Refractions of Glasston (Taylor University Student Written Adventure) - Posted to Miskatonic Repository

[T.R. Knight]

Quote

 

A 1920s horror scenario tempered in northern Indiana.

Elias Taylor Winters, the CEO of TWJ Co., discovered a secret to the glass-making process that finally put him above his long-standing competition: Ball Glass. Shattering expectations for such a small company in rural Indiana, Winters has put Glasston on the map. The town and its economy are booming. But not everything in Glasston is as it should be…

Refractions of Glasston is a standalone scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. It takes place in a rural town in northwest Indiana, set in the 1920s. Inside you’ll find:

• A thrilling mystery surrounding the town of Glasston, fueled by intrigue and disturbing encounters.
• A history of Indiana that will prepare Keepers for running a scenario in such an atypical setting.
• Hooks for incorporating local cryptids or real-life occurrences into the scenario.
• Multiple endings and ways to continue the adventure for investigation addicts. 

Refractions of Glasston is the result of a creative collaboration between the Professional Writing department at Taylor University, Upland IN and Chaosium Inc. The creators are all students at Taylor University. Though many of the team are members of the professional writing major, this is their first foray into the world of RPG writing. With help and advice provided by Chaosium's Mike Mason and Lynne Hardy, these writers, editors, and RPG enthusiasts set out to create a unique adventure for Call of Cthulhu fans to enjoy.

 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/297601/Refractions-of-Glasston

The students and I would really appreciate your feedback on this adventure written by the students during the Fall Semester. Please download the adventure and leave reviews and feedback. This will help us for future courses like this at the university. Thanks! 

Edited December 12, 2019 by T.R. Knight
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[klecser]

Hey TR, it will take me some time to get you detailed feedback, but I fully intend to do so. Thank you for making this available to the community!

[MOB]

Great first review of the student-created REFRACTIONS OF GLASSTON:

Prof TR Knight's response as to "Why is this free?":

The reason this scenario is free for everyone to enjoy is it was designed and published as part of an academic course at the university. The students received academic credit for their work. We also like it being free as it will receive wider distribution and hopefully increased discussion and reviews. This feedback will provide the students information to improve their writing and editing while the Professional Writing major will use this feedback to improve future gaming related courses at the university.

[T.R. Knight]

On 12/12/2019 at 9:15 PM, klecser said:

Hey TR, it will take me some time to get you detailed feedback, but I fully intend to do so. Thank you for making this available to the community!

You are welcome. This has been a learning process for the students and myself teaching the course this first time. I am really looking forward to the feedback from others so we can make the next iteration of this course even better and to improve on this scenario as well. 

[T.R. Knight]

1 hour ago, MOB said:

Great first review of the student-created REFRACTIONS OF GLASSTON:

Prof TR Knight's response as to "Why is this free?":

The reason this scenario is free for everyone to enjoy is it was designed and published as part of an academic course at the university. The students received academic credit for their work. We also like it being free as it will receive wider distribution and hopefully increased discussion and reviews. This feedback will provide the students information to improve their writing and editing while the Professional Writing major will use this feedback to improve future gaming related courses at the university.

I have received other emails and social media questions about why we posted this for free as well. Glad so many think this would have been worth a cost to acquire, but we really do want the feedback as much as possible. 

[T.R. Knight]

1000 downloads! Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the student designed Call of Cthulhu scenario, Refractions of Glasston. Taylor University Professional Writing, Chaosium, the students, and I thank you for your support and encouragement for the scenario and this academic course. We look forward to hearing your feedback.

 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/297601/Refractions-of-Glasston 

[T.R. Knight]

Two positive reviews of Refractions of Glasston. https://throatpunchgames.com/2019/12/28/ring-side-report-rpg-review-of-refractions-of-glasston/ AND http://rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2019/12/miskatonic-monday-31-refractions-of.html I will be passing along these constructive critiques to my students for review. Thanks to the reviewers. 

[klecser]

I'll be posting my review sometime this week! Been doing a deep read of the scenario while on vacation. #morningcoffee

[wombat1]

I of course wonder why I didn't have university classes like this back in the day, but then I remember that when I was an undergraduate the alphabet only had the three letters in it, which made it very difficult to flunk, but also was somewhat limiting in the curriculum.

I appreciate the original poster may not wish to do this for professional reasons, but I for one would be curious to see the syllabus and course materials, and the assignment sheet for the course.  I also look forward to reading the scenario and reviewing it.

 

[T.R. Knight]

20 minutes ago, wombat1 said:

I of course wonder why I didn't have university classes like this back in the day, but then I remember that when I was an undergraduate the alphabet only had the three letters in it, which made it very difficult to flunk, but also was somewhat limiting in the curriculum.

I appreciate the original poster may not wish to do this for professional reasons, but I for one would be curious to see the syllabus and course materials, and the assignment sheet for the course.  I also look forward to reading the scenario and reviewing it.

 

I talk about the course at length on my blog including the syllabus. If you want more details, just ask. I am willing to share if it allows other faculty to teach similar courses. 

http://www.freelanceknight.com/tabletop-game-writing-lab/

Here is even more info.

COURSE SCHEDULE

 

August 29         Syllabus, Topic Discussion

September 5     Finalize Topic and Start Adventure Module Theme Research

September 12   (Zoom with Chaosium discussing story development)/Research

September 19   (Zoom with Chaosium discussing writing process)/Research

September 26   Adventure Module Outline developed as a class/Individual Sections Assigned

October 3          Critique Individual Section Outlines, Begin First Drafts – Individual Section Outlines Due

October 10        Updates on First Drafts (Fall Break begins)

October 17        First Drafts Due

October 24        Updates on Editing of Chapters – Edits of First Drafts Due

October 31        Updates on Second Drafts – Second Drafts Due

November 7      Assigned Final Elements – Edits of Second Drafts Due

November 14    Final Drafts Due – Compile into Single Document – Artwork/Graphics Due

November 21    (Zoom with Chaosium checking in on our process) – Proofreading Due. Layout Due.

December 5      Front Cover/Back Cover/Credits Page/Table of Contents/Index Due

December 12    Final Proofreads Due (Zoom with Chaosium to help us publish) – Finalize & Upload Book

 

READING OF INTEREST

These texts are not required but highly recommended.

 

·         The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming by Terry Litorco ISBN-10: 0786444517

·         The Creation of Narrative in Tabletop Role-Playing Games by Jennifer Grouling ISBN-10: 0615642047

·         Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds by Joseph Laycock ISBN-10: 0520284925

·         Designers & Dragons: A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry by Shannon Appelcline ISBN-10: 1613170750

·         Girls on Games: A Look at the Fairer Side of the Industry by Elisa Teague ISBN-10: 1939066204

·         The King’s English – A Guide to Modern Usage by Kingsley Amis ISBN-10: 0141194316

·         Kobold Guide to Combat by Wolfgang Baur, Ed Greenwood, Chris Pramas, et al. ISBN-10: 1936781328

·         Kobold Guide to Game Design by Wolfgang Baur, Ed Greenwood, Monte Cook, et al. ISBN-10: 1936781069

·         Kobold Guide to Plots & Campaigns by Margaret Weis, Wolfgang Baur, Jeff Grubb, et al. ISBN-10: 193678162X

·         Kobold Guide to Magic by Wolfgang Baur, Tim Pratt, Kenneth Hite, et al. ISBN-10: 193678128X

·         Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding by Wolfgang Baur ISBN-10: 1936781115

·         Playing at the World by Jon Peterson ISBN-10: 0615642047

·         Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media by Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardrip-Fruin ISBN-10: 0262514184

·         A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Ralph Koster  ISBN-10: 1449363210

·         Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction by Nick Montfort ISBN-10: 0262633183

·         Word by Word: An Editor Guides Writers in the Self-Editing Process by Linda K. Taylor ISBN-10: 1946708062

 

[klecser]

 

[TRBRY]

On page 6 the part on the Mud Mermaids gets split in two by the part on Jim Crow.

[T.R. Knight]

5 minutes ago, TRBRY said:

On page 6 the part on the Mud Mermaids gets split in two by the part on Jim Crow.

 

Thanks for the info. I will pass it along to my students. 

[klecser]

13 hours ago, TRBRY said:

On page 6 the part on the Mud Mermaids gets split in two by the part on Jim Crow.

It actually happens more than once. Page 25 too. The only reason it bothered me is because I printed black and white and the sidebar's color was indistinguishable from the main body text in black and white. Sidebars just need a bit more contrast with the page.

[TRBRY]

5 minutes ago, klecser said:

It actually happens more than once. Page 25 too. The only reason it bothered me is because I printed black and white and the sidebar's color was indistinguishable from the main body text in black and white. Sidebars just need a bit more contrast with the page.

I hope they got the time and resources to edit it. I have not read the full book(?) yet.

 

/not native English speaker.

[T.R. Knight]

43 minutes ago, klecser said:

It actually happens more than once. Page 25 too. The only reason it bothered me is because I printed black and white and the sidebar's color was indistinguishable from the main body text in black and white. Sidebars just need a bit more contrast with the page.

Thanks for the info. Those are sidebars and they are visible in the full color version. The students are hoping to have time this Spring semester to make a printer friendly and print on demand version. We will keep the sidebars in mind. 

[T.R. Knight]

37 minutes ago, TRBRY said:

I hope they got the time and resources to edit it. I have not read the full book(?) yet.

 

/not native English speaker.

The students are hoping to have time this Spring Semester to do a revision based on the feedback they have received.  

[klecser]

26 minutes ago, T.R. Knight said:

Thanks for the info. Those are sidebars and they are visible in the full color version. The students are hoping to have time this Spring semester to make a printer friendly and print on demand version. We will keep the sidebars in mind. 

And just so I'm clear T.R., these are really minor things in my mind. But it doesn't mean we can't strive to improve! Thanks for leading them in this endeavor!

[T.R. Knight]

30 minutes ago, klecser said:

And just so I'm clear T.R., these are really minor things in my mind. But it doesn't mean we can't strive to improve! Thanks for leading them in this endeavor!

Thanks for providing great comments. I have been so impressed with these students in our first time offering this course. They were really passionate and took the project very seriously. The designed and published a wonderful scenario for their first ever time writing scenario for publication. We all learned in the process and are already thinking of how to make the next revision of this course even better.  

[TRBRY]

I agree, minor things - but as a person who sometimes work with publishing/layout it's the details that makes good become great.

[MOB]

Last year, professional writing students at Taylor University (Upland IN) wrote and published a Call of Cthulhu scenario, as part of a creative collaboration with Chaosium. The end result, REFRACTIONS OF GLASSTON, was published in the Miskatonic Repository community content resource on DriveThruRPG. Here are some reviews of the work!

https://www.chaosium.com/blogunnatural-selections-33-our-student-collaboration-refractions-of-glasston-earns-critical-praise-/

[T.R. Knight]

1 hour ago, MOB said:

Last year, professional writing students at Taylor University (Upland IN) wrote and published a Call of Cthulhu scenario, as part of a creative collaboration with Chaosium. The end result, REFRACTIONS OF GLASSTON, was published in the Miskatonic Repository community content resource on DriveThruRPG. Here are some reviews of the work!

https://www.chaosium.com/blogunnatural-selections-33-our-student-collaboration-refractions-of-glasston-earns-critical-praise-/

Thanks to everyone who has provided feedback so far. The students and I met yesterday to review the feedback and set our project schedule for a revised edition that incorporates the errata  many of you have shared and to resolve some issues with the layout we were made aware of. We will also be working on a print on demand option.

Our goal is to have the revised edition completed by mid March, in time to submit it to the ENnie Awards for consideration. 

[T.R. Knight]

My Taylor University Professional Writing students from the Fall 2019 Tabletop Game Writing Lab have updated their Call of Cthulhu scenario, Refractions of Glasston, responding to the great feedback they received. They even created a hyperlinked PDF along with a Black and White Printer Friendly edition. The revised edition and printer friendly edition are posted and ready for download. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/297601/Refractions-of-Glasston