Did Goodman Games Steal My Idea!?!

Over two years ago, I wrote a post proposing a "One Map Dungeon Contest".  It was an idea I had at the time while thinking about the One Page Dungeon Contests that have been so successful.

Imagine my surprise when I came upon this.  I guess the idea was so good that Goodman Games decided to take it.

...

Lest you think that I am out of my rocker, I don't think that they stole my idea.  I'll just choose to believe that great minds think alike.

"Old School" Products

Not really a frequenter of Dragonsfoot.  And, frankly, from what I've heard of the place, I don't want to be.

But this is some useful information.

He Did It Just Like He Said He Would

I wrote a little about treasure junks (gigantic, wooden-hulled Chinese ships) back here.  In the comments of that post, Joe Browning mentioned an adventure that he was putting out that took place on what is basically a treasure junk.  That adventure, entitled The Frozen Wave Satsuma, can be found here for sale at RPGNow.

I haven't purchased it yet, but I will be.

To Win Boriscalion

Back in the late eighties and early nineties, I was trying to get myself published in Dungeon magazine. I sent them several query letters, most of which were politely declined with their standard rejection letter. Then, finally, after six or eight attempts, they sent me the "your idea sounds intriguing, why don't you send us a completed manuscript" letter.

The adventure was called "To Win Boriscalion". It was a single player vs. DM adventure for a 1st - 3rd level fighter. A fairly straightforward dungeon crawl, the fighter was to enter an abandoned keep and search for any treasure he might find. The big treasure was "Boriscalion", a magical sword with orc-slaying powers. The idea was that it would be the first magical sword the PC would obtain. Basic concept I know, but I thought that it worked.

I thought that until I received the rejection letter from Dungeon--signed by none other than Wolfgang Baur.  The points that they raise are valid, although with a little tweaking they could be fixed.  The reason that I didn't fix them is that, at the time, Dungeon was no longer looking for AD&D adventures.

For posterity's sake, here is the rejection letter that they sent me:

And since this is a blog mainly about mapping, here are the maps that I submitted with the manuscript.

Perhaps I'll take the time to rewrite "To Win Boriscalion" and offer it as a free download--or maybe even as a product for sale.  Yet one more example of "If I only had more time..."