This guide is a living document designed to ensure consistency throughout Skirmisher Publishing LLC products and the Skirmisher website. To propose additions or corrections to this document or ask questions about it, email webmaster@skirmisher.com. In general, defer to Associated Press Style and the American Heritage Dictionary and use standard American spellings and construction. Various appropriate style usages appear below.
* Run a spell check before submitting anything to us! While a spell check is not a substitute for a good self-edit prior to submission, and will not catch wrong words or many of the more exotic words that might end up in gaming materials, it is still a critical prerequisite to sending something off for publication.
* Be sure to carefully read through any proofs you are sent! We know they “look good” before sending them to you and are doing so in order to catch errors before publication and avoid have to release revised versions of those publications.
* Pay attention to quantity agreements, which can take a lot of time to fix when they are not consistent. For example: "When flamers were first introduced as a weapon back in the early 20th century, it was almost as dangerous to the wielder as it was to the enemy." In this sentence, "flamers" is plural but "it was" refers to a singular entity and they thus do not match. Assuming the sentence starts the way it does, you would have to say "they were."
General
* apostrophes: Don't use an apostrophe when all you are trying to do is pluralize a word. So, for example, "PC's" should be "PCs" if you are simply referring to multiple numbers of them and not describing possession of something.
* commas: The following provisions apply to the use of commas:
— Use serial commas in lists of three or more items.
— When a comma appears at the end of quoted material, place it inside the quotation marks (e.g., “Vini, vidi, vici,” he said.).
* contractions: In general, avoid the use of contractions in formal writing like rules and use "cannot" rather than "can't," "will not" instead of "won't," etc. Contractions are OK in quoted material, content which is supposed to sound somewhat chatty (i.e., almost nothing), and for impact in flavor text (e.g., “It’s a bug!”).
* forward/forwards: use "forward," without an "s."
* Game Master: Spell out this term on first reference and abbreviate it as “GM” thereafter.
* heds and subheds: Capitalize key words in your heds and subheds (e.g., just about everything but words like and, the, is, with).
* numbers: In text, write out numbers one through nine and use numerals for numbers 10 and higher. There are some exceptions to this, one being when you are writing out distances, like "5 ft.", in which case numerals are still OK.
* pre-: In general, do not hyphenate this prefix.
* pregenerated: Use as one word.
* since: Do not use “since” to mean "because" and instead use it only to establish a relationship in time between two items (e.g., "Since leaving the City of Kos, Zoltar was sure something was following him."). Anytime you can use "because" or "as" instead of "since," please do so.
* Skirmisher Publishing LLC: This is the full, official, legal name of the company and should be used on all first references to the venture. “Skirmisher” alone is acceptable on second and subsequent references if there is no chance of confusing it with Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine and “Skirmisher Publishing” if there is a chance of confusion (e.g., if both the company and the online gaming magazine are mentioned in the same article). Note that:
— No comma appears in the name of the company.
— The name of the company does not end in “Inc.”
* slashes: When you use slashes, as in "300’/600’", please don't run spaces before or after them.
* they: Don't use the plural "they" when you are referring to be a singular entity!
* toward/towards: Use "toward," without an "s."
* versus/vs.: Use “versus” rather than “vs.”
Specific to Mutant Future Products
In general, follow the example of the latest Mutant Future core rule book. When referencing material in the MF core book(s), avoid using page numbers, as these are likely different between the original illustrated free MF book, the new un-illustrated free MF book, and the new illustrated for-pay MF book. Rather, just refer to the specific name of the section, table, etc., in question. Some specific considerations and exceptions follow:
* abilities: Abilities like Strength, Charisma, etc., are capitalized in MF so please be sure to follow this style in our supplements.
* Ancients/Elders: "Ancients" is the term that appears in Mutant Future so please use it instead of “Elders” or other terms for the pre-apocalyptic people.
* monster names: Capitalize the names of new monsters, races, and the like in text so that they will stand out.
* Mutant Lord: This is the official term for “Game Master” in MF, so feel free to use it accordingly.
* mutations: Please be sure to italicize the names of mutations.
* stat blocks: Be sure to match the monster stat block format that appears in both our publications and the MF core book.
* tables: Please be sure to give all tables appropriate names. These should generally be very simple and straightforward.
Specific to d20/OGL and Pathfinder Products
* classes: In d20/OGL and Pathfinder products, capitalize the names of basic character classes and prestige classes in references to those classes (e.g., “He is a 2nd-level Fighter.”). However, do not capitalize such names when they are used generically and not in reference to the character class (e.g., “He is a skilled fighter.”).
* noble animal races: In d20/OGL and Pathfinder products, as with races and classes, capitalize the names of specific noble animal races (e.g., Noble Dog, Noble Tiger). Do not, however, capitalize the phrase “noble animal” or the names of animals alone (e.g., dog, tiger).
* races: In d20/OGL and Pathfinder products, capitalize the names of the various character races (e.g., Dwarf, Elf, Human). Be sure to also capitalize adjectival forms of these words (e.g., “a Dwarven fortress”).
