WotC Seeking Your Setting Proposals (was "Big Wizard announcement")

[MavrickWeirdo]

a suggestion

For those having trouble paring down remember: don't tell them everything.

Using a phrase like "Players should beware of Volcano Pirates." with no further explination, could leave them wondering "What are Vocano Pirates."

If you leave them wanting more then it will increase your chances of making it to "The 10"

 

[King_Stannis]

i have a question - forgive me if it's been stated earlier, as i haven't had time to scour the entire thread.

how is this going to be a "blind" selection if the name of the author is going to appear on the one-page submission (in the lower left hand corner)?

did i miss or misinterpret something there?

 

[A'koss]

Whoa... just thought I'd stop by and see if there was any discussion going on with this topic.

So much for hoping this contest would go relatively unnoticed.



A'koss!
(competition is good thing... yeah....)

 

[Ghostwind]

how is this going to be a "blind" selection if the name of the author is going to appear on the one-page submission (in the lower left hand corner)?

I suspect that the name will be covered in some fashion to prevent bias (although no one from Wotc has publicly said this)...

 

[JackGiantkiller]

Nobody on this list seems to have paid a great deal of attention to question #5. If as some have suggested, they are hinting at the sorts of worlds and settings they would like by the nature of the questions, then the nature of magic and its source are fairly crucial. It is a difficult balancing act to come up with a unique source and nature of magic without getting to far from the D&D mainstream.

 

[Rasyr]

Proposals should be no more than one page in length, typewritten. Please put the name of the entrant in the LOWER LEFT-HAND CORNER of the page and nowhere else

-from the announcement

(my guess is that they're wanting the name in case the two get separated, but are going to rip it off before sent to judges. Like standardized tests

Not quite. From what has been said by Mr. Valterra, the two will not be kept together. The name on the submission is so that they can find the correct contact info if you are selected.

This being a blind panel, the reason for the name being ONLY in the bottom left hand corner is so that they can fold that corner back, OR place a strip of tape over it to obscure the name from the judges at the time of judging. (not: they may even white-out the name, and put in an entry number (which is then associated with an entry number also written on the cover page (with the contact info).

The judges will NOT know what name is in the bottom left hand corner at the time of judging.

 

[Rasyr]

Nobody on this list seems to have paid a great deal of attention to question #5. If as some have suggested, they are hinting at the sorts of worlds and settings they would like by the nature of the questions, then the nature of magic and its source are fairly crucial. It is a difficult balancing act to come up with a unique source and nature of magic without getting to far from the D&D mainstream.

Actually, I have what tends to be a rather unique view on the source of magic and its nature (this comes from reconciling other magic systems in other games, that were supposed to be compatible but had discrepencies).

They did not ask if magic worked exactly like it does, only its nature (i.e. is it elemental in nature, or more spiritually inclinded) and it source (the force, ley lines, the nexus of several converging ley lines, etc..)

This has very little to do with the actual mechanics of magic in the game. At least in how I see it.

 

[Olidammara]

If I don't have access to a typewriter or computer, is it OK to write my proposal in pencil? (Sharpened to a very fine point, of course.)

 

[Zulkir]

Morning

Morning all,

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I had a lovely dinner with an old friend and her new lover, watched the Mothman Prophecies on DVD and had dinner with another old friend who is going to Burning Man this year with my wife and I.
All in all a full but satisfying weekend.

Okay, down to business.

Regarding 2nd and 3rd rounds we will be providing guidelines but not precise templates. These guidelines are not yet finalized so don't ask.

Someone said that it looks like we are favoring a single dominant threat to the world ala DL. That is *not* the case. I strongly recommend that you create the best setting you can and don't try to anticipate our desires.

We are not going to worry about who cover letters are addressed to but "Selection Comittee" would probably not be improper (nice use of the double negative, eh?)

Other than the information we have asked for in the template what else you put on the one page is your decision. Notes, diagrams, graphics, pictures, money....

Process note - not really important but just so people will know. Our admin process the entries. She makes copies for all of the comittee but the copies have the names covers and replaced with a number. She keep the original which also has the number written on it. All we see is the one page submission with a number. She is also the first hurdle as she has been instructed to set aside any submission that has not followed instructions (so we don't even see it).

Final note for the morning. Typed or word processed entries are the only accepatable entry. If you do not have a typewriter or word processor check your local library or borrower a friends.

AV

p.s. I will be at Origins and GenCon, if you see me feel free to walk up and introduce yourself. I may not be able to spend alot of time chatting (I spend most of the Con's in meetings) but I'm really very approachable.

 

[Talaysen]

If I don't have access to a typewriter or computer, is it OK to write my proposal in pencil? (Sharpened to a very fine point, of course.)

No; it's been established that handwritten submissions will be thrown out. However, you might try seeing if you can get access to a computer/printer at your local library or copy shop - a lot of libraries and copy shops have such services now. (I know Kinko's does.) In that case, you could simply type up a handwritten proposal, print a couple copies, and send one of the typed versions to WotC.