Qor's page

So, I know this can't be helped -- it's what happens when you open the vote to the public -- but is this something we should really encourage?

How are we encouraging the "Superstar" tag if we're encouraging people to vote for people they like, rather than voting for the work that represents what a superstar really is?

Wouldn't this also defeat the discouragement of using your friends as editors, especially when it comes to stat-blocking since the 16 contestants aren't allowed to have anyone edit their work? You can be lazy on the editing if you know you have friends that will back you up regardless of how sloppy you may have gotten.

If you're talking about a one vote difference, then someone who's submission that might be so-so may actually trump a submission that was more worthwhile, simply because they had more people vote for a name rather than quality.

Again, I know it can't be helped when we're leaving this to the public to decide, especially on forums where free accounts can be made and voting is anonymous. But, should it actually be encouraged, especially with all of this talk about what a superstar should really be? Should it really come down to a personality contest?

Maybe I just interpreted this comment the wrong way.

The Three Father's of humanity as their mother's "finest" creation and the "jealous" creators of the other races...

Remember how legends come to pass though. A legend isn't fact, it's truth. It's a mythology. Most mythologies and legends are written by the very people the mythology is about. Granted, some myths are based on facts, but they're generally exaggerated.

In the case of the Agregians, they're myth revolves around three brothers, who were supposedly immortal humans, that in turn created mortal humans. Obviously those created by them would assume that the three brothers were indeed the "finest creations", therefore meaning that the mortal humans they created were also of the same quality. Likewise, if you ask the dwarves about their own god that created them, they'd also tell you that their god was the "finest creation", meaning all dwarves were of that quality as well.

That's just how legends work. There's nothing racist about it, it's just mankind's need to rationalize why they exist.

For the record, gods and goddesses in Agregia are more in line with the way we view them in real life, and how people in Eberron view their own deities. They aren't physical beings that exist on some alternate plane of reality. The Three Fathers don't walk around on some cloud. The Agregians might believe that they do, just like people may believe that their own god may be in physical form somewhere beyond this world, but the deities worshipped on the continent of Iblis are representations of virtues and aspects of life, like the deities of ancient Rome and Greece.

They'll worship your god, build temples to him even, but you worship their way and live their way or they put you to the sword and sell your kids on E-bay. Thus they will someday overcome their curse. And if you're not a human? Forget it.

Not necessarily. It is true that the country that submits will be absorbed into Agregia, but they wouldn't force the new citizens to worship the way they wanted you to. Nor would they ask you to change your lifestyle.

Agregians work more like a corporation interested in the company's IP. If it's successful, and makes them money, then there's no reason to change it around if nothing is actively wrong. Obviously, the smaller company would have a new boss looming over their shoulders, but if it ain't broke, then don't fix it.

Likewise, the Agregians treat newly absorbed nations the same way. Of course, if problems need solving, thus forcing the Agregian government to play a major role in their everyday lives, then yes, you can expect them to push their ideals, traditions, etc, into your society as well.

Whether or not you're human doesn't change anything either. In fact, if you were the king of a nation that submitted, you'd be made into the governor of that "new" province. You just couldn't ever become a councilor, or a triumvir for that matter. Now, if you were a leader of a nation that did not submit, and forced the Agregians to take drastic measures to conquer your lands, then you'd be put to death -- human or not, it didn't matter -- and the Agregian government would appoint a new governor.

Congratulations! I've been looking for a new villain in my game (I think my reoccurring villain is about to meet her maker in the next game or two) and I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

Good luck to the rest of you as well! This was certainly a fun learning experience.

Interesting explanations, indeed it looks like you would have written a killer 5000 word entry.

With any luck, it could have been. I still want to flesh this out entirely though. After the holidays I may get the chance to -- at least that's what I'm hoping for!

For you history geeks.

Obviously, ancient Rome was an influence in my country. For the fun of it, here are the various nods I made to ancient Rome, and how they relate to actual events (I’ll go from top to bottom of the entry). I’ll also note references made from other historical/mythological events. Some of the analogies might also expand on the information of Agregia itself (obviously I had a lot more than 1,000 words in mind, as many of you noticed – to the submission’s detriment, unfortunately):

- Tivenus as a city is a very highly populated city, even by D&D standards. Ancient Rome was also highly populated. At its peak, it had over 1,000,000 people living within its walls. I don’t think another city came close to Rome’s size in population until the 18-19th century Industrial Revolution in Britain.

- A triumvirate is an obvious nod back to ancient Rome. The difference here is that the triumvirate in Agregia isn’t formed by men with power, intending to split their power three ways for political purposes. Instead, it is directly what their government was formed to do, in order to prevent too much power from being in one person’s hands.

- In Agregia, councilors are analogous to senators in Rome, but not in stature. In ancient Rome senators were made “for life” (barring some exceptions), while in Agregia they are voted in and out.

- Each triumvir/speaker has a three year term, but since they are staggered votes, that means a triumvir leaves office every year. This is similar to Rome’s consuls that came in pairs, and were replaced yearly.

- Visander and Yut are twins, as were Romulus and Remus.

- While a dominant brother isn’t acknowledged by the Agregians, Tivenus is known by the Agregians as the Elder, and thus has more influence. The capital was named after him, just as Rome was named after Romulus. Obviously, the naming by the Agregians was literal, and no brothers were killed in the process.

- The hammer and chisel was more of a nod to Renaissance Rome, when the Bernini’s of the time were going throughout the city creating life in marbleized form.

- Agregia the “goddess” (I use the term loosely here, since Agregia, mother of the three brothers, is not worshipped as a goddess by the people) takes her cues from the Greek Gaia (Roman Terra). Instead of being worshipped by the Agregians as a deific entity, they believed that it was her will that she sacrifice her corporeal form so that life may be created upon it. They don’t worship her because they live on her, and they pay homage to her by taking care of her lands. Unlike the Greek Gaia or the Roman Terra though, she doesn’t represent all lands; she just represents the land Agregia, the country, was formed upon (the peninsula itself bears a small resemblance to a figure, possibly a woman, sleeping in the fetal position).

- The jealous cousins vying for power – take any mythology stemming from Mt. Olympus.

- The creation of Tivenus, the city, was influenced by the Japanese creation myth (Izanagi and Izanami’s halberd, Amanonuhoko, dripped water into the sea to create the island Onogoro).

- The high cliffs of Agregia were more representative of portions of Greece (at least, in the way I envisioned the Agregian cliff sides), but the fertile land was certainly more in line with the way I envisioned Rome (or, more accurately, Italy in general).

- Europe was under constant battle throughout that era, so Iblis’ Age of Conquest represents that.

- Iblis was another name that spontaneously came to me, like the original Egregia, but I came to find out that it’s also the name for the primary devil (Jinn) in the Qur’an. I thought this was interesting, and symbolic, since it would eventually be the Agregian goal to conquer all of Iblis.

- The dwarves of the Lrokan Hills are somewhat analogous to the Etruscans. Thalrin, the last king of the Lrokan Hills, doesn’t bear much resemblance to Tarquin II, though Thalrin was born in Agregia during the dwarven occupation. Obviously he was still of Lrokan descent. The biggest analogy with the Etruscans is in how Rome overthrew the Etruscan monarchy, and set up a republic because they saw too much power in one man’s hands (Tarquin II). Agregia also revolted, but the catalyst here was when Thalrin assumed control and began telling the people that the gods did not exist. When he began shutting the doors to temples, in attempts to force people away from their gods, the Agregians rebelled. When they reclaimed their country, they swore than no person should ever have that much power in their hands, and a republic was born.

- The term manifest destiny was coined, I believe, in the 19th century, when the U.S. rationalized their expansion across the entire country. This isn’t a new concept though, and examples can be found throughout written history.

- As Rome conquered civilizations, their pantheon grew. The same can be said about the Greeks. Of course, ancient Rome didn’t single nations out because of their lack in faith, like the Agregians do. Then again, Roman enslavement and eradication of civilizations wasn’t always tempered by logic either, unless that logic was guided by greed or revenge. Agregians, on the other hand, are very logical, and their actions and motivations always have a purpose that isn’t usually dictated by emotion. It has been said by many people from conquered nations that Agregian people come across as emotionless, cold and calculating. Their goals are always set with the best intentions for the people as a whole, but how they set about to reach these goals is always robotic.

- Agregia, like the ancient Rome (pre-Christianity), was a fairly tolerant society. People from all over Europe, and worshippers of many different deities, could call themselves Romans and were welcomed as brothers and sisters. The same can be said of the Agregians and their acceptance of people throughout Agregia. I always wondered to myself, “What does ‘Roman’ really mean?” This is why I focused Agregia to be a primarily half and mixed breed society, as I envisioned ancient Rome would be. Half-breeds always seem to get the shaft in D&D (i.e. as a half-elf, you’re never fully welcomed in either an elven or human community), so I wanted to develop a country that would embrace them. I found it funny that some people called my submission out as racist, when racism and discrimination is around every corner in every D&D setting. I think the only place I’ve ever played in, as a character, that was fairly racist-free, was Sigil (Planescape). Once you leave and head out to the prime planes though, it’s once again starring you right in the face. Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Eberron – I have yet to not see it. With Agregia, it’s apparent in two places, and both are driven by their interpretation of the legend.

- Slavery – as unsavory as it is – was a reality in ancient Rome, as it is in Agregia. For a long time the ancient Romans welcomed those they conquered as citizens, but eventually they began enslaving them as it turned out to be a profitable business. The ancient Romans believed that slaves lacked anima, and were therefore nothing more than property. Agregians approach slavery somewhat differently. They believe in faith above all else, and any nation that has faith is welcome to join the ranks as a citizen. If they refuse submission, the Agregians take it as a direct attack towards their own faith. In their interpretation of the legend, they believe that these people are holding their deities captive, and it is up to the Agregians to set them free. If they aren’t submitting, then they’re preventing the gods from returning to the heavens. The punishment for this is death. On the opposite end, if they conquer a nation that completely lacks faith (i.e. no deities, pantheon, etc), then the Agregians believe that the people turned against their gods and destroyed them. To the Agregians, atheism is the ultimate insult. They believe that, if you have no faith, then you cannot have a soul. And if you do not have a soul, then you’re nothing more than an object. These people, and their descendents will live their lives out as slaves.

- Gameplay Only – on Iblis, the human race is limited to Agregia. I find that a lot of players pick the human race simply because it’s something they can relate to (or they’re desperate for that extra feat). If that’s the case, I wanted to inject a little bit of “umph” to the human race; I wanted to make them special. Even if, let’s say, dwarves took up 90% of the country you’d be playing in, and were therefore the dominant race, it would still be a different experience for the player since every player is human. So this was my attempt to give the human race some extra cool factor. Also, elves do not exist on Iblis. They may exist on another continent, but I haven’t gotten that far yet. I’m actually quite tempted to nix elves altogether from this world. Gnomes do exist though, but they have not yet been discovered by the Agregians. They are found in northern Iblis, but they do not have their own country. They’re more like nomads and gypsies, traveling across northern Iblis in small bands.

- The Three Fathers are to Agregians as Jupiter was to the Romans, or Zeus was to the Greeks. There might be other gods in their pantheon, and they may introduce new ones, but the Three Fathers will always be supreme. Since the Three Fathers, according to Agregian legend, are humans, then they interpret that as humans being required to run the government -- and government founded on the Three Fathers. Their rationale here isn't any different from what we say in current societies, when governments impose strict guidelines to prevent just anyone from being able to run for presidency/prime minister/etc. The biggest reason why the Agregians are worried about the extinction of the human race has actually very little to do with the government itself. Since the government is founded on religion, religion itself comes first. If the human race were to go extinct, then two things would happen (according to their beliefs): 1) their mortal curse would never be lifted, forcing them and their ancestors to never ascend to the heavens, and 2) the Three Fathers would be outcasted, with no race to represent them and no hammer and chisel (since it was destroyed) to recreate the human race.

- The Conclave of Clergy is the Holy Roman Catholic Church of centuries past. Their influence extended across nations, and in a civilization where the church and state intermingled, their power was nearly limitless. In Agregia, the Conclave of Clergy does have a strong presence in the republic, but it is still limited to a 1/3rd majority. If they really want a motion passed, they need to gain the allegiance of either the military or the people. Or both, should there ever be a need to speak up against the triumvirate.

- The inquisition is an obvious nod to the Spanish Inquisition. While the Agregians embrace the arcane arts (in fact, the head “priest” of the Conclave of Clergy – right under Triumvir Tor – is a wizard), they believed the gift is a granted blessing. You’ll rarely find a sorcerer in the Conclave of Clergy though. Generally, sorcerers are treated as black sheep in Agregia. They are unpredictable and their power cannot be controlled (whereas with wizardry, the wizard must research and study to gain their power – so tomes and spell-books can be controlled and guarded by the Conclave). Notable rebellions throughout the centuries have almost always been instigated by a sorcerer. Practicing the arcane arts without the blessing of a deity (or more specifically, the approval of the Conclave of Clergy) would be akin to being branded as a heretic and a witch during the Spanish Inquisition.

The story behind naming Agregia.

I was looking at various words and trying to find one with a pronunciation that interested me. I got stuck on the “zhuh” sound in words like Parisian and Asian. Went to sleep that night, and “Egregia” came into my thoughts.

Figuring my subconscious was kicking in somewhere, I did a search and came up with an old word:

egregius [Latin]: illustrious, eminent, distinguished

That sounded in line with the way they viewed themselves.

Not until a friend of mine brought up “egregious” did I even think of the word. I thought it was interesting though, since egregious is almost the direct opposite in meaning from the Latin egregius.

Egregia was then renamed to Agregia, for two reasons. One, to make it not so obvious that it stemmed from egregious/egregius (obviously that change wasn’t big enough for some of you), and two, because it gave the Agregians an interesting sound after I changed the pronunciation slightly.

Originally, it was to be pronounced Ah-gree-zhuh, but I changed it to Ah-gre-zhuh, since an Agregian (ah-gre-zhuhn) bears a striking resemblance to “aggression”.

In the end I thought it was interesting that, depending on your view of the country, its meaning would change. Obviously, I spent too much time thinking about this. :)

Lastly, to address the pronunciation agruement, I have to admit I'm a bit baffled. It wasn't like I came up with new grammar. It may not be a common way to say something in the English dictionary, but why are you wanting to limit me to English? There are plenty of examples in D&D that have roots in other languages. The pronunciation of "zhuh" isn't uncommon in European languages, such as French. In fact, it isn't uncommon in the English language either (read examples at the beginning).

Anyway, I just think it would be silly if we didn't use other languages as influence for our own names and words. We'd be severly limiting ourselves. Obviously you don't want to make something up that's completely unfamiliar to people, but if it has roots in words people use everyday, across the world, then I don't see why that wouldn't be acceptable.

Thank you, especially to our judges, for allowing me to participate in this event! I had a good time, and it was certainly a learning experience.

Obviously, this entry wasn't all it could have been. The easiest explanation is this: I bit off more than I could chew. Ironic, since I warn my students not to do exactly that with their own assignments!

I wound up approaching this task the way I've approached other tasks (not from the tabletop industry though, since this was my first foray into it).

In past experiences I started from detailing backstory, including history. Most of the stuff I would write would be read internally; it would reach the end-user in a completely different format. Word count was never an issue because of this. Approaching this task with that method was my first mistake.

My second mistake was unfortunately unavoidable. At one point I realized that my submission lacked focus. I could see it in the "Legend" and I saw it in the "History", yet I was past the point of no return -- you know, when real-life obligations creep up on you and remind you that you have responsibilities. ;) What I should have done was delete most of the entry and focused in on more relevant aspects. Instead, my time just allowed me to make cuts and restructure what I already had in place. The rest was history.

As many of you noticed, I had a lot more in mind than what was posted. A lot more. So, I figure I'll spend the next couple of posts breaking some things down, and addressing some comments.

Again, thank you for this opportunity. I had a fun time with it!

I want us to get an adventure from somebody who will knock it out of the park the first time.

How many times have you heard stories from people in creative industries talking about how no one would give them a shot doing so-and-so? Yet, somehow, they managed to get in, and blew the socks right off their employers.

Not everyone learns or responds to feedback, submissions, testing, etc. the same way. Making it flexible can only be in your best interest. Sure, you might get one or two A's from a first-time submission out of a dozen people, but wouldn't you rather end up with six A's in the end?

An extreme analogy: Michael Jordan was the 3rd pick during 1984's draft. That didn't stop him from being one of the best basketball players the world has ever seen. Could you imagine what those first two teams felt after they realized what they passed up? :)

I think it's an interesting idea to have an "editing round' somewhere in the mix, but you're right that it's too late to do it at this stage of this contest.

One suggestion on how this could work, since I know time is going to be a factor if there is editing involved (not just by increasing the submission time length, but by also giving the judges more work to do): hand out "golden tickets".

By that I mean, allow a portion of the submissions to advance to the next round while the other spots are on reserve for resubmissions. So if 32 spots would be allowed for the best wondrous items, maybe the top 10 would be given these golden tickets, without needing a resubmission. Now there would be 10 good examples to go from, and the rest of the people vying for the remainder 22 spots could both benefit from the critique and seeing good examples.

The obvious disadvantage here would be that the top 10 contestants would have the ability to start working on their next submission, but this may not be a problem if the next submission has different guidelines than the previous year (i.e. next year you must submit a chaotically aligned country, the year after that must include a country with an arcane theme, etc).

Punching bag present!

What you suggest is exactly what I offer to the students in my classes. The critique is a great tool, as long as useful information is given -- just the "great job!, or "I don't like it!", isn't enough to work from. But specific suggestions and examples can lead to great resubmissions. I find that a good portion of my students who resubmit their assignments after the critique has been given, wind up submitting far better work. Quite often, all it takes is something to compare your work against and a classroom of people to barrage your work with tough-love.

I know that goes against the principles of a blind contest though, which is what this is. But, generally I think contests like those work for actual prizes (i.e. "Submit the best essay and win a round trip flight to Spain!"). For a contest like this though, in the future, I think Paizo could benefit from a critiquing/editing inclusion in the contest. They're looking for great content, right? Imagine how much better those 850+ wondrous items could have been if they were given just a little critique time. We'd likely be seeing a new magic item book release within the next couple of months. ;)

...it made me think too much of early 20th century racist thinking (and this was mentioned in the author's voice, not as a portion of the setting) and it really didn't fit well with me.

'

Perhaps commenting on this will get me DQ'd, and if it does, then so be it, but you need to realize that you're associating a derogatory term/intent with my name. There is no basis for your claim, nor anyone else's. Furthermore, it's completely false. What you're doing, by associating such a negative comment to my name (note, not my online "anonymous" username, but actually my real name), is defamation. This is not acceptable.

You're more than welcome to critique my work and point out the obvious flaws in my submission. Really, I can take it. Just don't look into something written and extract something that completely isn't true.

If you're so concerned about racism and discrimination as a topic, then I suggest you quit playing roleplaying games altogether. Dwarves don't like elves. Elves sometimes kill those that step foot in their territory. There have been countless battles over religion. D&D, and the fantasy genre itself, is rooted in human conflict ("humans" are partitioned into various races -- elves, dwarves, orcs -- instead of region), and if you're uncomfortable with conflict, then I'm not sure what you're doing playing D&D.

Again, please critique my submission to your heart's content. I could have submitted something better, you're absolutely right. I appreciate all of the feedback everyone has given me, and would love to hear more. But don't make things up and over analyze what is written just for the hell of it. I'm not hiding behind an anonymous mask here, so I expect you all to not hide behind anonymity and throw unjust claims towards me.

Add this is a random add on question. DM, how often to you found your players (those that attempt to push the limits of rules to play the game) choose neutral as their alignment.

It's funny you bring this up. A recent game saw 3 out of 5 party members playing true neutral characters. It was a mess since no one could agree on anything, causing the players to split their decisions one too many times (to the point where I had to put my foot down).

Going back to the item, here's an option to perhaps balance it out. You say the item takes one week to attune itself, so why not force the neutral character to choose which option he would attune it towards as long as it remains on him, instead of each day?

It wouldn't be that different than asking a neutral cleric whether or not they'd be choosing to turn or rebuke undead. The main difference being that the neutral character in this situation could remove the item, and have it re-attune in another week, giving them the alternate power should they want to switch. At that point, it wouldn't be unbalanced towards neutrality since it would take a full week to re-attune it anyway, and yet another full week should they want to swap back to the previous choice.

Ragwaine wrote:

3 Floridians in the top 32, no wonder my item didn't make it.

Am I counted in that 3? I saw to two from Sarasota.

I believe so. You, Joseph and I are representing America's swampland.

I think a fun game will be to respond to all of the comments with one word - and one word exactly.

Squeegee.

thatboomerkid wrote:

That's actually a really, REALLY good idea.

Done.

I agree. I might miss the ability to discuss things, but that way would leave no room for argument.

I will third the agree.

It's sometimes hard to take a critique with just a smile and a nod, but it also gives you a chance to sit back and absorb what someone else is saying. Whether you agree with what they're saying or not, that's a different story. :) But, in this case, it will certainly prevent you from accidentally DQ'ing yourself.

That leaves us with exactly 32 countries, right?

And 32,000 words to read. Quite possibly another good reason to limit our submissions to 1,000 words. This will be a looong week! ;)

On a similar but different note, I have to ask, what are each of you going to do about questions? We are expected to talk to the people who are looking at our countries and answer questions, yet we can not extrapolate further on our countries in case of disqualification. How do each of you intend to handle this? I am going to try and answer all design decision questions (i.e. why did you use x), but any specific questions (what is the architecture of q like) I'll answer after the voting. What are your thoughts on this.

WC

Honestly, I think I'm going to try and stay out of the conversation altogether, unless what I'm answering clearly doesn't add to my submission. Even if someone asks a "why" question, there's a chance that the explanation will give away too much.

3 Floridians in the top 32, no wonder my item didn't make it. You guys sucked up all the florida-karma. Actually I think it just means we're the biggest slackers in the country so we have the most time to work on D&D stuff.

What else are we going to do when it's summer and humid all year round? ;)

I would say change the spell to being a free/immediate/swift action and it would be worth the price.

Changing it to a swift action would make it worth that amount at once per day, I think. That's a good suggestion.

I think making it an immediate action would require making it more expensive. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I believe there's an item in the MIC that allows for an immediate action cure spell (but at a lower strength than cure light). I can't remember the price though.

The Hat of Disguise is on my "most annoying" list. Of course, I'm also an Eberron fan, and as a DM I rarely ever find a player willing to play a Changeling when the Hat of Disguise is available.

I don't blame it on the hat, though, since it was here first. Still, I can't help but clench my teeth when I see a player skip over the race when they can buy/make the class' trademark ability for 1,800/900gp, and get the benefits of another race in return.

I have a player right now playing a Changeling though. He's a roleplayer. God bless him.

I agree, in general I think it's good. I'm a fan of items that show gameplay/style flexibility, and items that shift based on alignment fall into that category. But, I also agree that this is a fairly expensive item for what it can do. Granted, in the long run it will be a lot cheaper than spending the gold on cure light wounds potions (and you do get the +4 to Heal), but that's still a hefty chunk of change.

Also, the name felt a bit misleading when used by someone with an evil, or perhaps neutral alignment (should they choose the evil benefit). I know the opposite of cure light is inflict light, but it didn't feel like a natural transition under the "Apothecary" title. The Craft (Poison) did, in my opinion, but not the spell effect.

...and well, a picture IS worth a thousand words (please don't hurt me)

Oh man, that was punny.

Wait, will I get hurt for saying that? ;)

I had the same sentiments. It was both exciting yet extremely frustrating to stay within that 1,000 word limit (assuming I did, since the number was different between five different word counters).

I wound up breaking my submission down into six key sections. When the rough draft of the first section added up to 500 words, I knew I was going to be in for a few long nights. Combined with the juggling of real life events (Thanksgiving/Christmas season, end of college semester... gah!), I'm surprised I haven't gone bald yet.

Good luck to the rest of you during this next round. I'm really excited to read what the rest of you came up with. I was very impressed by the round 1 submissions you all submitted, and I look forward to being just as impressed by the submissions this round. Best of luck!

Agregia [Ah-gre-zhuh]
“Gateway to the heavens”

Alignment: LN
Population: 5.2 million (24% are slaves)
Capital: Tivenus (pop. 789,200)
Notable Settlements: Visander (pop. 233,000), Yut (pop. 97,700)

Rulers:
- Triumvir Kylas, Tribune of the People’s Voice, Speaker of Tivenus
- Triumvir Shan, Tribune of the People’s Strength, Speaker of Visander
- Triumvir Tor, Tribune of the People’s Faith, Speaker of Yut

Government: Agregia is a republic, run by a chamber of forty-five councilors, each with a six year term. Councilors are elected by the common people: fifteen from the people, fifteen from the military, fifteen from the Conclave of Clergy.

Leading these councilors is a triumvirate, ordained as speakers for the Three Fathers, each serving three year terms. One triumvir is replaced every year, and fifteen councilors are replaced every two years. Triumvirs are elected by the councilors. Councilors and triumvirs must be pure-blooded humans.

The Tribune of the People’s Voice represents the people, guilds and commerce. The Tribune of the People’s Strength represents the army and militia. The Tribune of the People’s Faith represents the Conclave of Clergy. Agregians believe that divine and arcane abilities are deific blessings. Those practicing arcane arts without sanction of the Conclave of Clergy are branded heretics.

Legend: Tivenus the Elder and twin brothers Visander and Yut were the first three humans, given life by Agregia, mother of creation. Before leaving the heavens, she left her finest creations, the brothers, a gift: her hammer and chisel.

Honoring their mother, the brothers began working on humankind. Tivenus, wise and even-tempered, gave them form and free will. Visander, brash, yet protective, gave them strength and tenacity. Yut, gentle and inquisitive, gave them intelligence and curiosity.

Jealous of the gift, Agregia’s other creations – immortals representing the other races – sought to steal the hammer and chisel. Fearing their intent, Tivenus threw the hammer and chisel down from the heavens. Upon impact, a valley was created, but the hammer and chisel shattered across the continent. This valley was named after Tivenus, and humankind was born. As a result of the hammer and chisel shattering, humans were cursed with mortality. The immortal brothers became known to the mortal humans as the Three Fathers.

Their jealous cousins left the heavens and scoured the continent in search of the shattered pieces. No trace of their cousins has been seen or heard for several millennia. The Three Fathers, fearing what may have become of their immortal cousins, instructed humankind that, should the immortal cousins be found, they should be embraced, forgiven, and granted safe return to the heavens. If evidence is found that a cousin has been ill treated, then punishment must fall upon those responsible.

History: One thousand years ago, in 1233 AP (Age of Prosperity), Agregia, occupying the southwestern peninsula of Iblis, was declared a nation at the Treaty of Kings. Propped upon high cliffs and covered with fertile land, Agregia enjoyed isolation and self-sufficiency. There was a semblance of government at that time, as the humans of Agregia were simply content to farm their lands and pay homage to their deities.

In 1571 AP, war broke out across Iblis as countries vied for absolute control. Isolated in the corner of the continent, Agregia believed it would be spared involvement. Unfortunately, dwarves from the Lrokan Hills crossed into Agregian lands, sacking Yut. Agregia spent the next two years at war with Lrokan, but was defeated in 1573 AP.

The Agregians spent the next two hundred years under dwarven control learning about politics and the dwarven pantheon. When the atheist dwarf king, Thalrin, took control in 1798 AP, the Agregian people started a rebellion, which grew into a war. After four years of fighting under the banner of their Three Fathers, Agregia was reclaimed. Lessons learned from the Lrokan monarchy spurned them to form their own government: a republic.

The Agregians immediately set their sights on the Lrokan Hills. Tharlin’s atheistic beliefs catalyzed the Agregian doctrine of manifest destiny, thus provoking their expansion. For the next five hundred years Agregia continued its expansion of Iblis. Faithful nations were absorbed, non-believing civilizations were exterminated or enslaved, and Agregia’s pantheon grew.

Now, in 685 AC (Age of Conquest, 2256 AP), Agregia controls the southern half of Iblis. In the last seven centuries of war, Agregia has welcomed many people as citizens. Most of Agregia is now comprised of half, or mixed breeds: human, dwarf, orc, goblinoid and halfling.

Religion: Religion dictates Agregian motivations. When a faithful nation is conquered, Agregians accept their enemy’s deities and people as their own. This is the will of the Three Fathers. Temples to the new deities are erected, and homage is paid to the immortal cousins of the Three Fathers. Agregians believe that this will ultimately lift their mortal curse.

Diplomacy: Agregia offers identical terms to every nation, “Submit to the will of the Three Fathers, and allow their deific kin to return home. Do this and we will welcome you into our land as brothers and sisters. Deny us, and your homes will burn, your lives will be forfeit, and your children will be eternally bound to our wills.” If a conquered nation is found lacking in faith, then punishment, as deemed by the Three Fathers, is exacted.

DM Secrets:
- The human race is slowly becoming extinct after seven centuries of intermixing races. The Agregian government is scrambling to find a solution. It estimates that within the next century only 6% of Agregian citizenship will be full-blooded humans.
- The recently elected Triumvir Shan is a descendant of the dwarf king Thalrin. Centuries of his family intermixing that bloodline with human blood has helped him mask his dwarven features.
- The Conclave of Clergy has ratified an arcane inquisition. The public believes this is being done for their safety, since renegade sorcerers have led more than one rebellion. The truth is that the triumvirate has deemed it necessary to “cleanse” the noble houses of their half or mixed bloodlines.

Congrats! An interesting item idea at the least. It performs in a new and innovative way, which I like; something different.

I'm quite surprised to find another Contender from Sarasota, much less another entrant. Spend much time at the Dark Side?

As I said, congrats and good fortune in Round 2.

Thanks, and the same wishes to you!

Small world, isn't it? I've stopped by Dark Side once or twice, but only to look around. I'm still new to Sarasota, moving here back in July for work.

Thank you everyone for the great critiques, comments, and suggestions! Please keep them coming. :)

Just to confirm some assumptions: yes, this item was designed to rival the Gauntlets of Ogre Power, while not [intentionally] stepping on its toes. I wanted the gloves to present an option to the low-level player interested in upgrading their gear. Obviously, once the player could afford a Belt of Giant Strength, this item would become obsolete, but such is the life of low-level magical items. :)

The price is identical to the Gauntlets of Ogre Power, since I felt they were equally as powerful. Of course, "power" is relative to the situation. In games where combat is consistent (perhaps a dungeon crawl), I would imagine the constant +2 from the GoOP would be much more beneficial than a situational enhancement. But, if you're playing in a game where combat isn't always lurking around the next corner, these gloves might become more beneficial.

The overall intention was for flexibility in play styles, since one game may be RP-heavy (maybe just one fight, if you're lucky!), and another could see you spending a solid block of game time fighting. In the end, if in your play style you like taking risks, with a possibly higher reward, then go with these gloves. Otherwise, if you're more about consistency, then the GoOP are probably for you.

Going back to a previous comment about the visual appeal of the gloves -- it came down to a stylistic decision for me. Big black gloves with a skull on it definitely scream "melee", but the people I imagined using gloves like these were more interested in tactics over brute force. As such, I figured the ideal candidate wanted to be discreet about their combat prowess. So I decided to make them appear delicate and flimsy. It's in the same vain as calling a 6'8", 350lb. brute "Tiny". :)

Thank you for all of the comments, and thank you to the judges for deeming my entry worthy enough!

GLOVES OF ADAPTIVE COMBAT

Price (Item Level): 4,000gp (8th)
Body Slot: Hands
Caster Level: 6th
Aura: Faint; (DC 16) transmutation
Activation: (Swift) command
Weight: 1/2 lb.

Made of velvety, cream colored leather, and emblazoned with a circular symbol of three interwoven braids on each palm, these gloves are deceptively fragile-looking.

Light and form-fitting, these gloves are preferred by fighters who wish to conceal their true intentions. Gloves of adaptive combat have 3 charges, which are renewed each day at dawn. Spending 1 or more charges upon activation of the gloves grants the wearer a temporary enhancement bonus to their strength. Depending on the charges spent, the wearer will either gain a substantial bonus to their strength for a short period of time, or they’ll earn a small bonus to their strength for a long period of time. More detail can be found below.

• 1 charge: +6 enhancement bonus to strength for 1 round.
  
• 2 charges: +4 enhancement bonus to strength for 1 minute.
  
• 3 charges: +2 enhancement bonus to strength for 12 hours.