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Skipping Stone
Aura weak transmutation; CL 5th
Slot -; Price 100gp; Weight - lbs.
Description
This smooth river stone bears a crudely scratched image of a frog leaping.
When skimmed across a body of still or slow-moving fresh water, a skipping stone causes 1’ wide waterlilies to grow 2’ apart up to a total distance of 40’. These waterlilies are stable and can support up to 200lbs, counting as a 1’ wide ledge for those attempting to cross. The waterlilies remain in place for 10 rounds before dying and slowly sinking below water. The skipping stone itself is lost when used and cannot be reused.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, water walk; Cost 50gp
I think this should use lily pad stride as a prerequisite, as that's basically the spell it's emulating.
Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge
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It's an item that is useful for multiple PCs, solving the perennial problem with water walk. I'm surprised it got quite so many votes, but you know what? Not every item needs to be the Wand of Orcus with fire and fangs.
It's good a quiet little range/druid/halfling barge captain vibe to it. I like it just fine.
The writing is not purely smooth and convincing enough to make me think this candidate is getting through to the final round, but it is a credible entry.
This one got a ton of votes but I think it was primarily fool's gold. I think must people, and maybe even the author, just weren't familiar with the spell it pretty much duplicates and so it seemed really fresh and original to people. That spell is lilly pad stride. The fact that isn't in the prerequisites tells me the author may not know of it. That said, though, this is more than that spell in a can. Plus, it got a ton of public votes. We'll see what the author has in store for us in future rounds. Good luck!
First of all, congratulations on making the Top 32! That in itself is a major accomplishment and it’s something you should take great pride in. You rock!
I won't echo the other judges' comments about this item's design issues. I do think the item is Superstar-worthy just for the magical imagery it evokes. It has a sort of endearing, almost child-like (in a good way!) quality to it. Kids--heck, most people--like to toss stones and make them skip across the water. I also like that the item is dirt cheap. Every adventurer can afford to have at least one of these stones in their backpack.
All that said, you're going to have to dial up the mojo and prove yourself in the archetype round. But hey, if you can get your foot in the door with your skipping stone, I know you have what it takes to take it to the next level. Good luck!
Interesting. Consumable short-term water walk for those who can make a DC 5 acrobatics check (or would it be DC 7 for the slightly slippery +2 modifier?).
I especially like how the entry is short and to the point; however, there are questions left unanswered which your GM will have to answer. How fast must fresh water be moving before the skipping stone doesn't work? How much contamination/brackish water renders the item useless? Are the waterlilies 2' apart edge-to-edge or center-to-center? Does each waterlily support 200 pounds or does the whole 40-foot line support 200 pounds? Are the lilies useful for any amount of time during the slowly sinking period following the 10 rounds?
I like the flavor. A little more information will help the GM. I recommend having this item work on any liquid surface and applying appropriate acrobatics modifiers to the conditions.
Contributor
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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Welcome to the Top 32, Hymenopterix!
This item definitely gets by on descriptive flavor, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. This contest has a history of similar items where a cool, evocative description overcomes an obvious shortfall. Keep up the descriptive flavor, but challenge yourself to reach beyond your comfort zone.
Best of luck to you in the contest!
WOW... I did NOT expect to get through! - I didn't see my item during voting and was getting all depressed.
BIG thanks to everyone who voted for me... and thanks to the judges for the feedback. As guessed, I was unaware of lily pad stride , and would have used it as a prerequisite if I had.
- Now for some HARD work on an archetype!
Congratulations. This was one of my favorite items.
George,
I never saw my item either, and sadly, didn't make it. But yours was one of 5 items I was so going to vote for over my own.
Wish I'd thought of it and I am pulling for you!
Congratulations!
I up voted this item several times. It was one of good but not favorites. I think you capitalized greatly on a childhood pastime and made it work for the game.
I was also unaware of lily pad stride so I couldn't count that against you when I voted. Not that it would have made much difference to me, I really did like the imagery this item evoked in my head.
Likewise wasn't aware of the spell. Only saw this one once I think, thought it was interesting and imaginative so got my vote.
Congratulations.
Now I can say my PbP GM is a superstar. Good luck for the next round.
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Thanks again everyone,... By the way, I have NO gaming group at the moment so if anyone lives near Melbourne, Australia and would like a Superstar to join their group...
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WOW... I did NOT expect to get through! - I didn't see my item during voting and was getting all depressed.
That's because I saw it quite often. I voted more times in its favor than against it because I found this to be decent, useful and flavorful item. Not great or groundbreaking but still fine.
Also, until now I didn't noticed a certain error in the application of the rules... Is weak aura stronger or weaker than faint aura? :>
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George,
I saw your item many times. I'm pleasantly surprised it made it. I often found myself voting it up, but thinking to myself "I don't know that it will make it. It's just so simplistic." But there is an elegance to it that I enjoy. I'm glad you're in. Congratulations!
I saw this item and immediately liked it.
I was not aware of the spell "Lily-Pad Stride".
My checklist for it was full of good thoughts.
Simple yet elegant: Check
PC's would want it: Check
Addresses an issue/situation that is relatively common: Check
In all honesty this was one of my top three items.
Congratulations.
Agreed, but I personally have a soft spot for simplicity myself =) A LOT of my downvotes came from items being far too complex or overly intricate.
Simplicity of this item was a great plus to me as well. I was vaguely aware that it should use another spell as a prerequisite but I noted that because the actual spell is not from the main rulebook it can be forgiven.
Congrats for making it to the Top 32! I did see this item during voting, albeit only once. It did stick with me enough to remember, though (and trust me, that's saying something).
I, too, was unaware of the lily-pad stride spell, but I agree with what's been said so far. It's simple and useful with enough flavor to kick it up a notch.
...Unrelated, but you have a seagull. ...I am jealous.
Nice and simple, George well done! Good to see Down Under represent in the Top 32!
It's probably obvious, but I'm all for simplicity of design more than (unnecessary) over-complication. That being said, I welcome critiques and comments and questions, and I'll do my best to answer any queries that anyone has (time permitting!).
Be harsh! - you'll be helping me make my archetype better!
I voted against this item every time since was very much lily pad stride in a can.
Having said that, I admired it for being both useful and justifiably cheap as a disposable.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9
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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.
Yeah, I wasn't aware of lily-pad stride, either.
But here's the thing, In my mind, this seems more like a wondrous item effect than a spell effect. Water walk seems like a spell. "Need to cross that water? Let's use water walk." But this seems like a magic treasure, something found at the back of a beloved fey relative's hope chest. It's whimsical, and it's function can be clearly understood by anyone who sees it in action (especially once people start walking across those lily pads). I'd almost prefer that it was a little pricier, and could be reused, perhaps once a day. Recommended.
This was one of my favorites, top 5 probably. Congrats to you...
Sorry, George, I have to admit I wasn't a fan of this item. It felt too much like a spell in a can, plus I thought was too similar to previous items, such as last year's boots of the phantom staircase by Eric Morton.
That said, I don't usually rely on the Round 1 entries when deciding my votes in later rounds, so I hope you'll wow me with your archetype.
Never saw this one!
I have to admit, my first reaction on reading it is "have I seen this somewhere before?" And the lily-pad stride spell came to mind.
But I like it. It's really cute and whimsical, and I just imagine little kappa (Japanese water sprites that look like a mix between ducks and turtles) playing with them.
And we always need low-level disposables. This fits the bill nicely.
Sorry, George, I have to admit I wasn't a fan of this item. It felt too much like a spell in a can, plus I thought was too similar to previous items, such as last year's boots of the phantom staircase by Eric Morton.
Have to admit that I was worried about it being SIAK... If I'd known about the Lily-pad Stride spell I probably would have binned the idea because of it. Lucky I didn't!
The phantom staircase wasn't really a big influence but Seven Thousand Blossoms was.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka JoelF847
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I have to say that as I was aware of Lily Pad Stride, this seemed like too much of a SIAC for my votes (unless it was up against a really bad item). That being said, putting it into the form of a skipping stone was a perfect fit, and made it a very flavorful and appropriate SIAC. That creativity should serve you well in later rounds.
I join the list of those who didn't know about lily pad stride, and as the author didn't either it only shows great minds think alike. This has a 'cottage magic' vibe to it, something kids or fey might play with but also very useful to an adventuring party.
An excellent low level item.
This item goes to show that not everyone has ready access to all material in the Pathfinder canon. And it is a darn cool item, lily-pad stride be damned.
Congratulations on making it! I'll see you in Round 2!
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This item is an example of why we didnt just adopt the voter ranking. This item, which is good, was in the top 3 by voter ranking. To all of us judges, while it was good and deserved to be in the top 32 it was not top 3.
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You're kidding,... top 3. That. Is. Just. Too. Cool!
I love you guys!
(and fair enough judges,.. not in my top 3 either!)
Seven thousand blossoms. That's the other one I was thinking of.
And, wow, congrats on being in the top 3, George. That'll take the sting right out of comments like mine. : )
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
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Cute item. My impression was SiaC, but better than the item it was up against, and clever cinema, which means a lot to me when I think of spells and magic items. Congrats and good luck!
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It's adorable, but lily pad stride is in the APG, not exactly a niche product, and it's the first hit for "lilies" in the SRD. The flavor of the spell itself is more memorable than the item.
Yeah,.. I checked "waterlily" but not lily or lilies.
I like this item very much!
George, congrats on making it through!
Despite the obvious missed spell, I think the fact that this item is cheap enough that just about any character interested in having one could buy it really nails home your lead.
It also feels distinctly magical, without overdoing it, which is a bit tough sometimes. So, good work!
I never had the chance to vote for this one, but it is very good. Congrats on #3 you must have pleased many voters with your short and colorful entry.