| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Edit: The tech team has posted the R3 rules. Here's a summary.
• Overall it's very similar to the rules from last year's Location/Encounter/Map rules, with the following changes...
• Location and Encounter are limited to an urban location (i.e., not a forest, swamp, or other non-urban location)
• Does not have to fit on a Flip-Mat (so you can exceed 24 x 30 squares)
• You have to use someone else's R2 monster
• You can't use your own R2 monster
• No required Trap element (although you can include one if you want to)
• Encounter should be "suitable" for 3rd-level PCs (whether that's easy, average, challenging, hard, or epic is up to you)
• No playtesting period between the R3 reveal and the start of R3 voting
Be sure to read the R3 rules in their entirety and follow the requirements listed there (don't just go by this summary).
Good luck!
Does the R2 monster have to be one of the 8 that get upvoted or any of the 16?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
For a few seconds there, I was thinking to myself "Ah! Of course I have to use one of the Round 2 monsters! Why haven't I been reading and evaluating them yet?!"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You can use any of the 32 monsters from Round 2, it doesn't have to be one from an author who makes it to Round 3.
(Which, FYI, is how we normally do it... it's easier to say "anything from a previous round this year is allowed" than make it more complex by crossing some things off the list.)
oh right. 32 and 16. I was thinking of the numbers from previous years.
And thank you.
Ah, thank you. This saves me a lot of effort of working on some of my non-urban encounters...
I really do appreciate that contestants are getting the encounter "twists" sooner. I think that lets us all put our best foot forward.
You can use any of the 32 monsters from Round 2, it doesn't have to be one from an author who makes it to Round 3.
(Which, FYI, is how we normally do it... it's easier to say "anything from a previous round this year is allowed" than make it more complex by crossing some things off the list.)
31, Sean - they can't use their own.
Rules are looking good. Pleased to see the urban trend continue.
True, true.
Thanks Sean. Most appreciated.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8
|
Oh man, round 3 is going to be a bloodbath; 75% of those who submit encounters will be eliminated!
I suppose the same is true of round 4, but round 3 still seems more brutal.
Interesting. Not unexpected, but some of these rules might have thrown my hypothetical encounter scenario for a loop had I made it this far. (Though the "non-flip mat" rule would have definitely worked in my favor.)
Good luck guys! Interested in seeing what you came up with for round 2!
I seem to remember seeing a set of blank map templates posted in a previous year's thread, but I can't seem to find it now. Does anyone have the link to those?
In the Encounter thread I started several other ones were posted as well.
That's where I saw them! Thanks!!
You can use any of the 32 monsters from Round 2, it doesn't have to be one from an author who makes it to Round 3.
(Which, FYI, is how we normally do it... it's easier to say "anything from a previous round this year is allowed" than make it more complex by crossing some things off the list.)
Now that we've seen the other monsters, quick question:
When we use one of the other submitted monsters, do we have to use them EXACLY as written, or can we make shorthand changes to them just like Paizo monsters? Also, if we feel that the CR for the creature was slightly off the mark, can we change the CR when we use it in our writeup?
You can use any of the 32 monsters from Round 2, it doesn't have to be one from an author who makes it to Round 3.
(Which, FYI, is how we normally do it... it's easier to say "anything from a previous round this year is allowed" than make it more complex by crossing some things off the list.)
Now that we've seen the other monsters, quick question:
When we use one of the other submitted monsters, do we have to use them EXACLY as written, or can we make shorthand changes to them just like Paizo monsters? Also, if we feel that the CR for the creature was slightly off the mark, can we change the CR when we use it in our writeup?
You'll probably have to wait until the full rules for the answer, but I'm guessing you can't change them (probably not even adding class levels). If you feel the CR is off, you're probably better off using terrain and positioning to correct the difficulty.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You should treat all of the R2 monsters as you would monsters in a printed book. You can add to them (such as by adding a template or class levels), but you can't "fix" them, as people will freak out and tell you that you changed the CR from the original source. ;) :p
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
|
You should treat all of the R2 monsters as you would monsters in a printed book. You can add to them (such as by adding a template or class levels), but you can't "fix" them, as people will freak out and tell you that you changed the CR from the original source. ;) :p
[/SilenceMode] Would you consider it "fixing" a monster if a designer changed the feat selection using shorthand to reflect that individual's background? I don't mean bonus feats, just the feats it gets from racial HD. [SilenceMode]
I think that falls within what's allowed for "Variant Monsters" (the 2014 R3 rules should be posted today, and will use the same definition of "Variant Monsters" as the 2013 R4 rules).
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The rules page for Round 3 is now available here! :)