The Campaign Builder's Guild

Hey, guys. I had an idea:

Why not have a newsletter for the CBG? Something that comes out on a regular basis, maybe bi-monthly, or even weekly, that highlights the Campaign Showcase, hot threads, Post articles, and community competitions?

Why not also have it so that the members of the community can contribute things like short stories, gaming/gamer articles (or product reviews), humor pieces, or even serial fiction?

What do you guys think? We're approaching 100 members, and I think this might be a fun and involving way to engage non-actives and those who are a bit timid.

~Elven Doritos

This has my support, anyone that would be interested in writing some articles or other things, post here as well.

I love the idea, Eldo. We could use the post for it, and other such great things.

I gotta run now, but I'll be cooking up ideas, and post them when I come back.

4 for the show!

Good idea!

Kool, even!  As in the Dutch word for cabbage! :cool:

You all can count me in.  I'll be getting some books soon, and when they arrive, I'll do a monthly product review or such.

I actually wonder if someone would help me on that...  Maybe someone who knows crunch better?

Anyway, I can write articles and such.  Maybe we should have an "avatar spotlight".

Just some ideas, I think this could be fun!

Sounds like a good idea. If you want me to contribute some crunch, I'm up for it.

I'll do humor stuff, that'll probably be easier. Most of it will be commentary on WOTC, but still.

Also, I could write a webcomic. I couldn't draw it, but I could write it.

I like the idea, but how to fill such a newsletter? Who's going to write the required regular articles, considering the Post has been up for months and has only three articles in it, and the Hosting has maybe two or three active areas.

Quote from: CYMROKool

Are we talking wittekool, rodekool, boerenkool, chinesekool, or something entirel different here? I sure hope it isn't the dreaded Demoon van de Negende Kool!

On a more serious note, do you actually speak/write Dutch?

Quote from: TúrinI like the idea, but how to fill such a newsletter? Who's going to write the required regular articles, considering the Post has been up for months and has only three articles in it, and the Hosting has maybe two or three active areas.

I think that was the idea of this thread-- to gauge community interest and start feeling out who would want to write what. Obviously, someone would be placed in charge of the whole thing and decide what content was included, and hopefully there would be enough submissions to fill it on a regular basis.

If we do this, I'm more than open to write reviews.

I also make a ton of epic material over on Dicefreaks, and they would not mind if I put it over here as well.

I'd prefer a bi-monthly format.

Quote from: limetomI'd prefer a bi-monthly format.

I think that's most wise, it allows us to highlight important content without smothering ourselves in "work" and clogging member's e-mails, but still delivers enough content and fun for the whole gaming family to serve its original purpose!

I'd actually prefer monthly, for a few reasons. Bi-monthly is probably too long assuming the population continues to grow, new projects are begun, and new debates/settings pop up. Also,  I don't know how many other people are going off to school in the fall, but for those who do it may become more difficult to participate and it'd be fun to at least do something for 2-3 newsletters.

....Er. Bi-monthly means twice a month, not every two months.

EDIT: Son of a *censored*!

Dictionary: The prefix bi- usually means 'every two', so bimonthly means 'every two months'. Semi- means 'half' or 'halfway', so semimonthly means 'every two weeks'. However, bimonthly can also mean 'twice a month' - but it is rarely used that way. It is best to remember that bi- is "every two" and semi- is "halfway."

I guess it depends on where you live. To clarify: I mean twice a month, or every two weeks.

Quote from: Are you there, God? It's me, ElDoTo clarify: I mean twice a month, or every two weeks.

That's not clear...

Quote from: limetom

Quote from: Are you there, God? It's me, ElDoTo clarify: I mean twice a month, or every two weeks.

It's not?

Twice a month. Like, on the 15th and the last day of the month or something. This is all tentative, mind you, and I'm open to suggestions-- the atmosphere around here is dynamic enough that going longer would fail to capture a lot of the things (showcases, etc.) that go on.

So, 15th/30th is my proposal.

crit, ditto on the crunch. I'm all for the crunch (no fluff, sorry).

Quote from: Are you there, God? It's me, ElDo....Er. Bi-monthly means twice a month, not every two months.

EDIT: Son of a *censored*!

Dictionary: The prefix bi- usually means 'every two', so bimonthly means 'every two months'. Semi- means 'half' or 'halfway', so semimonthly means 'every two weeks'. However, bimonthly can also mean 'twice a month' - but it is rarely used that way. It is best to remember that bi- is "every two" and semi- is "halfway."

I guess it depends on where you live. To clarify: I mean twice a month, or every two weeks.

Bi-weekly!

I'm more conservative, so how about straight-weekly or hetero-weekly?

I'd prefer a longer time period.  

It would be easy to put stuff in there for a few weeks, but after a while, the ideas would start to run thin.

If we had a longer time period, each would have quality ideas in them that are well developed, and it would be much harder to run out of ideas.

I just think it would be a better idea to emphisize the quality of our community.  We need to make ourselves look as good as we possibly can, and I think we should take every possible opportunity to do so.

Additionally, how will we publish this?  What format will we use?

Perhaps a monthly basis would be better, and I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on the matter.

And I concur, quality IS the key thing to keep in mind here.

Format? Hm. We could always publish it as a PDF, perhaps with a bit of work in Photoshop (I have access to PS and I could work out a passable page background, unless someone is better qualified-- then we could compare page styles). If we don't want to go with PDFs, we could go with a simply-formatted chain e-mail, or I'm sure a myriad other ideas...

I'd like to see it done in a PDF.  Sadly, today was my last day of school, so I no longer have access to photoshop.  Sorry, no funny pictures from me...

So wixman, was that a sign of interest in the reviews?  Does that mean you will be able to review crunch value?  Just checking...

OMG! Can I be crunch editor/maker-upper?! Plz plz plz! Me me me! Pick me! It's been my dream since I was a kid, Hail Eris... so yeah... way too excited, I'm going to have dreams about reviewing d20 articles... I have before... *sign I play too much d20*

I was asking about reviewing the crunch in books, as we review sourcebooks for their value.  Still interested?

Yeah, but I want the other job too... and I better get it...  :ninja:

Ok, so...

If you people can't use Photoshop, then why not just use GIMP?  It's free, it comes with almost all of the features of PS, and you can get add-ons.  I use it all the time.

As for PDF creation, we can use Open Office, it can create PDFs, and its free.

I personally have and use both of these programs, and find them to be great.  I tried the PS trial, and found that GIMP, once you learned how to use it, was just as good (if not better because it was free).

As for reviews, I said I was game.

I think that we'll assign roles when we get a project leader (which Ishy and I agreed will come after the new Mod is promoted), but we could certainly use the largest berth of articles and potential content to choose from.

~Elven Doritos

Quote from: limetomOk, so...

If you people can't use Photoshop, then why not just use GIMP?  It's free, it comes with almost all of the features of PS, and you can get add-ons.  I use it all the time.

As for PDF creation, we can use Open Office, it can create PDFs, and its free.

I personally have and use both of these programs, and find them to be great.  I tried the PS trial, and found that GIMP, once you learned how to use it, was just as good (if not better because it was free).

As for reviews, I said I was game.

Heh. Again, this will be something up to the editor-in-chief to decide, if not because they'll be assembling the content and either picking a graphic designer (depending on how many people are interested and submit designs, it could be something of a pseudo-competition).

Again, if it's assembled as a PDF, it really doesn't matter what program we use to put it together. I have PS, and Limetom has mentioned other programs he has available. I think that picking a successful design and formatter is an important part of ensuring the quality of the newsletter.

[spoiler=To Limetom]

Quote from: limetomOk, so...

If you people can't use Photoshop, then why not just use GIMP?  It's free, it comes with almost all of the features of PS, and you can get add-ons.  I use it all the time.

As for PDF creation, we can use Open Office, it can create PDFs, and its free.

I personally have and use both of these programs, and find them to be great.  I tried the PS trial, and found that GIMP, once you learned how to use it, was just as good (if not better because it was free).

As for reviews, I said I was game.

Alright then, sorry if I jumped the gun on placing jobs and such, I'll try and be more patient.  So, now we wait?

I think we can still toss around ideas about what things we want to see in the Newsletter, maybe specifics of columns and such, but until we have the project made official and we learn who the new mod is, we're in a bit of a rut, I suppose, yes.

I think a twice-a-month thing is a good idea (though I have no aversion to once-a-month, either), but scheduling for specific dates is not.  I don't think 15th/30th would be the way to go, because you have one on a Wednesday, then the other on a Thursday, which are just weird days.  I think more like:  the 2nd Monday, and the last Monday in each month.  So occasionally, on a month where there's 5 Mondays, one may come three weeks after the other, but generally, it'll be a pretty set schedule.

Right, that is another valid option as well, and it would probably work out better.

I still think this will be overstreching us a bit.  Sure, we'll have new books to review each month, but other than that, we'll run out of ideas pretty quickly.

We're a community of almost 100 members, each of us brimming with ideas. I can't say that I agree. ;)

Well, we can always post articles where people have developed new mechanics, we can always show the past and current campaign showcase, we can always have some nonsense in there if we want, and someone mentioned a web comic, which I would agree to if we could set up a better schedule than GitP.  I think, especially on a monthly basis, we would have enough stuff to send out to bore the casual passer-by silly ;)

Most of those 100 members are distressingly silent, but I think you're on to something nonetheless. Nothing says the stuff in the newsletter has to be the same style and level of polish as the things we're posting in our own settings.

Yeah, monthly is good for me. I thought you were saying every two months :O

I'm just gonna say that I'm leaning towards a 1/month schedule, as ideas are hard to come by sometimes.  Besides, we can always increase the frequency of the publication, but slowing down things will cause discontent among the masses.

Because, by definition, you were right. ;)

It's okay, all is good. I think the consensus is monthly at the moment, but when this thing gets off the ground, we'll probably have a poll or something.

~ElDo

Also, I don't think we should have the same sections in there every installment. Alternating between section 'line-ups' for each newsletter would certainly keep things fresh, though how to determine rotation is questionable. Perhaps there should be voting on a particular line-up at the start of each month (assuming it's monthly) which lasts a week, giving three weeks to prepare for the next newsletter.

Would it also be better if we had TWO teams, ONE for EACH other newsletter edition? Personally, two weeks to wait till the last day for crit to hand something in to me would be frustrating. Because crit is a slacker (jk).

Anyway, I'll work up something cool for a line-up, like...

Book Reviews

Special Columns (Dungeon Management, Spell Galore, etc.)

Fanfic (of favourite campaigns or maybe of each other's campaigns...)

Editor's Beef

...stuff like that... yes....

We should have some people developing homemade spells, items, feats, and such as well for this.  We need to be careful, though, or we'll be calling this thing an e-zine instead of a newsletter.

What's wrong with an e-zine?

and yes Wix, I am a slacker.  I prefer procrastinator though, as it sounds slightly more sophisticated.

EDIT: We could do member bios or something, a member of the month?  Maybe the members whose campaign won the showcase this month get a blurb?

Nothing's wrong with an e-zine, but I'm certainly not going to host this site and come up with a magazine's worth of material all the time ;)

Quote from: IshmaylNothing's wrong with an e-zine, but I'm certainly not going to host this site and come up with a magazine's worth of material all the time ;)

I am sure amongst us we already have  a handful of issues worth of material.

That may very well be a good point.  I'll think on it.  However, for the time being, let's focus on getting a small-ish newsletter out once or twice a month and see what happens after that :)

Indeed. *puts on monocle* More ideas, good chaps! We want whoever's running this to have a treasure trove, and we also want a community consensus!

~Elven Doritos

Good idea Ish, patience might actually be the way to go on this.



Some people call it procrastination, but if it looks more virtuos to call it patience, be my guest...      (Joking!)

What's an e-zine? *lol, n00b*

Seriously though, I'm dumb. And a lamer.

Quote from: The Lonely WixmanWhat's an e-zine? *lol, n00b*

Seriously though, I'm dumb. And a lamer.

From Wikipedia:

QuoteAn ezine is a periodic publication distributed by email or posted on a website. CULT OF THE DEAD COW claims to have published the first ezine, starting in 1984, with its ezine still in production more than 20 years later. While this claim is hotly debated, the ezine craze certainly began in the BBS days of the 1980s. Phrack, which opened its doors in 1985, is another surviving ezine of unparalelled technical quality. Unlike CULT OF THE DEAD COW, which publishes articles individually, Phrack publishes collections of articles in a manner that is more similar to a print magazine.

Ezines are typically tightly focused on a subject area. Ezines in concept are reworkings of the popular magazine format of seasonal, monthly, or weekly topical publications, in an electronic format.

I'm actually liking the EZine. Sure, it'd be bigger and heafteir, but it would be more fun. Plus, that would provide a greater draw to the site - a newsletter would be more for posters who are allready here, while an ezine would have more mass appeal. We could even make it in part like dragon magazine, only smaller and online, featureing articles on rules, existing things, and new rulesets. We have enough stuff allready on the site to make a couple issues of it, IMO.

And since this thread exploded when i wasn't looking, I was wondering about my webcomic ideas - if someone wants, I could write a sample script of my work. :)

Oh, one other thing - if no one has offered to be "editor," I'd be happy to. I actually have the time to, since I'm usually up midnight to 3 am with nothing to do anyway.

--It's not a position that's up for grabs yet. We're waiting for the new mod.

Ahhh, ok. What do you think of the idea of the Ezine or Webcomic?

If it comes out as quality work, then I think the Webcomic is a great idea. As long as it is coherent and entertaining, I'm for it.

As for an E-zine, if we go for something that content-driven, we're probably looking at a monthly format. Not a problem, it's just to gather and edit the larger amount of material, it'd be necessary.

Also, we could have a monthly "theme" to the newsletter/e-zine, having articles that are geared towards a particular concept. Similar to how Dragon articles tend to follow a loosely centralized theme (depending on the editor).

Well, the problem with the webcomic is that I can't draw. At all. We'd need an artist for that, or I'd need to learn to draw, which isn't gonna be easy...or even probable.

I've offered to try and draw for you...

Xathan, send me some PMs with some sample scripts.  Also, send me a PM in response to the last one I sent you please :)

I offer my talents of converting ideas to mechanics. If any mechanical rules need to be created to be put within the ezine (a good idea by the way), I can do such.

If we're looking to create a "dragon" type magazine, we could get a few DMs together to create some pre-made adventures that take place in Cebegia. It would help us develop the world.

I think we all know that adventures are a TON of work, so I could see that on maybe a quarterly basis- they also take a lot of time to compile and format.

Just my thoughts.

Not if they're small adventures; just a chunk of encounters.

Wait, I have an even better idea. Once Cebegia reaches a stage closer to completion than it is today, we start a resonably sized PbP game (6 players, 2 DMs). Then, the logs from the games can be reformatted into a more prose set up, so there will be reading material. If the campaign runs long enough, it will help develop the world, and give readers a more interesting way to get into it.

I'd love to be part of that!

How about a table column? It wouldn't be preticularly great to look at, but it'd help move along some games and put some randomness into all of it.

table column?

Quote from: The Lonely WixmanHow about a table column? It wouldn't be preticularly great to look at, but it'd help move along some games and put some randomness into all of it.

As in every issue a group of tables that may or may not fit a theme, but could come in handy on the fly?

I used to have a third party book along those lines, can't remember its name though...
Toolbox, toolchest, ...

You mean like random encounter tables, random NPC generation tables, magic item tables that take into consideration every book published?

That sort?

Quote from: Xeviatmagic item tables that take into consideration every book published?

That sort?

Copyright issues arise with the last one, so I doubt we'd do that.

Quote from: CYMRO of the Cabbage CabalAs in every issue a group of tables that may or may not fit a theme, but could come in handy on the fly?

I used to have a third party book along those lines, can't remember its name though...
Toolbox, toolchest, ...

Do you mean AEG's Toolbox?

How about blurbs of campaign settings? We are still the CBG, after all. Many of the more well-developed settings allow for very specific blurbs to be published in a newsletter/ezine/thing. In terms of narrowness, I'm thinking of the Wonders contest: issue #X could have a Wonder from Setting A, issue # X+1 could have a nation from setting B, issue # X+2 could have a specific historical event from setting C, etc.

That sounds petty cool Turin.  Maybe we could even publish somewhat isolated events or wonders so that they can be placed in another world?  That way the column would me more than just fun to read.

Quote from: VoidAdept

Quote from: CYMRO of the Cabbage CabalAs in every issue a group of tables that may or may not fit a theme, but could come in handy on the fly?

I used to have a third party book along those lines, can't remember its name though...
Toolbox, toolchest, ...

Do you mean AEG's Toolbox?

Yes! Dats der bunny!

Nah, I'll just make up random crap for every table option. Stupid copyrights.

Turin, I like that idea a lot.  It could be called "Insert Anywhere," and it could be items that could be easily (relatively) inserted into any campaign.  (No specific deities, nations, etc mentioned.)

Quote from: TúrinHow about blurbs of campaign settings? We are still the CBG, after all. Many of the more well-developed settings allow for very specific blurbs to be published in a newsletter/ezine/thing. In terms of narrowness, I'm thinking of the Wonders contest: issue #X could have a Wonder from Setting A, issue # X+1 could have a nation from setting B, issue # X+2 could have a specific historical event from setting C, etc.

I love this idea, though no need to limit it to wonders. Since we have 3 settings of the week at a time, if we release an ezine once every 3 weeks, we could have one article from each setting of the week in there. Just my 2cp.

No offense Xathan, but the part you quoted actually mentions other examples than wonders as well: specifically nations and historical events. I agree it doesn't necessarily have to be one article: three or even more suits me fine. To me, this should be the meat of a CBG newsletter.

As Critical Threat and Ishy pointed out (thank you for extending my idea to its logical conclusion) the ideas are ideally isolated in such a way they are easily ported to another's setting. Wonders are ideal for this, nations arguably can be made to work (especially in settings that are created inside-out) but historical events are probably harder to insert this way. Perhaps we should brainstorm a list of "setting aspects" that would be useful as newsletter articles, though I wouldn't mind an occasional non-insertable article. I just like to read about historical events, fictional or otherwise, sue me! :P

Anyways:

1. Wonders (both natural and artificial, as defined by Mithridates)
2. Nations (arguably)
3. Cities
4. Organizations

Xathan, there are 2 showcases going on at any given time, there were 3 last week because of my mistake in not getting someone's showcase up in time.  So, every 2 weeks is when you'll see new Showcases.

*reads above two comments*

Well, I feel like a complete idiot now. Sorry guys.

:)  It's okay, idiots are welcome here too!

I started that... in the way that they let me in...

Lonely, what's your avatar?

(just Wix, Ishy)

It's part of the Necronomicon... not that I've read it... or channeled anything from it...

Anyway, we need a list of articles and people to do the articles and a list of everyone's jobs.

Patience, young grasshopper. We are still waiting for the new mod announcement.

:fish:

Hmm. What about new uses for skills? I know we could certainly come up with new uses for skills like Craft(alchemy).

I would like to see a column on expanding the already existsing variant rules, such as those presented in Unearthed Arcana, Player's Handbook II, and Dungeon Master's Guide II.

As long as we can abide by the OGL, I like that... So probably just UA rules expansions. :(

DUDE! This would be awsome, and if its possible i'd like to get in on it. I have a lot of free time because of no more school (yay) and im a decent writer. I could write some adventures for it I guess, or we could do a thing like *Insert this into your Campaign/City/World* where we make something up (building, city, whatever) and say they can use it. Just a thought...

:lmao:

why you laugh at me?

Sorry, more so holding in the pain of ideas...

Ok, so here's what we are doing on this right now. There are a lot of behind the scene's talk going on with Ishy and ElDo about content and format. I'll be acting as editor for now, with ElDo as Associate Editor. The 3 main article types will be as follows:

1)   Articles about the settings of the weeks. These are one of the most unique aspects of the CBG, and we really need to play it up.
2)   Secondly, and I don't remember who brought this up, but the idea of having random "Insert Anywhere" plot devices, cities, campaigns, stories, baddies, etc is very appealing to us. Ishy said it best, and we agree.
3)   Setting specific mechanics, from classes to feats to races to such. These will be made to be somewhat modular, so they are useful to other people as well

The idea of a web comic hasnâ,¬,,¢t been forgotten, and we will probably be including one at a later date, but that is for later on â,¬' for now, we are going to stick mainly to the above 3 article types. Articles of other types will be accepted with submissions, including works of fiction, non-specific mechanics, random encounter tables, and such. As always, questions and comments are much appreciated.

In addition, we are looking for a name for the CBG Newsletter, since calling it the CBG Newsletter is rather tedious. We want everyone who has a name for it to submit names, and weâ,¬,,¢ll go over them and pick one. For now, submit names by posting them here.

Peace.

As a point, when it comes to something like a newsletter, an executive hiearchy is *very* important. We're not trying to disclude anyone from the process or discount anyone's ideas.

Remember, as Xathan said, that ideas you submit are very much crucial to this process. We can't have a newsletter without your submissions and suggestions.

Possible Names:

The Cebegia Chronicle
The Cebegia Monitor

The CBG Gazette
The CBG Examiner

Other variation along those lines

The Cabbage Dispatch :)

I like the cabbage dispatch...  Has anyone noticed this?

CaBbaGe!  Intriguing...

We don't necessarily have to have "CBG" in the title, since that could be the tagline. [TITLE X: The Campaign Builder's Guild Newsletter].

The Campaign Builder's Almanac

The world-building supplement

Compendium of the Gods

inside the minds of gods

the Divine tome

Secrets of worlds

I'm trying here...

Some more to get the wheels turning:

The Commoner's Voice
Campaign Builder Digest
Worlds in Review

[spoiler=Do not ask CBotG]Human: What should the CBG newsletter be named?
CBotG: Whatever you like.

Human: I don't think that is a catchy title
CBotG: And why not?

Human: Whatever you like doesn't have a nice ring to it and it doesn't describe the newsletter
CBotG: But I think airplanes are cool. I like pizza.

Human: You're not being helpful
CBotG: What makes you think I am not helpful?
[/spoiler]

More to come later if they come to me

Quote from: Natural 20I like the cabbage dispatch...  Has anyone noticed this?

CaBbaGe!  Intriguing...

   :hail1:

All hail the cabbage!

Another World
Inside Worlds
Inside Out
The Insider
Worlds Galore
The God-Game
Divine Inspiration

I like Divine Inspiration: The CBG Newsletter.

I like "Divine Inspiration" and "Inside out" myself...  Yay for Turin!

"Divine Inspiration" would probably carry a religious connotation to some, even if we don't see it that way.  That's aside from the fact that I don't like it.

"Inside Out" is the name of an inde music label, 4 different mildy popular bands, the initial band of Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha, a popular LGBT film festival in Toronto, and many art websites.  I like this one, but it seems to be known quite well already.

My Suggestions:
To be added later.

The Herald
The Magna-Post
Gazetteer Terraform
Structure
What Worlds May Come

The Builder's Adviser
The Campaign Builder's Guide
News from the Multiverse
The Homebrew Stew

Quote2) Secondly, and I don't remember who brought this up, but the idea of having random "Insert Anywhere" plot devices, cities, campaigns, stories, baddies, etc is very appealing to us. Ishy said it best, and we agree.

I said that! *pat on the back for myself* ...yes I know I have a low self-esteem gosh.
But I like the name "The Herald" myself but some more ideas are:

The BAMF: The Campaign Builders Guilds' Guide to PC Slaughter (just for kicks)
DM's Torture Trove
Exciting Worlds, Done Dirt Cheap
The Harbinger!
The Oracle
The CBG Adviser

I like the Campaign Builder's Guide and News from the Multiverse.

News From the Multiverse

or...

Cabbage

I like "News from the Multiverse" as well... that's my top vote so far.

I have a few I like, though I'm not saying which. We're going to have 24 more hours for submissions, and then we'll pick. If you want to get any last minute ones in, this is your chance. :)

You going to do a vote, or just kinda "mod" one up? ;)

Quote from: IshmaylYou going to do a vote, or just kinda "mod" one up? ;)

I'm guessing the plan is to be as clandestine and mysterious as possible.

All kidding aside: We need to get this ball rolling if we want to make this happen.

Agreed. So let's get the ball rolling. We are now accepting content submissions. Basically, anything you feels belongs in the newsletter, submit. The maximum number of words aloud is 3000, discounting text in charts and such. Any questions, direct here - please send submissions to me and Eldo (one copy for each, please) at klinkallyinsane(at)gmail(dot)com and domoarigatomroboto(at)yahoo(dot)com. I don't think the PM system will work well for this. We look forward to your submissions! :)

NOTE: the 3000 word thing is just the maximum - feel free to submit articles that are far shorter.

If I have a 3,996 word article that has no possiblity of being condensed without serious alteration, is it still accepatble?

I still have my article on politics and alignment I was going to put up here somewhere. Should I submit it for the newsletter, place it in the Post, or both?

Are you limiting the number of articles submitted by each person?  I have a couple different things (spells and feats) I'd like to submit.

I've come to save the day!

Limetom: The 3,000 word limit is primarily a guideline, and it's entirely experimental. I think that a 4,000 word article might be accpetable, so go ahead and submit it-- we'll take the size into consideration.

Turin: We need as many articles as we can get. If we decide not to publish it in the newsletter, you can always put it up later, right? ;)

Ishy: No limit. Right now we really want to get as much content as possible.

Submission sent.

So was a name picked? Do we have to wait for the 1st edition of the paper to find out?

@ Poseidon : I guess we have.

@ the Editor(s) (do we have one or more Editors?) : I sent you an email.

Sorry for the slow replies, guys, Real Life rose from the briny depths and attacked. I'm catching up on everything I have to catch up on, which is alot, but I did get your submissions. Turin, I'm reviewing your questions right now, and I'll get you an answer by tonight at some point. Poseidon, we'll have a name in the near future, just ElDo and I (titles: Myself, Editor, ElDo, Associate Editor) haven't been on at the same time to really discuss it. As long as he's on tonight, we'll be able to talk, and then have a title in the near future.

Xathan out. :)

And as a note, yes, we have received the submissions so far, and look forward to receiving more.

Quote from: brainface, in the Moderators forumdo we need to bother with the ogl-etc with the newspaper? I don't think we need to worry with a forum, but when we start calling things "publications", i'm less sure.

There needs to be a damned fansite-faq for this ogl nonsense.

I think this is something we should consider.  I honestly know little enough of the OGL to make this decision, and I have to be honest, but from what I can tell, I don't think most of the others around here know enough to make this decision either.  I think we should do some serious "research" on this topic and make sure we're not going to be stepping into any legal issues.

Quote from: Ishmayl

Quote from: Me, in the Moderator ForumYeah, there does need to be a faq for the ogl. However, I think we should include the OGL as part of the newspaper. So far, the submissions we have are all fluff, so there are no worries about violating copyright (except for the reviews...I have to check those reviews). However, the OGL should be included for protection. I'm getting pretty familiar with it, which is a good thing, because I think we'll be needing it.

Basically, the way I understand it, if you include any direct reference to DnD material, you have to make that OGC. Any time you use DnD mechanics, it has to legally be OGC, since the OGL is what allows you to use it. Again, though, I'm no expert, so we'll have to research it, but I have read through the entire OGL a couple times and I'm pretty sure I understand how it works.

If you're going to add the OGL, don't forget to point out what is OGC, what is PI and what is not affected by the OGL at all. All of the fluffy material should be PI when it makes use of D&D rules, and should not deal with the OGL at all when it doesn't. For example, my article on politics and alignment should be PI, because it quotes the SRD (though the quotes themselves are obviously OGC, rather than PI).
Túrin

Note: The name for the CBG Newsletter has been chosen, and it has been givin name of Campaign Builders Guide. A big thanks to Poseidon for the name.

Quote from: TurinIf you're going to add the OGL, don't forget to point out what is OGC, what is PI and what is not affected by the OGL at all. All of the fluffy material should be PI when it makes use of D&D rules, and should not deal with the OGL at all when it doesn't. For example, my article on politics and alignment should be PI, because it quotes the SRD (though the quotes themselves are obviously OGC, rather than PI).
Túrin

Guide[/i] OGL compliant is that we can distribute it widely and do so legally. :)

Quote from: High Seraph Xathan, The RisenNote: The name for the CBG Newsletter has been chosen, and it has been givin name of Campaign Builders Guide. A big thanks to Poseidon for the name.

Cool! I like it (as I said before). Good call Poseidon!

Quote from: High Seraph Xathan, The RisenYes, that would be required. Also, and this is just the way the law works, new mechanical information has to be OGL - you can't retain PI on mechanics unless you are WOTC. This isn't really something you can get around, much as I hate to admit it.

I assume someone who publishes his mechanics in an online Newsletter won't mind others using it, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I hope. :(

Túrin

I hope so as well, but I just want to be sure everyone knows that. :)

We really need more submissions, guys...with two submissions, plus two editorials (one from each of us) and an article written by myself and ElDo, we only have 6 things. We need more stuff! :P

I'm working on something I may want to submit. When is the deadline?

Quote from: High Seraph Xathan, The RisenNote: The name for the CBG Newsletter has been chosen, and it has been givin name of Campaign Builders Guide. A big thanks to Poseidon for the name.

 :crybaby: I would like to thank the little people that made this possible, but you wouldn't remember there names anyway so I won't. :)

I wish I had something to submit, but I don't.

Quote from: TúrinI'm working on something I may want to submit. When is the deadline?

As of now, there is no set deadline. That might change, we need to talk about that. For now, though we want everything we can - submit it, and we'll get it in, if not in the first newsletter, than in a later one. :)

Submitted.

Recieved and replied, twice. Great stuff, CYMRO. :D

I don't know what to submit!?!  :crybaby:

Just go with your first instinct. Don't worry about room, we have plenty of it. :D

Quote from: High Seraph Xathan, The RisenAs of now, there is no set deadline. That might change, we need to talk about that. For now, though we want everything we can - submit it, and we'll get it in, if not in the first newsletter, than in a later one. :)

Alright, I'll try to get it finished ASAP (I'm guessing somewhere next week, depending on how busy I am and how talkative I'm going to get).

And another wee submission...

Great submissions guys, keep them coming.

Unless you have questions, I'm not going to reply to submissions, but know I got them and every one so far is awesome. Still, we want more. :D

Any new news aboot the newsletter?

Right now, I'm playing with some layout ideas. I don't have enough articles to make a newsletter yet. I did just discover my computer can convert files into PDFs, so that's going to be nice, and once I write an article of my own and an editorial, plus maybe some other things, I should be able to produce something. Plus, a couple have people have told me thare are going to get me articles, and I'm waiting for them. As long as I get everything, I'm hoping to have it by Monday, unless ElDo comes back and wants to write stuff himself. Meanwhile, keep submitting stuff, we have plenty of room to cram stuff in. Some of you may be getting requests regarding your submissions in the near future. They will most be requests for expansions and clarifications. If you don't hear from me, assume you are in, and if you do hear from me, assume you are in too. If for some reason you aren't in, I'll give you an email why - though I don't forsee that happenig in this issue.

Oh,and thanks to an idea from Turin, we are looking for a regular columnist. If you're interested, just PM. :)

First, the newsletter information you're all waiting for. Do not fear, for in my abscence I did not sit idly by. I'm playing with format for the Newsletter. The first edition will be up by a week from Friday, if not sooner. Anyone with last minute articles, get them in - I have room. It's not going to be visually impressive, not yet - I don't have artwork (though that could change.). What it will have is content. Also, this is important: I need everyone who has sent me an article to resend it, with all the information they are allowing to be OGC in red. I am going to be talking to a lawyer about the CBGuide in the near future to ensure it is 100% legal, and I need everyone's information before I talk to her. Waiting for OGC information is pretty much the only thing that will delay the newspaper's release. So get it in, yo.

I'm working on something that could hopefully make it into the next (ie, second) newsletter. I wish I could write faster.  :rockwall: