized play can be a more effective vehicle for promoting an alternative take on an adventure. With Ashes of Athas, where we encourage creative encounter construction, we’ve seen all kinds of really interesting takes on role-playing, combats, skill challenges, puzzles, exploration, and more. This, in turn, influences the community. I’ve seen Ashes of Athas ideas end up in LFR and I’ve personally been influenced by LFR advancements and brought them into AoA.

So, hopefully, that’s interesting to your readers. It is generally easier to be accepted for an organized play writing gig – though the work is not easier. You still really get to hone your skills and the quality level is demanding. The LFR admins are professionals – many have seen their work published very often over the last 15 years by various RPG companies. One nice aspect is that you can often get a bit more dialogue with them over what they develop and why. If you see a change in the final form it is far easier to get feedback from an organized play admin.

On the topic of getting paid but not seeing your work, in my experience Wizards will let you know if an article is truly “shelved” versus waiting for the right moment. I’ve had something shelved. I can in retrospect see why it happened. No, you can’t share the details (after all, they paid you, so you don’t own any rights to it!). It is possible to try to recast it, but that would involve a new contract. (And I would only attempt this if you have been told it is shelved and if you have a very clear vision for how to address the issues that caused it to be shelved).

But, yeah, having something published in DDI is cool. It is an achievement, regardless of why you approach it. Also, I particularly like getting a feel for how the process of DDI works.