A love note to the editorial staff of Dungeon Magazine…

A love note to the editorial staff of Dungeon Magazine…

I just received word about the new Creature Catalog feature: https://www.enworld.org/index.php?threads/109169/

I’m sure you guys must have known that someone who writes for a website called the Creature Catalog would notice that sooner or later.

Before I submit an article, I have to ask; are conversions of old monsters OK? And if so, would you rather see an article that contains both conversions and original creations, or would an article with just conversions be fine?

Although we haven't yet run a "Creature Catalog" in Dungeon (and there's a chance we'll be moving the feature to Dragon), the vision for this feature is a sort of "mini-Monster Manual". Back in the mists of time, Dragon #89 I think it was, the magazine ran a pull-out central section called the Creature Catalog that was made up of fan-created monsters. There were 29 new monsters in it, far more than the typical 3-6 that had generally appeared in the magazine in the "Dragon's Bestiary" up to that point. A Creature Catalog II and eventually a Creature Catalog III appeared over the next few issues.

Basically, our goal with this feature was to resurrect the old catalog for the new magazine. At about 8,000 words apiece, that's probably around 6-10 monsters per installment, less than the original but more than the currently retired "Bestiary" feature. As for what types of monsters we're looking for... converted creatures from older editions are as welcome as new creatures. The only real guideline is that all the monsters in the submission should be tied together thematically. Like “Denizens of the Nyr Dyv” or “Dragon Minions of Chult.” For some examples of some prototype articles for the Creature Catalog, check out Dungeon #110’s Dark Sun monster appendix, or #112’s “Maure Castle” appendix. Each contains some new monsters and some old updates.

Two hints on monster design: 1) Make sure the monster fills a role that isn’t already filled by something similar in the Monster Manual; no need for a burrowing mid-CR monster with a mind-affecting gaze attack when we’ve already got the umber hulk, for example. 2) Make sure the monster looks neat. All the monsters will have illustrations, and monsters that look boring will have boring illustrations and everyone will hate them.

I’m looking forward to seeing some monsters lurking in the email soon!

Thanks again for the quick response!

And, you answered another question I forgot to ask – it looks like monsters from specific campaign themes are OK. I understand the current viewpoint of making things not too world specific, and more generalized, but an article that mentions some familiar places and people can make it more interesting. As long as it’s not too tied to the circumstances of a particular setting, eh?

OK, your inbox will soon be flooded with monster article ideas.

James Jacobs and the Dungeon Staff...YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!

Between this and Erik Mona taking the reins, I've never been happier to have a subscription to these magazines.

Talk about a Christmas present!

Somewhat tangential, but related: What is Dragon's/Dungeon's current take on material that was posted online earlier? What if only a portion of the material was posted, while the rest remained unseen on my hard drive?
The last time I heard something about that, the take was that it wouldn't be accepted either way, and it would make sense if it has remained that way.

It's stayed that way; we still avoid publishing anything that's already seen print in another medium. That said, feel free to expand on the unpublished ideas & take them into new areas. (After you've submitted a querry about the article and recieved the go-code from the magazine, of course!)

And thanks for all the kind words, everyone!

I'll echo James's sentiment. Thanks for the squishy love letters.

Keep 'em coming.

--Erik

Alright, I understand that previously published work is a no-go. But what about stuff that's made an appearance on the web? For example, the guys in the General Monster Forum are already discussing submitting conversions from the online Creature Catalog, and I have plenty of interesting creatures on the Homebrews forum. Could these be published? If so, would they need to be removed from the web?

Demiurge out.

Man, what would really rock is if those creatures that first appeared in those three Creature Collection/Catalog books make their return! The Elder Wrym I tell you!

I submitted a creature Catalog article idea recently, but I was told to resubmit the same idea to Dragon. Should we be sending these queries to Dragon or Dungeon?