Since the first announcement appeared in
DRAGON® Magazine #81 that we were
searching for ?a few good modules,? several
hundred letters with new module ideas have
appeared in our mailbox. Having looked
them over in some detail, we can now give
more information on what we are (and
aren?t) looking for.

First of all, we are expanding the scope of
the module hunt to include module ideas for
game systems produced by TSR, Inc.,
other than the ADVANCED DUNGEONS
& DRAGONS® and TOP SECRET®
games. We are also looking for module
ideas for the GAMMA WORLD®, STAR
FRONTIERS®, GANGBUSTERS?,
BOOT HILL®, and DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS® games. We will also consider
submissions for the DRAGONQUEST?
and UNIVERSE? games.

Second, some ground rules: Any module
published in DRAGON Magazine becomes
the sole property of DRAGON Magazine
and TSR, Inc., upon payment to the author
for the purchase of all publication rights.
Payments are mailed within 30 days after
publication, at a basic rate of $45-50 per
printed page of text. We pay extra, at stan-
dard rates, for maps, artwork, and other
graphics materials supplied by the author
that are published; however, in almost all
cases the submitted maps and artwork will
be redone by a staff artist.

We strongly recommend that you enclose
a large, self-addressed stamped envelope
with a module submission, so the manu-
script can be returned to you if it is unsuit-
able or needs revision. If you don?t want the
manuscript returned, tell us so, and we will
simply discard the submission if it?s unsuit-
able. A photocopied manuscript is okay, but
we will not consider a submission that has
been simultaneously sent to another publi-
cation. We cannot assume responsibility for
the safe delivery of a manuscript, or for its
safekeeping while it is in our possession, so
it?s always best to keep at least one copy of
whatever you send.

How we make decisions
Some of our judgment about the potential
of a module idea is based on the way the
idea is presented in the letter of inquiry that
we receive. If it appears that the writer has
a lot of difficulty with spelling and gram-
mar, we usually turn down the idea. If the
letter is typed neatly (by typewriter or word
processor), and if we find few or no gram-
mar or spelling errors, we examine the idea
itself much more closely. Handwritten let-
ters of inquiry are acceptable, but should be
easily readable.

The presentation of the module idea is a
major factor in our decision. We have dis-
missed some ideas because the writer didn?t
say enough about what the module in-
volves. Sometimes a writer tries to tempt us
into asking for more information on a mod-
ule idea by presenting us with only a few
hints about what the adventure involves.
This won?t get you anywhere. Don?t be
vague; in your initial letter, give us a com-
plete description of your module idea, tell-
ing us what character types the module is
designed for (levels, classes, races, etc.);
what type of adventure is involved (dun-
geon, wilderness, oceanic, cross-planar, or
some other); what opponents the characters
will face; what treasures might be gained;
and some details on how the adventure is
developed and how it is expected to pro-
gress. We need to know everything, in
general terms, before we can tell you
whether to proceed with a manuscript.

What we don't want
We don?t want modules in which the
characters must kill gods, destroy planets or
cities, or gain unreasonably powerful magi-
cal or technological treasures that would
throw campaign balance out the window.
We also avoid adventures in which charac-
ters are given a  deus ex machina,  which is a
fancy Latin phrase meaning, roughly, ?an
enormous amount of unexpected help.? It is
bad form to have deities, high-level mages,
powerful aliens, and the like step into an
adventure to help out characters whenever
the designer thinks they might need it.

We don?t want a module that is meant to
run in several consecutive parts. We?re
looking for adventures that will fit within
one issue of DRAGON® Magazine, using
between 8 and 16 pages for text, maps, and
artwork. A typed manuscript of 25 pages is
probably too short; 60 pages is probably too
long.

We don?t want a randomly laid-out dun-
geon in which orcs inhabit rooms next to
elves, with 1-4 dragons down the hallway.
Encounters in a module should be carefully
selected so that they make sense; there
should be a reason why the orcs are stand-
ing where they are and doing what they?re
doing. In the same vein, we don?t want
illogical adventures in which paladins know-
ingly travel with assassins, agents carry
atomic bomb ink pens, or the party must
fight "evil" druids.

We cannot use an adventure that takes
place in someone else?s fantasy universe
(Gary Gygax?s Greyhawk campaign,
Robert Asprin?s city of Sanctuary, and
Tolkien?s Middle Earth, for example). Ad-
ventures we?re interested in are those that
can be placed in anyone?s game campaign.
This makes a module usable by anyone who
plays the game for which it was designed.

Certain themes have been used, and
sometimes often repeated, in role-playing
adventures, and should be avoided in a
module submission. In particular, a module
should not resemble or duplicate a previ-
ously published adventure; we have a large
number of letters describing modules in
which characters must fight pirates who
have joined forces with dragon turtles,
investigate cities with kidnapping or spy
rings, attack orc-held citadels with ancient
buried artifacts beneath them, defeat drow
elves who are manipulating other races for
evil purposes, enter buildings that rise and
fall into the earth periodically, or invade a
demi-lich?s tomb or vampire?s castle. Astute
readers will note that these scenarios closely
resemble modules produced by TSR, Inc.,
or adventures that have appeared in
DRAGON Magazine. Granted, nothing
can be completely original, but it is very
important to make your module different
from what has come before it.

Avoid touchy, offensive topics. Material
that we consider to be in bad taste due to
racial, sexual, religious, or cultural refer-
ences will be dumped. In ?modern? role-
playing games such as the TOP SECRET
or GANGBUSTERS game, this will be an
especially important factor. It is fine to have
adventures take place in foreign countries,
with references to the local cultures and
customs, but avoid modules in which, for
example, secret agents must find an H-
bomb hidden in London by Irish terrorists,
or in which Olympic athletes are being
threatened. Use your good sense and tact.

What we do want
Many adventuring environments have
not been fully explored in role-playing
games. In the AD&D® and D&D® games,
cross-planar travel, seagoing and undersea
adventuring, and arctic adventuring (to
name a few) have barely been scratched. In
the GANGBUSTERS game, not all adven-
tures must take place in Lakefront City.
The stones left unturned in GAMMA
WORLD and STAR FRONTIERS adven-
turing are beyond number, and even the
BOOT HILL game has unexplored possi-
bilities. Adventures that broaden the gam-
ing environment and open up new places
for characters to go are highly prized.

Modules that present new equipment,
new magical or technological items, or new
monsters, aliens, or secret organizations for
characters to interact with are also valuable,
but less so than those that present new
environments. Avoid introducing too many
new items in an adventure, so that the story
becomes an excuse for the objects in it to
exist. The adventure is what counts.

Module presentation
We want manuscripts from people who
can type or who can use a word processor;
writers who can do neither must find some-
one to type up the final manuscript before it
is submitted to us. We will not accept hand-
written manuscripts.

If you care enough to submit a module to
us, you should also try to have the material
looked over by at least one other person,
preferably someone with a good grasp of
English grammar. We don?t insist that the
manuscripts we receive be perfect, but your
idea will get a better reception from us if
you haven?t written ?there? when you
meant to write ?their,? for example. The
module you send to us should be typed or
printed out, double-spaced, on plain white
paper (one side only). All charts, drawings,
diagrams, and the like should be drawn
carefully in ink, and should be carefully
labeled and checked against the module text
to make sure that all the places listed are
explained and nothing?s been forgotten.
Small handwritten corrections can be made
on the maps or manuscript sheets (crossing
out a misspelled word or adding a short
phrase), if the changes are legible.

The following three guidelines are the
ones we consider most important when we
evaluate the content of a module:

1) The manuscript should not break, or
even stretch, any of the rules of the game
for which it was written. ?Rules,? in this
case, means the basic structure of the game
system (combat tables, character abilities,
movement procedures, and so forth) ? not
accessory material such as specific monsters
or magic items. You can use a new or modi-
fied monster or magic item in your module,
but we won?t accept an adventure con-
structed around an entirely new system for
conducting melee combat, for instance,
unless it is absolutely necessary in the con-
text of the adventure. For example, the
Astral Plane article and module in
DRAGON issue #67 set forth a new system
for movement based on the intelligence of
the characters; this was necessary because of
the nature of the astral environment.

2) Logic, consistency, and compliance
with the intent of the game system are all
related, and all important. No manuscript
will be accepted that does not possess all of
these qualities. This parallels the comments
above concerning "illogical" adventures.
Modules that give magic items to STAR
FRONTIERS crewmen, laser pistols to
BOOT HILL gunfighters, or that feature
giant meteors crashing into Lakefront City
should generally be avoided. Granted, it
may be possible to get away with something
like the above on a very limited basis, but
we are not likely to accept this kind of idea.

3) Also important is technical quality ?
writing style and ability. Be clear, and use
your best grammar and spelling. We can
forgive a few spelling errors, but not dozens
of them, and not when they are found in
sentences like, ?The evil wizzard will throw
his Confused spel at the players an there
henchman if they attak the littel warerat
that he was frends of.? You get the idea. If
we have to do major surgery on a module
before we can publish it . . . we won?t.