Metamorphosis Saddle

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Metamorphosis Saddle
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 11th
Slot--; Price 7,000 gp; Weight varies
Description
This granite colored saddle appears to be carved of stone, but is made from supple leather. The saddle is sized for a Medium or Large creature. Once per day, a command word transforms a willing creature wearing the saddle into a 1 inch high granite figurine. When the figurine is tossed down and the command word is spoken, the creature returns to living and its normal size. Once per week, another command word changes the saddle's shape to fit a normal or exotic mount and type to become a military, pack, or riding saddle. The size of the saddle can't be changed. The metamorphosis saddle weighs as much as a mundane saddle of the same size, shape, and type. It is not possible to transform a creature affected by a polymorph spell or effect.

If the metamorphosis saddle is fitted to a living creature from a figurine of wondrous power, the creature's natural armor is increased by +2. If the saddle is not removed when the creature reverts to a figurine, the saddle becomes part of the figurine until the figurine of wondrous power becomes a living creature again.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, fabricate, flesh to stone; Cost 3,500 gp

[Neil Spicer]

This item would be a boon to a cavalier or some other PC who invested heavily into the Mounted Combat feat chain. Rather than having to tie your mount up outside the dungeon, you can more safely bring it along with you...transforming it from statue back to a mount when you enter a room or hallway where it would be convenient to summon it again. The small tagalong ability with a figurine of wondrous power and the natural armor boost to such a summoned mount is kind of intriguing as well.

I'm not sure how often this item would see play. But, for when it does, I could see it proving useful. Even so, I'm not overly enamored with the descriptive text. It doesn't flow as well as I'd like. But the author's got a perfect execution of the wondrous item template. So, he did his homework and he's got attention to detail. For now, I'm a...

...Weak Keep

It's at least worth keeping around for a bit, even if 32 other items knock it off with superior mojo.

[Sean K Reynolds]

I don't know if it's sized for a Medium or Large rider or a Medium or Large mount.

Is an animal companion "willing"? What do you need to do in order to convince an Int 2 animal that it wants to allow this effect on it?

If you're not a character with an animal class ability, this is basically an "I can store my riding horse as an object and not worry that monsters will eat it" item. Kinda item makes adventuring safe, kinda item is metagaming ("as a player, I don't want to track where my horse is").

I like the add-on to the figurine, but I don't think its other abilities are particularly creative.

Reject.

[Clark Peterson]

Simple, useful, not a spell in a can. Breaks some rules in a limited way. This is a good wondrous item. My concern is the same as Sean's, though: this is basically a "store my horse so monsters can't eat it." But that makes for a pretty good item. But it's more than that. You can bring a horse somewhere a horse normally couldn't go, or an animal companion. I think there are a lot of uses here beyond the "keep my horsie safe" that warrant keeping it around.

Weak KEEP from me.

[Neil Spicer]

Two weak Keeps and one weak Reject. We need Ryan for the tie-breaker.

[Ryan Dancey]

I liked this item for two reasons. One, it functions as a way to introduce a nearly infinite number of figurines of wondrous power into the game, relieving the GM of the need to figure out how to do it if a character is just head over heels in love with the idea of being Drizzt.

Second, it amplifies and augments the ability of existing figurines which has the effect of basically making them all new versions of the existing items and does so in a way that's far from dangerous to the game's stability.

I recommend that you vote for this designer.

[Clark Peterson]

Neil Spicer wrote:

But the author's got a perfect execution of the wondrous item template. So, he did his homework and he's got attention to detail.

Agreed. Again, though the item might not knock our socks off, our GOAL is to find 32 potential designers to compete in this competition. The TASK we give them that we evaluate to help us with our goal is to design an item. Sometimes the task doesnt do a great job discriminating the good from the bad designers, and historically that is true. For instance, I think nearly every year we have had a good chunk in the top 8 and even top 4 that only marginally made it into the top 32. That says we dont have perfect overlap between our GOAL and our TASK. So keeping in mind the goal, I think this guy has the spark and the design chops to get a shot in the contest.

[Neil Spicer]

After comparing this item to several others in the Keep folder, I've come to the conclusion that it just isn't exciting enough for me. It's technically proficient, but it just lacks mojo and Superstar quality. It might still make it through as a "golden ticket" or an alternate, however. But, for now, I'm going to change my vote to a...

...Weak Reject.

[Jerall Toi]

Welcome to the Top 32!

You've given us a magical saddle that let's you safely store your mount or animal companion in your pocket. That's certainly a handy ability, but may fall victim to Pokémon jokes at my table.

I like how you linked the saddle to figurines of wondrous power. The saddle only provides a minor bonus, but it's enough to make figurines more attractive. I like how you've built upon existing material. I'm interested in seeing what you might do in later rounds. Good luck with your organisation.

[Sean McGowan]

What I like:
While a 'storage' item for one's mount might seem to fall into the 'making adventuring safe' category, I don't mind that. Presumably it's intended for someone who really focuses on their mount, instead of the entire party each just buying one for their 25 gp riding horses. Still, for all that, it raised some questions for me about what it can be used on (see below), but the concept is sound.
What I love:
Much like another item this year, I really like that this is specifically designed to interact with figurines of wondrous power. That's really what makes this item pop, for me, instead of just going ho-hum, magic saddle.
What needs a little sumptin' sumptin'...
I'm wondering how 'willing' a typical, animal-intelligence mount would be. I assume this is intended for paladin mounts, animal companions, and other magic/class feature oriented mounts, or, obviously, figurines of wondrous power, all of whom would presumably be able to say yea or nay to being petrified and shrunk down to an action figure for an indefinite period. But for a mount without some amount of sentience, it becomes a bit of a different issue. I assume the 'willing creature' limitation is so the party doesn't go around turning the cavalier or antipaladin bad guy's mounts into sculpted miniatures, but that seems an esoteric enough concern that it isn't really necessary, or at least a slightly more elegant way could have been found to limit it.
Also, I don't think it's necessary to limit the shape altering power of the saddle to once per week. it's definitely the 'fluff' power of the item, and I don't really see it as being particularly abuseable.
All in all...
Well, what could be a 'useful, but not superstar' item for me gets redeemed by the interplay with figurines of wondrous power; I'm not sure if, in your drafting of this item, that was a core idea all along or if you added it in as an afterthought, but I think this would have got me more excited if that power had been front & center instead of a quick two-sentence paragraph; maybe do more with that idea and have the resizing & storage powers of the item be the 'additionally' powers. Regardless, it's a very solid entry. Congratulations and welcome to RPG Superstar!

[Sam Zeitlin]

This is a very technically proficient magic item, but it’s very narrow and not all that exciting. It’s cool that we now have a way to get my horse down stairs, but why is this a thing? I do understand the concept of enabling a cavalier to bring his horse around into dungeon crawls, but this isn’t even particularly useful for that, since it only functions once per day. I can get my horse into the dungeon, but can’t get it out unless we camp down there for 24 hours?

I do like the interaction with figurines of wondrous power, for what that’s worth.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Judges, thank you for the honest critique! A quick playtest forced me to add 'willing' in there to prevent abuse (after the group tied the saddle to a grappled creature). I guess I didn't nail the wording. As Neil pointed out, my prose needs work. And Jerall, I did not see the Pokemon connection, but now it is so obvious...

I have to thank my wife for helping me with my atrocious grammar. She is educated 'n stuff.

[RonarsCorruption]

I like this item a lot, but maybe instead of willing, you should make it a will save? That way, willing creatures could bypass it, and so could strong ones - but it always gives you the chance of catching something big... Which yeah, might make it a little more like pokemon, I suppose.

Also, I'd have liked to see stone to flesh in the item requirements as well.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

RonarsCorruption wrote:

Also, I'd have liked to see stone to flesh in the item requirements as well.

That was part of the original spell requirement, but I decreased the requirements from three spells to two.

[Curaigh]

Congratulations Thomas,

I think this shows an ability to peer into a small niche and pull out a gem. Nice Job. Enjoy the ride and good luck! :)

[Alexander Bennett]

My cavalier cohort will need this. The party had horses at the beginning and I'm still not sure what happened to them (miss one session...).
-Xander

[Crysknife]

Nice item, I'm just sad that figurines of wondrous power are so useless for their price. Not that this is really pertinent, I just couldn't help about thinking how much I want the figurines rewritten.

[BQ]

Great for any mounted character and solves the problem of leaving a mount outside the dungeon while you spend a few days crawling around inside. I've seen variations of this idea over the years pop up in home brew games all the way back to 2nd ed, but for some reason it has never been a part of core D&D/Pathfinder or appeared in RPGSS before.

While this idea might lack a bit of pizaz it is one of the more usable items to appear in RPG SS. I could see this one popping up in games and for me thats more important than an idea that is just way out there.

I think this item is a handy at low to middle levels, and solid at the high levels with the ability to reshape to fit an exotic mount. The final part with the figurines of wondrous powers is a nice touch too.

Well done mate and good luck.

[benjover]

This is one of my favorite entries this year. I'm definitely going to be making a case for this one to be available in our gaming group.
I can't wait to set up a horse thief with this thing, as soon as he gets going full speed "Command Word" baby and watch that sucker fly!!! Muwhahahaaa!

[Dhampir984]

I do like this one. It's not perfect, and that doesn't bother me. I look at this and think, 'Hey I can stop spending 100+ gp every time I walk into town because the last horse was eaten/ran off/killed horribly in a fight/pick a sad fate for the horse'.

I think the item could use some polish, sure. But it's an item I don't *have* to have. Which to me, makes it an item to put into the consider buying pile, once I have some cash. It means I have to think about it, not a must have to stay in the game and not a must avoid.

That's huge to me.

[Kris Newton]

This item is good at what it does. It's got thorough rules content to back up a sound concept that is useful and interesting. What's lacking is that little something extra.

When you're building an item that solves such a common problem, I think you've got to show off a little bit. Stick an idea in there that we'd never have thought of, so that we can justify paying for your version of this thing rather than using our homebrew version (or handwaving the issue, which is how most campaigns solve problems of this ilk). A lot of people seemed to like the interaction with the figurines, but I can take it or leave it. What I really would have liked is to see a play on the metamorphosis theme promised on the title -- e.g., one time only, you can put the mount in granite cocoon form and remove it one week later to find it transformed into a new kind of mount. In any case, something that makes your item distinctly more than just a (very effective) patch.

Overall, the item's good. The "big idea" base was the one you didn't hit to my tastes, but it seems that next round will give you plenty of opportunity to fix that. Good luck!

[Paul Brown]

On my first reading, I thought that it transformed the rider, not the wearer. I was really amused trying to think of scenarios where that would be useful.

[Anthony Adam]

Ant Health Warning: this year, I really worked hard on technical execution of my item, so these reviews will likely reflect template use. Brace yourselves for the template fu - it can sting.

Template Use: 10/10

template fu sees "--" for slot and mutters that it's "none;" from 5th printing on, doesnt take any points though.

Slot affinity: 8/10

There is no slot as such, so I will give a general assessment score here so it balances with other reviews.
You might want to think about creature restrictions when it comes to saddles, see abuseability below, but as someone who loves playing paladins and cavaliers, I like anything that I can use for "cavalier flourish" - "Behold, my stalwart mount is here!"

Abuseability: 7/10
My god John, you're bleeding to death and the cleric's unconscious. Put this on. Seconds later, the party starts dragging the unconscious cleric townward with John safely in their pocket.
What if the creature is long bodied and able to wear more than one for multiple riders?

Desirability: 8/10
Campaigns dealing with cavalry, paladin pc's, cavalier pc's, samurai and the like would find this a nice item.

Originality: 9/10
You did something different and went for an item that isnt directly targetted at PC use, nice one.

Ant Score: 42/50 (84%)

[Garrett Guillotte]

Would adding a Handle Animal check to this make the "willing creature" part easier to swallow?

[Luthia]

Congratulations on making the top 32, and good luck in the rest of the competition.

Initial and Overall impression I like the name. At first, I didn't quite get were you wanted to go with the effect, though. I wanted Metamorphosis, and maybe my Greek/Latin student background made me expect something other that what you were heading for.
Once I get the idea, it's simple. Perhaps a teensy, little bit too simple. It's neat, but it's not really giving me a need to try and get a character in my games to use it. And that even though I'm designing loads of weird saddle items for people in my team who have a tendency to acquire strange mounts.

Analysis
Name: Uhh. Metamorphosis is +word for Greek/Latin people. A Metamorphosis Saddle... yay, I get to change mounts into swans or trees or? (okay, too much of a derailment into Ovid's Metamorphoses there). That said, you've caught my interest.

Template: Looking good.

Effect: Okay, I'll admit my expectations here might have been slightly off. I was hoping for magic, wonder and unusual transformations, so this is a little... less, than the name brought my imagination off to. You've got yourself a neat little effect. It's not enormously original, but it neat. I don't actually like the part with figurines of wondrous power too much, but I never really did use those, so it's probably just that.

Description: Looks fair. The grammar monster is silent today, and so doesn't want an in depth analysis, since nothing wakes it up.

Good luck in the coming rounds!

[Thomas LeBlanc]

I initially was going to submit an item that only modified figurines of wondrous power. But I thought that would be a little too niche. Eventually I combined 3 different items. The first was an item I had been using for about 12 years. The second was my initial item for the year, but it was too ordinary. The 3rd item was a work in progress. It was too bloated and contained some difficult abilities to describe.

1. Metamorphosis Collar: 2,000 gp, changed an animal into a figurine
2. Shifting Saddle: 1,000 gp, saddle that adjusts to any mount
3. Figurine Torq: ??? gp, only could be fitted to a figurine of wondrous power, awaken the creature, +10 ft to movement, +1 - +5 bonus to attack and natural armor, and increased the amount of time and uses for a figurine.

The idea to combine the first 2 ideas seemed natural to me. When I was working the spell requirements, adding a natural armor bonus to the creature due to the stone theme of the item, was a logical extension. But I did not want to worry about stacking too many potential bonuses. So I limited the natural armor to figurines, because they need love.

If I had the chance for a rewrite:
Description
This supple leather saddle appears to be carved from granite. Once per day, a command word transforms a creature fitted to the saddle into a 1 inch high granite figurine. When the figurine is tossed down and the command word is spoken, the creature returns to living and its normal size. It is not possible to transform a creature affected by a polymorph spell or effect.

If the metamorphosis saddle is fitted to a living creature from a figurine of wondrous power, the creature's natural armor is increased by +2. If the saddle is not removed when the creature reverts to a figurine, the saddle becomes part of the figurine until the figurine of wondrous power becomes a living creature again.

Once per week, another command word changes the saddle to properly fit a mount of another size, to fit a normal or exotic mount, and become a military, pack, or riding saddle. The metamorphosis saddle weighs as much as a mundane saddle of the same size, shape, and type.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I was aiming for a way to keep mounts alive. I tend to pimp my rides out with the permanency spell and it gets expensive to keep replacing them.

Question: Does the pricing on my item seem reasonable? I had to really on my gut and guesstimate a number.

[Jim Groves]

Sorry for the brief comments.

As much as this might seem to be a convenience item, I know very few people who will actually play a cavalier at all (ever), and no paladin takes the mount option. So as much as it seems to take the sting out of having a mount- my experience the so called sting is enough to make players just not take the class.

So I don't hold that aspect against this item. Good job.

Keep your chin up! The past is the past. Take the constructive feedback and keep moving forward.

[Mark Hart]

Mounts are, in some ways, like familiars. They've long been in the game, but they often prove problematic to the party or simply inconvenient... or they die too easily. I appreciate your item because it offers a quick solution that still allows characters to keep a beloved mount available. It solves some story problems (e.g., leaving your favorite horse tethered outside the dungeon entrance), and encourages characters to consider owning mounts.

If a few cavaliers with these items could sneak into an enemy fortress, they could provide a really impressive surprise when they return their mounts to full size, mount up, and go on the attack!

Excellent work!

[Daniel Rust]

Mark Hart wrote:

If a few cavaliers with these items could sneak into an enemy fortress, they could provide a really impressive surprise when they return their mounts to full size, mount up, and go on the attack!

Oh yes!

This item will go straight into my game. It's simple but effective and makes special mounts so much easier to deal with. Every Cavalier should have one (and every proper Paladin).

Also, I love the visual of the figurine reverting back with the saddle still attached.

[Mike Welham]

I have a soft spot for items that preserve/protect an animal companion, and this one is no exception. Adding to it is the daring decision to apply the effects to a figurine of wondrous power.

Congratulations, Thomas! I can't wait to see your organization.

[Eric Morton]

Threat Analysis

You could be serious competition because.... you clearly identified an item that lots of characters would want, and that opens up new options for players, since they can now feel okay playing animal-based classes in campaigns where animals would otherwise be tied up outside a dungeon for five consecutive levels. Some may call that "making adventuring safe." I call it "opening up character options in campaigns that would otherwise punish players for playing certain classes."

You could become an even bigger threat in future rounds if... you use slightly clearer language ("Medium or Large mount" as opposed to the less-specific "Medium or Large creature", for example).

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Eric Morton wrote:

Threat Analysis

You could become an even bigger threat in future rounds if... you use slightly clearer language ("Medium or Large mount" as opposed to the less-specific "Medium or Large creature", for example).

Thanks for the feedback (and the monsters).

I originally had used the word mount. But I wanted to avoid pigeonholing fitting only a cavaliers mount extraordinary ability (rules lawyering...). I could have said, "Medium or Large creature usable as a mount".

[Jacob W. Michaels]

Like others, I like the niche you're playing with. I think the reason I loved last year's "Houndmaster" archetype so much is it IMO made the cavalier a playable class, something I don't think it is right now with so much of its abilities tied to a mount and so many adventures not suitable for bringing a mount along.

This does the same thing, IMO.

I also really love the granite imagery -- I've from time to time tried to stick a granite shield into my campaigns, though obviously that's not a wondrous item. Just like the imagery it provides.

[Ragwaine]

Trying to wrap my head around this one. So the 1/day power transforms a creature into a statue and the 1/week power changes the saddle into different kinds of saddle? Is that correct? The wording was really bad for me and the "willing" creature thing sounded like 2nd edition wording (which equals not really defining what they're talking about).

Definitely a way to get players to actually use mounted feats. Interesting link to figurines of wondrous power. Good luck.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Thanks!

Yes:
- 1/day turns creature into figurine
- 1/week change saddle shape to fit a normal or exotic mount and also change type into a riding, pack, or military saddle

I know my wording was a bit vague. I wanted to keep the item from being abused by forcing a creature to wear the saddle and then transforming the creature. Example: jump on a nightmares back, resize saddle, transform creature(happened in my playtest game)

[Ragwaine]

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

I wanted to keep the item from being abused by forcing a creature to wear the saddle and then transforming the creature. Example: jump on a nightmares back, resize saddle, transform creature(happened in my playtest game)

That's hilarious! Just another example of players doing exactly the opposite of what you thought they were going to do. I guess you could have done something with wild empathy but then you'd be limiting the item to druids and rangers.

[David Ludwig]

I’ll admit that I was planning on not liking your saddle for the same reason mounts aren’t always a great idea—dungeon crawling—but then you actually addressed that issue!

I love this as a way to take your mount with you into the dungeon and call them back when there’s room. I also like the saddle’s own morphability, but I’m not sure the interaction with the figurines of wondrous power sits quite right with me.

Still, any mounted character I have would love to have this item, and it would even prompt a few of my characters to consider mounts who would otherwise avoid them.

[Mike Schneider]

My samurai cannot own one of these things fast enough.

(Growing extremely weary of PFS modules with obligatory nerf-the-mounts contrivances at the beginning.)

[Thomas LeBlanc]

David Ludwig wrote:

I also like the saddle’s own morphability, but I’m not sure the interaction with the figurines of wondrous power sits quite right with me.

The ability for the saddle to change size is a function of player economics. If you bought the saddle for a horse, would you really want to sell it at a loss and have a saddle made for your triceratops? Want your halfling druid to use the ebony fly to get above the trees and find the hidden jungle temple, use a golden lion as a mount, or saphire dolphin (homebrew) to approach a boat while hidden beneath the waves? Rather than have to suffer ride check penalties or haul around heaps of saddles, you're covered.

I really enjoy the existing figures and have 20+ homebrew ones (mostly for a AD&D/3.0 gnome campaign). By limiting the bonus to just a +2 to natural armor, you give a protective boost without screwing up action, usage, or travel considerations. Flesh to stone is giving the bonus to AC as an admixture of the magic in the saddle and figurine. Saddle turns living to stone and the figurine is normally in a hardened state.

[Chris Shaeffer]

Thomas, my man. It's been cool chatting with you up until this point! I'm finally getting around to reviewing the rest of the wondrous item submissions, so here goes.

What I Like
This is extremely useful! A cavalier NEEDS this. And I, like other people, love how it interacts with the established figurines. That's way smart. It's also great if you have a mount that changes in size or shape. This saddle could presumably change right along with it!

Needs Improvement
It's got a little bit of the whole "makes adventuring safe" thing going, but from a player perspective, I know I'd want this and use it a great deal. I was initially puzzled over the "willingness" of the mount as well, but you explained that well enough.

How I Feel About You as an Opponent
I've gotten to know you a little bit over the past week, so I think of you as more of a friendly companion than a vile enemy. Who knows which of us (if either) will advance to future rounds, but I wish you luck!

[Ask A RPGSupersuccubus]

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

Metamorphosis Saddle

Aura moderate transmutation; CL 11th
Slot--; Price 7,000 gp; Weight varies
Description
This granite colored saddle appears to be carved of stone, but is made from supple leather. The saddle is sized for a Medium or Large creature. Once per day, a command word transforms a willing creature wearing the saddle into a 1 inch high granite figurine. When the figurine is tossed down and the command word is spoken, the creature returns to living and its normal size. Once per week, another command word changes the saddle's shape to fit a normal or exotic mount and type to become a military, pack, or riding saddle. The size of the saddle can't be changed. The metamorphosis saddle weighs as much as a mundane saddle of the same size, shape, and type. It is not possible to transform a creature affected by a polymorph spell or effect.

If the metamorphosis saddle is fitted to a living creature from a figurine of wondrous power, the creature's natural armor is increased by +2. If the saddle is not removed when the creature reverts to a figurine, the saddle becomes part of the figurine until the figurine of wondrous power becomes a living creature again.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, fabricate, flesh to stone; Cost 3,500 gp

Disclaimer:

This post constitutes the views of a (very advanced) CE aligned succubus. Being such, Ask A RPGSupersuccubus is at complete liberty to change her mind on anything without giving any notice whatsoever. For those of you who missed last year (or as a reminder for those whose memories have failed) Ask A RPGSupersuccubus subscribes absolutely to balance, fairness, and logic in these reviews – in the sense that balance is what a couple of mortals on opposite ends of a plank pivoted on a rocky spire above a drop of several hundred feet into a pool of molten basalt frantically try to do, fairness is a term applicable to assessing either hair colour or more general beauteousness and logic is something which proves anything a demon of adequate status and charm requires it to demonstrate.

Note:
Ask A RPGSupersuccubus acknowledges the efforts of the ready supply of willing victims on the ‘Nine Blazing Months’ items thread, who inadvertently contributed to the development of weapons-grade questions for use in this round.

Fair is foul and foul is fair supposedly (trust a mortal to make up a piece of complete mumbo-jumbo – it is of course generally impossible to get anything much fairer in any context which actually matters than a succubus). Basically, though, does this item have any useful application in a spa?
Succubi do not arrive at spas on horseback. They don't even arrive on unicorn back (well not often, anyway), not for the reason you may be thinking of, but because if they can't arrive in a magnificent gilded carriage pulled by a team of at least half a dozen matched black horses, then to be frank one may as well just teleport in.

Assuming for a moment that it’s more convenient to pay taxes than to circumvent the system, does this item look likely to be a tax-deductible business expense for a succubus art-dealer?
Not unless one is a figurine dealer, and it's part of a 'special promotion' package.

Is the item useful in a strawberries-and-cream-tea context?
Ewww, no. That is much more an erinyes sort of thing. Wash your mind out! A lady is far too refined for that sort of horseplay. Well most are.

Other Comments?
As a footnote, I'd like to remark that granite comes in numerous shades and colours, depending on the exact crystalline composition. It would seem logical (see the earlier disclaimer if you missed it) to assume that these saddles come in a similar range of shades and colours...

Gollum Rating:
Ratings of items are prosaic and unfashionably conventional this year. Although rules are there to be broken (so long as they do not involve the dread lord, Orcus) as a general rule no items will thus be rated this year.