Nyrond Builders Document

Nyrond is actively developed by a group of volunteers, lead by three individuals collectively known as the Triad. New volunteers are always wanted. The processes and guidelines in this document have been created to help distribute the workload on the Triad. If you are interested in helping as a builder for Nyrond, please be sure to read the following guidelines first.

Much of this document was influenced by the excellent Perrenland Design Document.

Two means are established for contributing to Nyrond source material: Projects and Maintenance. In all cases, the Nyrond Triad has final approval. The different projects and areas are divided as follows. If you are looking for something not listed below, just contact the triad directly. In the case where non-triad builders are given responsibility over an area, it is to be able to provide information on the area in question, and perhaps coordinate meta-game information. Changes to the area under maintenance still need to be approved by the Triad. If the owner of an area is not responding, you can always contact the Triad.

Note: A name listed below does not exclude others from also contributing. If you would like to add to an area or assist, contact the manager; they very likely will appreciate the assistance.

Area	Who	Status
Scenarios	John Jenks (Nyrond Triad Editor)
Meta-Orgs	Triad or by Meta-Org
NPCs	Triad
Gazetteer	Triad or by Area
Almor	John Jenks	project
Castle Millennium	Troy McNemar and Tom Kee	?
Mithat	Tom Kee	?
Onyxgate	Keith McCall and Brandon Gillespie	scenario
Brackenmoor
Gnatmarsh	Jeffrey Harris	?
Eventide
Nessermouth	Brandon Gillespie	project
Flinthill
Gamboge
Justcrown	Brandon Gillespie	manage
Rel Mord	Brandon Gillespie	manage
Zilchan Temple	Troy McNemar	?
Arcane Wanderer Tavern	Troy McNemar	?
Pelor Temple	Tom Kee	?
Korenflass
Oldred	Eddy Roberts	maintenance
Temple of Wee Jas	Jeffrey Harris	?
Mowbrenn
Orberend
Hendrenn Halgood
Temple of Pelor	Eddy Roberts	scenario
Womtham
Woodverge
Woodwych
Swan Bore	Tom Kee	?
Adrean's Landing	Derek Choi	?
Coliseum		?
Maps	Brandon Gillespie
Law, Politics
Military	Brandon Gillespie
Festivals and Events
History
Other	Triad

Builder's and their email links (masked to avoid spam email crawlers, click on name for email):

John Jenks (Triad)
Kelly Nabours (Triad)
Uwe Menzel (Triad)
Derek Choi
Brandon Gillespie
Jeffrey Harris
Tom Kee
Keith McCall
Troy McNemar
Eddy Roberts

Section 1. Becoming a Nyrond Builder

If you wish to design or work as a builder in Nyrond, including anything listed above, you should:

1. Join the Nyrond Builders mailing list
2. Figure out what you want to do:
   • Manage Area

     If you are interested in becoming a maintainer for an area not currently being maintained, send a proposal to the Triad (see below for information on sending proposals).

   • Start a new Project (Scenario, City, etc)

     If you have a new project proposal, which is not currently defined as under the scope of any current projects or assignments, send a proposal to the Triad (see below for information on sending proposals).

   • Just help out

     If you would like to just help a little, by contributing snippits here and there, contact the area maintainer. If there is no area maintainer, it is less likely your changes will be committed (until somebody decides to maintain the area and collect your snippits).

   • Assist existing area, or sub-area

     If you want to help an existing manager, contact them. If you want to subdivide a large area and work on a sub-portion of it (such as a city in a province), contact the area manager and the Triad.

Section 2. Proposal, Submission and Review

1. Email Subject Headers

It is important to use the following email subject headers. This will help to classify your email and make sure it gets handled in a proper and timely manner. These subject headers should be included whenever sending official messages to the builders list, or any Triad member. Messages without these headers will be handled in a different manner (such as general digressing discussion on the builders list).

Header	Target	Description
Proposal:	Triad	This header is used when sending an official proposal to the Triad. Remember it use the proposal guidelines outlined below.
RFC:	Builders List, Triad	Request for Comments. This header is used as a formal means of requesting feedback on an idea, when sending to the Builders list, after a Proposal has been accepted. Request for Comments does not have to be made, its use being at the discretion of the author.
Submission:	Triad	Final submissions sent to the Triad should include this prefix. It may not receive proper priority if it does not have this subject header prefix.
Review:	Builders List	After a Submission has been accepted, and at the Triad's discretion, they may ask for it to follow an Open Review. In this case, the same submission is sent to the Builders list with the Review subject header (see Open Review below for more detail).

Examples:

RFC: Halflings in Nyrond -- subject requesting comments on a halfling writeup
Review: Korenflass -- subject posting notice of the accepted Korenflass writeup, and asking for review.

2. Proposal
When sending a proposal, keep it simple and short (200 words or less preferred). If the proposal effects a current project or area under maintenance, remember to send both to the Triad and the Project owners. Otherwise send only to the Triad.

When submittion a scenario proposal, you should include:

• A Blurb (ie. One Sentence Summary followed by "A Living Greyhawk adventure for Character Levels 1-2");
• DM Background (incl location of adventure in Nyrond);
• An Adventure Outline (what the PCs will do);
• A Creature Summary (and ELs at each APL);
3. Submission and Review process
1. Triad Submission and Review

All changes have to follow at least this process. Additional changes (such as gazetteer) may also follow an Open Review, detailed below.

After a proposal has been accepted by the Triad, the builder(s) begin working on the project. The finished work is sent (following appropriate style guidelines below) to the appropriate Triad contact. It is ok to contact the Triad and other builders as appropriate, for help and assistance. However, remember they are volunteers and are not co-authors.

The Triad will try to return comments in two weeks. This is a general guideline, not a rule. If you have not received a response back within two weeks, please politely contact the Triad again (all three).

2. Open Review

When contributing new or changed information, it may be reviewed openly. Scenarios and other plot-related things are generally not reviewed openly. Whether the change should have open review or triad review is a decision of the Triad. The open review process is:

1. After the Triad has approved the finished work (defined above), it is sent to the builders list for comment, with the following text added at the top of the submission:

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   The following submission has been approved by the Triad, and is open
   for general review.  Commentary on this topic should be restricted to
   propriety and appropriateness in regard to prior Greyhawk canon, but
   additional comments for possible missing information, and even grammar
   and spelling corrections are acceptable.
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   

2. After one week, if there are no outstanding objections, the submission is official and can move onto its next phase (publishing through the proper channels).
3. If there are issues, the Triad can decide if it should be sent back to the author(s) for revision and re-submission.
4. Although the finished work has to be approved before being sent to the builders list, you can also discuss parts of your work on the builders list, presuming it is Ok with the triad to do so.

Section 3. Design Guidelines

1. Scenarios need to follow the guidelines set forth in the LG Writers Goodie Bag (LGWG), published in the files section of the LGWriters group on Yahoo.
2. All projects must comply with the DnD 3rd Edition Core Rules
3. All designers who build on work presented in previous editions of Greyhawk materials published by Wizards of the Coast or TSR should consider the information in those works as canon, and must either reflect on information presented in those volumes, or build upon information supplied in those volumes. Where more recent publications contradict information in previous works, consider the recent information to be correct.
4. Acceptable relevant canon, sorted in order of precedence (note, this is not an exhaustive list, just a list of that most common and relevant to Nyrond). In the case of multiple printings, such as publications in Dungeon, Dragon and Polyhedron, the relevance comes from the published date:

   Publication	Date	CY
   Living Greyhawk scenarios	2000+	591+
   Nyrond Gazetteer or other LG Regional Gazetteer	2000+	591+
   Living Greyhawk Journal (LGJ)	as appropriate
   Other official Greyhawk articles in Polyhedron, Dragon and Dungeon	as appropriate
   Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (LGG)	2000	591 CY
   The Scarlet Brotherhood (TSB)	1999	585?
   Greyhawk, the Adventure Begins (TAB)	1998	591 CY
   Ivid the Undying (IVID)	1995	585 CY
   Iuz the Evil (WGR5)	1993	585 CY
   The Marklands (WGR4)	1993	585 CY
   From the Ashes (FTAA, FTAC)	1992	Spring 585
   Greyhawk Wars (GW)	1991	584 CY
   Greyhawk Adventures (GA)	1988	?
   World of Greyhawk Boxed Set (WOGA, WOGG)	1980	576 CY

5. Projects must not use information from non-Wizards Of The Coast 3rd Edition D&D Supplements (ie. Creature Collection, Relics & Rituals, etc). Private website material (Non-Official Living Greyhawk) may be used with approval of the original author and the Triad.
6. Creatures from previous editions of D&D that have not yet been converted officially may be allowed (after sanctioning from the Triad and Meta-Regional approval). This includes creatures found in the d20 product Tome Of Horrors.
7. Living Greyhawk projects are also bound by the Writing Guidelines set down by Wizards Of The Coast. These can be found in the FILES section of the mailing list, or obtained from the RPGA website at Wizards Of The Coast www.wizards.com . These guidelines mostly have to do with formatting and layout, as well as naming conventions, etc. If you send us something not formatted correctly, we will just send it back to you. If you send us work that does not comply with the Living Greyhawk Guidelines (RPGA Website Downloads) then we will just send it back to you. So that you don't waste the time of the Triad (and your own) please make sure your scenarios and projects comply as much as possible.
8. All design work must be aimed at a PG Rating (if it was classified) - that is, suitable for children under the age of 15 with parental supervision. Think of it this way: would you like your 9 or 10 year old child reading or playing this? The Writing Guidelines have more about that as mentioned in 1.4 (g). Many of our conventions and game days have kids playing as young as this!
9. Be aware of the other builders. If your work changes something already established, or is overly obtrusive, perhaps you should reconsider. Ask yourself the question: "does my design work have an effect on that done by other people on the team? Have they been notified?" Because this is a global effort, it is important to remember that this is a shared group effort, not a home campaign.

Section 4. Style and Formatting Guidelines

Scenarios should be formatted following the appropriate styles set forth in the LG Writers Guidelines document [note: digup]. They should be submitted to the Triad in an MS-Word doc format. The following [template] can be used to start the proper styles and format.

It is preferred that web content has nominal formatting, and is sent plain-text. MS-Word can be handled, if necessary.

Section 5. Nyrond Guidelines

Nyrond is modelled after a mix of medieval France through the times of the Holy Roman Empire. It is currently trying to shake off the burden of poor government, reft with corruption, lack of funds and the general decay found therein. On top of this, the king's brother Sewarndt has been plotting sedition against the king. This has resulted in polarizing many of the populace, to either become strongly pro-Lynwerd (in the areas he has been able to positively effect) or to be strongly pro-Sewarndt (usually in the areas he hasn't been able to help yet).

Section 6. Meta-Orgs

There are rules defining how Meta-Orgs are to be balanced. If you are interested in writing a new meta-org, consider the balances of existing meta-orgs and include similar things in your proposal.

NOTE: any future Meta-Org changes will be made after the 3.5 conversion. If you have recommended changes, keep them somewhere safe until the call is sent out for Meta-Org changes.

Section 7. Scenarios

There is a limit of 8 regional scenario slots per year. These are usually allocated out a year or sometimes two in advance. Furthermore, the scenario must be submitted and completed several months in advance of its premier date. Keep this in mind when working on proposals.

The Triad may also make custom Mini-Scenarios and Interactives. These are one-time events. Sometimes it is easier to get access to write a mini-scenario than it is to write a primary scenario.

Section 8. Notes and Helpful Hints

1. The Triad is very, very busy, and they are only doing this as a volunteer effort. If you have sent something in but havn't heard back from them any time recently, politely ask about it. If you instead wait for them to get back to you, it is likely that they will not, as your email has since drifted to the bottom of the pile. Unfortunately, this organization works on the principal that the people who politely keep in communication with the triad are the ones who make progress.
2. Also, remember the Triad's priorities. If your issue is a lower priority and the Triad is swamped, you will just have to wait! The priorities are:
   1. Play Opportunities: Conventions, Gamedays, Home Games -- Facilitate getting play-opportunities to run; supplied scenarios, judge help, coordination, etc
   2. Scenarios -- Write, Edit and Sanction scenarios
   3. Meta-Game Administration -- Meta-orgs, Rule interpretations, etc
   4. Characters -- working with players on individual character development
   5. Everything Else -- world building, cities, maps, website, etc

3. When creating something new, try to focus on generalities first, rather than specifics. The Triad is more interested in the overall feel of an area (example: northern Almor is wine country), than unsupported specifics (example: Blotto the 16th level mage bartender that appears out of nowhere, but has a neat set of stats).
4. Please comply with due dates! If you miss a due date, do not be surprised to have your submission cancelled and replaced with another one.
5. Please remain contactable! While this is a volunteer organization so some lee-way is expected, if you drop off the face of the earth, don't be surprised if an area or scenario you were working on has been reassigned when you get back.