I have been a busy fellow, having rehearsed, opened, and am now about to close Trav SD's Universal Rundle at La MaMa this coming weekend, with the final performance occuring smack in the center of my 46th birthday. The run has been going well performatively and I have enjoyed tremendously the stretch that the role has given me as an actor. Everyone has been so lovely to work with, and it has been focused and fun throughout. Good things, all around.
I have also been busy creating content for submission to Wizards of the Coast for freelance publication for their online magazines Dungeon and Dragon, which publishes material for Dungeons & Dragons. I submitted two articles last week for an "anything goes" kind of writing contest challenging authors to write articles inspired by a sppecific illustration depicting two people atop a solid wooden table that is evidently being supported mid-air by one of the figures, an unarmoured man whose stance and sparkle-infused gesture depicts a kind of supernatural concentration upon the table, while his companion, a dark-haired female archer, trains her arrow at an out of frame target beneath her, the underside of the table itself already punctured with enemy arrows from below. The contest stated that one could submit any kind of article (including short fiction) so long as the material was inspired by the illustration, and the winning entry or entries would be published and the author paid their standard beginning feelance rate for publication.
I wrote two pieces, one for their "Class Acts" series of articles on features for the various character classes, and the other for their "Bazaar of the Bizarre" article series that feature magical items.
My "Class Acts" article focused on the Psion character class (a class that I happen to play my first 4th edition character in), and was inspired by the fact that the man in the illustration seemed to be lifting the table through the agency of telekinesis, and the class builds for the Psion character class include "telekinetic", along with "telepathic" and "shaper". The class builds denote a specific school of study that the Psion focuses upon, and each school bestows specific powers to the Psion studying its disciplines which the Psion attains at the 1st level of play. I conceived a "Deep Discipline Focus", wherein the Psion would attain further class features at the Paragon (11th) and Epic (21st) levels of play. The Epic level power for Telekinetic Psions I named Telekinetic Crane, allowing the Psion to do what the illustration depicted: lift vertically and move horizontally a total weight of at least 600 lbs for a sustainable duration of time. As this power is attained by the Psion at the 21st level of play, I decided to make it powerful (weight limit of 2,000 lbs), but not over-balancingly so (usable Encounter Utility power) that requires concentration (sustainable as the character's primary, or Standard Action in a round of play) to maintain. The article required a full treatment of my concept, of course, so I conceived of and fleshed out the 11th level features for the Telekinetic (Telekinetic Slash and Telekinetic Suture), as well as two 11th level and one 21st level Discipline Focus features for the Telepathic and Shaper builds as well, resulting in my creating 9 powers for the Psion class, 3 per class build.
This was the first of the two submissions, and I realized after sending it that I may need to tweak it slightly in order for it to fit into the existing game mechanics for the class, and am considering making the Deep Discipline Focus a series of Class Feats for the Psion. We will see. The WIzards article detailing the contest and its process discussed the likelihood of the back-and-forth between Wizards and their freelance authors that is a part of the editing process, so I feel that the Feat adjustment regarding the concept might be what they suggest if they are interested in the article at all.
My second submission was for the series of articles that they call "Bazaar of the Bizarre" that feature magic items. I went for the literal and initially wrote up a Wondrous Item called "Flying Table". I wrote up the Table using the statistics used for vehicles in the game as a template I decided to fill out the article by making up magic items that were mundane and utilitarian, but not necessarily intuitive in terms of power to object, ala: the Flying Table. I also conceived of them as being the posthumously discovered creations of a Mage ("Telempset the Wise") renowned for his embracement of the Ordinary. I conceived of the three other items (a "Galloping Chair" that can walk and carry you over most terrain as well as make off with an enemy; a "Picture Window" that allows remote viewing and teleportation; and a "Magic Carpet" that unrolls to become a watertight raft or a solid walkway up to 200' long), and wrote cryptic quotations relevant to the item in question.
We will see if either submission yields a response.
In the meantime, I am busy creating more material for submission to Wizards, and having a blast doing it!
If they do not bite, then I aim to self-publish the various writings as "being made for play with 4th Edition D&D" and put them up for sale in the inter-tubes...
I am auditioning for the Acting Company on All Fool's Day, and for the Shakespeare Theatre in DC on the Monday after...
I have also been busy creating content for submission to Wizards of the Coast for freelance publication for their online magazines Dungeon and Dragon, which publishes material for Dungeons & Dragons. I submitted two articles last week for an "anything goes" kind of writing contest challenging authors to write articles inspired by a sppecific illustration depicting two people atop a solid wooden table that is evidently being supported mid-air by one of the figures, an unarmoured man whose stance and sparkle-infused gesture depicts a kind of supernatural concentration upon the table, while his companion, a dark-haired female archer, trains her arrow at an out of frame target beneath her, the underside of the table itself already punctured with enemy arrows from below. The contest stated that one could submit any kind of article (including short fiction) so long as the material was inspired by the illustration, and the winning entry or entries would be published and the author paid their standard beginning feelance rate for publication.
I wrote two pieces, one for their "Class Acts" series of articles on features for the various character classes, and the other for their "Bazaar of the Bizarre" article series that feature magical items.
My "Class Acts" article focused on the Psion character class (a class that I happen to play my first 4th edition character in), and was inspired by the fact that the man in the illustration seemed to be lifting the table through the agency of telekinesis, and the class builds for the Psion character class include "telekinetic", along with "telepathic" and "shaper". The class builds denote a specific school of study that the Psion focuses upon, and each school bestows specific powers to the Psion studying its disciplines which the Psion attains at the 1st level of play. I conceived a "Deep Discipline Focus", wherein the Psion would attain further class features at the Paragon (11th) and Epic (21st) levels of play. The Epic level power for Telekinetic Psions I named Telekinetic Crane, allowing the Psion to do what the illustration depicted: lift vertically and move horizontally a total weight of at least 600 lbs for a sustainable duration of time. As this power is attained by the Psion at the 21st level of play, I decided to make it powerful (weight limit of 2,000 lbs), but not over-balancingly so (usable Encounter Utility power) that requires concentration (sustainable as the character's primary, or Standard Action in a round of play) to maintain. The article required a full treatment of my concept, of course, so I conceived of and fleshed out the 11th level features for the Telekinetic (Telekinetic Slash and Telekinetic Suture), as well as two 11th level and one 21st level Discipline Focus features for the Telepathic and Shaper builds as well, resulting in my creating 9 powers for the Psion class, 3 per class build.
This was the first of the two submissions, and I realized after sending it that I may need to tweak it slightly in order for it to fit into the existing game mechanics for the class, and am considering making the Deep Discipline Focus a series of Class Feats for the Psion. We will see. The WIzards article detailing the contest and its process discussed the likelihood of the back-and-forth between Wizards and their freelance authors that is a part of the editing process, so I feel that the Feat adjustment regarding the concept might be what they suggest if they are interested in the article at all.
My second submission was for the series of articles that they call "Bazaar of the Bizarre" that feature magic items. I went for the literal and initially wrote up a Wondrous Item called "Flying Table". I wrote up the Table using the statistics used for vehicles in the game as a template I decided to fill out the article by making up magic items that were mundane and utilitarian, but not necessarily intuitive in terms of power to object, ala: the Flying Table. I also conceived of them as being the posthumously discovered creations of a Mage ("Telempset the Wise") renowned for his embracement of the Ordinary. I conceived of the three other items (a "Galloping Chair" that can walk and carry you over most terrain as well as make off with an enemy; a "Picture Window" that allows remote viewing and teleportation; and a "Magic Carpet" that unrolls to become a watertight raft or a solid walkway up to 200' long), and wrote cryptic quotations relevant to the item in question.
We will see if either submission yields a response.
In the meantime, I am busy creating more material for submission to Wizards, and having a blast doing it!
If they do not bite, then I aim to self-publish the various writings as "being made for play with 4th Edition D&D" and put them up for sale in the inter-tubes...
I am auditioning for the Acting Company on All Fool's Day, and for the Shakespeare Theatre in DC on the Monday after...
