Clinton Boomer's page

Remember, I'm not the final decision maker on this by a long shot. I'm just talking about my thoughts on it.

Plainly - but you know a lot more than I do, and having a guy with both your authority (lots!) and your candor (plenty!) present throughout the contest has been invaluable for my sanity.

By the way, I dont think we will be ranking the top 16, so you wont have any idea who was #1 and who was #16. :)

Well, THAT will keep things interesting.

Thank you for your insight, by the way.

Sorry if this has been asnwered already, but I didn't see anything in the rules and FAQ nor any of the RPG Superstar threads I've been reading.

No, that's actually a REALLY good question. I think the odds of such a thing are statistically very, very low, but stranger things have happened.

So: my guess would be, considering that I'm privvy to exactly 0% of the official rules discussions, that one of a couple of the will happen:

(1) Judge's Call - our three esteemed judges will make a secret executive decision, sworn by blood-oath against ever letting the world know, so as to maintain the integrity of the contest.

(2) Special Challenge - all those tied for the final slot (two tied for 16th, three tied for 15th, or whatever) will be given a special Sudden Death assignment, such as an editing phase or a free-style rap-battle, with the 16th contestant voted in by run-off.

(3) A pair of "Last Place" members of the next round - the strangest, this would put two people on a kind of 'probation', where they would both get to submit entries for the next round but could be yanked by either Judge or voter fiat.

(4) Or, of course, something else.

. . . so, judges, are any of those guesses close?

Excellent read Boomer.

Chad

Thank you, sir - glad to be of assistance.

I've got that sucker perma-bookmarked, and have given under-the-table print-outs of the Guide to most of my writing, composition and rhetoric instructors.

Not a fan (or 'Phan', as they're called in the dark corners of the net) of Phil Phantom's actual work, mostly because of his extremely obscene subject material, but he has a way with evocative, colloquial language that cannot be denied.

Oh my god, that's PAINFULLY cute.

I was thinking earlier that it's a shame many of the stronger entries are based around a disaster, an evil invasion or a secret corruption rather than a strong and viable nation.

Well said - and it dovetails with a lot of the design considerations that I had to make for my own nation regarding usability and mass appeal. Without violating the terms of the "no discussion regarding your entry" rule, I would simply say that I found my Lawful Good nation, after being so lovingly drafted up, FAR less interesting than the horrible, horrible things that were done to it by Evil Incarnate.

The metaphor that I keep returning to, of course, is that Gondor is more interesting to me than the Shire, while Mordor is more interesting still.

Or perhaps, in light of the reputation for video-game-centricity that I am so rightfully saddled with, a more apt observation might be that Megaman never really had a very well-defined "home", but Dr. Wiley's various castles fascinate me to this day.

LOL... excellent!

I subscribed.

*blush*

I thank you.

Jason Nelson 20 wrote:

Case in point from round 1: the Migrus Locker

It is a creature and I do not consider it as being awesome, far from it.

*grin*

To prove the point about subjectivity:

I love the Migrus, and have already added it to my game.

I am quite pleased to know that I am not completely off my rocker; indeed, that there are precedents for this type of complex, sideways-mechanics advancement in reality shows - my familiarity with the genre begins and ends with the movie "American Dreamz," and gladly so.

In any case, this contest has been an absolute joy and I look forwrd to the coming rounds with both anticipation and pleasure.

I think I speak for each and every one of the 32 contestants, as writers and designers, when I say that I have found the feedback from judges, voters and the internet community during this process absolutely invaluable - and I thank Paizo, especially Lisa, once again for this unique and unprecedented opportunity.

On a more personal note: I, myself, have some concern over the actual utility of putting some of these hard-won lessons into practice, versus the punching-bag effect that I think some creators are experiencing; without the ability (or right) to edit your entry, respond to critics or adapt from your mistakes before getting the axe, I am not certain that some writers will get much more out of this experience than being patted on the back and told to go home.

In short, this contest has been about hitting homeruns, one after another, rather than about leaning to swing the bat - which is certainly for the best. After all, presumably no one arrives on the set of "American Idol" looking for basic singing lessons, and Paizo has been relatively clear in their desire to find, and I quote, a "Superstar!"

Meaning, I assume, a "star" who is also "super".

Of course, all writers, even Superstars, require an editor - from mighty Stephen King or J. K. Rowling all the way on down to little old me or you.

I wonder, then, if in future versions of the contest it might be interesting or advisable to allow for an "Editing Challenge" - at a set (or surprise) time, give each of the contestants twelve hours to rewrite their entire entry, top to bottom, either employing or ignoring the advice of the judges, voters and community. I have a feeling that a challenge like that would serve the contestants, the voting public, and Paizo quite well.

This idea is probably best for late-game, smaller-pool competitions - if reading 32 countries is taxing, then re-reading them after a re-write is plainly a bit much. Similarly, specific contest rules are the purview of much wiser minds than my own.

Still, I can't help but feel that I'm onto something, here.

Or maybe I'm just ON something, come to think of it.

You're welcome. I just watched the PHB PSAs last night (well, the first four, anyway), and they're pretty funny.

This one, Dwarves vs. Elves, is our most popular video. Probably because it's better than the others, I'm thinking. Anyway:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNrLMob39qI

You're welcome. I just watched the PHB PSAs last night (well, the first four, anyway), and they're pretty funny. You make an excellent Hennet, and have a good natural sense of humor. Good luck in the rest of the contest.

Within the genre of films made for monetary sums approaching the cost of a cup of coffee, I like to think the PSAs stand out as well-written, enjoyable and fun - and serving an otherwise tragically underserved audience, that of "gamers who don't hate themselves."

Regardless, I am quite sincerely flattered and I thank you for the luck - I intend to use it.

While I am a contented and Zen human, all full of inner balance and stuff, I would like nothing more than to work for you. Failing that, I'm hoping that Mr. Peterson has, perhaps, enough fondness for my writing to offer me a job in the mailroom or cafeteria over at Necromancer.

First, we didnt want an arms race of providing "design comments."

Second, we just couldnt find a way to give good rules for what could and couldnt be said--since we cant allow contestants to expand on their submissions once submitted. Since we couldnt give clear guidelines, it seemed better to say "say nothing." Frankly, I think the authors prefer this.

For the record, that was a REALLY good call - every country would be on its thirteenth, maybe thirtieth, page by now if you had left the rule as-was.

Plus, you would have spent seventeen hours a day searching every one of the submissions for "over the line" commentary, and then you would either be:

(a) sending out dozens of "warning" mails,
(b) disqualifying people left, right and center,
(c) accused of favoritism and corruption, or
(d) all of the above.

You made the right decision, and I applaud you for it.

/I do, however, also HATE the rule, because I am thirsting to respond to many comments in a way that brings physical pain to my skull. Flames . . . on the side of my face . . .

And it came to mind several times while wading through these 32 entries.

"White space is your friend."

Well said. For the best damn guide I've ever, EVER seen regarding the gentle art of writing, in which that exact sentiment is echoed, check out Phil Phantom's very, VERY not-safe-for-work "Guide to Writing Good Trash.

Oh, and: it's not safe for work. Here's the page:

http://www.darkerotica.net/GuideToWritingGoodTrash.html

BTW: NSFW.

Enjoy.

I stand by my comments, though clearly I could have been much more diplomatic about it. Clearly, the judges are all taking turns being Simon.

In your defense, not a single thing you said was incorrect, inappropriate, or unwarrented - and I do, in fact, thank you for the honest criticism.

As for the video-game feel of my entry: you are correct. I was raised on video games. I was in love with Ninja Gaiden, Street Fighter and Mega Man long, LONG before I liked D&D, poetry or girls - and perhaps it shows.

Hell, I once ran a one-shot, three-night, high-level Expanded Psionics/d20 Modern game that actually had a "Character Select Screen" moment - I handed out the pile of pre-gen sheets, and each of the players chose one.
The unselected characters became mini-bosses, with the "Corrupted" template thrown onto them, defended by swarms of low-level, shotgun-toting minions. You know, to make the fights more exciting.

Not everyones' cup of tea, obviously - and I'm very, VERY lucky to have your editorial feedback.

I thank you, and all of the other judges, once again.

Honestly, in the real world a bad submission is not even going to get a complete reading. Once an editor sees something he doesn't like, it's probably dead.

Well said, sir.

I thank you for that dose of reality, as well - it's refreshing to know that real world editors bravely take a strong stand against what they dislike . . . and stand by it.

As a reader & voter on some of these entries, I've held my tongue rather than alienate a fellow contestant or make an enemy of their fans, a luxury that the Judges could not afford during this (or the previous) round.

I thank the Judges again for their time, comments, and hard work.

I don't see how you can NOT vote for me, smart guy like yourself.

Let's look at the facts:

According to Mr. Peterson, I am - and quote, because this is the internet and it's easy - "an anime-fueled, Mountain Dew-juiced gonzo king of combat, magic and adrenaline". Indeed, I have a "hard core, full-throttle design style". Says Clark: "It's like a freaking Quentin Tarantino movie."

High praise, indeed - and a cautionary example. So, sure, maybe I'll burn out, explode, or fade away.

But there's only one way to find out.

The questions you have to ask yourself are simple: Would you like to have, for your game, a villian based on my thought processes? Or a trio of monsters? How about a complete encounter? Or, god help us, an adventure?

They're on the way. Just vote me in.

I promise you only one thing: my best.
And I demand your vote.

That said, I more or less agree with their assessments. ... And I'm fairly in line with what the judges are saying too about the quality of the individual submissions overall, so they seem to be pretty much getting it right as far as I am concerned.

That makes two of us - the judges are very, very smart people, and they have done a fine job, in my opinion, of giving voters a lot of authentic professional criticism to base their comments and their votes on.

I was with you 100%, right up until the point where I realized that you meant "the Judges," the gracious Mr. Mona, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Baur - rather than, as I assumed, the laughably inconsistent judging on the part of the voting public.

I don't know, man. I hear you. I mean, I'm certain that there was Judge-Fatigue, which is why I'm taking Wolfgang's scathing review of my country with a grain of salt while trying apply his lessons to sharpen my design skills for the next round, but . . .

I guess I'm just of the opinion that we were ALL judged as swiftly as possible, and thankful that, for the most part, people are taking their time with the countries in a way that the Judges couldn't hope to match without killing the contest.

The thing that's killing me is not being allowed to respond to some of the comments on my entry - I feel like I could really engage in a dialogue with alot of people, but there's no way in hell that I'm sticking my neck out for a disqualification.

Oi.

Indeed - although I don't hate blink dogs.

Actually I just read your entry again too Boomer ... it could be growing on me...

Hating blink dogs is just my little insanity - I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. And this country makes me hate them a damn sight LESS.

Anyway: let these countries grow on you. There is no reward for making snap judgements or voting "first" - each one is a little painted egg-shell world, with all sorts of cool stuff tucked away where you hadn't looked before.

So, Superstars? there have been a few name issues over a few subm,issions. may I suggest you take 10 minutes and google them all first?

Google helped me come THIS close to not making a fool out of myself with names - I still screwed it up, of course, because I'm a reverse-ninja and can screw up pretty much anything.

Anyway: while the name didn't exist elswhere, a big CHUNK of it did, and I used quotes where no quotes should have gone.

BTW, WC - well done. Yes, formatting issues. Whatever.

Wonderful ideas, however, and an evocative landscape that I would be pleased to game in.

It's all good.

Cool.

Darkjoy wrote:

No!

I am not voting for this, not even evaluating it.

Thanks for your valuable contribution to the discussion.

Not all contributions are created equal, I suppose.

I just keep coming back to this one. I'm still having trouble with the population numbers, but it's one of the entries that's made the biggest impact on me so far - I think that is Superstar material.

That makes two of us. I, funny enough, actually hate Blink Dogs - but the sheer balls of this raw IDEA makes me go all tingly . . . and thankful that I have more than one vote

The first one, though it was just a warning to be careful how you phrase things while you are in the ephemeral spotlight. The country will stand on its own merits.

(yes, I know where you are from; it's in the sig., which makes it twice as bad, as you are perpetuating a negative stereotype)

Also, the reply has a hint of snarky tone; not sure if it’s intentional, though it’s understandable given the harshness of my initial admonishment.

Fair enough - I was leaping inappropriately to the defense of a man who was, in my view, being treated badly because of his cultural origins. Yeah, it's silly, but it seemed kinda mean that so many people were jumping on the "dumb foreigner" for not knowing something that, well, he didn't know.

In my defense, we Americans ARE pretty obsessed with it. *grin* Not sure, however, that I know which negative stereotype you're referring to. There are an AWFUL lot of them, after all.

As for the snarky tone: yeah. I suppose that I'm just tired and stressed (I mean, it is almost six in the morning, here) and honestly, genuinely nervous about the idea of voters holding the contestants hostage via vote-yanking - if I have to watch what I say, or "be careful how I phrase things" for fear of losing the contest, I'm guessing that it's already lost.

Point is: I'm sorry if I came off as insensitive (I'm not), mean (honestly, I'm not), or dumb (that, sadly, I am).

thatboomerkid wrote:

- the problem derives from an American fixation on the local term used for a male-specific bodily fluid.

For the record, using American as an adjective, followed by a generalization, means a lost vote.

Huh - my country, which has nothing to do with this exchange, lost your vote because of my "use of American as an adjective, followed by a generalization"?

Or did you take away one of MY votes, so that I can only vote for four people now?

. . . because I didn't know we could do that.

I'm curious in that the few entries I've read thus far, Eric seems to be focusing very highly on the countries interest/feasability as a point of origin for a PC. Unless I missed it, that wasn't mentioned as a specific parameter for this stage? If I had of somehow made it to this stage a few of the ideas I had would have run afoul of that focus.

That's a very interesting question - as a designer, that thought, the "could this be a place that I would want to be from?" test, certainly crossed MY mind, but it was never part of the RULES, after all.

I probably wouldn't use this in any of my games, but that's not to say that I might not vote for it.

I can post here to ask for feedback, right?

Can one of the judges please explain why the name is so horrible? I'm just a stupid dutchman and I think I'm missing something here.

Neither you nor any other of the Dutch are stupid - the problem derives from an American fixation on the local term used for a male-specific bodily fluid.

Not your fault, but a smart editor has already suggested changing the name, perhaps in a completely hypothetical future re-write, to "Cimmevea" or other Latinate word. This, of course, is what good editors are for.

You should be commended - a fine submission, although not my favorite.

I can hear my players now:

"Why, oh why, did we come to Yithnai?"

Love it - and I love "The Doom that Came to Sarnath", so I should know.

Damn. I'm glad that we're not limited to a single vote, because I'd have to pass on my own write-up.

Brilliantly done.

Deliciously not-safe-for-work, not-SRD-friendly D&D humor.

Or, "humor", I guess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pbBfwdOZcU

- the Boom
1/3 of the CreativeJuices Team,
Writer and Proiducer,
Player of Hennet, Blackrazor and Pazuzu
and proud contestant in "RPG Superstar!"

Wonderful.

I love it.

While I noticed, like most of the other readers, a certian lack of detailed "country-side" in this country, it was the Houses that sold me. Hell, the DMG has plenty of information about little one-horse villages poulated by "Jon the Farmer" and "Jon, the Farmer's Son".

It does not, however contain as much awesome, complex, internicine war between demon-aligned Nobles as this does.

(But points off for Boomer not sticking to the one word answer to questions thing).

Feedback.

I would love to have your pure talent to just barf out that much creativity. But I don't know how far this hard core, full-throttle design style will take you.

Nor I. One would hope, however, that I might be able to churn out a stunningly intense, riveting 32 page adventure.

*grin*

It's like a freaking Quentin Tarantino movie.

That is both the sincerest flattery and most telling criticism that I have ever recieved.

I thought the names of the various cities sounded a LOT like the names of books in the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy. I highly doubt I'll be the only reader to make that connection, as a huge percentage of fantasy gamers have read those books or are at least aware of them. For this reason I think it's worth considering, and it's worth avoiding names that lead people to this comparison.

Especially the term "Spring Dawning".

My mistake entirely - neither I nor the proofreader are familiar with the Dragonlance books, and a Google seach, done improperly (I quoted the entire phrase, including "Shrine of", so I got no hits) failed to reveal that glaring error.

This is why good writers need GREAT editors - were I to submit a second draft of the country, that mistake would be corrected.

Again, I humbly thank the judges for their time, comments and consideration.

I thank the judges, graciously and sincerely, for their comments. I hope to be treated half as well by the general public.

A say only this to the voters: I hope that you will vote for me, because my villain's name is "Muscular Acton, Lord of Muscular Action".

His villainy is muscular-action-packed.

Again, thank you to each and every one of the judges.

Winchester is about 1500 souls. Mostly farmers, people who support farmers (four farm tractor, implement dealers. I work for New Holland) or plant workers (we have a huge Parmalat plant here, makes milk product)

That's . . . very small. Even by my standards. How unrighteously cold is it up there, by the by?

Yeah for the movies... yeah for the small town... yeah for walking... down with man... This from a guy who lives in a small farming community and who makes his living working with farmers. Remember Farmers feed cities :)

(preaching done)

WC

Ooooohh, how small are we talking, here? We're looking at 18,000 souls in Mac-Town, about half farmers and half college folk, which makes for a fun mix.

Clinton,

Must say that I admire you for having the courage to make that choice. I'm not sure I'd be able to do the same, though I do like to wear hemp and run around barefoot when I'm fairly confident none of my patients or coworkers will be around.

Chad

That makes me happy. I think we could ALL stand to run around barefoot every once in a while - and those of us who recognize that are lucky.

As for the pedestian life: it's more fun in June, less fun in February. I'm lucky - my entire life is within walking distance of my house. Wouldn't recommend it to most people.

Boomer,

I'd love to live the hippie life too, but finances have forced me to side with the man.
Chad

Fair enough. Also: Damn the man! Save the Empire!

*grin*

In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably make it clear that I'm not CHOOSING to walk to work - I just ain't got no ride. I live in a town small enough to walk across, and it was a choice between "car, including insurance and gas" or "making silly movies".

Yes, but then we all have. Like Clark's post where he didn't grade on of the submissions. I am sitting here going, "what did I forget" :)

I actually panicked the other day & dug my stupid entry back out because I had become convinced in the night that I had forgotten the 'Evocative Concept in Brief'.

Oh, wait, THERE it is. Right where I f@#+ing left it. DUH.

If I wasn't a drunk already, this contest would have driven me to it.

(KIDDING!)

exile wrote:

The tension is finally getting to me.

You don't know the half of it. The entries here post at 3pm (EST). I have a final exam at 4 and another at 7. I also have to finish a project to turn in before my exam. As you might guess, I'm a wee bit stressed.

Suck. They get posted at 2 PM here in Illinois, and I have to get my Janitorial on by 2:45. Big hippie that I am, I walk to work, meaning that I gotta leave the house by, say . . . 2:05 to 2:10.

This is gonna be a long, cold morning.

pallen wrote:

"It's the one with the cannibal gnomes trying to overthrow their necromancer overlords!"

Damn. Why didn't I think of that?

Oi. I know, right?

A couple of my players did that to me on Monday night - jerks. Among the suggestions (Dogs that talk! Land of invisible pants! Reverse vampires subjugated by reverse vampire hunters!) was one that was SO weird, I almost hated myself for not writing it up:

"An upside-down floating haunted city made of intelligent crystal, ruled by a Half-Fiend Ravid!"

Just begs to be fleshed out, don't it?

Yesterday, I was discussing the competition with one of my friends. When I described one idea I had, he responded that it was original, but he couldn't see how most DMs could use it. On the other hand, I've occasionally found exotic ideas that inspired me to rethink entire games.

What do you all think?

Ooooh, good question! Since I went the route of applicability, I'm hoping for THAT to be the common response, but I, for one, am a man with a taste for the strange, exotic and unusual. Originality will probably be the big seller for me - my favorite fantasy novel is "The Scar" by China Meiville, with Brust's "Jhereg" novels as a close second.

When I sit down to play any game, I always want to be the odd man out - if everyone is good, I want to be evil. I everyone is undead, I want to be alive. Everyone has guns? Give me a sword. Everyone has swords, give me a naginata or a set of nunchucks or my bare hands. I want to be only foreigner, unless we're all foreigners - then I want to be the local.

If one of the contestants can give me a strange and exotic land for me to be from to bring in a Sha'ir or Warlock or Wu Jen or, god help me, something weirder, it'll stick for me.

And probably get more than a second look - it might get my vote.

Good to hear. I am certainly waiting to see what you have to say on mine. It isn't often that you get a chance to have your work critiqued by professionals. This contest has been great for that. On all fronts.

Thanks Justin.

WC

I'm with WC on this one. No hurry, obviously, but I'd love to hear your take on my item's presentation.

Again, thanks.

Yeah, but as a bartender, I'm celebrating Repeal Day today.

http://www.repealday.com/

. . . hell, is it too early to start celebrating, you think?

I'm just glad that I'm apparently not the only insomniac on these boards.

Thank you for the encouragement, Clark. I'll consider my resolve steeled: +2 against all constructive criticism.

Hmm. This thread prompted me to go watch these mythic PSAs. I'm not sure I can support Hennet with a vote. Heheheeh.

In my defense, I've already gone a two full rounds of this contest without submitting any entries containing the phrases "hummer and a burrito", "motor-boating" or "smoking crack and f$+!ing fat b@#+!es".

Mostly because I don't want to be banned for life. These boards are really nice.

Personally, I'm just hoping that the merry Paizo pranksters are going to slap a PSA-related title (like "Friend of Invisible Christopher Walken", perhaps) onto my name, similar to the sudden shift from the simple "thatboomerkid" to the awe-inspiring "Clinton Boomer (RPG Superstar Top 32)".

Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiimp.

Seriously, nice work on those. Not that you haven't heard it before, but I'm sure it never hurts to hear it again. Heh.

Hasn't hurt yet - I'll let you know.

*grin*

Hey Boomer, have I ever said you have an ingeniously simple quirky sense of humour. And an awesome first name...

W Clint Cronk

No, you've never told me either of those things - and I know that for a fact, because I absolutely THIRST for compliments and flattery of any kind. More! More compliments! I beg of you!

*grin*

Also, yeah, my first name is Clinton - but the family calls me "C.J.", short for "Clinton John", so there's a list of, like, maybe three people, all of whom I've known since third grade, who use that name for me. Hell, even my girlfriend calls me "Booms".

At work and at home, I'm Boom, Boomamos, Boom-Stick, Boom-Skillet, Boom-Dog, Boom-Daddy, Boom-Diggity, Boomerino or El Boomero Uno, if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

. . . weird.

I can see some other ones getting dropped in as well (Beacon of Hope comes to mind)--my current campaign is low/mid level (4th-6th) and in a modified Al-Qadim setting, so not everything fits, but lots of things do and others could with a little massaging.

So you're saying that the Crown might not be showing up any time soon?

It's okay. It'll wait.