Charity Fundraiser - our own setting search!

[The Cardinal]

144-pager

18 settings

The Center - 1 Setting with 32 pages
The Pentagram - 5 Settings with 16 pages each
The Periphery - 12 Settings with 2 pages each

--- the remaining 8 pages are for index, introduction, etc.


(30% for the authors - 1x19%, 5x1%, 12x0.5%)

 

[Maraxle]

How about a 128-pager?

Top 3 settings, 40 pages each, plus 8 pages for intro/outro/etc.

20% split - 10% for first place, 5% each for the other two.

 

[BluWolf]

144-pager

18 settings

The Center - 1 Setting with 32 pages
The Pentagram - 5 Settings with 16 pages each
The Periphery - 12 Settings with 2 pages each

--- the remaining 8 pages are for index, introduction, etc.


(30% for the authors - 1x19%, 5x1%, 12x0.5%)

I like your idea Cardinal, but I would go 20% for the 1 winner and 2% for the 5 - 16 pagers.

I think splitting it any more than this would result in some $.16 royalty checks.

I'm guessing even the 20% is not going to be a substantial amount of money.

 

[Graf]

Re: Public Vote

WORD COUNT:
I can't find the genius who posted this but absolutely make it word count! Not joking. pages is nightmarish (and amusingly outdated). Stateing it up-front will be good.

It would be a very bad idea to make part of such a contest subject to an open vote. Online voting is notoriously non-representative and subject to easy manipulation. And how many voters are actually going to read all 100-1000 submissions? Almost none. . )

While I do think this should be a concern this should probably be an enworld vote, but the reading material has to be light.

Its impossible to hide identities. Also (frankly) it would be good to see what else people have produced. I just finished the Defenders of Daybreak collected story our thing and assuming that Pkitty and <someone I've never heard of> were duking it out with very strong ideas I'd vote for Pkitty. I'd do it because he's demonstrated the ability to exicute.

I would also consider that the vote informed. Its only a popularity contest if people are voting for who they like -instead- of who they think will do a good job.

PAY PEOPLE SOMETHING FOR THEIR SERVICES. You'll get better products that way. 20% of what will probably be a fairly small amount of money vs. the amount of effort (and getting badgered on the message boards and all the other stuff that's going to happen to whoever offers up themselves on this altar of public opinion).

Wouldnt it be great if the entire community could seriously get behind one public authored setting ...

personally I don't think so.

I would suggest changing the game a little - ask for submissions to be in a new format, including a new length (maybe two pages, or 2000 words?), and a new template (rather than asking for a core ethos statement, who are the heroes, etc, ask for a sample settlement, a description of a typical tavern/restaurant, and a hierarchy for a temple - or something completely different, whatever). This will require people to put a little more effort into the contest than just resending what they've already written, and might cut down on the number of entries.

Its possible that Stevenrs is wrong. But I doubt it. Furthermore I think a lot of people have probably thought about their submissions a lot. Let them revise. It'll make for better products (and let people get a second chance to justify their dreams).

Also I think you should allow people to pimp. Post additional material for their idea, stories they have, or what have you (not on the basic form but on the boards or wherever). Anything that increases the material availible to people for their own games...

 

[Umbran]

Re: Re: Public Vote

Also I think you should allow people to pimp.

I dunno if this is a good idea. It steps away from the "level playing field" approach.

If you do allow pimping, for pity's sake put it in it's own forum. With hundreds or thousands of entries, pimping would likely flood any of the normal forums.

 

[NoOneofConsequence]

Re: Re: Public Vote

WORD COUNT:
I can't find the genius who posted this but absolutely make it word count! Not joking. pages is nightmarish (and amusingly outdated). Stateing it up-front will be good.

*bowing modestly*
It's nice to be called a genius by someone other than myself.

Thank you

 

[Morgenstern]

Contents

First off, I'd dump the idea of including 1-page entries~ they're being posted to the site. Why try to sell them when they're being offered for free at the same place?

Second, I have my doubts about the actual utility of 10-page entries. That's not really a lot of room to work in, especially when you're talking about a world. A world unique enough to require a history and a few crunchy bits (can you tell I'm a mechanics writer ?) won't even begin to fit. Moreso if you include a map...

My gut reaction, if I were planning to go to print with such a book (a possible outcome I would imagine given the success of some other .pdf products) would be a 96 page volume. That could easily be divided into two 48 page or three 32 page segments. Give equal time and equal pay to whichever ideas are choosen. Skip the elaborate pay schemes. This also takes some of the onus off the judges. You don't have to indicate a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, you can just announce them as among the winners. With ToC, OGL lisence, some art, and a few maps that is still about 18,000 or 27,000 words per writter.

If it's wildly successful, you can do a volume II with 2-3 more settings.

If a particular setting meets with oodles of praise, you can go into a follow-up book that is focused on that one book (and might be a purely pro volume done through Natural 20, given the amount of work involved).

As someone who does write these things professionally, I have to agree that "word count" is generally the opperative term for understanding how much work you're gonna have to do creating one of these things . And given that your winning setting probably won't be coming from a pro, you'll also need a schedule that allows for a bit more time to put it all together.

Time permiting, I might volunteer to do some editing .

 

[laiyna]

other idea

Sorry to say so but I'm out. I do like the idea to buy a setting for a charity but I do not buy pdf files. This for several reasons:

1) I can find them within 2 weeks for free if I want (and I hate that).

2) I can not find details easy in an pdf file.

3) It cost more for me to print an pdf of 100 pages then to buy a book of 100 pages.

4) A printed pdf file never looks as good as a real book and a real book last longer.

My sugestion would be to find a good d20 Author who writes an adventure for free, try to find a publisher who will print it as cheap as posible and offer them besides a pdf file also on hard copy. I think several d20 on-line shops would be more then willing to help you with this becouse of the extra people in they're shop who buy stuff.

And an adventure is cheaper and sells faster/more easy.

Laiyna

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Re: Contents

First off, I'd dump the idea of including 1-page entries~

I agree with this assessment. Further, one page is not a lot of space to get into an entire setting - those pages would be better used given over to multi-page settings. Giving one-page settings space in the book but limiting them to one page is redundant and superfluous.

Second, I have my doubts about the actual utility of 10-page entries.

I generally agree here as well. That is not a lot of space.

My gut reaction, if I were planning to go to print with such a book (a possible outcome I would imagine given the success of some other .pdf products) would be a 96 page volume.

How about – assuming a 96 page book – one 48 page section, the winner, and two 24 page sections, the second and third place respectively.

Voting would be nice but is their any cost effective – in terms of money and time – way to make certain a writer could not vote for their own entry 148 times. The “honor system” would not be sufficient.

Perhaps some-kind of voting system to winnow it down to 100 to 200 entries at which point those entries are turned over to judges who have *not* entered.

 

[seasong]

My Thoughts (IMHO Only, Of Course)
Submissions

One setting per person. Pick your best one.

1000 words
* short magazine article
* plenty of space for most ideas
* won't kill judges
* majority of WotC submissions can still fit without modification.
* 1500-2000 words more flexible, but would kill judges.
* less than 1000 words not fair to complex settings

Due Process

I prefer judges all the way. I wouldn't mind using polling to pick the judges, of course . Also: Don't talk about your submission (or maybe Morrus can start a thread where we can, but which the judges know not to read).

Whatever process is used should end up with a 1st place setting with 40-50K words, and 9 runners up with 5-10K words. These will go into the book .

Book

I very much like the idea of a multi-setting book. If it works out well (and if the judges aren't dead), I would love the idea of buying one of these annually. Below is my ideal book:

Possible Title: The 2002 Setting Book? (128 pages)
Title Page: 1 page
Thorough Table of Contents: 1 page
Introduction: 2 pages (Morrus, maybe Anthony or Ryan?)
Author Bios: 2 pages (1 paragraph each)
1st Place: 50 pages
9 Runners Up: 8 pages each (72 pages total)

1st place gets half of author profit; runners up split the other half evenly. Example:
1st place: 10%
9 Runners Up: 1.1% each
(Or you could do 15% and 1.65% each; or 20% and 2.2% each)

This would look real good on my shelf. Real good.

Top 5 Advantages:
5. Individual authors can publish more thorough treatments, supplements, etc.
4. Ten Good Settings. One Big Book.
3. Cost efficient in print.
2. Author bios!
1. I repeat: This would look real good on my shelf.