Still a long time ago...

I had the general outline for To Win Boriscalion in my head but hadn't really put it on paper. Obviously, that was the first step.

So I wrote a list of the monsters that I wanted the fighter to encounter. A giant skunk. A pair of goblins. A handicapped troll. Some giant ants. An orog.

Then, before writing anything else down, I decided that I needed to draw the maps. (Of course.) Drew a nice two level keep, with gardens, and a small basement. Then I went back and wrote the rest of the adventure, in longhand, on a yellow legal pad. Then typed it using my trusty, brand-new, Brother word processor. Then re-did the maps into something that would be submission worthy. Dropped the whole thing in the mail and waited.

Now, I know what you're thinking, because I'm thinking it, too: Not a very challenging adventure, looking at those monsters. More importantly, that's what Dungeon was thinking, as well. Among other things: Monsters weren't challenging enough. Story had some holes in it. Why would that monster wait in that room for the PC to arrive? "What?! You mean I can't stick a bunch of monsters in various locations and assume they'll stay there? That's what the first six years of DnD consistently relied upon." Dungeon had moved on from the glory days of simple hack-n-slash. Apparently, I had not.

I was happy that they actually wrote a letter explaining what they felt were the issues with the adventure and why they weren't going to accept it for publication. (The letter is signed by no less than Wolgang Bauer!) That's much better than a form letter. And even better, they complimented me for the map! They also said that they'd be willing to take a look at it if I revised it. Unfortunately, senior year of high school with its numerous activities, one or two romances, and trying to apply for college left me no time to go back and try again. Looking back, I am still shocked that I didn't try to fix it up and re-submit.

Thus began the long dry spell...