The Final Breath-Studies of the Murderous Mind
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:15 pm
Hello all, a few years ago I started a thread about the idea of putting a bunch of murders into a netbook. There was some interest then personal events caused me to fall off the face of the planet (not really but close enough) and I kind of let this project slip by.
Well here I am again, but this time I have a gazillion times more experience in writing, editing and other useful things for a netbook. I also have a firmer idea about the project and a deep desire to see this through.
The Concept
The final Breath-Studies of the Murderous Mind is a book written by one Dr. Reginald Deveroux. Dr. Deveroux is an alienest who has made his life works studying not only murder, but the reasons it happens and those who commit these heinous crimes. In searching for answers he has collected a large amount of case studies that he writes about in his book.
Orginization
The book will be broken into the following chapters
Introduction- This will of course be Dr. Deveroux's introduction to the book. Why it was written and what its purpose is.
Chapter 1- The Anatomy of murder- This chapter will discuss the overall concept of murder and give some insight into his fledgling explorations into profiling.
Chapter 2- Murders of passion-This chapter will discuss people who murder out of passion. This will cover Rage killers and the like.
Chapter 3-Spree Murders- this chapter will concern itself with not only spree killings, but their perpetrator's and his own comments about what makes a spree killer tick.
Chapter 4-The Serial Killer-I will change the title of this chapter as soon as I can remember a better term. However, its contents will be pretty self explanatory.
Chapter 5-The Killer and the supernatural-This will discuss the effects of the supernatrual on killers. This will be where a lot of Ravenloft style mechanics will be found to help DM's build memorable killer villains.
Chapter 6-Catching a Killer-This will be a chapter devoted to giving the Players new feats, prestige classes, equipments and rules for use in the
Ravenloft campaigns.
Chapter 7-Who's Doomed-This will be where NPC killers and other such people will be detailed out.
Chapter 8-The killer Campaign-While the pun can be kind of fun this will see a title change as well most likely. THis chapter will aid a DM in running a campaign based on one or more killers. Also if possible I would like to include an adventure as well.
SYSTEM
While I would love to 4E this thing, the fact that wizards seems to be a bit confused about its GSL and Fansite policy means we will be using 3.5 rules.
What you can do to help
Basically the following things are needed.
Case histories: A detailed account of a murder. Try to use archtypes but don't limit your creativity. Feel free to consider monsters from the DOD and other sources as well. Once a case history is written we will discuss how it will be included. It can be in the form of a series of letters between the good doctor and the perpetrator, a police report or even an autobiographical account. Be creative as you want, but keep it both well written and pertinent.
New Mechanics: There are a bunch of you who love coming up with new concepts and mechanics. Feel free to send them in. Try to keep them focused on the subject and try to include some fluff as well.
chapter 8: This will probably take collaboration to the nth degree but if someone wants to tackle this or submit an adventure it would be appreciated.
A good editor-I can edit stuff but I would appreciate any help someone is willing to offer in this regard.
A good formatter-I don't know how to format something in PDF so I would love it if someone would be willing to help me learn how too do this.
What you will get
First you will help provide the community with another source for inspiration. One of the best ways to keep our beloved setting alive (undead?) is to release new and fresh material. The fraternity has done a wonderful job of doing this, but they are only a few people. It is up to us, the community to help out and give new blood once in a while.
Second, you will get full credit for any contribution you make. Many of you are aspiring writers, and as a full time free lance writer I know the value of a strong portfolio. While you can't point to this project as one you were paid for, you can still use it to show people take your writing seriously.
Finally, you will get the satisfaction of a job well done.
Submission guidelines
The first step if you are interested is to query me via the boards, PM, or email.
Once I receive your query I will comment on the idea and then ask for a full write up. Once the write up is roughed out I will throw a bit of an edit and send it back. We will go back and forth until the product is up to snuff (should be pretty quick) then included in the book.
I look forward to your submissions.
Well here I am again, but this time I have a gazillion times more experience in writing, editing and other useful things for a netbook. I also have a firmer idea about the project and a deep desire to see this through.
The Concept
The final Breath-Studies of the Murderous Mind is a book written by one Dr. Reginald Deveroux. Dr. Deveroux is an alienest who has made his life works studying not only murder, but the reasons it happens and those who commit these heinous crimes. In searching for answers he has collected a large amount of case studies that he writes about in his book.
Orginization
The book will be broken into the following chapters
Introduction- This will of course be Dr. Deveroux's introduction to the book. Why it was written and what its purpose is.
Chapter 1- The Anatomy of murder- This chapter will discuss the overall concept of murder and give some insight into his fledgling explorations into profiling.
Chapter 2- Murders of passion-This chapter will discuss people who murder out of passion. This will cover Rage killers and the like.
Chapter 3-Spree Murders- this chapter will concern itself with not only spree killings, but their perpetrator's and his own comments about what makes a spree killer tick.
Chapter 4-The Serial Killer-I will change the title of this chapter as soon as I can remember a better term. However, its contents will be pretty self explanatory.
Chapter 5-The Killer and the supernatural-This will discuss the effects of the supernatrual on killers. This will be where a lot of Ravenloft style mechanics will be found to help DM's build memorable killer villains.
Chapter 6-Catching a Killer-This will be a chapter devoted to giving the Players new feats, prestige classes, equipments and rules for use in the
Ravenloft campaigns.
Chapter 7-Who's Doomed-This will be where NPC killers and other such people will be detailed out.
Chapter 8-The killer Campaign-While the pun can be kind of fun this will see a title change as well most likely. THis chapter will aid a DM in running a campaign based on one or more killers. Also if possible I would like to include an adventure as well.
SYSTEM
While I would love to 4E this thing, the fact that wizards seems to be a bit confused about its GSL and Fansite policy means we will be using 3.5 rules.
What you can do to help
Basically the following things are needed.
Case histories: A detailed account of a murder. Try to use archtypes but don't limit your creativity. Feel free to consider monsters from the DOD and other sources as well. Once a case history is written we will discuss how it will be included. It can be in the form of a series of letters between the good doctor and the perpetrator, a police report or even an autobiographical account. Be creative as you want, but keep it both well written and pertinent.
New Mechanics: There are a bunch of you who love coming up with new concepts and mechanics. Feel free to send them in. Try to keep them focused on the subject and try to include some fluff as well.
chapter 8: This will probably take collaboration to the nth degree but if someone wants to tackle this or submit an adventure it would be appreciated.
A good editor-I can edit stuff but I would appreciate any help someone is willing to offer in this regard.
A good formatter-I don't know how to format something in PDF so I would love it if someone would be willing to help me learn how too do this.
What you will get
First you will help provide the community with another source for inspiration. One of the best ways to keep our beloved setting alive (undead?) is to release new and fresh material. The fraternity has done a wonderful job of doing this, but they are only a few people. It is up to us, the community to help out and give new blood once in a while.
Second, you will get full credit for any contribution you make. Many of you are aspiring writers, and as a full time free lance writer I know the value of a strong portfolio. While you can't point to this project as one you were paid for, you can still use it to show people take your writing seriously.
Finally, you will get the satisfaction of a job well done.
Submission guidelines
The first step if you are interested is to query me via the boards, PM, or email.
Once I receive your query I will comment on the idea and then ask for a full write up. Once the write up is roughed out I will throw a bit of an edit and send it back. We will go back and forth until the product is up to snuff (should be pretty quick) then included in the book.
I look forward to your submissions.