Short Fiction Contest Announcement

I have been thinking about this for a long time and think this might be a great time to launch this effort. I would like to launch a series of short fiction pieces set in Saggakar. These could be pretty much anything. During my many classes, I have found it fairly easy to come up with shorter stories than long ones and have been reading some really good ones.

Through this, I would like to meet new writing talent! This is your chance

Contest parameters

- All fiction should be original: written by you and not already published or submitted for publication elsewhere.

- The story must deal with themes of Saggakar: oppression, memory loss, slavery, redemption, and heroism against the odds.

- The story should be "traditional" fantasy (no sci-fi, no fanfic)

- Seven hundred to two thousand words for each submission

- An author can submit as many pieces of fiction as they want.

- All participants will be contacted shortly after the contest end.

- Submissions will be considered unedited drafts

- If your submission is not a winner, all rights will revert to you.

Prizes

- All participants will receive a unique Legacy Record granting them a unique bonus usable in the game.

- Winners will receive a copy of the final anthology and credit.

- Winners will receive a PDF copy of the Tyrants of Saggakar Player's Guide (5e or PFRPG).

- A grand prize winner will have their likeness (or someone of their choice) used for an NPC in an upcoming Tyrants of Saggakar product.

Does that seem fun? Pass the word, I'm thinking of running this for the month of March. (1-31st)

JP

Name the Wizards Contest: The Winners!

Wow a flurry of activity right at the end! I am really super-stoked about the amount of entries I received right at the end.

My rating criteria were: originality of the character, story potential (how inspiring they were for the creation of future material) and how well they could be integrated into Saggakar. The last two are quite related I know, but I tried to take them separately: for Saggakar and beyond it.

As I wait for the winner's final names (so as not to announce aliases), here are their winning entries (in alphabetical order).

Dagmar Wyrmkin

Dagmar became deeply fascinated with Necromantic magic after losing her long time companion to a wasting disease. She devoted most of her life to finding out how to create life without needing a partner. She became more and more reclusive as her power and knowledge grew.

Drax the Blue

Drax the Blue, anarchist sorcerer and revolutionary whose exploits to free the oppressed often ended disastrously, but those that he rescued idolized him. He oversaw the running of an underground network for escaped slaves and helped build hidden settlements for them. His beliefs and arrogance finally cost him his life in a magic duel with three slaver wizards but those Drax were escorting escaped while he fought and died. His freedom loving philosophy survives in the "little blue book" which are often found among the settlements he helped found.

Vlistra Zarmon

Locals call her "The Transmuter of Weapons." Vlistra Zarmon is a transmuter obsessed with improving weapons by adding other weapons to make the overall weapon deadlier than the two weapons alone. She thinks of herself as a visionary others think of her as off her rocker.

Congratulations and thanks to the many participants. You did not make my life easy that's for sure. Not only was this a fun exercise, it was also one of the more enlightening experience.

JP

Name That Wizard Contest - Less than a week to go!

With the Name That Wizard contest going strong, I want to everyone send your entry to Contest@FoeLegacies.com before the closing of the contest, this coming Sunday September 6th 2015 at midnight, central time (GMT-5). I plan to announce the winners on Monday the 7th.

For the full details, refer to the Name That Wizard Contest Post. I'm not looking for a super detailed bio, just a few lines about him/her/it.

I will say that I am impressed and excited at the variety and number of entries.

Because of that, I am thinking of naming a few "honorable mentions"... Not sure how I will use those just yet. Still thinking about it.

Yeah, you guys are THAT good.

JP

Updates: Saggakar, Legacies, Contest, Conventions

Tyrants of Saggakar Player's Guide

In the past week, I have been really putting this book together, trying to get it all wrapped up. I have been working on the index for the past few days, to provide a clear and useful index. Trying to balance quantity and utility.

I am waiting for art from a few sources to complete the book. I expect it to trickle in through mid-September.

One piece I am wondering: Should I add some fiction to the book? I mean as chapter headers and the likes. I don't quite know if it adds anything. I tend not to read them, particularly if they span multiple pages. What about you?

Epilogue For Memories of a Frozen Hell

I have really procrastinated on this one, but I assure you I have it. It provides a lot of information gathered by the players as they investigated Yorix Island in Gencon's "Memories of a Frozen Hell" and the chilling (pun intended) revelations about Yorix and Saggakar therein... I will make it available when I get home tonight.

New Legacies Adventures

I think I can now reveal the next batch of Legacies adventures and their authors. The adventures have gone through one pass of editing and I expect them back for final editing and formatting in the next two weeks or so. I am working on two ones myself. One is a brand new story and the other is a re-hash (and massive re-do) of an old Living Greyhawk adventure I wrote.

One of the things that I like during the creative process is that we often start with an idea and as we write, the idea morphs and the adventure changes from one thing to another. Although the original idea is still valid, the story expands and changes, and what we originally thought was awesome gets bumped out to a later story, with the current one setting up and foreshadowing what we originally planned. It is hard to explain if you have not experienced it for yourself, but I am always excited when it happens.

This is one of the side-benefits of the agile way (I am a programmer and an adept of agile development, a methodology I apply to Saggakar), I am trying to expand and explore Saggakar: define the overall in broad terms, and focus on the specifics only when they are needed. This means that a later, better idea always wins out and makes it to the final product much better because the most exciting, best idea can always overrule what has yet to be written or defined.

This happened to one of the adventures (I'm not saying which, you'll have to wait and see).

The following titles and blurbs are subject to change before they are finally released for public play.

TOS-1-04 House of Mirrors by James McTeague MURDER! MURDER MOST FOUL! People in glasses houses should not throw stones, but which of the suspects is the guilty one? An adventure for APLs 3-9 (characters level 3 through 10) TOS-1-05 Path to Ambition by Randy Price Pearched in the Markhem Peaks, the city-states of Onero enjoys freedom from the ArchDespotate's harsh laws. However, a rash of recent crimes forces the Lady-Mayor to call on outside help. An adventure for APLs 7-7 (characters level 6 through 8) TOS-1-06 And Everything Nice by JP Chapleau Banditry is too common occurence in the ArchDespotate. The long gauntleted arm of the law is swift, brutal, and merciless. When rumors of sabotage and commercial interference between the great houses may lead to more violence, impartial justice must be dispensed. An adventure for APLs 3-7 (characters level 3 through 8)

Name that Wizard

Just a quick word about the "Name that Wizard" Contest. I've had quite a few entries so far, and I am very excited about the variety of characters and mini-story coming in. Keep the entries coming!

Upcoming Conventions

I am still working out my upcoming yearly schedule for 2015-2016. There are so many event I want to go, but budgetary reasons. Cons I will attend for sure include: PurpleBunnyCon in Murfreesboro TN, MidSouthCon in Memphis TN, NashCon in Nashville TN, Lexicon in Lexington KY, and GenCon in Indianapolis IN. I don't have a firm plan for any of them yet but it will be posted here.

I have heard some very positive news from Louisville and hope to go back and run some Legacies. That said, I am waiting on some news. I'll work with Chad and Nate (Kentucky's awesome Venture Captain and Lieutenant) to come up with a schedule that suits everyone. I'm debating whether I should "just" have some regular adventures or provide a special with it. I have time to come up with my plan.

Cons I am debating whether to attend (as a GM) include Winter Fantasy in Fort Wayne IN and Origins in Columbus OH. I plan on attending as a player, however.

JP