Spicing up the Setting Showcase

[Xathan]

(Yâ,¬,,¢all still canâ,¬,,¢t learn not to spam up a showcase thread without me around? Tsk tsk :P)

Just a thought I had. Iâ,¬,,¢m not back yet, and Iâ,¬,,¢m dealing with a horrible case of writerâ,¬,,¢s block, so itâ,¬,,¢s gonna be awhile. Still, Iâ,¬,,¢m taking ideas where I can get them, so Iâ,¬,,¢d thought Iâ,¬,,¢d pass this idea on to you.

There needs to be a concrete reward for reviewing the Setting Showcase. My initial thought is a special forum for users who sign up to be part of a voluntary organization, (such as the defunct Sable Cabal). This forum will be used to discuss the setting of the week, for people to propose new ideas for the current setting, an index of previous settings, and other setting of the week related discussion, as well as special other things only members would be able to see. Anyone can join, but if you donâ,¬,,¢t review the setting of the week two weeks in a row, you loose access to this special forum (A review to stay current would have to be at least a paragraph long, no one line â,¬Å"This is teh roxxor!â,¬Â posts, no matter how much of â,¬Å"Teh roxxorâ,¬Â it is.â,¬Â After loosing access, you have to review twice in a row to regain access. (this could be a review of both the previous and current setting of the week, so regaining access isnâ,¬,,¢t too difficult.

Anyway, just my two cp. No news on the Xathan-front, though Iâ,¬,,¢m thinking I might break my writerâ,¬,,¢s block in the near future. (I better, since I now have a creative writing class.)

In additional news, I desperately need the template for a Shadow Creature. I canâ,¬,,¢t say why, but rest assured I do own the book; I merely lack access to Lords of Madness (its at my house). Fare thee well for now, my friends, but rest assured I do still exist and I will exist once again at some point in the future. I do pop around and read here occasionally (Plus voting every day for us), so I havenâ,¬,,¢t forgotten anyone here, I just donâ,¬,,¢t have the time or energy to post or talk. I miss you all, and look forward to seeing you soon.

Xathan out.

PS: Amendment to my idea â,¬' someone who is not a member of the Cabal who gets their setting chosen for the week gets access to the forum during the two weeks their setting is in the Showcase, so they can see reviews and encourage discussion on their settings.

[So-Keher]

I like that idea a lot and would be willing to submit reviews, but keep in mind now that school is starting that not everyone could be a solid week-by-week reviewer, no matter how much we would want to be. COuld anyone tell us more about the Cabal and what it is (or used to be)?

[Numinous]

The Sable Cabal was an unofficial organisation made up of users who would agree to review the setting of the week on a regular basis and provide assistance to all other members of the guild.  I, Xathan, and several others used to be members.  Unfortunately, Real life came and attacked us, leaving the Cabal a wispy memory.

Did I answer your question?

EDIT: Xathan, I sent you the template in an e-mail.

[So-Keher]

Yeah thx. Any thoughts on resurrecting it?

[Matt Larkin (author)]

The Sable Cabal was an unofficial organisation made up of users who would agree to review the setting of the week on a regular basis and provide assistance to all other members of the guild.  I, Xathan, and several others used to be members.  Unfortunately, Real life came and attacked us, leaving the Cabal a wispy memory.

Did I answer your question?

EDIT: Xathan, I sent you the template in an e-mail.

Ironic, given that I seem to recall Xeviat's original mission statement for this guild on the WotC boards was almost exactly that - people that promised to actually review settings in exchange for getting reviews.  It was a community within that community for the process.  Now we've got a more selective community, and we're discussing making a more selective community within it...When will it end!?

Seriously, though, it might be a good idea.  I do hope to review each setting of the week, though I cannot hope to go back to all the old ones like LC at the moment.

[Elven Doritos]

Ironic, given that I seem to recall Xeviat's original mission statement for this guild on the WotC boards was almost exactly that - people that promised to actually review settings in exchange for getting reviews.  It was a community within that community for the process.  Now we've got a more selective community, and we're discussing making a more selective community within it...When will it end!?

Seriously, though, it might be a good idea.  I do hope to review each setting of the week, though I cannot hope to go back to all the old ones like LC at the moment.

Ironic, yes. But it was a natural evolution of the system, as the Guild grew ridicioulsy large. On these boards especially, the member number skyrocketed over the summer, and the mind boggles at sheer number of settings. We're naturally evolving again to suit our original purpose, even as we've branched out to become so much more.

~ElDo

[Numinous]

Ironic, given that I seem to recall Xeviat's original mission statement for this guild on the WotC boards was almost exactly that - people that promised to actually review settings in exchange for getting reviews.  It was a community within that community for the process.  Now we've got a more selective community, and we're discussing making a more selective community within it...When will it end!?

Seriously, though, it might be a good idea.  I do hope to review each setting of the week, though I cannot hope to go back to all the old ones like LC at the moment.

What he said :P

[Túrin]

I'll be quoting myself below from a post I just made in the Week 18 thread (I hadn't noticed this thread). I personally prefer my idea to Xathan's, but whatever. Take a look and give your thoughts.

While the stick is out of the question, we could make a very strong suggestion that he who is chosen as the Setting of the Week reviews next week's setting (or alternatively you have to point out a review of a setting you made last week before you can submit one of your settings as Setting of the Week). In fact I'm going to follow up on my own advice and review Astraea (or some part of it that is easily taken apart if Astraea turns out to be large).

Actually, the suggestion in parentheses might be even better: you have to have a reviewing history (though not necessarily of another Setting of the Week) before you are allowed to get in the mix. This means no one has to do anything, everything remains free will, but you won't reap if you haven't sowed. We shouldn't be too strict about it (one very constructive comment or suggestion or a couple of ideas should perhaps already qualify as a review) to prevent killing this feature in the process of spicing it up.

Túrin

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Turin, that sounds suspiciously like an idea I had back many weeks ago ;)  I suggested that whomever is chosen in Week X should also have to review previous setting.  I like the idea, but I have some others I'm working on with a friend of mine, as well.

[Elven Doritos]

Hey, I've got another great idea.

I've stated that if more people reviewed the settings, it would be a more productive process, and the meaning wouldn't be entirely lost.

Well, let's face it-- not everyone is going to want to review the whole setting. Some will want to, but there are just parts of campaign worlds that bore us.

So, if we *are* going to have an organization of steady reviewers (such as the Cabal), I reccommend divying up the work-- one person reviews deities, one reviews nations, one reviews NPCs, one reviews history, one reviews crunch, etc. We review what interests us the most in campaign worlds.

Of course, people would be encouraged to review more than just the aspect they've chosen, but if we all dropped by a setting and reviewed what interests us most, we'd be both more entertained and more productive.

Ignore this if you do it already or think it's a bad idea. ;)

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Here's something else I was thinking of, tell me what you think.

First, we find an artist who is willing to do 1 piece a week; I'm talking to one, if any of you other guys know of someone, PM me.

Then, the person who is being featured in Showcase keeps a tally of everyone who reviews his setting that week (or maybe the whole 2 weeks).

At the end of his time on Showcase, he lists all the people who reviewed (and I mean real reviews here, by the way), and then rolls dice to select one at random.

The person who is selected at random gets to have a front cover drawn of his campaign setting by the aforementioned artist.  The person would get to have a say in what they want on the front (as long as they're not too picky; we're not paying the artist), and then gets a pretty digital copy to do with as pleased.  Meanwhile, said artist gets a new piece for his portfolio.

Food for though, folks.

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Hey, I've got another great idea.

I've stated that if more people reviewed the settings, it would be a more productive process, and the meaning wouldn't be entirely lost.

Well, let's face it-- not everyone is going to want to review the whole setting. Some will want to, but there are just parts of campaign worlds that bore us.

So, if we *are* going to have an organization of steady reviewers (such as the Cabal), I reccommend divying up the work-- one person reviews deities, one reviews nations, one reviews NPCs, one reviews history, one reviews crunch, etc. We review what interests us the most in campaign worlds.

Of course, people would be encouraged to review more than just the aspect they've chosen, but if we all dropped by a setting and reviewed what interests us most, we'd be both more entertained and more productive.

Ignore this if you do it already or think it's a bad idea. ;)

I think this a pretty good idea, though a person that only reviews a small section may not be able to do justice to that area because nothing evolves in isolation.  Without a basic understanding of history and religion, it is hard to understand culture - for example, something may seem arbitrary or even absurd in a culture from an outside perspective, until one looks closely at how the process came about.

You are correct, however, in that I, for example, much more enjoy reading history or mythology to modern economic relations between nations and that kind of stuff.  I struggle to get through that with my own campaign setting.

I think the obvious suggestion is that everyone at least skim everything (which I try to, even if I only go into depth in a review in some of the areas presented).

@Ishy
also a cool idea.

[Numinous]

@ElDo. I got dibs on deities!

@Ishy, that's a stellar idea if we can get an artist.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Already working on one artist, but he wants me to have a few others in case there are some weeks he can't do it.

[Numinous]

One thing I saw a while back, which I think should be a requirement, or at least a strong suggestion.

Any winners of the showcase should include an area or topic specifically which they want feedback on.  They can just put it in with their setting summary.  This way, reviewers have somewhere to start.  Even if they don't have to review that specifically, they know what the creator wants for feedback.

Just a thought...