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 Recent Posts
The reason for this change is because we just couldnt give a good set of instructions as to what you could and couldnt say. Makes sense. Unfortunately, it's better to have people say nothing at all than to spawn a hair-splitting contest about what was technically on one side or the other. That said, I hope me responding to Wolfgang's comment about italics won't get me in trouble! No more posting for me in my country thread. Read, yes. Post, no. It's the only way to be sure.
They were italicized in my original, but I forgot to recheck it once I had pasted it into the submission window, which of course converts to plain text. Thanks for pointing that out, so I will remember in the future to make the appropriate command markers so it'll come out italicized in final form. Oddly, I don't remember the same thing happening with my item entry. The italics (spell names) there stayed italic. At least I think they did. Hmm... have to go back and recheck. In any case, I hope everyone enjoys reading, I thank the judges for their positive comments, and per the new guidelines I will say I welcome feedback (even though I can't respond to any of it on account of not wanting to get DQed, but be sure I will be making plenty of notes to myself based on what people have to say), and of course... VOTE FOR ME!!!
With wind, -19C, -2F Shoot, I'm in Seattle, where despite being pretty far north (as far as the U.S. is concerned) it rarely gets below freezing. Anything in the 30s is considered COLD here. You get into the 20s and people are freaking out like it's the Snowpocalypse! The coldest I ever remember it getting in my life here was 13F. While I was born in Seattle and live there, almost my entire growing up years all the way through high school were in small towns, some not far from cities, others in farming areas. None of them were very compact, though, so walking was never really much of an option. Heck, most of elementary school I had a half-mile walk just to get to the school bus stop!
Wait, did you mean the Roughriders (Sask) or the Rough Riders (Ott)? I did used to watch the CFL years ago. BC Lions rule! Lui Passaglia! Roy Dewalt! Swervin Mervyn Fernandez! Hassan Abubakr! (actually, he wasn't on the Lions--Montreal I think--but I just always liked his name) Oh yeah, football is my favorite sport. Washington Huskies (yeah, I know they've been down the last few years, but that's when the TRUE fans show their love instead of jumping off the bandwagon) and Seattle Seahawks. Always sort of like the New Orleans Saints too. Probably cuz they were so bad for so many years and I always like to root for the underdog.
Amusingly, I'm on the opposite end of this spectrum, being recently divorced (from a decidedly non-gamer spouse) and finding myself with rather more free time than I am used to. Of course, I have a ton of OTHER projects to do, including academic research and writing, and being a single parent is more challenging in its own way, but just having more 'alone time' also has helped to get things done when they need to get done. As for the impact of the competition on my ongoing games, not much really as far as stuff I have created, other than I bounced my country idea off of people in the group I DM, and they liked it and I may use it at some point down the road (even though they know it's dark and terrible secrets already). I have liked a number of the submitted items enough that I will probably find a way to drop them into the campaign--ironically, the first one will probably be the Elemental Quiver, which wasn't one of my favorite "Wow! Awesome!" items, but which really would fit well with one of the characters in the campaign. 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.
Ummm... right. Now what in the heck what was I thinking? I've only sung that song a coupla hundred times. How did I mess that up? *sigh* The RHPS nerd police are gonna come revoke my streed cred.
I actually liked Frostburn. It doesn't appear on my list (I went with my favorite setting there), but I did find some things in this volume quite useful and fun.Okay. Why? I love most of the 'terrain' or 'environment' books. I think they cover lots of interesting rules, have evocative settings, monsters, spells, etc. In fact, my top 8 would probably include several. Hmmm... 1. PHII
After that, you could kind of toss 'em all in a hat. If I had to pick, I'd probably say... hmmm... 7. Complete Adventurer
(I always liked psi, even though I'm not using it in my current campaign and have min-maxed psionic characters so disgustingly that I've gotten psionics banned in two other campaigns as a player) P.S. In theory, the Magic Item Compendium and Rules Compendium would make good sense to fit in a limited list, but I don't own either now so obviously they're not indispensible.
Apparently one potential Superstar flaked and missed the deadline (not sure which one yet), so it's a good thing we picked those alternates! Not it! I got mine in with 9 whole minutes to spare! I hadn't had a chance to work on it until this weekend, finished a first draft last night, got a few comments from a friends, slept on it, got a few more comments, worked on it a couple more hours this morning. About 11:30 figured it was time to send it off and then had about 20 minutes of panic trying to find the link for submission. Turns out, like a dummy, I hadn't logged in to *my* account, I was just on paizo as a guest. But all's well that ends well, figured it out, got it in, and now we wait. I'm pretty happy with my country. I think it came out well and that I was able to craft the entry to convey what I wanted, including some specific adventure hooks. As to whether the voting public will love it, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Jason P.S. Like others have mentioned, I do hope we get some feedback from the judges on question-answering guidelines in the discussion threads.
With the deadline now past, all that's left for me to do is wait. I am enjoying myself very much with this contest, even if the anticipation is going to drive me to an early grave! I'm with you. I had a little extra drama in that I logged on about 11:30 to post my country and couldn't find the link! Turns out I was logged in as a guest, not as myself. Oops! Thankfully I figured out what the problem was in time, submitted my country, and all is right with the world...
Bereket
Resources: Spices, carved wood, gold
Description: The Bhatia Desert hides a strange wonder at its heart, the green and pleasant land of Bereket. This small nation is lush, wild, and beautiful, redolent with flowers, its trees teeming with brilliant-plumed birds. Surrounded by parched barrens and sandy wastes, the people of Bereket (mostly human, with a minority of gnomes and half-orcs) attribute their edenic surroundings to an ancient monument, the Verdant Obelisk, whose power tames the desert’s rage and issues forth the waters and powers of life. This great monolith rises over 200 feet from the shallows of crystal-blue Lake Charat, its base shrouded in luxuriant moss. The obelisk seems almost to have grown rather than been built, like an enormous petrified tree, but closer examination also reveals the work of hands and ancient graven glyphs, some inscrutable but others clearly visible as sigils of nature. Built on the lakeshore and on piers and pilings on the surface of the lake around the obelisk is Ruxandra, seat of the beloved Queen Errani, whose age-whitened hair has not marred her dusky beauty nor age her wise judgment. The queen is also revered for her position as Impola Nai’ima, High Priestess of the Obelisk, calling forth the bounty of the spirits within, leading and guiding the lesser Impola and who spread the blessings of the obelisk throughout the land. The Impola priests are supported by the Oninku, the Heralds of the Obelisk, whose leader, Jayyousi (NE gm bard 16), is chief advisor to the Queen. The Oninku bards crisscross the land, from the mining town of Aroksaar to the trade city of Sahota in Bereket’s northern savannah (the only part of Bereket seen by most outsiders), bringing news, issuing decrees, and mediating and resolving local disputes. They also question travelers about their business in the land (even if they already know, to test their truthfulness) and ensuring that they do not create trouble or turmoil. Those judged dangerous by the Oninku are ‘invited’ by magical charm or press gang to visit the mines of Aroksaar, and few return. Bereket is a peaceful and contented land, happily trading with outsiders making the difficult journey there. The abundance of wild animals does make Bereket dangerous for lone travelers, and it is also troubled by mischievous genies from the surrounding desert who beguile the common folk with honeyed words and slanderous lies about their beloved queen and her servants. DM Secrets: The pleasant façade Bereket shows the world conceals a predatory nation and culture controlled by the NE druids of the Impola. The natural bounty of Bereket is maintained and expanded through constant manipulation of the land, water, and weather through druidical magic, which is enhanced by the Verdant Obelisk as if using a metamagic rod to Enlarge, Extend, Empower, and Widen their spells. Though this works marvelously to Bereket’s benefit, it has severely disrupted the weather patterns in the surrounding Bhatia desert, resulting in destructive storms and advancing desertification in the lands beyond. Queen Errani periodically sends secret delegations to surrounding lands demanding tribute of gold and slaves (usually put to work in the mines of Aroksaar) in exchange for druidical protection from the expanding desert. Towns that refuse are soon stricken with drought, storms, and blight by the Impola and swallowed up by the encroaching sands. Those who agree are spared as long as they keep paying tribute and do not speak ill of Bereket or its queen. Oninku ambassadors use persuasion, rumor-mongering, charms, illusions, and even assassination to conceal their involvement and maintain the reputation of Bereket. Their victims usually blame their fate on purely natural calamities or the work of capricious genies, demons, mad wizards, and their ilk. Impola druids view Bereket’s citizens as a captive natural resource to be used at their pleasure. They enjoy transforming into predatory animals and ‘culling the herd,’ prowling the fields, forests, and villages and devouring the unwary, publicly attributing such disappearances to accidents or wild animals. Queen Errani herself rarely hunts, except when one of her servants displeases her and becomes the hunted. The druids’ constant tampering with nature has raised the ire of the desert’s genies. Djinn and jann have long worked to undermine Bereket’s power and expose the corruption of its leaders, ambushing Oninku and Impola, and recruiting citizens and outlanders alike to join their fight. Oninku bards use mundane and magical persuasion (including liberal use of modify memory spells) to direct blame for all troubles onto these ‘rogue’ genies and the malcontents they have recruited to their side. They also use detect thoughts regularly to root out such troublemakers (and the overly curious) for enslavement or future hunts. Adventure Hooks: - Traveling in the desert, the PCs wander by accident into Bereket and interrupt an Impola hunt. If they help the hunted, they are targeted by the Impola for their own hunt. If they defeat their attackers, the jann notice and recruit them to aid the fight for freedom.
Well how do you like that? I guess there are only so many potential ideas in the universe and 2 people came up with one very similar. All I can say is, some folks have a much larger collection of gaming stuff than I have. I don't think I own anything from Bastion. Besides, this item was developed from a spell I designed back around 1989 or so, so I still call dibs on having come up with it first! :) Now, back to country-writing.
Hmmm... favorites 1. Charts of the Shadow Voyage
And hey, I liked my item too! Glad to see the Phial gettin some love.
Sounds like a fun book. I'll add it to my list; of course, I still haven't cracked the cover on the copy of Dune a friend lent me a month or so ago. Alas, not much time for pleasure reading these last few months. I suppose you're right about the bookkeeping, though it's the sort of bookkeeping that you would only do if you already had the item (not like your campaign would suddenly need to separately track damage types for everybody). Given that it is single-use you'd only worry about it until you used it, so the problem more or less solves itself pretty quickly. It's a valid nit. :)
I think the item is great, the effect useful, but the price way too high. By the time PCs could afford the item, its effects would be too wimpy to really be useful. They'd be far better off with a Wand of Cure Serious Wounds. At a lower price point, I think the item makes a lot of sense, as it would be very useful at lower levels.
It's true that the item is not greatly useful if you can already cast detect and have good spellcraft, but if your party doesn't, it could be handy. Plus, it's an auto-detect and can be used as often as you like. I think it's a decent low-level item. I might add to it that it gives a bonus to Spellcraft checks to identify a potion (not just school but actual effect).
I agree on the affect being super-awesome for the cost, but I think actually the most broken part is the ability to douse it and relight it repeatedly. Incorporeal creatures are not that common unless your DM has a ghost fixation. One torch with an hour's duration would probably last an entire campaign with duration to spare. If it's a single-use item, I think it's fine, though I would probably drop the duration to 1 minute. P.S. On seeing the name I instantly knew what the item would do. Which makes it an excellent name for the item!
I'm on the side of it being good design and a way to make explicit an easy DM cop-out of no teleports/planar travel/etc. I do think Dimensional Lock would have been a better prereq for it, but that's no big deal to me. Also, it fills a nice niche as a 'home base' item. If you did alter it to be a quick activation so you could actually use it in combat situations to block summoners/ethereal monsters/etc., it would have to be much more expensive. The name could use some work--'shielding' is pretty vague. On just looking at the title I wouldn't have guessed it was an anti-teleport device.
I really like this one. Evocative and cinematic, and at the same time a useful way for getting around the ultralong sea voyage. Yes, you can make a long sea voyage fun and exciting (I think Savage Tide did a nice job with this), but a lot of that has to do with places you stop along the way. Also, you can make ONE sea voyage fun and exciting. The return trip? Commuting back and forth? Not so much. I'm with whoever said more shadow plane and less teleports. This is SO much cooler than "We teleport back to town." Well done.
I think you're right about the default DC being 14, since Quench is a 3rd level spell so minimum stat modifier +1 for 13. I'm not sure why I put it as 13. As for the curing effect, a 5th level Cure Moderate Wounds spell cures 2d8+5 = average of 14. The phial cures 5d6, which is average of 17.5, so a little better, but only vs. fire. I figured it was close enough to swing that way. Also, I think I wanted to make sure it was an item that a single character could create, and in this case all the prereqs could be met by a 5th level druid. CSW is a 4th level spell for druids and so didn't fit. Yeah, I know the prereqs don't all have to be for one person, but I thought it was a more elegant way to do it.
Another great item! I've always thought there should be a way to "un-burn" an item or wound. Does it work on rust? (Rust is just a slower method of oxidation.) The serious answer: No, just fire, though I suppose it wouldn't be too hard to imagine a similar item that reversed rusting grasp and similar effects. The jokey answer: See, now you're trying to bring real-world chemistry into things. It's MAGIC! Otherwise we have to start dealing with questions like "does a fireball consume all the oxygen in the area of effect, creating a temporary vacuum?" and "how much smoke does a fireball create?" and "if a fireball does all this heat damage, does it heat up metal objects like a heat metal spell?" and on down the list. All questions that make perfect logical and even scientific sense to ponder but which have the potential for a lot of mess game-mechanically. I think actually in the Player's Option: Spells & Magic book they had rules for collateral effects from different attack forms, which might be an interesting place to look if you thinking in that direction.
Phial of Ebon Flame This small crystal bottle of turgid black liquid glows faintly and flows like liquid fire when opened. This ebon flame is hostile to normal fire, and when poured out (or thrown up to 30 feet) it can extinguish natural fires in a 20-ft. radius burst, dispel a magical fire (dispel check 1d20+5), or neutralize the powers of a magic item that creates or controls flame for 1d4 hours (Will DC 13 negates). The ebon flame also can reverse the destructive effects of normal or magical flame, restoring 5d6 hit points to an object or creature that has been damaged by fire. It cannot repair an object that has been completely destroyed, restore a dead creature to life, or heal damage from other sources. If splashed on a creature (a melee or ranged touch attack), the ebon flame suppresses the ability to use fire-based spells or supernatural or spell-like abilities for 1 round (Will DC 13 negates), and it also inflicts 5d6 points of damage (no save) to a creature with the fire subtype. The phial can be used only once. Faint transmutation; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item, cure moderate wounds, mending, quench; Price 1,500 gp.
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