paizo.com - Paizo / Messageboards / Paizo Publishing / RPG SuperstarTM / Round 3 - Top 16: Create a Villain Stat Block / Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 01:52 PM

Charles Evans 25 wrote: Ah-ha, so he probably traded with them. And the Ancient Osiriani? See my response to Steven.


Charles Evans 25, Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 01:56 PM

Tarren Dei wrote: Charles Evans 25 wrote: Ah-ha, so he probably traded with them. And the Ancient Osiriani? See my response to Steven. Seen.


Charles Evans 25, Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 02:01 PM

Congratulations on making it through, anyway.


armac (Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Companion, Pathfinder Modules Subscriber), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 02:05 PM

Congratulations, Trevor!


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 02:30 PM

Charles Evans 25 wrote: Congratulations on making it through, anyway. Well, even without your vote, I think you got some discussion going around misperceptions of Bracht and that helped. So, thank you as well.


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 02:30 PM

armac wrote: Congratulations, Trevor! Thanks, Armac!


Patrick Curtin (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Chronicles Subscriber), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 02:31 PM

Gratz Tarren! Looking forward to your next submission!


Philip Snyder (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 02:36 PM

Congrats Trevor, great job. I've always loved the idea of a flesh-warping madman and Bracht fits the bill nicely.Best of luck on the next round.


Nameless, Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 02:48 PM

Congratulations, sir! I look forward to seeing Bracht's Evil Lair of EVIL!


Charles Evans 25, Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 02:59 PM

Nameless wrote: Congratulations, sir! I look forward to seeing Bracht's Evil Lair of EVIL! If Bracht's lair features, Trevor won't be doing it... See the Round 4 rules, for the curve ball Paizo threw contestants.


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 04:00 PM

Nameless wrote: Congratulations, sir! I look forward to seeing Bracht's Evil Lair of EVIL! Bracht and I are looking forward to seeing Bracht's lair as well.


Charles Evans 25, Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 04:03 PM

Hmm; I wonder if Bracht will be allowed to wander around the Round 4 threads once posted, complaining 'hey, I didn't put that there...' (Always assuming anyone goes for Bracht's lair.)


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 04:09 PM

Charles Evans 25 wrote: Hmm; I wonder if Bracht will be allowed to wander around the Round 4 threads once posted, complaining 'hey, I didn't put that there...' (Always assuming anyone goes for Bracht's lair.) Bracht would not do that. He might come visit the liar, plop himself down on the couch and ask for a beer but he would not criticize anyone's envisioning of his lair in any way. To do so would reflect badly on me as a writer. If I didn't inspire someone in a way I can appreciate, that's as much my bad as theirs. I hope that all the Top 16 (17) contestants would be respectful enough not to strongly criticize the ways in which another contestant imagines their lairs.


Charles Evans 25, Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 04:24 PM

Ah well, smurf.


Aphreal, Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 04:54 PM

Tarren Dei wrote: Aphreal wrote: For some reason, this entry just doesn't capture my imagination the way it seems to for many other people. I suspect it's because I spent several months playing an RPG called Rippers. It's a Victorian setting with a kind of League of Extaordinary Gentlemen feel to it, and the main novel mechanic is "ripping", taking part of monsters and grafting them onto people to give them some of that monster's power and possibly drive them crazy. So Bracht's fleshgrafting felt very stale and unoriginal to me. Rippers is a pretty obscure game, and I suspect very few other people here have heard of it (anyone?), so I doubt Trevor was influenced by it at all. It just makes it hard for me to appreciate the new mechanic when I've seen a better fleshed-out (pun unintended) version of it before. Never heard of Rippers. Is it any good? Is it d20? Rippers is unfortunately not d20; it's Savage Worlds. I suspect my GM at the time found it because he loves Deadlands. I don't know if there were actual books printed or just PDF downloads. It's a steampunkish Victorian/Gothic setting where Dr Hyde, Jack the Ripper, VanHelsing, etc set up a group fighting the monsters of the world (vampires, werewolves, demons, etc) and learned how to graft body parts taken from the monsters onto people to get some of their strengths. For example, one of our characters had demon retinas implanted to gain improved night vision; another had a demon claw to get stronger unarmed attacks. Unfortunately, the grafting process (known as Ripping) has a strong tendency to drive the recipient insane, so most of the founding group of Rippers are now nuts. You play recruits hired by the organization VanHelsing has put together trying to stop the founders, as well as all the other monsters out there. We had a lot of fun with it, but that was mostly the storyline and fluff aspects of it. The mechanics were somewhat annoying to me, probably because I'm so used to d20. It's a great concept and was really fun to play. I hope my comments didn't offend you; I really didn't mean to suggest your idea wasn't your own, just that it underwhelmed me because I'd played in a system based on flesh-grafting type mechanics. I'm pleased you made it to the next round, and I'll be looking forward to seeing what you do with another contestant's ideas as well as (hopefully) what someone else does with yours.


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 05:16 PM

No, not offended but intrigued. Grafts drive you insane, eh? Hmmm, my wisdom damage is similar. I got that idea from a Global Frequency comic in which people given cybernetic enhancements tended to suffer mental breakdowns. Here's a link to Rippers in the online store.


Gamer Girrl, Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 05:34 PM

ROFL! Have you been answering all the posts and saving them up for today, Trevor? And no, you don't need to answer me right away, you're busy lair building ::chuckle:: Gratz!


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 06:22 PM

Jason Rice wrote: ...You called it Craft Arcane Fleshgraft and Craft Arcane Flesh. Two names? Yes. I kept wavering on which one to use and then I goofed. Which one do you think sounds better? Jason Rice wrote: ...The name implies that only arcane spells can be grafted, but the feat's rules don't have any restriction. Are divine spells allowed? Yes, if they are inherited. The arcane fleshgrafts can only be enhanced with inherited spells, such as those sorcerers can cast. Sorcerers cast arcane spells. Divine spells are usually bestowed by a diety but, in the case of sorcerers with the celestial bloodline, some divine spells can be inherited. When a sorcerer with the celestial bloodline casts a divine spell, is it an arcane spell? Jason Rice wrote: ...If limited to Arcane, did you intend for only sorcerer's to be targets? Your background implies that, but the feat doesn't say that. Monsters that inherit spells or spell-like abilities would be allowed as well. Jason Rice wrote: ...What is the deciding factor that determines which organ holds which spell? Flavour. Just like 'goggles of hideous laughter' would seem odd, 'eye of hideous laughter fleshgraft' would be odd. Jason Rice wrote: ...What happens to a dead donor that is the subject of a Raise Dead or Resurection? Does he permanently lose his spell? Note: Raise Dead doesn't restore missing body parts. I don't know. I wouldn't think so. The subject of a [i[ressurrection[/i] spell retains all their spells normally. If your arm is being digested inside a troll's belly and you are subject of a [i[ressurrection[/i] spell does the troll suddenly become hungry? Jason Rice wrote: ...Does "cast it without materials" mean "material components", "focuses", or both. I'm stumped. Jason Rice wrote: ...you allowed bite attacks if you grafted a mouth and the donor had that attack. I think that opens a door better left closed. If that's allowed, why not gaze attacks if you graft an eye? I agree. I shouldn't have let that in. Jason Rice wrote: Or, alternately, get rid of the ability to graft spells and only allow special abilities/attacks to be grafted. I think I like that better. If you want a claw attack, look for a creature that has one and "borrow" his hands. Want better hearing? A few extra ears should do the trick. The 'Brew Fleshgrafting Poison' and 'Craft Construct' feat worked for that now and I pretty much had to either strip Bracht of that ability or support it.


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 06:28 PM

Gamer Girrl wrote: ROFL! Have you been answering all the posts and saving them up for today, Trevor? And no, you don't need to answer me right away, you're busy lair building ::chuckle:: Gratz! No, but I needed something to ease my tension while waiting for results to be posted.


roguerouge (Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Modules Subscriber), Tue, Feb 17, 2009, 08:27 PM

Congratulations!


Bracht Darkhouse, Wed, Feb 18, 2009, 06:46 PM

Trevor? Trevor!!?? Where are you, Trevor? You promised to design me a lair! Anybody? ... Anybody here?


The Witch Hunter General, Wed, Feb 18, 2009, 07:08 PM

Is this the untitled thread? Edit: My apologies, good sir, only I appear to have become lost.


The Witch Hunter General, Wed, Feb 18, 2009, 07:22 PM

< Glances at the vague, indeterminate, shapeless minions, raises an eyebrow, and wanders off to try another forum.... >


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Thu, Feb 19, 2009, 08:18 AM

Bracht Darkhouse wrote: Trevor? Trevor!!?? Where are you, Trevor? You promised to design me a lair! Anybody? ... Anybody here? Fun story, Bracht. I had a lair designed for you. I'd finished the map and written about 4000 words in notes ... but ... well, see, ... something came up. ;-)


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Thu, Feb 19, 2009, 08:21 AM

Although I posted it on Tuesday, I think it may be lost amongst my many replies: I'm very grateful to all those who took the time to give me feedback on Bracht, particularly the critical feedback. I entered this contest knowing that mechanics were my greatest weakness and am thankful to the voters that I squeaked through this round. That was my 'growth' challenge for this round and I barely accomplished it. I hope I can redeem myself in the next round by presenting a lair that is mechanically sound, flavourful, and suited to the other superstar's villain.


Matthew Stinson (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4), Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 06:02 PM

Good luck with your lair. I can wait to see what you come up with. I think I'm going to talk my group into play test some lairs so we can comment on them. I'll be sure you're at the top of the list.


Trevor Gulliver (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 07:26 PM

TheTwitching King wrote: Good luck with your lair. I can wait to see what you come up with. I think I'm going to talk my group into play test some lairs so we can comment on them. I'll be sure you're at the top of the list. The idea delights and terrifies me.