What We Got?

Currently submitted to the Oerth Journal: A well-developed & illustrated article on the Free City of Highvale; an article on Shaofeng (may need more development); an article on Secret Societies in Ket; a brief (1-page) magical-item article; and a Geoff adventure (this might not be a real submission. have to look into it. Might be just passing through.)

Page-wise we're looking good; Highvale will clock in at at least 30 pages, I think, Ket is 10, the magic box is 1, Shaofeng is 6 with lots of room for growth.  The adventure is 81 (!!!) pages; font and formatting might drop that to 70 or a little less, but we'll still have to decide what to do about it, assuming it's intended to be published.  I think we might be being used as some kind of courier service.  I feel so dirty.  ;)

Personally, I'd like to see:

• an article about a lesser known deity, or the (unique) servants of a powerful deity - creatures a PC party of moderate level might interact with.  
•  Articles that deal with mechanical issues & offer rules options are always hard to come by.  
•  GH specific races in 4e or Pathfinder format is a simple idea.  
•  4e domains for GH gods, or anything converting GH material to Pathfinder rules.  
• Magic items that aren't artifacts.  
• Spellbooks.  
• New races, though there are so many cliches this would be a real minefield (dragon-people; cat/badger/dog/animal-people; winged people; half-people; submissions from people that capitalize their Races like Elf and Dwarf; races that are outcast and misunderstood; races that are made up of solitary wandering immortal types (actual or functionally) and apparently breed by releasing spores into the air or something; races that are "like orcs, but different"; races that were created by their god (who is new to Oerth); races that were kicked out by their god (who never acted like this before); races from another planet/plane/sphere/dimension....  The uldra, from Dragon magazine, were a race that worked. IMO.
• Short, simple, adventure sites, at least a paragraph, no longer than a page.  Not mapped, just simple descriptions & rumors.  Solid locations on the map, not vague.
• Articles describing one hex of the Darlene map.
• Articles tying old (or new) D&D products to Greyhawk.

And Monkeyboyjones wants "more on Valley of the Mage, Fading Lands (which in my mind are gateways to Ravenloft), Scarlet Brotherhood (in context of them actually being monks), Hepmonaland and what exactly is beneath the Corusk Mtns."

Send for the doctor!

OJ #26 is on the way.  (Whether the post title references a birth or a heart attack is up to you.)  Aside from what I'm told is a minor formatting issue, it's all set (I'm also told this is a "New England" phrase that gets puzzled looks in other parts of the country and particularly overseas) and will be out later this week.

I'll post the link here absolutely as soon as I get it.

The longest week....

As someone just commented, it's been a very long week (ummm...maybe two months long?)  I wish I had more news.  The goal at this point is to get OJ 26 out the door (it will probably have no or minimal art), and then see what we have for #27.  Right now, the answer is "not alot".  Send submissions!

Ping!

Still here.  I do check the oerthjournal@gmail.com email address, and comments posted here get forwarded to my personal email.  I will rattle the tree and get some more relevant updates later this week.

What we're up to.

Just a quick update to let people know what is happening.  Issue 26 is being completed.  It looks like it will have 5 articles: Bounds of Oerth, a representation of an article written by Erik Mona back on the AOL boards; A Bestiary of the Mythical Land of Mur; Fireland, Scar - The Isle of Razic'Jewel; The Land of Blinvidr, A Guide to the Veda - The Bird People; and Dimensions Lost, the first of a three-part adventure.

We're not going to announce a release date until it's actually ready to be released, and I'm not going to guarantee these 5 articles - but that's how it appears at the moment.

With that in hand, however, we are starting to look at issue 27.  We've had two solid submissions and several proposals, but could use more.  We've had requests for a (simple) article assigning 4e domains to the GH gods; I'd also be interested in seeing something that updates the sub-races to 4e rules (ie hill dwarves, wild/valley/high or grey elves, etc).  There may be other similar possibilities in Pathfinder, Castles & Crusades, or other rulesets.

OSR submissions would also be welcome - as close relatives of the original D&D rules, OSR articles are easier to adapt to a wide range of editions & rulesets than 4e or Pathfinder.

You don't have to be an expert on Greyhawk lore to submit something, either.  The only thing better than reading about GH, in my opinion, is reading the fascinating things other people have done with their GH campaigns, and where they've diverged from "core" canon.  If you are stuck on an issue of canon, the sage forum gnomes at Canonfire!, Dragonsfoot, and the Piazza can usually get you an answer in a few short hours.

Finally, not every article has to run 20 pages  - if anything ,we need more short articles on everyday things like monsters, spells, magic items, artifacts, adventuring locales, NPCs, and the like.

Cheers!

The Oerth Journal Downloads

All existing issues of The Oerth Journal may now be downloaded from the Downloads page on the right.

What do YOU want?

The Editorial Xvarts are all ears (literally - still working out these new polymorph spells)!  What sort of articles would you like to see in The Oerth Journal?  We have a list of article ideas (page link just over there --->), but let's face it -- that list has been floating around since Erik Mona was editor (whatever happened to that guy, anyway?).  It's OLD.  We want New, Hot, Current, Exciting, and Something with an i- in front of it. 

Do you want the down-low on goblins in Greyhawk?  Tell us!  Wondering about Jallarzi Sallivarian?  Our dedicated staff of Writer-Flumphs are standing (floating, actually) by to bring you details! Want to see a centerfold featuring the Fiend-Sage of Rel Astra or Bigby?  The Xvarts are deadlocked right now - you could be the tie-breaker!

Even better, click here and send us a proposal for your own article!