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If this holds, I too will miss RPG Superstar. It was my first real break into RPG design, and the stepping stone that got me into freelancing.

Let's not forget the smattering of items incorporated into Ultimate Equipment!

Howdy folks,

I have posted my comments on all of the monsters. They're pretty brief (it's been a busy week), but I hope something useful is in all of them. Overall, this has been a great round.

I'll try to come back in a few weeks and see if there's anything I want to expand upon, or answer questions.

Enjoy the encounter round!

Swarmwyrm
Name It’s a dragon that’s full of a swarm. It’s pretty good, if a little bland.
Gimmick It’s a dragon full of a swarm. That’s a pretty cool gimmick in my book.
Description The description is really evocative, and asks questions about the monster. It also means that parties will likely assume it’s an undead creature and waste some resources that way.
Usefulness This is most likely a monster I’d only use once. That said, it would likely be a cool encounter.
New abilities The new abilities all look good to me. There’s an offensive power in the breath weapon, a nuisance in its aura and a defensive power that grants concealment, all of which are flavored around the swarm inhabiting it. They make sense and really reinforce the creature’s gimmick.
The rest Statistics match the guidelines, there’s nothing particularly odd in its skills and feats (though nothing particularly interesting either). I like the swarmwyrm, but I’m not sure if I love it.

Kravyad
Name From the name, I have no idea what the monster is. It looks awkward to pronounce—Krav-yad?, Krav-y-ad? Looking it up, I see that it comes from mythology, and the definition I get is a carnivore or a funeral pyre, which is a great tie-in.
Gimmick It’s a fire bear. It likes to cook its food before it eats it.
Description The descriptive text is all very well done (tee hee!). It helps reinforce the character of this monster.
Usefulness It’s most likely going to spice an encounter with fire giants or some similar, intelligent fire villain. And it seems like it very much will.
New abilities I love howl of hungry flames. That’s awesome. I don’t like the spittle being a swift action. I like the aura since it gives encounters a little to think about than just the raw damage of the creature.
The rest Damage seems high, especially since things may also be catching fire, or swallowed whole. Skills and feats seem fine, nothing stands out as particularly good or bad. I think the package taken as a whole is a great monster.

Scrapshell Oyster
Name The name is certainly descriptive, if not particularly menacing.
Gimmick It’s a fighter-clam? That’s… weird. It’s certainly unique, I’ll give you that.
Description It does match the gimmick, and it’s well written.
Usefulness It’s aquatic, so that limits the appeal off the bat. And it tries to steal people’s stuff? And then maybe use it? It doesn’t seem like I’d ever use this as more than a random encounter, unless the PCs are sent to defeat the monster and take its weapon, in which case it would be the finale of a weird side quest.
New abilities Cunning combatant and opalescent mucus are both solid abilities, if a little bland.
The rest I like the choice of feats, and the skills make sense. Statistics don’t look particularly out of whack. I wish there a bit more to this monster than “it attacks stuff for their weapons”

Tatterghoul
Name I like this name. It’s reminiscent of the tatterdemalion and the ghoul, which seem like appropriate roots for it.
Gimmick It’s a pile of rags that has risen from the death of an ignored unfortunate. That’s neat.
Description Absolutely matches the gimmick. And evocative to boot!
Usefulness This one could be the basis of an adventure, or an encounter, or something in between. Especially if we go all the way to the “family” and run a whole creepy scene around that.
New abilities Isolate is very cool. I have a few issues with clarity for naturally ignored. I can’t tell if the concealment only applies in urban environments, or in dim light, or both, or neither. It’s a neat idea, but I’m not sure it’s the right idea.
The rest Since the AC and hit points are almost on target, having concealment all the time might make this creature too tough. Mobility and Spring Attack are flavorful but not terribly useful feat choices, since they cut its damage output in half (and down to an almost laughable level for a 6th level party). Otherwise, I like nearly everything about this critter.

Guillowed
Name I’m going to assume the name is a play on guillotine, but I can’t help but say Gwillowed…
Gimmick It’s an undead creature from someone who died at the guillotine. Cool.
Description Description matches the gimmicks, it’s an undead creature with no head and bony hands from scrabbling out of a grave.
Usefulness I can put this monster anywhere. I don’t know how often I’d use it, but I certainly can use and reuse it without it getting too stale.
New abilities Steal head is great. Summon guillotine not so much. I have to assume it has the guillotine in play (if it wastes a turn summoning it, the encounter is going to suck). Then it’s going to try to grapple to someone and decapitate them. I feel like it would be better if it summoned as a free (or swift) action, and just acted as a cinematic prop for the ability. Or if it existed all the time.
The rest Statistics are a bit out of whack, but nothing too serious. I like the use of odd feats, and the skills seem appropriate. It’s a neat concept that could use a little polish.

Malkin
Name It’s a cat monster, so malkin works fine.
Gimmick It’s a play on cats smothering infants, presumably. Ok, I can work with that. Seems like a lower CR monster than presented.
Description It’s a cat-person that turns into a cat and steals people’s breath.
Usefulness If the party wakes up, or finds this thing murdering an NPC, I guess they’ll have an encounter. It seems like it’ll be more obnoxious than threatening, but sometimes that’s ok. I can’t imagine using it more than once.
New abilities Save DCs are high, and powers are super dangerous. Doing Con damage, and then using that to put more people to sleep, and then doing more Con damage. They fit very well thematically, but seem a little high on the power curve.
The rest Skills and feats seem fine. I’m not a huge fan of the spread of spell-like abilities. Ray of enfeeblement seems especially out of place. And how many ways to make people sleep does one creature need? It has 2 spell-like abilities and a breath weapon.

Sorrow Stitcher
Name It’s a neat name, and gets the point across. This thing stitches sorrow, presumably.
Gimmick It picks an opponent, and steals their feelings? Ok. That seems reasonable.
Description It does look cool, and would be a weird but cinematic foe in an encounter.
Usefulness This monster would be lucky to get used once. It’s weird, and lacks motivation. It certainly might be something the party would have to deal with at a festival, but otherwise it’s just random encounter fodder.
New abilities I don’t like its curse. There are plenty of conditions that could have substituted for the flat penalty to attack rolls (why just attack rolls?). I think calm emotions might have been useful to reference. Patchwork soul stitching is odd, especially since it doesn’t affect the same things as the hollow heart curse. Sorrowful gaze would benefit from some flavor text. I’m unclear if separate shadow requires it to replace one of its attack methods. I think it would be better to have OR in the attack line and just let the shadow cast a spell.
The rest Two claws and a touch attack are a weird combo. I also think there’s too many spells and abilities crammed into this monster. It’s a neat concept, but I think the execution falls a little flat on this one.

Phase Mongrel (Jumm Vubburath)
Name Makes a lot of sense. It’s a teleporting spider dog, so invoking the phase spider and blink dog in the name works. I can even say the “real name”.
Gimmick It teleports around and spreads a disease for procreation. That’s cool. It’s a bit like its ancestor creatures, maybe too much.
Description It is certainly an evocative description, if a bit long.
Usefulness Sure I'll use it, it can fight anyone, anywhere. It’ll teleport around, spread some spores, rinse and repeat.
New abilities Reactive escape is awesome. I don’t know why the spores are a free action instead of something that just happens. The disease is just a pretty basic disease, which isn’t a problem in and of itself, but also isn’t particularly interesting.
The rest Stats seem fine, egg-laying monsters are cool, the bizarre origins of the creature are neat, if a little forced. Overall, it’s pretty cool.

Hollow One
Name It’s an evocative name, and makes me think it’s going to be missing something (organs? A soul?).
Gimmick It wants to steal your organs. Presumably because it hates you. And likes your organs.
Description It’s skinny, it steals organs and stuffs them in a sack. It’s well-written, but makes me think of other monsters. There’s a similar monster in the old Iron Kingdoms monster book (not that I expect you to know that).
Usefulness People do hate when their insides end up on the outside, so it’s pretty reasonable to use this in just about any encounter. It’s smart enough to act as a mastermind, sending animals to attack in its stead. It would be a reasonable subject for a short side quest.
New abilities Disemboweling critical is cool, but I’m not a big fan of save or die powers like heart ripper. It fits great thematically, and isn’t too deadly, but I’m still not a fan.
The rest The stats match the guidelines fine. Improved Critical is a waste of a feat on a monster, you can just note that it has an expanded threat range. It’s a cool monster with great visuals.

Corpsebound
Name It’s a monster that inhabits corpses, and as such is bound to it. Works for me.
Gimmick It inhabits a corpse, and uses that to fight its foes. Also, it eats their heads, making it harder to bring them back. Makes sense.
Description It seems a bit big for what it’s doing, but otherwise the description works fine.
Usefulness It’s an unusual undead, but it seems like I could work it into whatever dungeon I’m running at the time. Or maybe it can work as a hitman in Geb and make it harder to raise its target.
New abilities Horrid destruction and consume spell are neat, but bind corpse is the standout ability here. It’s a complicated rule, but I think it gets the point across that this thing should be in a corpse all the time.
The rest Stats look good, and there’s nothing unexpected in the feats and skills. Improved Critical is a wasted feat for monsters since you can just specify that the bite has an expended threat range. It’s a neat concept that’s tough to pull off, but I think this works.

Thaumigorger
Name It’s a neat name for something that eats magic. It evokes a cool monster while being descriptive enough to make sense.
Gimmick It’s an animal intelligence magic-eater. It can easily see magic auras so it knows who to attack.
Description Definitely matches the gimmick, big scaly cat with a third eye.
Usefulness It’s a neat critter, but how many times does the party really want to fight a monster that eats their magic? It’s a bit like the rust monster, once in a while it’s cool to use, but you certainly need to be wary of overuse. At least it’s not overly niche, which it quickly could have become, given its gimmick.
New abilities It has a few “new” abilities in absorb magic, consume magic and magic sense, but these are really basically just situational spell-like abilities. The damage reduction is a really neat idea and fits the monster great.
The rest The stats look fine and the skill and feat choices match what I would expect from a savannah predator. I feel like this monster is one cool trick away from being a great entry.

Despoiler
Name It has a generic noun for a name, like the devourer. I’m not a big fan of the name, but it’s fine.
Gimmick I only sort get the idea behind this monster. It has (renewable) shards that it uses to bolster itself and other undead.
Description Very evocative description shows off how evil these fallen holy men are.
Usefulness Undead are always handy, especially mastermind-type undead that have some support for other monsters.
New abilities The powers all revolve around the black shards. The black shards are pretty neat, but with the aura of desecrate, the altars seem a little redundant, but the powers are clearly written. I kind of wish the aura was tied to the shards, to keep everything in a neat little package, but that’s just a personal choice.
The rest Statistics seem to match the CR fairly well. None of the skills or feats seem particularly outstanding in either direction.

Tranquility Ooze
Name It’s a cool enough name, though I have to wonder if it’s going to do more than be tranquil…
Gimmick It eats emotions. That’s cool. And it calms emotions, maybe because mechanically it’s already eaten the strongest parts?
Description It’s a flying blob, though I like that it has a scent.
Usefulness I have no idea when I’d use this monster, so I guess it’s random encounter fodder. Maybe thrown in to annoy the bard and barbarian.
New abilities Center of Emotions is really cool, if a bit weird. The aura is also incredibly weird, and sort of seems to play on old Looney Toons characters drifting in love through the air.
The rest Hit points are high, but not horrendously so with no DR and low-average AC. Oozes have pretty boring stat-blocks all around, so I worry about it as a choice for Superstar.

Matianak
Name It’s nothing I know, but I can pronounce it. Apparently it’s a cryptid, so that’s fine.
Gimmick It’s an undead creature that makes it harder to use divine powers around it. That’s pretty neat.
Description The description is pretty awesome, and makes sense for a creature that hangs back and channels energy.
Usefulness It’s a fairly generic looking undead creature with neat powers, so I can probably slot it into most campaigns. PCs would likely remember (and hate) this monster.
New abilities Aura of divine failure is really cool. Unliving empathy plays well into it.
The rest I have reservations about the quickened inflict spells. It gives the creature a lot more survivability (since it can heal itself as a swift action). Otherwise the abilities are good for the CR. Channel Smite and Command Undead are great choices that show the depth of this creature. All in all, I really like this monster.

Valemask
Name It has a mask and lives in vales, I assume? It’s not bad, but doesn’t really jump at me.
Gimmick It’s a fey that turns people into animals and then hunts them. That’s awesome. It’s a bit weird to me that it has a bunch of net abilities, since the arrows have the polymorph effect AND are the creatures only source of damage.
Description The patchwork mask and hides is cool as a show of the monster’s trophies.
Usefulness I’d probably only ever use the monster once. It might make for a neat encounter, but is equally likely to fall flat, since the transformation takes as long as many encounters.
New abilities Touch of the Wild is a really neat concept, but I think it falls a bit short in execution. It simply takes too long to work. The vagueness surrounding the choice of animal hurts it too. It also makes me think of The Gamers (You turned him into an ogre, those things are dangerous!), and not in a good way. The snap traps are cool, but don’t add enough to the creature. It could just set actual bear traps if it uses them before an encounter, and using them during an encounter seems unlikely.
The rest Stats seem fine. I think this creature has too many options, most of which are unlikely to see play unless a whole troupe of them are plaguing the PCs.

On the cusp of the first round of eliminations, I'm going to bump this thread, and add a short sidebar.

If you want to work in this business, even infrequently, and you have made the top 32, you have some kind of spark. Maybe you couldn't make a great map. That happens. Maybe I'm talking to future contestants and the round has changed. That's cool too.

The important thing to do if you want to work in the RPG world is keep it up. Work for anyone you think is worth your time. Don't expect to get rich (especially right off the bat, but likely never). Write what you love. Own what you write (even if you didn't believe in it when you started). Go places and meet people. Hand stuff out if you can. It's a small world out there, and if you want to succeed, all you need to do is work!

On the other hand, if you made the Top 32 and fail to advance, stop for a moment and ask why? Are you ready to be a professional designer? Did you enter the contest on a lark? That's all fine, but some of the contestants here are really shooting for the big leagues. Are you there? (I wasn't...)

RPG Superstar is a foot in the door for everyone involved. Don't imagine that you need to win to eventually get the work you want. If you want to do this, just keep writing.

Adam Daigle wrote:

Yay! One of the rounds I'm judging!

"Making Monsters for Daigle" - totally going to be a band name.

Bah, too many words. Pretty sure it's just Monsters for Daigle... ;)

Woo! Time for my annual/seasonal bump! Note, I am not a judge, but I might judge you. And unlike last season, I actually hope to have time to look at entries this year...

Congrats on quadding it! Back in my day, two was hard ;), them that crafty Tom Qadim made three the bar, now there's a new bar! Good luck!

Thanks for putting this together, it's neat to see.

I'm also in Wayfinder Garrett!

So is Kalyna.

Congrats to all the new arrivals!

*drags over a love seat to replace his somewhat aging armachair*

And especial welcome to Kalyna who adds us to the dynasty of Marlowes, Keloggs and other familial units with multiple Superstar contestants.

I'll start by linking this thread again.

I'll add a few things to the points above.

The 3PP open call thread is great, but make sure you peruse as much as you can on the entire 3PP board. I got my opportunities with Dreamscarred Press (and then Fat Goblin Games) by stumbling on a thread talking about how Ultimate Psionics was being delayed because of the sheer volume of content that needed to be written to hit stretch goals from their kickstarter. Plenty of opportunities just like that pop up over there.

Figure out what you like to write, and see who publishes that. Legendary Games puts out AP plug ins and mythic stuff, I'm pretty they aren't going to leap at your new campaign setting. Raging Swan does GM aids- usually smaller books that are light on crunch. They are unlikely to publish your new class. Most companies will read pitches, but try to make sure it matches what they tend to publish.

Related to that, try to write different things. Try writing spells, feats, monsters, magic items, NPCs, adventures, whatever. You never know what you'll find you have a knack for or what you'll enjoy. I tried for ages to write a complete, publishable adventure (and did it, see the Opened Mind by Dreamscarred Press), but I find I prefer to do monsters, or spells, or stuff like that. But I had to try it at least once, and now I know what to expect the next time I do it.

And one final point, know your limits. When you start, it's easy to yes to jobs. Know whether you can actually produce 5000 words of good content in a week, or two weeks, or a month. Figure out how long it takes you to write a monster. Know what your schedule for the rest of your life looks like. I work as a theatre technician. Most of he time, I have a fairly light schedule with plenty of time. But when a show is just getting started or wrapping up, I often do 60+ hour weeks. I'm mentally and physically exhausted in my spare time. This means that I fluxuate wildly from cranking out material to going weeks with almost nothing getting done. I I try to time my projects accordingly.

I definitely built shortcuts in Word to make En and Em dashes faster for me. I like ctrl-alt-{minus sign} for one...

Jensen Toperzer wrote:

Monica you are fabulous and even if it was a temporary madness that made you enter I am super glad you did. Your work thus far has been stellar. Please keep at it, and, if you don't win, consider freelancing (ENWorld is looking for both Pathfinder and 5e writers!)

Thank you so much for your kind words!

One thing at a time, I'm not looking beyond RPG SS until it's over. I am working on a freelance short story at the moment (which will hopefully become a Kickstarter in the near future) and when Medusa's Guide for Gamer Girls releases, I have a non-fiction article in there as well. I've been circling the design area for a while now, it was only a matter of time before I fell in the pool.

Definitely focus on the contest first! This goes for everyone! Opportunities will be out there once you're finished with the contest, but for now you should be taking a breather, and then looking at encounters. Also, to the best of my knowledge, the only twist for the final round has been level, so brainstorming adventure ideas is always a good idea.

Andrew Marlowe wrote:

Jeff Heikkinen wrote:

Actually, I kind of feel like the worst-case scenario is making the top 8 but not the top 4, because then you don't win but you can't enter again either.

Jeff your first two entries were very imaginative. I think you could be a successful freelancer no matter what tag ends up behind your name. Same goes for any of the top 32 and alternates.

You need not place at any particular level to "win" RPG Superstar. If your goal is to become a designer. You can use the exposure and experiences of the competition to help achieve that goal. You may not start by writing a full module or a society adventure but there are many other opportunities.

Making Top 8 is only a worst case scenario if you give up working towards your goal.

Well, thanks a lot, that is a different and probably better perspective on things. Honestly, I've never looked into what's even out there in terms of freelancing and perhaps I should. I really have no idea where to start!

I actually started a thread about this at one point. Having a Superstar credit is definitely a great foot in the door, the rest is up to you to pursue!

Eric Hindley wrote:

I think a competitor could make a psychic or Psionic "compatible" monster without a single mention of either rule set. Whether that's a good choice would certainly depend on the execution, but a mind-controlling creature could easily be seen as having Psionic roots without using a single rule from Ultimate Psionics. By the same token, mystic telekinesis is not limited to Occult Adventures, and shouldn't be seen as such.

All just in my experience, of course.

I totally agree, Eric.

Ha! Vindication! I'm going to quote this forever ;)

Though seriously, it really can be done...

I was reading the Monster Manual entry in wikipedia (looking for info on how many copies it sold), and came across this quote.

"As nothing is easier to design than new monsters, it has spawned a host of imitations."

So I don't see what the problem is, guys. :-)

Crap, the secret's out!

I think a competitor could make a psychic or Psionic "compatible" monster without a single mention of either rule set. Whether that's a good choice would certainly depend on the execution, but a mind-controlling creature could easily be seen as having Psionic roots without using a single rule from Ultimate Psionics. By the same token, mystic telekinesis is not limited to Occult Adventures, and shouldn't be seen as such.

All just in my experience, of course.

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

Wow. That Nar-Voth twist is a big one. That could certainly throw off some folks' planning.

I don't know that it's that big a twist. There's a lot of development area for Darklands monsters. Last year's urban setting seemed more of a curveball to me.

I had to look up Var-Noth, but I agree. Darklands (especially upper Darklands) monsters seem like not that big of a deal. Urban is way less common. Which is not to say that Darklands monsters are easy. It takes a decent twist to make them stand out from every other dungeon monster...

I thought I'd revisit this thread, now that we are at zero hour. Here's what I'm going to be looking at when it comes to monsters:

Name Does the monster have an evocative name? Does it clearly explain what I'm looking at? If it's a made up word, is it pronounceable?

Gimmick Do I “get” this monster? Can I pick a role for it? Does it do something interesting? Does it do that thing well? Is its gimmick appropriate for its CR?

Description Does it match the gimmick? Is it interesting?

Usefulness Can I use the monster all the time? If not, can I centre a campaign around it? If not, will it at least make a memorable encounter?

New abilities Does it have any? Are they balanced? Are they clear?

The rest Do the stats fall in line with the guidelines? Do they match the gimmick? Do the feats and skills make sense? Does it do too much? Plus anything else I want to say.

I'm going to try hard to comment on all 16 monsters using this template, looking forward to your entries!

Thank you for all of the feedback re: my post. I appreciate it and it clarifies some of the questions I had. As for the DQ issue, I went back and read the rules and no where does it say you can't put a monster template in your entry. In fact it doesn't say you can't put a monster in your entry. It says you must enter a weapon, shield, armor, rod, ring or staff, which is what I did.

NOW if I had entered a sword that turned into a monster, even one already created that I could have linked to, then I could understand being DQ'd because at that point the purpose of the weapon IS the monster. I created a weapon that was defending, had a concealment effect to protect the wielder and enhanced their spells. That is what my weapon does. I fail to see how creating a simple template is breaking the rules. Would I have been DQ'd if I had used one of the existing simple templates?

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **...

I'm not digging for the previous post, but I remember your item well. It definitely falls into the category of "did not understand the contest". If you had used an existing template, and built the weapon around it, it would be a totally different game. As it stands, the entry reads as if you wanted to write a monster, but the contest asked for a magic item, so you did both. It was exactly the same as if you had written a new spell for your item and described it, or wrote a new class that your item worked for. All are pcreative endeavours, but not all are appropriate for the contest.

Okay, I think I'm ready.

Arcanavore
Aura strong abjuration and universal; CL 15th
Slot none; Price 73,313 gp; Weight 14 lbs.

Description
This +1 keen adamantine bardiche is carved with intricate runes on both blade and haft, and instilled with a hunger for magic. On a successful attack, make a targeted dispel check (1d20+15) if the target has one or more spell effects on it. If successful, the highest level spell in effect is dispelled from the target, and the weapon absorbs the magical energy, gaining an additional +1 enhancement bonus for each level of the spell, lasting a total number of rounds equal to the enhancement bonus gained. (For example, if the arcanavore successfully dispels haste, it gains an additional +3 enhancement bonus for the next 3 rounds.) Once the arcanavore absorbs enough energy to gain a +5 enhancement bonus, additional energy may be used to grant the following special abilities to the weapon, assuming the weapon has absorbed enough energy to meet the base price of the special ability: defiant, glorious, limning, and nullifying. These last a number of rounds equal to their base price modifier. The weapon's total bonus cannot exceed +10.

The arcanavore can also absorb energy from sundering magic items, which provide longer lasting bonuses. If it deals sufficient damage to an item to inflict the broken condition, it gains +1 enhancement bonus for every three Caster Levels of the item (or special abilities as above, minimum bonus of +1) that last 1 minute per caster level of the item. If a sunder attack destroys the item, then the duration is doubled.

The arcanavore only sheds light while using absorbed magic.

Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, dispel magic, keen edge, limited wish, creator must be a caster of at least 15th level; Cost 38,313 gp

While I'm not going to post often in thus thread, I'm going to pick on Jeff for a moment: really? A pun name in Superstar? I don't mind the item (though it may be a bit cheap). But the name killed me. If this was the Spelleating Bardiche, I'd have voted for it more. Pun names, joke themes and boring-but-good items make up the mess of 40-100,000,000,000 of RPG Superstar...

Honestly, I think I'm the current world of Superstar, I wouldn't post anything relevant at all. No glib [redacted] posts. No "thanks for commenting" bumps. Let your work stand up for itself. I might even make a statement to such effect ;)

I can tell you from experience that they don't help. Bumping your stuff seems like a good idea, but it makes you look desperate. Acting witty can help, but it's better served in other parts of the board. Your superstar tags follow you, and carry weight wherever you post, especially when they're current.

If you really want to post on these boards, take a good, long minute (or a few) and ask "can this make me look bad?". You'll be amazed at what can hurt you overall...

Congratulations, everyone! I'll drop only a single piece of advice on here:

Do not hold back on any entry. Give it your all each round. Use the best/craziest/most awesome idea you have.

I know this advice is going to sound strange, but it can be (very) easy to read people's thoughts on your item/map/monster/whatever, and decide that you are already ahead in the polling. It can lead you to pick a "safer" choice on a given round instead of a superstar choice.

Don't fall into this trap.

You may also have a bit of a following on the boards (whether you know it or not). Don't let that make you feel safe. Keep up the great ideas. You don't know what everyone else is doing.

Remember that only half of the competition moves on each round. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. It means half of the competitors get left behind each round too.

Every map sketch I've turned out has been full bleed. It's possible I'm doing it wrong, but I trust the cartographer and layout team to make the map fit the space.

That being said, I'll also always draw on as big of a sheet as I can and then tag it for full page, half page or whatever, because I am not a professional artist... Just make sure that details won't be lost in translation.

If it were me, I'd be brainstorming ideas for any scale. And then trying to figure out what would make them superstar. A tower is boring, a blackened tower of glass and bone is better. A forest is boring, the Petrified Forest of the Treants is better. Try to put some spin on regular ideas that you could drop into nearly any setting.

Even if the challenge allows for any scale of maps, a cool idea (which is hard to convey on a country scale map), should be obvious. Even then, look at evocative shapes that tell a story-shapes that are natural, or represent civilization, or the supernatural. Figure out what each of those are and work from there.

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

GM_Solspiral wrote:

For me the following will garner a near certain downvote:

-Breaking the 4th wall in a bad way (accidental racism, including a real life disease, using earth mythology, bad joke items.)...

Ummm, could you clarify that bit? D&D/Pathfinder have a huge amount of Earth mythology-inspired & outright transplanted magic/items/critters baked in from day one.

Indeed the VAST majority of monsters, or their names, comes from some Earth based mythology.

With that said, don't enter Excalibur, Mjolnir, or some similarly named item right out of that mythology. And don't give us Ra's Sunrod either.

Total sidebar-your hypothetical example is actually okay by canon, the Ancient Osirians worshipped the Egyptian pantheon, according to AP #80...

Which is a great reminder to not auto-down vote something if you aren't 100% sure about it.

Man, I love dimension door swords, and disarming shields. They are both great ideas. I vote them up all the time, because they are cool. I trust the judges to find the best sword or shield. There's a lot of talent in those dimension swords. I like reading some of them. I hate some others. There. I'm negative.

It's never to early to start thinking about future rounds. I wasn't going to dust this off just yet, but a few others on the boards have been sharing their advice and I didn't want to get left out. :)

I'll be judging the monster round again this year, and I'll be treating the entries pretty much exactly as I did last year. In addition to the advice I gave in the first post in this thread, I strongly encourage people to check out the excellent advice given by Eric Hindley in this thread and all the great blogs Mikko Kallio has posted (easily found in this thread.

As the monster round nears, I'l likely be adding to these lists of advice and answering questions, but until then read up! Good luck everyone!

Sorry I jumped the gun, Adam! I was going to wait too, but I'm probably not going to have time to make sure I post at the right time come January/February... With my luck I'll poke my head back in and have just missed the monster deadline.

Paizo's flip mats are 24 x 30, as a point of reference. I use theirs, most of the time. Map pack tiles are 5 x 8, also for reference.

And now I have this great idea for a monster because of you. And here I go trying to create a monster, even though I do not expect to ever make it to top 32 ;-)

At the very least I can always sick it on my hapless players :-))

If you entered the contest, it is best to assume you made the top 32. If you do the leg work and don't need it now, it'll come in handy later. If you do suddenly make the top 32 and haven't prepared at all, you will typically crash and burn. Trust me, that comes from experience...

Staves have been a bad category for me. If I read your staff, and you did a good job, you had:
1. A series of related spells.
2. An enhancement bonus
3. A skill bonus.

At this point, you need something else. If all you had was summarized above, it's not a Superstar item. Sorry, you knew it was hard mode.

If you're other power was amazing (and I mean AMAZING) I keep reading. If it was meh, you're still done. I'll take a weapon with a neat power over that. Sorry ;)

Hi Folks,

With a bit of time before the monster round starts (and with no practical advice for maps), I thought I'd post some advice for fledgeling monster builders!

This is what I usually do, with a bit of background...
How I write a monster
I’ve done a few monster designs in the last few years, including a few Kobold contest placements and winners (Tin Crown winner Clockwork Stalker and Monarch of the Monsters finalist Echo Demon). I’ve written a few monster books (Monster Movie Matinee and Mindblast!-Classic Monsters Augmented), and have some other monsters out there in the wild (Ultimate Psionics by Dreamscarred Press kickstarter backers will have Psionic Monsters Revisited in their hands now too! Among others...).
I’ve learned a lot over the years, some of it from the design philosophy of 4th edition D&D. This is how I currently go about designing monsters, hopefully some of you will find this advice helpful!
One Big Shtick

What's your favorite Superstar item? My latest post has been published

Thanks so much for the kinda words! I'm flattered that you consider the shadow falconer's glove to be your all-time favorite! There have been so many great choices over the years.

Im especially fond of the tankard of the cheerful duelist and the batrachian helm myself.

My guess is encounter location with a map. Something like 300-500 words and a map of whatever you can justify as an encounter location, just excluding the actual encounter itself.

If it's just a map, this will be a hard round to get a point across without it being an art contest...

Despite all the fun and excitement of the contest, I sincerely hope that this year becomes the last year I'm able to compete.

That was a goal for my last three years. I'll settle for "the contest no longer needs me, and I don't need it", if I technically qualified. Good luck Jeff!