Each year, we have some surprising item type that we rather unexpectedly see multiple versions of. For instance, in the first year it was the "divination/coin item." Last year we had a lot of "pan's labyrinth/chalk items" and some other items we just saw multiple versions of.
This year has a new strange item we are seeing over and over. I won't tell what it is (until after the submission deadline). I just wanted to share that as judges this is an amusing phenomenon. Not sure what swirling gamer zeitgeist leads people to submit multiple versions of rather unique items. But at least this year it is a NEW item type. I can, unfortunately, share that this new item type is not one that is resonating well with me (I wont speak for the other judges of course).
must be some type of infectuous gamer meme gone rogue viral. :P
That kinda sucks. I imagine people struggle really hard to look for some "new frontier" in item design that hasn't been explored before. That is what they're told is a hallmark of a Superstar item.
You might cause some apoplexy if you share right after the submission period. :)
I think it's too late for that. Its probably happening right now. Might as well prepare folks tomorrow, so they can set their expectations appropriately.
If it something like my item, I'll be amazed.....and very very mad.
If it something like my item, I'll be amazed.....and very very mad.
No kidding.
Don't freak out. :) I didn't post this to cause anxiety. We have hundreds of submissions, and I'm talking about maybe 4 submissions of all those. The chance of it being yours is very slim.
If it something like my item, I'll be amazed.....and very very mad.No kidding.
Nope, but I (must) trust in my ability to avoid such a situation.
We will know tomorrow what this year's coin/chalk is......
That kinda sucks. I imagine people struggle really hard to look for some "new frontier" in item design that hasn't been explored before. That is what they're told is a hallmark of a Superstar item.
Yeah... and "hey, I've seen this nifty trope a few times but it isn't represented in game yet" is a pretty solid justification for creating an item. It's been lauded as a positive trait by prior years' judges, even. Frankly, that was one of the main reasons I picked the item I submitted from among my four personal finalists... so I'm actually a little nervous now. ;)
Its the hive mind. Gamers are slowly being enslaved and it all starts with RPG Superstar! What will the mysterious villian do with this legion of terror that are gamers?
Its the hive mind. Gamers are slowly being enslaved and it all starts with RPG Superstar! What will the mysterious villian do with this legion of terror that are gamers?
Take away their dice and make them listen politely to others without interrupting?
Its the hive mind. Gamers are slowly being enslaved and it all starts with RPG Superstar! What will the mysterious villian do with this legion of terror that are gamers?Take away their dice and make them listen politely to others without interrupting?
Truly, a vile and hideous plot.
I narrowed my submission down to 2 possibles. I rejected one because I was convinced that someone must have come up with that idea before, and while the one I went with wasn't explosively exciting it had easily understood flavour and did something that I don't think any of the items in the Pathfinder Core Rules do.
I'll be gutted if I should've gone with the other one.
I narrowed my submission down to 2 possibles. I rejected one because I was convinced that someone must have come up with that idea before, and while the one I went with wasn't explosively exciting it had easily understood flavour and did something that I don't think any of the items in the Pathfinder Core Rules do.
I'll be gutted if I should've gone with the other one.
I hear ya. Let's stand fast though.
First, looking at precedent, sometimes the best type of a particular item actually gets through. Neil Spicer's Wondrous Item last year was a particularly creative approach to a general item type that has not been universally loved by the Judges in the past. It got through anyway on it's own merits. Sean made once the comment that one thing he admired about Neil was that he never took the easy way out. History shows that scrying and/or divination are hard topics to impress the judges with, but that didn't scare Neil off.
Boundary Chalk made it through on its own merits, even though Clark just got done saying there were a lot of those.
I can feel worried when I read posts like these too, but let us not lose heart or faith in ourselves. Not just yet. The 19th is a long way off.
I somehow have the strong feeling, that the item i didn't submit will fall into this category, in fact one of the reasons i used my other item was that i suspected that it had potential to become this years "favorite item type".
That said I'm about to be proven wrong :)
What will the mysterious villian do with this legion of terror that are gamers?
Nothing effective, really. The mysterious villian is Doofenshmirtz, and we all know that within the next half-hour, Perry the platypus is just going to kick his butt and stop the whole plan.
Yeah, I think we will wait till the winners are announced. Right now it is just an amusing observation. And, like prior years, the fact we have surprising multiples of the same idea doesnt mean it is necessarily a bad idea. As posted above, the boundary chalk item was advanced despite us seeing quite a few (and quite a few bad) chalk items.
As much as the suspense kills, I think this is a really wise decision.
While they judges may want to tell us the "2010 item theme" after the announcement of the top 32, maybe they could drop some little hints every couple days. For example: What slot was it usually? Did it favor a particular class, race or build? Was it more of an "in combat" or "out of combat" item?
These answered would fuel the fires of speculation without actually revealing too much. For example: They might say it is a foot slot item and then a few days later say it was particularly useful to half-orcs and then a few days later say it was most likely used out of combat.
Person A would think "oh no, my "Orcish anklets of bouncing when falling" item was it!"
Person B would think "oh no, my "elevator boots of the handsome half-orc" is the item!
What do you say judges...care to feed us a few tiny hints to help us agonize away the time remaining?
--Anthrorob
Disclaimer: Neither item described has any relation to my entry. I made them on the spot for example purposes and any likeness or similarity to any objects already submitted is purely accidental.
So what's the 2010 RPG superstar meme?
Yeah, I'm also very, very interested to see what the common item thought was... and I'd bet one brand new, shiny copper penny that I played into that hivemind item group.
Well, I am awaiting Clark. He has said he will divulge.
My guess on this years theme is "Nasty things you have to swallow".
I'm definitely in laugh with the Troll Fingers. My money's on bard-twister musical items, though.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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My guess on this years theme is "Nasty things you have to swallow".I'm definitely in laugh with the Troll Fingers. My money's on bard-twister musical items, though.
Hmm... bard items are up there too, but I found another swallow item in the winners and I know another entry involved swallowing nasty things so I'm going to stick with my original guess.... bardic stuff might be a close second guess though.
I'm gonna let Clark answer this one, as I may forget all of them. IIRC there were at least two themes that popped up several times.
I would not be surprised of the Bard theme was popular this year since I too submitted a Bard related item.
Sean, please join in. I have forgotten some too.
For me, there were a TON of "magical mansion" items this year that tried to be little wizard hideaways or alchemical labs in extradimensional spaces.
We had fewer "modern items disguised as magic items" this year.
We still had waaaaaay too many "make D&D a computer game" items, like auto-mappers or items that make you remember things you hear, or that keep all your papers in one place. Tabletop is NOT supposed to be those things.
I'll think back. I'm too tired right now :)
Other favorites:
"I'm a device to hold, count, and sort your coins," which makes me what kind of jerk GM you've had who requires you to know exactly which pouch you're carrying has this group of 100 coins
"I'm a chunk of a monster, and I give you a power relative to that monster," often which are also "stick another monster chunk on me to gain a new power and let your poor GM figure out exactly what it can do"
"I'm a tongue"
"I'm a blindfold that compensates for your blindness with scent/blindsense/blindsight"
"I'm a toy"
"I'm a remote-controlled robot/illusory projection/temporary clone that you can use to search ahead and open doors because you're a cowardly adventurer afraid to break a nail"
Thanks for remembering.
Oh god, yeah this was the year of the "spy robot" item.
And we had a ton of "you make your own item" items where the powers of the item were defined by what you took and put into it. Not good.
And like the chalk items, we had a bunch of tongue items that were not good and then the tongue helm and the bird tongue candy make the cut. Strange.
So...uh, tongues are hot in 2010?
I'll alert Milan! ; )
Oh boy, am I glad my item type is not on this list. Not that I have anything against them, but at least I know now that I can come up with an original idea (even though it might not be very sexy).
Oh boy, am I glad my item type is not on this list. Not that I have anything against them, but at least I know now that I can come up with an original idea (even though it might not be very sexy).
That's not to say those items arent original. They are. We just had a couple people all hit on the same niche independently. I dont think its right to say the items arent original or that you need be glad your item wasnt on the "list." Again, we had two tongue items make the top 32.
Oh god, yeah this was the year of the "spy robot" item.
Hmmm, my item was a "spy robot" item. When I came up with it I felt I had a pretty good idea, but reading that this kind of item was the most common this year is really a slap in the face. Well, better luck next time.
Hmmm, my item was a "spy robot" item. When I came up with it I felt I had a pretty good idea, but reading that this kind of item was the most common this year is really a slap in the face. Well, better luck next time.
Oh god, yeah this was the year of the "spy robot" item.
No need to feel slapped, dude! It was just the stars.
Well there are ALOT of give bards a new bardic music, or do something along with bardic music items.
I was worried it might be that, but then why would so many of them have gotten Top 32!
Mine was probably the only one that didn't! :p
Rightly so though, to be honest.
wow i was a tongue item, i thought no one would do one yikes, and i am probably a bad one.....
Well there are ALOT of give bards a new bardic music, or do something along with bardic music items.
I was worried it might be that, but then why would so many of them have gotten Top 32!
Mine was probably the only one that didn't! :p
Rightly so though, to be honest.
Yours was definitely not the only one that didn't... My flute channeled performance into summon spells. The writing was "dashed-off" and I didn't put the kind of energy into it that I should've (the cost/price was just assigned arbitrarily, creation requirements were bleh if they were even there, I don't recall).
I brought C game to A-level competition.
That's not to say those items arent original. They are. We just had a couple people all hit on the same niche independently. I dont think its right to say the items arent original or that you need be glad your item wasnt on the "list." Again, we had two tongue items make the top 32.
No, of course not! I didn't mean to say the items were not original; I meant no disrespect, and I'm certainly not claiming I'm more original than anyone else. I very well realize that I'm no match in this competition, but I'm practicing.
In fact, one of my personal flaws is not thinking outside of the box enough, hence my original exclamation. I'm happy for myself that for once I managed to come up with something that nobody came up with first. Again, without claiming any form of superiority -- far from it.
On the other hand, perhaps my trying to be original might have lead to my item not being selected. I really hope to see some feedback in the feedback thread when it's unlocked. I know my strengths and my weaknesses, and I am humble but eager to learn.
To emphasize: I'm sorry if I stepped on any toes here. That was not my intention.
Cool. One of my rejected items was a "spy robot", and I was tinkering with a Bard item but couldnt get the mechanics to gel.
Two tongue items, and two "swallow something that clearly isn't edible" items.
Just remember that even if just five people out of hundreds submit a similar-themed item, it's still pretty original!