Pathfinder: Open Call for Egyptian-Themed Magic Items

Pharaoh welcomes you, Great Scribe, to Jon Brazer Enterprises’ Open Call for Magic Items of all shapes and sizes. Whether it be a low-costing, one-use item or a great and powerful magic item, if it has an Ancient Egyptian theme, we would love to see it. Please read on for the specifics.

What do the stories say of these ancient treasures?
Merchants tell of trinkets commonly found in burial tombs with great and terrible powers, but they do not tell us what powers. This is why you, Great Scribe, are necessary to Pharaoh’s endeavors. Descriptions of the items and their powers must be formatted in the same style as you would find in Pathfinder Core Rulebook (download our template here). Pharaoh desires variety in his items, and they must be Ancient Egyptian in theme.

What will we not accept?

• Unbalanced items. Great Scribe, review the magic item creation guidelines in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. Compare your item to those guidelines and to similar items in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Ultimate Equipment, etc. Careful application of these steps will provide a good assessment of your item’s balance.
• Items not formatted correctly. If you have adapted the common hieroglyphics to fit your needs, understand we will not be able to correctly decipher them, Great Scribe. We will not accept them by Pharaoh’s decree. Download our magic item template here.
•  Items that already exist or are submitted to the RPG Superstar contest. The gods frown upon falsified writings. We shall not accept any item that already exists in this world or the next. Also, once you submit an item to the RPG Superstar contest it belongs to Paizo, regardless whether or not you are chosen for the Top 32. We cannot accept them.
• Variations upon a theme such as bracelet of iceballs, boots of arrow catching, etc. Pharaoh has plenty of the standard items and plenty of magicians already who can vary these templates as needed. The stories speak of ancient items not seen in 10,000 lifetimes. Those are what we seek.
• Bad grammar/spelling, “Egyptian-speak” such as Aset neteru, etc. The open call borrows from ceremonial language forms, Great Scribe; Pharaoh desires a more direct report from you. Remember, not everyone speaks English as their first language, and we do not wish those who will read your report to become confused by flowery turns of phrase. If we must edit your grammar much, we shall search out another scribe for this duty. Please note, some “Egyptian-speak” for flavor is acceptable; many strings of “Egyptian-speak” syllables such as “et” or “ka” is not.
• Anything containing the Pathfinder Campaign Setting (or any other setting). We know how much we all love the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, but we cannot use it. If you want to make something useful for worshippers of Sarenrae, instead mention “the sun deity.”

How do you submit your report for review?
Send us an email to submissions@jonbrazer.com with your item inside. Subject Line should be Egyptian Item Submission. Attachments will see your report burned in ritual fire. Transcribe your item in the body of the email. We prefer to get more items in a single email than more emails each with a single item contained within.

What shall be your reward?
Pharaoh is beneficent and has authorized payment of 1 US cent for every word in your item that gets published. We may edit your item. Unnecessarily ceremonial or flowery language shall be trimmed and transformed until the beauty of the item shines brightly as the sun.

Will we accept all items submitted.
We cannot. Stories being what they are, some will be hearsay of hearsay twice removed, and we need only the best items submitted to us. If we do not accept your item (or we accept an item resembling yours), Great Scribe, we will send an email informing you of the circumstances. Of course, we will send emails to those whose items are accepted as well. Expect an email either way.

When do we want your items by?
November 30th is the last day we can accept items. If you send us an item on December 1st, your item shall be sacrificed in ritual fire. So you have 46 days from today to send us your best item.

When should you inquire on your item?
We receive many emails so if you hear nothing before Dec 31st, worry not, Great Scribe. We’re working as hard as we can. However, if you haven’t received an email from us by the start of the new year, send us a reminder email. Please do not notify Pharaoh. He’s a bit touchy about this, and we have no desire to perish in ritual fire.