Theodoric The Red's page

Theodoric The Red wrote:

GARRECH'S PLANAR ABRAXAS

Aura - strong abjuration; CL - 15th
Slot - neck; Price - 135,000 gp; Weight - N/A

DESCRIPTION

This abraxas is a disk of cold iron...

Oh you were close. I dont know if you were top 62 but you were at least briefly in the kept folder.

Sean and Wolf both thought this was a bit narrow in focus. I wrote:

"That is actually a really cool item, in my view. However, it sure does goof up some higher level encounters and DM plot devices. :) I'm inclined to keep. Though I agree with Sean about dimensional lock being a more primary power than is detailed. I also think the intro part is over-written."

You got close. You're on the right track. You caught our attention, and that means you are doing something right!!!

Thank you very much for the feedback and the compliments. I have a couple of other ideas for next year's competition that I almost posted to the "Also-Ran" topic...but I don't want 'em stolen. ;)

Again, this is a great contest, if for no other reason that it has rekindled my DM spark.

Thanks again!

thefishcometh wrote:

Just to check, are you just going through the items in the order their requests were posted? I'm pretty sure that's what you're doing, but I can't quite tell. This warthog think good...

Yes, except for my occasional use of executive privilege to take one out of order :) Like the one by the 8 year old kid. How amazing is that?

You had earlier stated that you wouldn't necessarily answer all of our requests. So, if you have skipped one, should we assume you aren't going to get to it? (Mine was a few before the Gloves of Kindling, which you've already gotten to...so I'm curious.)

Thanks!

chopswil wrote:

ILLITHID

WoTC owns this, can't use it
big no-no

I thought WoTC owned "mindflayer" but not "illithid", as in one is a specific term, and the other is a general one?

I figured I'd be auto-disqualified because I didn't think those two things to be the same.... *defeated*

EDIT: Ok, lets put aside the fact that I'm a fool, overlooking something so basic... Clark, can you still give me some feedback about the general function and style of the item?

For your edification:

From the Hypertext d20 SRD (http://www.d20srd.org):

"The following monsters are considered "Product Identity" by Wizards of the Coast and are therefore not part of the SRD:

* beholder
* gauth
* carrion crawler
* displacer beast
* githyanki
* githzerai
* kuo-toa
* mind flayer
* slaad
* umber hulk
* yuan-ti"

And yes, this holds true for the 4e SRD as well. Which kind of sucks for my own campaign world...if I ever decide to publish it, that is. :P

=)D:

From what I understand, you can comment on your stuff whenever you want. The only restriction is that you can't discuss mechanics/process/etc. until after voting closes in each round. Until then, you can respond to feedback and the like. So, for Round One it is open discussion. Once the Round Two stuff goes up, you have to wait until after February 2nd to make anything beyond "Thank you for the kind words." type posts on your villain concepts.

Is that a correct interpretation of the rules, oh mighty Judges of Insanity?

=)D:

First, Clark, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our need for feedback. It is incredibly helpful.

Second, this contest is awesome! Even if you don't make it, it still created a drive to delve into my imagination and pull out some new stuff. It has motivated me to get back to work *whip crack* on my own campaign setting, which will be to the great benefit of my victims...er...players down the road. Especially the villain I was working on. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!

Anyway, here's the item:

GARRECH'S PLANAR ABRAXAS

Aura - strong abjuration; CL - 15th
Slot - neck; Price - 135,000 gp; Weight - N/A

DESCRIPTION

This abraxas is a disk of cold iron, inscribed with the ancient runes of a forgotten language and suspended within a cradle of platinum wires. Worn around the neck by a fine chain of platinum links, it feels cool to the touch until its power is activated, which causes a brief flare of near-painful heat to radiate from it, accompanied by a throb of dull, orange light.

Wearing the abraxas grants immunity to spells or effects that either hold one to this plane (i.e. Dimensional Anchor), force them to another plane (i.e. Banishment), or summon them from another plane (i.e. Summon Monster). The wearer can always choose to allow these effects.

Once per day, the wearer can also create an emerald aura around them in a 20-ft. radius with the effects of a Dimensional Lock spell, as if cast by a 15th level wizard, but only lasting 15 rounds.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements - Craft Wondrous Item, Dimensional Lock; Cost - 67,500 gp

[I'm guessing two things: Something abusable that I overlooked or costing/spell requirements are off. (Plus the spell names are capitalized. :P )]

Thanks again!

derek berdine wrote:

Ahhh...it all makes sense now. :)

=)D:

I think that's the whole "This is your local time" thing that confused a lot of people. So, I guess at 10 PM, your time, you'll get to see who advanced.

Edit: Just checked mine, and it says 5 PM, which is correct for EST.

You know, it pays to fully examine your account settings. Not only was my time zone set to GMT, but I didn't have an Avatar image or a proper name or anything! We're all straight now. :)

*kicks teeth out of own head*

Ahhh...it all makes sense now. :)

=)D:

I just noticed the update that states that those advancing in the first round will be posted at 2pm Pacific time ... which means I'll be bouncing off the walls until then, since I lucked into a day off.

72 hours to get your villain ready and submitted -- ready, set, write!

I'm a bit confused, however. On the main chart, it says the winners will be announced at 10:00 PM (I'm assuming PST). So I won't get to see the winners until midnight? That eight hours cuts a huge chunk off the Top 32's crunch time. :P

64 hours to get your villain ready and submitted!

(Maybe I should have taken some time off work, after all!)

=)D: