Winter 2022 Issue Closed!
Call for Submissions (Spring 2023 Issue) Open!
Maze Magazine
Maze Magazine is the debut periodical publication from PanicNot!
It is aimed at nurturing and empowering TTRPG creators of Indian origin and habitation.
We hope to accomplish this by publishing a quarterly magazine that features work from the most talented TTRPG writers, artists, and designers in and from India.
Our other goals with this magazine include:
- Publishing new and original work from Indian writers for a global TTRPG market.
- Working with TTRPG creators to improve their craft and help enthusiasts find professional opportunities.
- Representing the diversity of Indian cultures and imaginations within the TTRPG medium.
- Introducing authentic voices and perspectives from the Indian TTRPG community.
- Ensuring fairness and transparency in the ownership and remuneration for creative work.
For Adventure Writers
Category: Adventures
Recommended Gaming Systems: Agnostic/Generic, Blades in the Dark, d20, CoC 7e, Cortex, D&D 5e, Fate, PFRPG, PbtA, Lancer, Savage Worlds and Shadowrun.
Please note:
- We prioritize content that Game Masters (GMs) can run at their tables instead of experimental materials.
- We prioritize content that engages and delights both players and GMs equally.
- We recommend that writers think in terms of what best serves their audience’s interests when choosing a game system for their adventure.
- We recommend writing for a game systems you know and understand reasonably well.
- The top 3 TTRPG systems right now are D&D 5e, PFRPG, and Savage Worlds.
- All entries must conform to our content guidelines (at the end).
We’re looking for:
- long-format adventures i.e. ~8000 words.
- short-format adventures i.e. ~3500-4000 words.
Submission Format
All submissions should include the following:
- Top Left Header: Name, email address, contact number
- Top Right Header: Total word count
- Bottom Left Footer: Game system name
- Bottom Right Footer: Play tier (Low/Mid/High)
Cover page with the following information structure:
[Title of Adventure/Module] – A [Game System Name] adventure for [Tier/Level] Characters by [Author Name]
Blurb/summary of the adventure module e.g. The promises of glory and the chance of riches draw you to Blasingdell, a small village near the infamous Stone Tooth. Within the rocky mountain lay the dwarven stronghold Khundrukar and the fabled Forge of Fury, to which a chance encounter provides you with the location of a hitherto unknown entrance. Are you brave enough to explore this mystery? Will it lead to wealth or doom?
(from https://www.dmsguild.com/product/209228/DDAL0601-A-Thousand-Tiny-Deaths-5e)
Every submission should be a Microsoft Word or RTF file with:
- 1-inch margins
- Minimum 11-point font
- Calibri (Body) typeface
- Page numbers at the bottom right
Ensure that all tables are numbered and named i.e. Table X: Table Name.
Any in-text reference should be to the table number, avoid phrases like “table below”, etc.
Supporting materials (NPC/monster stat blocks, spells, weapons, and items) should be formatted in the style of the game system. E.g. refer to 5e SRD for D&D Fifth Edition and Paizo style for PFRPG.
File name should be formatted as follows:
[MAZEMAG]_[ADVENTURE MODULE]_<TITLE OF WORK>_<AUTHOR NAME>_YYYYMMDD.<extension>
e.g. “MAZEMAG_ADVENTURE MODULE_THE CAVES OF WONDER_RUMI GUPTA_20220204.docx”
Please include a separate page with a 100-word writer bio.
Need help writing your adventure?
Writing a TTRPG adventure of any size can be a challenging task. For many Indian writers, this is a unique experience; and being something they’ve never done before, it raises many questions.
With this in mind, PanicNot! is offering a Milestone Writing Workshop that providers writers with a regularly scheduled, feedback-driven process from our editorial team. Due to the limitation of time and resources, this workshop is designed mainly to help writers develop an 8000-word adventure for D&D 5e, PFRPG, and Savage Worlds systems.
Over the course of the Milestone Process, writers may also be be:
- Invited to participate in writing workshops aimed for TTRPG adventure writing.
- Invited to act as play-testers, reviewers, and beta-readers for each other’s work at later stages.
- Invited to skill development sessions, group activities and events to help improve the quality of their work.
The milestones (MS) are as follows:
- MS 1 – Workshop Entry:
Submit a ~2,000-word outline/summary of your adventure by 23 December 2022. This should include a clear outline of the adventure that includes a brief summary, adventure hook, unique characters/items/monsters, encounters, and story resolution. Based on this submission, a longlist of workshop writers will be declared. Writers not selected for the workshop will receive a brief feedback note and be invited to try again for the Summer 2023 issue. All entries must conform to our content guidelines (at the end).
Send your work to: [email protected]Subject line should read – WORKSHOP SUBMISSION – [ADVENTURE TITLE] – SPRING 2023 - MS 2 – Feedback:
Writers receive detailed editorial feedback notes soon after. There may be one-on-one or group meetings via Discord to help writers integrate the feedback into their revised draft. All such meetings will be coordinated on the weekends at a mutually agreeable time with the participants. - MS 5 – Final Submission:
Writers can submit either their final 4500-word or 8000-word manuscript within 2 weeks of their last feedback session.
Please note:
- The Milestone Writing Workshop is a FREE and VOLUNTARY option.
- All workshop dates are tentative and subject to change.
- Quality of your final deliverable will be the ultimate basis for publication.
For Artists
Category: Art, Maps, and Illustrated stories
We are looking for the following kind of artwork for the current issue:
- “Cover Art” and “Splash Pages”, which help bring to life the imaginative worlds and characters found in popular TTRPGs
- Playable maps that are beautiful, immersive, and can be used in print or with virtual table-tops by TTRPG groups
- Cartographic artworks that showcase new worlds and settings
- Visual stories i.e. comic strips and storytelling scenes
- All entries must conform to our content guidelines (at the end)
Artists with the above repertoire can share a link to their online portfolio or samples of their works (up to 5 pieces).
Selected artists will have the choice of submitting individual artwork or participating in adventure collaborations with writers.
Rolling submission.
Submission Format:
Once selected, we will request submissions for publication. These submissions can be low-res and/or with a watermark if you choose, as long as it doesn’t obscure the quality of the work.
The final submissions need to be:
- In a lossless format like PNG or TIF
- 150-300DPI resolution
- 12-inch by 8.5-inch size
- Bordered in a 1-inch trim margin
Please note the following:
- Cover Art will have text overlay in the Header and Footer. Please keep this in mind when developing the layout of your final work.
- Landscape artwork is preferred (but not mandatory) for Cover Art as it can be used as wrap-around cover for the magazine. In these cases, the right-half of the landscape would be the magazine cover.
File name should be formatted as follows:
[MAZEMAG]_[SUBMISSION TYPE]_<TITLE OF WORK>_<AUTHOR NAME>_YYYYMMDD.<extension>
e.g. “MAZEMAG_MAP_DJINN LAIR_RUMI GUPTA_20220204.png”
Submission types include but are not limited to: character art, landscape scenes, battle and art maps, monster art, comic stories, etc.
Please include a separate page with a 100-word artist bio. You can also include an optional caption/description about the art in ~100 words.
For Game Designers
Category: Game mechanics, systems, and theory
We are interested in any ideas and gaming content that enhances the TTRPG experience. This includes:
- Alternative gameplay rules (for any one system | single rules document | ~2000-3000 words per submission)
- New character options (class/subclass/race/background | no more than 3 options | ~1000-1500 words per submission)
- New monsters and mechanics (stat blocks, background, and tactics | no more than 3 options | ~1500-2000 words per submission)
- New items and spells (include brief history and write up with stats | no more than 5 options | ~500-1000 words per submission)
- New rules expansions (for any one system | single rules document | ~1000-2000 words per submission)
- One-page RPGs (original creation or within an OGL remix | no more than 3 options | ~1000-2000 words per submission)
- System-agnostic content (in-world factions, historical effects/consequences, and general strategy | ~2000-5000 words per submission)
- GM support material (rollable tables, curses, puzzles, riddles, traps/hazards with lore, history, and mechanics where relevant | no more than 5 options | ~500-1000 words per submission)
- GM advice (system-agnostic or for any one system | ~2000-4000 words per submission)
- Essays on game design (~1000-2000 words per submission)
- Epic lore that can be used across settings and is system agnostic (~2000-5000 words per submission)
All entries must conform to our content guidelines (at the end).
Rolling submission.
Submission Format:
Every submission should be a Word or RTF file with:
- 1-inch margins
- Minimum 11-point font
- Calibri (Body) typeface
- Page numbers on the bottom right
All submissions should include a cover page with the following information:
- Top Left Header: Name, email address, contact number
- Top Right Header: Total word count
- Bottom Left Footer: Game system name
- Bottom Right Footer: Play tier (Low/Mid/High)
Ensure that all tables are numbered and named i.e. Table X: Table Name.
Any in-text reference should be to table number, avoid phrases like “table below”, etc.
Supporting materials (NPC/monster stat blocks, spells, weapons, and items) should be formatted in the style of the game system. E.g. refer to 5e SRD for D&D Fifth Edition and Paizo style for PFRPG.
File name should be formatted as follows:
[MAZEMAG]_[SUBMISSION TYPE]_<TITLE OF WORK>_<AUTHOR NAME>_YYYYMMDD.<extension>
e.g. “MAZEMAG_5e MECHANIC_DJINN COMBAT STRATEGY_RUMI GUPTA_20220131.docx”
Submission types include (but aren’t limited to): NPC/Monster stat blocks, magic items, weapons, NPC backstories, class, sub-class, race, ancestry, spells, curses, theory essay, rule mechanics, gameplay mechanics, monster tactics, GM guides, etc.
Please include a separate page with your creator bio in under 100 words.
Content Guidelines
Carefully review the below guidelines before submitting any work. Please ensure that any work submitted DOES NOT feature:
- Depictions of rape or sexual assault (explicit details on what this includes can be found here – RAINN).
- Depictions of gratuitous violence and sexually explicit acts.
- Artwork with full or partial nudity, mutilation and gore, or any visualization of extreme violence.
- Suggestive and sexual themes involving protected classes of people such as children and minors.
- Discrimination or bigotry against any class of people – based on sex, gender, race, sexual orientation, caste, profession, and religion.
- Direct mention of any real-world persons or politics. Well-crafted satire and parody are welcome.
- Plagiarised content and materials that violate any laws, copyright, trademark, and other rights.
- Content that is incomplete or published previously or has been simultaneously submitted for consideration in another magazine.
Please include a “Content Warning” if your work necessitates the use of adult content with mature or divisive themes. Readers of your content expect your treatment of such themes to be respectful and considerate.
Please use this resource to help you determine which content warning should be used:
https://adancewithbooks.wordpress.com/2019/09/22/a-small-list-of-trigger-warnings-you-can-use/
Review Your License Before Submitting
Ensure your work respects the Product Identity of your chosen TTRPG system and is covered by the Open Game License (OGL) or equivalent for whichever system you choose.
For example, only original content by the writer and permissible materials from the D&D 5e SRD can be used when developing an adventure module for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition system.
Rule of thumb: does your work meet the Content Guidelines for DriveThruRPG?
In case our editorial team discovers any violations of the Content Guidelines or the Licensing requirements, we’ll make an effort in good faith to inform creators of the same. In such cases, creators can choose to take remedial action and resubmit their work. In event of these changes causing a delay in our publishing schedule, we’ll roll over the entry for the next publication with the creator’s approval.
Please note, these guidelines are a work in progress and may be revised over time to better reflect the preferences of our readers and the values of our community.
Ownership Rights and Payments
Your Rights
- By submitting your work, you grant us first exclusive worldwide serial rights, first electronic rights, non-exclusive anthology rights, and non-exclusive archival rights. However, all rights revert to you after publication.
- You grant us non-exclusive perpetual commercial and non-commercial rights to use your material in future publications, website, compilations, future anthologies, and for general marketing purposes to promote sales.
- You grant us the right to make reasonable editorial changes to the material for publication purposes as may be necessary.
- For a clearer understanding of these rights please refer to the following links: http://neil-clarke.com/first-rights/ | https://www.pw.org/content/copyright
- In case the submitted work is subsequently published elsewhere, the copyright should mention “First published by PanicNot! in Maze Magazine in 2023”.
- You can withdraw your submission prior to 28 February 2023.
Simply put: We are acquiring publishing rights to your submission in its physical and electronic versions for Maze Magazine. You can publish your submission elsewhere only after 180 days from the date of its publication in Maze Magazine. After that time, your submission can be reprinted anywhere else, in any format.
Your Payments
- PanicNot! believes in fairness and transparency for creator remuneration.
- We offer a royalty share model for any commercial publication of your work.
- We offer a lifetime net royalty split of X% per submission published.
- To illustrate: Net royalty = Gross Revenue – Platform fees.
To elaborate: If the magazine grosses INR 100/- in revenue and the platform fee is INR 30/-, then your percentage share comes from the difference i.e. INR 70/-, split equally between publisher and creators. - Creators who qualify for publishing and royalty share will need to make adequate digital arrangements to receive their funds. This may involve making an account on DriveThruRGP.com, having a PayPal account, or whatever the prevailing circumstances may require. All reasonable attempts will be made to help creators in this regard.
All creators will be entitled to a transparent sales report for any Maze Magazine issue for which you have a royalty share. For issues sold via DriveThruRPG, you will automatically receive a system-generated report with all sales and splits in which you are a participant. Other mediums of publication will follow similar methods which will be intimated in due course.