Hey there. This was my first year in the contest. I've only got about six months of Pathfinder experience total, entirely through Society play, but I saw the contest and figured "why not?"
I think I gathered most of what I did wrong through the snark thread, but if anyone has specific feedback they'd like to give, I'd appreciate it.
Armbands of the Mummers’ Duel
Aura faint illusion and transmutation; CL 1st
Slot wrists; Price 1,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
Sewn together from many small pieces of cloth in billowing, feathery layers, the armbands of the mummers’ duel are favored by acting troupes, which often must play great battles without the skill to portray them in a safe and yet convincing manner. With the armbands’ aid, the wearer can deliver crowd-pleasing blows to the head with an earth breaker and leave fellow actors merely dazed instead of dead.
Armbands of the mummers’ duel come in pairs, and once per day may be activated as a swift action by touching them to one another, an act traditionally worked into a dance or pose. For the next minute (or until the effect is dismissed as a free action) the wearer’s blows do nonlethal damage. This nonlethal damage never becomes lethal; all nonlethal damage by the wielder while the armbands of the mummers’ duel is activated that would exceed a target’s maximum hit points is ignored. While the armbands’ magics blunt any actual harm, illusions play into the wearer’s swings and scatter ephemeral blood, adding a +5 competence bonus to any skill checks made to convince watchers that the blows are deadly.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, magic weapon, silent image; Cost 500 gp