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Darkleaf cloth (from the Advanced race guide)- Spell failure chances for armors made from darkleaf cloth decrease by 10% (to a minimum of 5%), maximum Dexterity bonuses increase by 2, and armor check penalties decrease by 3 (to a minimum of 0)

And relatively cheap, compared to some of the options above -
Light armor +750 gp
Medium armor +1,500 gp

Obviously, this is assuming an armor made mostly or wholly of cloth/leather, vs. metal, works for your PC.

Now I want to see a Santa Claus monster in the monster round.

Here you go, for inspiration...

Ooooh, and Googling "Satan Claus" for images came up with some... interesting design choices.

I'm leaving all the lights on next Christmas Eve.

a 1/2 an hour to go until the reveal, and already the boards seem a little ... syrupy. (unless my computer has once again been invaded by slowbots...)

Thanks! Just wish I might have avoided a few dark and painful years and drawn these conclusions a little earlier in life...

But maybe that's a part of the story, too.

I had planned to post on this thread sooner, but sadly, had a long, lovely post typed out, then hit "send" -- right in the middle of the recent power outage to Paizo, and alas!! All Was Lost.

Resentment at my "loss" of course, and the thought of having to retype all that 'brilliance' prevented me from immediately returning to this thread. (Not that I'm sensitive, or lazy, or ego-driven...)

Anywhoo...

I've found this thread to be interesting, not that I've yet been able to read (yet) over 3500 posts to catch up. Even if it has drifted slightly from it's original intent - to share our experiences as LGBT and RPG'ers. (Boy, how's that for alphabet soup?)

Some of the more recent posts, delving into the science and biology of gender and sexuality are interesting to me, too -- but perhaps not for the reasons one might think. It's the underlying motive for the questions we ask I find intriguing. We seem as a species, sometimes to obsess on the question, "Why?" Maybe it's just human nature to have a need to compartmentalize everything and everyone - "pigeonhole" folks into their "proper" places, so we can establish pecking order, etc.

I'm often concerned that questions as to why a sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity has come about in an individual -- even from well-meaning open minded folk -- can imply that it's a "condition", and one that could be manipulated, changed, or avoided. Certainly, as an angst-filled teenager, if my orientation were up for revision, I'd have gone with Greg 2.0 - living within more acceptable parameters, whether it was who I was meant to be, or not. But happily, that turned out to be not an option for me - not that I, my parents, and my church didn't otherwise try.

Of late, I think the question, "why not?" has more validity to me. As a gay Christian and role-player, and recovering alcoholic and drug addict (and let me tell you, that makes for some real awkward social circles...), the Live and Let Live philosophy, though perhaps trite, has a deeper meaning more and more upon reflection. After all, with over 7 billion people on the planet, starvation and shortages of natural resources common stories, perhaps someone upstairs had the right idea (biology, environment, and other factors aside), when He (or She, if you prefer) designed some of us outside the "norm" - I worked in social services and child protection long enough to know that the ability to procreate is not always synonymous with the desirability of procreation - nor necessarily the only criteria for a good relationship.

Plus, we'd have a pretty boring Bestiary if our awesome game designers were limited in their creativity when they were designing all those lovely, lovely chunks of XP that inhabit our fantasy world(s) in all their fascinating variety. And I despise GM's who try to overly control the actions and direction of the players in the game, simply because they are too lazy, or creativity-challenged, to deviate from the path when the players want to wander into that section of the map entitled, "Here There Be Dragons..." The best games are the ones where, once the Game Designer has set the stage, the players write most of the story.

I think life is kinda that way, too.

I do occasionally fantasize about playing a game loosely based on a movie or show. Like watching Supernatural sometimes makes me wonder what it'd be like to role play a monster-hunter in the real world, with some kind of explanation for how the existence of all those monsters and demons isn't common knowledge.

I actually ran a World of Darkness game (players were hunters) based on several episodes of Supernatural, plus a Lovecraft story, and this fun video find..

Also, I'm team Jacob.

I'd like to take this opportunity to send my most sincere wishes of good luck to 31 other contestants.

Any wishes beyond that would be rather insincere.

+1, LOL.

I do truly wish the best of luck to those who have entered, in this and any other endeavors; with a number of good entries this year, looks like luck, and having just the right appeal to the judge(s) may play a role for any of us in getting our writing advanced, though of course skill, talent, practice, and perseverance still play pretty important roles.

Kudos to all who entered!

Just curious; will they (I believe they did last year) once again post the top 100? For those of us that don't make the top 32, it'd be interesting to note if we were in the running, anyway.

Though it appears from the database my item made it past the cull (woo-hoo!), I only saw it once during voting, and fortunately it was paired against an item I didn't feel too poorly about voting down. But there were a number of submissions I would have felt bad about voting against, as they were truly better than my own. (Oh, I would have, anyway; not ready for sainthood here.)

So kudos to all the entrants, and thanks for allowing me to expand my own private collection of magickal goodies with which to confound, annoy, and enthrall my players with. I'm envisioning the party wandering into "Bomble's Bits and Baubles" with, alas, their handy dandy Detect Magics disabled, and looking at all these lovely items, saying, "what the heck does this do...?"

... and lovely mayhem ensues.

I, too plan on making a 2nd round entry, no matter what I think my chances might be of advancing. I made the mistake in 2012 of thinking, "Oh, my item won't make it to the next round..." Well, imagine my surprise and glee (and abject panic) when it did, and I was totally unprepared for round 2. Won't make that mistake again.

I've seen quite a few I've liked, and at least a dozen so far that I copied, just in case (insert feelings of crushing despair here) they fail to make the top 32, I'll have the material to use in my own game(s). Kudos to all who have entered!

1) Many people don't bother to read contest rules.

2) Most people don't bother to read advice about the contest, either because they don't know it exists, don't bother to research, or think they're awesome enough that they've got it covered.

1 + 2 = A lot of items that are never going to make it...

+1.

Watching some of the players and DM's in my local games, I see (and am guilty of myself) those occasional bouts of silly rule-breaking and general immature, ego-driven snarkiness, that remind me that, as a rule, the average gamer tends to be the sort of person less likely to always "play well with others". This, of course, often includes a certain amount of impulsiveness -- "Oooh!! I just came up with this totally AWESOME thingie of gaming goodness that IS SOO wack I must submit it RIGHT NOW!! (and mebbie I'll check out those "rules" or whatev's later...)"

The gamers I know -- and I include myself -- aren't as a pool exactly a hotbed of mental health, or paradigms of maturity. This makes them fun gamers, but not always the steadiest of game designers. I'm happy to say, though, there seem to be plenty of exceptions to the rule.

Although improper formatting isn't an auto down-vote for me, since I tried hard to insure my own entry didn't have those errors, it's kinda a big no-no for me. Not only does proper formatting make the entry cleaner looking and easier to read (I can immediately tell, for example, which spells were needed to create the item vs. feats, if they are italicized), it just shows attention to detail, knowledge of the game and a respect for the rules that I think a Superstar should exhibit. Just sayin'.

That said, if an item is pretty gonzo, I'm a little more likely to vote that one in even with a few minor errors, over one that is technically perfect, but lacks any mojo or creativity; though, if it's really off in formatting, my eyes just might skip over the juicy bits, which would be a shame.

And I must admit...

Yeah, me too - just getting either the same two items over and over, or a system error message. (Not that the 1st two items aren't kinda cool, just would like to see a few others...)

I personally like items that cater to a particular class - and dislike items that make a particular class less useful. If an item makes a party go. “Ooh, it’s a good thing we have a _____ in the party, so they can use that”, that’s not a bad thing for me. But if it makes them go, “Ooh, now we won’t need a _____, since we have this nifty item”, not so much. As a DM, I like being able to reward PC’s for playing characters that might not otherwise be as popular/enemy-munching/etc., as the other players fave choices.

And frankly, after the bazillionth +__ sword/shield/piece of armor found and distributed to the few party members that can use it, the bard/cleric/monk/sorcerer… might be getting a little annoyed. Nice to drop the occasional item that the tank can’t use.

... and I'm still just a star voter. Desna knows, I've logged my hours in here voting.

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

Quick question about formatting:

In the example submission provided the colons are in bold, but the format shows the colons outside of the bolded text. Should we follow the format or the example submission?

I totally would not have noticed that. I have just assumed the colons were bolded, but they are not. Not in the PSRD, nor in the print books. My guess is they want the colons to NOT be bold, but I'm sure they will answer this week.

I certainly wouldn't want MY colon to be bold...

Yup. There goes that 12 year old inside me again.

It's a pity that the archetype is limited to River Kingdoms; I've spent the year preparing and polishing a Golarion archetype - it just happens to be for a different region entirely. On the plus-side I get to make another archetype, which is fun, but on the other hand I really would've liked to submit an item that I've invested time in and feel proud of.

I feel your pain. I, too had an archetype ready, but won't fit due to the "twist".

But I do seem to remember reading somewhere on these threads (and it makes sense to me) that one of the goals of this contest is to find folks who can not only write well, but do so with a very limited timeline, as in the "real world" of publishing, a writer might get a request for some awesome writing goodness in a hurry, and won't have that whole lovely year to perfect their prose.

In fact, I think that might be one of the reasons for the "twist" in the first place.

I have learned that an idea, concept, or theme that may seem interesting or intriguing by itself can become irritating when that idea is placed among a dozen or so that are similar.

+1.

I feel kinda bad that I'm struggling with voting in the true spirit of "anonymity", meaning, looking at an item objectively like it was any other item I've seen for the 1st time. Once I’ve seen the same item a bajillion times, I tend to be more prejudiced against it. Likewise, I've probably given items "dings" for lack of originality if I've seen a bunch of other submissions just like it, which I realize isn't fair, since none of us had any idea what the other submissions would be prior to submitting.

Dammit, I think my submission just got voted off the island.

Defenestration is a cool word. I know what it means. I'm sure many of you all also know what it means.

But lets say you have an item that allows you to throw someone out of a window. In the fluff or even the item name, using the word defenestrate defenestration, or some other derivative, is probably ok.

But in the mechanics if you say, "when the user decides to defenestrate their enemy, they must make a CMB check with a +2. If the check succeeds then they defenestrate their enemy."

How many gamers you know would respond to that in one of these ways:...
1) Cool, I rolled a 26, does that successfully defenestrate the guy?
2) Huh, what the heck does defenestrate mean? GM: Sorry, you can't do that, because I don't know what defenestrate means. Player: Oh, I looked it up for you, it means you can throw them out the window. GM: Oh, ok, that's fine then. You throw the guy out the window.
3) <eye roll> Really? Was that necessary? Couldn't they have just said, "when the user decides to throw their enemy out the window..."

Actually, my group would definitely go with 1.) But that's 'cause we LIKE the word Defenestrate.

Also, we're weird.

I do have to mention, though - "defenestrate" = 1 word. "throw out of a window" = 5 words. Kinda depends on how close to the 300 word count you were getting...

In all seriousness, if you need to use 5 or more words to get the meaning of one word, and even then it doesn't have the right flavor, I'd be more likely to go with the one obscure word. Sometimes a word is obscure specifically because it denotes a thing or action that is rarely used in everyday language, but is spot on for the specific writing task in front of you. Perfect example (from a previous post) = proboscis.

[DM] “O.k., Zorc, you take [rolls dice]… uhh, 4 points of damage from the stirge’s… ummm, long pointy thing in the front of his face….”
Now, certainly, not everyone knows the meaning of that word (though most of us do, or at least, those of us who have run into stirges before.) But obscure as it might be for some, what word would you use, instead? I guess stinger would work – but it doesn’t have the same connotation for me. ("What? It waved it’s but at me?”)

Just sayin’.

I will agree, though, that using a made-up word, or an obscure one where a more common word would have worked just as well, esp. if it feels like someone is just verbally showing off, would likely be wrong in this contest.

"She's workin' it like the rent is due tomorrow."

- 'Cause by reality TV standards, nothing says "winner!" like being able to diss your opponents into last week.

Yeah, I'm with you here. While I do like my own item (wouldn't have submitted it, otherwise), I can freely admit that I might not be the Supreme Overlord of Designing Uber-Goodness; there are certainly a few items in here that have made me go, "Ooooh. Shiny. Me want!" (or, conversely, "Dammit! Why didn't I think of that? Curses, you clever little designing monkey, you…")

So far, I haven’t had to face the horror of seeing one of those paired with my own offering. If I did, I don't think voting against my own submission is a lack of faith in my own chances to advance (unless, like someone mentioned, I did that 32+ times...); rather, a simple acknowledgement that while I'm hoping to be in the top 32, I don't need to be the top of the top 32.

That’s just plain hubris.

Nice to see my item post-culling, finally. This really doesn't mean anything other than a renewed resolution to polish up my entries for further rounds, just in case. Though like everyone else voting, I've slugged through a plethora of mediocre-to-ermahgawd entries, I have seen quite a few items in here I've really liked, so (assuming any or all of those make it into the final 32), if mine does not appear as one of the top 32, I'm hoping to come away from it all this year with the "Wow, I was up against some tough competition this year - good job, everyone!" feeling, rather than a, "Wow, these items won over mine? I must suck bunny butt at game design!" *sniffles* kind of feeling.

Good luck to all! And remember: you can't have an entry, without try.

The single best piece of advice I can give on writing up your archetype, based on my own experience last year is… Do it. Do it Now. (Wow – just heard Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice in my head as I typed that…)

Meaning – if you are really serious about this contest (and if you wish to be considered an RPG Superstar, you need to be), don’t let the “Well, I’m sure there are 32 better entries than mine in all these 1st round submissions, so I don’t have to take this seriously” thinking get to you. I did.

Last year, I put a half-assed round two entry together in the last week prior to the announcement of 1st round winners, mostly just to play with it. I was not expecting to actually advance to the next round – imagine my surprise when my item was picked! Unfortunately, when the round one winners were named I was out of town, and away from all my books (and I didn’t even bring a copy of my draft with me), and had a crappy internet connection at the hotel I was at, so I had to last-minute put together what I remembered, plus finish the entry I should have spent WAY more time reading, rereading, play testing my entry with friends, double-checking source material to see if it fit/was accurate, etc…

And it showed. I didn’t make it to round 3 – and though the comments on my round 2 submission were scathing, they were illuminating. Once I finished sulking in the corner licking my wounds, I went back to my submission – and saw that:

1.) The critiques, though occasionally harsh, had real merit, and:
2.) Had I put a little more time and effort in, I would have likely caught those mistakes myself – or my friends (who would have been kinder, I hope) would have for me.

I think my submission last year had real potential, had I done my best – which I most certainly hadn’t. Hopefully, I’ve learned my lesson – this year, I’m working on my 2nd (and 3rd round) submissions now. Even if I don’t progress, it’s valuable experience, they might come in handy for my own homegrown game(s), and who knows? Perhaps the Gods of Fortune will shine upon me once again…

I've only seem mine once - and I'm grateful that:
1.) I DID see it, and:
2.) It was paired up with an item I could honestly vote against.

Like most folks on here, I'm sure, I'm torn between wanting to see my item progress, and wanting to see the top 32 progress - and of course, hoping that the two can co-exist. Kudos to those who have found the courage to vote against themselves when faced with a superior item - although I truly liked my own submission, I have seen a number of items I've liked more than my own (and will likely "borrow" in future campaigns), and should I be faced with that choice, I hope I do the right thing.

How sad is it that not only am I posting here just to see my current voting ranking, but will now go back and vote s'more - just to see if my item made it past the 1st culling (yes, I know I'm gonna havta click a whole bunch just to MAYBE see it again), and to raise my ranking.

Oh ... and, of course, to assist the judges in their amazing efforts to determine the top 32 superstar items. Yeah, that, too...

God, what am I, twelve?!?

Thank you for your support, comments, and critiques - and please vote for my entry! If you have questions, I'll be happy to answer them once voting for this round is closed.

Alkwraith wrote:

So when my mother-in-law (she lives with us so she has to put up with the gaming group once or twice a month) told me about RPG Superstar 18 months ago, just in time to get an item in for RPG Superstar 2011, I went for it.

Burning Question: How did she find out about it?

Hmmm... she "has to put up wiith it -- yet, is the one who told you about the contest?!?

Methinks she doth protest too much.

For myself, I guess I entered because I've always dreamed of being a writer - as in, one who is paid to write. If your definition of "writer" is one who likes to write, I already am - and I highly suspect so are most folks in this forum. I've certainly seen some fine examples here. ;)

But to make a living - or even an occasional paycheck -- at it, sounds just amazing. In the words of Groucho Marx:

Find a job that you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.

And really, I'm just getting too lazy to work.

Thanks, Neil - good to be reminded. I didn't realize until being in this position how easy it would to be to screw that up; I've already thought of a couple of posts I didn't type ("innocent" on their surface, like answering a question posed about writing styles, comparison to someone else's submission, etc.), because, in thinking about them, I could see the potential for swaying later on, once someone tied that to a submission I might make.

Will save vs. Foolish & potentially disqualifying commentary, DC 20: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (1) - 4 = -3

Yup - keeping muh mouth shut, Yassir.

Funny, Jacob - I feel exactly the same way you do - thanks so much for sharing that! (As an aside, I was born and raised in St. Paul, MN, where the formative years of my gaming experience took place - maybe it's something in the water...?)

Most of my life – in school, at work, in dating and in gaming, to name just a few instances – I’ve felt like a child playing grown-up in an adult’s world, waiting for someone to notice that the shoes and clothes I’m wearing are WAAAY oversized for the person inside. Honestly, that’s in part why I was unprepared for my name to make that list (though, of course, I fantasized about it obsessively as I was writing my entry) -- somehow, I don’t yet feel I “rate”, silly, to be sure, since my perception of me vs. everyone else is by its nature, biased and not the same as other people’s.

It’s a very cool thing to be a part of all of this, and a part of all of you. I’m a 44 year old going on 14, most days, which is probably why I fit in so well in the elementary school at which I work, not to mention in my gaming group – whom I love dearly, but would not exactly call a “hotbed of mental health”, LOL.

I will soon (God [or insert deity of your choice here] willin, an’ the creek don’t rise) celebrate 20 years of continuous sobriety – a cool thing indeed for a raging (and not in a good, +4 to Str and Con kinda way) alcoholic, but that likely goes a long way to explain both my occasional bouts of immaturity, and my own insecurities. Not the easiest path I’ve tread to get here today, even if most of the darkness was, in retrospect, self-generated.

Well, that was a bit more self-disclosure then I planned on in this forum, but it is a cool thing to find out a bit more about the people behind the entries, so I threw in (as a certain well-known judge would say) “my 2 cents”, and applaud the concept of this thread, and all those who dare traverse its murky depths…

Oh - and if you think Round 1 was Bizzaro World, wait until you see what Round 2 delivered.

Yikes! Well, as one of those 32, with a little under 3 hours to go before the big reveal of our critiques, I can't say that made me feel any easier about the waiting -- but then, as so many have mentioned (including myself, I must remember) criticism that helps us grow is a good thing.

And, I'm gonna havta grow past the silly little headtrips my fragile lil' ego puts me through whenever the possibility of rejection rears it's ugly head, like in this instance; "...wait, was he talking about MY submission?..." "Well, maybe Bizzaro is a GOOD thing?" "Crap - maybe my entry wasn't bizarre ENOUGH? ...", etc, etc.

[sighs, pulls up his big boy underpants, and waits...]

A couple of quick comments - I love the name, though, like someone else mentioned, I think Chimaeric Collar works a little better than Chimaeric Mantle, but that might be because I sometimes like a little alliteration...

Congrats on finding an effect overlooked by so many other magical items out there; namely negating racial and alignment bonuses. I have no problem with that, in terms of other items with magical bonuses, such as bane weapons, or even the paladin’s smite ability, since that is technically a “magical” effect, as granted by a deity, though that’s a little harder sell.

I can see the rules-lawyer ranger in my group getting all snarky, though – “What do you MEAN I don’t get my favored enemy bonus against [schnozwonkles]!?!, there’s a great big [schnozwonkle] standing right there!! And it’s not like it’s a magical ability to overcome –I WORKED to learn how to defeat these things. We HATESSS them, my Preciousss. Dammit Jim, I’m a ranger, not a paladin…”

(Though, in all fairness, I kinda smile a little as I play that out in my head; our ranger COULD use a little humbling now and again…)

Guess I'll fall in line with most of your reviewers here - like my own submission, the mechanics are easily this item's weak point. But the concept of a screen that fits into an otherwise normal lantern really gets my attention. I like that - really does open up the door for a whole new type of magic item. Well-done.

Isn't it a class feature in a can?

That was my first thought as well - esp. since I'm currently playing a Cleric/Rogue PC with this particular ability, and I've used it well.

That being said, I do like this item, even if it is a bit of a SIAC/CFIAC; the flavor is well-presented, and the fact you can use it but once a day keeps it from being overabused, I hope. I actually like the use of an alternative name by rogues, as we all know they have their own peculiar little lanquage...

Nicely done.

Oh, and don't forget - Vote Jacob 2012

But ... but ... vote for which one?

Besides, I see myself as more an Edward kinda guy... no, wait. Dammit, wrong genre again...

Well, this will probably date me, but I 1st was introduced to D&D around 1977 by a friend in Middle school who excitedly brought home from a local bookstore in Minneapolis, this odd little 3 booklet collection for a game called Dungeons and Dragons, from a company called Tactical Studies Rules - we weren't wargamers, but the concept of creating an individual character that could then be ran through an adventure was just the ticket I needed at that time.

Those were really difficult years for me - parents divorced, mother very religious and strict, me a hopelessly geeky uncoordinated and painfully shy young man who basically hated his own existence - the ability to get together with a few like-minded nerds and live out an alternate life in a fantasy setting not only gave me a social outlet (such as it was) - it also may have saved my life; Lord knows where I would have turned without that escape.

And thankfully, though my mother frowned upon the game, esp. its references to demons and the like, she couldn’t quite shut me down from socializing with my friends. In those days, it was almost always a “sleepover” – we’d start playing Friday after school; end up staggering home from one of my friends basements on Saturday evening for dinner with our neglected parental figures.

A couple years later, out came the 1st boxed set. I still think fondly of the phrase, "The Keep on the Borderlands", LOL. That edition, and the ensuing switch to AD&D around that same year, sustained me through high school.

I took a brief break when I joined the Marines, though in the last year of my 4 year enlistment, someone brought their set of books and dice onto the base, and since I was deemed the only Marine sufficiently creative enough to actually come up with a story (being true jarheads, the others were really more interested in creating awesome characters, killing things and smashing stuff) I became a DM for the 1st time by default. And I found I enjoyed the role of Dungeonmaster as much or more than the role of player. Around that time, 2nd edition came out, and that was one of my 1st purchases when I left the USMC.

Since then, I’ve expanded my RPG repertoire, including Ravenloft, a reluctant switch to the 3rd Edition (…”Dammit! Where’s my THAC0!?!...”), followed by yet another upgrade to 3.5 [insert dramatic sigh of martyrdom here]; Shadowrun, DC Heroes, Traveler, 1st the original, and more recently the latest edition of White Wolf’s World of Darkness games (my current 2nd favorite game system), Savage Worlds – Deadlands, and most recently Pathfinder – my new fave. I took a brief look at the 4th Edition of D&D, but was not interested – partly because I had just bought a whole bunch of 3.5 books and supplements, only to realize WotC had quickly made yet another edition to suck my bleeding bank account dry, but also because I just didn’t like the feel of the latest incarnation. I’ve always been more of a “role” player, then a “roll” player – probably why storytelling is usually my strongest suit, and mechanics my weakest.

Well, this IS a small world. I moved here (FL) from Duluth, MN a few years back - one of my fave gaming groups, and the one that got me back into D&D, then D&D 3.5 is still alive and well there - I miss them still. When I go north for a vacation as I try to do each year, I usually sit in on one of their games. Next time I'm up, I'll have to buy you that beer myself (two since you'll have to drink mine for me) just so I can shake your hand in person for the sheer delight we all got watching Hitler rant. And yes, I know it is a well-used meme; still a very creative entry. Kudos again!

I hope you all submitted your entries in on time! I'm looking forward to seeing the organizations, partially at least because I can always use more inspiration for games to run at some point.

As far as the DM/Player ratio, we have currently 3 guys that run games in our little group, the Knights of the Ping Pong table (What can I say, makes a great gaming surface) - and we rotate so I GM 1/3, play 2/3rds of the time.

I really appreciate the support as well - thanks to those that top 5'ved mine, clunky, overpowered mechanics and all.

[testing] "smurf".

EDIT: well, that's just silly.

Once the 3 Jacobs get to the top 4, I'm sure the judges would encourage that the 4th person be named an honorary Jacob, avatar included.

I suppose that would make that, the ....

[wait for it...]

... Jacob's Ladder effect?

(sorry, I couldn't help it... it just popped in there...)

Was thinking about the Bestiary 3 and I think I've figured out the twist! The monster's going to have to come from a poem!

I am SO not going to be ok if we have to submit our entries in iambic pentameter!

(Though limerick would be kinda cool:

There was an old monster from Iz...)

Ok - sorry you didn't make the top 32, but this video certainly redeems you as a good writer in my eyes. I LOVED this. Just sent it to my gaming group.

Well, Clark - those comments may not be designed solely to be helpful to us, but as one of those whose entry advanced in spite of it's well-documented flaws, I'm glad those comments were included, as they do, indeed help me to rethink my own thought process as a wanna-be writer/designer.

Though I appreciate the sentiment of the post's original author (I, too noticed the commentary wasn't all hugs 'n bunnies this year, as opposed to previous years), I think the move towards more critical writing from the judges is a good thing. Like others mentioned, the biggest attaboy I can get is the "Kept." comment - that says a WORLD of good things - the rest I look at as how can I get better.

I found the "critique my item" commentary to be almost ironic - again, I know (I think) what the author was trying to say, about a more negative flavor to the posts this year (and I don't disagree) -- but isn't critiquing my item actually the point, top 32 or no? After all, if I wanted, "gee! Neato item! Can I play with it?" - I'd get feedback from my gaming friends (most of whom run players in my game and would have a vested interest in making me feel good, LOL...) What I'm looking for (even if it makes me wince a bit when I get it), is honest, critical feedback, that lets me know if I not only have a winning submission, but if I have the writing chops to successfully publish something commercially viable - something I expect is foremost on many of the judge's minds as well.

To Sean, Clark, Ryan and Neil, as well as Sam, Sean and Jerall - thanks so much for your input - and for all the hard work you do for this contest and the Paizo/Pathfinder community. It must seem sometimes that no good deed goes unpunished... but we really do appreciate your dedication!

Edward, welcome aboard. I think the biggest thing I've picked up to know is you can NOT lobby for votes or try to explain anything about your entry once it's posted for the voting public.

A slight correction - to a limited degree, I guess you are, in fact allowed to lobby for votes - but like Jacob said, you just can't do so by in any way trying to talk about your item while it's being voted on or give feedback to comments made regarding it.

I agree entirely with Jacob, in that the safest plan is to just grab the pre-approved text and paste it when any mention of an item being voted on comes up. Good luck, Edward - and to all of you!

Hmmm... perhaps the twist will involve entries from a previous year? Or a future entry, like we have to design a monster that, if advanced, must be prominently featured in our 3rd submission...?

Hey, all. Just hit the "submit" button, which oddly enough was anti-climactic after several carefully and fearfully pressed "preview" buttons, to do the last-minute tweaking. Note to the wise (or at least the forewarned, if you haven’t already submitted): my entry was 6 words longer here, according to the preview header, than it was in Word. Go figure. Even if the name was counted twice here(once in the header, once in the body), that didn't quite account for it. So, if like me, you are treading the line closely to 400 words, might want to leave a little cushion.

Good to know about the proofreader o.k. - I did have someone read through mine, before - turns out I made no real changes after that, but it was nice to have that feedback from a friend. I thought I remember a post in a previous year giving us that o.k. - so long as it wasn't posted publically here before submission, or something to that effect.

And I LOVE the Paranoia RPG; can't say I'm as fond of paranoia while WRITING for an RPG...

Is it intentional that we not use anything to separate those two sections? Had I not investigated more closely, I'd have thought that the suggestion of a 100-word paragraph was part of the Resources section. I'd hate to see people get disqualified for making that mistake, you know?

Thanks for asking, Jacob. I actually had to re-read the formatting several times before I figured that out - it did appear to me at first that they wanted a 100 word resources paragraph, but that didn't feel right; then I thought perhaps there was a missed heading. I'm glad we were given the ISWG as a guide; that's really what saved me from making that error. Good to do the research - and Sean, I really appreciate you clarifying that for us. Thanks!

How I found out stories? OK -

When I logged onto the site, I noticed this odd link near the top of the page, that said' "submit your entry here!" - my reaction? I got pissed off, thinking the page was broken. Dammit, I've already submitted my 1st round entry, but it didn't take, and now the deadline is way past... DUH. Never even occured to me that was for the 2nd round - until I scrolled down to read the entries, and Lo! there was my name. Needless to say, my reaction changed dramatically at that point.

I believe I've finished my 2nd entry; first I thought, "God, I can't come up with 400 words in such a short time... 4 hours later, it was, God, I can't reduce this to 400 words... Well, hopefully, I managed.

To my very worthy 31 competitors, I hope you all were/will be successful in putting together a gonzo entry for us all to gleefully rip apart - Good luck to you all in creating an advancement-worthy organization! (Well, at least, to 15 of you...) :)