Voidheart Symphony: Looking for writers!

Hey folks!

First, the big news: I’ve just uploaded a new version of Voidheart Symphony. Version 0.3 tightens the system by which rebels gain and lose points in covenants, as well as giving incentives to raid the castle to improve your mundane life. It also makes the wound system simpler, removing harm so that every blow moves the fiction along. Go check it out!

Secondly, I’m looking for more people to write for the book. It’s a game about resistance to structural oppression and prejudice, so it really deserves more than one person’s perspective on the book. If you’re interested, here’s the details:

How to Apply

I’m looking to hire writers to provide pieces in three general categories (see below). If any of those categories appeal to you, send an email to jay@ufopress.co.uk with the subject line ‘Voidheart Writing – [your name]’ and your pitch(es). You’re welcome to send in as many pitches as you like, and I’d appreciate also knowing any prior writing credits you have, if any. Application deadline is October 20th.

I don’t believe in asking for spec work, and I don’t want to privilege people who have the money and free time to write extensively without being paid – to that end, I’d ask that you please keep each individual pitch to 75 words or below.

If you have a pitch for writing that doesn’t fit any of these three categories, feel free to include it! Just make it clear in your pitch email that it’s a separate thing.

Payment

Each piece of work will pay at a rate of £0.10/word, to an agreed-upon word count. Half of the money will be paid upon receipt of first draft, half upon receipt of the final draft.

Work Categories

We’re looking for write-ups of three things:

Contacts

A friendly NPC for the players to make contact with, work with, and bring into their revolution. About 300 words. Covered in the book PDF – p. 68-91. Important details to cover:

An arcanum.
Description of the character and their life.
Ideas for how they can help the rebellion.
How the castle can cause trouble for them.

Here’s an example.

Vassals

The antagonists that the rebels will be fighting against. About 500 words. Covered in the book PDF – p. 98-100. Important details to cover:

Mundane role: The position of power they’re in, and how they’re actively making the world worse.
Drive: Their core motivation and impulse – why they accepted the castle’s power to begin with.
Plan: What they’ll do if they’re able to fully channel the castle’s power.
Tier: How important they are in the castle’s hierarchy, and how they’ve used its power to gain and empower minions in the waking world.
Reveal: How they can become involved in the rebel’s lives.
Shard aesthetics: What their shard of the castle looks like. Its halls, its minions, its treasures.
Qualities: What they can do in a fight. I’m happy to collaborate on this with you – the basic requirement is three clear ideas of strengths they can bring to bear.