I'm definitely unable to finish mine 2nd submission.
I'll have to stop to mine first one. Mine first ever one.
Hope to do more for # 15...
By now, good luck to everybody!
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Inspiration just hit: A series of magic items with powers that activate when monster parts (like dragon scales, manticore spikes or basilisk eyes) are placed in them.
I'll see If I can get it written up before the deadline.
Also, given the theme and that a design area I need to practice, I should really put together at least one new monster.
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Inspiration just hit: A series of magic items with powers that activate when monster parts (like dragon scales, manticore spikes or basilisk eyes) are placed in them.
I'll see If I can get it written up before the deadline.
Also, given the theme and that a design area I need to practice, I should really put together at least one new monster.
Unless I'm mistaken, the deadline's been and gone already...
"DEADLINE: June 30, 2015, 11:59 Pacific."
(Maybe I'm just bad at timezones, though.)
What's the final count, Tim? How many submissions in total this time?
Congratulations all of you who submitted! Wish I could have gotten something in this time around but there's always #15!
So, what is the theme of Wayfinder #15?
PaizoCon Founder, Wayfinder Editor-in-Chief
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Stick a fork in it, it's done!
Yes, the deadline was the very last second of June 30th. Thanks to everyone who submitted their entries! The final total was 85 entries, a perfectly delightful amount for us to start reviewing.
What happens now? Well.....Paris and I start reviewing all submissions and then make our final selections of the 45 or so that become articles in the issue. At that time, we will announce the authors that got in, and send out emails to everyone accepted, which will include contract language so we can use the written work. Then, we will send out assignments to editors and artists, and the gears start turning on issue #14!
Our schedule is a bit more forgiving on this issue, so I suspect that we will make selections by mid-July or so. Our target for Release is November.
I have not decided on the theme for #15 yet......I know everyone has a favorite, so let's hear them. Remember, we try to do regions that Paizo has developed reasonably well, and if it's been featured in an AP, that's even better. I like to use APs that are less recent, mostly so we can renew interest in a forgotten product.
Anticipated suggestions are probably Iron Gods/Numeria, First World/fey, Distant Worlds. I don't think we know enough about Distant Worlds....yet.
We will not be repeating any themes we've done before, so no Varisia, Ustalav, Cheliax, Irrisen, Osirion.
Has Wayfinder done the River Kingdoms?
- Older AP in the setting
- Pathfinder Chronicles by Paizo
- Lots of hits in Pathfinder Tales
- Pathfinder online
It doesn't personally interest me all that much but I think it makes sense.
Choose River Kingdoms and I have an idea for chaotic good paladins of Milani.
Choose Numeria or Alkenstar and I'll revise my old Potionslinger alchemist and Deathly Gunner barbarian.
Choose the First World and I'll go with rules for half-fey and multiple wildblooded fey bloodlines...
Is 15 the printed edition or is 16?
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I'd vote for Fey...if we hadn't just done monsters. I'd prefer something a little more focused this time.
First thought was Mwangi -- but I think I'd really like a full on Garundi issue. Then you can pull in the Mwangi Expanse, the Shackles, Alkenstar, Geb, and many other interesting locations that might not be able to sustain a full issue by themselves.
EDIT: Mwangi has been done, but yeah the rest of the continent would be interesting. Alkenstar is kind of unique, though small. There could be other locations on the fringes of the 'magic bell curve' to explore. I want to hear more about Five Kingdoms and even Kyonin, though I realize they do not have APs. Beyond that any local chosen will be new to me, which means I get to enjoy the delving deeper into them. :)
Congratulations on 85! :)
Alkenstar would be really neat. No APs set there yet, though, just a module or two.
I'd also love to see the Shackles get an issue...pirates are my jam.
Personally I think it'd also be cool to have something focused on ancient Thassilon, but I don't know if that's fleshed out enough yet, either. They just keep dropping hints throughout various APs and campaign settings.
Fey or Numeria? We could make some tech-goodies for Numeria...
A "tech" theme, to go along with Iron Gods?
I'm for Numeria!
I played a little in the Iron Gods adventure path and I was very impressed! I'd love to write an article or two on the area!
Or you could do Technology in general. That would cover both Numeria and Alkenstar as well as most Gnomes of Golarion too.
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Have we already done Lost Kingdoms? I'm guessing I'll be (relatively) alone on this, but I love the ancient empires of the Inner Sea - Thassilon, Ghol-Gan, Sarkoris, and especially the Jistka Imperium.
Anyone else?
Also a huge fan of that, but it would be important to keep ideas to stuff relevant to a current-set storyline, such as relics to be unearthed, or fighting styles or spells that are available to the descendants of those traditions.
Not that a time-travel adventure couldn't also be entertaining (similar to The Armageddon Echo, in Second Darkness, perhaps)...
To remind myself, if nothing else, of previous issue themes.
1-2 - no theme, IIRC
3 – Absalom
4 – Mwangi Expanse
5 – Harrowed Land / Varisia
6 – Linnorm Kings
7 – Five Years of Pathfinder / Varisia
8 – Seas and Coasts
9 – Darklands
10 – Katapesh & Qadira
11 – Cheliax
12 – Osirion
13 – Ustalav
14 – Monsters
That leaves countries like Andoran and Taldor (of the 'big five'), as well as less developed countries / regions like Brevoy / The River Kingdoms or Numeria or the Dragon Empires / Tian Xa or The Shackles / Sargava (perhaps too close to 'Seas and Coasts' in theme?) or Mendev / Worldwound / Sarkoris or Belkzen / Lastwall (some sort of naturally integrate with nearby regions, IMO, such as that Belkzen / Lastwall pairing, or a Mendev / Worldwound / Sarkoris theme).
Numeria and Tian Xa, in particular, might be kind of niche, and not have the same sort of general appeal that a Brevoy / River Kingdoms theme would.
Places like Nirmathas, Molthune, Rahadoum, Thuvia, Druma, Galt, Hermea, Nex, Geb, Alkenstar, etc. might be a little bit too undeveloped by Paizo to be suitable Wayfinder themes...
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I wouldn't say *forever* out of reach. We've had two for Varisia, for instance, and I don't think it's out of line we could have another about one of the less recent ones, like the Mwangi Expanse or Linnorm Kings or the Darklands, again sometime.
And that's assuming that all future Wayfinders will be regionally themed.
This last one was Monsters. Presumably at least every other one will be regional, but it's possible a later non-regional theme could be Magic or Fighting Styles or the Gods (as pertains to classes other than just Clerics!) or Guilds, Schools & Societies (for all class types), etc.
Magic, fighting styles, Gods, guilds, or schools and societies would be really cool themes to tackle!
Otherwise...Alkenstar for 15!!!
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That's... really disappointing. Everything I love is forever out of reach.
I don't know if I'll have anything worth contributing to future issues. (I'm not even sure what I submitted to this issue was worthwhile, to be honest.)
I think any freelancer you ask has a (growing) pile of stuff that didn't get accepted or used for various reasons. IMO, write it anyway. If nothing else:
1) you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you've completed it,
b) practicing your craft is the only real way to improve it, and
Π) you'll free up your brain to percolate & marinate on other stuff.
I find the last to be most important, because I often find that even when I think I'm done with a beastie/class/race/spell/etc, my subconscious isn't. I'm often surprised how often a kernel of something previous will bubble up as something "new" but with new elements that often make it more interesting, more flavorful, and better.
So go ahead: write out and mercilessly edit that Chelaxian-themed Weal and Woe, or new devil, or new organization, or whatever. Just don't be surprised when that process allows your brain to subconsciously uncover and cultivate new variations on those ideas... so your infernal Weal & Woe NPCs reincarnate anew as Nirmathi & Molthuni agents, or your devil re-skins itself into a wicked River Kingdoms fey.
I'm for a Brevoy/River Kingdoms themed issue, something that could be very inspired by the always popular Kingmaker AP, the related Guide of the River Kingdoms and about Brevian political intrigues a very good external source of inspiration could be i.e. the Game of Thrones books and tv series.
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I think any freelancer you ask has a (growing) pile of stuff that didn't get accepted or used for various reasons. IMO, write it anyway. If nothing else:
1) you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you've completed it,
b) practicing your craft is the only real way to improve it, and
Π) you'll free up your brain to percolate & marinate on other stuff.I find the last to be most important, because I often find that even when I think I'm done with a beastie/class/race/spell/etc, my subconscious isn't. I'm often surprised how often a kernel of something previous will bubble up as something "new" but with new elements that often make it more interesting, more flavorful, and better.
So go ahead: write out and mercilessly edit that Chelaxian-themed Weal and Woe, or new devil, or new organization, or whatever. Just don't be surprised when that process allows your brain to subconsciously uncover and cultivate new variations on those ideas... so your infernal Weal & Woe NPCs reincarnate anew as Nirmathi & Molthuni agents, or your devil re-skins itself into a wicked River Kingdoms fey.
I just wanted to touch on some of this specifically. It's a little narcissistic - I'll spoiler it, just so I'm not polluting the thread with all this.
1) Satisfaction would be nice, but a big hang-up for me is legitimacy. In my mind, if it doesn't see print, it's (virtually) worthless. Irrational, I know.
b) I need editors to improve - otherwise, I'd be fine with things as they were. I learned a lot from your aid, but without it, I wouldn't have known how to improve it.
Π) Obsession is my existence. If I seem really hung up on this "missed opportunities" thing, it's because it's all I can think about, sometimes for hours at a time. If it weren't for other really upsetting things happening today, anyway. Those were a distraction, although not the good kind.
I don't entirely understand part 2 up there. Most of this stuff has been pretty heavily refined in my head before it even reaches text. I can - and do - refine the idea, but if nobody will ever use it, why waste text on it? (Other than as practice, obviously.)
Part 3 nearly never happens for me. If I write something for Cheliax, in my mind, I've tied it so heavily to numerous elements of Cheliax that it's inextricable. It would be faster and easier for me to write something from whole cloth than to refluff something I've already developed.
On top of that, I'm plagued by insecurity - the knowledge, the certainty, that what I'm doing isn't well-written enough, isn't creative enough, doesn't fit the setting well enough, or just isn't good enough.
This insecurity mercilessly kills ideas. I thought about an erinyes Hellknight for Weal & Woe, but couldn't make progress - partly because my insecurity told me it was stupid, and partly because wordcount would have killed it. Statblocks are murder. Might have been nice for the Cheliax issue though.
I thought about expanding on vampires from APs - Westcrown especially - but who would want that here? Might have been nice for the Cheliax issue though. Plus, it was pretty silly.
The Jistkan dybbuk idea I was working with had promise... but it also had no place in a monster-themed issue. Construct soul gems for possession, ancient Hellknight armor, ghost touch gauntlets. Waste of space. Plus, magic item formulas are a struggle.
Anyway, that's my self-centered little rant. Sorry you had to see this - every so often I can't bottle it up anymore.
Thank you for your encouragement - I mean that sincerely.
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Have we already done Lost Kingdoms? I'm guessing I'll be (relatively) alone on this, but I love the ancient empires of the Inner Sea - Thassilon, Ghol-Gan, Sarkoris, and especially the Jistka Imperium.
Anyone else?
Also a huge fan of that, but it would be important to keep ideas to stuff relevant to a current-set storyline, such as relics to be unearthed, or fighting styles or spells that are available to the descendants of those traditions.
Not that a time-travel adventure couldn't also be entertaining (similar to The Armageddon Echo, in Second Darkness, perhaps)...
That's exactly what I meant - the modern-day ruins and remnants. Jistkan relics, Sarkorian traditions, Ghol-Gan ruins, Thassilonian spells, etc.
That leaves countries like Andoran and Taldor (of the 'big five'), as well as less developed countries / regions like Brevoy / The River Kingdoms or Numeria or the Dragon Empires / Tian Xa or The Shackles / Sargava (perhaps too close to 'Seas and Coasts' in theme?) or Mendev / Worldwound / Sarkoris or Belkzen / Lastwall (some sort of naturally integrate with nearby regions, IMO, such as that Belkzen / Lastwall pairing, or a Mendev / Worldwound / Sarkoris theme).
Numeria and Tian Xa, in particular, might be kind of niche, and not have the same sort of general appeal that a Brevoy / River Kingdoms theme would.
Places like Nirmathas, Molthune, Rahadoum, Thuvia, Druma, Galt, Hermea, Nex, Geb, Alkenstar, etc. might be a little bit too undeveloped by Paizo to be suitable Wayfinder themes...
This is what worries me. I have no inspiration for 90% of this. And not much for the other 10%.
I'll give it time and see what's picked, though. Maybe I'll feel a little better by the time of the announcement...
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I just wanted to touch on some of this specifically. It's a little narcissistic - I'll spoiler it, just so I'm not polluting the thread with all this.
Spoiler:
(snip)
On top of that, I'm plagued by insecurity - the knowledge, the certainty, that what I'm doing isn't well-written enough, isn't creative enough, doesn't fit the setting well enough, or just isn't good enough.This insecurity mercilessly kills ideas.
Anyway, that's my self-centered little rant. Sorry you had to see this - every so often I can't bottle it up anymore.
In response to spoiler:
Best of luck.
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PaizoCon Founder, Wayfinder Editor-in-Chief
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Unfortunately, freelancers often get told what to write, not just the stuff that inspires them. Learning to be inspired about subjects that you feel "meh" about is what makes a good freelancer, imho.
Wayfinder is sort of a Junior Freelancer / introduction to freelancing. You get a subject, you have deadlines, you get edited. You might get feedback.
It's also a test to see if you can handle yourself professionally.
I hear the doubt and frustration in the comments.....focus on the challenge, and push yourself to learn to take it on fully each time.
You think your idea is silly? Join the club. But SUBMITTING it is the only way you will know if it really WAS silly, or if it was just the negative voice in your head that said that.
Wayfinder is your no cost test to see if freelancing in the gaming industry is your kind of thing. It's sort of turned out that way......and we are cool with it, if that's what it's become.
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On some level, I think I'd rather have an assignment. Picking which concepts to write out and develop is one of the most nerve-wracking parts, especially with Wayfinder's competitive element - I'd be less nervous about "Here, do this, and make it snappy, we're printing in two weeks." (My submissions were written in two days; the intervening time was spent submitting them to others for feedback.)
It does worry me a lot, though, that just making these comments somehow disqualifies me professionally. Like, here's me saying I'm not good enough, so... take my word for it. "We can't count on her - she complains about pressure!"
Especially since this is what I'd really like to be doing.
So... a lot of the pressure comes from myself. ^_^
(The "only three submissions" rule adds to it as well. I totally respect why it's there, but it gives me a lot of reason to second-guess the ideas I choose to develop.)
How abut an issue that is dedicated to....the other planets in the solar system? Pick one or brush over them all?
1.Aballon, the Horse
2.Castrovel, the Green Planet
3.Golarion, the Child
4.Akiton, the Red Planet
5.Verces, the Line
6.Eox, the Dead Planet
7.Triaxus, the Wanderer
8.Liavara, the Dreamer
9.Bretheda, the Cradle
10.Apostae, the Messenger
11.Aucturn, the Stranger
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Huh. I certainly would not mind a Taldor issue. Taldor or First World... both really good topics.
Looking in on Numeria, I suppose that wouldn't be to bad either, even if it wouldn't be my first choice. I guess mainly because I skipped this Season in the Society. Still, I'm sure I could whip something up.
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Broader themes: tech, fey, the planes (particularly the Shadow Plane or any/all demiplanes—Harrowed Realm, Hao Jin Tapestry, Book of the Damned, etc.), alignment
Ooh, alignment. A chance to show off some stuff specific to good (touched upon most recently in Chronicles of the Righteous, Champions of Purity, etc.), law (touched upon, uh, practically never?) and chaos (ditto, need more chaos!).
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Well and maybe Evil, not everything has to be for players you know.
Eh. Evil's not exactly short on options.
GM's also aren't exactly lacking for resources, for that matter, since they get to use the stuff in the Bestiaries that players can't use, *and* get to use all the player stuff as well (like gnolls with barbarian levels or a vampire monk).
Every player resource is also a GM resource. The reverse is not always true.
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Oh, now the Hao Jin Tapestry would be a cool one. Considering it has bits and pieces from all over Golarion in it folks would be able to do almost anything. And, since it also has parts of Golarion from different time periods as well, iirc, then you could have some interesting divergent timeline concepts as well.
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The Hao Jin Tapestry sounds cool... are there any non-PFS sources for it? All that I can remember are some mentions in the Pathfinder Society Primer.