I'm looking for one ticket for Qui Gonn Jesse... help? I can't believe tickets to the banquet sold out so quickly!!!
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I was torn. All throughout the competition Jim Groves has been my favorite (besides Jesse Benner, who is my hubby, and so always has my vote). But, I loved the silk mill as a setting for an awesome fight, and I personally loved the Indian flavor... so Matt Goodall and the Cult of the Ebon Destroyers got my vote.
If anyone is interested; My brother in law makes custom scale mail... He's never made it for anyone other than friends, so I don't know what he'd charge... but if you're interested, email me at nikkibenner@gmail.com and I'll get you in touch with him...
...we discussed just how much Jesse should get involved with the forums during voting, even if he wasn't talking about his entries, because personality matters... This is an extraordinarily good point (and one that I think needs to be adhered to for everyone posting in online forums, IMO). I shouldn't be amazed, but yet it always does amaze me that people can use the anonymity of the Internet as a license to be uncouth or aggressively rude. My Momma said, as a rule of thumb when dating, to pay attention to how your date treats service staff - if they're rude to the waitstaff, they're probably kind of a jerk... I don't know if that holds true on the Intertubes, but I certainly am immediately negatively disposed toward people who are jerks online. So I definitely agree with you, Neil, that the RPG Superstar contestants need to be especially mindful of their words during voting... I'd just offer that people may want to be mindful of their words always? I'm not talking about finding fault with and sharing criticism of someone's idea, to be clear. I'm talking about aggressive rudeness... And if I may pass a compliment your way, I'd offer your posts as one of several examples for people to follow with respect to offering in-depth criticism while still being polite and constructive about it...
Awwww!! *snif
But, more seriously, I think the most effective "campaign" you can wage to garner voter support is actually here on the messageboards...and maybe the Tuesday night chatroom at DMTools.org. I absolutely agree with this! At the end of the day (and part of the reason I didn't put our marketing blitz out further than friends and family) was because I did want Jesse to advance on the strength of his submissions... Unfortunately, we're newcomers to Pathfinder, and Jesse had already made it into the competition... even before Leif's DQ, we discussed just how much Jesse should get involved with the forums during voting, even if he wasn't talking about his entries, because personality matters... In a perfect world, we would already have become active in the Paizo community... Le Sigh! You'll just have to be stuck with us now... And I am unemployed at the moment, if anyone needs a Paizo Marketing Strategist... :)
Even if we assume that all eight contestants got the exact same number of friend/family votes... I'd be curious to know, if the other contestants wish to share, what (if anything) they did to garner support outside of the Paizo forums? I'll share the tricks I used to help Jesse - click on the spoiler for the long-winded marketing campaign ideas. Marketing Tactics spoiler:
I'll admit due to my fierce love for the hubbster, I pushed our friends as hard as I felt was respectable. We didn't want to market too aggressively, since ultimately it's about Paizo making money, and while our friends and family would buy anything Jesse wrote, I didn't think it would be entirely fair to Paizo to get lots of website registrants and voters for Jesse when ultimately they would be useless leads and non-purchasers of Paizo products. At the end of the spoiler, I've shared ideas I ultimately rejected...
We have a family blog, and I posted info with instructions on how to vote and a link to the voting. I also tweeted a couple of times each voting round with a link to voting. I used bit.ly to track results, and saw quite a few unique users of the link through my tweet (I use twitter mostly for professional reasons, and the majority of my followers are not friends IRL... I'm a marketing consultant, and I wonder if that helped in that I've voted for those people for Webby and Blogger awards, and they returned the favor here...). Both Jesse and I posted updates on Facebook, and we also tagged our friends in a Facebook note. At least a third of the clickers on the link were from Facebook. Also, we found that we got a greater response (measured by comments) from people due to tagging them in a note versus just updating our status... Now, that may be because we were getting down to the final rounds of the competition, too, or that I used abject begging? I also emailed the same post from our personal blog to some of our less internet-savvy friends, like my mom and dad, who then forwarded the email to some of their friends... Some tactics I was thinking about using but ultimately didn't (see opening paragraph for why)... I considered drafting a press release to send to our local newspaper when Jesse made Top 32, hoping he'd get in a "people in the news" section. I also would have sent the release to our local affiliate television stations hoping that they may pick it up as a human interest story (since D&D and other role playing games are often controversial). I also know of several free press release services; they don't necessarily ensure your release will get picked up in the news, but it certainly helps with organic search results... it's possible that using those services for anyone searching for terms like "Paizo" or "RPG" or "RPG Superstar" would come across that press release, and that name recognition may have bolstered Jesse's votes... I considered researching other RPG forums (like Giant in the Playground), registering, and directing traffic to Paizo to try to garner more support (I felt that ultimately that'd be sock puppeting). Along that vein, there are a couple of hobby shops in our area, and I was considering visiting them to make appeals to their gamer groups, and posting a flyer to hopefully garner support for Jesse. Because I don't know how many votes Jesse got, I'm not sure how effective our social media blitz campaign was (Vic, if you'd be willing to share [nikkibenner@gmail.com] I will keep that information confidential; the statistics geek in me would love to evaluate the effectiveness of our Web 2.0 campaign...) I'm fairly confident it's what pushed Jesse over the edge from Top 16 to Top 8, because he was on the cusp of the Top 8 in the exit poll... I'm unemployed at the moment. I have a lot of pent-up marketing energy... *sigh.
I'd say that the data actually contradicts that conclusion. If there's a bandwagon effect, it looks to be in the exit poll more than the voting booth.Actually that makes a great deal more sense, because that's where the "known" votes are. Interesting. Just a thought too - maybe people are using their social networks to encourage people to vote for them. Those people are registering with Paizo specifically to vote for their friend's entry, and aren't likely to post in the exit poll. That might offer a hypothesis for why there'd be more actual votes for people at the bottom end than suggested in the exit poll?
Alexander, I have to admit that my favorite entrant in the competition has been Jesse Benner, but that may be because he's my husband and I'm still holding out hope that freelancing for Paizo will bring in the big bucks that will allow me to live the lifestyle to which I'd like to become accustomed... That said, your entries every round were solid, and it's hard to be disappointed too much when talent like yours is in the top four...
Good luck going forward Watcher! Congratulations on making it to top 4. I'm excited to read your entry...
I'm hoping you and gracious wife do make it to PaizoCon Hee! Gracious! I don't get that adjective often... We have a little gamer at home who will only be 14 months old during PaizoCon, making the logistics of all of us coming to Washington state a bit challenging. I am trying to convince Jesse to go without us this year... It's coming together, so while I don't think we'll get to meet (this time, mwah ah ah!) you may get to roll some dice with Jesse. Best of luck going forward! I'm super-excited to see your submission for round 5!
The R3 monster was a wight in the ossuary template, which is what Matt used for his R4 entry. The name slip isn't really important to me--especially as I don't like monsters that have names that are identical to real-world words. Calling it an "ossuary golem" is more clear to me than just calling it an ossuary. I figured the judges had a master plan! Thanks for the clarification :)
I wanted to wait until after voting to bring up this question, because I didn't want it to influence voting... The rules for Round 4 stated that the contestants needed to use a Round 3 Monster. However, the monster statted in that round was the Ossuary, not the Ossuary Golem (that was from Round 2). Obviously the judges didn't have a problem with it, or they would have dinged it in the discussion (and why I waited until voting was over to ask about it). But it seems like the use of the Ossuary Golem didn't follow the rules for Round 4... Am I misunderstanding the rules for the round? Or was some poetic license allowed to be taken?
...stuff.. ...stuff... ...stuff... Ladies! Ladies! You're all pretty...
One of the things I like about encounters, or overall campaigns for that matter, is when the players have to think and interact with the environment and the story of the campaign. That said, I like when there's some sort of riddle or puzzle to solve, or when role playing furthers a story, as opposed to just hack'n'slash. I like being asked to figure something out based on clues and interviewing NPCs... so, I do like that this entry has a riddle. I also like the bridge location. I agree with Clark that there's a missed opportunity to make the bridge more central to the encounter, but that's something I think (based on Jesse's writing in past entries) could be fixed on a second edit. I understand that Superstar is about finding someone who may be able to do that sort of thing right out of the gate however. The thing I like most about all of Jesse's entries to date has been his ideas... yes, his work may need more spit and polish to be up to professional level, but I think his ideas are creative and exciting... they get me excited about gaming again.
I'm trying to "surprise" the hubbster with attendance this year (and by surprise I mean not so much, since he's going to be reading this thread)... I want Jesse to get to meet his fellow RPG Superstars! All of the West Coast costs are reasonable, but airfare from Philadelphia to Seattle is ridiculous! I'm very glad our "monstrous humanoid" son will only be 14months old, and we can carry him on our laps. If anyone has cheap airfare suggestions, we'd love to hear them... PS - am I the only one who cannot say "Superstar" without making jazz hands?
I just want to second all of the Callous Jack artwork love. That is all. :)
I know this post is a bit old, but Hubbster and I are looking to get a game going. We're in Montgomery County/ Northwest Philly suburbs... that might be a bit far if you're in South Jersey. Hubbster is Jesse Benner, and he's one of the top 8 2010 RPG Superstars, so we're waiting until the contest ends to get a game going. But - if you're interested (and anyone else out there in the Philly area is interested) we'd love to get a Pathfinder game going...
So Gross!!!! Either way... just.... blergh :) He looks awesome though.
I want to play too :) I voted for (alphabetically):
My sixth vote would have gone to Lief Clennon; I'm not sure if I'm going to vote for any of the others instead...
And the fact it can just appear as a bed of caltrops the party is trying to get around then WHAM! Golem time. This totally brought to my mind the scene from Terminator 2 where the T1000 rises up from the floor... Now I'm picturing a T1000 caltrop golem... [shivers]
...good points... Fair comments, all. I guess certain creatures were to the liking of some, while not to others. Every contestant took that chance when they picked their creature... And I think the honest critique is fair and necessary; I just think the critique should be about the entry itself (which your other comments were - that's why I was singling out that particular sentence of your post). To clarify, I wasn't questioning your critique, just more pointing out that all of the creatures in the top 16 were popular enough to get them there... somebody liked them... so voters shouldn't be surprised that a monster from the top 16 was chosen to stat... what appeals to some doesn't appeal to others. I really liked the lahamu from the last round... It would have been my fifth choice if I got more votes. :) And, about fly/fireball - wouldn't that critique hold true to any creature that doesn't have the ability to fly and doesn't have ranged capabilities... for example the ossuary golem or the churjiir? Or, for existing bestiary creatures like the bulette (one of my faves, personally)?
It's both boring and nonsensical. Why, why, why would you choose it? With all due respect, the lahamu was popular enough to make it to the top 16. Ostensibly, some people did like it and didn't think it was nonsensical or boring... Due respect to the contestants who took on monsters that pose a challenge to stat well at CR6, the challenge was to stat a CR6 monster. Ding the contestant because you don't think the entry was good enough (as with some of your other comments), but I don't think it's fair to ding the contestant for not choosing a monster you liked, or for taking on the round as stated.
Charisma-draining wolf has a glass jaw... I would not purchase a monster book where this was offered as a sample. But tell us how you really feel... ;)
I'm fairly new to gaming; I can't weigh in on the numbers. But - Someone earlier on said Jesse's the "cinematic coolness guy." As Clark said, you didn't just cut/paste the Round 2 description... I can really see this creature, and I get a good idea of what I'd be facing if my GM threw some lahamu at our group... I like the addition of the name "soul drinker" and I think that addresses F. Wesley Schneider's comments in the Round 2 threads about the name of a creature being what it calls itself or what others call it; I can picture people calling the lahamu a soul drinker due to the charisma drain. Jesse's writing does pull me in. I've been a fan of his for a while now... I'd love to see him advance - I'd like to see what he could do with an adventure proposal.
I'm a new player, so I can't really judge whether or not the stats work. I will say that I love the names you've chosen for the special abilities. They're evocative, and IMO will make your churjiir stand out from the other entries. When I went back to re-read all of the entries, I found myself asking whether "this" churjiir was the one with the cool SA names... Unfortunately there are three other churjiirs to compare against. For me though, yours stood out because of the special ability names...
Watcher, I feel like you are the contestant to beat. Your creative writing is there, and your knowledge of the mechanics too... total package. I'd be surprised if you didn't make it to the next round... and beyond.
E-mail sent. Awesome sauce!!! It's so fierce! And, money's tight, but not non-existent... Maybe we should get your 14mo old and our 10mo old together for some baby gaming? We're in the Philly, PA suburbs...
Okay, I'll try to put something together this weekend. So awesome!!! Thank you! I'm hoping to surprise him with this... you can also email me at nikkibenner (at) gmail (dot) com... Thank you again!!! Do you have Paypal? Or do you have a different preferred method for me to properly thank you?
Well, since this page tells us which monster each person submitted, you can either tell us your husband's name or tell us which monster is his and I guarantee we'll be able to figure out the other one. :) I guess that is entirely fair... :) he he he! Hubbster is Jesse Benner; he did the Chaitrakhan... the best monster evar (not that I'm biased or anything). PS - Vote for Jesse!!
Which one is your husband's critter? He's still in the contest... is it okay for me to reveal that?
I was going to doodle some of my favorite monsters and post them up so I could always throw your husband's in as well. And they say your name is Callous Jack!!! That would be so awesome... thank you!
Hubbster is one of this year's top 16 RPG Superstars. For Valentines Day if possible, but definitely for our anniversary in May, I'd love to have his creature illustrated. The final illustration would be relatively small - either 8x10 or 5x7, probably full color, and that would be digital so we can get it printed on shirts... In terms of style, I'd love for it to be in the style of the Paizo Bestiary creatures. Fee is negotiable, but will preferably be in the $50 range (again, I don't know how much something like this costs, so that's negotiable)... I was recently let go from my job, and we have a 10month old, so money is a little tight at the moment. Any takers? Any recommendations?
Statistics! Fun!!!! I want to play too! I voted for:
This one is one of my favorites. I'm a sucker for a villain with a back story. I love when there's motivation behind badness, not necessarily two-dimensional badness for its own sake. This monster has it all - a hint of the gross, it's memorable, you can make an encounter or an adventure around it... Love! I'm fairly new to gaming, so I'm not as up on rules and stats, so I can't comment as to how well it's written with respect to statistics. But in terms of evocative writing, I keep visualizing this monster and getting excited about it. It doesn't hurt that Watcher's comments are super classy, too...
This monster will be a lot of fun to encounter. :) I'm glad I don't campaign with you as GM!!! You have a much different idea of what "a lot of fun" is... Yikes!! *grin
Being ice, does [the ice armor] melt if the temperature goes up reducing the AC? That's a fair point, and I guess it could. But it's a climate based monster, so I'm not sure why that would matter per se... In the real world, you don't see penguins or polar bears out of their environments (unless you're at the zoo)... I'd like to hear more of your opinions on why you think this is a negative for this creature? Your argument about the arena combat beneath the baking sun of a desert oasis - true, but I'd imagine you wouldn't choose a Frost Worm for that particular type of setting either... but maybe if your arena combat was in an ice arena instead of the desert, you'd have a chaitrakhan and maybe not a flaming ifrit? So your point about this beast being restricted to arctic/mountainous environs seems fair, but I guess I'm just not feeling the other part of your argument about why that's a bad thing per se? I'm fairly new to gaming so I'm still learning, and you seem to have a lot of knowledge to share... I don't mean to come off attacking - I really would like to understand your thoughts on this... You make a good point on the size though... the entry doesn't state it. I kind of assumed size large though, because in the description mentions that it views "smaller creatures" as prey, making them a threat to humanoids... so it'd have to be larger than size medium, and the description also mentions that it stalks and kills "yeti, winter wolves, and even dire bears" which made me think it was large and not huge or gargantuan or something... thoughts?
Lions are apex predators. Lions are catlike. Lions hunt in packs.I didn't mention lions. :) Right... but you mentioned that apex predators aren't suited for pack hunting. But lions are apex predators, and they hunt in packs... sorry about that... I was replying to two posts in one... my response wasn't clear... again - sorry!
Only one thing bothered me: Saying this is a "catlike" predator and then referring to its pack hunting methods. :) This is an apex predator, totally unsuited for pack hunting. Lions are apex predators. Lions are catlike. Lions hunt in packs.
What does this thing do? What are its motivations? How do I use it? Why do the PCs encounter it? Hunt the Crysalis for wealth beyond your wildest imagination! Seth, not to be a prissy-pants, but I wouldn't want you to run afoul of the rules... isn't that a clarification?
Also I always concieved as angels as being without physical appetites, so gluttony seems an odd fit. I actually liked it, IMO. I could picture a "Sin-Fallen Angel of Lust" or a "Sin-Fallen Angel of Wrath"... while Gluttony isn't necessarily something you'd think of w/r/t angels, the idea that a sin-fallen angel would take on an aspect of one of the seven deadly sins seems downright literary. And the idea of cannibalism is creepy.
I'm not a huge fan. While written... I don't know that I'd use the adjective "well". It has too much purple prose, IMO. A lot of description, but no steak...
EWWWWW! Its body resembles a cigar-shaped sack of undulating mauve flesh, covered with a slimy sheen. EWWWWWWWW! Once swallowed, the victim is coated with digestive juices, and then immediately disgorged. After being expelled from the monster’s gullet, most victims are disoriented and nauseous. Worse yet, the acidic goo clings to the victim’s flesh and continues to eat him. When the victim finally expires, the slithering horror moves in and greedily slurps up the soupy remains. EEEWWWW! Saving throw against throwing up in my mouth a little bit - failed!
I'm a fan. I get the creeps thinking about being in a dark cave, seeing two or three glow-y bluish chaitrakhan coming at me... And the idea that I can't use any sort of illusion to hide from them, 'cause they're like the Predator and can see my body heat - yikes! I'm down with the stinger, because the freezing effect is pretty cool - I like the image of my body's water being forced out of me, and then freezing me in a net of my own sweat. Blergh. This has my vote. I'm looking forward to playing a campaign against these guys... |