Creature Collection III Open Call

[Nightfall]

n/m

 

[SSS-Druid]

Re: Questions about the CC3 Open Call

Hi SSS-Druid!
Am I right in thinking that you no longer want a full stat block (as was the case for the CC2 Submissions)? If so, what was the thinking behind that change?

Essentially, I decided that this should be run as more of a proposal gathering than a finished product collection. This will allow me to do two things.

1. Those who are chosen will go through a full production process with me, giving them experience in working in the industry in a non-Open Call capacity; that is, signing a contract to deliver work by certain deadlines, receiving redlines and working closely with me to help create the kind of book that we all want to see, as compared to just sending something in and waiting to see what kind of changes we made.

2. In days past, these projects were overseen by multiple developers. Now, it is just Anthony and I. So, we want to be as concise and controlled about this as possible. I don't want to check the numbers on a hundred snot golems and mud dragons. This will allow me to focus on the rules-fu of just the concepts I want to see.

Secondly, are we still using the same visceral naming conventions as last time. ie. "Blood Beast" instead of "Bluttaken" for instance?

Send me more "Blood [blah]s" and I will kill you with a used toothpick inserted into an orange and catapulted from leagues away.

Seriously, though, yes, we are likely to be using the same type of naming conventions.

Lastly, what is the CR range for the monsters in the CC3? (1/10th to 28?) Will the book concentrate on relatively higher CR monsters (as per MM2) or will it still maintain a fairly regimented spread?

Since we are populating two continents with this stuff, we are shooting for a majority of critters that are less than CR 10. I will particularly be looking for critters in the low ranges, in order to give us some good "monster pyramid" foundations.

 

[Nightfall]

Well I was close. Under 10 eh? See what I can manage...

 

[Upper_Krust]

Re: Questions about the CC3 Open Call

Hi SSS-Druid!

Thanks for the reply.

Essentially, I decided that this should be run as more of a proposal gathering than a finished product collection. This will allow me to do two things.

1. Those who are chosen will go through a full production process with me, giving them experience in working in the industry in a non-Open Call capacity; that is, signing a contract to deliver work by certain deadlines, receiving redlines and working closely with me to help create the kind of book that we all want to see, as compared to just sending something in and waiting to see what kind of changes we made.

Sounds interesting.

Especially considering you guys made a few changes to some of my submissions last time I would have argued against.

2. In days past, these projects were overseen by multiple developers. Now, it is just Anthony and I. So, we want to be as concise and controlled about this as possible. I don't want to check the numbers on a hundred snot golems and mud dragons. This will allow me to focus on the rules-fu of just the concepts I want to see.

So snot golem and mud dragon are already taken then!

Send me more "Blood [blah]s" and I will kill you with a used toothpick inserted into an orange and catapulted from leagues away.

I was only teasing, honest.

Seriously, though, yes, we are likely to be using the same type of naming conventions.

I thought as much.

Since we are populating two continents with this stuff, we are shooting for a majority of critters that are less than CR 10. I will particularly be looking for critters in the low ranges, in order to give us some good "monster pyramid" foundations.

I understand what you mean by 'monster pyramids'.

I actually took a glance at both Creature Collections. The first has 15 monsters of CR10+ (8.1 %) and the second 19 monsters of CR 10+ (11.6%).

So I suppose a figure of 10% represents a feasible approximation.

I had another look at my ideas and there are only a half dozen or so that are by necessity CR 10+ (Not as many as I initially envisioned), so hopefully if they are interesting enough to be chosen they will not tax the quota too much.

 

[Nightfall]

Re: Re: Questions about the CC3 Open Call

I understand what you mean by 'monster pyramids'.

I actually took a glance at both Creature Collections. The first has 15 monsters of CR10+ (8.1 %) and the second 19 monsters of CR 10+ (11.6%).

So I suppose a figure of 10% represents a feasible approximation.

I had another look at my ideas and there are only a half dozen or so that are by necessity CR 10+ (Not as many as I initially envisioned), so hopefully if they are interesting enough to be chosen they will not tax the quota too much.

Well just leave me some leeway Krusty! I have a few "outsiders" I want to trot out. In any case see I was right! Sort of. You should know better and trust me! *is teasing*

 

[Nightfall]

Bump for S&SS goodness and to say I want to ask Bruce Baugh about Penumbral Pentagon. Is really 88 pages long? Seems rather short...

 

[Mouseferatu]

Since we are populating two continents with this stuff, we are shooting for a majority of critters that are less than CR 10. I will particularly be looking for critters in the low ranges, in order to give us some good "monster pyramid" foundations.

Er... ah... hmm...

Uh-oh.

*Breaks out the hammer, chisel, crowbar, and shoe horn so he can squeeze himself into that minority proportion of CR 10+ critters...*

 

[Sidran]

Are your Dark Huntsmen based at all on the Black Cauldron?

Nope just a really evil undead template that I used many a time to freak out my players, You might find the early version of it in homebrews, as with a few others I mentioned.

 

[Gez]

I may try to join in the fun. I've a few monster ideas that could probably fit in the Scarred Lands.

Two questions:

Should all creatures be monsters to defeat (be they dim-witted predators or malevolent beings) or are you also interested by intelligent neutrals and good creatures ?

Could subraces (like CC1 had subraces of elves, dwarves, etc.) be acceptable also ? I've notably two variant orc subraces I'm quite proud of, so if I could get them published...

 

[SSS-Druid]

I'm not too keen on variant races, but if there is a genuinely setting-appropriate reason for including them, I may want to see more on them.

That's the great thing about doing things this way - you can just send me as bloody many proposals as you want, and I've got plenty of options. No one has to sit up nights working up stats on things that aren't going to see print, and I don't have crunch numbers in editing until I know which monsters I want.

Also, feel free to include neutral and good creatures. In particular, some of the theocratic city-states of Asherak have oath-bound celestials working as civil servants to the city. Remember the task-genies of Al Qadim? Well, give them angel (or devil...) wings and that is the basic idea, here.