RSS RSS RSS RSS Facebook Twitter Email
Paizo People
Salikotal

Here Be Monsters!'s page

8 posts. Alias of Mikko Kallio (Contributor).


Profile
Aliases
Campaigns
Posts
Threads
RSS
Search Posts

Search Here Be Monsters!'s posts:


Here Be Monsters 2 begins on Thursday, 21 January
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Only 1 day left! Submit! He he he.
Here Be Monsters 2 begins on Thursday, 21 January
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Two... days. (And 1 hour!)
Here Be Monsters 2 begins on Thursday, 21 January
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Give us more monsters! Give 'em to me! Do it!
Bestiary 5 Wish List

That's right!

For information on the contest Cr500cricket mentioned, see this announcement. You can also find some useful info here and here.
New contest begins: Here Be Monsters!
theheadkase wrote:
Any disqualification for being an FF member? :)

Anyone is eligible to enter, regardless of your experience or location--or Freelance Forge membership. Only the judges are ineligible.

Please also read the announcement (see links in the op). A lot of questions are answered there!
New contest begins: Here Be Monsters!
Prince of Knives wrote:
Curiosity question - aside from Mr. Reynolds, who all is judging?

As stated in the announcement (see the links in the op), the judges who choose the top 5 are Mikko Kallio, Mike Kimmel and Jacob W Michaels. Each of the three are prolific freelancers and repeater RPG Superstar finalists.

Sean comments on each of the top 5 entries, after which the winner is determined by public voting.
New contest begins: Here Be Monsters!
5 people marked this as a favorite.

A new monster design contest begins today, on the 23rd of August! We've got Sean K Reynolds on board as a guest judge. We've got five awesome sponsors and--you guessed right--a veritable dragon's hoard of treasure we'll give to the finalists! The finalists will also be interviewed on the A Sword for Hire blog.

Here Be Monsters

See all the details by clicking one of the links below:

New contest begins: Here Be Monsters!
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
12 people marked this as a favorite.

A Sword for Hire and the Freelance Forge proudly present: Here Be Monsters
(View full version of this ad here!)

Sponsored by: Rite Publishing -- Legendary Games -- Raging Swan -- Dreamscarred Press -- Cartography by Tommi Salama

Saturday the 23rd of August marks the beginning of a new Pathfinder RPG monster design contest!

We've got Sean K Reynolds on board as a guest judge. He is best known for his many TSR, WotC and Paizo credits, and many people also remember him as an RPG Superstar judge. Sean also publishes RPG products under his own imprint and teaches wondrous item & monster design.

Besides Sean, the judging panel consists of three RPG Superstar (repeater) finalists, Mikko Kallio, Mike Kimmel, and Jacob W Michaels, each known for their monster-crafting skills.

Timeline:

Aug 23: The contest begins! The open call is open for three weeks.
Sept 13: Submissions are closed. Our judges (Mikko Kallio, Mike Kimmel & Jacob W Michaels) convene to determine the top 5.
Sept 20: Entries are narrowed down to top 5. Our guest judge Sean K Reynolds starts commenting on the top 5 entries.
Sept 27: The top 5 entries are revealed along with comments from Sean, Mikko, Mike and Jacob. Public voting begins.
Oct 4: The voting ends and the winner is revealed shortly after!

Contest Rules:
Rule 1: The word limit is 700 words. Each entrant may submit one monster. The monster should be presented in Pathfinder format, a template for which can be found below. Monster creation guidelines are given here.

Rule 2: The deadline is 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST) Saturday, Sept. 13.

Rule 3: The monster must have been requested on the Bestiary 5 wish list thread on Paizo.com.

Rule 4: The entry cannot be or use a monster template (fiendish, lich, and so on).

Rule 5: Entry cannot have class levels.

Rule 6: Entries must be submitted via email to monster.design.contest@gmail.com. Include the monster's name in the subject line of the email.

Rule 7: All entries remain the intellectual property of their authors.


Prizes:
Thanks to our excellent sponsors, we have an amazing pile of treasure just waiting for the finalists to get their hands on!

The winner gets:

  • A print and PDF copy of The Book of Monster Templates, and PDF copies of 101 Not So Simple Monster Templates, 101 Variant Monsters and 101 Monster Feats, courtesy of Rite Publishing.
  • One of all of the following: a Mythic Monsters series PDF, a Beasts of Legend series PDF, and the Construct Codex, courtesy of Legendary Games.
  • A PDF copy of Scions of Evil, courtesy of Raging Swan.
  • A PDF copy of the Psionic Bestiary, courtesy of Dreamscarred Press.
Each of the runners-up gets:
  • PDF copies of 101 Not So Simple Monster Templates, 101 Variant Monsters and 101 Monster Feats, courtesy of Rite Publishing.
  • Any one of the following PDFs (finalist's choice): A Mythic Monsters series PDF, Beasts of Legend product, or the Construct Codex, courtesy of Legendary Games.
  • A PDF copy of Scions of Evil, courtesy of Raging Swan.

Our fifth sponsor Cartography by Tommi Salama designed our sweet Here Be Monsters logo—special thanks to Tommi!

In addition to the prizes, Mikko Kallio's A Sword for Hire blog offers to interview each of the top 5 contestants! Best known for 3PP interviews, Mikko's blog is something of a "Who's Who" of the 3PP industry. Get your name out there!


Frequently Asked/Anticipated Questions:
Q: Who's allowed to submit a monster?
A: Anyone! It doesn't matter if you've never made a monster before or if you're a well-known builder of beasts—you're eligible to enter. Also, the contest is international, so you're eligible to enter regardless of your location.

Q: How many monsters can I submit?
A: Just one. It's going to be hard enough to keep all the monsters from eating each other as is, and multiple monsters might overwhelm our holding pens.

Q: What CR can my monster be?
A: Your monster can be any CR from 1-20. Remember, though, that you only have 700 words, and higher-CR monsters may eat up all your words with describing special abilities, which could leave you limited space for describing it.

Q: Do I have to use all 700 words?
A: No. If you think you can make a compelling monster in just 500 words, that's fine.

Q: What sources can I use for my monster?
A: You may use any Paizo Pathfinder material other than Mythic Adventures (with so many rules and options, we want to have a common basis for judging and voting).

Q: Can I set the monster in Golarion or another campaign setting?
A: No. We do not have the rights to use anyone's intellectual property. Monsters should be developed to be setting neutral.

Q: Can I give my monster class levels or templates?
A: Nope; sorry.

Q: Where will my monster be published/shown?
A: The top 5 monsters will be revealed on Mikko Kallio's A Sword for Hire and Mike Kimmel's Freelance Forge blogs.

Q: Do I get to see the judges' comments if I don't make the top 5?
A: No; only comments on the Top 5 monsters will be revealed.

Q: What happens with my monster after the contest?
A: We'll be using hold monster spells to keep your monsters contained for judging, but afterward we'll be releasing them back in to the wild (i.e. you keep all rights to your creations).


Monster Template:
Copy-paste the following template into a Word or Open Office document for editing. You may send your monster in a file as an attachment, or copy-paste it directly into the email.

Before you submit, check that the formatting (bolded words, italics, etc.) matches the template and that you have replaced or deleted all the placeholder text (marked with [square brackets]) and placeholders for numbers (marked with ##). Also, remove any lines that you don't need (such as the Aura line if your monster doesn't have an aura).

Please do not include anything else in your submission. For example, explaining your math or design choices is not allowed.

[Description line of one or two sentences.]

[Monster Name] CR ##
XP ##
[Alignment] [Size] [type]
Init +##; Senses [sense], [sense]; Perception +##
Aura [aura name] (## ft., DC ##)

DEFENSE
AC ##, touch ##, flat-footed # (+## [modifier name], +## [modifier name])
hp ## (##d##+##); fast healing ##
Fort +##, Ref +##, Will +##
Defensive Abilities ##/[ability]; DR ##/[material]; Immune [type]; Resist [type] ##, [type] ##; SR ##
Weaknesses [type], [type]

OFFENSE
Speed ## ft., fly ## ft. ([maneuverability])
Melee [attack type] +## ([damage] plus [other effect]), [attack type] +## ([damage])
Ranged [attack type] +## ([damage])
Space ## ft.; Reach ## ft.
Special Attacks [type], [type]
Spell-Like Abilities (CL ##th; concentration +##)
At will—[spell name], [spell name]
1/day—[spell name], [spell name]

STATISTICS
Str ##, Dex ##, Con ##, Int ##, Wis ##, Cha ##
Base Atk +##; CMB +## (+## [conditional maneuver bonus]); CMD ## (## vs. [maneuver name])
Feats [Feat Name], [Feat Name]
Skills [Skill Name] +##, [Skill Name] +## (+## [condition]); Racial Modifiers +## [Skill Name], +## [Skill Name] when [condition]
Languages [Language Name]
SQ [type]

ECOLOGY
Environment [climate] [terrain]
Organization [type], [type], or [type]
Treasure [category]

SPECIAL ABILITIES
[Ability Name] (Ex/Sp/Su) [Ability description paragraph.]

[Monster description paragraphs.]

Got questions? Fire away! Mikko, Mike and Jacob will gladly answer all your questions!