Rejected Dungeon Submissions

[Altalazar]

Who has submitted adventures to Dungeon magazine that have been REJECTED, and what were they about?

I saw the thread about the list of plots NOT to use and I wonder what other plots there are out there that have been rejected.

Here's one of mine - the first time I submitted to Dungeon was probably when it was only a few years old, during 2E days.

My plotline: Inspired by the Tome of Magic - it revolved around a wild mage who hired the party to recover his sofa because, get this, a wild surge had caused him to fall in love with it. Bandits had stolen it intending to get the mage to do something. There was more to it than that, which I can't recall now offhand, but I thought it was an interesting, if somewhat humorous, but still plausible within the rules, sort of scenario. And I was sure it was not something they had seen before. One form rejection letter later, I was dejectedly trying to think of something else.

I think I may have made one or two other submissions back then, but I can't recall offhand. I may try and dig up my scrapbook and see if I still have them so I can add them to this thread.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

I sent in a submission about a false front lawful good temple 9really chaotic evil) that was using Slithering Trackers to kill the royal family of a city. The adventure would have had the PCs hobnobbing with royalty and the upper echelons of the church trying to find out what was happening.

That was about 13 years ago though - never did get around to sending in another one.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I had this submission about a wild mage who fell in love with a coffee table.

 

[Altalazar]

I had this submission about a wild mage who fell in love with a coffee table.

Ok, I'm suing you for copyright infringement.

(Unless you came up with it independently - then you could have come up with a wild mage falling in love with a sofa and it would not be a violation of copyright...)

 

[BOZ]

I sent in a submission about a false front lawful good temple 9really chaotic evil) that was using Slithering Trackers to kill the royal family of a city. The adventure would have had the PCs hobnobbing with royalty and the upper echelons of the church trying to find out what was happening.

That was about 13 years ago though - never did get around to sending in another one.

tweak the rules and send it in again. editors have changed many hands since then; what someone may not have liked back then, someone else may like now.

 

[jdrakeh]

I sent in a submission about a false front lawful good temple 9really chaotic evil) that was using Slithering Trackers to kill the royal family of a city. The adventure would have had the PCs hobnobbing with royalty and the upper echelons of the church trying to find out what was happening.

I'd play that, depending up the specifics. The basic idea sounds good, though. I liek heavy political and/or social intrigue mixed with my ass-kicking of evil (this is one of the reasons that Maelstrom Storytelling is still one of my all-time favortie games).

 

[danbuter]

I sent in a Side Quest about the PC's being accused of being bandits. One of them looks eerily like a major bandit in the area. This was many years ago, when the magazine was only a year or two old. I have since found out this is a very common submission.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

I've sent one about a beer festival that the characters were supposed to attend in a small village, but the beer was poisoned and every one in the village fell asleep. The only ones that didn't were children, and the characters had to investigate while getting clues from the children (the children! when will someone think of the children!)

The other one revolved around a circus show that came into town and used doll golems to capture children (again, the children) or steal stuff.

Last one was about a rich noble that invites the characters to his estate... only TO HUNT THEM DOWN IN THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME OF ALL!

*sigh*

AR

 

[Graf]

I'm curious what responces this thread will generate.
I am forced to admit that "Wild mage in love with his sofa" does not sound like an adventure that I would be able to sell my PCs on.
On the other hand lots of DnD games revolve around "find the apparently useless object that is actually really valuble".
Having that object that the owner so desperately covets, turn out to be truly valueless -is- a novel twist.

 

[Kuld]

Another thing I’ve found is that an adventure may sound awful when read, but turns out to be fun to play. Just like some aspects of my adventures that I add just for fluff end up a major part of the adventures. Well, I guess what I’m tryin’ to say is that just because publishers don’t like it doesn’t mean players wont.