With the next RPG Superstar competition now only ‘months away’, what round tasks would you like to see featured in RPG Superstar 2.0? E.g.
Round 1: Design a magic weapon or armour
Round 2: Design a religious organisation
Round 3: Design a prestige class / base class
Round 4: Write a ‘DM help’ article
Round 5: Design an encounter*
Round 6: Design a full adventure proposal*
*As RPG Superstar ver1.0
I like the idea of expanding out from the wondrous item category for the first task most definitely. I liked the way that in this contest the individual rounds seemed to build upon each other. I also think that maybe a round where you have to design a player character race would showcase the kind of creativity and talent needed to win.
1. to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest: to hate the enemy; to hate bigotry.
2. to be unwilling; dislike: I hate to do it.
–verb (used without object) 3. to feel intense dislike, or extreme aversion or hostility.
–noun 4. intense dislike; extreme aversion or hostility.
5. the object of extreme aversion or hostility.
Hate just tends to imply a deeper level of dislike.
Actually the problem is not one of word usage so much as sentence structure. A better way to have said it is: "What's with all this hate towards psionics?"
The structure you used is not conducive towards the understanding of what you were trying to say.
I have played under every guise of AD&D/D&D thats been out and in many of the settings that have encouraged the use of Psionics. (Gods I miss Darksun) No psionic system that has been presented has really been as efficient as the magic system imho. First edition psionics was scary and clunky to the extreme, Second Ed was almost as bad. No in the 3.* incarnations it gets a little better and easier to play but you still run into a major flaw in that there is no hard and fast rule stating how it interacts with magic. The best one there is states that its up to the DM to determine if its the same as magic or different.
This is what leads to so much depression and dislike of psionics I think, I am personally hoping that 4th ed can get a good psionic system running but we will have to see.
“When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.”
- Tecumseh
ARTHELIA, “Lady of Legends Undone”
I love this entry. It is well thought out and executed, just what I have come to expect out of your entries so far. I admit to knowing very little of psionics for 3.* so I will have to do some digging to get to the meat of the crunch section.
I am glad to see your skills in English composition are improving, keep at it, its not an easy language to learn.
I also think that denying you advancement for lack of finesse in a second language would be cruel. If your problem was more pronounced with glaring misspellings and poor sentence structure I could see doing so. However, your problems are more a matter of refining your skill. I truly doubt that a gaming company would look at your entry and refuse to publish it because your English skills are a little off. The purpose of the contest is to find the next RPG Superstar not the next RPG Superstar Who Speaks/Writes English as a primary language! After all what are editors for? :P
As previously mentioned reordering of the information would seriously help this entry. Also, as with others, the use of Dungeonmaster will not cost you anything from me, whereas your forthrightness about screwing up and accepting the potential consequences gains you a bit.
All in all I like this entry. It has its problems but as a country of Hobgoblins it has major potential.
The entry reads to me like the kind of information that a neighboring country might have on it.
One question that hopefully someone can answer: What's with the two-letter abbreviations in the NPC stats? NE hf druid? NE gm bard? I'm guessing that refers to race, but is this a standard notation somewhere? I've never seen it before and did a double-take each time I saw it here.
I read that as meaning human female and gnome male. ?I use similar abbreviations in my game notes.......
Like many others the Ruler portion of this entry automatically put it on my short list of votes as well as getting it snagged for fodder for my campaign world.
In response to the people complaining about this country being near the end, thats what makes it so appealing to want to run it or play in it! The players can actually directly influence the fate of the country by performing small acts for one faction or the other. This is not something you get to do or see a lot in my experience. Players love it when I run campaigns like that.
As for people wanting to know what the Head does obviously did not read the DM secrets section. It does pretty much what the priests tell it to do and say, they have gained control over it through magic.
That is the one real problem I am having here however. What magic would give them control over the fallen deity if they receive their magic from said deity??? Some other force would have to be in play for that to work IMO, maybe priest-wizards or an artifact of some sort... *shrug* more opportunity for adventures just from that question alone
I like this entry alot. There are many positive things going for it:
1) Coolness factor: I can really see this country being added into my current campaigns and I know my PC's would love to either be from there or to adventure there
2) Druid-Necromancers: I love it when you see more of the nasty side of druids come out, after all death is a part of nature
3) Intrigue: The plotting of the other countries was a nice touch
This is what I was hoping to see from this contestant after his Wondrous Item entry fizzled for me. There is great evidence of ingenuity and quirkiness that I would expect to see from rpg superstar.
That said I had some issues with it as well:
1) Like others you mention sahuagin and tiefling's in the demographics but left us hanging a bit on what roles they play in the society as a whole
2) Elite female archers are a tad bit overdone and cliche
Both of these however are minor and pale to the great job done on this entry. Will more than likely get my vote
I am listing my item and would like to see what my peers think of it, so be honest :P
Armband of the Apothecary
Price: 5200 gp
Slot: Upper arm
Faint Aura conjuration
Activation standard (command)
Weight: -
Prerequisites: craft wondrous item, cure & cause light wounds, know alignment
Cost to create: 2600 gp, 250 XP, 3 days.
I would say change the spell to being a free/immediate/swift action and it would be worth the price. Another option would be to change the spell provided to something akin to detect/slow poison for good, poison for evil and allow neutral characters to choose when first wearing the Armband.
Did not have access to file when I originally posted this but now I do so here was my entry:
Necklace of Bones
I like this. I think what may have cost you was incomplete cost info - is 2850gp the cost to create or buy? Also, a limitation on how many figurines will be found on it would be a good addition.
Thanks for the review I was starting to feel lonely.....
;p
I had the impression that it could hold multiple bone creatures, probably from the name. I'd actually like it to start with 3-5 bone creaturess rather than just one. This would, of course, change the cost, but there you go.
Sorry if it took me a while to comment on your item, it took me a while to get through all the posts. :)
I don't see why it cant have more than 1 figurine, though if that were to happen you should add in something to the effect of "no more than one figurine can be active from the Necklace at any one time, activating a second one causes the first to crumble to dust instantly." As for costing I don't think it would raise the cost to much feel free to check my math here
Spoiler:
Original entry assumed a 1 hd skeleton so cost to create was:
(clxsplx50)+ (materialx50)= (8x4x50)+(25x50)= 1600 +1250 = 2850
Each additional firgurine would cost
(25gp x hd)x50
So a 2 hd skeleton would cost an additional (50x50) or 2500 gp
Did not have access to file when I originally posted this but now I do so here was my entry:
Necklace of Bones
I like this. I think what may have cost you was incomplete cost info - is 2850gp the cost to create or buy? Also, a limitation on how many figurines will be found on it would be a good addition.
Thanks for the review I was starting to feel lonely.....
;p
I thought the line:
"from which dangles a tiny figurine of a skeletal creature." was sufficient to indicate it was meant to be one and only one figurine ever. *shrug*
Yeah I posted the entry before seeing that the judges wanted the creation cost actually broken down (or at least thats the feeling I got after submitting). The cost of 2850 is the cost to create the item.
This was mostly intended as an item given to the villains guards for extra oomph. A skeletal dire lion or giant suddenly being thrown into the fray at the right time can seriously screw up an encounter for a party.
I like this item and it will probably make an appearance now and again in my games. However, I look at this item like an artifact given what everyone has commented on. Anyone hears that you have it they are going to want it, oh the fun this will generate!
I don't think Wiccans should get bent out of shape about this.
The item's own description of evil involves good creatures, which shows exactly what douchebags witch hunters were.
The DMG is loaded with folkloric items. There was certainly no prohibition against following along in that tradition (although I'll point out that the judges were not unanimously thrilled by the approach).
--Erik
I did note that you were all not happy with the approach, and I am also glad that I am not getting flamed to harshly here :>
I think your reasons for keeping it in were sound as the item is mechanicaly viable and otherwise an "I want this" kind of item. I also have no plans to hold this item against him in future rounds of the contest, I would just like to see a little more spark of originality.
I agree that there are folkloric items in the DMG/SRD however, they are not (as far as I can recall with a quick scan of the SRD) directly named after the item from the tale/myth. This item is so named and as I recall the rules were to create an original magic item. This is not, to me, original. Yes I love the mechanics from a DM standpoint, the warhammer attack has much coolness and he tied in the asinine attitudes of the original hunters. From that standpoint it is a good item, however, he only took an existing literary object and gave it in game abilities, this is not being original this is being good at modifying something. If he had used the Maleficarum as an inspiration for a new magic item, I would never have voiced my opinions on the matter, other than saying I would be extremely careful introducing this into my campaign world.
I am not saying that he should be kicked out of the top 32, because he DID NOT violate the written rules as far as I can see. I think he failed to follow the spirit of the rules. He has the makings of a RPGSuperstar in the crunch section of this item for sure and his pricing seems good. It is just lacking in the fluff/naming of the item, and in this case I think that is enough to make me seriously worry about this entry.
I am not trying to be grumpy, this item blows mine clear out of the water, thats for sure. Hats off for good mechanical work.
The Wiccan comment in my earlier post is also why I would not include this item in my campaign period with its current name. *shrug* Everyone is different in how they react to something used to persecute their predecessors, why risk it when a simple change of the item name and phrasing in the text could nullify it?
Aura faint divination; CL 5th
Slot —; Price 10,400 gp
I had to sleep on this one to decide what annoyed me the most about it, so here I go. (If this is a duplicate post..sorry having problems posting of late to these boards)
Firstly let me state that the item is technically well written and balanced power wise.
My whole problem with this item stems from the fact that it is based on a real world item. IMHO this is not anything close to superstar level work, any GM/DM worth their salt should be able to do things like this. I also feel that it violated the spirit of the rules in that it should have been an ORIGINAL Wondrous Magic Item, not a display of your ability to give game statistics to a real world item.
If the creator of this item had changed the title to something other than Malleus Maleficarum I would have still been upset but not as much. The use of this book is actually very insulting to me, mainly as I have members of my gaming group who are Wiccan, and my own personal beliefs would have me condemed by the orignal authors of the Maleficarum. Changing the title to The Tome of Lux Lucis (Loosely translates to The Tome of the Light in Latin) would have been smarter and references to witches could have been changed to simply "chaotic or evil spellcasters and demonic thralls" or something similar.
This item will not see play in my campaigns and I devoutly hope that the creator puts more effort into the next round of competition.
Did not have access to file when I originally posted this but now I do so here was my entry:
Necklace of Bones
This necklace appears to be a chewed leather thong from which dangles a tiny figurine of a skeletal creature. The figurine must be removed from the necklace and thrown to the ground to activate, at which point it becomes the skeletal creature represented. The creature then obeys the owner of the necklace and can follow simple verbal commands (attack, defend etc). The creature is under the control of the owner of the necklace for 10 minutes at which point it fades into dust. (Most of these Necklaces carry a human skeletal warrior but any skeletal creature is feasible)
I dont think they should be posted in the same section as the winners but I would be more than happy to post mine in another thread for people to laugh at/rip apart/admire etc.... :>
Boomer, how can you second that? It includes none of your three movie ingredients--booze, naked women and D&D.
Well, now that I think about it, there is booze. And, though no one gets naked, there is implied sex and Renault is one of the horniest screen characters ever. And though there is no D&D, Bogie does get his screen intro playing chess, the second coolest game to D&D. Plus, Peter Lorre looks like gollum. So that kind of counts.
methinks that someone needs sleep from the way that rambled.....
Another point to consider is that even if you don't advanced past the country design stage, by submitting it for review you have essentially given a resume to Paizo. There is nothing stopping them from contacting you at a later date after the contest to design something for them or to flesh out your country further for another publication. I would be surprised if this didn't happen, especially at the later stages of the contest.
I have no problem submitting my best idea for a country to this contest if I make the top 32. Giving the IP rights to them does not prevent you from using it in a homebrew campaign, just from publishing it.
3. If your submission is over 200 words, you can relax! The contest is over for you, as you've already been rejected.
Thank you for trying to help, but it doesn't help me much. I had to work to get mine over 100 words. I added in a sentence or 2 of fluff just to break 100.
Hey some of the nicer items in the book (read as most often purchased) are not that expressive. A few lines of crunch at most, I mean Amulet of Natural Armor is only 77 words long and my players buy them whenever they get the opportunity.
Brevity of entry is not going to equal not being in the top 32. There was no minimum word count required, so kick back and crack a cold frosty drink of your choice and relax a bit.
Would it be that difficult to "scrub" the identifying tags relevant to the commentary in question Vic?
To add to above suggestion.
If the entries could be scrubbed, yet you don't want to give access to your new stash of IP. Could it be possible to email the scrubbed content to the submitter?
Before you spam every submitter you could use a poll to determine if a submitter is interested in the scrubbed critique.
I like this idea! I would also really like to know what was thought of my item...even if for some reason it was auto-rejected (cant think of why it would be but *shrug*).
An idea I came up with after I had already submitted my Skateboard of Wounding (just kidding)was some sort of "Mask of the Lycanthrope". While wearing the mask a character would have all the powers and weaknesses of a transitional-form lycanthrope (minus the ability to spread the disease). There could have been different variations for different were-types, each resembling a mask of the appropriate animal.
I did a Google search and saw no similar items in existence. In hindsight, it would have been much more popular than the idea I actually submitted. Too bad for me, I suppose.
Actually I was just skimming through Relics and Rituals and there is a section on Tattoo magic that includes one that provides just this benefit. If I am not mistaken..after all I just got to work and don't have the book with me to peruse to be sure...that is. I like this one better as it provides a way for the ability to be removed at a dramatically appropriate moment by a PC or NPC.
All I know is that as I enter each round I'm going to change my hairstyle every time.
Oh wait I forgot, a lot of you don't watch American Idol so you probably won't get that. Communists! You probably don't drive Chevy's or eat apple pie either!
I am deeply, deeply ashamed for even knowing what you're talking about.
I love apple pie
I drove a Chevy Caprice and now am driving a Chevy Lumina
I still dont know what he speaks of comr.......I mean um...yeah!
A small wooded board with four wheels attached to it. Upon uttering the command word while standing on the board causes a ramp shaped wall of force to appear 30' in front of owner. The board accelerates up the ramp and into the air giving the same effect as a Fly spell with the caster level equal to the owners level. Rider must make a DC20 Reflex save to stay on the board as it takes off and another DC20 Reflex save to avoid falling off the board in the air. Requires at least 30' of vertical space to use or rider takes 5d6 points of damage from crashing into the ceiling and the appropriate amount of falling damage from falling off the board at height.
Failure of the first reflex save to stay on the board results in the rider becoming confused as his head slams into the ground. Failure of the second reflex save results in 3d6 falling damage. Underside of skate board has message stating "Management is not responsible for any injuries or loss of property/life sustained while using this device."
Usually found with 30 feet of skeleton wearing a neon pink leather helmet. Wearing this helmet allows rider to reroll a failed reflex save to stay on the board once per day and provides a +5 competence bonus to those reflex saves only.
Jesters and bards are not required to make the reflex saves and may also attempt trick moves on the board by making either a Perform (Dance) or Tumbling skill check against a DC equal to 10+their level.
And what do you do when you want an effect that there isn't a spell for?\
bleck
IMHO thats what the feat Craft Wondrous Item is for. Find the spell or spells that come closest to mimicing the effect you want and then *poof* the creation feat does the rest.
After all it is magic!
;p
Also its amazing what you can do with a properly worded wish spell
Some wondrous items list a Caster Level of 1st or 2nd (based on the spell requirement) even though the Craft Wondrous Item feat has Caster Level 3rd as a prerequisite; is this legitimate?
Only the caster creating the item has to be 3rd level. They could theoretically hire a lower level caster to cast the spell for them, or cast the spell at a lower caster level themselves:
SRD wrote:
You can cast a spell at a lower caster level than normal, but the caster level you choose must be high enough for you to cast the spell in question, and all level-dependent features must be based on the same caster level.
I know this is a bit after the fact for you but I hope it helps in the long run!
My item was annoying to figure out using the srd chart, and in all honesty now that I have submitted it I cant quite remember how I go the price I did...*sigh* but a CL8 item turned out to have a cost to create of 2850gp.
yes we know the announcement date is Nov 28....but where are the announcements going to be made? On a thread on this website or by email or some other format like a Quall's Feather Token?????
I already have the culture and other parts of the country figured out already. Like the rest waiting to see if I get into the top 32 and what the actual rules for that stage of the contest are going to be. I should be able to make it fit into just about any framework I think.......and it leads into the other stages of the contest as well in one way or the other.
