#TTRPG – Wightchester Writing Assistance Needed

Due to recent physical and mental health problems, I need assistance to finish up my Wightchester project.

Everything is plotted and placed out, what I need assistance with is not mechanics, but rather the descriptions of locations. I have the rooms marked out and I have information about who lived there, what happened and what is happening in the ‘now’. I just need assistance to get it all done and have to admit that I can’t do it alone, or with the small amount of (very welcome) help I’ve had so far.

I will compensate you for your work as I am able, and this really is just filling in the ‘gaps’ with descriptions. It shouldn’t be too arduous.

It’s hard for me to back off from the ‘auteur’ nature of most of my work and to share the load, but I want to ensure this all gets done in time.

Plenty of people have offered to help in the last couple of days, but my brain is scattered and disorganised. If you could mail me – even if we’ve already discussed it – at grim@post-mort.com – with the title Wightchester Assistance, I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Here’s an example description, so you know what you’re getting into:

***

The Chapel

The stone chapel may be one of the oldest parts of the school. It’s almost a proper little church, large enough to hold a good proportion of the pupils all at once. It has tall, plain windows of coloured glass and a spire that towers over the rest of the school, terminating in four conical stone spikes. The chapel is a solid building, and seems undamaged. Perhaps some members of the school held out here.

Encounters:

• [ ] – 1d4-1 random zombies in the area around the chapel.

Nave

The main hall of the chapel runs from the entrance all the way back to the chancel. It is a simple, humble chapel – despite the wealth of the school – or so it would appear. The nave is chock full of

Encounters:

• [ ] – 1d4-1 Child zombies that have wandered in.

North Transept

The tall windows grant a little more light here, to penetrate the grey interior of the chapel. The two walls to this sides are covered with great wooden boards, graven with the names of the great and the good who passed through the halls of the school. You recognise the names of lords, clergy and guildsmen, with some modest amount of space for more.

South Transept

The south transept has more light, coming in through clearer windows, but there is nothing here but a few kneeling cushions and a small bookcase, full of battered hymnals and books of prayer.

Loot:

• [ ] – Approximately 50 copies of the school’s hymnals.
• [ ] – Approximately 50 copies of the school’s prayerbooks.
• [ ][ ][ ] – Kneeling cushions.

Chancel

The altar may be a simple one, but the goods upon it are far from humble. More pews are arranged either side of the altar in a step pattern – the space for the choir. The cross is of gold, not brass as you had first assumed, and the candle-holders either side are also plated with the same metal. Behind the altar sits a small wooden chest of fine, sweet-smelling wood, there is no lock that you can see, but it has a finely stitched, cushioned top.

Loot:

• [ ] – Golden cross.
• [ ][ ] – Golden candlesticks with beeswax candles.

In the chest:

• [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] – Beeswax candles.
• [ ][ ][ ][ ] – Bottles of red wine.
• [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] – Dry crackers/meals.
• [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] – Expensive incense/uses.

#AprilTTRPGmaker Describe your process

The first and most important hook for me when writing a game is to have a good idea. That can take different forms, depending what exactly it is I’m doing. It can be a property I want to take on, a game I want to remake, a style or genre, even a system. Whatever the reason it needs to be a good one.

Then I brainstorm, scribbling down and pondering as many different aspects as I can. Relationships between system, theme, mood and goals. This usually ends up with a rather chaotic .txt document or pieces of scratch-paper with virtually indecipherable writing and doodles all over it.

Then I try to make order out of chaos. I ‘layout’ the book as intend to write it by chapter, section and subsection. EG:

Apres Vie – The Afterlife Game
Chapter 1: Introduction
     Intro Fic
     Blurb
     Postmortem Studios
          Contact/Social Media
    Overview
          Heaven
          Hell
          Limbo
          Shadowplane
Chapter 2: Character Creation

And so on…

If I have a solid idea of what I want, I may also commission art at this stage, to save time later on.

Then I start to write, in order, section by section, though occasionally pausing to rewrite previous sections, or jumping ahead to add notes or write sections that interrelate to the one I’m currently on.

Most of the actual writing is done on the laptop, switching to the desktop for editing (using various ‘cheats’ if I can’t afford an editor) and – eventually – layout.

I do the layout myself, exporting to PDF and tweaking for the various types of output I need, whether for print or download.

 

Freelancer for Hire

After a protracted illness, I am trying to ease back into work and freelancing is the best way to control the amount of work and get back into discipline and practice. I’m flexible and willing to work on most kinds of projects – including computer games – if you need an experienced or creative hand to lend some flair.

**I AM AVAILABLE FOR FREELANCE WORK:**
Links to my profiles on Fiverr & People Per Hour (these will be expanded as I add services):

Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/grimachu
People Per Hour: https://www.peopleperhour.com/freelancer/james/writer-tabletop-game-designer/1264912

**DIRECT SERVICES:**
Currently, my 2018 plate is clear and free for freelancing and consultancy. I’m pretty reliable, despite my health issues, and can offer reasonably fast turnaround. I can, perhaps uniquely, provide detail and grounding to scenarios – even dungeons – to humanise them and give them a bit of depth. Give me a try, see what I can do for your games.

I am a 17+ year veteran of the tabletop game publishing world with lots of experience in freelancing and self-publishing.

I’ve worked for Wizards of the Coast, Steve Jackson Games, Nightfall, Cubicle Seven Entertainment and more. I have also written fiction and worked on social media computer games, packing a lot of meaning into short pieces of text.

As a self-publisher, I have overseen every step of the publication process from concept through to publication including writing, editing, layout and modification. I also produce Youtube material and have begun producing audiobooks. If you need some narration for a video project or an audiobook reading, I can help.

Here are some of the services I can offer, and the minimum prices offered – though anything is negotiable up or down depending on the client. I will work pseudonymously if that is a concern for you.

• New writing (raw text): $0.03c/word (minimum)
• Proofreading/Light Editing/Commentary: $0.01c/word (second and third deeper passes are possible).
• ePublishing/RPG Publishing consultation. Skype/Hangout/Call: $20/hour.
• Consultation on your game project: $20/hour.
• Layout (InDesign): $11 an hour.
• Stock Art Shopfront: Postmortem Studios have a huge stock art catalogue from multiple artists and we’d love to add * you to that storefront. If you’re an artist who wants to sell your stock art but doesn’t want to deal with the accounts and uploads etc with your own storefront (which would be my first recommendation), then I can do that for you for 50% (I round up your payouts). Even if you don’t want to do this through me I recommend doing it anyway for all artists and can consult on best practice if you need advice.
• Voice Work: If you find my dulcet tones to your liking, I’m available for voice over work and narration, recording audiobooks and more. Rates negotiable, starting at $11 per hour.
• Promotion/Interview: Free. If you have a product you want to pimp out or would like to just talk game design and culture, you’re welcome to talk to me and appear on my Youtube channel.
• Book Trailers/Videos/Adverts.
  * Paid Gamesmastering over streams/skype.

Where to find me

I’ve had a bit of a spring clean and a re-brand of all my sites. So it seems like a good time to show you where you can find me, contact me, talk to me, bother me with questions and so on.

This is just my social media/website presence, but from this site – at least – you should be able to find everywhere that you can buy something of mine – should you be so inclined.

 

• My main ‘hub’ website is this one, where you can find most of my links, stores and so on as well as the most regular updates.ch as
• Community support is necessary to make things viable for creators such as myself these days and as such, please consider donating a buck a month to my Patreon.
• My writing/stories website can be found here. Here I talk about stories, writing and issues around it such as censorship.
• I have a Youtube channel where I provide game reviews and discussion, social and political commentary, humour, stories, ‘choose your own adventure’ poll games and more.
• On Facebook I can be found at Postmortem Studios, JGDGames and JDWriter as well as, as myself.
• G+ is still surprisingly active in a lot of ways, you can still find me there.
• There’s a Machinations of the Space Princess group over on G+ as well.
• Of the New Media alternatives, I find Minds.com to be the better one, you can find me there.
• I also run a roleplaying oriented group on Minds which you’re welcome to join.
• If you want to send me questions and queries, I have an Ask.fm.
• If you like random pictures of cats, countryside and me, then Instagram is here.
• My Twitter remains active and can be found here.

#RPG – Postmortem Studios Discord Server

All the cool kids are doing it. So I set up a Discord server.

Here’s a link.

Join up and it’ll give you another path to talk to me and badger me.

Inside #Gamergate Ebook RELEASED

Buy it HERE.

I am waiting on proofs of the print version and after print copies are shipping to backers they will be more broadly available, an update will appear on this site when that happens.

This book exists to record, for posterity, the events of Gamergate from the perspective of someone within Gamergate.

There is a real danger that, what with the media bias against Gamergate, that the other side – the right side – will not get recorded. In the future, anyone looking back is likely to encounter an entirely one-sided version of events from people who have been acting very shadily.

As a participant in Gamergate, that worries me.

As a historian, that worries me.

As someone who cares about truth, fairness and accuracy, that worries me.

I think I’m uniquely positioned to give an interesting take on what happened. I know the history, I can properly contextualise it within a timeline of other moral panics and responses. I participated in Gamergate. I’ve seen the aftermath of it. I’ve seen how it influenced things and how it fits into the broader culture war that has characterised the twenty-teens. I’ve been targeted by its enemies, who like to portray themselves as good people, and are anything but.

Mostly I want a record from this side, from this point of view. A counter-narrative to the one against Gamergate. Opposition to the stories being told by those who, despite mainly losing the cultural conflict that was Gamergate, are getting to enter their version of events into the record unopposed.

Grim’s Freelance Services

I AM AVAILABLE FOR FREELANCE WORK:

Links to my profiles on Fiverr & People Per Hour (these will be expanded as I add services):

Fiverr
People Per Hour

DIRECT SERVICES:
Currently, my 2017 plate is clear and free for freelancing and consultancy. I’m pretty reliable and can offer reasonably fast turnaround. I can, perhaps uniquely, provide detail and grounding to scenarios – even dungeons – to humanise them and give them a bit of depth. Give me a try, see what I can do for your games.

I am a 17+ year veteran of the tabletop game publishing world with lots of experience in freelancing and self-publishing.

I’ve worked for Wizards of the Coast, Steve Jackson Games, Nightfall, Cubicle Seven Entertainment and more. I have also written fiction and worked on social media computer games, packing a lot of meaning into short pieces of text.

As a self-publisher, I have overseen every step of the publication process from concept through to publication including writing, editing, layout and modification. I also produce Youtube material and have begun producing audiobooks. If you need some narration for a video project or an audiobook reading, I can help.

Here’s some of the services I can offer, and the minimum prices offered – though anything is negotiable up or down depending on the client. I will work pseudonymously if that is a concern for you.

• New writing (raw text): $0.03c/word (minimum)
• Proofreading/Light Editing/Commentary: $0.01c/word (second and third deeper passes are possible).
• ePublishing/RPG Publishing consultation. Skype/Hangout/Call: $20/hour.
• Consultation on your game project: $20/hour.
• Layout (InDesign): $11 an hour.
• Stock Art Shopfront: Postmortem studios have a huge stock art catalogue from multiple artists and we’d love to add you to that storefront. If you’re an artist who wants to sell your stock art but doesn’t want to deal with the accounts and uploads etc with your own storefront (which would be my first recommendation) then I can do that for you for 50% (I round up your payouts). Even if you don’t want to do this through me I recommend doing it anyway for all artists and can consult on best practice if you need advice.
• Voice Work: If you find my dulcet tones to your liking, I’m available for voice over work and narration, recording audiobooks and more. Rates negotiable, starting at $11 per hour.
• Promotion/Interview: Free. If you have a product you want to pimp out or would like to just talk game design and culture you’re welcome to talk to me and appear on my Youtube channel.

#Gamergate Book Crowdfunder

Gamergate was many things to many people, depending on their perspective. For some it was a harassment campaign, even terrorism, for others a key fight for ethics, against censorship.

Sadly the prior view had all the mainstream attention and is likely to be the only point of view that will go into the long term record.

It’s important, for posterity, to present and record the other side.

I was part of Gamergate. I want to tell it’s own story. I want to correct the record.

Linkypooh

Freelance Writing/Editing/More

Links to my profiles on Fiverr & People Per Hour (these will be expanded as I add services):

Fiverr

People Per Hour

Direct services:

Currently, my 2017 plate is clear (from April) and free for freelancing and consultancy. I’m pretty reliable and can offer reasonably fast turnaround. I can, perhaps uniquely, provide detail and grounding to scenarios – even dungeons – to humanise them and give them a bit of depth. Give me a try, see what I can do for your games.

I am a 17+ year veteran of the tabletop game publishing world with lots of experience in freelancing and self-publishing.

I’ve worked for Wizards of the Coast, Steve Jackson Games, Nightfall, Cubicle Seven Entertainment and more. I have also written fiction and worked on social media computer games, packing a lot of meaning into short pieces of text.

As a self-publisher, I have overseen every step of the publication process from concept through to publication including writing, editing, layout and modification. I also produce Youtube material and have begun producing audiobooks. If you need some narration for a video project or an audiobook reading, I can help.

Here’s some of the services I can offer, and the minimum prices offered – though anything is negotiable up or down depending on the client. I will work pseudonymously if that is a concern for you.

• New writing (raw text): $0.03c/word (minimum)
• Proofreading/Light Editing/Commentary: $0.01c/word (second and third deeper passes are possible).
• ePublishing/RPG Publishing consultation. Skype/Hangout/Call: $20/hour.
• Consultation on your game project: $20/hour.
• Layout (InDesign): $11 an hour.
• Stock Art Shopfront: Postmortem studios have a huge stock art catalogue from multiple artists and we’d love to add you to that storefront. If you’re an artist who wants to sell your stock art but doesn’t want to deal with the accounts and uploads etc with your own storefront (which would be my first recommendation) then I can do that for you for 50% (I round up your payouts). Even if you don’t want to do this through me I recommend doing it anyway for all artists and can consult on best practice if you need advice.
• Voice Work: If you find my dulcet tones to your liking, I’m available for voice over work and narration, recording audiobooks and more. Rates negotiable, starting at $11 per hour.
• Promotion/Interview: Free. If you have a product you want to pimp out or would like to just talk game design and culture you’re welcome to talk to me and appear on my Youtube channel.

#RPG – Gor RPG Open Call Writers/Artists

Hello everyone,

Due to the delays in getting the main Gor RPG and resource book out because of the art I am forced to start looking into putting out – or at least commissioning – supporting material in advance of the books being released. I also have to update the game material to account for the latest novel, PLUNDER.

As such I am looking for some artists and – in a rare turn of events – writers, to help me get this supplementary material up and going.

I’m not quite ready to commission yet, but will be in the near future. I want to produce a piece of the material myself to demonstrate what I’m after to people. Still, if you want to pre-register your interest let me know.

Writers

The job will be adventure writing, mostly in a loose, investigative structure, without the statistics for the creatures/people involved. The target will be 6-7k words for which you’ll be paid 0.03 USD per word with a maximum payout of $200.

Familiarity with Gor is necessary, but you don’t have to be au fait with the entire canon.

Background material will be provided.

Since you won’t be writing system material this is less important, but a familiarity with the OpenD6 system will still be helpful.

If you can make available an example of your adventure/scenario writing work for me to peruse, that would be very helpful.

Artists

The job will be producing three to four (or more if willing) quarter A4/Letter illustrations at 600 dpi in black and white. This will usually be 1-2 figures, a figure and monster, an object or similar. Basic rate will be $100 USD for these four illustrations but this is negotiable to an extent and you’ll be given as much creative leeway and other benefits as possible.

You should be willing and able to draw (tasteful) nudity to the point of bare breasts and some illustrations may require a familiarity with a BDSM aesthetic, though most will be more along sword and sorcery or planetary romance lines. Think Frazetta, Royo, Cho etc and you get some idea.

You’ll be provided reference material for descriptions and examples of existing art to work from.

Applications should be made to grim@postmort.demon.co.uk and please do pass this information along.