It was supposed to be a much smaller project - I really didn't like the original 1.0 Oriental Adventures setting based on Japan, not least because I grew up in a bilingual household and just looking at the gibberish names made my brain hurt. I'd already been pretty much making up all the places and people in my PC monk's background whenever it came up, and I didn't have anything else to do during the shutdown, so I started by renaming everything on the map. Then I updated the history of Kozakura and Wa (they unified because why were there even two countries based on Japan during the Warring States Era anyway?), ended the Warring States Era and advanced everything into something more like the Edo Era, with widespread travel within the country and increased trade with the West. But travel in the Edo Era was enabled by a massive upgrade to the public roadways so I connected roads and added more towns along the routes. Then I basically tossed out 90% of the original source material because those names and the mixed-up fortune-cookie Asia references. Then I created information about geography, government, religion, culture... which expanded to include more niche cultural deep dives into things like tattoos, the Shinōkōshō class system, sexuality and gender, and cultural influences overseas... all with a basis in history and mythology with a fantasy spin and the occasional subtle pop culture reference... THEN I added a glossary, homebrewed races, and race/class name equivalents in Japanese and... yeah. Yeah.
So now my friends in my gaming groups are telling me that I need to get this out there somehow, that people other than them should look at it. Any suggestions on the best way to do that? Would posting something in the forums here be a good idea?
This is how it usually goes. You make few houserules, homebrew a bit for extra interesting things, and next time you glance and see a 320-page rulebook complete with art and glossary you've compiled into a PDF for your players to ctrl+f through...
No problem, I'm sure if/when I transfer my world to a PDF it will be well over 30 pages. Making worlds requires a lot of writing, as you are literally creating another world.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
I suggest you start researching both the D&D OGL (Open Gaming Licence) and the DM's Guild. (I'm new to making content so this might be inaccurate):
OGL allows you to make whole worlds, which is the applicable one for you, but it cannot include a lot of dnd content, such as beholders, mind flayers, and a host of other things which they are holding onto as their own thing.
DMsGuild allows you to make smaller things like magic items and basic adventures which fit into a specific set of existing DnD worlds, but this restrictiveness is compensated for by access to a lot of artwork (I think) and the use of D&D IP, like beholders and mind flayers. It also is perused by the D&D owners, so could end up with your content being made official.
DMs Guild has the caveat that it can only be sold through DMsGuild, where you get 50% commission (put it up for $5 and you'll get $2.50 from each sale), and you can't withdraw straigh away.
Drivethru RPG is the place to sell OGL stuff, it's run by the same people and has the same 50% commission, but will allow you to sell an entire world and not just content for existing ones.
Depending on how large the world you're making is, you may be able to add it as a "lost city/region" within an existing world (as so much is supposedly unexplored), and so get in through dms guild, but be sure to read all the guides and such before you commit!
Thank you Thoruk for the advice and information! I just added a whole-ass section on a semi-factual history of the yakuza and the machi-bugyō and it's fun, so I'm just gonna keep going and see where this takes me, I guess (if I end up getting an urge to illustrate this monster, then I know I'm going to have to seriously consider selling it).
oh thank got it's not just me. Started writing up a back story last night for a character that is a bi-product of a love triangle that destroys an instance of reality started as in interesting idea for Paladin/Warlock. I wrote 10 pages including detailed customized mechanics that the backstory introduces for the DM. I got very little sleep as a result. I definitely have a problem lol.
Woke thinking.... This actually seems pretty good. Well written even(for first drunken/stoned draft that is). I wonder if other people will enjoy this. Showed it to girlfriend. Same response someone mentioned above. Well.. first she said.. uhm I didn't know you were a writer(neither did I... well I had forgotten). After that she looked at me with actual amazement, and after reading/being read some more said that it sounded like a legit story outside of being just a back story. huh... cool.
His name is Duo, and I'll be posting the story soon and hopefully finding a campaign for him. If not... He was a lot of fun to write at least!
oh thank got it's not just me. Started writing up a back story last night for a character that is a bi-product of a love triangle that destroys an instance of reality started as in interesting idea for Paladin/Warlock. I wrote 10 pages including detailed customized mechanics that the backstory introduces for the DM. I got very little sleep as a result. I definitely have a problem lol.
Woke thinking.... This actually seems pretty good. Well written even(for first drunken/stoned draft that is). I wonder if other people will enjoy this. Showed it to girlfriend. Same response someone mentioned above. Well.. first she said.. uhm I didn't know you were a writer(neither did I... well I had forgotten). After that she looked at me with actual amazement, and after reading/being read some more said that it sounded like a legit story outside of being just a back story. huh... cool.
His name is Duo, and I'll be posting the story soon and hopefully finding a campaign for him. If not... He was a lot of fun to write at least!
Yeah, I ended up writing four pages of backstory for my campaign villain, and I'm not even close to being done. Writing backstories for characters is fun, and roleplaying those characters is just as fun.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Yeah I've been getting creative with my backstories now that I have a "Japan" for my characters to come from. Just added a backstory for a character that was actually created by my DM, he gave her to me as a blank slate and asked me to fill in the blanks and play her in a campaign (because I do a better Japanese accent than he does. She's a pirate that's meant to join the main group temporarily. Here's what I filled the blanks in with (and I guess a sample of my writing style):
(from the files of the Kosaka Machi-Bugyō Office)
Name: Kōzame (aka the Bloody Shark of Kurogata)
Real Name: Unknown
Possible aliases: Samezuka Beni, O-Kō
Age: Unknown, possibly late 20s
Birthplace: Eastern Asahi, town unknown
Criminal History: Witness accounts implicate Kōzame in violent raids along the coast of Shou Lung for about a decade which, given reports of her apparent current age, seems to indicate that her criminal career began at a young age... One of our undercover operatives in the pleasure quarters believes that she may also be the prime suspect in the still-unsolved "Mizuage Massacre" case that occurred 15 years ago and was highly publicized at the time. However even he admits that he only has circumstantial evidence and rumor to go on...
(from the file on the "Mizuage Massacre')
...Brothel records show that the high bidder on the new oiran's virginity was none other than our own police commissioner. He was found stabbed in the throat with a hairpin and disemboweled by his own sword, which was not recovered at the scene. The madam of the brothel, in attendance just outside the room, appears to have been stabbed through the door before her throat was slashed, and two other patrons in the neighboring rooms were also fatally wounded. Several lamps were overturned in the incident, causing fires that were fortunately put out before they spread to neighboring buildings. Due to the fire damage and the loss of the madam, the brothel was forced to close...
...investigators say that the sword cuts on the corpses appear sloppy and amateurish, so we have ordered officers to be on the lookout for a commoner. The oiran purchased by the commissioner, who records name as "Tsubaki," has also not been found, and is believed to have been kidnapped by the culprit.
Aww shucks, thanks. I'm not writing the whole thing like this - this was just a character profile that I got creative with after spending all night reading up on Edo-era yakuza and police organization. The setting document is written like a cross between a textbook and comprehensive travel guide for Faerunian tourists.
Aww shucks, thanks. I'm not writing the whole thing like this - this was just a character profile that I got creative with after spending all night reading up on Edo-era yakuza and police organization. The setting document is written like a cross between a textbook and comprehensive travel guide for Faerunian tourists.
Well it's spot on in terms of the style, prose and flow of the writing. The portions you presented draw the reader in and make them interested. Follow that up with something that contrasts that flow too much and you lose them. For example, I don't want read what those cool bits formatted as excerpts from written reports of the characters "potential" deeds, then followed by a section that is detailed dialogue between the character and it's mentor. You would probably start to lose me as a reader at that point. Sticking with that style mostly in this backstory is what would keep me reading. You have something here for sure.
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Actually as of today it's 30-PLUS pages.
It was supposed to be a much smaller project - I really didn't like the original 1.0 Oriental Adventures setting based on Japan, not least because I grew up in a bilingual household and just looking at the gibberish names made my brain hurt. I'd already been pretty much making up all the places and people in my PC monk's background whenever it came up, and I didn't have anything else to do during the shutdown, so I started by renaming everything on the map. Then I updated the history of Kozakura and Wa (they unified because why were there even two countries based on Japan during the Warring States Era anyway?), ended the Warring States Era and advanced everything into something more like the Edo Era, with widespread travel within the country and increased trade with the West. But travel in the Edo Era was enabled by a massive upgrade to the public roadways so I connected roads and added more towns along the routes. Then I basically tossed out 90% of the original source material because those names and the mixed-up fortune-cookie Asia references. Then I created information about geography, government, religion, culture... which expanded to include more niche cultural deep dives into things like tattoos, the Shinōkōshō class system, sexuality and gender, and cultural influences overseas... all with a basis in history and mythology with a fantasy spin and the occasional subtle pop culture reference... THEN I added a glossary, homebrewed races, and race/class name equivalents in Japanese and... yeah. Yeah.
So now my friends in my gaming groups are telling me that I need to get this out there somehow, that people other than them should look at it. Any suggestions on the best way to do that? Would posting something in the forums here be a good idea?
This is how it usually goes. You make few houserules, homebrew a bit for extra interesting things, and next time you glance and see a 320-page rulebook complete with art and glossary you've compiled into a PDF for your players to ctrl+f through...
I just banged out 2 full pages on the Floating World last night. I may have a problem.
No problem, I'm sure if/when I transfer my world to a PDF it will be well over 30 pages. Making worlds requires a lot of writing, as you are literally creating another world.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I suggest you start researching both the D&D OGL (Open Gaming Licence) and the DM's Guild. (I'm new to making content so this might be inaccurate):
OGL allows you to make whole worlds, which is the applicable one for you, but it cannot include a lot of dnd content, such as beholders, mind flayers, and a host of other things which they are holding onto as their own thing.
DMsGuild allows you to make smaller things like magic items and basic adventures which fit into a specific set of existing DnD worlds, but this restrictiveness is compensated for by access to a lot of artwork (I think) and the use of D&D IP, like beholders and mind flayers. It also is perused by the D&D owners, so could end up with your content being made official.
DMs Guild has the caveat that it can only be sold through DMsGuild, where you get 50% commission (put it up for $5 and you'll get $2.50 from each sale), and you can't withdraw straigh away.
Drivethru RPG is the place to sell OGL stuff, it's run by the same people and has the same 50% commission, but will allow you to sell an entire world and not just content for existing ones.
Depending on how large the world you're making is, you may be able to add it as a "lost city/region" within an existing world (as so much is supposedly unexplored), and so get in through dms guild, but be sure to read all the guides and such before you commit!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
Thank you Thoruk for the advice and information! I just added a whole-ass section on a semi-factual history of the yakuza and the machi-bugyō and it's fun, so I'm just gonna keep going and see where this takes me, I guess (if I end up getting an urge to illustrate this monster, then I know I'm going to have to seriously consider selling it).
oh thank got it's not just me. Started writing up a back story last night for a character that is a bi-product of a love triangle that destroys an instance of reality started as in interesting idea for Paladin/Warlock. I wrote 10 pages including detailed customized mechanics that the backstory introduces for the DM. I got very little sleep as a result. I definitely have a problem lol.
Woke thinking.... This actually seems pretty good. Well written even(for first drunken/stoned draft that is). I wonder if other people will enjoy this. Showed it to girlfriend. Same response someone mentioned above. Well.. first she said.. uhm I didn't know you were a writer(neither did I... well I had forgotten). After that she looked at me with actual amazement, and after reading/being read some more said that it sounded like a legit story outside of being just a back story. huh... cool.
His name is Duo, and I'll be posting the story soon and hopefully finding a campaign for him. If not... He was a lot of fun to write at least!
Yeah, I ended up writing four pages of backstory for my campaign villain, and I'm not even close to being done. Writing backstories for characters is fun, and roleplaying those characters is just as fun.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Yeah I've been getting creative with my backstories now that I have a "Japan" for my characters to come from. Just added a backstory for a character that was actually created by my DM, he gave her to me as a blank slate and asked me to fill in the blanks and play her in a campaign (because I do a better Japanese accent than he does. She's a pirate that's meant to join the main group temporarily. Here's what I filled the blanks in with (and I guess a sample of my writing style):
(from the files of the Kosaka Machi-Bugyō Office)
Name: Kōzame (aka the Bloody Shark of Kurogata)
Real Name: Unknown
Possible aliases: Samezuka Beni, O-Kō
Age: Unknown, possibly late 20s
Birthplace: Eastern Asahi, town unknown
Criminal History: Witness accounts implicate Kōzame in violent raids along the coast of Shou Lung for about a decade which, given reports of her apparent current age, seems to indicate that her criminal career began at a young age... One of our undercover operatives in the pleasure quarters believes that she may also be the prime suspect in the still-unsolved "Mizuage Massacre" case that occurred 15 years ago and was highly publicized at the time. However even he admits that he only has circumstantial evidence and rumor to go on...
(from the file on the "Mizuage Massacre')
...Brothel records show that the high bidder on the new oiran's virginity was none other than our own police commissioner. He was found stabbed in the throat with a hairpin and disemboweled by his own sword, which was not recovered at the scene. The madam of the brothel, in attendance just outside the room, appears to have been stabbed through the door before her throat was slashed, and two other patrons in the neighboring rooms were also fatally wounded. Several lamps were overturned in the incident, causing fires that were fortunately put out before they spread to neighboring buildings. Due to the fire damage and the loss of the madam, the brothel was forced to close...
...investigators say that the sword cuts on the corpses appear sloppy and amateurish, so we have ordered officers to be on the lookout for a commoner. The oiran purchased by the commissioner, who records name as "Tsubaki," has also not been found, and is believed to have been kidnapped by the culprit.
Love the style of that! Dig the idea of the story format being excerpts like that. Well written stuff.
Aww shucks, thanks. I'm not writing the whole thing like this - this was just a character profile that I got creative with after spending all night reading up on Edo-era yakuza and police organization. The setting document is written like a cross between a textbook and comprehensive travel guide for Faerunian tourists.
Well it's spot on in terms of the style, prose and flow of the writing. The portions you presented draw the reader in and make them interested. Follow that up with something that contrasts that flow too much and you lose them. For example, I don't want read what those cool bits formatted as excerpts from written reports of the characters "potential" deeds, then followed by a section that is detailed dialogue between the character and it's mentor. You would probably start to lose me as a reader at that point. Sticking with that style mostly in this backstory is what would keep me reading. You have something here for sure.