Footsteps: GITP Magazine Submission Thread

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Greetings all. Last year a handful of posters got together and started upon a project. A sort of 'zine by forum goers for the forum goers. We are reviving it and are now taking submissions.

What exactly are we looking for and what are we doing with it?

Our purpose is to provide you with the best gaming content this board has to offer. In Footsteps you will find monsters, feats, prestige classes, articles, adventures, and stories, just to name a few. In the future, we hope to incorporate content for games besides Dungeons and Dragons.

You may ask how we differ from the regular posting in the Gaming, Homebrew and Artwork forums. There is one advantage to our pages. Editorial oversight. There are some wonderful creations on these boards, but it can be difficult to find them among the sea of posts. We choose only the best content we receive, and then work to make it even better. When you read Footsteps, you will know even before clicking the link that it's been judged for balance, utility, and originality.

We also hope to bring different creators together to work on projects, putting together different talents to make a greater whole, for projects that might not exist otherwise.

And we promise to make sure that the features in every issue are primarily done by posters here on the boards. While we may occasionally have guest contributors, most of our content will come from you, our readers and friends.

We hope that you will find this feature useful, and that many of you will make your own contributions. Remember, this is your 'zine.


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Common Questions and Answers

Where do I send my submissions?
[email protected]

What edition are we looking for?
We are taking both 3.5 and 4th edition submissions. If you are well versed in either feel free to send both editions.

Where can I find the original Footsteps 'zine?
Right here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61164). With each edition we hope to improve and expand on the look and content. Suggestions are not only welcome but encouraged.

Do they have to be new creations?
We prefer all submissions to be new so that we can bring the readers the freshest content. If you have a particularly worthy submission however that has already been posted we will look over those to.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

This Month's Theme

This month's theme is Exploration, focusing primarily on Warm Forest terrain. Jungles and rainforests. What is hidden beneath the lush canopy and amongst the dense undergrowth?
http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs14/300W/i/2007/072/3/3/Clouded_rainforest_by_Ardinnety.jpg

If any have any questions post them here and I or one of those involved will get back to you.

[Vadin]

Is there any particular (or vague and undefined) theme to this edition?

[EDIT] Shouldn't have typed this and waited half an hour to submit it...

[Innis Cabal]

This Month's Theme
This month's theme is Exploration, focusing primarily on Jungle terrain. What is hidden beneath the lush canopy and amongst the dense undergrowth?


Was put up in the second post

with that said, i'd be interested in submiting something.

[RTGoodman]

Question: Submissions go to the e-mail address, but is that the finished product or just the proposal? Like, do I need to have it done and then send it in, or do you want people to send an e-mail that says, "I want to write on X" and have whoever's in charge approve it first?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Question: Submissions go to the e-mail address, but is that the finished product or just the proposal? Like, do I need to have it done and then send it in, or do you want people to send an e-mail that says, "I want to write on X" and have whoever's in charge approve it first?
Just write up your submission to the best of your ability and send it to us. We will be taking submissions of all kinds, though will try to round everything out so we're not overrun with one type of thing or the other.

If you aren't sure if your submission fits the theme feel free to message me, but the there should be plenty of room to maneuver about in with the theme.

[RTGoodman]

Ah, alright. I've got a couple things I'll put together and clean up and get to you soon - an elaborated version of the Frogfolk race I wrote up for the Swampgas project, focusing on jungle-style Frogfolk, and probably a short 4E adventure based on the concept of the jungle vs. civilization.

[The Demented One]

Neat, I'm gonna write up some exploration/jungle themed spells and send them on in.

[RS14]

I've got an idea for a sort of anti-fey. I'm imagining wild magic used to shield acres of forest from fire, yielding thick beds of leaf litter and fungus. This would be the domain of the Moulder.


It was not long after the birth of the Fey when the Moulder came to be. These were creatures for whom fire was an abomination and life a needy parasite upon them. Their magic is not so enchanting as that of the Fey, but is patient, and enduring, and insidious. Their properties are the subject of this volume, in the sincere hope that they not be underestimated by any who venture into dark vales. The Moulder have been forgotten by the world, those of us who believe in life, and who fear no decay, but rather violent death. These are forces who affirm a fate worse than death.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I look forward to looking over everyone's submissions. Also be sure to notify any other homebrewers you think would have worthy contributions.

[Jack Mann]

And remember, while we prefer entries on the theme, we're open to any interesting submission you have to show us. If you have a particularly cool idea that doesn't quite fit the theme, by all means send it in. At worst, we might hold it for a future issue.

[expirement10K14]

Cool idea. If I have time tomorrow (read: tomorrow) I may try to create a new race. I am new to homebrew, but it would be worth a shot. Now, what abilities are important in a jungle (not intelligence for one)...

[Covered In Bees]

Cool idea. If I have time tomorrow (read: tomorrow) I may try to create a new race. I am new to homebrew, but it would be worth a shot. Now, what abilities are important in a jungle (not intelligence for one)...

Being clever and learning quickly wouldn't help out in a dangerous place where things are poisonous and such?

[Bhu]

A few questions:

Humorous or serious content preferred?

Any rules for submissions content wise?

Any format you'd prefer?

How long do we have to submit for this issue?

[Moff Chumley]

Would you mind having a few pages devoted to our homebrew setting, Gears of Neve (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82861)? I think it would fit in perfectly with the exploration theme.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Probably just an introduction to Neve.

[Zeta Kai]

Multi-thread Simu-post:
I agree Gwyn. A basic introduction to the general setting. Our goals, our intent, some of the basics of what been made so far. This is an upbeat, explorartion-themed setting, which is why Abraxas is mostly unpopulated, & will only receive heavy detail in the new colonies. I think that fits the current Footsteps theme (jungles, woodlands, & exploration) perfectly.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Would you mind having a few pages devoted to our homebrew setting, Gears of Neve? I think it would fit in perfectly with the exploration theme.
I'll ask JackMann about his opinion on it. He has the final say on what goes into the 'zine.




Humorous or serious content preferred?
We're taking basically anything and everything, though whether serious or not it'd still need to be usable in some way.


Any rules for submissions content wise?
As mentioned we will take nigh anything if that's what you mean.


Any format you'd prefer?
The format seen in the previous Footsteps (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61164) is what we'd like, and if it's not covered by the previous one just use the format as is standard. We'll either adjust it ourselves or mail you what may need adjusted.


How long do we have to submit for this issue?
I believe were were hoping sometime by the middle of this month, but basically whenever we get enough material .

[Icewalker]

Hmm...Excellent. I'll make something. Probably a savage race of some kind. I've got a jungle island in my campaign world I need to fill out with some savages.

[Jack Mann]

I'm willing to take some content tied to Gears of Neve, but with a few conditions.

1) The articles should stand on their own. I'd like people to be able to use the material presented in the magazine without needing to go elsewhere. Try and keep that in mind when writing your submissions. Here are my thoughts on the subject. Give us a first article to introduce readers to the world. Along with the description, you should have a mission statement, explaining what you hope to accomplish with the setting, and what makes it interesting. Then show important features like major races, special organizations, and the like. Each article after the first should have some good mechanical features supporting your fluff.

2) Keep your focus sharp. You'll have some space in the magazine, but I don't want you to overwhelm the other features. So once you've explained the setting, pick a specific area and build on that. Coordinate with others on the project to keep things fairly local. Have related monsters from the same area, as well as organizations that have dealings with them. This makes it much easier for people to use the material right away.

3) Build on previous material. If this becomes a regular feature, we can have next issues material jump off of this month's. It should still stand on its own, but mentioning how it relates to the previous issue helps make the world seem cohesive.

4) Suggest a few ways of adapting the material for other settings. Keep it to generic suggestions, since we don't want to get nasty letters for talking about Eberloft or ForgottenLance or whatever the cool kids are playing these days. Not everyone is going to want to adopt a new setting, but they might still find features of yours useful enough to adopt. Don't feel bad. They do the same thing with published settings.

These will be the basic rules for any setting used in Footsteps.

[Bhu]

Which of the following would you like (Im considering submitting one of the 3):

Jungle themed magic items

An exotic undead treant possessed by fungus

Orc Amazons as a semi-humorous subrace (the idea i have isn't probably as groan inducing as you'll be immediately thinking)

[Madmal]

i was thinking this project had gotten interrupted...

well, i'll try something up, always wanted to try some home brewing.

[Shadow_Elf]

When we submit things via e-mail, should we include our Giant IN the Playground Username? If so, where do you want it?

[Jack Mann]

Which of the following would you like (Im considering submitting one of the 3):

Jungle themed magic items

An exotic undead treant possessed by fungus

Orc Amazons as a semi-humorous subrace (the idea i have isn't probably as groan inducing as you'll be immediately thinking)

Let's go with the magic items or the treant. We seem to be getting a lot of races.


When we submit things via e-mail, should we include our Giant IN the Playground Username? If so, where do you want it?

Most people have been sending them in at the end of your e-mail, as a signature. Typically in the form of Firstname "Username" Lastname. However, it's really your call. How do you want to be credited?

[Icewalker]

You said to use the same format as the first footsteps magazine, but I couldn't find any player races in there. Got a specific format you want for it, or should I just use the standard PHB format?

[Jack Mann]

As VP said, if it wasn't in the previous issue, just use the standard format. Just as it would appear in a book.

[Bhu]

How many items would you like? They're fairly quick to make. It'll actually be hte fluff that takes longest.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

That treant suggestion has piqued my interest.


How many items would you like? They're fairly quick to make. It'll actually be hte fluff that takes longest.
Send as many as you like. In the unlikely event you send more than we're interested in using we'll just pick the best of the bunch.

[Bhu]

I'll give the magic items a quick shot then. I'll save the Treant for your contests :D

[Shadow_Elf]

When and how do we find out if our submissions end up in the magazine?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

When and how do we find out if our submissions end up in the magazine?
We'll let you know when we decide, no worries.

[Bhu]

You'll have mine soon, I'm havin' a lil trouble figuring out prerequisites for some of the items.

[Eighth_Seraph]

Seeing as how rain-forested islands tend to have angry active volcanoes, would a creature with Environment: Volcanic be appropriate?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Seeing as how rain-forested islands tend to have angry active volcanoes, would a creature with Environment: Volcanic be appropriate?
It's a distinct possibility. Send on the critter and I'll see what JackMann thinks.

[Bhu]

Okay I have 5 items and 1 new weapon property. I have 3 or 4 more in mind, but wanted to see if that was too big.