This round's voting was very difficult. I voted for Randy Dorman because I absolutely love the Hecateaus villain (which inspired two lairs this round) and because I think it took some chops to take on Vashkar's lair. Any deficiencies in the lair are due to space limits, and I'm confident that Randy would be able to flesh it out. After all, you're not going to have such a small word limit in a real high level module. (I know, I know, follow the rules for the round. I get that. I'm just sayin'...)

I also voted for Kevin Carter because he's come up with some great stuff that, at first, I didn't see working, but eventually won me over. That says a lot about revising concepts and accepting feedback. I think both traits are important for a Superstar. I also really liked how the encounters were connected and each influenced the next one. For instance, Bracht's (re)actions if he hears the PCs fighting the aboleth. That's the way it should be done.

Great work all around. I really wish I had all four votes because I would have used them.

Actually, "irises" is the plural of "iris" the eye-part, and that's plural that most people use, and "irides" is marked as a spelling error in my spellchecker, so I'm going to go with "irises," even though "irides" is also listed. Insisting on "irides" is all well and good if you're an optometrist.... but in common usage, well, next thing you know, people are going to insist on pluralizing "octopus" as "octopodes." :p

That's cool, Sean. I just wanted to point out that it wasn't an error due to sloppy editing. I would have totally used irises myself, being as dependent on spellcheck as I am.

Great work Kevin. I always love it when a lair collapses in on itself. Every PC should have to experience that at some point in their career. I agree with the comments above that this lair is a very balanced design. That's tough to do, so congrats on that.

Best of luck this round.

Nice work Eric. I liked the map a lot. The dolls were creepy. I laughed at the gelatinous cube because it reminded me of someone's initial criticism that they pictured the original Hecateaus dropping slime on a PC's head.

You definitely captured the feel for this villain, and I think it's really cool that you and Randy each did the other's villains.

Best of luck to you.

Nice work Neil. You chose a lair (and I do think it's a lair, not just a final encounter- after all, it's where she has set up shop, so why wouldn't it be a lair?) that I did not think would be done. I didn't really think it could be done, so kudos for that.

I liked Sharina conceptually, but acknowledged the problems a DM would have in running her. Those problems haven't gone away, so I think the lair suffers a bit by association. Totally not your fault, but it was a risk in the selection you made.

Still reading the entries, so best of luck.

In Trevor's defense, "irides" is the plural of iris. I googled that one right away!

I wasn't bothered by the lair in a statue bit. In light of the round 4 twist, I think this is quality work done in crunch-time.

I also thought the names of the different rooms were very nice.

Very good work. I'm still reading all of the entries, so good luck.

I agree with Roguerouge. No sense dinging Randy for something the judges didn't mind last round.

WRT the nalfeshnees, it seemed pretty clear to me that they were visiting "ambassadors." Word space is at a premium here, especially for a villain with such a high CR.

I liked the slaves, and breaking their hands was a nice touch.

I also liked that the blackguard succubus consort was killed in this entry. He took an idea that was presented and made it his own, changing (while acknowledging) the work that was done before.

I'm not done reading all the other entries yet, but good work.

Hey Matt, you gave it a good run. Definately keep at it.

I also wanted to say that Rustin (or a version of him) will be making an appearance in my games as well. I'm co-dming a game with one of this years superstars, and it's my turn this weekend. I think some, if not all, of the villians will be making small cameos at some point on Saturday, just for the smile and wink factor (after all, the PCs are only 3rd level!).

Here are my votes, in the order they appear on the ballot page:

-Vashkar
-Count Falconbridge
-Ryth'a
-Hecataeus

This was a tough round. There were several villain concepts I really liked, but had to pass over due to the judges' rule-fu concerns. I'll admit, though, that I tend to not pay so much attention to the nitty-gritty rules when I DM (rarely), and focus instead on making a fun game. I'm sure that all the contestants who made it this far run some awesome games, so kudos for that (and thanks for all the great ideas that I want to use someday).

I like this version of Rustin, and was a fan of the last as well. I'm totally not a rules-fu guy, but I understand the judges' concerns.

I'm really torn because I want to vote for him. I'll see how the other submissions play out.

Congrats on taking the judges critiques from last round and seriously addressing them. The changes you've made to the background story and the adventure hooks have really improved this villian.

I have to admit that I'm not an ace with regard to stat blocking, but I like how you incorporated the items and explained things where needed.

Here are my 4 votes, in no particular order:

Sharina, Gulga, Hecataeus, and the Flesh Peddler (awesome name by the way!)

Good luck to all who entered.

This guy is a true sociopath (Hecataeus, not Randy!). He simply cannot relate to other human beings, and does not realize that they might have a valid point of view. He'd probably be the last person to realize that he's a bad guy. I like him because he's not the frothing-at-the-mouth mass murderer type. Besides, just imagine how badly the PC's will want to rip him apart after he humiliates them a few times.

On a side note, I actually thought of Gilbert Norrell from "Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange" when I first read this entry. Mr. Norrell was also NOT your typical villian, but a villian nonetheless.

I vote to keep this one in.