The Silt Verses Roleplaying Game Writing Contest
We are holding a writing contest for The Silt Verses Roleplaying Game! There are three tracks for submissions: Faith sheet, Assignment, and Journey Scene.
To learn more about The Silt Verses Roleplaying Game, press the button below.
To learn more about The Silt Verses Roleplaying Game, press the button below.
Submission Guidelines
- You can submit one entry for each track (Faith sheet, Assignment, or Journey Scene).
- Each entry should be no longer than 1500 words for a Faith sheet, 3500 words for an Assignment, and no more than 300 words for a Journey Scene. If you submit one of each, you must submit them separately.
- Submissions must be in a Google Doc, 11 pt. Arial, with no special formatting (bold, italics, and bullet points are fine). Your name should not be included anywhere on the Google Doc.
- Send a link to your Google Doc to Jason Cordova, who will be organizing the entries for the judges, via email: jason.cordova@hey.com. Subject line: “THE SILT VERSES RPG - FAITH SHEET” or “THE SILT VERSES RPG - ASSIGNMENT” or “THE SILT VERSES RPG - JOURNEY SCENE.” By submitting, you are representing your entry is a work of your own creation.
- When you send your submission email, indicate if you wish to opt-out of the public viewing folder (see Public Viewing Folder section, below).
- The deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM Eastern on February 25th, 2024.
Resources Folder
A collection of resources can be found in the folder linked below. The folder contains:
- 2 sample Faith sheets.
- 2 sample Assignments.
- 2 sample Journey Scenes.
- The “Anatomy of an Assignment” section of the rulebook.
Discord
You are invited to discuss the contest and solicit feedback on your entry on The Gauntlet Publishing Discord server, via the #writing-contest channel.
Writing Workshops
Co-creator Jason Cordova will be holding two special workshops for contest participants. The workshops will be via Zoom on February 4th from 12 PM - 3 PM Eastern, and February 11th from 12 PM - 3 PM Eastern. The first workshop will be about Faith sheets and Journey Scenes. The second workshop will be about Assignments. Anyone participating in the contest is welcome to attend; a Zoom link will be sent out via Discord. The workshop will be recorded so it can be viewed later.
Public Viewing Folder
Entries will be made available for public viewing after the deadline for submissions has passed. If you don’t want your entry included in the public viewing folder, you can opt out by telling us so when you send your submission email.
Judging Criteria and Announcement of Winners
The entries will be judged on writing quality, creativity, and playability. The entries will also be judged blind, meaning the judges will not know who wrote which submission. The judging panel will be announced at a later time. The winners and runners-up will be announced in late March during a special podcast episode.
Prizes
While the primary aim of the contest is to have fun and engage in a creative process with like-minded writers, there are also some prizes available.
- 1 Faith sheet track winner will receive $250 USD.
- 1 Faith sheet track runner-up will receive $100 USD.
- 1 Assignment track winner will receive $250 USD.
- 1 Assignment track runner-up will receive $100 USD.
- 1 Journey Scene track winner will receive $50 USD.
- 1 Journey Scene track runner-up will receive $25 USD.
Publication and Text Ownership
You own the text of your entry and are free to publish it wherever you wish after the announcement of winners. If you publish it commercially, please check in with us before using any named characters, entities, or locations from either the Silt Verses audio drama or roleplaying game, apart from the general setting materials. Additionally, your commercial publication should say "This product is not associated with Gauntlet Publishing or Eskew Productions, but it is published with their permission" somewhere on the document. We are not actively seeking to publish any entries (again, the contest is for fun) but if something catches our eye that would be a good fit for our plans, we will make a formal publishing offer to the entrant. If the winner or a runner-up receives such an offer, we will pay our publishing rate in addition to their prize money.
Planned for Publication
It’s not a contest requirement, but you might wish to avoid writing something that is similar to something we already have planned for publication. Below is a short summary of what we have in the immediate pipeline; you can also ask the creators in Discord if your idea is similar to something we have planned for official publication.
Sweet Jolly Crunchtooth, a Faith sheet.
The Beast that Stalks the Long Grass, a Faith sheet.
The Veiled Witness, a Faith sheet.
Something Wonderful Just Outside of Town, an Assignment involving circuses and clowns.
Punk Never Dies, an Assignment involving music and summer camps.
Children of the Abbatoir, an Assignment involving the Chitterling.
[Unnamed Motel Assignment], about a vintage motel that turns its weird long-term residents into worshippers.
Sweet Jolly Crunchtooth, a Faith sheet.
The Beast that Stalks the Long Grass, a Faith sheet.
The Veiled Witness, a Faith sheet.
Something Wonderful Just Outside of Town, an Assignment involving circuses and clowns.
Punk Never Dies, an Assignment involving music and summer camps.
Children of the Abbatoir, an Assignment involving the Chitterling.
[Unnamed Motel Assignment], about a vintage motel that turns its weird long-term residents into worshippers.