Once again, Tabletop Adventures is hosting the Warlock’s Journal Contest. In May/June 2017, the topic will be, “Like a Mother to Me.”
CONTEST INFORMATION
Mothers have a large place in both real life and fiction; they range from the ideal to the terrible. In this iteration of the Warlock’s Journal Contest, participants are invited to describe a person who stands in the place of a mother, or goes by that title.
In fiction, mothers range from the ubiquitous evil stepmother to the nearly perfect Mrs. March of Little Women to the child Wendy, who mothers the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. Even Baba Yaga, the witch of Russian folk tales, is said in certain stories to have daughters.
Sometimes being called a ‘mother’ has nothing to do with giving birth. At one time, ‘nunnery’ was a slang term for a brothel, and the woman in charge was euphemistically referred to as the ‘Mother Superior.’ In some cultures, an elderly woman is called Mother (or Grandmother) as a term of respect. Being a mother figure is also not restricted to humanoids. There are those stories of the noble animal that raises a human child as its own, such as the wolf with Romulus and Remus, or Tarzan of the Apes. Other non-human figures are Mother Nature, Mother Earth, Mother Russia, or the futuristic Motherboard of the animated series “Cyberchase.” Then there is the motherly ghost of Hispanic legend, “La Llorona,” who weeps for her drowned children and may snatch others in their place.
For this contest, an entry could describe a mother like the old woman in a shoe (in the nursery rhyme), who has so many children – and hires them out to hold horses and run errands, and gathers up all the information they bring home to sell to the highest bidder. Another mother could be a matriarch – of a jungle village, or a fierce tribe of orcs, or a clan of dwarven artisans. A spy or escapee could be disguised as a mother with small children; after all, who would expect the harassed-looking mother of toddlers to be passing secret information? A smuggler could appear to be a mother-to-be and actually be delivering small arms to a Resistance cell.
CONTEST SUMMARY
The Warlock’s Journal is an interdimensional book that moves through the planes always seeking new information. In May and June, Tabletop Adventures is ‘hosting’ the book and the challenge is to describe an person who stands in the place of a mother, or is called by that title. The prize will be $10.00 in store credit on RPGNow/DriveThru RPG.
ENTRY DETAILS
An entry can be written for any genre or type of roleplaying game or fiction. It should include a title designating the person (a proper name, nick name, etc.), a description of appearance and personality, and brief information on how this character could be used in a game or story. No statistics are required, though if an author desires, stats could be included as ‘bonus material,’ not counted in the word limit for entries.
Entries should be limited to 500 words (not including the title), though they need not be that long. A person can enter more than once, but each entry must be separate. Put the entry in the body of an e-mail, reference the contest in the subject line, and also be sure to include contact information; at a minimum, name and e-mail address. Send all entries to customerservice@tabletopadventures.com. Entries must be submitted by midnight on Wednesday, May 31, 2017. (Every entry will be acknowledged by e-mail, though it may take a couple days. If you have not gotten an acknowledgement by the evening of June 3, please check to be sure your entry was indeed received.)
All entries will be presented anonymously for voting by fans, using Survey Monkey or a similar service. (Any ties will be decided by the Overlord, of course.) The winner of the fan vote will be announced no later than June 30, 2017, and all entries then made available as a free PDF with credit to the authors. (Entries remain the property of their authors, but participation grants permission to use entries in the free contest PDF and any annual or other compilation that may be made later.) Members of Tabletop Adventures are not eligible to enter. Tabletop Adventures reserves the right to add more winning places or award Honorable Mention recognition at the Overlord’s discretion.
For more information on the Warlock’s Journal Contest, see the page here: Warlock’s Journal Contest
