The New Viewer's Guide to RPGSS


RPG Superstar™ General Discussion

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Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

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Feros wrote:
mamaursula wrote:

Getting to "Marathon Voter" the first year was down to the wire, I believe I hit it in the last two hours or so of voting. Last year it became a necessity because I couldn't not achieve it again, right? I did get to 1000 votes much earlier due to a change in employment. I will undoubtedly do so again, since I will be unemployed come the first of the year.

Here's how hitting the voting milestones feels -

Star - "Huh, 100? That's not so bad. There's some interesting stuff in here."

Dedicated - "Wow, I've voted a lot and it's not quite half over. 500 times? Maybe I need another hobby."

Votes 700-999 - "OMFG ARE WE THERE YET!?"

Marathon - head desk "Forget that 5,000 thing, LeBlanc is on his own."

AHEMMM... :|

AND FEROS!

In my defense, you had not posted here yet and he had, so I didn't have too work too hard to remember one of the three. I do not recall the third even after wracking my brain.

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

William-Scott Hathaway wrote:
Is there something on the website that tracks how many votes you've made? I haven't been doing it manually, but I'm kind of curious now.

Yes, but we can't see it. It does tell you when you get to the requisite number of votes by giving you the appropriate tag (congrats you are to star already :)

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
mamaursula wrote:
Feros wrote:
mamaursula wrote:

Getting to "Marathon Voter" the first year was down to the wire, I believe I hit it in the last two hours or so of voting. Last year it became a necessity because I couldn't not achieve it again, right? I did get to 1000 votes much earlier due to a change in employment. I will undoubtedly do so again, since I will be unemployed come the first of the year.

Here's how hitting the voting milestones feels -

Star - "Huh, 100? That's not so bad. There's some interesting stuff in here."

Dedicated - "Wow, I've voted a lot and it's not quite half over. 500 times? Maybe I need another hobby."

Votes 700-999 - "OMFG ARE WE THERE YET!?"

Marathon - head desk "Forget that 5,000 thing, LeBlanc is on his own."

AHEMMM... :|

AND FEROS!

In my defense, you had not posted here yet and he had, so I didn't have too work too hard to remember one of the three. I do not recall the third even after wracking my brain.

It's cool! :)

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

We should all have some votes under our belts by now and you'll start to see some things in the entries that are regrettable and mostly avoidable.

Take time to familiarize yourself with what not to do so next year when you enter again, if you, like me, will not be disqualified by winning, and learn these hard earned lessons.

Formatting - Paizo gives you the necessary formatting on their website, there is absolutely no excuse for not reading the rules, finding and using the proper formatting. Voters are going to hold that against you.

Spelling and grammar - we might not all know how to spell correctly or when to use a comma correctly every time, but your readers are going to notice these errors. Find someone you trust who can point out these mistakes for you.

Italicizing names and spells, when to capitalize - this is a style of gaming convention that does not appear in any other type of writing. That style guide is not exactly available, so you have to do your research. Look at the prd, which is located on this very website!

Pricing - this is something I have noticed most people are screwing up. The "price" of the item is how much it costs for you to have some one make if for you or buy in a shop. The "cost" is the amount necessary for your character to make the item. BUT, if you are making a weapon, you do NOT cut the price of the weapon in half when you determine your cost, unless of course, you're also crafting the masterwork item. It is best to err on the side of caution and include the full price of the sword, hammer, armor, whatever. While it is possible that I am wrong on my assertion in this piece of advice, I am sure someone more official will weigh in here to say so.

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

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Now that voting is almost done, I thought I'd take a moment to let all of our newer friends know what to expect for the next 10 or so days.

We'll continue to vote until Tuesday of next week, January 13th, 5pm EST. Then it will feel like Paizo turned the lights off and went home for a week. Really, you're going to feel lost without something to do because voting has become part of your routine in some way or another (or maybe you aren't obsessive like me, which would be much healthier, I can tell you. :-) )

From next Tuesday, the 13th until 5pm on the 20th, we are going to be kind of quiet around here. Everyone's going to be proverbially pacing the floors wondering what's happening in the super secret Paizo Bunker where the Top 32 Judges will be sequestered (I have it on good authority they'll have food from AFK shipped in every night) and pouring over which of the hundreds of submissions will be the Top 32 and 2 alternates. They will also write up something critical of those 34 items and welcome the contestants to the party.

During the week of judges review DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOUR ITEM. Until the Top 32 are announced you are still a viable contender, whether you made the cull or not. If you reveal which item is yours, you will be disqualified and that would be very unfortunate.

So, keep doing what you're doing now. Privately sharing your keep lists, talking about whatever it is you talk about without naming or heavily hinting at your item, cry in your pillow at night because you forgot and halved the price of your weapon and the spells or whatever. But remember, only 32 people get to compete, you're going to be in the majority of spectators if you didn't make it and we have a lot of fun watching and we do a lot less work doing it.

As we get closer to the 20th, I'll tell you what it's like to watch a Top 32 in action. You can also find first hand accounts from Mikko and others. (I'm too lazy to find the links, Mikko's around, he'll tell you where the blog is at, right Mikko? ;-) .)

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32, 2011 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

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mamaursula wrote:

Now that voting is almost done, I thought I'd take a moment to let all of our newer friends know what to expect for the next 10 or so days.

We'll continue to vote until Tuesday of next week, January 13th, 5pm EST. Then it will feel like Paizo turned the lights off and went home for a week. Really, you're going to feel lost without something to do because voting has become part of your routine in some way or another (or maybe you aren't obsessive like me, which would be much healthier, I can tell you. :-) )

From next Tuesday, the 13th until 5pm on the 20th, we are going to be kind of quiet around here. Everyone's going to be proverbially pacing the floors wondering what's happening in the super secret Paizo Bunker where the Top 32 Judges will be sequestered (I have it on good authority they'll have food from AFK shipped in every night) and pouring over which of the hundreds of submissions will be the Top 32 and 2 alternates. They will also write up something critical of those 34 items and welcome the contestants to the party.

During the week of judges review DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOUR ITEM. Until the Top 32 are announced you are still a viable contender, whether you made the cull or not. If you reveal which item is yours, you will be disqualified and that would be very unfortunate.

So, keep doing what you're doing now. Privately sharing your keep lists, talking about whatever it is you talk about without naming or heavily hinting at your item, cry in your pillow at night because you forgot and halved the price of your weapon and the spells or whatever. But remember, only 32 people get to compete, you're going to be in the majority of spectators if you didn't make it and we have a lot of fun watching and we do a lot less work doing it.

As we get closer to the 20th, I'll tell you what it's like to watch a Top 32 in action. You can also find first hand accounts from Mikko and others. (I'm too lazy to find the links, Mikko's around, he'll tell you where the blog is at, right Mikko? ;-) .)

I might be noisy, but who knows what I'll say...

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

Eric Hindley wrote:
I might be noisy, but who knows what I'll say...

As long as it's not about your item, I don't think anyone will care, mostly. It's not like I'm the boss of you or anything, just being cautious ;-)

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
mamaursula wrote:
Eric Hindley wrote:
I might be noisy, but who knows what I'll say...
As long as it's not about your item, I don't think anyone will care, mostly. It's not like I'm the boss of you or anything, just being cautious ;-)

Wait, wait, wait. You're NOT the boss of us?

O.O

There goes my entire world view!!!

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

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Feros wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
Eric Hindley wrote:
I might be noisy, but who knows what I'll say...
As long as it's not about your item, I don't think anyone will care, mostly. It's not like I'm the boss of you or anything, just being cautious ;-)

Wait, wait, wait. You're NOT the boss of us?

O.O

There goes my entire world view!!!

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

World would be a whole lot different if I were in charge.

RPG Superstar 2008 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka MythrilDragon

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Oh Great....now you've gone and given mamaursula and elf complex.

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

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Voting is done, now you feel all sad and lonely. What will you do with your time!?

You're going to get your graph paper out and you are going to draw until your fingers bleed is what you're going to do.

On January 20th the Top 32 will be announced and at that time the twist and parameters of the mapping challenge will be provided for the contestants. They (or we, I'm hopeful) will have until 1/23 to fulfill those parameters to the best of their abilities. 96 hours is not a lot of time to do these things in, believe me.

So, don't just sit around today, tomorrow and all the 5 days between now and if you find out you're a Top 32 contender, you need to be getting some preliminary maps on paper. Here are some ideas of things you need to have ready to roll for tweaking, touching up or completely revamping next Tuesday.

Last year the maps were urban, so you should have a rough idea of an urban encounter map.

Think about the other games you've played in...have you ever adventured in the forest? You need a map for that.

Have you ever adventured in the jungle? You need a map for that.

How about in a temple? Map it.

Adventure on the high seas much? Were you in a ship? You better draw it.

Underground catacombs? Map it.

RPG SS takes the contestants through the process necessary to make a great big adventure module, and you, yes you potential contestant, need to be thinking about what the heck kind of adventure that is going to be. Maybe your Round 1 item was inspired by an idea, get thinking in the same lines for different places you could see the Round 1 items on your keep list. Map those places. It should not matter what the rules for Round 2 are going to be, if you spend your time wisely, it's not going to matter much, because you're going to be ready.

At this point I have two maps on paper and others cooking in my head and I plan to produce at least one map a day between now and Tuesday, at which point we'll all know if I wasted my down time or we'll all know that at least I've primed the pump. What are you going to do between now and Tuesday?

Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8

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mamaursula wrote:
You're going to get your graph paper out and you are going to draw until your fingers bleed is what you're going to do.

The Bellman himself they all praised to the skies—

Such a carriage, such ease and such grace!
Such solemnity, too! One could see he was wise,
The moment one looked in his face!

He had bought a large map representing the sea,
Without the least vestige of land:
And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be
A map they could all understand.

"What's the good of Mercator's North Poles and Equators,
Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?"
So the Bellman would cry: and the crew would reply
"They are merely conventional signs!

"Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes!
But we've got our brave Captain to thank:
(So the crew would protest) "that he's bought us the best—
A perfect and absolute blank!"

—From The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
mamaursula wrote:
... What are you going to do between now and Tuesday?

Veg'ing out man, like a piece of broccoli...

...it has been noted on occasion that my methods of preparation may be a bad influence on others though...

Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
mamaursula wrote:
... What will you do with your time!? ...

Me, I believe I was culled, safe and sound in this belief, sooooooo...

I will sit back with my cocktail, and chocolates.
I will sip, munch, and relax, safe in the knowledge I don't have to suffer.
I will watch with glee everyone's fingers bleeding, listen to the sound of frenzied drawing noises.
I will go to sleep hours before the announcement after the amusement dies off...

And then...

I will wake up hours into that 96 hours limit...

And then...

I will be shocked that the "made it" list didn't have every item in it! Gob-smacked that I somehow fluked a top 32 slot (as if, lol)!

And then...

Then I will have to suffer doubly so in penance for my relaxed devil may care gleeful status.

And then...

I will have to go to work knowing that those 88 hours remaining will suddenly become 78 by the time I get home.

And then...

And much wailing and gnashing will follow as smoke streams from the tips of frenzied crayons!

Joking aside, when the muse is with me, I work hard on 3pp work I have to do - which is coming along quite nicely thank you :)

Then when that's done, I will finish up the spit and polish on my Wayfinder submission for #14, the creature feature issue! Then I will start my next submission as we are allowed up to 3 submissions per issue.

At odd times I might eat, and drink and relax. Maybe watch some more Gotham or Grimm, or possibly some Warehouse 13 or Librarians.

And then there is Tuesday night... Pathfinder night.

Yeah, I think I can keep myself gainfully occupied.

Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8

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mamaursula wrote:
What are you going to do between now and Tuesday?

The usual freelancer stuff. Fighting hobos down at the train station for Sterno and bindle change. Selling encyclopedia insurance to the internet unsaavy to protect their hardbound books from factual obsolescence. Dancing a midnight tarantelle with a devil I'm pretty sure only I can see. You know, pretty standard prep work.

Sovereign Court Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

quibblemuch wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
What are you going to do between now and Tuesday?
The usual freelancer stuff. Fighting hobos down at the train station for Sterno and bindle change. Selling encyclopedia insurance to the internet unsaavy to protect their hardbound books from factual obsolescence. Dancing a midnight tarantelle with a devil I'm pretty sure only I can see. You know, pretty standard prep work.

I'm going to be waiting with bated breath as I continue working on novel #3 in my series, making gigantic highway signs at work, drawing small maps for practice, hugging my kitty cats Seth and Mack (Yes, named after the Lost Odyssey characters), and planning a trip to the Philippines. Occasionally durdling on the forums is also a possibility! ^.^!

So I've got stuff to keep my occupied.

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

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quibblemuch wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
What are you going to do between now and Tuesday?
The usual freelancer stuff. Fighting hobos down at the train station for Sterno and bindle change. Selling encyclopedia insurance to the internet unsaavy to protect their hardbound books from factual obsolescence. Dancing a midnight tarantelle with a devil I'm pretty sure only I can see. You know, pretty standard prep work.

You have to do your research somehow. Don't forget to sign up for kitestring.

Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8

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mamaursula wrote:
quibblemuch wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
What are you going to do between now and Tuesday?
The usual freelancer stuff. Fighting hobos down at the train station for Sterno and bindle change. Selling encyclopedia insurance to the internet unsaavy to protect their hardbound books from factual obsolescence. Dancing a midnight tarantelle with a devil I'm pretty sure only I can see. You know, pretty standard prep work.
You have to do your research somehow. Don't forget to sign up for kitestring.

I had hitherto been unaware of that service. What a future we live in!

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8 , Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8 aka DeathQuaker

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quibblemuch wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
quibblemuch wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
What are you going to do between now and Tuesday?
The usual freelancer stuff. Fighting hobos down at the train station for Sterno and bindle change. Selling encyclopedia insurance to the internet unsaavy to protect their hardbound books from factual obsolescence. Dancing a midnight tarantelle with a devil I'm pretty sure only I can see. You know, pretty standard prep work.
You have to do your research somehow. Don't forget to sign up for kitestring.
I had hitherto been unaware of that service. What a future we live in!

OT -- that is very cool. I may try that for when I go hiking.

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

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DeathQuaker wrote:
quibblemuch wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
quibblemuch wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
What are you going to do between now and Tuesday?
The usual freelancer stuff. Fighting hobos down at the train station for Sterno and bindle change. Selling encyclopedia insurance to the internet unsaavy to protect their hardbound books from factual obsolescence. Dancing a midnight tarantelle with a devil I'm pretty sure only I can see. You know, pretty standard prep work.
You have to do your research somehow. Don't forget to sign up for kitestring.
I had hitherto been unaware of that service. What a future we live in!
OT -- that is very cool. I may try that for when I go hiking.

Come for the RPG SS advice, stay for the cool life tips. I offer full concierge services as needed as well.

Star Voter Season 8

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I know I was close to hitting dedicated but I didn't make it.

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

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T -1 day and counting.

Here's what's going to happen tomorrow and some tips for everyone.

Tomorrow at 2pm Pacific Time (which is 5pm EST and here's a timezone converter for you) the Top 32 and 2 alternates will be revealed publicly as well they are typically notified by email. As you have experienced now for yourself, sometimes things do not go off quite as planned, so if the announcement is a bit late or your email doesn't arrive until tomorrow after 11pm whatever time zone you're in, do not freak out, the Paizo goblins are probably to blame.

Once the announcement is made, the Top 32 entries will also be posted and reviewed by the Round 1 Judges, who will give you a little bit of information about what they did or did not like about all the entries, hopefully. Some of the judges will be very complete in their analysis and some will not. That is the nature of the game.

The Round 2 rules will also be revealed at this time.

Things to be aware of:

The Top 32 typically thank the judges and the voters and then bust their butts back to their chosen form of mapping to get started on the mad 96 hour dash to get Round 2 completed.

Traditionally the non-Top 32 voters wait until Wednesday to start the "Critique my item threads," please be respectful of this tradition. Announcement day is for the Top 32 and i is in bad form to jump the gun, it is unlikely anyone will even consider reviewing your item until Wednesday, so please don't post your item until then.

RPG SS is about stepping up to becoming freelance game designer, hopefully for Paizo, but there are other 3PP (third party publishers) roaming the halls of RPG SS looking for credible talent. Several previous years contestants have gone on to publish elsewhere, so not winning this contest does not mean you don't get to still be a game designer.

Lastly, if you are in the Top 32 or an Alternate, you should never discuss your entry before or during a Round nor defend your entry during the current Round. This will get you disqualified, it has happened before and do not fool yourself into thinking that it will not happen again. It will be hard to see your work misunderstood or flat out insulted, tough it out, walk away, leave the boards. Do not discuss your work.

And for the voters, the forum will pick back up, individuals will discuss each entry and this will be a bit different from the Round 1 blind voting. The voters do get to talk about the entries and talk about what they like and dislike about it. There will be long threads and short threads, that doesn't indicate anything specific about an entry. Vote for the items you feel are best and most interesting to you as a gamer and enjoy the show!

Good luck to everyone, until tomorrow at go time, we're all still in the race!

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9 aka dien

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Thanks for the veteran perspective/guidelines, mamaursula.

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8

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mamaursula wrote:
The Top 32 and 2 alternates

In the past there's been 4 alternates. Did that change this year? (I'm not seeing anything about alternates in this year's FAQ or rules.)

mamaursula wrote:
Traditionally the non-Top 32 voters wait until Wednesday to start the "Critique my item threads," please be respectful of this tradition.

Indeed, in the past the host usually creates the official critique thread and immediately locks it for a few days to encourage everyone to read, critique, and vote on the Top 32.

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

dien wrote:
Thanks for the veteran perspective/guidelines, mamaursula.

You're welcome! I know when I was first watching the games, I had no clue.

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

Garrett Guillotte wrote:
mamaursula wrote:
The Top 32 and 2 alternates
In the past there's been 4 alternates. Did that change this year? (I'm not seeing anything about alternates in this year's FAQ or rules.)

Ugh, you're right, I totally screwed that up and cannot edit it any longer. I don't claim to know all the answers, but someone will always help me out when I don't :-) Thank you Garrett!

Liberty's Edge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Locke1520

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I'll also leave this link here as something you all might find of interest as well: Sean K Reynolds: Magic Item Advice PDF and Review

Shadow Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka mamaursula

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The Top 32 and Alternates have been announced, at this point I bid you all adieu as the rest of the contest will be rather busy for me, I hope. In order to maintain the typical "radio silence" that most contestants assume in order to not disqualify themselves, I too shall be dropping my presence on the forums.

However, this thread will not languish at the bottom of the forum feed! Feros has been kind enough to step forward and take over the reins of guiding both new and veteran viewers alike through the next phase of RPG SuperStar.

Thank you all for tuning in, correcting me when I was wrong, sharing a laugh and generally supporting my thread!

Good luck to all of the Top 32, I am very excited to see what is in store for us.

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Hello everyone, and congratulations to all Top 32 finalists! Good job!

As Monica said, I have volunteered to take over this thread while she is otherwise occupied. You will still be hearing from her and the other Top 32 contestants over the next few weeks, but not nearly as much or as open as they have been. Staying quiet is a good rule of thumb when you are a competitor to avoid accidently disqualifying yourself.

Mamaursula covered what will be happening this week quite well above, so I won’t rehash that now. I will give my impressions of what the next few days bring as well as some other contest quirks.

First, if you have an item that was entered and you are not Top 32 or an alternate, I strongly urge you to submit your item to the Critique My Item thread when it goes live sometime tomorrow. You will get invaluable insight into why your item was not selected by the voters or if it was possible flaws that may have led the judges to reject it. People are generally quite polite about it. I’ll be submitting my item for criticism as well, so join in and feel free to comment on any items that you see and have an insight on. Every viewpoint is valuable!

Another interesting read over the next week is the Guildhall. This is a thread reserved for past and present Top 32 contestants, judges, and Paizo staff. If you are not one of these, it is considered bad form to post there. Please respect it as a perk that others have earned. You won’t read much there on the actual creation of items, but you will get an idea of what a lot of the contestants are like, their design preferences, and what views they have of the contest as it is happening (as far as they are allowed to say, anyway).

So get ready, the first round is over and the contest is only just getting underway! Lots of good stuff to come yet!

Star Voter Season 6

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Congrats, Mamaursula! Way to go!

To my fellow non-Top-32 crew:
Remember, we can all read and comment on the Top 32 items tonight. :)
This should be the link, I think.

EDIT:No, that link didn't work...
So, let's go with the basic RPGSS link, where you can scroll down and click on the item names:
Here.

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Alright, sometime today the Critique My Item thread will be starting and a lot of non-Top 32 items will be paired with their designers for review. If you entered an item now is the time to get feedback from the very people who voted both for and against your item. If you are just a voter this will be your opportunity to explain directly to the designers what you thought of their work.

First let me put up a warning: DO NOT talk about or criticize any item that is not posted in that thread. Only those people who ask for criticism should be given any. If a person doesn’t feel comfortable having their item reviewed, show some respect and let them be. Not everybody is willing or capable of hearing bad things about their work and we shouldn’t foist our unwanted opinions on them.

When reviewing an item try to keep the following three things in mind:

1. Be Respectful: Don’t use insulting or dismissive language. Don’t talk about the designers abilities; rather talk about the failings and strengths within the individual design. Everybody has an off day and just because they screwed up on something doesn’t mean they aren’t skilled or innovative. The point of the critique is to reveal flaws within the items not the designer.

2. Be Honest: While watching the language used and how you criticize, it’s very important you don’t coddle people either. They are putting their item up for one reason: they want to know what went wrong. So if you didn’t like an item say so. If the imagery bothered you make sure that is clear. The only way people can improve on their designs is if people honestly relate the problems they see.

2. Be Helpful: Saying “I don’t like this item, it really didn’t work for me” is a fairly useless bit of criticism. Saying “I found the imagery disturbing and wouldn’t want something that does that in this particular way at my table” is very useful. The difference? The first states an opinion without context while the second makes it clear why the opinion has been made and the reasons it may have been down-voted. In order to be of any real help the critic has to explain specific problems from theme to mechanics. That way the designer can alter their methods and improve their results.

OK, that’s the critique part. What about those of us who are submitting an item for review? My advice here is to read what everyone says about your item carefully. And get ready. Some of what you will read will not feel good. You will be told that you made mistakes, that your item isn’t very interesting, or worse. A thick skin is an important feature for any creative person and you may need one for this thread.

That is not to say that people will be mean spirited about this. On the contrary, the Critique My Item thread is generally very polite and respectful. But no matter how nice people are it still hurts a bit to be told that you failed and why. But it is very important for developing your skills as a designer that you read these comments. Knowing why an item didn’t register with the voters or the judges is the only way you can develop your skills to avoid those pitfalls in the future. It is an important part of your growth.

So submit your item and critique whichever submissions you feel you have an insight into. You’ll be helping both yourself, your fellow competitors, and the contest as a whole by doing so!

RPG Superstar 2009, Contributor

Well said, Feros.

Sovereign Court Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

Feros wrote:
A lot of useful, insightful and awesome stuff that you should read right now!

Thank you, Feros. *Casts Barkskin and Resinous Skin*

*Buffs Will save*

*Retrains ranks out of Intimidate and puts equal Ranks in Diplomacy*

*Pulls out the item he entered*

I think I'm ready.

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9 aka motteditor

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I think Feros brings up good points. I'd also argue that if you're getting feedback, you should return the favor and review others' items, which is also really good experience for you.

I also really want to encourage everyone to post on the Top 32's items. Don't go through the whole voting process, then get your feedback and disappear. Contribute to Superstar.

Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8 aka Jiggy

Brigg wrote:
I think I'm ready.

Yeah, I think you are.

Sovereign Court Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

Jacob Kellogg wrote:
Brigg wrote:
I think I'm ready.
Yeah, I think you are.

^.^! Thanks for the vote of confidence. It was a little shaken when the top 32 list was presented. But hey, I'm over it, and this gives me time to work on my third novel, (Which, quite frankly, should have been done about two years ago. It's amazing how life sidetracks creative endeavors.)

*Bates breath in anticipation of CMI thread*

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

The Critique My Item thread has now been up a full day and is humming along quite nicely. I have completed reviewing the first two pages of submitted items here and here.

If you submitted an item for review and want to read all the reviews of your item quickly and easily without reading through the entire thread, I suggest using Garrett Guillotte’s Unofficial tracker for 2015 item critiques. This is a Google Doc that Garrett puts up every year that tracks each item submitted to the Critique My Item thread and has links to every review on the thread for easy reference. He updates it regularly, so keep checking for your entry and any reviews that might be connected to it.

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

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Nice work MamaFerosula.

I would like to add that folks, old and new alike, should read all of the critiques. Learn from the mistake of others (you won't live long enough to make them all yourself).

Critiquing every item is daunting, but very helpful as a learning tool. But even if you do not feel up to the task of critiquing, take the time to see what everyone else is doing. You will see why some common missteps are well... common. If you avoided them by chance this year, avoid them by intent next year.

RPG Superstar 2009, Contributor

Curaigh wrote:
...I would like to add that folks, old and new alike, should read all of the critiques....You will see why some common missteps are well...common. If you avoided them by chance this year, avoid them by intent next year.

Exceptionally well-stated.

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I'm going to back up Curaigh's comment here: read everything you can. Garrett's Doc is very useful in that each item has all of its critiques in an easy to access spot. Great for seeing all the comments on one item at the same time so you can compare. But what you can learn from everybody's mistakes is invaluable.

And I'm talking about the Top 32 and their alternates as well. Check out the judges comments along with those of us who are commenting. No one did a perfect item. Everything needed work. This is a golden opportunity to learn from the mistakes of everyone who posts and the Top 36. You won't get a better look inside design work with amateurs and pros commenting together than this.

Think of this as a game design workshop you get to attend for free. It's all there if you want it. :)

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16 , Dedicated Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9 aka Petty Alchemy

Has anyone made a list of over-used/bland descriptives? I feel like that might be a useful tool.

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Petty Alchemy wrote:
Has anyone made a list of over-used/bland descriptives? I feel like that might be a useful tool.

Not as such. We have general advice like do not use "favored by/prized by/etc." Make it clear in your description of the effects who could use this. Sean K. Reynolds put out a series of advice like that a few years ago that is very helpful. Check that one out here. And the general compilation thread here. They talk about Wondrous Items, but the advice is general enough to cover ANY magic item.

In fact, for general advice I recommend this compilation by Anthony Adam from all the advice given on the boards over the years. It covers just about everything and is a great guide to magic item, monster, and general adventure design.

But to answer your question, no we don't have such a list, but it might be an idea to compile one.

Star Voter Season 6

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I hadn't seen that compilation PDF before.
It looks amazing, Anthony!
And thanks, Feros, for posting it.

The funny thing is, though, when I first opened it and saw the picture on the cover, my first thought was, "wait...Anthony Adam looks different!"

(I suppose I was expecting red skin and horns! :)

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Alright, the Critique My Item thread is slowing down now and everyone who submitted an item for review there currently has at least two critiques. So what do those who submitted get out of all this?

A lot. If you have submitted an item for review, you can use Garrett Guillotte’s Critique My Item thread tracker to quickly find all of the critiques of your item for perusal. Then you can do what Lady Firedove did and read them all, consider what has been written, and figure out what needed to be changed. She posted her analysis and response HERE. Take a look and read it through. I’ll wait…

…all finished? OK let’s talk about this. She thanked everyone for their comments, reposted her item, and then answered each and every one of the critiques. She did not argue with the comments, she responded to them. She made it clear that she got what was being said and took a long look at her design to figure out what worked, what was really good, and where she went wrong. In the end her lack of colourful description of the chain shirt and lack of explanation of how this would look in use were her downfalls. In an attempt to avoid the rather exceedingly over-used mithral, she ironically made an item that most agreed should have used mithral.

When she described how the gypsies in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame turned their opponents attacks back on them, the imagery came through loud and clear—and was very cool. Thematically and mechanically, this chain shirt works very well. But lack of description where it counted and the irony of making one of the few items that should have been made with mithral but wasn’t cost her a shot at the Top 32. She listened to the reviewers and got to the core of the problem. From this she can apply what she has learned to her entry in the next year's contest.

I did the same thing, though I didn’t post it like she did. You don’t have to write it all out or post, but doing at least some of that will help the lessons sink in. My courtier’s solitaire was seen by most as having got the imagery down solid. But my mechanics were both boring, slightly gamebreaking (for GMs who love ambushes, at least), and lost focus on the core roleplaying item I was trying to make—I began drifting into SAK territory without realizing it. Taking this into account, I will be focusing more heavily on the mechanics once I get my visual image down pat. It’s the area I need to improve on.

So if you have submitted an item, read through the reviews carefully and figure out where you went wrong. If you haven’t submitted, hopefully the polite commentary that was made will alleviate your fears and persuade you to submit. You are getting information straight from the judges and voters as to why you item failed to get to the Top 32. I can think of nothing more valuable to a would-be game designer than that.

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Tomorrow we return to voting as the Top 32 present their maps. So what can we expect in this round? First let’s take a look at the second round of the contest as it has come up in the past. This really has been a catch-all round, being the most varied and inconsistent over the years. There has never been two years of the contest in a row that had the same requirements.

The first year asked contestants to design a country for the relatively new setting of Golarion. The following year they were asked to design a villain concept. This was followed in succession by a monster concept, a class archetype, an organization for Golarion, and another class archetype. As you can see, a great deal of variety and change.

Last year—due to a number of issues including time constraints and some question of relevance to adventure design—they did away with the round entirely, reducing the total number of rounds to four (the lowest number of rounds ever) and skipping directly into the adversary/monster round. This was not very popular and many wondered what would happen this year.

Now we know that the second “catch-all” round is back and it is map design. This is an interesting and important talent to test when designing adventures. A clear map can be turned easily into gold by a skilled cartographer/artist while a difficult to read map is dross.

The first thing that will be known tomorrow is who the final Top 32 actually are. If any of the selected Top 32 cannot compete due to disqualification or from withdrawing, one of the four alternates will take their place. You will only see 32 entries; the other four will be out of the contest.

Presentation and voting is very different than Round One. First, we are able to see all 32 entries. Each will have its own thread and judges’ comments attached to it. Second, we can comment all we like on the entries and in fact are encouraged to do so. No one has to be oblique in criticism or comments throughout the round. I would encourage people to be respectful in both language and attitude towards the contestants and their entries. They worked hard on these on a tight deadline and deserve respect.

Third, the manner in which we vote will be quite different. You will be able to vote for more than one entry at a time. Traditionally the most common number of entries you can vote for in the second round is 8. If this is different, we will be informed. You read through all 32 entries and then select the 8 (or however many we are allowed) you like the best and then enter your vote. If you change your mind you can come back and alter the vote until it gets locked in a week from now.

The reason we are able to vote for more than one up to a max number is because if we could only vote for a favorite and one entry gets the overwhelming majority of the votes, more than half the entries could conceivably get no votes. This way ensures that enough entries get votes so a Top 16 can be determined.

The contestants are forbidden to talk about or defend their maps until the voting is locked in on Monday. Then they will be free to comment on their entries and defend them from criticism. Until then they have to remain mute just like Round One before the Top 32 announcement. I’m sure a number of them hit submit, realized they made an error somewhere or could have done something better, and promptly hammered their heads into their keyboards. So be gentle with them, OK? :)

Liberty's Edge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Locke1520

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Feros wrote:
Much worth reading.
Feros also wrote:
So be gentle with them, OK? :)

And if not precisely gentle. Then at the very least treat them with the respect and courtesy you would like to receive if you were in their place.

Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I had originally planned of talking about the map round in this post, but something has come up that will postpone that for tomorrow. Today one of the Top 32 was disqualified from the contest. This is terrible, because we all know how difficult it is to get into the Top 32 in the first place. I feel really bad for him, but he broke the rules and there was no other recourse. So on this sad note we will talk about some of the ways you can disqualify yourself.

Now we have been over this. Everyone in the contest remembers that they weren’t allowed to discuss their item in the forum threads between submitting and the Top 32. Revealing which item was yours in a public manner was an automatic DQ because the whole point of the magic item round is that it is a blind test of a designer’s abilities. No one is supposed to know what race, religion, or gender you are or whether you are known to the judges or not. You get through on talent alone. Compromising that ruins the advantages of the blind test, so it is a DQ.

In the following rounds there are a number of ways to get a DQ: that is the prime reason for the four alternates. The judges need a group they can readily bring into the contest until the end of round two, after which they can always draw on the rest of the Top 32 for any DQ events. There are the obvious submission difficulties; should you submit something that breaks the rules for the round, it is a DQ.

But there are some rules that are just as important and they involve how the contestant behaves on the boards and in public forums. This is Rule 5 of the official contest Rules and is as follows:

Quote:
5. During public voting rounds, contestants are prohibited from any public discussion that could be considered as adding to, expanding upon, or clarifying the content of their current submissions. This applies to (but is not limited to) interviews, personal blogs, and messageboard posts on paizo.com or elsewhere, including the paizo.com discussion thread for the entry itself. Any such discussion may result in disqualification, in the sole discretion of the judges and/or Paizo.

This Rule basically means that you can’t discuss any of your submissions while they are being voted on in such a way as to try and persuade people to vote on your entry. Even if that wasn’t your intent, if you add detail, discuss your design ideas, whatever, you can be disqualified if the judges deem you as having gone too far.

So how to avoid this? Simple: post less. DON’T post opinions about the current round of the contest while the voting is open. DON’T post ANYTHING that could clarify a point that people are getting confused over. You can post a general and non-specific thank you for comments if you feel the urge, but even that is risky. Keep your language simple and DON’T mention your entry EVER.

Once the voting is closed, you can then get in on the discussion. You can’t change the vote then, and explanations can easily be made without jeopardizing your position. Another point DON’T discuss any details of future entries that you may be working on. They are considered in contention and will not be safe to discuss until after the voting is closed. If you are unsure whether you should post or not, play it safe: DON’T POST ANYTHING AT ALL. Go silent. Keep a low profile and stay safe.

So why all this? Three reasons are readily apparent:

1) Your entry stands alone: It is important to see whether you can convey information within the guidelines set out in each round’s rules clearly to the public. If they can’t clearly see what you were trying to express and get across through your design, that is a failure on your part. It is an important test. If each contestant was able to expand upon and argue their point you would risk that test to see how much they are able to convey through their work.

2) To see if you can stay quiet: Non-disclosure Agreements are standard fair in freelancing. In order to run a successful marketing campaign, a company has to be able to control when info on their products gets released. Those working on the company’s projects may know what is coming, but they can’t tell anyone until it is time for the announcement. If you are unable to keep quiet about your work in the contest, how will you handle the temptation of releasing information on real projects?

3) To see how you handle criticism: It can get bad in the opening round when someone begins tearing down a design element that was central to your items final form. It hurts and you can’t fire back without disqualifying yourself. Now imagine that everyone knows that you designed it and they are still shredding it. You can say nothing. The criticism makes you feel low. It hits you again and again. And you can’t say ANYTHING. How does that affect your design ability? If criticism and some negative reviews bother you too much, you may not be cut out for freelancing at all.

So seeing how you handle your critics and how you respond to them when you are finally able to is a very important test. If you can’t act civilly to someone who has torn your beloved creation apart, you may be a liability to future company projects as there is no such thing as a release that pleases everybody.

So there you have it. Today’s event was rather sad, but it illustrates a part of the rules that is very important. I will say that with the sad comes something good: Allana Sliwinski aka Cathara has moved out of Alternate status and now proudly has a Top 32 tag by her name. Congratulations Allana! Well done.

I’ll post again tomorrow some things of note about the map rounds and a short preview of what is coming next week.

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32 , Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Rusty Ironpants

This is more great advice on how to avoid a self-inflicted DQ. It has definitely been harder too maintain radio silence during round 2 than I expected, but as events have demonstrated, it is very important.

Paizo Employee Developer , Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9

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Staying quiet about stuff as a starting freelancer is super hard. You're super excited about what you've made and you see people having fun with that creation. Maybe they're even using it in ways that you didn't expect. Sometimes they're outright abusing the thing you made in ways you didn't even think of at the time. Hopefully, they're having a blast with it. After all, we facilitate fun.

When it comes to those times that you have to remain silent (whether due to NDAs or whatever) it's always so tempting to answer a question about something that you've addressed in a turnover that isn't public knowledge yet. When you nab a new and exciting gig, it's tempting to promote yourself/celebrate the fact that you got it. When you turn in a big or exiting assignment, it's tempting to brag about your accomplishments.

As a freelancer, keeping your name out there among publishers is important, but it's always a balancing act of being too upfront or not getting yourself out there enough. In this competition, following the strict order of the rule is the most important thing. In many ways, this contest can be way more brutal for contestants than freelancing.

RPG Superstar 2009, Contributor

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Adam Daigle wrote:
In many ways, this contest can be way more brutal for contestants than freelancing.

And that's a good thing. I've always viewed it as very intentional in that regard. The contest is a crucible which makes you better at what you're attempting to do, and it helps you stand out even more than you otherwise normally could without it. I think the difficulties of the contest also help you get ready for the real thing. And, by doing so, it makes it easier for you to deal with thsoe situations when they arrive. They don't seem as daunting. Or, you've already got the experience and confidence to deal with it.

Or, put another way, this is RPG Superstar.

The "stars" shine brightest at the darkest of times.

This contest certainly puts you through the wringer in very intentional ways to facilitate that. Those who embrace that challenge and win their way through the gauntlet really have achieved something significant and should be celebrated. I don't mean that in a self-serving way. I certainly wear the RPG Superstar badge with a great deal of pride and honor, but I tip my cap to anyone who goes through it, not simply the winners. It's a brotherhood (and sisterhood!) where we all pretty much immediately recognize one another and the shared experience we went through.

But that's just my two cents, ;)
--Neil

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