Initial drawings for the upcoming Dawnstars series.
Stay tuned for more information.
(I’m excited!)
Role Playing Games and Writing
Art by Jeff Hebert
Blog Note: This might not make any sense to some of you, but I’m starting a roleplaying adventure using yahoogroups and thought my followers might be interested.
Funnily enough, writing/playing roleplaying games was a great help in learning the craft of writing. The game I’m starting (below) is actually set in the same universe as my novel, The Miranda Contract. There are some cameos going both ways too, which is nice and meta!
I’m hoping to create and record a video post on pbems (play by email games) and how they’ve affected my writing. Technical problems aside, stay tuned.
And now to the actual post about the game:
Information Post.
10 Things About the Dawnstars Game
1. Dawnstars: The Root of All Evil, is a stand-alone adventure for 3-5 characters.
2. Characters need to have a reason for being in Europe, but do not necessarily have to be European.
3. Characters should be built using Champions (Hero 5th Edition) with 350 points being the target area. The character sheets will be used to give the player and the GM a good idea of what the character can and cannot do, but there will be more flexibility in the actual running of the game.
4. Characters will need to be team players and interested in helping the Slovakian Prime Minister find and neutralize the threat to his economy. There’s no use having a character in the game who doesn’t like working in teams or who won’t help when asked. There will probably be room for such characters in other games, but for this one I am looking specifically for characters who are good guys and willing to put themselves before others.
5. Feel free to use established characters, organisations and events from Uberworld (www.uber-world.com) but do not limit yourself to these. We’re aiming to breathe new life into the ‘franchise’. To do this you can create new ideas or you can re-imagine older ones. For example, I might want to submit a character who is the son of Professor Quake, or I might want to play Le Crapaud as a hero. In cases where the character, organisation or event was created by someone who is still active in Uberworld we’ll obviously need to negotiate that, however, all NPCs should be open for interpretation. That was one of the core ideas behind the creation of Uberworld.
6. When choosing characters for this first game I’m going to be very subjective, choosing characters who will fit best given the fixed-term nature of the adventure. If, for example, I’ve got a mad scientist villain with a butterfly fetish and your character happens to be a human-butterfly hybrid then I’m probably going to choose you just because it’d be hilarious. Given there’s only slots for 3-5 characters in this first game, please be supportive and patient. The idea is to get Uberworld up and running again but we need to take baby steps or we’ll fall on our faces. Ouch!
7. Players will need to post every 48 hours as a minimum or run the threat of the GM taking control of your character. The GM won’t be malicious, but if a character can provide the story some drama by getting hurt, injured or otherwise, then the GM is likely to do that. It’s a matter of keeping the game going forward and if you cannot give the game your attention every two days then please pass on this opportunity.
8. The GM will post every 24 hours, although major posts will not be that frequent as that would stifle the players’ input. If you have a question for the GM email me immediately. I check email a lot (obsessive, much?) and will be able to respond quickly. Of course, don’t send me overly complicated or deliberately obtuse questions just to test this theory out!
9. Side posts or collaborative player stories should be limited to off-list for this first adventure. With this first, ‘let’s get reacquainted with the system’ adventure, we’ll need to really focus on the plot and moving it forward. Still plenty of room for character dialogue and development, but let’s keep it all ‘in time’. The story will be run via the dawnstars@yahoogroups.com list. Go and sign up if you’re interested.
10. While the game will be fixed-term (there are five Acts to complete) I am interested in a continuing Dawnstars game in the future, once the Uberworld has settled into production again. After this fixed-term adventure the focus will shift to another area of the Uberworld, but after that I think I’d be ready to create an ongoing (or series of fixed-term) series.
Now, let me at your questions! I’m opening this up to submissions for two weeks (closing on Saturday 20th April). We’ll aim to begin the actual game on the following Saturday, 27th April. Make sure you’re relatively free to post between April – August (which is the northern summer, I know).
Short Story: Nematalien (Chronos Awards Post)
The 2013 Chronos Awards are currently accepting nominations for the best science fiction and fantasy work by Victorian writers. One of my short stories was short listed in 2011 so I make a point of supporting the process because it was such an awesome feeling for me.
I read LynC’s short story half way through last year and decided that it’s going to be my nomination for Best Short Works. You can read out here:
http://narratorium.com/2012/05/11/nematalien/
To nominate a story you need to email: awards@continuum.org.au and include the work you’d like to nominate in the body of the email. You should also include where the story was published, and in this case it was the fantastic Narratorium (www.narratorium.com)
For more information on the Chronos Awards click here.
Maybe in the comments section you could list what your favourite short story was in 2012.
This Mutant Life
After over a year This Mutant Life is back, and now has a new webpage which you can find here. As the editor, and most likely publisher, I’d like to announce that submissions are now being sought for the 2013 anthology.
I’m looking for stories which have some element of neo-pulp or superhuman influence. You can go wild with the actual genre or style, but there needs to be some link. The title comes from my wish to read stories which tell stories about superheroes and supervillains which explore all aspects of their lives – not just the times when they’re gallivanting around in costume.
It’s a paying market and stories will earn $0.01/word, which means a 2000 word story will be paid $20 for first anthology rights for both an e-book and a print-book. Authors will also receive a copy of the e-book and an equal share in royalties if costs are recovered. Costs will include the initial payment to authors (probably around $500), professional cover and layout ($750) and token editing costs ($50) for a total of $1300. It’s possible that the money will be recouped, but my advice would be to go into the project for the initial payment and an opportunity for further exposure.
Small publishing houses are doing it tough. Pill Hill Press just recently closed, among others, so he idea of publishing for a profit is low on my list of priorities. As always, I see This Mutant Life as a way to promote the writing of authors, and to collect stories I’d like to read.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.