Hello Inchoates,

In February of '08 yours unruly, Gruesom Grimp, and the death metal sensations A Band of Orcs are co-sponsoring the Total Confusion gaming convention in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

If you're inclined to write adventures and attend conventions, then here's your chance to do both and win A Band of Orcs' merchandise along with 2 Free Passes to Total Confusion happening

FEBRUARY 21-24, 2008
HOLIDAY INN
31 Hampshire St.
Mansfield, MA 02048
508-339-2200

The Contest

Here's the way in which you must appease your Grimperor in order to win free passes to Total Confusion.

You Encounter…

…A Band of Orcs.

That's right. Write a short d20 encounter featuring A Band of Orcs. Your encounter must feature a war band of orcs of your creation. But you must feature such a group of orcs worthy of our attention and praise.

I leave most of the details to you. The encounter and challenge levels can be whatever strikes your fancy. Your encounter must contain
(1) stats and a brief description of the orcs--in a way that glorifies the orcs' savageness, ferocity and strength, if you know what's good for you;

(2) a pet of some kind (e.g., wolves that the orcs ride or giant centipedes or whatever); and

(3) an overlord who acts as the brains of the operation (much like yours unruly, or a wizard, or something!).

Do NOT use A Band of Orcs the death metal band in your submission, as the characters and images associated with those ugly mugs must remain the copyright and trademark of Grimpire Entertainment and A Band of Orcs.

Your encounter should be 3 – 6 pages.

I don't want an entire adventure scenario. The encounter should be able to run in one session, and it should be detailed enough that a GM can run it without much tweaking, but not so detailed that he/she can't adapt it to the adventure at hand.

The Rules

In order to be considered for this contest, you must submit your encounter to me at info@abandoforcs.com  by January 21st, 2008 in word or PDF format, or as the text of email.

As I intend to publish the winner and runners-up on A Band of Orcs' website and Myspace pages, we will be taking advantage of the Open Gaming License and the d20 system provided by Wizards of the Coast. Your submission must adhere to Wizard's of the Coast open gaming license rules which you can find here.

Open Gaming License: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/welcome

This means, for example, that any creatures encountered must be YOUR unique creation, or found on the list of published monsters allowed under the Open Gaming License in the System Reference Documents, which you can find HERE. This also applies to magic items and the like.

If your write up does not adhere to the open gaming license rules, your submission will get tossed into the Pit of Gzoroth, wherein I suspect his fiery breath will burn it to cinders and you will not be eligible for anything save a flogging.

Your work must also be YOUR OWN.

If you are chosen as a finalist, you will be asked to sign a release stating that the encounter you have created is entirely your own work and does not plagiarize any previously published scenarios, nor violate any publisher's copyright. You must also make sure you return said form by the time I announce the winner on A Band of Orcs' website on February 1st, or we will choose an alternative winner that is more compliant with my wishes.

Also, by submitting your encounter to A Band of Orcs you understand and agree that it [i.e., the written text] becomes the sole property of A Band of Orcs and Grimpire Entertainment to use in whatever way yours unruly sees fit. We're gonna make you sign that form too.

The Judging

The denizens of the oRc ToweR dungeons will sift through the reams and reams of submissions you send us to choose their three favorite encounters, for which they will then seek my approval. If I deem them worthy, yours unruly will summon the restless spirits of the poor group of gamers whom the oRcs destroyed when they first came through to your puny human realm to become the death metal sensation of the century. (Read that story HERE).

This ghostly group will play through each scenario and choose the first, second, and third place winners based on the three criteria of (1) Creativity, (2) Brutality, and (3) Fun!

Keep in mind that faulty spelling, formatting, and grammar annoy the Hellion and she will certainly feed your submission to the great Gzoroth if it suffers from any of these ailments (this rule does not apply to yours unruly, because I am the Grimperor). Be sure your entry is intelligible to our prisoners, who are already quite peeved at being in shackles and inclined to bad humors.

The Prizes

1st Place – the winner will receive 2 passes to Total Confusion 2008, an A Band of Orcs' t-shirt of your choice; a limited-edition-numbered print signed by official A Band of Orcs' artist Chuck Lukacs (Visit his webpage HERE to see his work), a free A Band of Orcs bumper sticker, and an autographed "WarChiefs of the Apocalypse" poster and CD.

2nd Place--the runner up will receive a limited-edition-numbered print signed by official A Band of Orcs' artist Chuck Lukacs, a free bumper sticker, and an autographed "WarChiefs of the Apocalypse" poster and CD.

3rd Place – the second runner up will receive a free bumper sticker, an autographed "WarChiefs of the Apocalypse" poster and an autographed "WarChiefs of the Apocalypse" CD.

All three placers shall be immortalized on A Band of Orcs' official website and in the annals of oRc history.

Keep in mind that neither the band nor the Grimp can teleport, nor pay some Mage to teleport, you to the event. Thus, you must arrange your own transportation and accommodations.

Event Details

Total Confusion will feature four days of fun role-playing, miniatures gaming, board games, clix, LARPs and a young players' game area.

This Con will also feature a full dealer hall where you can check out the booths of game stores, game companies and fantasy artists. In addition there will be a movie theater, a video game room, and several tournaments running at the event.

Total Confusion takes place at the Holiday Inn located at 31 Hampshire Street in Mansfield, MA with room rates starting at just $79 with hotel code TCN. You can contact them at this number to make sleeping arrangements. 508-339-2200

If you'd like to purchase passes for Total Confusion Pre-resgistration is $30 plus a ticket fee of $3 per event for 4 days of intense game action with a huge selection of events! Generic tickets are sold for flexibility of gaming options but it is highly suggested that you buy specific event tickets for the games you want to play to secure your spot at the table.

At the door price is $40 plus ticket fee of $3 per event.

Kids 16 and under can register for half-price.

Per day pricing and special event pricing information can be found at the Total Confusion official website.

WWW.TOTALCON.COM

If you have any specific questions about the event, you can contact the promoters at

TOTAL CONFUSION LLC,
PO BOX 70585,
WORCESTER, MA 01607

603-644-0437
TRUTHFROMCHAOS@TOTALCON.COM

*'d20 System' and the d20 System logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the United States and other countries and are used with permission.