Psst! 

If you haven't gone through the step by step process to become a Grey Tavern volunteer, we recommend doing so before reading this page. The details below will make more sense if you do.

You'll find the steps under the Tavern Volunteer Opportunities above.

If you have become a volunteer and are learning about the Volunteer Role Paths, please continue!

What You Get from this Role

Being an Author is a very important role. As an Author, you will have many opportunities to work with others and craft Grey Tavern content.

You will work with game makers, Sophers, Lorekeepers, other Scriveners, and many others with 1 overarching and imperative goal that all Scriveners share:

As a Author, you get to:

• Write fantastical content such as stories, web comic text, bestiary entries, etc.
• Write technical content such as game rules and website content
• Write promotional content such as blogs and social content
• Write internal documents such as style guides, policies, etc.
• Write other content as directed

Want to get Started as an Author?

Responsibilities and Reporting

As an Author, you are the face of the Scriveners to many other volunteers and will have the opportunity to participate in many projects and to craft content, but you do not have:

• Power to change the lore you are writing about
• Power to change Scrivener style guides, editing parameters, etc.
• Power to edit, critic, or change other Author’s work
• Start a project of your own without Grey Tavern permission

These responsibilities belong with the Sopher Role Path, the tier 2 Scriveners, and the tier 3 Scriveners, respectively.

You can, however, bring up ideas and suggestions on written content and writing processes with your Editor.

Who Authors Report to and What They Report

Authors report to an Editor, a tier 2 Scrivener. 

What your report should include is described below in section “1. Report to Editor”

What to Expect

As Veracity and Dragon Merit points are given on a weekly basis, we’ll be talking about Authors tasks on a weekly, and sometimes monthly, basis.

Working on Assignments

Calendar

Example:

This example calendar shows the 3 primary types of tasks you should expect on a weekly basis. Each is described in more detail below.

1.  Report to Editor (Nook Meetings)

You will be expected to report to an Editor that you are assigned to twice a week. There will be 2- 8 Authors reporting at the same time as you. This group is called an Editor's Nook.

Wednesday and Saturday are the default days to report to your Editor. These days can change on an Nook by Nook basis, but the Editor needs to let the Chief Editor know.

Purpose of Nook meetings:

• Report on content progress, especially long-form tasks and projects
• Brainstorm and discuss ways to write about lore
• Ask Editors questions on how writing tasks should be formatted
• Communicating on how working with your assigned Lorekeeper and Sopher is going

If you need to report someone breaking a Grey Tavern rule, treating others poorly as described in Grey Tavern rules, or someone being physically hurt by another volunteer or Grey Tavern patron, report these to your assigned Sopher, not your Editor.

2.  Content Creation

There are several forms of content you will be asked to write. Generally, you will be tasked most often with the forms you show the greatest skill in.

Most writing you will do will be tasks assigned to you by your Editor, coming down from J.R. Casimir.

Lorekeeper

All forms of content you create will be done in conjunction with a Lorekeeper. This Lorekeeper is an expert on the lore you will be using for your content. Here’s some things to keep in mind as you work with Lorekeepers:

• You should follow the lore parameters and principles that they share with you 
• Discuss with them your creative ideas so they can help you fit your ideas into the lore parameters
• Not all ideas will fit and the Lorekeeper will not bend to accommodate an idea of yours if it simply cannot fit into that bit of particular lore. 
• However, you should keep your ideas because they may work in another part of lore and for another writing assignment

How to Get Content Published

All content you write needs to be reviewed by:

1. Your Editor
2. Your Lorekeeper

If both approve your creation, it will be published.

 3. Veracity Report

Veracity Reports are listed under each “calendar” event for a reason.

Here’s a meta tip:

• Filling out an Order Veracity Report after every activity will get you more Veracity overall.

The Report takes 5 minutes or less to complete! We strongly suggest that you wrap up every activity by filling out an Order Veracity Report.

Grey Tavern Property Damage

If any Grey Tavern physical property is damaged as a result of your actions or during an Order activity, you are expected to:

• Report the damage to The Grey Tavern
• Replace or fix it
• If you don’t, it will become something for your Order to replace or fix
  
  
• If the thing is too expensive to replace, you may:
• Submit an item request to a Generative Order
  
  
•  If you don’t have the skills to fix it or the resources, you may:
• Submit a request to an Eternal Order to help you fix it

Making Changes or Ascending the Hierarchy

There are 2 ways of moving things forward:

1. If you see an issue, and opportunity to make an improvement, or something that can be done, you may propose a project to The Grey Tavern
2. You may apply to ascend to a higher position in the Scrivener hierarchy. You could only apply to be an Editor when you are an Author. 

Use the links above to see the details of how to do these 2 things and to access the forms.

Scrivener Hierarchy

Intellectual Property

When you first became a Scrivener, you signed a Volunteer Appointment Agreement. Within it, there was an Intellectual Property release section. Here, we will clarify some of what Intellectual Property you are giving to The Grey Tavern as part of that release.

• All writing that is assigned to you by the Grey Tavern as well as writing that is part of an Original Content project you submit and get approved or an Original Content project you participate in
• All writing ideas
• All writing you do that becomes a part of any Grey Tavern project
• Authorship rights
• Game, story, costume, or an ideas, assets, materials, skills, or time contributed to any The Grey Tavern project

Volunteer Time

As a Grey Tavern volunteer, The Grey Tavern requires volunteers to communicate with them what their minimum and maximum hours they can donate per week is.

This is done when you sign the “The Grey Tavern Volunteer Rules and Policies” agreement. However, if you need to change these hours, you simply need to communicate the changes to your Editor who will send the message up the chain.

These hours are required because it helps The Grey Tavern as well as Volunteer and Order leaders know how much to expect from you. This will help:

• You not feel overburdened
• Leaders not feel that they have to do everything by themselves

What Type of Volunteering You’re Offering

Volunteering type is important for knowing what donation or quest type you should generally be reporting for your role.

As a Scrivener, you will be spending most of your volunteer service donating Skills. These skills are put into:

• Writing for any Grey Tavern project
• Ideation sessions with other Scriveners and Lorekeepers

A donation type that you will be using second to Skills is Tavern Volunteering  which focuses on time spent. Some activities in which you should log Tavern Volunteering donations are:

• Attending Editor’s Nook meetings
• Other potential Scrivener discussions or meetings

You will usually get the greatest benefit, in total Vercity earned in a week, through submitting a Skills Order Veracity Report. However, you should report a Tavern Volunteering Order Veracity Report when that one is more appropriate. If you are found intentionally submitting a Skills Report when you should be submitting a Tavern Volunteering, you will be reviewed and potentially removed from your position.

If you are in an Eternal Order as well, the Skills you donate will have the greatest effect as far as Veracity earned per week. However, your Author service will always increase your Veracity, as long as you report it, no matter what Order type you are part of.

What to Expect from Working with Us

We truly want you to have fun as an Author!

We seek to give you as much autonomy as possible within your role. As long as you keep what’s listed in the following list, we wish for you to thrive, imagine, and make this role yours.

• Keep your commitments
• Keep the guidelines expressed in this document
• Keep the rules of The Grey Tavern
• Stay within Scrivener rules, expectations, style guides, and other Scrivener parameters

• Stay within Grey Tavern lore

• Fill out your Order Veracity Report regularly
• Treat others with respect and kindness
• Do not intentionally damage Grey Tavern property
• Communicate with The Grey Tavern when your commitments need to change or if you have a Legitimate Excuse (Link) for why you weren’t able to keep it
• Approve your projects with The Grey Tavern BEFORE starting on them