Before I get into the new open call format as well as the next round of open calls, I want to talk about the submissions for Pathfinder Society Scenarios #19 & 20. I received nearly as many submissions for 19 & 20 as I did for 17 & 18, but the difference this time was that I received almost all of them for 19: Skeleton Moon. The other scenario, 20: Demon Haunts the Devil's Hall, received an incredibly low number of submissions, and after looking through them again and again none of the submissions wowed me sufficiently to select the submitter as the author. I then spent some time thinking about our submissions process and I think our process may be to blame for the reduction in submissions for 20. I asked for 20 to include a non-SRD monster (the nabasu) that many submitters probably weren't familiar with and I asked for no undead (because we've been undead heavy lately) in a scenario where the monster (again, the nabasu) could potentially create undead with one of its powers. These two errors on our part, I believe, led to a serious reduction in submissions and because the pool was so small, there weren't a lot to choose from. In the end, I had to choose none of them. Instead, we've removed Devil's Hall from the schedule, to appear later in season 1, and replaced it with a later scenario I'd planned to assign rather than open. So for the 19 & 20 round, I'll select an author for 19 only and the new 20 will be written by an existing freelancer.
That brings us to the open call round for 21 & 22. I'm going to test a more open format for both, though I'm still going to suggest a few key items on each—items that are necessary either for art resources or simply to keep game play spread around the Inner Sea region. These restrictions will be relatively minor and shouldn't hamper creativity overmuch. I am, however, opening this test with a few caveats:
1. Don't break our world. If you submit something that breaks part of our world, it'll be auto-rejected. The scenarios are one-shot, 4-hour adventures—epic story arcs, world-shattering events, wars, mass famine, etc. don't have a place in them.
2. Understand Pathfinder Society Organized Play before you submit. Specifically, understand that the Pathfinder Society is an organization of vagabond scholars, thrill-seeking treasure hunters, and extreme explorers. They are not necessarily the "good guys," they don't get "hired" for their adventures, and they're not generally looking to make the world a better place. Submitting generic 3.5 "save the day" adventure ideas will decrease your chances of getting to write one. There are plenty of resources out there to give you a feel for the Society: the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, Pathfinder #1, and the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting all have information on the Pathfinder Society.
3. I need to feel that you've read or played a few scenarios before submitting. I'll get this sense through your proposal—our scenarios have a very specific flow to them and your outline should follow this flow. Read one or two before submitting.
4. Pathfinder Society scenarios must be no more offensive than PG-13. Scenarios are played in public at public settings and children will be playing them. As an aside, the number of submissions that involve violence toward children is staggering—no more of those, please.
5. This is not a contest. This is more like an interview for a job—you're showing me your best idea and I'm deciding if the combination of idea and writing skill equals you being selected as our next scenario author. I need authors—not winners.
6. Finally, I just don't have time to return every submission with feedback. I did that with the first round, for 17 & 18, and it stretched my resources and time very thin.
Rules for submitting Pathfinder Society scenario outlines are as follows:
1. Based on the guidelines for the current round, write a 750-word outline that includes the following:
a. A title—the more evocative the better
b. A brief introduction that acts as a prologue for the scenario
c. A brief summary of how the PCs proceed through each encounter
d. A brief summary of each encounter—minimum five encounters
e. A brief conclusion—what happens if the PCs fail or succeed
f. You no longer need to submit mission ideas with your outline
2. By the due date, email your outline to josh@paizo.com with the subject line SCENARIO NAME_YOURLASTNAME. Your summary must be in a MS Word document, Notepad, or Real Text format—these are files ending in .doc, .txt, or .rtf. Your file must be titled SCENARIO NAME_LAST NAME, i.e., PerilsofthePiratePact_Dayon.
3. Include your full legal name, email address, physical mailing address, and a contact phone number at the top of your submission—this text does not count toward your word count.
4. Please allow 72 hours for a response before resending your submission.
The current open call is for Pathfinder Society Scenarios #21 & 22—the May releases. The full schedule for this submission period is as follows:
• 12/11/08—Open call begins
• 12/19/08—Submissions due by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time
• 1/9/09—Submissions review completed—selections and rejections notified
Guidelines
**SPOILER ALERT: Do not read the guidelines below if you wish to avoid spoilers for upcoming scenarios.**
Pathfinder Society Scenario #21
Suggested Title: The Eternal Obelisk
Setting: Qadira
Monster: A medusa
Level Range: Tier 5–9; tiers 5–7 and 8–9
Pathfinder Society Scenario #22
Suggested Title: None
Setting: Rural Cheliax
Monster: Open
Level Range: Tier 7–11; tiers 7–8 and 10–11
PLEASE NOTE: Pathfinder Society Scenarios are written with a 4-hour time limit in mind. Your outline should reflect 4 hours of solid game play.
