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Flask of Liquid Sunlight
Aura moderate evocation; CL 9th
Slot none; Price 10,800 gp; Weight 1 lbs.
Description
This gilded container is shaped like a scarab beetle, with a radiant gold liquid sloshing about in its crystalline thorax. So long as the flask contains some liquid, it casts light as a torch. If the bottle is unstoppered and its entire contents flung in an arc overhead, the liquid ignites and sheds bright light in a 60ft radius. The radiant liquid affects creatures susceptible to light as if it were natural sunlight and lasts for ten minutes. Alternatively, the liquid can be used on a weapon. If the entire contents of the flask are used to coat a weapon, the weapon sheds light as the daylight spell and deals an extra 2d6 damage against undead. Against undead susceptible to natural light (such as vampires), this damage increases to 2d8. Only one end of a double weapon can receive the benefits of the flask of liquid sunlight. The light and bonuses to the weapon wear off after ten minutes. So long as the flask of liquid sunlight is exposed to natural light for one hour, it refills with the radiant gold liquid the next morning at dawn.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, daylight and searing light; Cost 5,400 gp
Kind of a cool, useful, flavorful item. Well designed, described, and presented via the template. They still need to italicize their spell names. But might be worth a...
...Keep.
The basic effect of this item is not bad. However it should really be a potion. Adding the ability to regenerate the effect is a backhanded way of getting it into a wondrous item competition.
I do not recommend that you vote for this designer.
You know what I find most compelling about this: that it is not consumable but neither is it "once per day." It actually needs some link to the sun to recharge it. The worst part is the name.
Weak Keep from me.
I'm with Ryan, this should have been a consumable.
Clark, this IS a once per day item (refills at dawn)... it just has a weird recharge mechanic.
I'm ambivalent about this item.
I vote "keep"... but just barely.
The more I look over this item, the more I like it. I don't dislike the name. And the bottle refills 1/day (though it takes at least an hour of soaking in the sun before doing so). Once you've got some bottled sunlight, you get to use it as a weapon coating for 10 minutes to give your blade the undead bane property...or a slightly upgraded version of it if the undead you're facing are susceptible to natural sunlight. It's a 1/day, 10-minute only stacking of a weapon property, so it's limited enough that I'm okay with it.
In addition, if there's a particular location where you need natural sunlight right away, you can create a 60-ft. area of it by flinging the bottle's contents into the air. Again, it only lasts 10 minutes, but that duration could prove vital to winning a particular fight. So, this is also a tactical item that could come in exceptionally handy when intruding upon a vampire's lair...or when facing shadows, wraiths, or spectres...but also when venturing way below ground and you need to stave off an attack by light-sensitive denizens of the Darklands. I like both the implied flavor and utility of this item.
Big Keep from me and a likely "golden ticket," if necessary. I do agree it might be better as a consumable.
Welcome to the Top 32!
I like how you described the first effect... it's something both players and GMs can use to kick off a cinematic fight against the dark. Very cool.
I had to read through this entry twice. I think that you would have avoided a lot of confusion by explicitly and clearly stating the once per day aspect of the item. Perhaps you should have mentioned how the bane effect applies to ranged weapons and ammunition. I find it odd that you clearly referenced double-weapons, but missed bows and arrows. Further, if you had made it a consumable, you could have dropped the cost and made the item more accessible.
Despite the above issues, I like both the flavour and utility of the item. Work on clarity and wow us with your organisation. Good luck for the next round.
What I like:
You're able to give a really nice description of this item without going overboard; you use one sentence to do what a lot of entrants into this contest feel the need to take three or four to do.
What I love:
Being able to fry the poor tender eyeballs of monsters with light blindness is always cool. 'Who's in charge now, drow? Who's in charge?' Of course, you can always achieve that just with a daylight spell. So I really like that this takes it a step farther and fully replicates actual sunlight. I'm kind of at a loss as to what else in the game can do that... sun blades can, I know, but is there any spell or anything for that? In any case, I don't mind this thing riffing off a sun blade's signature ability, although I suspect some people might.
What needs a little sumptin' sumptin'...
I don't really object to the second ability of the flask, I just don't love it. It's a once per day upgrade of a weapon with undead bane, except it's slightly better than the bane property itself. Items that let you add on weapon properties are always kind of iffy, just on a pricing basis. Still, at 10,000 gp it's not too bad for that- more expensive than permanently upgrading a +1 weapon, cheaper than upgrading a +3 or higher- and, of course, it's still only ten minutes per day. Clearly the judges didn't have a problem with that aspect, so I shouldn't either. Still... I just don't love it as much. I'd rather have seen this kept confined to the 'natural sunlight' ability.
All in all...
It is a neat little item, regardless of how I feel about the extra ability. I actually like the recharging requirements, since it might well make this even less than a once a day item, depending on how feasible returning to the surface is. I think it's well-written and very clear in presentation of effects, so top marks from me in those categories. Congratulations and welcome to RPG Superstar!
Other judges have covered most of my thoughts on this. A cool item with a several effects that fit together so well that no one would dream of calling it an SAK. I like the sun scarab imagery. I like the sunlight recharge making it tricky for underground adventures. I like that it functions as a torch, reinforcing that this is a wondrous item rather than a consumable.
I'm slightly bemused that the judges wanted it to be a potion. The rules for potions don't cover this sort of behaviour (or one could make, and throw, a potion of Fireball). And the core rulebook Wondrous Items list includes Elixirs, which are likewise consumable (albeit non-regenerating) fluids.
The auto-recharge is a no-go for me, but once again I ain't the chooser. Congratulations. :)
I think this item is pretty cool. Concept = cool. Usefulness and balance = cool. I like the recharge mechanism, it's a nice flavour on 1/day. It's cinematic too.
For me, I'm really not happy about the whole 'natural daylight' of this item, which is otherwise (other than the sun blade afaik) impossible for players to actually reproduce. Which among other concerns, makes this item extremely tough to price.
Still, the imagery is cool, and the multiple different uses are cool. We'll see how round two goes, no?
I agree with Penne. I like the recharge feature because it's different. It recharges on a unique condition, which means sometimes it's usable once per day, and other times less.
"Flask of Liquid Sunlight" could stand some improvement, and here I see the validity of the criticisms about being a consumable. "Elixir of Sunlight" has a much better ring to it.
Congratulations Adam!
this item sounds very similar to an item from complete scoundrel:
Liquid Sunlight
Shining with the light of a torch, a pellet of liquid sunlight is a half-inch-diameter sphere of glass that contains a gold-colored liquid. The pellet can be thrown as a ranged attack with a range increment of 5 feet. Alternatively, it can be loaded into a sling and used as a sling bullet. When it strikes a firm surface, it bursts and sprays out the liquid within. The liquid continues to glow with the light of a torch for 1 round after exposure to the air. Creatures with light sensitivity are dazzled for 1 round if struck by a liquid sunlight pellet. The pellet deals 1d6 points of damage to a vampire, vampire spawn, or any other creature similarly harmed by daylight.
This... sounds familiar... I remember about... 3 or 4 years ago playing in a Forgotten Realms campaign arc where the holy artifact, the Chalice of Amaunator could produce "liquid sun" once a month.
Poking around my old book I was glad to see that the two items have very little in common. Good stuff.
Now that I got that little tangent out of the way...
If I was an undead hunter specializing in axing vampires, I would want this. Badly. Very, very useful in that sense. Open coffin, splash inside, watch crispifying. Stick in natural sunlight and repeat the next day.
I have to say that I'm going to have to bug my GM to allow some of these items in an upcoming campaign.
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I like this item and think it is different in significant ways from the previously mentioned "Liquid Sunlight".
One thing I like is that a campaign where this item would be most useful, say a campaign that takes places mostly in the Darklands, would not allow you to recharge it very often. It is in times like this that I see it as a "last ditch" item when all the spells are used and the party really needs just 10 more minutes of sunlight!
I think this is exactly what my PCs will want in an upcoming fight.
As for mechanics, I think the price point might be a little low for its usefulness. In the middle levels I think it would almost be a "must have" depending on the enemies one faces in a campaign.
I like this one too.
Nicely designed, cinematically flavorful, a joy for a tactician and useful at all levels. The recharge mechanism stops it from being abused, I'm assuming here that in a Darklands scenario it won't recharge if it's not exposed to the dawn, maaking this ten times as valuable.
Excellent work.
Congratulations Adam,
I like the multiple uses, with simple 'torch' being one of them. It adds versatility to an item adventurers look for. I hope the same proves true of your design skills. Good luck! :)
I think this could be my favourite of this year's 32. This one has a cinematic feel to it and reminds me of constantine. I like the way it recharges - a mix of flavour and restrictive (no chance of recharge if stuck in the middle of the dungeon/darklands). Plus it doesn't require a cleric so anyone can use it.
Well done mate and all the best for next round.
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: 6/10
Weight of "1 lbs" should be "1 lb" - the template fu says minus 1 point :)
Old school "and" in the spell list - template fu say "another 1"
Spells not italicised - template fu say "Kill!", ahem, "minus 1".
Template fu also say "wall of words" - minus 1. Template fu being evil today.
Slot affinity: 9/10
Slot doesnt apply, so this is a gut reaction score in this instance. I like it. 9.
Abuseability: 9/10
Again, nice and tight, when you can use it, how it recharges, it's all there for me. I don't like giving 10/10 so you got a 9.
Desirability: 9/10
My priest wants a few. Heck, all my characters do, maybe with the exception of my vampire. Say no more.
Originality: 8/10
This kind of reminds me of the lantern with varying light effects from previous years - but that's just gut reactions to it I think. I'm going to give an 8, as I have this weird inkling of the throwing stuff in an arc I have seen before - maybe in a cartoon or something.
Ant Score: 41/50 (82%)
I like it. Its got flavor. I can see uses for it. I would pay that price in some campaigns and not others. I've always been disappointed that things like Daylight do not actually produce daylight effects, so I like that this one does.
As far as the judge comment of it being a potion, I can't agree. This has more in line with Elixers than Potions, and those are wonderous items. Even if this were consumable and non-rechargeable, it would be wonderous item.
I like the limit on the recharge mechanic. It makes sense, is flavorful, and while effectively 1/day it is slightly more restrictive. For instance, if you use it at night you wont have it until the second dawn.
As for the writeup, 1 thing really threw me. It starts with " So long as the flask contains some liquid," and twice the phrase "its entire contents" is used, but there are no rules for partially recharging it or using less than its entire contents. I was expecting to see a consumable with charges, and instead got 2 single uses.
Thank you to the judges for your feedback, and thanks to everyone else for the same!
I'm a little stunned at the moment, so I'm at loss for words. But again, thanks to everyone. I'm looking forward to working on the next round!
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This is a very well-designed item. The scarab thing adds flavor to what could otherwise have been a generic-feeling item. The mechanics work well, too; the multiple uses of the item all feel natural, rather than crammed in. Your twist on the 1/day standard for items of this sort is a great touch. It attaches the item to the narrative, because when you adventure to places where a bottle of sunlight is more valuable (e.g., deep underground, realms of permanent night, lightless labyrinths), the resource also becomes more scarce.
I can see where some would prefer this item as a consumable, but I think making it (essentially) 1/day is a wise choice, because it keeps the price high. This item isn't useful for every encounter, but it's great against particular enemies. As a GM, I'm not worried about the party using one of these once every day -- I'm worried about everybody in the party buying one at cheap consumable price and then opening a six-pack of summer-fresh whoop-ass on the first vampire they meet.
Great work!
Heya... Congrats on making the Top 32.
I have just been skimming so far and haven't made it through all the other items yet, but this is the first one to really catch my imagination.
I really like this item and can think of a number PCs I would love to go back a few years and retcon it into the hands of. (That made sense in my head.) Nice job.
The thing I like best is the natural sunlight. Almost every daylight-type spell or effect clearly says that it is not natural sunlight, but this item brings the stored-up real thing.
Small question: if it is already charged, left out for an hour during the day, and used at night, does it still recharge the next day at dawn? Or does it only charge if currently not charged, and the above scenario would require an extra day to recharge?
My favorite so far out of about 6 that I've read. I like the versatility of it. I get a cool visual and the wording wasn't confusing at all or too verbose for all the things that it does. Very cool. I think a potion that recharges really opens up a lot of possibilities, you may have stumbled upon something here.
Good luck
Congratulations on making the top 32, first off, and the a good luck further.
I'll try to get around every item I look at, but I'm getting more and more aware that the things I do/don't like enough to comment on vary extremely much from item to item. I'll try to get around a few positives and the most bothersome negatives for me on each. Now, on to it.
First Impression What can I say, first of I think I was having my fill of sunlight items. At least, it's grown on me since then, though it's still no favourite. "Liquid Sunlight", huh? That either is a great or an awful name, and I can't quite decide on which. I don't know the recharging seems... fishy.
Analysis
Name: So, an x of the y. That's not negative, but it's not terribly original. "Liquid Sunlight" still gives me a fun feeling. I guess my logic dislikes the notion of sunlight being liquid, while my artistic self cherishes the sunset, golden and smooth ocean/lake images this gives me. You could catch my attention better, but you're giving me associations I like, which I guess can't be bad. "Flask" is a little boring, especially since what you describe is a scarab.
Template: Oh, the issues been mentioned. The way the spell requirements are listed is probably the part that springs most aggresively to my eyes. I won't hesitate to say though, it's not what settles the deal for me.
Description: Ahh, why must you put it in a scarab and ruin all my nice sunset imaging? Also, why does it feel more like sunrise now? That doesn't give me the same, nice picture. No, anyway, I'm a language/grammar person, so no one gets away without a word on that. That said, I like your writing, which is good. Writing I don't like can get me upset like no template mistake will ever. Contemplate some spaces in your text for better looks. Looking at a text like this, rather than with some "air to breathe", is not quite as nice.
Price/Use: I guess the price is fairly well calculated, but I just don't know if anyone will pay that much for it. Every group I GM for has a light spell with them from level 1 and upwards, and usually, that covers the needs fairly well. And, light is a cantrip/orison, which makes the torch effect of your item fairly in vain. The brighter light could be useful at times, but hardly often enough for it to explain the cost. The damage effect, I have an ugly feeling wouldn't get used that much (if there was few undeads) or (if there were a lot) there would be too little of it, for my players to use 10,000 hard earned gp on it, at least until they have money enough that they're wantonly spending right and left (and that's kind of rare). I can't imagine them choosing this over a bane weapon quality (which, let's face it, won't cost too much more, presuming we already got a +1 weapon. I don't think it's too far of in price (I'd probably mind if it was too much cheaper), but I can't see it being used at this price.
Originality: Hmm, it's fair I guess. It's too tight knit to be called a SAK, which was probably the greastest danger. However, it's not a shining beacon of never before effects. It's neat, and nothing else works quite the same way. Strangely, most of the original feel is in the recharging through sunlight, but see below on that.
Other: Well, the much debated recharging it is. I'm happy you didn't limit it to sunrise (though that is probably when it will get recharged anyway). That said, I don't know how I feel about the items most word costing feature being a recharge of power, which might as well have been "once per day, as long as the flask is in sunlight for one hour" or some such.
Good luck in the rest of the competition.
Good item. I am happy that you didn't put the liquid sunshine into bullets and say it was the favorite ammo of werewolves fighting against vampires.
The more I think about the refill mechanic, the more I like it. Since the flask is hard to refill on dark campaigns/adventures, the player gets an interesting tactical item and the DM doesn't have to worry about it being overpowered. Interesting balance there.
The term "exposed to natural sunlight" provides an image that the flask charges any existing liquid with sunlight, so I'm not sure I like fact that it directly refills itself. Either way... great item.
What I love about this item is its flexibility. Players tend to be fiendishly clever in taking something and using it in ways it was never intended, typically producing a surprising (yet fun) effect. I can just picture a rogue drilling a hole in a vampire's coffin and pouring a bottle full of liquid sunlight inside.
Wonderful item, fantastic visual effects.
This item will probably be featured in my games from now on. I love the image of the party, surrounded by unseen creatures just outside of their torchlight, back to back and praying for something to save them when - suddenly! The fighter remembers his flask of liquid sunlight!
Suddenly the fight takes on a new dimension as the party pushes their foes back while they are dazed by the sudden introduction of sunlight.
I echo some of the ideas already stated - While I am in love with the throw-in-the-air-now-you-have-sunlight aspect, I'm sort of lukewarm about the weapon-enhancement. That being said, i think that the weapon-enhancement feels like a natural extension of this item's power, so it definitely fits.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2012
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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This item evokes Osirion without bludgeoning the reader with that in the flavor text. I also like the recharge method, which makes this item go above and beyond an "oil of daylight/searing light" (the first method of deployment does this as well).
Great work, Adam, and I look forward to your organization for round 2!
I agree with Mike, about Osirion, which is a nice touch. Another one of the Top 32 that's buying into the recharge zeitgeist too.
Just curious, did you have any thoughts on what would happen if someone tried to drink this? I can envision the light glowing from out of any of their pores/orificies (eyes, mouth, nose, ears, etc.). Or possibly burning them out from the inside. Not that I think those needed to be added to make it more Superstar, but I do kind of wonder.
Imagine pouring this down some vampire's gullet (or tricking one into sinking its fangs into this) -- that'd be an awesome movie finale scene, IMO.
I like this item. It totally hits me with the whole burning-fire-magic-of-the-desert vibe! :) As a cleric of Sarenrae, my character would love this. Very cool! Well done!
I like your word choice, too. It's very descriptive and uses good imagery. I also love the name "Flask of Liquid Sunlight." It rolls very pleasantly off the tongue! It's fun to say! :)
Love the flavor on this one, and the idea of coating a weapon with the liquid. A few language issues I had were “sloshing about” makes the item seem less elegant to me and can be cut from the sentence with no ill effect—and in the case of the double weapon application I’d like it better if “Only one end of a double weapon can receive the benefits of a single flask of liquid sunlight.” In case somehow you have two flasks and want to coat both ends.
This is a great item that a lot of my characters would want from dungeon crawling to fighting undead.
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Congrats on making Top 32!
I disagree with some comments that imply this is a potion made up to act like a wondrous item; however I do agree with the comments that say this should be a consumable instead (with a total cost/price a small fraction of what it is now), and that a consumable with these properties (since they're not 100% SIAC/potion) would still remain a wondrous item.
That said, those are just my opinions, and as-is there is something about it that makes the ability for it to work 1/day recharging with the sun add to the overall flavor of it.
Kudos, sir! Looking forward to seeing more stuff from you in the later rounds.
Flask of Liquid Sunlight
Aura moderate evocation; CL 9th
Slot none; Price 10,800 gp; Weight 1 lbs.
Description
This gilded container is shaped like a scarab beetle, with a radiant gold liquid sloshing about in its crystalline thorax. So long as the flask contains some liquid, it casts light as a torch. If the bottle is unstoppered and its entire contents flung in an arc overhead, the liquid ignites and sheds bright light in a 60ft radius. The radiant liquid affects creatures susceptible to light as if it were natural sunlight and lasts for ten minutes. Alternatively, the liquid can be used on a weapon. If the entire contents of the flask are used to coat a weapon, the weapon sheds light as the daylight spell and deals an extra 2d6 damage against undead. Against undead susceptible to natural light (such as vampires), this damage increases to 2d8. Only one end of a double weapon can receive the benefits of the flask of liquid sunlight. The light and bonuses to the weapon wear off after ten minutes. So long as the flask of liquid sunlight is exposed to natural light for one hour, it refills with the radiant gold liquid the next morning at dawn.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, daylight and searing light; Cost 5,400 gp
Disclaimer:
Note:
Fair is foul and foul is fair supposedly . Basically, though, does this item have any useful application in a spa?
Alas, it's not stated that this item has any beneficial use as either a skin-care treatment or a shampoo (the only possible remotely relevant applications I can think of) so I can only presume not.
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?
Whilst it might look moderately good as a product (gilded crystalline container, after all) it really doesn't have the sort of utility that would be handy enough on the business side, in and of itself, to be worth trying to pass off as an expense. It's more a toy than anything else.
Is the item useful in a strawberries-and-cream-tea context?
A succubus will of course have already chosen whether the romantic date will occur out in daylight, or at night or in some dark environment. Being able to introduce daylight to proceedings for ten minutes is unlikely to figure in such designs as very useful.
Other Comments?
Hmm. You couldn't get much liquid normally in a container which is already glass and gold and weighs only 1 lb. Granted liquid sunlight may be negligible weight, but still, I have to wonder...
Gollum Rating: