Wicht's page

Your Welcome. As for the subdomains I kinda see it like this. I love what you did for the domains. But I feel with this, I either have to use this and I want to. But then exclude the sub domains as they don't have those effects, which i would rather not. Or not use this, which I would really like to use and use the sub domains. I just can't see using both you know? Thats why I really hope you do a follow up book with just the sub domains in it.

After some procrastination, I started on effects for sub-domains today. For the moment, they are going to be submitted piecemeal as article ingredients in an upcoming e-zine (more details to come soon I'm sure). Anyway, just a heads up for those interested to be looking for these.

Dark_Mistress wrote:

Well that's a bit of a push back. But honestly I would rather them push it back and make sure it is done right. But then i didn't preorder this time either. Razor Coast kinda burned me on preordering unless the company builds a rep for being on time.

The fact that this product has so so many people tearing into it, while Razor Coast still actually has defenders boggles my mind.

Well to be fairnot all of us are tearing into Adamant (are there still Razor Coast defenders?). I just said it was unwelcome news (which it is as I have preordered). Still I would feel better if someone from Adamant would just drop by and explain the delay. If there is one thing that the Razor Coast debacle shows, a little communication goes a long way to easing worries.

Well, that's unwelcomed news. :/

Thank you for the review. :)

Nice review end, now write more of them. :)

I don't think he's done a certain book on Minotaurs yet. Just in case he's looking for a "to do" list. :)

Lil' Kid wrote:

Abolitionist's Dust

*Dust that reduces an item's hardness is interesting and could be an innovative new magic item. But the presentation on this one is kind of...meh. This just doesn't scream Superstar to me. It lacks mojo.

*Is there a rust-producing spell in the game (I should just look this up but its late and I'm lazy). IF so, that should have been in the Requirements.

*I don't see how this works in combat. Do I take a handful of dust and try to grab my opponent's sword with it? How do I avoid getting "dust" all over myself and everything nearby? This would almost be better as an item that you somehow attached to the target.

*I never liked magic item saving throws. Always have to look up the rule, and things grind to a halt while the proper procedure is worked out. I'd almost rather see "Magic items are immune" for an item that costs so little (and could do so much harm to a VERY expensive item).

*I don't think it's worth it for the cost. Save yourself 2k gp and just hack at the chains a few more times.

Thanks again Sean. This was my son's item and I'll just say thank you for him, rather than logging in and out. :D

Circlet of Serpentine Tendrils

I suspect they would have said Monster in a can.

Cloak of Adhesion

Tar Baby?

I'm hoping that this thread can be a forum for those who competed in the first round to evaluate, critique, and comment on one another's wondrous items. After all, it is in the spirit of RPG Superstar that we foster the creativity of all of this year's entrants and encourage those who didn't make it into the Top 32 to hone their skills for future competitions.

Also, realize that this thread is independent of the judge's critique thread and that those who want evaluations from both the judges and their peers should post their items in both threads.

Peers are allowed to post in the judges thread: have at it over there.

*Plus, we've seen some auto-bridging items before already. Nothing Superstar about the idea anymore.

Funnily enough, that didn't even strike me until about a week after I submitted it.

Thanks Sean.

The Lantern of The Illumined Walk
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 3rd
Slot none; Price 4,320 gp; Weight 3 lbs.
Description
This bullseye lantern possesses a number of adjustable lenses on its front but is otherwise identical to a mundane lantern and operates as such. Once per day, as a standard action, you may place the lit lantern on the ground and use the lenses to create a path of solidified light. This walkway of light may be either 60 feet long and 10 feet wide, or 120 feet long and 5 feet wide. The lenses can also be adjusted to angle the walkway up or down, to a maximum of 45 degrees. This pathway is anchored on the lantern and does not need to necessarily go anywhere. If, as it is being created, the beam of light strikes a solid object, it ends at that point and extends no further. The illumined walk in all respects counts as solid ground. At the end of 10 rounds, or if the lantern is moved, the lantern runs out of oil and the light is extinguished.
Construction
Requirements craft wondrous item, levitate ; Cost 2,160 gp

EDIT: First! Woot. Do I get a prize? :P

Congratulations. :D

Very interesting. I actually really like your word-map.

New post! This is a small one, primarily a picture. We just wanted to show you our game collection. You could say we're a bit obsessed! ;)

Our Game Shelves

Randy
Growing Up Gamers

You've got me beat. About double I would say. (Pic is of our primary gaming shelf - we need another one though about the same size.)

Anyone who has bought this, or, even better, bought both the first and second of these, please let us know what you think.

What did you like?
What did you not?
How eagerly are you anticipating the rest of the Dungeon?
How do you foresee using this?

So did anybody else's heart stop for a split second when they saw an e-mail from Paizo in their inbox that mentioned RPG Superstar in the subject? Heheh. (It was just a reminder to check your name on your personal settings page.)

Not complaining, I'm glad they sent that out. But I did get extremely curious for a second there... :)

Yeah. My wife is still amused at me after I told her about my initial reaction. :D

is there a general desired CR for the enemy? or even a ballpark of High medium or low? probably the most important factor for me when deciding what kind of abilities / stat block to give a new monster.

He didn't give one so I would say its up to you.

I'm in. Entry is posted. :)

Dark_Mistress wrote:

I would just delete them and redownload them again and see if that fixes it. I know mine work just fine.

Yeah, did that. No new results.

Thats a bummer. I would say my files are just fine but like D.M. I don't get my Rite files through Paizo so it wouldn't mean much. I'll send Steve a message and make sure he checks in here. In the meantime it wouldn't hurt to try Paizo Customer Service as well.

Wicht wrote:

Moorluck wrote:

I purchased both this one and the 30 Magic Blades last night, but for some reason my computer can not open the files after download. Any idea why this would be so?

Did you try redownloading them? It seems funny neither one would open. I assume other PDFs work fine for you?

edit: And thank you for the purchase. Let us know how you like them (after you figure out the problem).

Yeah we did. For some reason it wants to open them in the media center. :(

Hrm. Did you try "Open With..." as an alternate method? Or go into Adobe Reader directly and then open from there?

I purchased both this one and the 30 Magic Blades last night, but for some reason my computer can not open the files after download. Any idea why this would be so?

Did you try redownloading them? It seems funny neither one would open. I assume other PDFs work fine for you?

edit: And thank you for the purchase. Let us know how you like them (after you figure out the problem).

Hrm, that does give me an idea. I call dibs on 30 enchanted altars. :)

Some things to note:
- The 12 "official" Golarion magic items are from last year's RPG Superstar contest.

- This issue has a new comic.

- The northlands sourcebook is the "Frozen Empires" patron project.

- There's a nifty little PF article in this issue on making your place of worship a true place of sanctuary. :D

Racial HD are really only >= to PC class HD in a couple of areas (Outsider and Dragon being the primary ones). In almost all other cases going with racial HD instead of a PC class is a bad trade-off unless you can get a ton of supernatural or spell-like abilities.

There's a chart on page 291 of the Bestiary which gives the approximate number of racial HD a particular CR should have. It is not a 1 to 1 trade-off for any creature type. Most 1 HD monsters are actually a CR 1/2 or 1/3. Most CR 1 creatures have 2 HD. By the time you are up to CR 7 you will generally have 10 racial HD. Conversely, a CR 7 creature with class levels only will have about 8 PC class levels.

Rite Publishing has specific monster race/classes, including minotaurs and gargoyles which allow you to begin playing the races at level 1. More in this line is planned for this coming year. Those interested in monstrous races are highly encouraged to check out the line.

Regarding the other discussion, a commoner 3/Ranger 2 would be about a CR 3 imo. The rule of thumb is you subtract 2 from Class Level to get CR when dealing with NPC classes and you subtract 1 from Class Level to get CR when dealing with PC classes. If you throw a level 5 human fighter at your party as an opponent, it would generally be a CR 4 encounter, not a CR 5 encounter.

Yay for the Willie Walsh adventure!

Reviewed, for those interested.

Wicht wrote:

Dragnmoon wrote:

Right now, I am more leaning towards a Limited Edition *Like tsathogga talked about* but with a Color Layout with most art re used and maybe some new Color art added.

I can't see how it makes good financial sense to pay $37,500 dollars for art (very conservative estimate pricing each piece at $50 bucks a pop) so that you can sell a small limited run of books. Even saying you managed to sell 100 copies of this theoritical limited run you are looking at $500 a book just to break even, especially when you consider small print runs cost more money. From 100 customers you would need $375 each just to pay for art. It would be much more economically feasible to plan on selling 1000 copies so that you are only charging $37.50 per customer for art and you have a smaller print cost.

Did you not read what I Wrote? I will make it clearer, I said keep most of the old art, maybe replace some of the art with new Color art, but do the interior Layout in Color, for the limited edition. I did not say replace all the art with new Color art...

I guess I did misunderstand, but personally I prefer a book to be either color or black and white. Having some sort of weird hybrid at a much higher price is even less appealing.

Right now, I am more leaning towards a Limited Edition *Like tsathogga talked about* but with a Color Layout with most art re used and maybe some new Color art added.

I can't see how it makes good financial sense to pay $37,500 dollars for art (very conservative estimate pricing each piece at $50 bucks a pop) so that you can sell a small limited run of books. Even saying you managed to sell 100 copies of this theoritical limited run you are looking at $500 a book just to break even, especially when you consider small print runs cost more money. From 100 customers you would need $375 each just to pay for art. It would be much more economically feasible to plan on selling 1000 copies so that you are only charging $37.50 per customer for art and you have a smaller print cost.

Pale wrote:

Dragonmoon - Everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course, but I'm just wondering why grayscale illustrations (B&W art that was meant to be B&W) is an automatic bad thing in your eyes.

Drawing Hands by M.C. Escher

I'm not trying to be snarky here, honest, but I wouldn't call that "bad" in any way and if Mr. Escher had done it in color it would be a completely different piece to me. It also illustrates that B&W white art needn't look like a 5-year-old drew it.

what I meant by "old School" B&W is this or this, I am not a fan of that "Old School" art, be it Color or B&W.

The troll picture I could give or take. But what's not to like about the dragon picture, except maybe the wings are a bit smallish? To each their own I guess. :)

And thus have no problem paying for the add on content.

I have no problem paying for add on content. I just can't afford to pay as much as they are asking. The value to cost ratio is too low for my budget. If they were about half of what they were now I would likely go for it.

I would also suggest that if they are going to use the model of add-on content as supplements are released, they should greatly reduce the initial buy-in. As it is, the program is pricey as a standalone (for a single use product) but far too expensive as a base product which I am expected to expand upon.

Having said that, I recognize its a niche product and they have to cover their expenses. I just suspect changing their price structure will lead to an increase in sales. I would suggest they try a half price sale for a month and see if it works to boost sale volume.

Add another vote for "would be interested in herolabs if it was cheaper." I'm all for paying people for their work but when I think about what it takes me to type in the stats manually and what it would take to pay the amount they are asking for the shortcut, I pull out the rulebooks and go the manual route.

Reviewed, for any interested.

After contacting the folks at Adamant, they let me know that the book should be released in February. Delaying release by two months to insure a quality product is worth it.

If the delay makes the book better I'm willing to put up with it. (Or, if like with Warpath its due to outside complications, I also don't mind.) Truthfully though, I much prefer companies to be on schedule. :)

heh. :)

Wicht wrote:

Rite Publishing wrote:

Can I get the writers to focus on promoting this product :)

Well sure, though I got the feeling Krome was already sold and now we were just seeing what else we could get him to sign up for. :)

So back to the subject at hand, though I've got to look at it already, I'm still looking forward to the actual release of #30 Haunts for Houses. For one thing, Tarren slipped in a bonus NPC statblock built using the divine channeler class.

Pssst. Wicht, I think you're still promoting other products. Steve wants us to talk about how great 30 Haunts for Houses is not how fans of haunts will find the Secrets of Divine Channeling a good source for a ghost chasing character.

Well, I did make sure to bold your book, which is a good read. And its not like I brought in something completely unrelated like minotaurs. If I had done that then I could well understand the complaint.

Wicht wrote:

Reviewed, for those who have not yet tried this modern-classic.

You have good taste, can you review a product I don't already own? I want to know what to buy next, not validate my existing purchases. ;)

I thought about doing Mystery Express or Zooloretto next. Either of those work for you? :)

edit: Also on deck is Cthulhu Rising and Ticket to Ride Nordic

Can I get the writers to focus on promoting this product :)

Well sure, though I got the feeling Krome was already sold and now we were just seeing what else we could get him to sign up for. :)

So back to the subject at hand, though I've got to look at it already, I'm still looking forward to the actual release of #30 Haunts for Houses. For one thing, Tarren slipped in a bonus NPC statblock built using the divine channeler class.

I realize Avalon != Adamant, but after the craziness I just got after picking up Infinite Futures, I think I'll be waiting on a review or a very solid preview of this prior to picking it up. The delays and lack of response here have me skittish.

-Ben.

This is the second item I have preordered from Adamant and its the second one delayed. Nevertheless, I trust these guys to produce a good product, which is why I preordered. Their webpage now shows a January release date for this, so hopefully any day now we can at least see the PDF.

Reviewed, for those who have not yet tried this modern-classic.

Tarren Dei wrote:

Dark_Mistress wrote:

Someone needs to slap Krome I think he is stuck in a time loop. He just keeps repeating himself.

Not a time loop. That was a previous product. I think I know what's wrong with Krome.

** spoiler omitted **

I thought Krome would have a higher Will save.

hey thanks I added that to my cart too! :)

damn Will saves!

If you are that easy you should really check out Kaidan: its got ghosts, ghouls, demons and yakuza. What more could you ask for? (also kappa, hengeyokai, tengu, lost loves, soulless psychopathic killers, dead children, curses, reincarnation, wrestling, magic tattoos, cemeteries, and a lost salt-water crocodile) :)

Adventures that I think would make a good movie:

Ravenloft
Rise of the Runelords
Slave Lords series

That's all I got. Its a short list. Actually a good writer could probably build a script using any of the modules but a lot of it would have to be relegated to background material.

There's never a sonic screwdriver around when you need one.

What are you trying to say Krome? :P

Seems like a lot of similar tastes

Unforgiven This one may be my favorite Clint Eastwood movie.

Quigley Down Under Tom Selleck has done other westerns but this one is just an all around good/fun movie

The Good the Bad and the Ugly of course

True Grit (the original; haven't seen the new one yet)

Support Your Local Sheriff - A very funny western send-off -

Magnifecent Seven get's an honorable mention but I prefer Seven Samurai

Young Guns - I haven't seen this one in a long time but I remember it as being fairly faithful to the actual characters and events

-and my favorite John Wayne Movie- The Shootist. It was a perfect last movie for an iconic actor.

@ Wicht - Good Review.

Thanks. :)

I've been wanting to do some reviews but thought doing them for 3pp PFRPG material might come across as a bit of a conflict of interest, so I've decided to start doing the board and card games instead.

Thanks for the advice! We have Kinderbunnies and Aquarius. My little guy is pretty rambunctious, but we may be able to try those out. :)

I was more thinking for your daughter. The only one maybe suitable for two is Rattlesnake. Its certainly suitable for 5-6. I got it for my niece and nephew for Christmas and they both really liked it. My niece is not a gamer but she played Rattlesnake for an hour or more.

At two though he might like the figures from ninja vs. ninja.

I figured the short blade would be what allowed finess and the long handle gave leverage for damage :)

The write up in the core book says its longer than a scimitar, and thinner. Truthfully, I think katana when I read the description, though a katana with some elven flourishes and a pointier blade.

I've been looking through fantasy sword buying sites and ran across what i think an elven curvebalde should look like Here and i'm wondering what everyone else thinks they look like :)

The image you linked to is a little short for the full curved blade but not too far off from what I would think it would have to be. There were a couple of images similar to the one you linked to, though with longer blades, that I identified as elven curved blades in #30 Unique Magical Blades, if you are looking for something with a good illustration for one.

Good luck. I had my kids roleplaying at 4-5 (Pokemon Adventures(!) and 3e D&D), but for the life of me I can't remember what games we played when they were two. :) (My wife says she played memory with them)

While I'm thinking of games suitable for kids, but still fun for grownups, some recomendations (though you might already have these):
- Ninja vs. Ninja,
- 10 Days in... (Africa is the easiest board imo),
- Dragon Parade,
- Rattlesnake (my wife says this one might work for 2),
- Kinderbunnies,
- and Aquarius