How well do you know... Hell?

[Morrus]

EN Publishing is lining up a new sourcebook which dispenses with the D&D cosmology and presents gamers with Hell itself - a book detailing the most infamous of evil planes as imagined in classical mythology and literature. A Hell inspired by - but not simulating the works of - Dante, Milton and others.

A Hell designed for mature audiences. A Hell which is terrifying, horrifying and undeniaby evil. A Hell which has never heard of tanar'ri, baatezu, or a Blood War.

Author required: a book of between 25,000 - 50,000 words, paid as work-for-hire at 2 cents per word. Previous game writing credentials are essential - we want this to go smoothly and without a hitch.

The book will include a a high-level standalone adventure. The sourcebook will detail locations, NPCs (devils), rules, and more, and contain evocative prose.

Are you up to the challenge of writing the ultimate sourcebook on Hell itself? You need to be able to start work immediately, and development time will be no longer than three months.

If you feel you could write this book, please email me at russmorrissey@gmail.com. Please include:

1) Your game writing credentials - a list of works you have written, and the publishers.

2) At least two published samples of your work; one showing your ability to write prose, the other showing your ability to write d20 game stats. You may send more if you wish, but these two are esential.

3) A one-page outline of how you envisage the project.

The book will be published in PDF and softcover format. Remember, this is to be a work for mature audiences.

Any questions, please ask.

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

Well damn, this sounds like it's right up my alley. Unfortunately, I'll be preoccupied with another infernal realm for the next 6 months.

I really dig the "Classical Hell" approach, and I love the fact that its going to be for mature audiences.

BD

 

[Vascant]

This could be very interesting, I have an original 3rd Edition of Paradise Lost printed in 1678. I have found it to be one of those books you can read many times over and take away something different each time.

I hope you find someone who really understands the mentality of the literature because this could turn out to be one of those d20 products that is mind blowing.

 

[Morrus]

This could be very interesting, I have an original 3rd Edition of Paradise Lost printed in 1678. I have found it to be one of those books you can read many times over and take away something different each time.

I hope you find someone who really understands the mentality of the literature because this could turn out to be one of those d20 products that is mind blowing.

Well, it's to be inspired by classical literature, not a copy of -- Paradise Lost is only one example.

It's still gonna be a D&D plane - the primary use is gaming. But it's about rewriting the D&D cosmology completely. We'll be moving on to other planes later, depending on how well this one goes, but we won't be referring to the standard D&D list of planes at all.

 

[Bardsandsages]

I know all about Hell...I work there!

Seriously, this sounds like an ambitious project to say the least. I'll include a link to this thread and some info in the markets section of our upcoming newsletter.

It's offers like this that make me wish I had TIME to freelance.

 

[Morrus]

I've had a few questions along similar lines, so I thought I'd post a bit more here:

The long term goal depends on how well the first book goes, but the official WotC cosmology will not be a source of reference. Certainly, we'll not refer to Manual of the Planes or the Monster Manual at any point in the process. Of course, some things will be similar, because WotC used literary sources as its inspiration, too.

We'll add other planes later if the initial plane is received well.

My general concept is that this Hell is a combination/consolidation of literary sources, streamlined for gaming purposes. As an example - the "great power" in Hell will bear all of our names for him (Satan, Lucifer, etc.), but these are merely *our* names for him, and will be amongst a list of names he is known by.

I wasn't planning on having a plane for each alignment - that strikes me as very forced. Rather they'll be thematic. Later we'll approach, for example, Valhalla.

So, yes, I envisage this Hell as the ultimate evil, and am not planning on an Abyss to counterbalance it.

As a mature project, we'll be ignoring any of the restrictions WotC placed on itself. Maybe we'll even offend someone (although that's not the intent)! The concept of tanar'ri or baatezu is out, as is the Blood War.

Hell has demons and devils, not tanar'ri and baatezu!

As several people have asked, the theme of torment, suffering and punishment is very much ignored in the official projects. That is absolutely something I want to bring back - Hell is an eternal prison for sinners. I also want to heaviliy use the thematic elements of the Seven Deadly Sins (inspired partly by EN Publishing's own Fiends of Sin product).

I'll be working very closely with the author to achieve and develop the project. The one-page outline, essentially, is to see if the author's wavelength "clicks" with me. Don't worry too much about the details - feel free to include them to show off your imagination, but don't worry that I'll see a detail I don't like and will discard the whole entry. The general "vibe" is what I'm looking for. We'll work out the details later!

 

[TheLe]

Paid - Writing - How well do you know... Hell?

Being married for four years now, I would probably say that I know Hell very well. Unfortunately I cannot translate it into balancing game mechanics since all Will Saves for male players would fail all the time.

~Le

 

[Stormborn]

Just started teaching a new Old Testament Survey course at a local community college, but I have to say I am very tempted to submit a proposal. I will give it some thought. As it looks like Morrus will be gone for the next week I guess there is not a rush at this stage.

 

[RSKennan]

I wrote the Complete Guide to Fey, which D&Dified fairy lore without being too on the nose with the sources, and I've wanted to do Hell for a long time. Unfortunately, I have a big change going on in my life, and wouldn't be able to start until December 1st. Should I even bother with a proposal, or do you need to have someone working immediately?

 

[RSKennan]

Ugh- I didn't see the dates on the thread. I guess I thought there was more traffic in here. Sory about that and disregard unless there's still an opening that can wait until after December 1st.