Design Test Questions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Design Test Questions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Cryforge
10-18-06, 10:48 PM I wasn't sure where to voice these questions.

I want to submit an adventure for the RPG Design Test, but I need a few clarifications.

1) The test says that the adventure should not force DMs to reference anything besides the core rulebooks. However, as per Dungeon magazine, are you allowed to use something non-core (in this case, a template) as long as every single thing needed to run it is included in the stat blocks?

2) Gwendolyn Kestrel
1600 Lind Ave SW, Ste 400
Renton, WA 98055
[email address]
[phone number]

“Ambush at Zephyr Ridge”
A D&D adventure for 6th-level characters
2,789 words
Does this information at the top need to be accounted for in the word count?

Thanks in advance!
Cryforge
10-19-06, 05:48 PM :bump:
Zherog
10-19-06, 06:17 PM My answers are, of course, no way official.

1) They want your adventure to only use material from the 3 core books. So, no - you can't include something from another book and include all the stats.

2) In all my submissions to Dragon and Dungeon (and other places), I've never counted the text in the header as part of my word count. The editors have never complained about my word counts being off. A word count is a count of the words that'll get published.
Cryforge
10-19-06, 10:04 PM My answers are, of course, no way official.

1) They want your adventure to only use material from the 3 core books. So, no - you can't include something from another book and include all the stats.

2) In all my submissions to Dragon and Dungeon (and other places), I've never counted the text in the header as part of my word count. The editors have never complained about my word counts being off. A word count is a count of the words that'll get published.
Hmm...

Your answer to number 2 is what I expected the officials would say. However, I'm hoping you're wrong about number 1. I can make a perfectly good adventure using core only, but so many cool things lurk in other books. (Whether they be monsters, spells, or items.)
Zherog
10-20-06, 10:36 AM Well, read the directions again. It doesn't say something like this:

If you use non-core material, be sure to include full statistics write-ups for it.

It says (or, at least, my copy says this - but my copy is older):

The adventure should be playable using just the three core rulebooks (Player’s Handbook v.3.5, Dungeon Master’s Guide v.3.5, and Monster Manual v.3.5) and D&D miniatures.

You could, of course, drop Gwendolyn an e-mail to ask your questions. I don't know that she frequents the forums. I've spoken to her at length - she's a very nice person. :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Cryforge 10-18-06, 10:48 PM	I wasn't sure where to voice these questions. I want to submit an adventure for the RPG Design Test, but I need a few clarifications. 1) The test says that the adventure should not force DMs to reference anything besides the core rulebooks. However, as per Dungeon magazine, are you allowed to use something non-core (in this case, a template) as long as every single thing needed to run it is included in the stat blocks? 2) Gwendolyn Kestrel 1600 Lind Ave SW, Ste 400 Renton, WA 98055 [email address] [phone number] “Ambush at Zephyr Ridge” A D&D adventure for 6th-level characters 2,789 words Does this information at the top need to be accounted for in the word count? Thanks in advance!
Cryforge 10-19-06, 05:48 PM	:bump:
Zherog 10-19-06, 06:17 PM	My answers are, of course, no way official. 1) They want your adventure to only use material from the 3 core books. So, no - you can't include something from another book and include all the stats. 2) In all my submissions to Dragon and Dungeon (and other places), I've never counted the text in the header as part of my word count. The editors have never complained about my word counts being off. A word count is a count of the words that'll get published.
Cryforge 10-19-06, 10:04 PM	My answers are, of course, no way official. 1) They want your adventure to only use material from the 3 core books. So, no - you can't include something from another book and include all the stats. 2) In all my submissions to Dragon and Dungeon (and other places), I've never counted the text in the header as part of my word count. The editors have never complained about my word counts being off. A word count is a count of the words that'll get published. Hmm... Your answer to number 2 is what I expected the officials would say. However, I'm hoping you're wrong about number 1. I can make a perfectly good adventure using core only, but so many cool things lurk in other books. (Whether they be monsters, spells, or items.)
Zherog 10-20-06, 10:36 AM	Well, read the directions again. It doesn't say something like this: If you use non-core material, be sure to include full statistics write-ups for it. It says (or, at least, my copy says this - but my copy is older): The adventure should be playable using just the three core rulebooks (Player’s Handbook v.3.5, Dungeon Master’s Guide v.3.5, and Monster Manual v.3.5) and D&D miniatures. You could, of course, drop Gwendolyn an e-mail to ask your questions. I don't know that she frequents the forums. I've spoken to her at length - she's a very nice person. :)