Submissions
Great! You have an idea that you'd like to
submit to the Magic.Items book. Before you mail it off to me, there
are a few things I have to say about submissions...
- I didn't "forget" anything. You'd be surprised at the number of
submissions that start with "Oh, and you forgot..." The Codex is
simply a compilation of many people's ideas. If there is something
lacking therein, it means that someone hasn't thought up the item in
question. Which of course is a good hint that a submission is in
order...
- I will include anything that is submitted (within
reason). Exceptions are: obvious copied or only fractionally modified
items from previous published and copyrighted sources, items with
absolutely no game use (eg. a toenailclipper +1), and items
which are vulgar by their nature (ie, no prismatic dildos). I'm
a very open person, so submit away, and if I really don't want to
include it, we can talk about it.
- I would include gunpowder/et al; however, it will most likely be
in a special appendix. The use of gunpowder and such is a slippery
slope and generally does not belong in a fantasy setting, despite
TSR's inclusion of the arquebus in the 2nd edition (which was a
mistake, in the general consensus of old-timers I talk with). I will
take submissions, but including them will take a bit longer, as I will
have to write up an appropriate introduction for that appendix, and
also I won't include them until I have a sufficient number (at least a
half-dozen, and more likely a dozen) entries to warrant the effort.
- Items which obviously (or not so obviously) do not belong in a
fantasy setting will be rejected. Items that come to mind are:
high-tech toys (computers, laser guns, anything with an internal
combusion engine), sailing ships using more than 17th-century
designs, anything using mass-production methods, and any machine
requiring a huge number of very exacting parts. In general, if the
basic item couldn't be made by a person living in the early 1700s,
that's a good hint it's not suitable for the AD&D multiverse.
- Items which are munkin-like in power. I'm not going to include a
wand of automatic mass death.
I'd like to include all the suggestions that reach me. However, as
I don't really have the time to recreate and fix alot of submissions,
I will send back those that don't have enough info (in my opinion) to
their authors and request a more complete submission.
Guidelines for Submitting Entries
Submissions at the minimum should have the following:
- Book/Area/Subsection of the Codex where the item belongs (or make a
new one if it doesn't seem to fit anywhere).
- Complete and unique name for the item.
- A paragraph (or more) explaining in detail the exact powers of the
item. Include things like frequency of use of spell-like powers,
conflicts/compatibility with other items, physical description, and
game mechanics.
- For singlular items, include a bit of history about previous
owners/the creator/etc to give the item "flavor".
- Legendary items should include as full a history as possible, with
notable owners, the circumstances of creation, current whereabouts,
etc.
- Experience and Gold Piece Sale values.
- For non-singular/legendary items, a relative index of the freqency
of the item: Very Common, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare. This
will be used to fit it into the random treasure tables.
IMPORTANT! Always include you full name and email address so
that I may properly credit you for your creation.
That's it! When your submission is all done, just mail it off to me
at trims@media.mit.edu
-Erik
Jan 8th, 1997