In the past, Open Design projects have been chosen by the patrons who fund them. This time, I figured, what the hell, why not let everyone vote for fun? The votes won't determine which project wins (donations do that), but they do determine what project gets cut from the roster first.
Here are the three possible projects; vote for your favorite below, then donate to watch the design unfold.
The Black Prince
EDIT: Removed, did not win enough donations and support from patrons. Down to two!
The City-State of Zobeck: All Levels of Play
EDIT: Removed, did not win enough donations and support from patrons. Down to just one!
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, survive, and destroy the ghoul empire at its heart.
Probably at least 60,000 words long, "Empire" will take a minimum five months to write.
To commission your choice and watch it being designed, join as a patron today! The memberships start at $30, and if the commission is not met by March 31st, you get a full refund. Click the button below for the standard membership, or review the Senior Patron memberships after the poll. As a standard member you receive:
Poll #918685 Open Design 3 Public Straw Poll
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All
Senior Patron of the Arts
This is the inside track, with access to the manuscript, art sketches, maps, and commentary and Q&A not available with the standard membership. I'd recommend a minimum $75 donation. There is no upper limit. You gain all the standard privileges listed above, plus:
For those donating $100 or more, the following additional perks of patronage:
Here are the three possible projects; vote for your favorite below, then donate to watch the design unfold.
The Black Prince
EDIT: Removed, did not win enough donations and support from patrons. Down to two!
The City-State of Zobeck: All Levels of Play
EDIT: Removed, did not win enough donations and support from patrons. Down to just one!
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, survive, and destroy the ghoul empire at its heart.
Probably at least 60,000 words long, "Empire" will take a minimum five months to write.
To commission your choice and watch it being designed, join as a patron today! The memberships start at $30, and if the commission is not met by March 31st, you get a full refund. Click the button below for the standard membership, or review the Senior Patron memberships after the poll.
- The complete adventure written with your influence, delivered as a PDF, plus all updates and errata.
- Access to private posts discussing the design.
- You influence the design from outline to final form, with polls and comments.
- Read in-depth design essays on topics chosen by patrons.
- The adventure will not be sold to the public.
Poll #918685 Open Design 3 Public Straw Poll
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All
The next Open Design project should be....
View Answers
The Black Prince![]()
![]()
16 (13.6%)
The City-State of Zobeck![]()
![]()
36 (30.5%)
The Empire of the Ghouls![]()
![]()
51 (43.2%)
The Gates of Mal![]()
![]()
10 (8.5%)
Gah! I can't decide!![]()
![]()
1 (0.8%)
None of the above.![]()
![]()
4 (3.4%)
Senior Patron of the Arts
This is the inside track, with access to the manuscript, art sketches, maps, and commentary and Q&A not available with the standard membership. I'd recommend a minimum $75 donation. There is no upper limit.
- Acknowledgment in the credits
- Direct access to the project manuscript
- Access to design Q&A sessions
- Ability to suggest design essay topics
- Review sketches, art, maps, handouts, and other graphic elements
For those donating $100 or more, the following additional perks of patronage:
- A private game in Seattle
- An in-person or online chat about your own adventures or game designs
- A prominent listing in the project dedication and credits
- Suggest a concept for Open Design #4: your pitch may become the next Open Design!


Comments
Bulette
But hey, nothing wrong with changing your mind!
Do new patrons get access to all the gaming essays and advice that you have written to date during the production of the 3 projects that you have made? Or is it only the essays that you write on this project?
Olaf the Stout
I voted for it, having already used Mâl in my game.
Worst case, I have to change some names around.
Love your icon, btw. Is there a thumbs-up version as well?
It would have an additional advantage (compared to the other projects) for Open Design: There's always room for a follow-up, like new regional sourcebook (many interesting neighbours!) or adventures set in this world.
Granted, you could do sequels for "The Gates of Mâl" as well, but in a new campaign world there's more elbow-room, more possibilities, more everything! (c:
[whispers to himself] "...maybe he'll write something connecting Zobeck to Spelljammer!" *g*
Daniel
Mr. Grubb has been a patron of the first two projects, and I'll certainly ask him for a guest post for the third one, the way Mr. Greenwood and others have done in the past.
Oh heck yes!
I played a lot of Spelljammer in college (nice change from being the DM for Greyhawk and Al-Qadim). I have absolutely no idea how the Ghoul Empire would fit into the SJ cosmology, but it might be fun to try. Most of Ghouls will be a lot more traditional fantasy, though.
Do senior patrons get a the printed copy of the POD version as part of their sponsorship, or is that separate?
Will you be tying the Empire of the Ghouls together with your previous Greyhawk-based ghoul adventures?
Thanks!
Allan.
The core idea behind the two adventures is the same, but of course I don't have any rights to the Greyhawk setting. So, I can't tie them together explicitly. Shouldn't be tough to do, though. "Empire" could be considered to advance the timeline of "Kingdoms", or be a deeper, more dangerous region of ghoul conquest.
Allan
For Ghouls, it'll be slightly more expensive than the price I quoted you for Shadowcrag, because Ghouls will have a higher page count. At a guess, I'd say somewhere around $8 plus shipping for a B&W interior. Note that the cost is set by lulu.com, and so I have limited insight into what they'll charge when it's ready.
Allan.
If I did the $30 initially, can I upgrade later?