Three years already. It doesn't seem that long, but here we are again.

We've got some great prizes this year, most of them obtained at Gen Con 2000. Here's what will be available to win:

Here are the Fred Hooper art pieces--click on each thumbnail to see a larger version:

Both are from the "Critters" supplement to the SR3 GM Screen. #1 is from page 41, and #2 is from page 42. #1 is signed to the Magespace Contest winner, and #2 is not signed (other than Fred's normal signature).

The Contests

Okay, so that's all the cool swag you can win. Whaddya gotta do to win it? Well, that's the fun part. This year there are two contests! You don't think I'm gonna hand out all the wiz stuff to just one person, do ya? ('Course, one person could win both contests, but we'll assume for a moment that this isn't going to happen.) You can enter either or both contests, and it is possible for the same person to win both.

Contest 1

For the first contest, your assignment is to write a story where the protagonist encounters some sort of serious moral or internal conflict--the more serious, the better--and then explores how that character deals with the conflict and the consequences of his or her decision. The character does not have to be a shadowrunner--he/she certainly can be, but any denizen of the SR universe is welcome here. I'm going to try something new for the final judging of this story, but I'll reveal that bit of info when we get to that stage (it'll involve more folks than just me picking the final winner, but I promise it will be fair and unbiased). Also, see the Rules section below for the nitty gritty stuff.

Contest 2

I didn't want to do this as a sole contest, but I figure as a secondary it'll work. This one's real simple: write a Winterhawk (with or without Ocelot) story. The winner of this one will be the person who, in my opinion, portrays the character(s) the best along with producing a good story. Again, see below for the rules stuff.


Rules

  1. All entries must be set in FASA's Shadowrun Universe.

  2. All entries must be fully original and never published anywhere else prior to contest entry (this includes publication on web pages).

  3. Each entrant can enter a maximum of one story in each contest.

  4. Entrants retain full copyright of their stories (with the exception of any characters belonging to other people or companies used in any of the stories) and can publish them anywhere they like after the contest is over; however, the Magespace retains the right to publish them on our site for as long as we like. Also, very important: by entering the contest, entrants agree not to publish their stories on any other website until they appear on the Magespace, even if the story is not a winner. Entrants can request that their story be posted soon after the winners if they're in a hurry to publish somewhere else.

  5. Entries must be between 500 and 5,000 words. These are not hard and fast limits, but anything longer than 5,000 words is discouraged.

  6. All entrants, regardless of whether I know them or not, must get a free email account with the address "WVMC(number)" (for example, WVMC325@hotmail.com). Do not put any other identifying information in the email containing the story.

  7. I apologize for this one, but I spent way too much time sorting out funky formatting last year, so I'm not going to do it again this year. All stories must conform to the template provided here. Entries that don't conform to the template will be returned to the submitter for reformatting unless they are received too late, in which case they'll be disqualified.

  8. The deadline for entry is October 31, 2000. Anything that doesn't show up in my email box before first thing in the morning on November 1 will be disqualified. The address to send stories is winterhawk@magespace.net.

  9. Email containing stories must contain one of the following subject lines: WVM CONTEST 1 ENTRY (for contest 1) or WVM CONTEST 2 ENTRY (for contest 2). If you enter both, send the stories in separate email messages.

  10. As always, this contest is in no way endorsed by FASA, and the fact that FASA folks signed some of the prizes doesn't imply their approval or disapproval.

  11. The Magespace reserves the right to extend one or both contest deadlines if we don't receive enough entries or any that we deem to be winners.

  12. The Magespace also reserves the right to add any rules we might have forgotten about as we go, with proper communication to the contest entrants.

  13. Have fun!


Distribution of Prizes

There are six prizes, so three will be awarded to each winner. After the winners have been determined we can either go with taking turns choosing or else the two winners can figure it out among themselves. If the winners have no preference the prizes will be divided as follows:

Contest 1: Matrix, 2000 SR badges, one Fred Hooper artwork

Contest 2: Wolf and Raven, 2057 Election badges, one Fred Hooper artwork


Okay, I think that about covers it! I hope you enjoy the contests this year, and I'm looking forward to seeing some great stories! Good luck, everybody!