Thomas LeBlanc's page

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Argh! M'beard! Dangit! My gold!

it, you pesky things, git!

Sounds like some new gremlin stole some of his letters...

I don't think I would want a token from a pugwampi. Or a redhat.

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Ya'll better watch out for Oladon, she is the cause of most of pmg's work to keep the site operational. Little known fact: Oladon is an internet gremlin.

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Who IS John Kretzer? (philisophically and not at all in a snarky sense...)

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Zombie Ninja wrote:

1. Do you think the classes are currently well balanced (if it is even a concern to you), or would you like to make some further changes to class balance?

1. Depends heavily on what you mean by balanced. In terms of combat effectiveness, no, they are not, nor were they designed to be. We understand that each class has a niche to fill and sometimes that means better advantages in one area of play over another. A lot of folks get really hung up over combat effectiveness, and for them, there are certainly some classes that rise above the rest. That is ok. I can live with that so long as we are also providing a bounty of options for players that are more interested in other parts of the game.

The best part of the thread so far.

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Heck, even a Round 1 twist would be a good touch - that way no one knows whether their carefully-sculpted submission actually qualifies until the contest truly begins. That's a closer gauge of good freelancing skills than giving folks 12 whole months to get the formula just right.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. People have already started on next year's submission the day the Top 32 were announced. By adding a simple twist to Round 1 items, you would prevent items that have been finely honed over months. A 30 day notice should be plenty of time to create a magic item. Especially for someone serious about doing RPG design professionally. How many prior contestants made it into the Top 32 (or higher) and have not had a single thing published since? I wonder how many had items they polished for months prior to submission?

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Cosmo...

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I wonder if it is possible if there is at least one who is a member of the Decemvirate or if all of them are...

Because their identities are unknown, some say even masked to the gods, members seem ageless. It is assumed that the position is passed down through a hidden method, although it is not beyond reason that the Decemvirate age very slowly or are truly immortal

The masks could be focuses for their powers or serve another nefarious purpose.

On the reverse of the same coin, maybe the Aspis Prophet is one? Or a Patron of the ASPIS Consortium.

What if different sects of veiled masters secretly run both organizations, using them as pawns in a twisted competition to gain power, knowledge, or even just for S&G.

A veiled master could use the information and artifacts gleaned by the organization(s) for the next destruction the aboleths plan to visit upon Golarion. Or collecting items to prevent humans from stopping the disaster.

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I am not a millionaire because I don't have a million dollars.

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scranford wrote:

What I would "really" like to see is a globe. Even one of those inflatable beach ball printed things.

I've been fighting fro that since the original gazetteer came out

JJ has one on his desk...

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Or an all barbarian group taking back Sakoris single-handedly!

Why not a summoner? Since they are traditionally Sakoran(Sakorian, Sakorite, ?).

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I voted for 4 of SteelDraco's picks, 5 of Isaac Duplechain's picks, and 3 of Tom Phillip's picks.

Hope that helps! :)

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I didn't really understand the inclusion of Knowledge (dungeoneering), but the rest of the archetype works. I liked the idea of aquadynamic bombs, but you could have started the ability weaker and then worked up to lacking of thrown penalty. 6th level seems kind of late to add it.

Top contender in my book.

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Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

Gloves of the Eldritch Duelist

And did you know that rules-wise "unused spell slots" can mean both "spell slots you didn't fill that morning" and "spells you haven't cast yet"? Because I wasn't cognizant of this fact until a couple minutes ago.

My item was hurt by the rules not making up their mind on what to call those. Curse you Bulmahn!

Whoa! That makes them alot more useable.

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My location predictions:

Daggermark
Outsea
Tymon

Bonus geographic location:
Sellen River!

Check!

Check!
No check. :(

Bonus:
Super-check!!!

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Fan, Dragonscale

Cost: Poorly done. A minor ring of energy resistance costs 12k and uses a slot, that doubles your price alone. Plus your item adds damage on top of that, worth more than the remaining 2k in price difference (again slotless).

Impression: I swear this was an item in a Rokugan(sp?) game I played using 3.0 rules. I liked thfact this item had 3 variations and the dragons accounted for. Disliked "harmless-looking". At least it couldn't be used as a fighting fan or that would have increased price even more.

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Beardforge

Impression: Ah, the beardforge, I had a good laugh over this item. It was so ridiculous I assumed it had to be a joke item. This item was at the top of my reject item list and never received a single vote from me. I couldn't degrade myself to do so.

Joke reasoning:
Who carries a 20 lb anvil?
Iron anvil with steel jars full of diamond tipped scissors and combs...
Comedic item activation.
Ridiculoous Profession skill (except maybe Cheliax or Taldor).
Cost versus potential bonuses gained.

Garret, I liked your item last year, not only was this item a huge leap backwards, it was a disapointment for me to see this as your best idea for a submission.

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Gloves of the Eldritch Duelist

Wording: Really Cheapy, I wouldn't expect an "of the" item from you. Did you accidently?

Impression: This item was part of my personal Top 32. Yes, I had to look up dueling counters and mnemonic crystals to understand this item fully. I am glad I did because I really like the dueling counter.

The unused spell slots probably threw alot of people since they don't leave any open when they prepare spells (or know you can do that, due to poor rules fu). Made perfect sense to me, since I usually leave a slot or two free just in case, especially for utility spells.

rant
I get the feeling from reading various posts, quite a few voters were too lazy to actually research the items under their review and just voted after 60 seconds, regardless of whether they understood the items or not. This is one of the items I feel suffered due to this. Yes, I made champion voter, but I tried to grok every item before voting. Even the one that made no sense after 15 minutes of rereading/researching and thankfully disappeared post cull...

I read one post by some [redacted] that had an arbitraty gp value and he didn't vote for items above that value.
/rant

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Looks like the vast majority are playing it safe with easy clases to archetype. Can't say I am surprised. I was hoping to be wowwed by a cleric, sorcerer, or wizard. And the gunslinger better sell it hard, because they aren't very widespread in Golarion.

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I'm first going to give feedback for the top 89 that didn't make it that have requested feedback. I think that might be most helpful. Not till tomorrow night, though. I've been finishing up archetypes :)

Uh oh... A smiley face! What can it mean?!? Can't wait to see them tonight. Begins the anticipation dance

Clark, will you be starting a new thread for your reviews?

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Motive Capacitor

Impression: I really did not see this as a PC item due to the recharging. Evil NPC sucking the life out of others to charge it, yes. In combat, you stick the enemy with it, he turns around and sticks you with it.

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@Anonymous user commenting on Google Drive:

** spoiler omitted **

No problem!

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Immediate Chant

Requirements: Arcane bond seemed strange to have. I think Scribe Scroll would have been a perfect inclusion after reading the items abilities.

Mechanics: Why did you add the UMD skill check if you refer to the skill and the DC was incorrect. I didn't like the changing of casting times, nor the spell remaining if the UMD check fails.

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Hunter's Geas

Aura The divination aura should overpower the abjuration aura since it comes from a higher level spell.

Impression: Geas seems to have nothing to do with the effects of the item. Also you should have to be within sight to declare the target to prevent metagaming.
Mechanics: "saving throws against attacks" should be reworded to "saving throws against abilities"

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Tempest Regalia
Aura moderate evocation; CL 10th
Slot body; Price 12,000 gp; Weight 7 lbs.
Description
Crafted from a blend of gray and white silks reminiscent of stormy skies, this finely tailored courtier's outfit comes adorned with exquisite silver jewelry—worth 50 gp—featuring an indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. The outfit grants a +2 circumstance bonus when making Charisma–based skill checks to influence creatures with the air subtype and increases the wearer's caster level for all spells with the air descriptor by +1.

Once per day, as a standard action, the wearer can cocoon themselves in a windstorm (Core Rulebook p. 439) which fills their entire space. The windstorm causes the wearer's size to count as one size larger (the wearer's size doesn't actually increase) for bull rush and overrun combat maneuvers when determining CMB, CMD, and effects dependent on size. The windstorm causes the wearer's space to count as difficult terrain and increases the DC by 5 for all Acrobatics skill checks to move though the space. The duration of the windstorm lasts for 1 minute, but can be dismissed a standard action.

Inserting an ioun stone (except dull gray stones) into the jewelry's indentation grants the normal benefit of the stone and augments the power of the tempest regalia. An inferior ioun stone (Seeker of Secrets p.46) allows for one additional usage of the windstorm ability per day and a normal ioun stone allows for two additional uses per day. Swapping ioun stones doesn't allow for additional uses per day. Additionally, when the wearer creates electricity, the electricity's color is changed to match the color of the ioun stone.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Heighten Spell, adoration, wind wall; Cost 6,000 gp

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My favorite pairing:

abadar’s change purse vs abadar’s portable moneychanger

same idea voted for the slightly better execution.

I had that pairing once, was an easy choice. I liked one and disliked the other.

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That reminds me of my favorite pairing:

forceful fingertips vs. box of desire

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Hmm, minor mispellings could make for drastically different items:

Gloves of the Frugal Pealer
Many-layered Veal
Skipping Stoner
Verdant Crown of Oak and Irony
Witchwood Bomb

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Thanks for the list Clark! It bears proof that one single person can't vote an item onto or off of the list! I had a few items in my keep folder I never voted against that didn't make the top 89. One of them I saw over 40 times and another almost 30 times.

Roughly 40% of the judges picks were in my Keep folder.

Roughly 33% of the voters picks were in my Keep folder.

I would say I'm even more out of touch with the voting public than I am with the judges, except I connected with the voting public on the most important level of all: I designed an item they voted into the Top 89.

(My item was the disappearing weapon cord.

I have a similar feeling. I picked 25 of the Top 32 in my list. 4 of my keeps didn't make the top 89 list. My auto-reject list had 29 items and only 7 made the top 89 (4 made the Top 32).

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Everyone has different criteria, from the voters to the judges. Just look at the projects each judge has worked upon. Each have different focuses, feels, and levels of usefulness. It all comes down to a matter of opinion and personal preferences.

I voted more for an item with balance/mechanics and average mojo than I did for a unbalanced/mechanically inept item with cool mojo. I think a core understanding of the rules is integral to game designer and so that was the person I voted, one who delivered a balanced design that is useable without having to be developed by someone else. My favorite items were the ones that were designed soundly and had plenty of mojo. There were not many of those. When I compare my item to my keep folder, I see my item lacks alot of the "OOH!" that screams superstar when compared to most of the Top 32. But I feel it is a good magic book item. Next year I need to channel more Boomer...

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I am worried about doing a Realm Building article and have the basic system changed upon the release of Ultimate Campaign, which comes after the submission deadline and before the Wayfinder publishing.

As for the kingdom-building rules, some things were changed a little, some were changed a lot, some things stayed the same. Some things will change further during development. Hopefully the final result is something that pleases most!

---

On a different note, some paper minis based on the Darklands would make for some cool art! Just sayin'...

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The only thing I did not like about this item is the ambiguity of what happens when the swarm is released.

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"nondescript", "appears to be a normal", and "but it conceals something other than" completely destroyed my interest in this item. My biggest problem was it gave away too much at too little cost. Removing the need for a command word and visual effects makes this item suited to an arcane caster trying to not appear as one. While it sounds nice, I believe the reason spells receive some of their balance is due to opponents having a chance to identify who is using magic. I personally feel the actions to change out the wand take too little time. I have to say I really disliked this item due to game balance issues.

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I liked the simple utility of this item, but it was not superstar for me. A great item for a book, but I was not overly fond of the imagery. I upvoted this item often, but it was nowhere near top 40 for me.

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Daggumit, I thought this was to be an exclusive hangout! They are letting in Star, Dedicated, and Marathon Voters. Not to mention people without Top 32 tags. This place sure has gone downhill...

>:)

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Who made Beardforge? I love you. Perfectly formatted and perfectly ridiculous.

Agreed, but I need to become a hairdresser just in case...

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There once was a man named Chris Shaeffer,
Able to pull words out of his aether.
An avatar pulled from Key Largo,
Entered an item for best in show,
Hoping to be a Top 32 recur!

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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan wrote:

While I may not be a Champion or Marathon voter, as a Dedicated Voter I'm not a complete scrub though.

I get the torture, and am enjoying it along with the rest of the crew.

... I am a complete scrub.

And you are a masochist. ;p

Hodge Podge the scrub,

In a candy filled tub.
And why he was there?
Too lazy to vote,
Shoving candy down his throat,
And he ate more than his fair share!

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About time this place formed from the shapeless mists of the ethernets.

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When Round One is done I hope we hear more about the "rocky" start. The most entertaining part of American Idol is the initial try out phase.

Worried about something?

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If the top 90 were to be posted, alphabetical order with no clue as to rankings would be to go. That way future contestants could see what the voters were liking. And I am curious to see if any camping, walky talkies, or make adventuring safe items made it up that high.

Thanks Clark for easing the wait!

Clark, would you like to see the voting continued in future contests? And percentage wise, how much less time did this years method take for you as a judge?

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While T-rexes are already awesome, what kind of powers would a T-Rex superhero have? (obviously not flying).

10 ft. reach with their arms!

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Eric Morton wrote:

Rodger that.

Is there a Perform check required to activate the Kindlings?

Over.

Negative.

However, the Creation Requirements will include 5 ranks of Craft (fire building).

Over.

Alpha Bravo, this is Tango Lima. I copy 5 ranks in Craft (fire building). Break

Echo Mike, this is Tango Lima. Message, you must add blood to the kindling when speaking the command word to activate. I say again, you must add blood to the kindling when speaking the command word to activate. How copy? Over.

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I often had a hard time deciding between a simple single function item with a good theme, and a more powerful item that was less well put together.

Those simple items were some of my favorites. Looking over my keep list, there are a few and one I really hope to see make the Top 32.

Some I found annoying were those with very high or no saves against their abilities.

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Thanks all! (mumbling)for making me feel like I had nothing better to do for the entire voting period

When a number is attached, the time sinks seems so much larger. I was pretty close to Marathon by the end of the first weekend. I would have earned Dedicated just voting at stop lights traveling to-from work.

Last Thursday at the game store, we played a game where someone would read off an pair of items and I had to be able to give a synopsis for each item from memory. I was accurate about 80% of the time.

Well voting is over and I am going through withdrawal. Gary was my pusher and the damn smart phone was an enabler...

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I found a tricksy way to add 700 words with only about 30 =)

Something like "This is the same as the [redacted class feature] of the [redacted class].", but with different wording?

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What is better use of the admins time: creating the code to show non-revenue generating statistics that are more likely to cause internet rage or develop Game Space? I choose Game Space, but would like a numbers blog giving the rough number of votes and numbers of voter tags awarded.

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Why is filigree getting such a bad rap? There are about the same number of regale/regalia items.

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But the question is: Are people allowed to discuss items after the 15th? (however unwise that may be)

I would say "NO!", for the reason the judges have not selected the top 32 and you wouldn't want to influence them in any way.

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Hyperlinks have not factored into my voting. But I have noticed the ones with hyperlinks tend to follow the template better. I have yet to see 2 items paired together that have been difficult to select between.

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I have a confession.