Sir William's page

Well, it's been fun. Now it's in the judges' hands.

Before I go, I'd like to say, deeply, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, that, if I don't advance to the Top 32, I hate each and every one of you who does. Seriously. I will devote the rest of my dwindling days on this earth to turning your lives into wretched tragic woe-operas of pain and misery. There is no length I will not go to, no plot too convoluted, no expense too great for the vengeance I will bring down upon those who have the temerity to advance if I do not. The ghostly victims of every blood-soaked vendetta in history will fall silent before the grim spectacle of my aggrieved onslaught. It will take years and cost millions of lives and billions in conventional weapons, but I will be requited this snub. You have been warned. It shall be so.

Okay then. I'm off to sketch a few tentative maps.

That post is Top 32!

You. You are a glorious item that fits a very specific niche of creative thought that caught my attention the very first time I saw you. I have voted for you over fifty times since the competition started, and you have deserved every one of those votes. You are also the only [redacted] that I have never voted down. Whoever designed this managed to write something clever and fun, and I really wish I could explain why it tickles me so thoroughly.

** spoiler omitted **

50 times. If the item makes the top 32, someone owes you a drink.

I've had it happen once (a single repetition of the same items). Too bad it wasn't your item. :)

Each time I see this item, movie music comes up in my head along with some very scenery-chewing acting.

Ennio Morricone?

I can forgive a little alliteration in an item name but rhymes are another monster.

Well, it was still the better of the two.

I'm still waiting for iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter always deserves an upvote.

In other words, my picks this year are exactly as predictive as picks made by a random number generator.

I'll take it! (Sewing Form of the Steel Seamstress)

This was the first year I've entered RPGSuperstar. While not making the top 100 was disappointing I'll satisfy myself with making Epic Meepo's Next 16, and with a few other positive comments that suggest that it wasn't without some promise.

Entering has been an illuminating experience in terms of what I've been doing correctly and what I have not. The critiques have been incredibly helpful (even if I wish they weren't valid) and the community positive even when pointing out errors.

I'm sorry you were forced to eat your hat (since one of those items is mine)!

I'll post the full text of my item here as soon as the critique thread opens. Looks like there is already both agreement and bewilderment at your choices. This is my first year entering and I look forward to hearing both the positive and the negative.

Now back to reading the Top 32 items!

Then some people began to complain and this community did three amazing things: first, it toned down the negativity. Second, it started other threads such as this one and contained the remaining negativity to the Ramble thread. And third it began to add more positive comments to the Ramble thread. It was quite astonishing and almost spontaneous without being asked for by the moderators.

That will always be what I took away most from the whole thing.

While the negativity didn't bother me much, there was certainly a noticeable shift that I can appreciate as a new participant. I've already said this in another post, but it seems worth repeating that I've been pleasantly surprised with community response to new players/posters/customers.

summon monster's mother

At least that works with my kids. "I'm mom, I win." "... okay."

While my mother was never a regular player, when I was in 6th-7th grade she hosted an ongoing game and sometimes would act as an reoccurring character. Specifically she enjoyed playing my (and my brother's) charcters' mother. It brought in some more mature play (characters considering what they do) but it was done well and didn't keep us from taking down some goblins.

When our characters were killed, her character, wanting revenge, became the major villian in our next game. That was our first exposure the a villian that had any depth we could understand.

(She slaughtered us).

This is the first time I have "taken part" on the boards. While I can't speak to past contributions there are [i]multiple[\] people who have posted above (Adam, is one) that have contributed to my opinion that this is an excellent community. Including one that went out of there way (privately) to make sure a new poster (me) didn't make a mistake. Communities are, regardless of systems, what pull players in. It has really pulled me into trying to game more often.

King Tius wrote:

Why does everyone want to turn into a monkey or a centaur?

Because monkeys are awesome!

In next round someone needs to make a monkey-centaur. That is a winner.

Shadders wrote:

Only 20% removed, but the difference to voting is palpable.

20% of items show up 36% of the time. (20% on the left, 20% on the right, overlapping 4% of the time), so it does make a very noticeable difference.

60% of the time, it works every time.

Eric Hindley wrote:

But I suspect newer voters might be more likely to be swayed by the negative comments of others, especially a perceived bias against the "auto-rejects" and bad formatting issues.

I have a bit more faith in first-time voters than that. I trust that they know a really cool item when they see it, and are savvy enough to realize that editors can make minor fixes to an item if that's all that's holding it back.

This is my first time as a voter. Somewhat new to the system, this is the first time I have followed the "Incessant" threads. While they have informed me of "things to avoid" for the next contest, if they have any influence on my vote, it is to give more leeway to minor editing problems (the judges can take care of that). Sean's informational posts (super-helpful) seemed obviously not really about "auto-rejects," which I think is repeated quite a few times.

(This) New Voter's Process:
1. Read it.
2. Pick my favorite if it is obvious.
3. If it isn't clear (because I don't know a rule) then I check the rule.
4. If it is still unclear I will not vote (has happened maybe once or twice)
5. If it isn't clear (because they are both good/bad) then format is a tie-breaker.

New voters that may be affected I suspect will not vote 100+ times. People taking that much time to vote (hopefully) will be those reading everything and then forming an opinion. I think most that might be swayed may have voted down those type of issues regardless.

That item is simple, makes sense in a "did they travel back in time and remove it from the core" sort of way, and is useful enough to want without having huge powers. Congrats to person who will not be able to know if I am talking about their item.

The rhyme scheme in your item will not save it from my scorn.

I expect that the creator will be somewhat forlorn.

Thanks... person who said something nice about my item! A curse on the person that said something less positive (specifically for being correct).

As a first time as a participant in RPG Superstar, it certainly has been interesting looking through all of these items (and these comments). Definitely gives one insights into what to do and not to do.