Charity Fundraiser - our own setting search!
- Thread starter Morrus
- Start date
Crusty Older DM
First Post
Excellent Idea
In fact, any d20 publisher that hasn't decided to do a Fantasy Setting contest is missing a huge opportunity. A lot of people will buy a setting "because" it won the contest of a quality publisher, and I'm sure there is plenty of good material out there (and even more bad material
).
I would suggest opening it up to one-pagers. Some good writers may not be able to take the time to do a good 10 page treatment on spec for an open contest now that August is over.
In fact, any d20 publisher that hasn't decided to do a Fantasy Setting contest is missing a huge opportunity. A lot of people will buy a setting "because" it won the contest of a quality publisher, and I'm sure there is plenty of good material out there (and even more bad material
).I would suggest opening it up to one-pagers. Some good writers may not be able to take the time to do a good 10 page treatment on spec for an open contest now that August is over.
Femerus the Gnecro
First Post
I agree that there needs to be some way to make them all anonymous.
I mean, who would you rather vote for, given two settings of relatively equal quality?
An unknown board lurker, or Pkitty?
Furthermore, even if you, personally think that you can be unbiased about it, how many people on these boards do you think wouldn't be?
Also, who gets to judge? Are the judges then excluded from submitting?
These are the kind of questions that need to be answered before this idea can get off the ground so to speak.
That being said... if they're taken care of, I'm all for it!
-F
I mean, who would you rather vote for, given two settings of relatively equal quality?
An unknown board lurker, or Pkitty?
Furthermore, even if you, personally think that you can be unbiased about it, how many people on these boards do you think wouldn't be?
Also, who gets to judge? Are the judges then excluded from submitting?
These are the kind of questions that need to be answered before this idea can get off the ground so to speak.
That being said... if they're taken care of, I'm all for it!
-F
jgbrowning
Hero
well
personally none of those questions bother me. If morrus wants to pick the setting he submitted and publish it, thats up to him.
if the D20 guys are biased, let them be. its their publishing biz and their not offering 120k$
with WoTC though, i think they had to work hard for PR and perhaps legal reasons (due to the amount of money they were offering). I dont think this would have to have near as many blind test check type of stuff.
but, honestly Morrus you're gonna get swamped. even if you only get 1000.. man i wouldn't want to look through all of them... and no matter what you do some people are gonna give you hell about your choices and methods.
so with that in mind, still sound like a good idea? if so, cool
i think its a good idea too.
joe b.
Femerus the Gnecro said:
personally none of those questions bother me. If morrus wants to pick the setting he submitted and publish it, thats up to him.
if the D20 guys are biased, let them be. its their publishing biz and their not offering 120k$
with WoTC though, i think they had to work hard for PR and perhaps legal reasons (due to the amount of money they were offering). I dont think this would have to have near as many blind test check type of stuff.
but, honestly Morrus you're gonna get swamped. even if you only get 1000.. man i wouldn't want to look through all of them... and no matter what you do some people are gonna give you hell about your choices and methods.
so with that in mind, still sound like a good idea? if so, cool
i think its a good idea too.joe b.
Heap Thaumaturgist
First Post
I think a cut for the author is in order.
I'd also say the contest should be modified from the WotC one. There's alot of work that'll be going into that, and I think it's more work than the people here will be able/willing to do for free.
I'd suggest a one-page proposal followed by 10 people selected to do 15 page expanded briefs. Then of those ten, select only one to do a slimline setting book. You'll need to design templates, I think, for the 15 pagers AND for the finished book. I'm sure WotC has a template for the three finalists to write their 100 pager on. And I'm also sure that wouldn't work for a pure "Setting" ... they're looking for art, minis ideas, maps, etc etc. If you slim the book down, give a structure that can be used directly for a D20 Setting you'll get a smaller book that can be published and usable.
I think the 100 page "Bibles" that are being produced for WotC are NOT the finished product. The authors won't see their books in print, they'll see their ideas, and are only given "preferential treatment" as to being selected to write the Bob's World Guide or whatever will be the main book for the new setting, etc etc.
Even not needing to find artists and produce ideas outside of RPG setting context ... I think producing a final setting draft will be alot of work. Many many man-hours. So you're definately going to need to pay the author something. I'm sure alot of people on here are thinking: "It's for charity! And I'll be published!!" but you'll find about two months in that trying to write a finished BOOK while working and having a home life, and knowing you're not getting paid anything for it, that you'll be putting it farther and farther behind. We all have lives, I don't think many of us can set aside everything to produce a full sized and USABLE campaign setting for free.
I'm as up for charity as the next guy, but with school, work, paid projects, and maintaining friendships, I know I wouldn't have the time or energy to produce a quality product of that size for free.
Now, that 20K Wizards was handing out? That I could do. Getting a sort of royalty on something I've produced ... I can do that too. That's also incentive to produce the best work I can. Good work = Good sales. Good sales = Money for Charity AND Money for Food. It's no good producing something for charity if doing so means YOU'RE the charity.
--HT
I'd also say the contest should be modified from the WotC one. There's alot of work that'll be going into that, and I think it's more work than the people here will be able/willing to do for free.
I'd suggest a one-page proposal followed by 10 people selected to do 15 page expanded briefs. Then of those ten, select only one to do a slimline setting book. You'll need to design templates, I think, for the 15 pagers AND for the finished book. I'm sure WotC has a template for the three finalists to write their 100 pager on. And I'm also sure that wouldn't work for a pure "Setting" ... they're looking for art, minis ideas, maps, etc etc. If you slim the book down, give a structure that can be used directly for a D20 Setting you'll get a smaller book that can be published and usable.
I think the 100 page "Bibles" that are being produced for WotC are NOT the finished product. The authors won't see their books in print, they'll see their ideas, and are only given "preferential treatment" as to being selected to write the Bob's World Guide or whatever will be the main book for the new setting, etc etc.
Even not needing to find artists and produce ideas outside of RPG setting context ... I think producing a final setting draft will be alot of work. Many many man-hours. So you're definately going to need to pay the author something. I'm sure alot of people on here are thinking: "It's for charity! And I'll be published!!" but you'll find about two months in that trying to write a finished BOOK while working and having a home life, and knowing you're not getting paid anything for it, that you'll be putting it farther and farther behind. We all have lives, I don't think many of us can set aside everything to produce a full sized and USABLE campaign setting for free.
I'm as up for charity as the next guy, but with school, work, paid projects, and maintaining friendships, I know I wouldn't have the time or energy to produce a quality product of that size for free.
Now, that 20K Wizards was handing out? That I could do. Getting a sort of royalty on something I've produced ... I can do that too. That's also incentive to produce the best work I can. Good work = Good sales. Good sales = Money for Charity AND Money for Food. It's no good producing something for charity if doing so means YOU'RE the charity.
--HT
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