TEXT: Gran March Writer’s Guidelines 
  Last Update:  11/1/2000 
   
  The first thing to remember is what sort of country 
  Gran March is.  It has some defining characteristics 
  that will impact modules, plots, and NPCs. 
   
  • 
  Gran March is a human country, by and large.  
  Most NPC’s will be human.  In certain parts of 
  the country, the population distribution is much 
  more heavily demihuman.  Please refer to the 
  brief description of the baronies. 
  • 
  Gran March is a lawful country.  The dominant 
  alignments are LG, LN, and N.  This impacts not 
  only what sorts of alignment common NPCs 
  should have, but also what sort of plots are going 
  to be workable, and what sort of events are likely 
  to be believable. 
  • 
  Gran March is a religious country.  The primary 
  religions are St. Cuthbert, Heironeous, and the 
  Oeridian agricultural gods.  Clerics are much 
  more common than other spell-casting types. 
  • 
  Wizards (and other arcane spellcasters) are 
  trained and monitored by the Syrloch.  Random 
  wizards shouldn’t just be wandering about. 
  • 
  Gran March is an intensely patriotic country, and 
  it isn’t populated by dullards.  Any attempt to 
  show disloyalty, corruption, or incompetence on 
  the part of an “official” NPC should be part of a 
  plot and not window dressing. 
  • 
  Military service is a fact of life for all able-
  bodied males in Gran March.  This should be 
  appropriately reflected in the classes assigned to 
  “common” NPCs.  There will be far more 
  warriors than commoners among the male 
  population. 
  • 
  Crafts and trades are dominated by the guilds.  A 
  significant majority of craftspersons are women.   
   
  The next thing to remember is what sort of modules 
  we want to have for our region.  The main thing is 
  that the modules should all serve some long-term plot 
  purpose.  One-shot modules (those with plots that are 
  completely resolved in a single event) should be 
  submitted to the Co6 as adaptable tournaments.  All 
  regional modules should have plenty of opportunity 
  and hooks to expand the module into a series.  By 
  writing a single module, however, you are not 
  committing to write the rest of the series.  If you do 
  not wish to continue to write modules in that series, 
  other authors can pick up the story line and run with 
  it.  Another point here is that modules should be 
  consistent with what has gone before.  The Gran 
  March Triad members intend to work hard to 
  maintain consistency in the regional modules, and 
  will be greatly aided if authors use all available 
  resources to develop their modules. 
   
  General Nature of the Campaign 
  Greyhawk is a setting where the PCs are the heroes – 
  the PCs should not have their fat pulled out of the fire 
  by an NPC who comes in to rescue them as part of 
  the plot.  Although options such as this can be 
  available for PCs who get in over their heads, it 
  should not be assumed from the start that this is 
  going to happen.  The NPCs should not outshine the 
  PCs except in certain, small ways (i.e., the PCs might 
  meet up with a local ranger who knows the area 
  where the PCs are going like the back of his hand and 
  so is able to guide them with uncanny skill, but he 
  shouldn't also fight better than they do and shouldn't 
  excel in unrelated areas). 
   
  The setting is mid-magic in nature – there will be 
  some magic outside of what the PCs have, but not 
  much.  Spellcasters can be used as NPCs, but they 
  should not be overwhelming.  The NPCs should not 
  be loaded down with magical items and magical 
  items should not be the major reward for completing 
  an adventure. 
   
  The PCs are not sellswords – the plot hook should be 
  something that will appeal to the good will and 
  adventuring nature of the PCs.  It can be that they just 
  happen to be in the right place at the right time, but 
  they should seldom be approached with promise of 
  reward for doing the right thing.  Rewards in most 
  cases should be limited to what might be logically 
  found on defeated enemies or good favor from NPCs 
  who have been helped. 
   
  Gran March Triad Editorial Policy 
  When you submit a scenario for Gran March, you 
  will be assigned to one Triad member as a primary 
  editor.  In this manner, you’ll only have to deal with 
  one person most of the time, which should streamline 
  the editorial process and make it friendlier to the 
  author. 
   
  The Gran March Triad is: 
  Pete Winz (POC) – pwinz@nc.rr.com 
  Jeff Kahrs – jkahrs@sc.rr.com 
  Nick Perch – nickperch@aol.com 
   
  Web site – http://granmarch.oerth.com 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Living Greyhawk/Metaorg Material/Gran March/Old and Retired Versions/GMWriter.pdf