Attention all reavers, cut-pursues, heathen-slayers, and warlocks!
The baneful stars have once again aligned in the abyssal heavens and the Dark Master seeks those willing to sacrifice their creative forces for the benefit of his hellish gambits. To all those believing themselves worthy of the challenge, let the word go forth—The 2022 Mystery Map Adventure Design Contest is now happening!
There are few things as satisfying as mapping in all those undiscovered corners of a dungeon — except maybe imagining all those undiscovered corners in the first place! Participants in the 2022 Mystery Map Adventure Design Contest will do just that. Beginning from the same starting point, each designer will conceive of their own adventure by filling in the blank spaces of our map. For full details read the Submissions Guidelines below, and be sure to check back at our 2022 Mystery Map Adventure Design Contest page to clarify any questions you might have.
Mystery Map Adventure Design Contest
Win $1,000 and have your adventure published!
Goodman Games is looking for authors steeped in the lore of classic sword-and-sorcery to help usher in the next wave of Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG adventures. We are asking that you put your knowledge of Appendix N and associated authors to good use in creating an adventure designed around the Mystery Map shown here. A panel of experienced dungeon designers will judge all submissions. The best submission will be commissioned as a 5,000-word adventure to be published by Goodman Games, at a payment rate of $1,000. The adventure will be released as a printed, published offering in the DCC line, to be enjoyed by thousands of other gamers. There is only one winner, but strong second-place submissions may also be commissioned for separate publication, at the discretion of the judges.
The basic idea: We would like you to finish drawing the Mystery Map shown here, then outline an adventure based on your completed map. This adventure should evoke the works of one of the Appendix N authors or one of the writers who inspired them. Your completed map must use the rooms that are already designated, and should be continued by your own design into the open space. Your final map must be only one page in size. You should provide a digital copy of your final map. Finally, your adventure should make use of the weird statue in the lower corner of the Mystery Map (the pointing figure with a cavity in its chest – whatever it might be).
What are we looking for? We are looking for an exciting, playable, well-written fantasy adventure that embodies the voice of DCC RPG. DCC RPG is a game of pre-D&D fantasy, based on the pre-genre adventure literature of Appendix N and the writers that inspired those authors. DCC RPG adheres to several basic principles whose goals are to conjure forth the sense of wonder we all experienced when first introduced to role-playing games. First, all monsters and encounters are unique, never “from the book.” Second, magic feels magical and highly unpredictable. Third, there is a noticeable lack of the constraints of genre-based fiction. Fourth, adventures feature strong visual elements in every scene that give the players a constant sense of immersion. Finally, the scope of adventures crosses planes, dimensions, space, and time wherever appropriate. Read DCC RPG and its published adventure modules to get an even better sense of the game.
Consult the Appendix N for a list of authors to use as inspiration for your adventure. Writers featured as part of the Goodman Games’ website “Appendix N Archeology” articles or have been covered in similar website essays (such as C.L. Moore, Harold Lamb, Charles Saunders, and Milton Davis) are also acceptable sources of adventure inspiration, as is Clark Ashton Smith. Visit the Adventures in Fiction page on the Goodman Games web site for a full list.
How to submit: E-mail your submission, adhering to the rules outlined below, to mysterymap@goodman-games.com.
Deadline: All submissions must be received electronically by January 31, 2022.
Submission rules: Please adhere to the following rules in your submission.
- Send your submission in an email. The body of the email should outline your submission. The email should have only one attachment, which should be the completed Mystery Map.
- Your submission should be an outline of your adventure. Include a brief summary of the plot and the encounters. Provide more detailed information on the key encounters. Describe the properties, using game mechanics when applicable, of the weird statue. Tell us how your adventure embodies the voice of DCC RPG and Appendix N. Include the name of the author whose works you drew upon for inspiration. Tell us how your adventure is memorable to the players.
- Your submission should be no more than 1,000 words in length.
- You must include your name, mailing address, e-mail address and phone number.
- Finally, you must include and agree to the following sentence in your submission (and it counts toward the 1,000 words): “I acknowledge that the ideas I have submitted may be identical or similar to the theme, plot, idea, format, or other element of material that Goodman Games has independently developed, or that has or may come to Goodman Games from other sources, and I shall not be entitled to any compensation by reason of the use by Goodman Games of such similar or identical material.”
Send in your submission now. May the best adventure win!
The Mystery Map Itself – Fill it in for a chance to win!
(Click Map to save a copy)
