Open Call Revisited

Looking forward to seeing new authors take you up on this.

It makes sense as a way to try out new writers and will be a nice way to add more material for PFS demos and people who want some PFS goodness but only have a little time. Though it does mean my efforts on sceanario ideas to pitch for Season 4 are mostly writing exercises now. Oh well, time to come up with some Quest ideas!

It's clear from the chronicle that Quests give no experience or gold. I am assuming that no prestige is awarded either. Is that correct?

Correct.

Wish we could get at least some gold. Oh well.

Question: Will all future published quests be PFS Sanctioned? It's a great way to teach players how to play Pathfinder Society and not have to worry about GP and XP until it's time for a real Society game.

Going to try to get this idea organized into a submission. Wish me luck.

I'm just another hopeful trying to give serious and constructive advice. Take it or leave it. All is said with the best intentions and respect for your work.

Your idea itself is nearly 700 words. It sounds like a tall order to get that many acts cut down into a 2000 word complete adventure (especially when including stat lines). Start by trying to cut fat off of the adventure itself. If anything could simply be narrated or is redundant, make the appropriate changes. Although if you can pull it off... more power to you.

Ahhh, that's what Quests are for. Bravo! A fantastic way of beating new talent out from the bushes.

As others commented above - also a good way to introduce new players. I'm going to run this tomorrow for just that purpose.

I ran 'Ambush' at Unicon last year and it was a great way to keep players fighting while waiting for the other tables to finish their modules. Players loved the boon, but I think they were a bit hesitant to risk their characters for no experience or prestige.

In the future, perhaps there could be a system like 5 Quests = 1 completed module gold + exp reward? Would be good for evening gaming tables and convention casual slots.

When we have more of them being offered, that might be something we consider. Thanks for the suggestion!

With the GM core assumption expanding to include the PRD, do we need to place the statblock of a Bestiary 2 or Bestiary 3 creature in our submissions, or simply reference the relevant page of the relevant book?

With the GM core assumption expanding to include the PRD, do we need to place the statblock of a Bestiary 2 or Bestiary 3 creature in our submissions, or simply reference the relevant page of the relevant book?

Related to this, do you have to have the book to use a creature in a submission (because you need the book for the page number) or can you use the PRD and put the statblock in instead?

If you use content from a source on the PRD, you can use short statblocks consistent with our established style. If including a monster, feat, spell, or piece of equipment from a non-PRD source, it must be presented in its entirety.

I'm not going to reject an otherwise great submission because the author didn't reference a page number in a short statblock, but if that's combined with other variations from our established style, I'm likely to interpret it as a lack of attention to detail. I don't want to mandate that anyone submitting something must own one or more products from us, but it is expected that if we hire someone to write an adventure for us that they have what they need to turn over a manuscript that adheres to our style guidelines (which includes page references).

I really like the idea of quests as a time filler. If I find time (ha!) maybe I'll try my hand.

If you use content from a source on the PRD, you can use short statblocks consistent with our established style. If including a monster, feat, spell, or piece of equipment from a non-PRD source, it must be presented in its entirety.

So if, for example, we wanted a spellcaster to know Vanish from Ultimate Magic, we would not need to include the statblock because UM is part of the PRD, correct?

You would simply put a UM after the spell name in the caster's statblock (in superscript), and then a key at the end of the statblock denoting that for all instances of "UM" the reader should "See Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic." Now, if you cited UM for vanish, even if you got the style correctly, I would likely note that you cited the wrong source, but that's a different matter (it's from the APG). :-D

Great idea! Looking forward to the future quests.

You would simply put a UM after the spell name in the caster's statblock (in superscript), and then a key at the end of the statblock denoting that for all instances of "UM" the reader should "See Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic." Now, if you cited UM for vanish, even if you got the style correctly, I would likely note that you cited the wrong source, but that's a different matter (it's from the APG). :-D

Okay, thanks for the clarification(as well as convincing me to go back and check all my sources).

I have a question about the rule on only including creatures with minis or pawns available. I have an idea for an encounter that would include a pig, but the closest pawn available is a boar. Is something like that close enough to get by?

Why not make the pig a baby boar?

I don't want to bring up old threads, but sometimes nothing else can be quite as charming as a pig. Without knowing the concept, seeing the pawn, or having any authority whatsoever, I'd say yes.

Thanks for clarifying. I can quite see that you need everything in a turnover, not something that's missing bits.

Forget that noise, HerosBackpack. We need more Joe Wood!

Forget that noise, HerosBackpack. We need more Joe Wood!

I wish. Takes two to make more Joe Wood, so it isn't entirely under my control. Doesn't stop him influencing other things I produce though.

I don't know if anyone else noticed this little caveat, but in the Open Call document it states that every NPC or enemy that you use has to be represented by an already-existing Pathfinder Mini or Pawn. The issue I have with this is there are several races in the Pathfinder Society world that don't currently have anything close to a mini (for example, Nagaji). Are we restricted from using NPCs and enemies of these races? If so, I think that's a very strong restriction that should be revisited.

how do we indicate which maps from map packs that we are using? also, how do we indicate starting positions of creatures, or other features that are in the room but may not be indicated by the map illustration? is this all merely done by description in the text?

also, for creatures that are created using a base creature and a template, both of which are from the core assumption, should we include the creature's complete adjusted stat block, or is referencing both the base creature and the template acceptable? (say, for a completely random example, an owlbear skeleton)

Just make a note of what map you planned the encounter around. The text of the adventure should describe not only what creatures there are, but where they are and how they move if and when the PCs show up, so you shouldn't need tags on the map unless you really feel it's vital. In that case, just add notes to one of the free preview images we put up for all our map products and attach it to the submission.

If you're applying a simple template to an otherwise unadjusted creature from a PRD source, you can just use a short statblock in the style we use in our other printed adventures. If you're applying a complex template (meaning not one of the ones called out as being a simple template), you need to build the entire monster.

*cracks knuckles* alright, moved, mostly unpacked - time to give this a shot :)

Quick question - if an aspiring author has an idea for a "series" of scenarios, and wants their quest-submission to be a sort of "lead in" / example of the sort of thing that might be involved, can that be alluded to in the quest? In other words, if the _____1 that the PCs are seeking might be involved in something later, can ________2 who sets them on their quest from the ________3 Pathfinder lodge mention that _____1 might be important later?

Thanks, and also thank you for having the open call - even if my submission gets shot down, it's really impressive to me that you're opening up to have potential new authors send in their work!