RPG Jobs Roundup: Bloat Games, Happy Gnome Publishing, Ginger Goat Press

For many gamers, the dream is to play great games. Within that group, there’s a subset that dreams of making great games, being paid to create content for tabletop RPGs. For them, bringing joy to gamers while covering their bills is the goal. For any gamer looking to make the jump (and even those that already have), finding jobs can be a challenge. To that end, we’re curating a list of some of the gaming companies that are looking for freelancers and permanent employees to create content, fiction, and art.

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Bloat Games

• Type of employment: Freelance short story author
• Assignment: 2,500 to 16,000 word superhero short story
• Rate of pay: $0.01 per word
• Deadline: TBD
• Note: Bloat Games is asking for the “[n]on-exclusive rights to publish the story. Writer retains all other rights and Intellectual IP and can resell the story to other publishers.”

After successfully funding their superhero OSR, SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City Tabletop Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter, Bloat Games issued an open call for short story superhero fiction to go into their Vigilante City anthology. They are looking for stories set in the near future revolving around “gritty, street-level,” non-powered vigilantes. While the rate for this is low, the terms favor the creator over the publisher as they’re only asking for the “[n]on-exclusive rights” to the story. Since BG is not asking for full rights, you are being paid a modest sum on fair terms that allows you to retain and exploit your work as you see fit. For more details, read their press release here.

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Happy Gnome Publishing

• Type of employment: Freelance writer
• Assignment: Content for Agents of A.A.R.F. Adventure Path
• Rate of pay: $0.03 per word
• Deadline: Not disclosed

Happy Gnome Publishing is a third party publisher that specializes in Pathfinder 1e, D&D 5e, and Starfinder adventures. The company tends toward the lighter side of tabletop with titles like Redshirts: Adventures in Absurdity and The Howling Mine (Agents of A.A.R.F). Having the ability to combine humor with action/adventure is likely going to be a plus. The submission involves “a short (1 paragraph) proposal” where you get to shine without investing too much in a pitch. To read the post and apply, check out their original listing here.

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Ginger Goat Press

• Type of employment: Freelance short story author, OR freelance poetry author
• Assignment: Up to 6,000 word short story, OR a poem
• Rate of pay: $0.06 per word for a short story, OR $30 flat fee for a poem
• Deadline: September 30^th, 2018
• Note: “All protagonists must be racially marginalized. […] At least one space is reserved for an unpublished self-identified author of color or ethnically marginalized author.”

Recently funded on Kickstarter, Ginger Goat Press’ John Silence RPG and collection of short stories and poems offers a non-violent, racially-positive, supernatural alternate history of America. The project is an RPG that involves talking out issues combined with collections of stories and poems featuring marginalized protagonists. The setting for the game and fiction is based on a variation of Algernon Blackwood’s 1908 novel, John Silence, Physician Extraordinary, and focuses on “black, indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) psychic detectives.” Its creator, Josh Jordan, is on a mission to get first time, minority creators, as well as veteran authors, in print. Through the John Silence collection of short stories and poems, he is insuring underrepresented voices can tell stories, or read stories that feature individuals of color as well as religious minorities. For more details, read the Kickstarter update here.

Does RPG journalism call to you? Would you like to write about tabletop RPGs for ENWorld? Check out EN World’s Columnist program and let us hear from you. The rate is “$0.04c per word” for 600-word articles.

This article was contributed by Egg Embry as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Do you have a tabletop RPG related job you’d like to share? Contact Egg Embry here to share the details.

 

[Von Ether]

I have to give Bloat Games credit. Ordinarily I'd snort at a penny a word, but it's for non-exclusive rights. If I was a self-pub writer already doing a super hero story, I'd give it a shot.

Better yet, it might be a good cross-promotion opportunity for both.

 

[Connorsrpg]

This is a great idea for a column. Well done in tracking down the opportunities out there.

I will definitely be keeping an eye on this column.

Obviously there will be a shout out to EN5ider and Trailseeker too at this stage. I assume those are still open for submissions

 

[Yaztromo]

Not 100% sure you can pay bills with this... but most likely a pizza...

 

[Terry Herc]

I really like this news piece, I hope to see more like this in the future

 

[Egg Embry]

This is a great idea for a column. Well done in tracking down the opportunities out there.

I will definitely be keeping an eye on this column.

Obviously there will be a shout out to EN5ider and Trailseeker too at this stage. I assume those are still open for submissions

Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate them.
I considered leading with EN5ider and Trailseeker, but that didn't feel right for a first column (featuring Morrus' jobs first on Morrus' site). That said, at a future date, I want to do a "Work for Morrus" roundup that covers the Patreons and the ENWorld Columnist program.

Thanks,

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer
If you're a publisher that would like to share an RPG-related job opportunity, please contact me here.
If you're looking for helpful tips and stock art for your RPG, check out CREATE YOUR OWN FANTASY RPG ADVENTURE - RPG RESOURCES BOOKS on Kickstarter (featuring James Ward, Lenard Lakofka, Rick Hershey, myself, and more).

 

[Egg Embry]

Not 100% sure you can pay bills with this... but most likely a pizza...

Hey, win-win! Everyone needs pizza for game night! :-D

Thanks,

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer
If you're a publisher that would like to share an RPG-related job opportunity, please contact me here.
If you're looking for helpful tips and stock art for your RPG, check out CREATE YOUR OWN FANTASY RPG ADVENTURE - RPG RESOURCES BOOKS on Kickstarter (featuring James Ward, Lenard Lakofka, Rick Hershey, myself, and more).

EDIT: My 100th post!!! :-D

 

[Yaztromo]

Hey, win-win! Everyone needs pizza for game night! :-D

Absolutely!!!

 

[Egg Embry]

Bloat Games has updated the details of the Tales from Vigilante City Vol. I anthology submissions in a press release here. The highlights are:

+ Reduced minimum word count.
+ Submissions deadline announced.
+ Tales From Vigilante City Vol. II announced.
+ Some details about the post-submissions process.

Thanks,

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer
If you're a publisher that would like to share an RPG-related job opportunity, please contact me here.

 

[andrew lucas]

Kinda wish I had some room in my schedule for these.