Open Design Blog

Today's the last day to sign up for Empire of the Ghouls, the six-month, 128-page project that will have Open Design creating a campaign adventure for 9th to 12th level characters. For more information, please review the project description and the Open Design Q&A.

Sign up today — or miss out on the best Open Design yet!

Sorry I doubted you, ladies and gents! The commission is met, and the project is greenlit. Empire of the Ghouls is officially moving full speed ahead.

Thank you to everyone who donated, and thanks for your patience as I quietly tore my hair out in February when it looked bleak. I will now shut up about the fundraising and start talking about adventure design. Which is a huge relief, frankly.

I'm leaving the door open to latecomers to join until midnight on Friday, the 30th. After that, no more patrons for Ghouls. I'll reconsider that in July, when the playtest draft is done. Which reminds me: I have the rough schedule.

March 31st: Design begins with Monster Selection
April: Design continues with New Monsters, Hooks, and first Encounters
May: Design continues with Encounters, Major NPCs, and Maps
June: Design continues with Ghoul Empire background and more Encounters
July 1st: Playtest draft complete. Start playtest cycle and second draft.

I'll post an updated outline soon, and we'll have the first creature poll tomorrow.

We're off!

I am pleased to announce that Empire of the Ghouls has definitively won the patron voting for the next Open Design project; it stands 50 votes in the lead. However, since we haven't quite met the commission yet, I'm leaving the field open to new patrons until the 31st.

At some point between now and the 31st, we'll hit the commission mark, and the project will not accept new patrons for several months. It may reopen during a playtest phase, or it may not. If you were just waiting for Ghouls to clinch it, please sign up today. Standard memberships are $30, and Patron of the Arts memberships start at $75. Sorry, apprentice memberships are now closed. More details after the cut.


What's Open Design?
I'm returning to an old, old model for writers with the next adventure I write: patronage. In the medieval age and in the Renaissance, patrons were the ones who commissioned artists and writers. There was no such thing as a "publisher". People who wanted books paid someone directly to write them.

The OpenDesign projects are about applying that strategy to RPG adventures. They use a publishing approach that avoids the pitfalls of corporate game development, and they provide a way to share design knowledge with interested gamers.

What is the Empire of the Ghouls project?
The Empire of the Ghouls: Suggested Levels 8-12
This Underdark campaign-adventure pits the party against a civilization of intelligent, shadow-powered, hideously strong ghouls who dominate the Underdark and have enslaved gnomes, dwarves, and even the drow. They are now ready to expand their power even further, allying with Demon Lords and even the God of Death. A prophecy tells that they will steal an ancient artifact to empower their race, and rule ever greater territory, until the world shakes before their terrible appetites.
If the ghouls plans succeed, their power will double and redouble, and shadow-walking assassins strike down every ruler of the surface world. The party must enter the Underdark and destroy the ghoul empire at its heart.
At around 128 pages total, "Empire" will take a minimum five months to write plus time to playtest, edit and typeset. You'll see the process unfold over the summer and fall, and you will have the completed work in hand before Halloween.


Who are you?
My name is Wolfgang Baur. I've been professionally involved in the RPG field for 15 years, starting at TSR and later at WotC. I've written for every major D&D setting, though I'm best known for things like Expedition to the Demonweb Pits, Forge of War, Frostburn, Planes of Law, the Book of Roguish Luck, Assassin Mountain, "A Rose for Talakara", and adventure design in general.

I've written more than a dozen adventures for Dungeon magazine, and used to be its editor. I'll do all the writing, organizing, and scut-work for Open Design. You just decide what you'd like to see in the adventure.

How many patrons will there be?
There are roughly 100 patrons needed to commission the work. Since there's no retailer, no publisher, no distributor, and no print costs, even a tiny audience makes it worthwhile to design exclusively for patrons.

What do I get?
You'd get the complete adventure and description of the Empire of the Ghouls, written with thoughtful suggestions by experienced gamers. If you join as a Patron of the Arts, you also determine some of the monster choices and essay topics discussed during the writing of the manuscript, plus extra attention to your own design questions.

It will be professionally laid out, with high-quality maps and illustrations. The final work will be available both as a PDF and as a paper POD book.

How to Join
Please click the button below for the standard membership ($30), or review the patron of the arts ($75 to 100) membership for access to additional perks.







Yes, Open Design is going to rip, tear, and shred its way to some great adventure. I hope you join the small community of crazed cannibal gamers, right here.

The third Open Design project is gearing up! This project will show you RPG design tricks by designing a 128-page game book. In addition, the Open Design format shows you professional game design from the inside.

The project itself is chosen by the patrons who donate and support the work: your donation supports either the "Empire of the Ghouls" underdark adventure or the "City-State of Zobeck" steam & sorcery city book.


What's Open Design?
I'm returning to an old, old model for writers with the next adventure I write: patronage. In the medieval age and in the Renaissance, patrons were the ones who commissioned artists and writers. There was no such thing as a "publisher". People who wanted books paid someone directly to write them.

The OpenDesign projects are about applying that strategy to RPG adventures. They use a publishing approach that avoids the pitfalls of corporate game development, and they provide a way to share design knowledge with interested gamers.

What are the Zobeck and Ghouls projects?
You can support either of these two projects with your donation.

The City-State of Zobeck: All Levels of Play
A regional and magic sourcebook for the Free City of Zobeck first described in “Steam & Brass”. The usual NPCs, adventure hooks, and major locations are just a small slice of the setting. A big section focuses on rules for things that make Zobeck unique, such as the star & shadow school of magic, clockwork magic, and rules for kobold and skinshifter PCs. We'll discuss CR ratings, spell balance, and setting logic.
The campaign section describes the local pantheon and provides a regional gazetteer that outlines the giant-dominated cities of Nordheim, the elven River Court, the trading hubs of the Seven Cities, the dwarven stronghold of Bernau, the necropolitans of Morgau & Doresh, and the magocracy of Allain. Includes a two-page city map and a full-page regional map showing trade routes, cities, and kingdoms.
Because I love monsters, it includes 10 new ones: the lorelei, cave and lightning dragons, new clockwork creatures, plus one or two from prior Open Designs.
At roughly 70,000 words with complex mechanical design and worldbuilding, "City-State" will take five or six months to write. It is loaded with plug-and-play pieces for any campaign.

The Empire of the Ghouls: Suggested Levels 8-12
This Underdark adventure pits the party against a civilization of intelligent, shadow-powered, hideously strong ghouls who dominate the Underdark and have enslaved gnomes, dwarves, and even the drow. They are now ready to seize a city of cloakers, a place of hanging stalagtites and elder cloakers who control an ancient artifact. If the ghouls seize it, their power will double, and shadow-walking assassins will soon become commonplace on the surface world. The party must enter the Underdark and destroy the ghoul empire at its heart.
Probably at least 60,000 words long, "Empire" will take a minimum five months to write.


Who are you?
My name is Wolfgang Baur. I've been professionally involved in the RPG field for 15 years, starting at TSR and later at WotC. I've written for every major D&D setting, though I'm best known for things like Expedition to the Demonweb Pits, Forge of War, Frostburn, Planes of Law, the Book of Roguish Luck, Assassin Mountain, "A Rose for Talakara", and adventure design in general.

I've written about 12 adventures for Dungeon magazine, and used to be its editor. I'll do all the writing, organizing, and scut-work. You just decide what you'd like to see in the adventure.


How many patrons will there be?
I need about 100 patrons to commission the work. Since there's no retailer, no publisher, no distributor, and no print costs, even a tiny audience makes it worthwhile to design exclusively for patrons.

What do I get?
You'd get the complete adventure written to your instructions regarding level, monsters, etc. For instance, the first adventure title and concept will be chosen by the people who sign up, as will many other adventure details.

It will be professionally laid out and available both as a PDF and as a paper POD book. Please review the final vote results and join today!

Yes, Open Design is trying to do something different. I hope you join the small community that's supporting original and amazing design, right here.

The third Open Design project is gearing up! This project will show you RPG design tricks by designing a 128-page game book. In addition, the Open Design format offers design essays on RPG topics, polls for patrons to weigh in on various design questions, and both creative and mechanical breakdowns of various stages of design.

The project itself is chosen by the patrons who donate and support the work: your donation supports either an underdark adventure or a steam & sorcery city book loaded with new spells and monsters, and discussing CR, spell balance, and more.

Updated outlines for both City-State of Zobeck and Empire of the Ghouls are available to those who have signed up.

Please review the final vote results and join today!