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Open Calls & Job VacanciesSubmission calls, job vacancies, playtesting opportunities and other requests/advertisements for staff and/or talent. NO NEW THREADS IN THIS FORUM (you may continue to post in old threads). Please use the EN MARKETPLACE instead.
Beneath the earth’s surface lies a dark, eerie subterranean world that remains largely unexplored and unknown to the most seasoned explorers. In September, Bastion Press sheds light on this unlit realm by releasing Into the Black: A Guidebook to Caverns and Catacombs. This book is an ecology and survival for the underground designed to aid both GM’s and players.
We are looking for the most innovative and imaginative monsters to populate this mysterious environment. This is your opportunity to dazzle the d20 universe with your talent and creativity. Each monster should be worthy to call itself a denizen of the sunless lands below the ground.
Submissions should be turned in no later than May 27th, 2003. Please use the template provided when submitting your monster. Return all submissions to submissions@bastionpress.com. Winning authors will be paid 3-5 cents per word accepted. We are not looking for standalone color artwork right now, but we would consider artist/author dual submissions (but please understand we might not accept the artwork even if we do accept the monster).
Designers should understand that this is more than “just” a monster manual, and that your submissions will be reworked to match the format of the rest of the book. Our goal is to craft a unique environmental book that includes cool monsters, but we’ll be presenting the material in a different manner (which is not detailed on the template below). If you have any other questions, please contact Jim Butler.
Template:
Monster Name
Size Type
Hit Dice: ?d? + ? (?hp)
Initiative: ? (+? Dex)
Speed: ? ft.
AC: 0 (+? Dex)
Attacks: Weapon +? Melee, or weapon +? Ranged
Damage: weapon ?d? + ?
Face/Reach: ? ft. by ? ft./? ft.
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities:
Saves: Fort +, Ref +, Will +
Abilities: Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
Skills: Listen +, Move Silently +, Hide +
Feats:
Climate/Terrain:
Organization: Solitary, or group (?-?)
Challenge Rating:
Treasure: Standard
Alignment:
Advancement:
Describe the monster here. This general description should be 2-3 paragraphs that give a general overview of the Monster; a physical description (coloration, number of limbs, specific size classification, etc.). The final paragraph should include the languages that the monster speaks.
Combat
This section should discuss the monster’s tactics in battle, then give explanation of special attacks and special qualities. These are listed on page 8-10 of the MM. You are encouraged to also create your own, if applicable, however try to avoid especially complicated special abilities or other properties that closely mirror those already presented in the MM.
Special Ability 1 (Ex): Describe this ability.
Skills: Detail any skill modifiers the monster might have.
Habitat/Society
Describe the creature’s society if intelligent. If not, discuss whether the monster is a pack creature or solo as well as its hunting and eating habits. You may also describe its mating rituals, preferred environments and locations or other pertinent facts about the monster’s unique nuances.
Campaign
Give 2-3 examples of how to fit this monster into a campaign. This includes adventure hooks or general uses for the monster such as “the monster often serves as a guard for a larger, intelligent creature”.
Variant
This is an optional section that might discuss an offshoot or anomalous version of this monster.
I already have about 10 monsters on my HD which fit into this open call that I created just for the hell of it. LOL.
Expect me to send in about 10 at a time for this open call. I see all kinds of oozes, aberrations, and monstrous humanoids just lurking in the wrinkles of my wet brainflesh , scratching at the darkside of my skull to be let out upon the world of man...
Okay, so I am a little morbid. What did you expect?
__________________ Shawn "KingOfChaos" Muder
Fire Controlman 3rd Class, United States Navy
Founder, Realms of Evil Games and the Realms of Evil Network
Do you want these 3.5-compatible, or does it really matter? Like, with skill points/feat allocation? Or would you stick to the MM-presented format (which is what I'm assuming right now...)
If you have access to 3.5, go ahead and write them up for that edition. Otherwise, we'll make the changes to the submissions after we've chosen those we're going to use.
Having access to 3.5 won't increase your chances; not having access to 3.5 won't decrease your chances. :-)
Into the Black and Blue is a subtle way of having an open call to help me move, the black and blue will be your bruises.
E-mail me for details and I will see if I will accept your submission. You need to:
Tell me height
How much you can bench press
Does being in the heat affect your decisions
What lunch you prefer
Do you sweat
What type of vehicle will you drive
Just kidding---good luck Jim, maybe I will enter if for fun, prolly won't get accepted though
Didn't Monsters of the Endless Dark do a good job of this sort of environment already? And the Dungeoncraft book by Fantasy Flight Games? And the upcoming Underdark by Goodman Games?
Just curious as to what's going to set the monsters of this book off as opposed to those found in the other collections mentioned.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mustrum "Gummibärchen helfen auch" Ridcully
Of course the AMHDotEL 4E would help D&D 4E. I suppose it also has good things to say about Shadowrun 4E, right?
But let's face it - the 4th edition of American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language lacks the soul of the OAHDotEL. It's AHDotEL in name only. You just have to look at the anime cover to see that. Anyone using the OAHDoTEL 4E is not really interested in speaking or writing English, he's just looking at a list of words without any flavor or meaning.
Hmm. You seem to be asking (in a thinly veiled way) why we're even bothering to do a book like this, since there's one out similar in theme and another on the way.
The answer is that I think there's plenty of room in industry for different viewpoints. I believe that players and DMs are prone to use bits of pieces of material from a number of sources as they strive to create unique characters and worlds.
Good source material is in high demand, and I like to continue to believe that Bastion is producing great source material for use by both DMs and players. Our "Into the..." series isn't based on another manufacturer's product line. It's our interpretation and application of the rules and knowledge.
What I'm trying to say, is what's going to make this different than a standard monster book outside of the theme of underdark monsters? The Wanderer's Guild bit seems to work well for the Endless Dark and upcoming Boundless Blue but the last all monster book, Minions/Rebirth, was pretty much just a monster collection.
There seemed to be some 'thinly veiled' mention of "Designers should understand that this is more than “just” a monster manual, and that your submissions will be reworked to match the format of the rest of the book. Our goal is to craft a unique environmental book that includes cool monsters, but we’ll be presenting the material in a different manner (which is not detailed on the template below). If you have any other questions, please contact Jim Butler." so I was trying to find out what excatly that meant.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mustrum "Gummibärchen helfen auch" Ridcully
Of course the AMHDotEL 4E would help D&D 4E. I suppose it also has good things to say about Shadowrun 4E, right?
But let's face it - the 4th edition of American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language lacks the soul of the OAHDotEL. It's AHDotEL in name only. You just have to look at the anime cover to see that. Anyone using the OAHDoTEL 4E is not really interested in speaking or writing English, he's just looking at a list of words without any flavor or meaning.
Into the Green (and our upcoming Into the Black) are more than just monster books. While there are some monsters within their pages, these books are designed as sourcebooks and references for the various terrain types.
Players will want them so they can understand the sorts of challenges they should expect to face while within the environments (and what skills, supplies, and other materials they might want to bring). DMs will want the book for the same reasons, though there will also be things like random encounter tables, weather charts, monsters, and other challenges just for them.
What I'm trying to say, is what's going to make this different than a standard monster book outside of the theme of underdark monsters? ...
If you have any other questions, please contact Jim Butler." so I was trying to find out what excatly that meant.
Covering the same ground is hardly a new thing in this industry. For example:
Rules for ships/oceanfaring/combat: The Seafarer's Handbook, Broadsides, Seas of Blood.
Warcraft: Fields of Blood, Cry Havoc, The Open Mass Combat System.
Monsters: CC1, CC2, Monsternomicon, Minions: Fearsom Foes, Legions of Hell, Armies of the Abyss, Liber Bestarius.
Magic: Book of Eldritch Might I,II, & III, Spells and Spellcraft, Relics & Rituals I & II, Spells & Magic.
Scifi Spacecraft Rules: Dragonstar, Blood and Space.
Dungeons: Dungeons, Dungeoncraft, Into the Black.
To be completely honest, the only thing in my entire collection other than campaign setting material that seems completely original is Gary Gygax's Necropolis because it's an entire adventure that takes up a whole hardback book, and it gives us a great deal of material on an Egyptian type setting. What I find the most amusing about this is that regardless of how original it may be in relation to the rest of the D20 products, the material itself is more than 10 years old. I have the originals.
The precedent for this type of thing was set in the early days of D20. Personally I'll buy monster books until the Illithids come home as long as they keep making them and they keep being good. I'll also buy multiple books on other topics if I can get them to both work in my game and they both have something useful to contribute.
__________________ Darrin Drader
Freelance Writer/Game Designer
Previously posting as Whisperfoot
Originally posted by Jim Butler DMs will want the book for the same reasons, though there will also be things like random encounter tables, weather charts, monsters, and other challenges just for them.
I hope this helps... ;-)
Yes it does. This is something that can now be added to those monsters from the other books and increases their usefulness in turn.
Sounds good. Any previews planned?
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mustrum "Gummibärchen helfen auch" Ridcully
Of course the AMHDotEL 4E would help D&D 4E. I suppose it also has good things to say about Shadowrun 4E, right?
But let's face it - the 4th edition of American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language lacks the soul of the OAHDotEL. It's AHDotEL in name only. You just have to look at the anime cover to see that. Anyone using the OAHDoTEL 4E is not really interested in speaking or writing English, he's just looking at a list of words without any flavor or meaning.
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