PaizoCon Founder, Wayfinder Editor-in-Chief
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Just a friendly reminder.....
September 1, 2014, 11:59 Pacific.
That is the deadline for this Call for Submissions. That's less than 1 month away now.
I'd love to give you all more time, but with the new date for PaizoCon 2015, we MUST accelerate our schedule to assure that we can fit in the winter #12 in 2014, and get the ball rolling for #13 starting first thing 2015.
Crazy times.
So, please PLEASE PLEASE do not forget that all submissions are due on September 1st! The Ruby Prince will be VERY PUT OUT if you forget!
Got some fiction in the works.
Same, thought 1500 words may not be possible.
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At this point, we need all types of articles. Simply not a lot of submissions at this point...I counted 10 so far.
Well that's just plum unacceptable! (note to self; name for new band - Unacceptable Plum?)
My previous thoughts on the subject;
Class option inspirations;
Sphinx Sorcerer Bloodline and / or Riddlemaster Oracle Mystery, divination, glyphs and sigils, communication / translation, effects related to symbol-like spells (perhaps poached from the Clerical Rune Domain?)
Geomantic Wizard School (related to storing or aligning natural magical ley lines or forces through architecture) and / or Cleric/Druid Domain (sacred architecture)
Advanced Rogue Talent or Archetype that doesn't just disable a magical trap, but can *change it* (to ignore self and allies, or only target members of a rival expedition, for instance), a similar option involving curses, perhaps even allowing the Rogue a chance to not just break a curse or disease or negative energy level picked up in some tomb, but to 're-assign' it to a third party, shedding it from himself by afflicting it upon another (slippery mind? No, slippery soul!)
Blade Binding based Fighter AT (reintroducing / updating the 3.5 Blade Binder feat and building off of it, granting sneak attack on foes whose blade you've bound, for instance), or just the feat and perhaps an upgrade (Improved Blade Binding)
Some life/spirit/ancestor based necromantic spells and options that don't involve undead, appropriate to a culture obsessed with such matters (and with a pair of non-evil death/necromancy associated gods, in Osiris and Isis)
Dwarven Ouat monk AT, synergizing dwarven traits (such as slow and steady, hardy and stability) with monk abilities
Secrets of the Risen Guard (feats or achievement feats specific to characters who have been raised from the dead at least once, expanding on their tenuous lingering connection to the afterlife to call upon otherworldly insights, perceive and affect incorporeal undead and spirits, or even draw upon the 'waters of duat' to heal themselves or damage others with negative energy, etc.)
Monk fighting styles (Style feats) and / or Rogue Talents based off of the combat techniques of the Asp (numbing strike representing a venomous bite) or the Hyena (bone-crushing strike, damaging objects or temporarily damaging flesh with the force of a hyena's jaws, allowing the user to apply the mechanical penalties of the 'Broken' condition to another's natural armor or a natural attack, depending on the nature of the attack, until the target receives healing or a Heal check is made).
Other things I'd love to see articles on;
Osirion, Land of Curses. Bestow Curse options specific to the Land of Pharoahs, with some based off of regional gods, such as a curse of Apep that turns the victims eyes black and gives everyone partial concealment against them (20% miss chance), or a curse of Bast that causes you to be sickened whenever adjacent to a cat or cat-like monster, and shaken whenever damaged by one, and generally be loathed by cats and cat-monsters (in addition to the allergies and cat-phobia). Modern gods of Osirion could have Curses based on Abadar's association with travel and wealth (Leaden Foot - all terrain is difficult, half speed for overland travel, Material Excess - all items of strictly material value, like gold, gems, etc. weigh pounds equal to gp. value for purposes of encumbering you) or Pharasma's association with water and life (need 3x normal water to survive, can only hold breath 1/2 as long underwater, +50% damage from Water effects).
Channel Foci or magical holy symbols of faux Egyptian style for Osirioni gods, like khopesh and scarabs and ushabti and pectorals and 'eyes of power' that give various bonuses appropriate to modern Osirioni gods (Nethys, Sarenrae, Rovagug), the locals (Apep, Khepri, Wadjet) and the older ones (Neith, Ptah, Sekhmet).
Perhaps some items based on the traditional 'regalia' seen on mummified rulers. (For Europe, it's traditionally crown, orb and scepter (although the sword, shield and chalice are also popular). For Japan, it's sword, mirror and jewel(s). For Egypt, the uraeus crown, the ankh and the was scepter are three common ones, but there's also the (ceremonial) flail, the spear and the scarab.
Moon Knight-inspired Pahmet dwarven monks totally need to have 'shuriken' that are shaped like scarab beetle jewelry with 'switch-blade' sharpened 'wings' that snap out when it's readied to throw, or that resemble little sharp edged throwing ankhs or something...
Hetkoshu Style martial arts totally needs abilities that simulate the Savage Rush and Death Roll abilities! (I charge and grapple you, throwing us both forward and slamming us both around so violently each round that you (but not I, 'cause I using you as a cushion) take damage!) Best Style in the world for someone who wears armor spikes (made of alchemically strengthened Hetkoshu teeth?)
I thought about divine alternate summoner class but building the right spell list could break the word count.
I have idea for an Osirion-themed fey and possibly for one minor artifact. I'll see what I manage to do with them.
Meh. Osirion is not exactly my brooch.
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Need some inspiration?
http://www.mythicalcreatureslist.com/menu/Egyptian
For example, I don't think anyone has created stats for something like a petsuchos, yet. I could be wrong, of course, but there's no such creature listed at d20pfsrd.com.
Is it better to submit items as they are ready, or to wait and attach them all to the same submission e-mail? I have a couple critters that are ready to go, but I'm waiting until the ACG is available to confirm two minor mechanical details in my 750-word crunchy-ish article.
Need some inspiration?
http://www.mythicalcreatureslist.com/menu/Egyptian
For example, I don't think anyone has created stats for something like a petsuchos, yet. I could be wrong, of course, but there's no such creature listed at d20pfsrd.com.
One of my submissions is based on the sal'awa Egyptian cryptid (but distinctly different than the Sha/Set animal in AP #80: Empty Graves).
Need some inspiration?
http://www.mythicalcreatureslist.com/menu/Egyptian
For example, I don't think anyone has created stats for something like a petsuchos, yet. I could be wrong, of course, but there's no such creature listed at d20pfsrd.com.
Thanks Paris. I wish I had found that a couple of weeks ago. I've been reading and researching while working on some items, and am finding the mythology fascinating. Had I seen that page, I would have worked up 3 creatures. If I can finish my items soon, I'll try to squeeze in a monster, too.
I think I may have just stumbled onto an idea but I am pretty unsure what to categorize it as. It may need to be a monster, but it definitely isn't just that, in fact that wouldn't even be its main function.
Hmmm.
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I finish moving Saturday, so I should be able to jump on and make some cool submissions.
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Something for those more into rules mechanics than me to consider is that the deity obediences introduced in Inner Sea Gods shake out at around 750 words, and Mummy's Mask gave us 20 new gods to play with.
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I'm trying to think of something beyond the standard mummified undead this or that for a monster, inspiration is not coming through though
The Serpopard is a lion with a giant cobra head. A variation on that could spit venom (like a spitting cobra), or have multiple giant asp heads mounted on a lion's body (like a lion-hydra).
Stone jackals spend the hottest part of the day as statues, to avoid the desert heat, and turn to flesh and blood at night to hunt. They can return to statue form as a defense, or even during an attack, leaping on and grappling a foe, and turning into a frozen form of stone, so that their weight drags the foe down and makes them easier prey for the rest of their pack.
The Usij Necromancers of ages long past worked magics to turn genies into undead. Perhaps someone has picked up on their research and is trying to craft undead elementals. (Grave stone / soil elementals, carrion wind or 'dead air' elementals that suffocate those they engulf, pyre / crematory elementals created from the fire made to burn living creatures to death, etc.)
Swarms of flesh-stripping beetles.
Living dust devils and khamsin, ranging from the little dudes you see dancing on street corners, to the size of sandstorms, capable of engulfing communities. Stats like air elementals in whirlwind form, but with distraction effects like swarms, blinding those within them, etc.?
Animated mummy wrapping bandages that wrap up living creatures and constrict them to death, before draining them of blood to sustain themselves, and then cause the body to lurch up like a zombie to seek out more people to strangle to death, so that it can then drain their blood as well. That experiment into self-wrapping mummy bandages seemed like it would be just kind of a convenience, for when the mummy-wrappers had a big order (the entire royal family? and you want it when? Oy!), but that necromantic shortcut turned out to be a bad idea...
I'm trying to think of something beyond the standard mummified undead this or that for a monster, inspiration is not coming through thoughThe Serpopard is a lion with a giant cobra head...
...Swarms of flesh-stripping beetles...
...Living dust devils and khamsin...
Great ideas all around, Set! I was just yesterday reading about Khamsin while researching the items I'm working on.
Are you stat-ing/making all those creatures you listed, or offering them up for others?
I'm doing the book of the dead as a series of spellbooks with preparation rituals. . . then probably some kind of monsters, and something about chariots. Just haven't had the time yet. Moving is rough for months after.
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Are you stat-ing/making all those creatures you listed, or offering them up for others?
Just brain-storming out loud. I've already submitted the mechanics article I'm thinking of for this one (although I'll probably beat a couple Side Treks into shape).
Weal and Woe articles are my bane. I can *just* barely fit a single character (half of a W&W) into the wordcount allotted, because I run on a bit. :)
I have 3 articles about ready to be submitted. Just editing them at the moment. =P
At this point, we need all types of articles. Simply not a lot of submissions at this point...I counted 10 so far.
Wow...two of those should be mine too.
I have my third in-process still.
Need ...more...time....
And three are mine. ^^
Hi, you mentioned that artists are allowed to make submissions. I would love to submit a few pieces (I assume the limit of 3 applies here as well). But, I didn't see much in your post about submission guidelines. So, I have some questions:
What is the submission process for artwork? Do you require a portfolio submission before approval? What image formats/specs/etc do you prefer?
Would you like to see original theme-based (Osirion in this case)art or would you prefer illustrations of user-submitted material?
Thanks!
Pretty sure for artists they have a list and they ask you to do ones to go with specific articles based on how many you tell them you can do and what they need.
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PaizoCon Founder, Wayfinder Editor-in-Chief
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Hi, you mentioned that artists are allowed to make submissions. I would love to submit a few pieces (I assume the limit of 3 applies here as well). But, I didn't see much in your post about submission guidelines. So, I have some questions:
What is the submission process for artwork? Do you require a portfolio submission before approval? What image formats/specs/etc do you prefer?
Would you like to see original theme-based (Osirion in this case)art or would you prefer illustrations of user-submitted material?
Thanks!
Nate is correct. If you are interested in contributing your artistic talents, send us a link to your online portfolio, so we can see what you do! If we like what we see, and think your style fits in with the issue, then we will add you to the roster.
Then, as the Call for Submissions winds down, we will email the roster list, and ask you if 1) you are available to illustrate some articles for us, 2) how many pieces can you do, and 3) what sort of illustrations do you prefer (characters, scenery, action scene, creatures, etc.)?
We take your answers into consideration then when making art assignments.
We generally prefer .psd files, color. We generally give you the details in your assignment.
Interested? Email wayfinder.fanzine@gmail.com with a link to your portfolio.....
Remind me, for Weal or Woes, you prefer lower levels, right? Still thinking of trying to get one of those done; just need to refine the ideas somewhat.
Let me know if you are still interested in workshopping your fiction. :)
Ohh, the muse returned this weekend with a vengeance, so my second article in production is going to be my first attempt at submitting a Wayfinder beastie - a nasty CR 15 (or thereabouts)!
750 words stings a bit on beasties it seems >.<, :)
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750 words stings a bit on beasties it seems >.<, :)
For CR 15, certainly.
The higher the CR, the more likely it has a laundry list of defence/offence/utility abilities, or multiattack routine with rider effects, to justify its CR. And more likely its abilities are something new and out of the ordinary, that needs explanation, rather than a reference to an often-used rule from the Universal Monster Abilities list.|
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Remind me, for Weal or Woes, you prefer lower levels, right? Still thinking of trying to get one of those done; just need to refine the ideas somewhat.
You're correct. Per the guidelines, WoW articles are for 7th-level or lower NPCs.
Is that a new guideline, or have I just been lucky enough to comply with that by accident?
All mine bar one were level 7, which is a sweet spot, where the NPCs are interesting enough to have a story to tell, and be robust enough to stand on their own feet, in dealing with your typicalJust high enough level to qualify for a prestige class, or for a multiclass combo to begin synergising, and still leave enough room after statblocks to fit in the set-up for a conflict.
I may have to hold my hand up, as the reason that guideline exists.
Hope editing Egril Skargillson didn't break anyone's brain.
Yes! 723 words, sending a really nasty nasty for consideration. It is indeed possible to get a really nasty creature at CR 15 in under 750 words - not easy, but can be done :D
And no laundry list either - I managed to reign myself back some. Kind of. But it did eat my party when I tested it out - lol - poor souls, 5 pc's went in, 3 ran away, 1 crawled away after stabilising herself and, ummmm, one didn't.
So that's 2 out of my possible 3 and a couple of weeks left to try and come up with no 3 ;)
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Remind me, for Weal or Woes, you prefer lower levels, right? Still thinking of trying to get one of those done; just need to refine the ideas somewhat.You're correct. Per the guidelines, WoW articles are for 7th-level or lower NPCs.Is that a new guideline, or have I just been lucky enough to comply with that by accident?
All mine bar one were level 7, which is a sweet spot, where the NPCs are interesting enough to have a story to tell, and be robust enough to stand on their own feet, in dealing with your typicalmurderhobosadventurers.
Just high enough level to qualify for a prestige class, or for a multiclass combo to begin synergising, and still leave enough room after statblocks to fit in the set-up for a conflict.I may have to hold my hand up, as the reason that guideline exists.
Hope editing Egril Skargillson didn't break anyone's brain.
If any brains were broken, it was not by Egril alone. ;)
But yes, the 7th-level limitation is something we added to the guidelines as of this issue. In addition to being a good sweet spot for fun NPCs (which can be adjusted up or down by the GM), it keeps their stat blocks small enough to leave room for a good background and meaningful boons/banes associated with the characters.
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Yes! 723 words, sending a really nasty nasty for consideration. It is indeed possible to get a really nasty creature at CR 15 in under 750 words - not easy, but can be done :D
And no laundry list either - I managed to reign myself back some. Kind of. But it did eat my party when I tested it out - lol - poor souls, 5 pc's went in, 3 ran away, 1 crawled away after stabilising herself and, ummmm, one didn't.
So that's 2 out of my possible 3 and a couple of weeks left to try and come up with no 3 ;)
that means you have 27 words you can play with to bolster it's descriptive text ... or the top blurb for a bestiary listing. ;)
that means you have 27 words you can play with to bolster it's descriptive text ... or the top blurb for a bestiary listing. ;)Yes! 723 words, sending a really nasty nasty for consideration. It is indeed possible to get a really nasty creature at CR 15 in under 750 words - not easy, but can be done :D
And no laundry list either - I managed to reign myself back some. Kind of. But it did eat my party when I tested it out - lol - poor souls, 5 pc's went in, 3 ran away, 1 crawled away after stabilising herself and, ummmm, one didn't.
So that's 2 out of my possible 3 and a couple of weeks left to try and come up with no 3 ;)
Lol, my first draft was 838 >.<, so lets call those 27 "just in case they are needed for editing" shall we? :P
Hey, Tim/Paris - hows the submission count looking now? (and please don't say 11 >.<)
Hey everyone else, don't lurk - submit - 'cos Hungry Template Fu says so - rawr!
Okay, so I'm having a hard time coming up with a good idea for a flavour article, anuone out there got something for me?
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Okay, so I'm having a hard time coming up with a good idea for a flavour article, anuone out there got something for me?
Deep in the desert there is a giant statue (in theory, no one has seen below the neck and shoulder...) buried in the sands, only it's head sticking above the dunes. And by giant, I mean, the size of a small mountain. Orbiting the crown of this pharaonic figure are three smallish pyramids (each 'only' a couple hundred yards across), drifting lazily around the figure's head like oversized ioun stones. Because the head is tilted, at the right time of day, one of the pyramids dips low enough to the ground that someone with appropriate magic or means could leap aboard it, and attempt to explore whatever secrets it must contain.
Okay, so I'm having a hard time coming up with a good idea for a flavour article, anuone out there got something for me?
Three undead Sphinxes walk out of a ancient obsidian pyramid: one is a Mummy (Androsphinx), one a Vampire (Gynosphinx), and one a Lich (Cryosphinx). They call themselves the Shadow Triumvirate, and suddenly claim they have dominion over all lesser undead in Osirion...
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...where they meet a rabbi, a catholic priest, and a drag queen...
Hey everyone else, don't lurk - submit - 'cos Hungry Template Fu says so - rawr!
I will submit at least one article for certain—a 1500 word Heroes' Hoard article. I'm still polishing up the items and the intro, but I'm pretty close to completion. If I can wrap it up quickly, I'll do a monster and/or a Side Trek (encounter).
The item I entered in round 1 of RPGSS 2014 was my 1st attempt at formal RPG writing. The 2nd was my bestiary submission for #11. The article I'm working on now is my 3rd. It's been a great exercise working on so many items—a really fun pastime that stimulates my brain.
As soon as I saw 'Template Fu' in your comment, I looked over 10 of my items (1346 words) and guess what? 0% passive! Starve the beast.
I did the same thing, in Wayfinder 8, I managed to get an item in, Wayfinder 9, a whole archetype and Wayfinder 10 a side trek adventure.
Wayfinder is a great way to practice the diversity of the RPG Superstar rounds and it has helped my writing immensely.
With 3 submissions per person, you can trial run doing 3 Superstar tasks, item, monster, encounter, villain, archetype, organisation to name a few options and at the same time add to the diversity of content in Wayfinder for us all to enjoy. No excuses now :P
I am still trying to get a short story in to round out my successes and have now submitted a monster too. So, fingers crossed, at least one other round might get crossed off the list this issue :D
As for passivity, sometimes, (as in very rarely) it can be quite effective in small doses - usually in fluff over crunch in an item etc., so don't religiously remove them, stand back and ask yourself if you think it is better with or without the passive.
Just found out about this (and Wayfinder in general) like... Twenty minutes ago.
There still slots open for fiction submissions? I can probably hammer out 1500 words in a few hours. After that, just need to find someone to check it for issues, which is what usually takes me forever xD.
Is it safe to assume original characters and roughly vague locations would be fine? In the fashion of "some gods-forsaken tomb I got dragged to"?
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Just found out about this (and Wayfinder in general) like... Twenty minutes ago.
There still slots open for fiction submissions? I can probably hammer out 1500 words in a few hours. After that, just need to find someone to check it for issues, which is what usually takes me forever xD.
Is it safe to assume original characters and roughly vague locations would be fine? In the fashion of "some gods-forsaken tomb I got dragged to"?
Hi, Artemis. And welcome!
We are still accepting submissions of all varieties, and I'm always interested in getting good fiction into each issue.
Since Wayfinder is published until Paizo's Community User Policy, our writers are free (and encouraged) to use characters, place names, and other proper nouns associated with the Pathfinder Campaign Setting. Our goal is to show our appreciation for the work that Paizo does by building on canon, taking the seeds that they spread throughout their many products and growing them into amazing new content for the staff and our fellow fans to enjoy.
If you know of a place like a "gods-forsaken tomb" is located that isn't detailed in another product, use the name of that tomb. Populate it with your own characters, but mention that famous Pathfinder who was briefly described in [some other sourcebook], and tell us a great story...one created by you, but supported by the structure of Paizo's world.
Regardless of what folks are submitting--fiction, characters, classes, spells, items, organizations, what-have-you--we hope all of our writers and designers will help enrich the setting with details and material inspired by the published material.
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Good to know. Generally hate using other people's settings and characters, my ridiculously high standards I hold myself to always leaves me feeling as if I didn't get it "quite right", as it were. That's the one part of my inner critic I can't seem to turn off, lol.
That said! Always need more practice, particularly for flash/very short fiction.
*Cracks knuckles* Time to crack open the ISWG, Land of the Pharaohs, Pathfinder Wiki, and Nethys' Archives. Let's see what I can cook up for this scene of a dungeon delve I've got playing in my head.
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Hey there Paris.
I have what will hopefully be a pair of submissions. One is a 750-word short story and the second an accompanying 750-word article. The story is done, shy of editing. The article is still in the works. Hopefully I have enough time to work on these to bring them up to par with the rest of the quality submissions. If not, then you may not see them.
Cheers,
Dawn
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Hi, Dawn! I hope to see your submissions! You can do it!
As for the low number of submissions received so far, I'm willing to bet this is a combination of convention season/summer holiday travel and perhaps a tad bit of procrastination. It may also be that folks are finding it challenging to work with this theme. I'll wait until after the call for submissions is over before I do that analysis. We usually see a flood of submissions during the last couple of weeks, but I would have expected more of them to come in by now.
Tim and I have been slammed with work, so I would like to ask everyone's help in shaking the [desert palm?] tree. Talk to your friends and family who are thinking about writing something and encourage them to get their submissions turned in. Post about it on Facebook and Twitter. Point them to our Facebook page and this thread. Get folks excited! Osirion is calling!
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I'm drafting up a gazetteer for my idea currently! Also trying to think of a game.