Phloid's page

The map I was working on in case I made the top 32 was also centered around a log jam (with a waterwheel saw mill and piles of logs on the hills waiting to be loosed to the river, as well as a desecrated druid or fey shrine and a barricaded lair of an angry animal companion). I've always thought that a log jam would be a great location for an encounter or likely a running fight across the logs, but I've never done it in a game. Good idea there. The execution was on the weak side, but it is hard to be motivated to give your best work as an alternate not knowing if you have a shot of being moved up. That has gotta be the worst place to be. I know Frank's got the stuff, but I'm not sure this map will be enough to move him on. I wish you luck though.

Sarkorian Sunderjaw
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th
Slot none; Price 48,305 gp; Weight 8 lbs.
Description
Crafted from the mandible of a large demon, this +2 greatclub is carved with intricate scrimshaw depicting monsters of many kinds. At creation, its tooth sockets are devoid of teeth, the bone is strengthened to not be fragile or have a damage penalty, and its critical threat range is 19-20.

On a confirmed critical hit against a conscious creature that has a bite attack, the sarkorian sunderjaw unerringly strikes the mouth of the target. The creature takes critical damage as normal and must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 16) or have its teeth (or the like) smashed out or sheared off, rendering its bite attack useless. A creature losing its only natural attack this way gains a primary slam attack based on its size (see the Universal Monster Rules in the Bestiary). If the tooth sockets are empty, the wielder may have the broken teeth magically and immediately fill the club's sockets, dealing both bludgeoning and piercing damage thereafter.

Additionally on three attacks per day, if the bite attack of a monster whose teeth are held in the sarkorian sunderjaw caused bleed, disease, paralysis, poison, or another effect (with GM approval), the club has that same ability, though any saving throw DCs become 16. The wielder chooses to use this ability as a free action before he rolls the attack, and on a natural 1, the teeth are shattered and the sockets become empty once again. The teeth can also be removed manually with an hour's work.

Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Improved Critical, Power Attack, strong jaw (APG); Cost 24,305 gp

I liked this item a lot in the voting. Would have made my personal top 32 list had I kept one. Very cool and simple but handy and fun. Good luck in the coming rounds.

I loved this items ability. SiaC? Not in my book since it changes the spell significantly. The only think I did not like about it was that it was a dress and I can't see a bunch of adventurers, especially male adventurers, wearing a dress. Could be seen as kind of a plot item that an villainous NPC might be using to grave rob or collect bodies or something. But it is very cool and would have made my top 32 list, had I kept one. Congrats and good luck in future rounds.

Congratulations on the success of your "big dumb weapon." Mark has been my primary pit crew the last couple years and it is good to see him make it in. Last year the map he did for practice was great. Hope he will have the time to make this one just as awesome. Good luck in every round.

Congrats theheadkase. It is nice to see diehards make it through. Knock them dead in the rest of the rounds.

One of my favorites. Nice. Love the visuals. Congrats.

Let's just all hit refresh at the same time. Maybe that will help. Oh, are we already doing that?

I've got so many items I created with RPGSS in mind (40+), I hope to release a PDF of them online for cheap. That being the case, I'm keeping them to myself. Sorry

Thanks, but I'll just wait until the announcement. And if I don't make it I will post my item to the critique thread. Make it or not, I will not be doing the Edit My Item Thread this season. As fun as it was, it takes too much time. I might do some edits on request though.

Nickolas Floyd wrote:

I'm not sure what is worse. Getting a spell of Exploding Runes in the face or getting Rick Rolled. They both leave me feeling burned.

How about...

** spoiler omitted **

Ouch. You're the worst.

Well, I did not get culled this season, but I have seen six people's top items list through PM and my item was not on a one of them. That doesn't mean I'm out, but does not increase my confidence.

I'm not sure what is worse. Getting a spell of Exploding Runes in the face or getting Rick Rolled. They both leave me feeling burned.

Nickolas Floyd wrote:

...And by judges I mean the alien race that is plotting to take over the world starting with RPG Super Star.

This one knows too much!

Yeah, RPGSS is a ploy. A front for the aliens where the winner each year has his or her brain replaced by an alien drone.

Neil is one of them! Don't trust him. Actually might not be able to trust anyone who has and RPG Superstar tag behind their name. Oh, dear. That means my one time top 32 finish may have done me in. Does "cull" in their language mean "take over his mind?"

Anyway, I should probably work on my map in case the process is entering stage two. You know, instead of screwing around on the forums. Bye, you Greyptoid scum!

Oh no, the Greyptoids are WAY to busy to... ah...
Nevermind.

The Greyptoids! Ah Ha! Now we have a name to put to their evil plans...

And that helps us none at all. We are doomed!

I'm not really sure what the sweet spot for flavor text is. None at all seems a bad idea, as thinking of the item's place in the world gets the reader excited about the concept. A whole paragraph is too much, making the reader think that item is little more than an excuse to talk about your campaign.

Not a sweet spot. A thin line. Though it is tempting to have a lot of fluff because one thinks that Paizo is looking for someone who can craft a good story, avoid much fluff text. One sentence of description. That's it. No backstory. No "favored by." Look at the Core Rules magic items. Many don't even have one sentence of "flavor." Use a good description and the item's name to imply backstory and its connection to the world, but don't tell us what that connection is too strongly. A GM might change it anyway. Of course now that judges are not making the call, that might allow more leeway on this. Us long term entrants will always hold up the lessons we learned in the early seasons of RPGSS and vote accordingly.

Well obviously the judges looked at the top 32 that the voters picked and realized they had made a terrible mistake and are now going through the top 100 or so to get ones they are ok with advancing to the next round. And by judges I mean the alien race that is plotting to take over the world starting with RPG Super Star.

Hey, since many of you have a top 32 list you've maintained, and by doing som, that means you thought they were great items, and thus "praise"-able.

Anyone willing to share? PM me your lists, I'd love to see them.

Me too, Me too!

Good luck to everyone. There were a lot of good items in the pool. It is anybody's bet.

I'm snarking that I have yet to see my own item. Granted I'm somewhere between 100 and 500 votes, but there are only 223 items still in. I should hit it soon. Gotta keep voting. Just want to see it once.

I don't know. I think constant concealment is too good. Without a limit I've got to down vote even though I really like your other ability.

Interesting item. The mechanics are a little loose, but it is kinda cool and fun. Vote!

Most examples of that creature subtype have senses other than vision and that ability will not help you avoid them. Which make this item primary (first) ability usually ineffective.

Dueling ghost items. I think I will vote for the better one of the two.

Another item that makes printed items of the same theme better in some way. Does this break my rules for this? Not really. This is acceptable, but I still like the other item better this time.

This is the second item that claims that type of animal can blink. That animal does not have eyelids. It cannot blink.

Wow. This item is made for a very specific character build. Not just niche for one class, but requiring the multiclassing of two classes (or maybe archetype selection). And the two classes are more obscure from a more recent book. What is the chances that this was made for the designer's own character (or a favored character in his campaign)?

New item. Very cool, but I could have done without the negative side effects. Kind of a plot item, or too much RP for a Pathfinder magic item. But I like.

I have not had characters craft in my games (I run mostly one shot games if I play at all). But if I had a campaign and someone said they wanted to craft an item greater than minor, I would add some of this to the game. "You need this exotic ingredient." And then I would make sure they had opportunity to find it with some interesting difficulty. Totally role play it.

I've heard both before in critiques and the like, but there is precedent in core the rules for your position. I stand corrected.

I want to add praise for the cull system this year.

Wow!

I concur. Much better doing a series of small culls as opposed to one. Of course I got culled last season and I'm still in it this time. It has kept more people voting I think. I still haven't seen my own item, but the doc says I'm there.

Your minimum caster level for a magic item, is the lowest level that the required spells can be cast by, OR the minimum caster level required by the item creation feat required. Whichever is higher. You can't have a caster level that low because no legal item creation feat has a caster level that low. No vote from me.

Nickolas Floyd wrote:

Aaron Miller 335 wrote:

You have NO spell in your requirements?

I don't know this item, but that can be ok sometimes. There are a couple in the PSRD that do this. Check out the Phylacteries of Channeling. I have an item that I did not submit that only requires the creator have two specific witch hexes.

I still up voted it, just strange, and hard to price.

It's my opinion that the formula pricing is crap unless the item actually duplicates the spell effects in question or casts those spells. If the formulas work well to price your item, you are likely designing a SIAC item. The comparison method works better if your item is not a SIAC. Ballpark it and compare it to like priced items. Then move it up or down based on how powerful the items are to either side of its price giving an optimized character build for each item. And maybe add a little cause in the competition it is better to overprice a little than to have voters think it is underpriced.

Your RPGSS item should be something that players are excited to have and use. This item's use is so circumstantial that I would never buy one and I would likely sell it if I found one. It is dull and not very special. An you are up against an item with cool visuals that a would make a character feel more cool for owning.

You have NO spell in your requirements?

I don't know this item, but that can be ok sometimes. There are a couple in the PSRD that do this. Check out the Phylacteries of Channeling. I have an item that I did not submit that only requires the creator have two specific witch hexes.

This item should have been a cloak or something, not worn where it is. But I still like you better than the competition.

Edit: and your name is bad too. You got lucky.

Well this one kinda rips off an item submitted last year. Actually the edited version that I did on my "Phloid's Unofficial Edit My Item Thread." I like my version better, but there is a decent chance that it was parallel design that your were not aware of. And even though it may be a stolen idea, I like the idea and you are better than the opposition.

Ok. I expect from your item name that the item has to do with that particular Bestiary monster. Surprise! It doesn't. That makes the other item better. Sorry.

I don't think that is a creature template in Pathfinder. At least not in the PSRD. That will get you a down-vote unfortunately.

Cool armor designer. I like. You get my vote against another item this is pretty good but kinda damages a sacred cow. Close vote, but that one pseudo-mistake gave you the edge.

Yeah, I won't down vote or even think ill of an item with filigree. I didn't even notice all the filigree items in 2013 when the filigree thing got started. I would think ill of the item if the designer used it to describe the wrong thing, but even that is excusable if the item is clever and unique.

Cool item. Simple, but could have been simplified a lot and lost a bunch of words. But very nice.

I tend not to vote for items that build/synergize explicitly off of existing items since the concept is too reminiscent of the Regalias of the 3.5 Magic Item Compendium. They feel unoriginal.

Yeah, I would not recommend it. To be fair all items we are speaking vaguely of were not "explicitly" using another item. Just had a greater ability when paired with another item. As long as the item does not demand through sheer awesomeness that the other items is owned as well, it might work. You also run into the question as to why the core magic item is not somewhat better for owning the new item. How come they don't boost each other? This kind of connection is better off avoided. I agree.

Ooooo. Lots of mist here. I can't see the screen in order to vote.

The synergy with the ring's charge mechanic doing almost the same thing mine did... it's like they cribbed that line and modded it slightly. I'm not saying it's completely against the rules but it would make me upset if that ends up top 32 and mine doesn't.

Yeah. I saw that one. Not sure it is the same one I mentioned in my post above, but it might have been. It probably was.

But this doesn't necessarily mean the designer ripped you off. He or she might have never seen your item and it could have just been a case of parallel design. I actually designed an item (a helmet) about three seasons ago that had a connection to that ring you also used in your last year's entry. I had put the helm aside already (partially because it was not legal last season, and partly because it was one of my least favorite of my designs), but totally scrapped it when I saw your somewhat parallel design last year. Mine wasn't a recharge, but it had a bigger effect as a set with the ring.

But, then they might have stolen your idea. Maybe you will be able to find out during the critiques. But hopefully you will be too busy to worry about it. :)

Yeah I got one of those hanging around this year too... Burns my arse but I still upvote it sometimes.

I got one pairing that had both items reminding me of your item from last season. One had a similarity in name and the other had a similar theme. They were both quite different mechanically if I remember right. The theme one was closer, but having a similar theme, that is somewhat expected.

Yeah. There is no problem with using "filigree" in an item description. That beats having each of those items with filigree to have "ornamental work of fine wire formed into delicate tracery" added to the description, especially if it is a small detail. It is not necessarily "lazy," but a good way to tell the reader what the item looks like without using more words than necessary. The problem with filigree is that it was over used and used wrongly a number of years ago and became a joke. If your description is "The crown is made with gold filigree in a circle," that would be lazy. But if it were,

"The sweeping filigree of this delicate silver circlet weaves into and out of the wearer's own hair, giving it a salt-and-pepper appearance, and providing a distinguished air of wisdom to the wearer."

That would be ok. Not lazy. Just a descriptive word.

Oh, hello there. You are new. Not bad. I like you. I will give you my vote.

I don't like your name. It is wordy and weird. Your effects are not that interesting or unique, but I still see something in you. And you are just better than the other item.

The Raven Black wrote:

Jeff Lee wrote:

The Raven Black wrote:

If the spell you mention in your description is not really well-known and you do not describe its effects, you'd better provide me with a link :-/

Or you could, you know, search for it yourself on the PRD. It's not hard, and providing links is not required by the rules.

Stop oppressing my snark ; -))

That said, it is good commercial practice to make life easier for your customers. And this is exactly what voters are.

I've mentioned before, I prefer no links to links. Books don't get to have links.

I'm pro-links! We are not printing these in books (at least not yet). It is not required, but I say, use the technology you are working in. It sure makes it easier to look up what makes the item tick if it has links. Some items need them more than others, but I wish they were all hyperlinked. SNARK!