Wyrmstone Writers Guide

How To

So you want to help write something for Wyrmstone, great! There are many areas you can help write write for Wyrmstone:

• Worldbook Areas -- the canvas of Wyrmstone is vast, there are always places needing a creative eye.
• Your own Scenario (Copper, Silver, Gold or Electrum) -- Test out your skills creating a scenario for others to play, or perhaps just help another scenario author!
• Narratives -- Post narratives, in-character stories, about your adventures in Wyrmstone!

All of these areas are always in need of somebody to help out. If you are new and not sure what to do, look around and find an existing contributor, volunteer to help them with something. You can also just pick an area of Wyrmstone and ask the Council if it has been claimed yet, then propose what you would like to do with it.

The sections that follow are here to provide guidance and advice on writing something really awesome. It looks like a lot, we know. Don't let that stop you, however. Right up front, the sections on Lexicon, Vibe, and Standards are what you really need to read and understand. What comes after that is more specialized information for you, depending on what exactly it is you're looking to write--consider it useful information to use as you may see fit.

A wise man once said "Anyone can say you can't write. Let no-one say you don't". The Wyrmstone campaign staff wholly supports this concept. If you've got something to write, WRITE IT! Sure, it might have an issue, and if it does, there are people who can help you hammer it into shape. But put your fingers on the keys and tell your story. That's the key.

The full index:

• The Wyrmstone Lexicon
• World Building, or Creating the Vibe
• Standards and Legal Requirements

• Submission Processes
• Formatting and Syntax
• Suggestions for Adventure Writing

The Wyrmstone Lexicon

Wyrmstone is a fantasy setting, though it bears a number of vaguely sci-fi trappings. In order to maintain the fantasy feel, the Wyrmstone campaign strives to avoid modern terminology. Notably:

• The word planet needs to be avoided, at all costs really. Wrymstone is at its core a fantasy setting, and using too much science-fiction terminology will destroy that fantasy flavor. Rather than planet, use world.
• the solar system is replaced with references to all the worlds or the worlds. The solar system has no name itself, as the people of all the worlds are unaware that other solar systems exist, and so have no reason to call their own system by any name at all.
• samurai are instead called kensai, and Bushido is known simply as Honor, with a capital H. This change is intended to avoid arguments among self-styled experts about the finer points of Samurai ethics and Bushido's deep meanings.
• ninja is ok, however. There are all manner of opinions on ninja, and no one is any more "right" than any other. Ninja in the Wyrmstone campaign are drawn from among the Drow elves, and we'll be defining that further as we go along. And besides, everybody loves ninjas

We also avoid creating modern-sounding terms for new concepts (with only a few exceptions), choosing instead to explain them (a more Renaissance technique) rather than attempt to create an intuitive name for them, which is a much more modern innovation.

• This could be a planetkiller is way too sci-fi.
• This could destroy the planet is still too sci-fi.
• This could destroy the world is much better.

Along that same line, use of the solar system is just as bad, if not worse. Instead, use all the worlds. In practice, this will feel awkward at first. Remember, however, that the people of all the worlds have no solid idea that there are worlds beyond the ones they know. As far as they're concerned, the worlds that circle the Hearth are all that exist.

• The entire solar system fears invasion is too sci-fi.
• The people of all the worlds fear invasion is more fantasy.

Speaking of solar systems, refrain from using orbit. It is a generally modern innovation to name something rather than explain it.

• Issara occupies the first orbit around the Hearth is too sci-fi.
• Issara circles closest to the Hearth is better.

And while we're on the subject of solar systems, it should be remembered that the people of all the worlds do not have any single name for the solar system. Remember that these people have no idea that other solar systems can exist. As far as they know, stars are just points of light in the sky. As no-one has any clue that other solar systems exist beyond the worlds that circle the Hearth, there is no reason for those worlds to be given any sort of over-arching system name.

World Building, or Creating the Vibe

Hooks!

Don't forget, the purpose of any game world is to seek adventure. For this to happen, there must be some form of intrigue, something not quite right or just a dark underside. When writing and thinking about world building, always remember to plant hooks, even if you never plan on exercising them! Did the princess go missing 30 years ago with unusual circumstances? Do people hear odd noises coming from the castle on the hill at night? These things are paramount to creating a compelling setting.

Remember: If you write something where everything is a utopia, it will sound like a great place to retire to, but nobody will want to adventure there.

Legacy of a Place

What is more intriguing: The lone ruins of a castle on a hill, or the crumbling remains of Castle Tarchevor, once the capital of an old kingdom until the ruling family was brought down by a curse upon the land because they had the audacity to build the castle on the same location as an ancient Lauthu temple?

It is important to always think about why something is where it is, consider several hundred years of history if need be, just to help it make sense. This history will inherently then seep out in the setting as greater depth, providing a better tapestry for the stories. These elements can also seep out from time to time just to help give that sense of Legacy. Perhaps it is a weathered stone marker in an ancient language slowly sinking into the ground, or maybe it is just a simple folklore tale from the local area told in a tavern.

A really simple way to make sure you are covering this is to look at something and ask yourself why three times. If you can answer each of them, great! For example: Why are the castle ruins there on the hillside? Because the family and kingdom collapsed. Why did it collapse? Because they were brought low by a curse upon their family. Why were they cursed? Because they ignored the local traditions and built their castle upon the ruins of an ancient Lauthu temple.

Another good way to create Legacy for a place is to attach it within something that already exists. It's far easier to create a town within an existing country than it is to create an entire country just so you can then create your town. If you've got an idea that may fit nicely within something already established, don't be afraid to say so. You're probably right.

Legal and Standards Requirements

Ownership of Proposals

Accepted Proposals and final works are placed under the Open Gaming License version 1.0a. Acceptance of this policy is implicit in submitting a proposal and the final work. Published Scenarios are placed under the same Open Gaming License version 1.0a as described in the Copyright section.

Rules and Sources

• Core Rules -- You may only use rules marked as Core for the setting you are using. Core rules are listed in the Wyrmstone Campaign Sourcebook. You may, with approval from the Wyrmstone Council, add one Crafty Games or "Powered by Spycraft" expanded Rulebook (printed or PDF) using the Core Book mission tag. Copper Scenarios do not need to have approval to use an alternate book, since they do not effect canon story lines.
• Writers Guide -- All projects must comply with the latest Wyrmstone Campaign Writers Guide.
• Errata -- All projects must comply with the latest Errata for any Rulebook being used.
  Other Sources -- Inclusion of images, maps, pictures and text must follow appropriate copyright law. Without documented permission to use (and place under OGL) any images, maps, pictures or text which are not an original work of the author, the images, maps, pictures or text cannot be included.

Formats

All projects must use the appropriate templates, found in the Downloads section of the Wyrmstone Website.

Standards of Content

Wyrmstone submissions must adhere to these standards. The purpose of these standards is because of the broad audience the Wyrmstone Campaign targets. These standards are to be treated as guidelines rather than a strict code, but final interpretation is up to the Wyrmstone Council.

These Standards of Content were originally influenced by the RPGA Standards of Content.

The core for most these rules boils down to a simple assertion. If objectionable Material is to be used, make sure to show it as Objectionable. Furthermore, all content should be able to be rated no worse than "PG-13", if it were a movie.

• Good versus Evil: Insofar as products, marketing, promotions, and services portray the conflict between "good" and "evil", such portrayals should encourage the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Though dramatic purposes may require that evil prevail over good for a time, the ultimate victory of good over evil is a desirable goal. Products should assume that player characters or heroes are good and should never support evil as a preferred lifestyle.
• Profanity: The gratuitous use of profanity and symbols considered vulgar by the contemporary standards of a product's target market is not acceptable unless integral to a character or story.
• Dramatic Horror, Violence and Gore: The use of dramatic horror is acceptable in product development. However, scenes depicting excessively graphic gore are not acceptable.
• Sexual Themes: Sexual situations--including abuse and pornography--will not appear graphically in art or text for salacious purposes. (We do not accept scenarios with sexual relationships described between any characters. Romantic relationships are encouraged, but direct implication of current sexual activity is not allowed.)
• Nudity: When depicting the human form--or creatures possessing humaniform features-gratuitous nudity, the depiction of genitalia, bare female nipples, and sexual or bathroom activity is not acceptable. We encourage the depiction of the full range of humaniforms from heroic fantasy heroes to variations of average men, women, and children. While human sensuality and sexuality may appear in products, it should not be the focus-nor should it create disrespect for the human form.
• Prejudice: We celebrate diversity. Our products should not depict existing minorities, nationalities, social castes, religious groups, genders, lifestyle preferences, or people with disabilities as a group inferior to any other group.
• Religion and Mythology: Current, real-world religions and religious groups and/or practices will not be portrayed in any way that promotes disrespect for these religions or their participants. All religions and religious practices in products are purely fictional. We do not endorse or promote any specific religion or religious practice.
• Addictions: Addictions of any kind should not appear as glamorous or entertaining pastimes. Addiction, or the encouragement of addiction, should be shown as a dangerous habit with harmful effects.

Prior Works

All designers who build on work presented in Wyrmstone should consider the information in those works as canon, and must either reflect on information presented in previous works, or build upon information supplied in those volumes. Where more recent publications contradict information in previous works, consider the recent information to be correct. All effort should be made to fully research the background of the setting prior to writing. Contradictions of setting material should be avoided at all costs.

Shared World

Be aware of the campaign is always evolving as other mission writers, and the campaign's coordinators, create new missions and background. The main difference between Wyrmstone and a home campaign is that it features many Game Controls and Judges rather than one, and that everyone must work together to build the storyline rather than alone.

In this process, you will need to cooperate and compromise, adjusting your scenario to fit in not only with what has come before but also what is in development for the future. When working on a mission, you should ask yourself whether your material changes something already established or is overly obtrusive.

If you are not sure, contact the Wyrmstone Council and pitch your idea to them so they can consider it before you commit the idea to writing. The Council may work with you to incorporate the idea into the greater campaign (perhaps including one or more other mission writers who need to be involved because their work intersects yours), or may ask you to make adjustments, and you must be prepared for both outcomes.