I was wondering if somebody could help me out a bit. If you check out my signature, you'll see I'm trying to maintain a bibliography of all the Realms material released for 4E, and I want to include the LFR modules. I'm still unsure about whether my schedule is going to allow me to make a creditable effort as an RPGA DM, but want to include these sources of Realmslore whether I actually get to read 'em or not.
The publicly available lists include most of what I need to know, but I want to credit authors and track page counts. A friend already provided some of this info, and while I haven't updated the web version yet, the bibliographical entries look like this:
- "Flames of Initiation" by Otávio A. Gonçalves. Living Forgotten Realms Adventure BALD1-1 (20 August 2008). 30 pages.
- "Heirloom" by Claire and Keith Hoffman. Living Forgotten Realms Adventure WATE1-1 (20 August 2008). 36 pages.
Etc.
What I need, if any of you can help me out via [email=cvrowe@gmail.com]e-mail[/email], is just the author credits and the page counts of some of the modules published thus far which I haven't been able to track down information on. Those I'm missing are:
SPEC1-1 Shades of the Zhentarim
DALE1-1 The Propect [spelling?]
AKAN1-1 The Rotting Ruin of Galain
TYMA1-1 Elder Wisdom
AGLA1-1 Lost Temple of the Fey Gods
DRAG1-1 Many Hands Make Light Work
IMPI1-2 Breaking Point
CORM1-2 Gangs of Wheloon
and, assuming nobody sees this until tomorrow,
MOON1-2 The Sea Drake
Again, this is for bibliographical purposes only. I only need the author's name as it is listed on the byline and the total page count of the module.
It's much appreciated.
Cheers,
Christopher
By Pierre van Rooden (36 pages)
The Rotting Ruins of Galain, A Dungeons & Dragons® Living Forgotten Realms Adventure By Colin Marco (23 Pages)
Elder Wisdom, A Dungeons & Dragons® Living Forgotten Realms Adventure
By Jeff Hertel (31 Pages)
Lost Temple of the Fey Gods, A Dungeons & Dragons® Living Forgotten Realms Adventure By Bill W. Baldwin (30 Pages)
Many Hands Make Light Work, A Dungeons & Dragons® Living Forgotten Realms Adventure By Bruce Paris (30 Pages)
Breaking Point A Dungeons & Dragons® Living Forgotten Realms Adventure
By Dominic Amann (26 Pages)
Gangs of Wheloon, A Dungeons & Dragons® Living Forgotten Realms Adventure By Andrew Schneider (34 Pages)
Wow! Thanks, man! I'll add those right away.
Cheers,
Christopher
And what about that "Escape From Sembia" adventure that was being run in gameshops?
So, do y'all think that SPEC1-1 Shades of the Zhentarim can be said to have been "published" in that it's available to anybody who is willing to pay for it (in this case, the "payment" would be signing up to be a DM and running LFR games through the RPGA as near as I can figure it).
And what about that "Escape From Sembia" adventure that was being run in gameshops?
SPEC1-1 has been published. The distribution may be limited, perhaps.
"Escape from Sembia" and the other two PREV adventures (names escape me at the moment) are 4e previews; they are identified as LFR previews also; they are definately not LFR adventures. What are your parameters for inclusion?
David
So, do y'all think that SPEC1-1 Shades of the Zhentarim can be said to have been "published" in that it's available to anybody who is willing to pay for it (in this case, the "payment" would be signing up to be a DM and running LFR games through the RPGA as near as I can figure it).
And what about that "Escape From Sembia" adventure that was being run in gameshops?
This is an interesting question!
WotC doesn't obtain ISBN numbers for its RPGA adventures. I presume that they are not offered to the Library of Congress for archiving, although that library ought to be entitled to a copy of any 'published' work.
It is worth noting that while it could be argued to be a breach of RPGA rules, there is (as far as I can tell) no legal/copyright restriction on giving away a printed copy of an RPGA module which was printed in order to be used to run an adventure at an RPGA event -- all of the copying was lawful and authorised, and copyright doesn't care about the physical property.
From an archival point of view, even if these adventures are of limited academic interest, it is a shame if they become inaccessible and lost in years to come.
So, what are the grounds for including a piece in this working bibliography of the 4E Realms? Well, what do y'all think they should be? I haven't formalized them, and neither am I meeting the strictest academic standards for a bibliography.
My goal (as distinct from my method), is to include all the works of game design (both "fluff" and "crunch," though in 4E such work seems to always contain both) and fiction that are set after the Spellplague in the Forgotten Realms timeline. This precludes things like interviews with designers, which may be interesting, but which I don't think of as "canon." My own feeling is that, to be considered
- the work should be produced under the aegis of Wizards of the coast, the holder of all the relevant copyrights and trademarks of the Forgotten Realms
- it should be clearly identified by the publisher as a Forgotten Realms product
- it should be widely distributed and freely available to any interested fan
The last item is where things get tricky, and some terms require definition. Widely distributed means, to me, made available either via the internet or through retail channels, whether a physical product bound between covers or a wholly electronic product. "Freely available" doesn't mean that there's no charge, but that any person who wants a copy may obtain one by meeting the vendor's (Wizards of the Coast) asking "price." In the case of printed products, this will be a straight up exchange of currency for goods. In the case of DDI content, it will be a subscription charge. In the case of RPGA material, it will be the criteria set by the RPGA. Does that sound okay?
Pedr, your point about archival copies is an interesting one. Many traditional book publishing companies have company archivists on staff--I don't know whether that's true of gaming companies, but I hope it is. And traditioanl academic interest aside, the "lore" content of these RPGA modules is what will be of interest to many Realms fans and creators, so in that sense there is a sort of "scholarly" interest in both preservation and dissemination.
Thanks everyone for taking time with this.
Cheers,
Christopher
PREV-1 Scalegloom Hall
Sclaegloom hall is the same adventure as in the DMG. It has been written by Mike Mearls. It is not particularly FR related.
Excellent, thanks. I think that means I've got everything I need except that Zhentarim one, and I'm beginning to think it doesn't meet my "widely distibuted" and "freely available" standards.
It was written by Sean Molley and Shawn Merwin.
Shades of the Zhentarim is written by Shawn Merwin and M. Sean Molley.
Nr. of pages:61.
Cheers,
Christopher
"The Sea Drake" by XX. Living Forgotten Realms Adventure MOON1-2 (15 October, 2008). XX pages.
"Dark Secrets of Downshadow" by XX. Living Forgotten Realms Adventure WATE1-2 (22 October, 2008). XX pages.
"Crystal Clear" by XX. Living Forgotten Realms Adventure CORE1-4 (22 October, 2008). XX pages.
"Blades for Daggerdale" by XX. Living Forgotten Realms Adventure DALE1-2 (29 October, 2008). XX pages.
"The Gibbous Moon" by XX. Living Forgotten Realms Adventure LURU1-2 (5 November, 2008). XX pages.
CORE1-4 has not been released yet; CORE1-5 was released instead.
"Touched by Darkness," by Travis R. Woodall, LFR Adventure CORE1-5, 29 pages.
"The Sea Drake" by Jean-Philipe 'JP' Chapleau. Living Forgotten Realms Adventure MOON1-2 (15 October, 2008). 29 pages.
I haven't downloaded the other two just yet.
Keith