An offering to the top 32 (33)

[Notsonoble]

I mentioned this in a discussion thread and my blog a while back... but if Paizo has a problem with this they can still make note in this thread.

One of the reasons I didn't participate this year is because I was working on a worksheet for organizations to sell with my character, settlement, and realm sheets. There were other reasons, including a major move from city to city and fulltime job to fulltime job... but I felt that my project would be a bad thing to mix with the contest.

I did however, ask if it was alright to offer the sheet in its unedited stage to the contestants. Paizo did not respond, so I'm going to offer it publicly.

So provided there is no problem with it (which paizo can state here), and you are willing to look at the worksheet, please email me at noble (dot) hays (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll send you the sheet in its current state and some a little list of questions I'd like you to answer after looking at it.

Those who ask for it (from the top 32) and provide feedback will get a copy of the finished product for free and a "Thanks To" line in the front page. (Unlike the other three worksheets, this one also comes with a little mini-guide/rambling about usage, suggestions).

Thanks a head of time!

[Clark Peterson]

No disrespect intended for you, Notsonoble, but the Round 2 rules already include the actual official format. I understand yours may be more in the form of a worksheet, and that is great. But the round 2 rules have a specific format and have some limitations not normally found on organizations (such as length).

FORMAT: For your convenience, the following text contains all the necessary formatting to make your submission comparable to those in the Inner Sea World Guide. You should copy this text to help format your submission. Remember that improperly formatted entries may be disqualified. You should not use ALL CAPS for any part of your organization submission (Paizo's header format in books often looks like it is in all caps, but it isn't). See below the example format for an explanation of what goes in each section.

The following text goes in the Subject line of your submission:

Organization Name
The following text goes in the main text box of your submission:

{Organization Name}
Alignment: {This lists the overall alignment of the organization and of its leaders. Use the standard one- or two-letter alignment abbreviations such as LE or NE. Variations in alignment can occur among the lower-ranking members, but you do not need to list or explain these variations in your entry.}
Headquarters: {This lists the name of the faction's headquarters, as well as the region where the headquarters is located. This may be a country, city, or even a specific lair or fortress.}
Leader: {This lists the name of the faction's current leader. You should not include race, class, or levels here.}
Structure: {This provides a brief description of the way the faction is organized, such as a multinational corporation, military hierarchy, religious cult, assassin's guild, and so on.}
Scope: {This lists whether the faction is national (active primarily in one or two nations), regional (active in the entire Inner Sea region), or global (active throughout all of Golarion). Note that a faction with a national scope might have a small number of agents active beyond its national borders but that they generally don't maintain extensive holdings beyond those borders. You only need to say "national," "regional," or "global" here.}
Resources: {This entry provides a brief list of significant resources the faction controls, such as property, valuable assets, castles, informants, and so on.}
{This section is an approximately 100-word introductory paragraph summarizing the organization.}
Structure and Leadership
{This section is an approximately 100-word paragraph on this topic.}
Goals
{This section is an approximately 100-word paragraph on this topic.}
Public Perception
{This section is an approximately 50-word paragraph on this topic.}
Information in curly quotes like these {} is only there to explain the format and what goes in each section; do not include the curly quotes or the explanatory information in your entry.

[Andrew Newton]

I think this would create ambiguity over the IP or copyright for the organisation. In addition our submissions become the property of Paizo, so you may find you can no longer sell your product because Paizo owns some of the content.

If you were going to remove those organisations selected by contestants before publishing then you might be okay, but I'm not sure what you gain. Plus, any contestant who looked at the spreadsheet before entering a submission might leave themselves open to accusations of copying if there's a similarity. It's a nice idea, and good advertising :-) but I don't think it would work.

[Notsonoble]

This is not for just the contest... the worksheet at the end will be whats for sale, for people to use to record keep for personal organizations they create later.

Perhaps I'm not being clear. If so I'm sorry.

I'm offering the top 32 a chance to beta test a "deluxe organization sheet" that will go on sale latter. They need not volunteer today or tomorrow, they can wait until after the contest is over. They will be asked to build a few organizations with the sheet, and send back only comments about the sheet itself, not the organization. Changes will be made to the sheet based on that.

The three sheets I offer are based on sheets me and my various players have tinkered with for a long time. The organization sheet is a newer project, and I wanted a broader (but not huge) set of eyes on it.

The people who wish to participate may email me, they will receive the current version of the sheet (basic structure, not pretty yet and not a fillable pdf). Those who provide feedback once the sheet is ready will get a copy of the sheet in its final stage for free, and acknowledgement of their participation in the final product.

[Neil Spicer]

Notsonoble wrote:

This is not for just the contest... the worksheet at the end will be whats for sale, for people to use to record keep for personal organizations they create later.

It may just be my opinion, Noble, but now really isn't the time for this offer. I get that it's a product you want to develop and eventually sale. However, the format you've chosen for your worksheet may or may not be compatible with the format the RPG Superstar contestants have been asked to use. Why risk muddying the waters? They need to have their heads down, working hard on their next round's submission. Soliciting their assistance in helping you refine your product (despite the obvious parallels with this round's assignment) comes across as a little too opportunistic. I fully believe that's not what you intended. It just comes across that way. And, in general, I think it offers a potential distraction at a time when these would-be designers should have a higher priority if they want to advance to the next round.

Maybe after the competition (or even this round), it would make more sense for you to solicit feedback from them in refining your new worksheet. But, for now, I'd encourage you to wait. Organizations in the Pathfinder game aren't going anywhere. They'll still be around for you to build a compatible worksheet even after this contest is over. There's no need to feel like you have to strike while the "iron is hot" just because you have a product in development that might dovetail with the current round's assignment.

But, as always, that's just my two cents,
--Neil

[Notsonoble]

I'd considered several times until waiting until after the round, and have no problem waiting until then to hear responses... In the end I had more arguments for posting it now and waiting than posting it later.

Like posted, beyond the announcement I'm not urging any specific time frame.

[Chris Shaeffer]

Hey Notso. :)
Yeah, I remember you debating whether to enter or not. Too bad! Still, it's good to see you have your priorities straight.

When I have some spare time, I'll come back and take a look at what you've got!

[Will Cooper]

Hi Notsonoble - thanks for the clarifications. I will be happy to beta test your products after the competition is over. I'm not willing to risk the distraction beforehand.

Cheers!

[Andrew Marlowe]

Will Cooper wrote:

Hi Notsonoble - thanks for the clarifications. I will be happy to beta test your products after the competition is over. I'm not willing to risk the distraction beforehand.

Cheers!

What Will said.