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LAST LEAVES OF THE AUTUMN DRYAD
Aura moderate divination and transmutation; CL 10th
Slot —; Price 53,500 gp; Weight —.
Description
These multicolored leaves retain their vibrant autumn hue regardless of season. Once per day, their possessor may place a single leaf on the tongue to assume tree shape for up to 8 hours. This transformation incorporates the remaining leaves into the tree, but all other equipment changes with the owner.
While in tree form, the owner may release the leaves upon the wind, consciously controlling them as a scrying device. The leaves fly overland up to 10 miles per hour, but use the combat movement, defenses, and special abilities of a locust swarm with plant traits, regeneration 5, and vulnerability to fire.
The leaves may also form a three-dimensional representation of the owner’s face to communicate. They speak with a dry rustle, but otherwise convey the owner’s natural expressions. Fey descendants or those with wild empathy may cast ghost sound, speak with animals or speak with plants through the connection.
The leaves must return before the owner resumes normal shape or lose their enchantment.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, arcane eye, tree shape, whispering wind; Cost 26,750 gp
Kobold Press
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This is the first scrying item I've liked in a long time.
The flavor is pretty good throughout. The mechanics... Well, 8 hours at 10 MPH means you scry on anything within 80 miles with impunity. There seems to be no vulnerability through the leaves (which is fine, at this price).
I'm not sure what the utility of the tree shape is, really, but ... It's kind of a cool druid scrying item.
Curious to hear what the other judges think.
This is sweet.
Keep.
Kept.
Really neat flavor, but the mechanics are shaky. If I talk half the leaves and you take half, can we both turn into trees? Does the leaf-face actually have the ability to speak a language, is or is it just mugging? Strange that this is a druid-friendly item, but one of the spells listed that you can cast through the leaf-face is ghost sound, which is not a druid spell (I suppose that's for fey, but you're not likely to see a fey NPC with a 50,000gp magic item).
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Congratulations on making it into RPG Superstar 2009!
I really like this item. It reminds me of a scene in one of the recent Narnia movies where leaves and/or flower petals flow around what would be the 'shell' of a human shape, giving the form and impression of a person made of leaves/petals.
I'm a little ambiguous on how one carries the leaves around, whether there is more than one, is it a sack or a bowl of leaves, whether all leaves share the same properties - clearly it's intended to be all one item, but when you have a large number of sub-items that essentially share the same enchantment... where is the "boss" enchantment? If one leaf is placed on the tongue, then the rest of them can't do the "make like a tree and leaf" power any more? Also, is the leaf you put in your mouth consumed by doing this? Can you use up the leaves, or are there a functionally limitless quantity of them?
The item is fun, great even - a flying remote control/remote sensor leaf swarm. You might give it a bonus to Hide checks in forested terrain, but even if people see it, they certainly wouldn't necessarily recognize it as something worthy of notice. Being able to talk through the swarm is also pretty sweet. The ghost sound thing is a little weird; even if fey do get that power, the other powers you can use while in leaf-swarm-form are self-affecting, while GS creates an effect outside yourself. It's just ghost sound, true, but conceptually that seems like a step towards uber-range project image. Maybe that's a good thing, but I think it overreaches what this version of this item is about.
My only real reservation about this item (besides the "how many leaves are there question") is what happens to the druid back home. Yes, he's in tree shape, and yes if he leaves that form before the leaves are back he just burned up a 50K magic item, but:
1. What if the tree shape is dispelled; does that count as leaving the effect and destroy the leaves?
2. Is the caster aware of his surroundings while he's off flying around (mentally speaking) as a leaf-swarm? Normally you can when you're in tree shape, but remote-sensor spells need to clarify whether you can see through both the sensor and your own senses at the same time or if you need to switch off from one to the other.
Summary: Flavor-wise, I love it. It's a neat visual, it's useful, and I've always been a fan of swarms, and it has a good name. It seems like exactly the kind of thing a high-level druid would make. There are a few unanswered questions about how you actually use the leaves, but in general this is one of my top items so far.
aka Robert G. McCreary
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To begin with, the name just oozes flavor - it sounds really cool. Probably my favorite item name so far. But as others have said, how many leaves do you get? How are they carried? Can they be divided? If the "swarm" of leaves is destroyed, is the item destroyed? These are things that need to be said. I like the swarm mechanic for the leaves, but what is a "scrying device"? Is it a scry spell, a scrying pool, a crystal ball, what? I would assume they work like the magical sensor created by a scry spell, but it's confusing the way it's written now. Same thing for the face of leaves. Does the swarm of scrying leaves form the face, allowing you to communicate with people 80 miles away, or do they form on the tree shaped user? I don't know from what's written.
So there are some major explanations or clarifications needed IMO, to make this a truly good item. BUT I love it! This is one of my favorite items so far for flavor and creativity, without going gonzo. I'm really looking forward to what you come up with in the following rounds. Great job!
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4
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AMAZING STUFF!
Regarding the question of "how many leaves are there?" - well, this item has no weight, which seems to suggest that it's actually just one leaf. Maybe two or three, because of the plural "leaves" ... but not enough to fill a garbage bag, is all I'm saying.
However, a swarm of locusts (as Diminutive creatures) consists of 5,000 individual flying critters. Which seems to suggest (to me, anyway) that when you place the leaf on your tongue, you turn into a tree, grow a whole bunch more leaves, and the other "master" leaf acts as your focal scrying & control point for the rest of them.
If the "primary" leaf doesn't come back - presumably because the swarm only has 21 hit-points & is vulnerable to fire, the user stops being a tree and is out 53K in gold.
And it doesn't REALLY let you scry on someone 80 miles away, unless you're willing to lose the gold: the leaves have to come back. Even if your target is only 40 miles away, you've got about 1 round to look them over (a full 4 hours after you decided to scry on them in the first place) before the leaves have to head all the way back to you.
Four hours later, you can tell your friends what you saw - but if you drop the tree shape to run tell the city guard that Baron VonRottenSkull & his orc hordes are on the way, you better be willing to flush all that gold.
As for talking while in leaf-swarm form: it is my understanding that the face formed by the leaves can speak, as noted, with "a dry rustle". With the addition of the spell ghost sound, a user with Wild Empathy could convey a huge amount of information to someone they encountered while in leaf-form.
Or scare the bejeezuz out of them, Blair Witch style.
This is an awesome item, with a super-cool concept and a 90% perfect execution. Congratulations, and I look forward to seeing your subsequent entries to the Superstar competition!
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Contributor, RPG Superstar
aka Leandra Christine Schneider
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Oh, I love what this one does very much. It is such a nice variation on the scrying item, that it doesn’t even feel like one of the unfashionable crystal balls. The modern sorceress needs dryad leaves!
As pointed out above, the application is limited and not that powerful since leaves can be obvious. I did have some trouble with several of the mechanics though…
First, let’s assume the “Possessor” = the one with all the magical leaves. After turning into a tree and starting the autumn style scry, the poor leaves are caught in some deadly area spell and take a bit of damage. Enough that at least one leave is destroyed…does that already spell the end of all that precious gold?
Positive:
It is a completely new way of scrying without a spell-in-the-can feel.
Nice formatting too.
Negative:
Not expressive enough on rule details.
After reviewing all other items:
Again, flavour and mechanics meet on the battlefield. This time, concept and flavour shred the flanks of the mechanics phalanx and win the day. This item is several ways of cool and earned its place in the RPG Superstar 09. I anticipate your next entry!
Nice Item. Congrats Neil!
Wow.
No really...just wow!
I really thought I wouldn't make it into the Top 32...but I'm extremely happy to do so. Originally, I thought I'd post some explanation for the questions raised above, but I'll refrain from that until we get the green light to do so.
Sincerely,
--Neil
Love this :) I like the notion of reducing it to the "Last Leaf", removes a lot of the confusion potential.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Dedicated Voter Season 6
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Other than the shakiness on the number of leaves, this is pretty solid. I'd be happier if you couldn't talk easily while in tree form, though. Having it take a spell to communicate with the tree-formed PC appeals to me.
I'll add my voice to the chorus that says this should be "a" leaf.
If I had it to do over again, I'm inclined to agree. I would scale it back to a single last leaf of the autumn dryad instead. And, if I had a few more words, I'd also clear up some of the confusing language around how the leaves communicate.
Thanks again for everyone's enthusiasm and support,
--Neil
Very, very sweet. Interesting items with druidic flavor are few and far between, so extra points for that. Every part of your item is very evocative and vivid, and being able to immediately imagine the "special effects" is a huge plus.
I don't have any new critique to contribute. Your item weaves nature and scrying seamlessly. No wonder it's in the top 32!
I saw in another thread (i.e., Abyssal Spurs) that Erik Mona had encouraged the Top 32 to go ahead and explain some of the design considerations that went into our items...and to answer questions others may have posed about them. So, pardon the long exposition...as many of you asked really great questions and I wanted to make sure I responded as best as I can...
Originally, the concept for this item started forming around what a dryad sorceress or druid might craft for herself to communicate and scry beyond her own tree (and the 300-yard perimeter she must maintain). So, the "flavor" came well before the mechanics.
I knew I wanted to limit the leaves and make them something different from a crystal ball...so I did a lot of comparing to that scrying device as I worked on the mechanics. I wasn't completely happy with how it came out...i.e., if I'd had more words, I think I could have refined it further to answer some of your questions. I jammed as much as I could into the description without compromising the core of the idea I started with...but clearly, even then I still left some holes as many of you noticed.
Well, 8 hours at 10 MPH means you scry on anything within 80 miles with impunity...
...it doesn't REALLY let you scry on someone 80 miles away, unless you're willing to lose the gold: the leaves have to come back. Even if your target is only 40 miles away, you've got about 1 round to look them over (a full 4 hours after you decided to scry on them in the first place) before the leaves have to head all the way back to you.
Boomer's correct. The leaves were designed so that at maximum, you could only expect to scry up to 40 miles away after flying at top speed. After that, they have to return or they'll lose their enchantment when the tree shape ends. I contrasted that with a crystal ball which has unlimited range...and immediately dials into whatever locale or person you intend to scry...while the leaves would have to travel to such a place, forcing the user to wait in tree shape the entire time. So, it's a trade-off. I didn't want this thing entirely trumping the crystal ball. Flavor-wise, yes. Mechanically, no.
I'm not sure what the utility of the tree shape is, really...
It serves a few different purposes. One, it forces the user to actually lock himself down...i.e., he can literally do nothing else as he roots himself in the ground in order to control the leaves. Secondly, it's a disguise mechanism. It serves the same purpose as a normal tree shape spell. He could adopt tree shape by placing a leaf in his mouth and never sending the leaves to scry on anything...but that would use up its once/day activation. It's also designed so that the user is disguised as a tree while he's scrying, so most people would walk right past him and never know he was there. And lastly, of course, it's there for flavor. You're essentially becoming a dryad in tree shape for up to 8 hours while you use the leaves.
If I take half the leaves and you take half, can we both turn into trees?
No...at least, not according to how I intended them to work. Basically, by placing one leaf in your mouth, you activate all of them...regardless of who's holding them. But then, the next question would be what happens if two people place one in their mouth simultaneously. In retrospect, I may have been better off making it the Last Leaf of the Autumn Dryad so there'd be less confusion. Then, as Boomer suggested, the tree shape would be even more integral, as it would explain multiple leaves sprouting from the tree that you can then send off to scry for you.
Does the leaf-face actually have the ability to speak a language, is or is it just mugging?
Yes...it's intended to speak in whatever languages the user knows or wishes to use. So, if a dryad were using it, she could speak Sylvan, etc. Anyone's voice emanating from the leaves, however, has more of a dry rustle to it than their natural voice. But the face will emulate the facial expressions of the user and generally look like him. So if you know the user personally, you'd generally recognize the leaves as his face.
Strange that this is a druid-friendly item, but one of the spells listed that you can cast through the leaf-face is ghost sound, which is not a druid spell (I suppose that's for fey, but you're not likely to see a fey NPC with a 50,000gp magic item).
Actually, I threw that in there specifically for Pathfinder. Basically, any creature descended from the fey can use ghost sound through the connection if they're capable of casting that spell or have it as a spell-like ability. So, a dryad sorceress could have it. So would any Pathfinder sorcerer with the fey bloodline. A gnome could. Or, if someone wanted to play a half-fey or feytouched (which aren't OGL, I know) that could apply here, too.
It reminds me of a scene in one of the recent Narnia movies where leaves and/or flower petals flow around what would be the 'shell' of a human shape, giving the form and impression of a person made of leaves/petals.
Believe it or not, that was actually part of my inspiration for it. I wanted to do something a little different, though, and tie it more directly to a dryad.
...is the leaf you put in your mouth consumed by doing this? Can you use up the leaves, or are there a functionally limitless quantity of them?
No, the leaves aren't used up by putting them in your mouth. The only way of using them up would be to lose them...either by someone destroying them (presumably with fire) or by failing to have them return before the user regains his normal shape.
What if the tree shape is dispelled; does that count as leaving the effect and destroy the leaves?
Yes, that would effectively destroy the enchantment on the leaves as well. If someone can force the user out of tree shape, by whatever means, the item is lost if the leaves are away. That, too, was intentional on my part. I wanted this to be a fragile item that requires protecting and careful use. This was to help control its cost in comparison to some of the more high-powered crystal balls that are available.
Is the caster aware of his surroundings while he's off flying around (mentally speaking) as a leaf-swarm? Normally you can when you're in tree shape, but remote-sensor spells need to clarify whether you can see through both the sensor and your own senses at the same time or if you need to switch off from one to the other.
I would have liked to specify that, but I was running low on word count. I clocked in at 199 words, so I'd milked them for all I could. My intention was that the user would be aware of his surroundings while in tree shape as well as the surroundings of the leaf swarm...which is essentially just an extension of the tree shape that happens to be mobile.
Is it a scry spell, a scrying pool, a crystal ball, what? I would assume they work like the magical sensor created by a scry spell, but it's confusing the way it's written now.
Yes, it's definitely something along those lines. I used arcane eye a lot for comparison with regards to what the sensor could do. It works a bit differently from a crystal ball as a result, which is based more off of scrying than arcane eye.
Does the swarm of scrying leaves form the face, allowing you to communicate with people 80 miles away, or do they form on the tree shaped user?
I intended for the leaves to form the face of the user when he chooses to speak through them. He can do that at whatever range the leaves travel away from the tree shaped user...anything from 80 miles (if he's willing to lose them in order to deliver his message) to just a couple of feet from the branches of his tree shape.
With the addition of the spell ghost sound, a user with Wild Empathy could convey a huge amount of information to someone they encountered while in leaf-form....Or scare the bejeezuz out of them, Blair Witch style.
You, sir, are thinking exactly along the lines I intended. A dryad (or other fey arcane spellcaster) could essentially use these leaves to communicate or frighten. And, because they have the special abilities of a locust swarm, they can also "attack" and nauseate opponents if the user is willing to risk them in such a confrontation.
After turning into a tree and starting the autumn style scry, the poor leaves are caught in some deadly area spell and take a bit of damage. Enough that at least one leaf is destroyed...does that already spell the end of all that precious gold?
Not quite. The leaves have all of the defenses of a locust swarm, including their AC, hit points, immunities, etc...but the leaves are vulnerable to fire. So, if they got blasted with a deadly area spell (say, fireball), they'd be in serious trouble. The leaves have regeneration 5, so they might recover if they survive. But, do enough area damage to them and...poof!...they're gone and you're out of luck.
Thanks again to everyone for the commentary and feedback. I agree that I need to tighten up on the mechanics side of things. Hopefully, I can demonstrate that in future rounds. Now, I'm off to work out my villain concept...
Sincerely,
--Neil
...I am unclear on if 'detached' leaves are able to penetrate an area protected by mage's private sanctum or if their ties to a partially divination (scrying) effect will either hedge them out or cause contact/control to be lost the moment that they cross the boundary of an area protected by the sanctum?
Since the leaves are based on the arcane eye for their divination (scrying) effect, they would react in much the same way as an arcane eye sensor attempting to cross the boundary of a mage's private sanctum...i.e., they wouldn't be able to perceive anything on the other side...or rather, they couldn't transmit anything back to the tree-shaped owner about that area. Much like an arcane eye, however, the leaves could leave the sanctum's area of effect and resume broadcasting, as it were...
One other note, however. Even though the leaves couldn't see anything inside the sanctum, the user could form them into a face and project his voice through them while inside the sanctum to deliver a message, similar to the sending or message spells, because that effect is tied more fully to whispering wind than arcane eye.
Great question,
--Neil
This is an awesome item. Useful, not just for scrying, but also for communication. Interesting limitations, too. I think that even the 40 miles range is a little optimistic - unless you know precisely where the target is, you'd probably have to set some time aside for tracking it down. Also, a bunch of leaves flying around like that could very well attrach some attention, and 10 miles per hour is not faster than a fast horseman could keep up with. So there are some risks involved.
Love the name, too. Has a very nice wistful sound to it, and raises some interesting questions without actually mentioning them outright. Who's the Autumn Dryad, and if this is her "last leaf", did anything happen to her? Is there a Spring and a Summer Dryad as well?
Basically, a great item that brings a lot for both the players and the GM to work with.
Very cool, Neil. You and Trevor/Tarren win the prize, IMHO, for most imaginative and thought provoking. Very creative, and when I read the description, I can't help but visualize a scene. Good luck, man. I'm pulling for you.
Wow, Neil, top notch, man. Great item. Incredibly cool idea. Go get 'em in round 2.
The thing that kills me with the Last Leaves of the Autumn Dryad is the thought of a bunch of druids sitting around deciding to create these items. Do they have to kill a bunch of innocent magic trees or do any old leaves suffice?
Really, I guess, it seems to me that this item would be more suitable as one of those mysterious "minor artifact" type things that aren't created by mere mortals.
Other than that, though, this is a very well-written entry.
I love the flavor on this! I'm big on items that give me clear mental images, and this absolutely delivers. It writes an entire scene of a mental movie for me!
Congrats on Top 32!
First of all, Neil congrats on making the top 32. Your item (along with a few others) are steadily creeping into my personal favorites.
I caught on to the gnome druid angle right away... I think dear Lini needs this new "toy." I'm sure she'd love it, as many of us do.
Can't wait to see your villain. Good Luck!
Dean; the Minstrel Wyrm
The Minstrel Wyrm: First of all, Neil congrats on making the top 32...
Mike Speck: Congrats on Top 32!
therealthom: Wow, Neil, top notch, man.
Erik Anderson: ...this is a very well-written entry.
Billzabub: Very cool, Neil.
Lanfranc: This is an awesome item.
Thanks so much, guys. Your enthusiasm and feedback are definitely keeping me motivated. I appreciate your comments and hope you like my villain in the next round.
Love the name, too. Has a very nice wistful sound to it, and raises some interesting questions without actually mentioning them outright. Who's the Autumn Dryad, and if this is her "last leaf", did anything happen to her? Is there a Spring and a Summer Dryad as well?
To me, a mark of good writing is hooking the reader with stuff that both informs you and makes you ask enough questions about the information you receive that it keeps you reading for more...and ultimately, keeps you imagining all of the possible answers to your own questions, well after you've finished, even if all of them don't get answered.
It's funny, but I actually settled on the name (and some of the visual images of what I wanted this item to do) before I ever looked at the mechanics of it. I think the write-up sort of demonstrates that, because the flavor came out stronger than the underlying rules. That's something I pledge to work on for future rounds, because I think an RPG Superstar has to demonstrate both. If I fail in that, I won't match up to my own personal standard.
Also, your reference to the possibility of there being a Spring and Summer (and Winter!) Dryad as well...is spot on. I already had other themed items in mind for the remaining dryads. Each one is keyed to the visual imagery of their season and function accordingly.
The thing that kills me with the Last Leaves of the Autumn Dryad is the thought of a bunch of druids sitting around deciding to create these items. Do they have to kill a bunch of innocent magic trees or do any old leaves suffice?
That's a path I went down as well. Who would make these things? Originally, I imagined a dryad sorceress came up with them so she could stay in contact (and check on) the other plants and animals of the forest during the winter...while also using the leaves to communicate with some charmed paramour she allowed to return to civilized lands further than she could safely venture from her tree. I almost called the item the Last Leaves of the Dryad Queen...but switched it to Autumn Dryad because of the immediate imagery it would invoke.
Other than that backstory, I also imagined a wizard or druid could manufacture this item, too. Evil-minded ones would probably hunt down a dryad in order to forcibly extract some of the autumn leaves from her tree. Kinder or more noble souls would simply ask or bargain for them. The rest of the construction requirements would then be on the crafter of the wondrous item to provide.
...it seems to me that this item would be more suitable as one of those mysterious "minor artifact" type things that aren't created by mere mortals.
If you only knew how much I worried about that. I kept asking myself if this item was more "artifact" than "wondrous item" over and over. Many of the constraints I layered onto it (e.g., the limited range, the time constraint for the leaves' return, the possibility of them being destroyed by fire and losing them forever, the fact that the user has to root himself and make like a tree while using them, and even the fey and wild empathy requirement for casting other spells through the "face" of the leaves)...all of those limitations were intentionally put in there to try and rein back the "artifact" potential.
Even so, when Clark put up the "Some of the things we're seeing in this year's submissions" thread and I saw the "Potentially Abusable (or Poorly Thought Out) Item" stereotype I really feared the last leaves might fall into that category. I'm glad to see everyone liked the flavor enough to give me an opportunity to make the Top 32.
I'm big on items that give me clear mental images, and this absolutely delivers. It writes an entire scene of a mental movie for me!
Thanks, Mike. I believe that's one of the best comments anyone's made on my item, because that's exactly what I strived to do. I had this very clear "mental movie" in my own mind when I imagined this item. And so it became very important to me to try and convey that in my writing. For it to come through for you, means I succeeded. And that makes my day. So thank you very, very much for your feedback!
I caught on to the gnome druid angle right away...I think dear Lini needs this new "toy." I'm sure she'd love it, as many of us do.
At one point, I even thought to myself that I could easily see a dryad sorceress crafting this type of item -- not just for herself -- but so she could give it as a gift to a heroic PC or one of her closest allies and friends among the forest dwelling community. A forest gnome (druid or otherwise) would be a perfect example of that.
Can't wait to see your villain. Good Luck!
Thanks! I'm hunkered down in my home office "bunker" right now working on it!
I've had a villain idea percolating for about a year or so now that just screams to be let out. I'm re-tailoring it a bit using all of the resources available to us. Hopefully everyone will like it. I'd certainly appreciate your vote down the road. And thanks again for all the well-wishes, guys!
And how's this for supportive: I told my boss about the contest yesterday and the deadline for the next round's assignment. The first thing she told me was, "Well what are you doing here? You'd better get home and get to writing!" So I've got the next couple of days off to focus on it. And I've got several cheerleaders at work who'd never heard of Paizo rooting for me now. That makes me laugh and smile just thinking about it. One of my co-workers has a son who's interested in creative writing and games. It was too late to direct him to RPG Superstar because the deadline for submissions had already passed. But I let her know about the PFS scenario open call so maybe he can participate in that.
Sincerely,
--Neil
Great item Neil - can't wait to see your villain!
I do think the Regeneration should be Fast Healing instead, particularly without mentioning what type of damage bypasses the regeneration. Otherwise any damage, including that vulnerable fire, would be non-lethal and heal.
But don't listen to me, get back to writing! :)
Nice item Neil. I like it a lot. I fully expect to use a variation of it in my Pathfinder game.
Congrats and welcome to the Top 32!
Mad style points here - the imagery is intense. I would absolutely LOVE to see action with this item in a campaign.
Although, I'm not sure about how I'd feel about it being used regularly by the player characters... this seems more like something I would love to give to a neat NPC so that they can use these sweet abilities without having to glom on some template or spellcaster levels.
But seriously, beautiful work here.
This is definitely one of my favorite items. The flavor is just awesome, and I think the execution is wonderful. If I were to use this in my game, I don't know that I would completely destroy the item if the leaves were destroyed. I think it would be easier to just say that the 1/day has been used up, and the leaves will be able to "grow back" the following day. That might be too powerful for the price so...
Or perhaps the option to scry up to 80 miles away could be used, but because the leaves did not return (or were destroyed) the item enters a dormancy period, where it can't be used for 1d6 days or a week. During the dormancy period, the Leaf could be covered in a thin layer of frost, and gradually "thaw" and turn green over the course of the week and finally when turning to autumn color again, be fully recharged and ready for use. This could drive up the price maybe, but I think its a fair trade off.
Great job! And congrats on RPG Superstar Top 32!
First, congratulations!
I really like this item.
That said, I'm not sure I like it for the right reasons. There's something that amuses the heck out of me to imagine someone being threshed by a cloud of leaves... but I know this is designed for scrying and communicating, not hurting.
Beyond the delight of ill-advised leaf-swarm attacks, I have to say I really like the way this item works. Sometimes I think a lot of items work too simply. A crystal ball just lets you see something far away... because. This item lets you see something far away by making you into a tree which maintains a magical connection (as if through the kind of magical Law of Contagion which suggests anything that was once connected to someone remains that way) to its leaves even as they 'blow' away and travel to where you want to see. Somehow, it actually feels more magical this way than items that just have a simpler effect.
This is a "Top 5" item for me (and a lot of other people, it would seem.) The concept and execution is just too cool. It lets you fly around, spy on people, talk to people, plants, animals and do all kinds of other stuff. They're one of those items that the more you think about it, the more interesting ideas you get with what you could do with it. Plus, the imagery is really great.
Majuba: Great item Neil...
Craig Johnston: ...I like this item and Congrats on the Top 32 spot...
Golarion Goblin: Nice item Neil. I like it a lot.
Elora: Amazing item, Neil!
Eric Morton: Cool. Definitely one of my favorites.
Matt Banach: Mad style points here - the imagery is intense...beautiful work here.
rootbeargnome: This is definitely one of my favorite items. Great job! And congrats...
Drakli: First, congratulations!...I really like this item.
Matthew Stinson: This is awesome...awesome.
Paul Worthen: This is a "Top 5" item for me...
Thanks so much to all of you. I'm glad the last leaves appealed to a lot of folks. It does a lot for my confidence going into later rounds. And hopefully, I don't disappoint.
I do think the Regeneration should be Fast Healing instead, particularly without mentioning what type of damage bypasses the regeneration.
I chose regeneration over fast healing because I wanted the leaves to have the ability to fully "regrow" to keep in standing with their connection back to the tree shape from which they ventured. You're right about the need for specifying what type of damage would bypass the regeneration. Fire, obviously comes to mind. Maybe acid...but I'd rather say no to that. Leaves can hold up to acid rain reasonably well and take quite sometime to decompose. So, if I'm retconning the leaves will say its vulnerability to fire overcomes its regeneration ability.
If I were to use this in my game, I don't know that I would completely destroy the item if the leaves were destroyed. I think it would be easier to just say that the 1/day has been used up, and the leaves will be able to "grow back" the following day. That might be too powerful for the price...
I kind of like the risk involved in using the leaves to scry with impunity, though. You don't get that with a crystal ball and I like how these leaves are autumn leaves that are only just clinging to life (and hence, their magic)...so I like the limitation. I know it's a lot to gamble with 53,000 gp, though. And honestly, the pricing had to be an eyeball estimate because it can do far more than the sum of its spell effects. I parked it slightly above a plain crystal ball, but well below the advanced varieties of crystal balls for that reason. But still, the potential for losing the enchantment might be a decent justification for lowering it a little.
Or perhaps...because the leaves did not return (or were destroyed) the item enters a dormancy period, where it can't be used for 1d6 days or a week. During the dormancy period, the Leaf could be covered in a thin layer of frost, and gradually "thaw" and turn green over the course of the week and finally when turning to autumn color again, be fully recharged and ready for use. This could drive up the price maybe, but I think its a fair trade off.
Now I like that idea very much. Very in keeping with the whole seasonal transition thing. The leaves go dormant, effectively pushed into winter hibernation until they can regrow. It's the cycle of life. :-)
...I'm not sure I like it for the right reasons. There's something that amuses the heck out of me to imagine someone being threshed by a cloud of leaves... but I know this is designed for scrying and communicating, not hurting.
The leaves can be used as an offensive weapon as well. Granted, they can't do damage as a locust swarm, but they can nauseate and make it difficult for opposing spellcasters to concentrate because of their swarm abilities. I very much liked the idea of a dryad defending the forest with these things...first to politely ask intruders to leave...then, scaring them with ghost sound, if necessary...and lastly, harrassing them in swarm form if they still refuse to go.
Sometimes I think a lot of items work too simply. A crystal ball just lets you see something far away...because. This item lets you see something far away by making you into a tree which maintains a magical connection...to its leaves even as they 'blow' away and travel to where you want to see. Somehow, it actually feels more magical this way than items that just have a simpler effect.
Thank you. That was very much an intentional design point when I set out to craft the last leaves. I knew I was risking the duplication of what a crystal ball or arcane eye spell could do. So, I very much wanted to find a different...plausible...inspiring...and vivid way to do it with more style. And, then I layered on a couple of effects to it (like the whole swarm capabilities and tree shape imposition) to make sure it worked entirely differently than a run-of-the-mill crystal ball...or even the advanced versions of that magic item.
It lets you fly around, spy on people, talk to people, plants, animals and do all kinds of other stuff. They're one of those items that the more you think about it, the more interesting ideas you get with what you could do with it.
Exactly. As one of the earlier posters said, it sort of writes an entire "mental movie" in your head with many different scenes where these last leaves would come into play. That's what made the concept so appealing to me. And, as I said, that materialized first for me. Then, I had to work on the mechanics for how it could do all that. And sometimes it can prove difficult to tie off everything you need to say from a rules perspective when you only have 200 words. But I gave it my best. And thankfully, it had enough mechanical sense to it that the item still appealed to the judges...and apparently, the general public, too.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment, guys. I really appreciate it. And for those of you with villain write-ups in the next round, I wish you the best of luck.
Sincerely,
--Neil
LAST LEAF OF THE AUTUMN DRYAD
Aura moderate divination and transmutation; CL 10th
Slot —; Price 53,500 gp; Weight —.
Description
This vibrant leaf constantly changes hue through the different colors of the autumn season. Once per day, its owner may place the leaf on her tongue to assume tree shape for up to 8 hours. The transformation incorporates all other equipment into the tree, while causing thousands more autumn leaves to sprout into a lush multicolored canopy among its branches.
While in tree form, the owner may release the newly-formed leaves upon the wind, consciously controlling them as a scrying device. The leaves fly overland up to 10 miles per hour, but use the combat movement, defenses, and special abilities of a locust swarm with plant traits, fast healing 5, and vulnerability to fire.
The leaves may also form a three-dimensional representation of the owner’s face to allow her to communicate. They speak with a dry rustle, but otherwise convey the natural expressions of the owner in any language she knows. Fey descendants or those with wild empathy may cast ghost sound, speak with animals or speak with plants through the connection.
If the leaves fail to return before the owner resumes normal shape, the original leaf loses its enchantment for one week. During this time, a light layer of frost coats the leaf as it fades to brown. Gradually, it shifts to a vibrant shade of green over the dormancy period, before finally renewing its autumn color.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, arcane eye, tree shape, whispering wind; Cost 26,750 gp
Really flavorful item that conjures some gorgeous imagery.
This by far is my favorite item. I am hoping my DM will allow such a thing in the next Campaign I play a druid in. I can't wait to see what kind of Villain you have come up with.
And I can't wait to find out what people think of my villain. :)
And speaking of villainous creatures, I have a funny story to share about my kids that happened this morning for anyone who's interested. I was scrolling through the Paizo boards, responding to various threads when my 4- and 3-year old girls come running through my home office. My oldest tells me that they're being chased by goblins. I then asked them if they want to see what a real goblin looks like. All wide-eyed they nod and I show them the cover from Rise of the Runelords first issue "Burnt Offerings"...
They proceed to ask lots of questions. My oldest wants to know what the goblins will do if they catch them. I point to all the teeth and say they'll probably try and eat them. My youngest then gets all wide-eyed again and points to the picture of Valeros and asks "Who's that?" I tell her that's a hero...like a superhero! She asks me if that's me? So I say sure. I'll be the superhero, immediately thinking she wants me to be the one who protects them from the nasty goblins. But no...my daughter simply points to Valeros and tells me I don't have enough hair to be the superhero.
For those who don't know, I'm mostly bald... :-/
Darn kids.
Who're they gonna come running to when they have nightmares of goblins from Wayne Reynolds' artwork?
That's right. Not Valeros the superhero. It'll be Daddy. The real superhero of the house...balding and all!
--Neil
;-)
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RPG Superstar 2013
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
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I dig this one. I think it's the most imaginative and toghtly themed item I've seen this year. Kudos.
There are some questions that have been raised, and I wouldn't mind seeing a director's cut of the item while you wait for everyone's villain votes. But this item has you as my early favorite to go all the way in 2009.
As an aside,I don't really know you personally (I think), but your comments on these boards, - especially for the PFS open calls - are consistently helpful and on target. I'm not surprised to see your name next to a superstar item.
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RPG Superstar 2013
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
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That's right. Not Valeros the superhero. It'll be Daddy. The real superhero of the house...balding and all!
That's a priceless story. As an aspiring designer with little girls ages 2-13, I get my share of ribbing about gaming, followed by having to chase down my Huge Blue Dragon because gaming is for nerds, but minis are for kids.
Thanks for sharing that with us. I am also mostly bald, so I feel for ya.
Here's some most awesome artwork rendered by Hugo Solis (aka Butterfrog to some, I believe)...of the last leaves of the autumn dryad. Everybody give him some mad props for penning this image. It's fantastic, in my opinion...
Thanks again, Hugo!
I dig this one. I think it's the most imaginative and tightly themed item I've seen this year....this item has you as my early favorite to go all the way in 2009.
Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Steven/ancientsensei. I appreciate your support. Hopefully, my villain doesn't disappoint. I'm starting to feel some added pressure to live up to expectations now...eesh! But I keep telling myself that's a good thing.
I wouldn't mind seeing a director's cut of the item while you wait for everyone's villain votes.
I actually did a revised version just a little higher up. Based on everyone's feedback, I trimmed it back (heh, I pun) to just a single last leaf of the autumn dryad rather a bunch of leaves. By transforming into the tree shape, you're still going to sprout a bunch of magic leaves anyway that you can send off the scry/scout for you. The primary leaf remains in your mouth, though. And its enchantment can go dormant (just like autumn leading to winter) if the leaves don't return before you change back to your normal shape. Other than that, I think I scaled back the leaf swarm to fast healing rather than regeneration. And I tried to address Sean's concerns by making the language clearer around how the leaves talk for the user. Let me know what you think. I consider that one the director's cut until Paizo tells me to revise it again for some kind of RPG Superstar wondrous item anthology or something... ;-)
As an aside, I don't really know you personally (I think), but your comments on these boards, - especially for the PFS open calls - are consistently helpful and on target. I'm not surprised to see your name next to a superstar item.
That's very gracious of you, sir! Thank you.
And, no...to my knowledge, we've never met. But tell mom I said hello... ;-)
Somebody hit a snare drum for me.
I'm here all night, people. Don't forget to tip your waitresses.
That's a priceless story....Thanks for sharing that with us. I am also mostly bald, so I feel for ya.
You know, I've heard that male pattern baldness is actually a prerequisite for the Game Designer prestige class. So, hey, silver lining and all...
Thanks for taking time out to comment on my item. I really do appreciate it.
Sincerely,
--Neil
Congrats NSpicer!
The item is nice, glad to see that you were able to come out on top in the competition's first round.
~LD.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8
aka Tarren Dei
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You know, I've heard that male pattern baldness is actually a prerequisite for the Game Designer prestige class. So, hey, silver lining and all...
Damn. Guess I'm out of luck. Oh well, at least I have this...
*runs fingers through thick, soft, full head of hair*
;-P
I agree with Mr. Helt. This item is a winner and I know your writing very well from over a year of daily PbP posts. I'm betting you'll be in this contest for the long haul.