bcgambrell's page

In the Tomb of Yarrix, there is a forbiddance spell in place which the module describes as "warding the entire level." The spell description of forbiddance states that it "seals an area against all planar travel into or within it. This includes all teleportation spells (such as dimension door and teleport), plane shifting, astral travel, ethereal travel, and all summoning spells. Such effects simply fail automatically."

Yet, there are several summoning devices and/or the trap which relies on teleportation as a means of escape. The description in the module states the spell is there to prevent Yarrix and her cronies from leaving, but does the foriddance spell prevent summoning and/or teleportation within the level itself (as the spell's description states.)

Can I suggest that Paizo alter, extend or suspend the website's automatic "time out" back to the main page? I'm timing out before the website has finished the personalizing my download. I've gotten two done, but I think it more to blind luck.

Thanks John for coming out once more and bring lots of smiles and laughs to SCARAB. We love having you and hope to see you again in 2017. Team Rat-Monkey is already planning to make sure we get on a John Compton table for year 7.

Team Rat-Cheese-Monkey you mean.

Roll for sanity loss.

bcgambrell wrote:

Too bad no one got a pic of the lady dressed like Lirianne (the iconic Gunslinger) that Mike Brock and I spoke to in front of HQ. Her costume was fantastic.

In the future, be sure to send anyone cosplaying Pathfinder characters to the Paizo booth so they can participate in the annual costume contest. I wish I'd seen that costume!

Roger Wilco. I know Mike gave one of her friends his email because she was inquiring about the process of becoming a venture officer. If she emailed Mike, then maybe this friend will have some photos. My phone was screwed up and that's why I didn't take any pictures.

Too bad no one got a pic of the lady dressed like Lirianne (the iconic Gunslinger) that Mike Brock and I spoke to in front of HQ. Her costume was fantastic.

The better question for consideration would be "Can a 1st level Wizard have a blank wand as arcane bonded item in PFS?" A logical would up would be "What would the replacement cost for for a MW ring, amulet or blank wand be on PFS?"

I think Ezekiel nailed them all except for Jester's Squealy Nord.

My seven year son's favorite joke:

Why do sharks not eat clowns?

Clowns taste funny.

My favorites:

Why do sharks not eat lawyers?

Professional courtesy

What's the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?

One is bottom-living, scum-sucking scaleless monster and the other is a fish.

What bothered me was he's not a villain to me, he's a pawn. He's working for someone else, and is just a limb. Slaughtering his minions won't set him back, in a few days he's up to full strength again. That's part of the reason DMs hate Thrallherds. Thralls/Believers are like Doritos.

The four I voted for I did because I saw them as villains. King of the hill, top of the heap. They don't work for anyone except themselves. Even Seskadrin, though he follows a power, is working to build his kingdom, not someone else's.

Who's have thought that we'd have a psionic something that Clark liked but it didn't gel for me? Sorry Mr. Yerger, I'd use him as an anti-Marcus, but don't feel he's a 'villain' in what I'm looking for.

I've been tough on Joseph (particularly in the first round), but I thought this was a good villain (although it didn't make my list, sorry.)

Some of the other entries have garnered "what does it mean to be a villain" discussion, and I have to respectfully disagree with Matthew. A minion can make a great villain. Take Darth Vader as an example. Darth Vader is one of the best villains of all time, but you find out later he's just a flunky for someone much worse. Sometimes, its good to have a villain that is a path to a bigger plot line.

bcgambrell wrote:

I think the point of this villain (could be) that villains come in all sizes. There are the monumental, earth-shattering Sauron/Darth Vader/Voldemort variety villains as well as your common, ordinary wacko fat woman who steals babies style villain. If she had a name like "Gorgorth the Wretched" then who in their right mind would hire her as a midwife? I think the common name is part of the camouflage that makes this villain so interesting.

Getting strange looks here for LMAO for the thought of "Gorgorth the Wretched, the village midwife". Something out of Monty Python.

Yes, I liked the name too.

Yeah...I went through several iterations before settling on "the Wretched." I batted around "the Corpulent" or "the Butterball." However, "Wretched" just had a "Gorgorth" type feel.

Incidentally, Gorgorth is a name I made up for the common cold. It is a running gag with a friend of mine that people would be more concerned about spreading diseases if diseases had scary sounding names. "Sorry, I can't come over. I came down with a touch of Ergonath the Pestilent after eating some bad Chinese food." No way you'd let someone in your house if they told you that. "Cold" or "flu" just doesn't sound as scary.

Just a comment to all the people who don't like the name of this villain... she IS a miller. Her hideout is in her family's old MILL. Henrietta is an odd choice, but I like it, especially changed to "Hettie."

But Miller is perfect. Actually, I can see my players figuring out that she's the villain, and she goes into hiding, and they say "Where would she go?" They look at the map and see an abandoned mill... and when they get there, the whole story comes together.

Not that I think it's a required clue to the plot, but it's a piece of the puzzle that helps unify the story.

Good point. I had noticed the miller/mill, but failed to note it while I was making my post.

Everyone's downing the name, but I disagree. Its a good "human" name if you're running a game where people have last names.

I think the point of this villain (could be) that villains come in all sizes. There are the monumental, earth-shattering Sauron/Darth Vader/Voldemort variety villains as well as your common, ordinary wacko fat woman who steals babies style villain. If she had a name like "Gorgorth the Wretched" then who in their right mind would hire her as a midwife? I think the common name is part of the camouflage that makes this villain so interesting.

Someone also brought up an interesting point about her "children." What will the paladin or a fighter in the group do when he's confronted with having to fight a child that is erroneously fighting to the death to protect his or her "mother?" Most gamers are indeed very callous, and this would a great way to give "good" characters a stark lesson on the true nature of good and evil. If the paladin just wades through killing her minions to only find out he's no longer considered "good" by his deity or church would be a stunning campaign aftermath.

Sometimes evil is "buhwahhhahaha kill 'em all" style evil; sometimes evil are misguided intentions gone horribly wrong. This is a villain who became what she is through abuse and neglect. Unlike all of the other villains in the contest, she's also the most capable of redemption. Maybe she needs to be executed or imprisoned for her horrible crimes, but it would be interesting twist if the players sought her redemption. After all, that's what makes Return of the Jedi compelling. After all of the evil Vader did (including butchering a room full of children), he was able to reach a measure of redemption by Luke. That makes for some great "role" playing instead of "roll" playing.

It got my vote, anyway.

Although the number of "babies" was really high (I have 2 lil' monsters myself...dude, do you have kids? 60? Geesh.), I love the concept. Its a great urban villain to provide a great challenge to low level characters. It beats the "go defeat the goblin chief" routine I've run into. If you’ve got a party with a rogue and a bard, this villain is perfect...druid and ranger not so much. A friend of mine has a thieves guild in his campaign that uses orphan children as its low-level thieves, so that would’ve been a good explanation for what the children do in their spare time.

This reminds of a comic or fairy-tale villain, but I can't put my finger on it.

It reminds me of Kandor, the bottled city from the Superman comics, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandor

It didn't make my top 5, but it is an interesting concept. It seems like a great bad guy plot-hook to snare a bunch of do-gooder adventurers, but not really somewhere to be "from."

I read the name and starting singing to myself ..."Getcha motor runnin'...head out on the highway...lookin' for adventure, whatever comes our way. BORN TO WILD!" Geez...I'm old.

DCII wrote:

varianor wrote:

Whoa. There's nothing wrong with taking an existing item and redoing it. The point of Round One of this contest (as we know in hindsight) was cool ideas. He's got a cool idea. Good designers take SRD stuff and rework it all the time. He didn't plagiarize and the item is different. If there's a similarity in wording, well so what?

PLAGIARIZE

Main Entry: pla·gia·rize
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): pla·gia·rized; pla·gia·riz·ing
Etymology: plagiary
Date: 1716
: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source
intransitive verb
: to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

I respectfully disagree and I am sorry to Robert and the judges (please put on your thick skin before reading further) but this contest was billed as searching for original ideas. This subject has come up in other posts and is starting to be a recurring and legitimate gripe of a number of people. One of the judges job in any contest is to limit the liability of the sponsor company, there have been numerous requests for decks and other publications of these items. This is a clear case of an item that could probably not be published without crediting the source for the words used as they at least partially appear to not be wholly original content. Some creative word-smithing could have avoided this issue which leaves me wondering is this really superstar material, there are so many good items that didn't make the cut, this one just seems a little out of the superstar realm.

I disagree it isn't plagiarzed because it is open game content which may be modifed as desired under the Open Game License. The only gray area would be the Open Game License wasn't added to the entries but I believe I was the only idiot in the contest who was stupid enough to attach it to an entry since I wasn't aware I could have hidden...

Sigh:: I could try and explain in detail the difference between a license and something in the public domain. However, I figure its useless. "To those who disbelieve, no explanation is possible; to those that believe, no explanation is necessary." To sum up, D&D is under a license, and you have to comply with the license. I dare you to publish your own copy of D&D, and pull out our stopwatch to see how fast you get sued. However, pick up a copy of the King James Bible and publish your own copies of it. That's fine because the KJV Bible is in the public domain: no one owns it.

The Gloves of Legerdemain is a decent idea, but my only problem is the cut-and-paste job. I don't think it is arguable as Viktor amply demonstrated; the similarities are simply too striking to be coincidence. If it were up to me, I would disqualify Gloves of Legerdemain.

The Gloves of Legerdemain has an opposite problem to the Elemental Quiver posts (which concerned something out a WOTC published book) which I objected to. The gloves are arguably a new way to use an old ability; however, I think its the execution that is poor, particularly by cutting and pasting existing flavor text. The Quiver, which I don't think is an "original" idea, at least had differing flavor text.

I have also noticed a tendency to "shoot the messenger" by the oft-used "sour grapes" rejoinder when someone has raised a legitimate concern about a winner. I have noticed the "its all sour grapes" proponents usually include the pithy "and go away and shut up" somewhere in their well thought out response. It is an ad hominem attack that does little to advance the discussion. My item didn't make it, and I am perfectly fine with that. I've seen most of the items posted on the "loser" thread, and I feel no shame to losing to those items, either.

I think Paizo should be commended for having a contest like this. I really like 30 of the items that were chosen, and I think the judges had a tough job. I help run a local gaming convention (WARNING: SHAMELESS PLUG: www.roundcon.com), and I can absolutely tell you that gamers are breed apart from the rest of humanity. Ergo, anyone willing to run a contest FOR GAMERS has to either be certifiably insane or extremely brave.

However, I guess I have a disturbing inner need to have contest rules applied fairly and evenly. This particular item is one of two incidents where I just don't the item was "original." I don't know how the "behind the scenes" of the contest was run, but I would suggest next time (if there is a next time) there should done a little different. It seems that the judges are having to not only judge for content, but also judge for rules compliance. Maybe next time there should a vetting committee that makes sure the entry rules are complied with and the contestants are duly qualified. That way, the judges can focus on whether solely on who is a winner.

Mike Olson wrote:

I'm working on a little something called Vecna's Cursed Coin of Awesome Foresight for next year. Watch for it!

I hope there aren't too many Vecna-themed items to crowd out my Prostate of Vecna

Evilturnip...one of its powers absolutely has to have something to with travel! Love it!

varianor wrote:

holylink718 wrote:

1) Hmm...I've read and re-read my post, and I can't seem to find the part where I did that.

Technically no, you never came out and said it. However you directly imply it and you know it. Please. We're all smart enough here to read between the lines. (And no, you haven't "won" because I'm not responding on point #2. I'm just not continuing the argument.)

I'll never understand the human tendency to tell others that "you know what they were thinking" because, quite frankly, you don't. I was by NO means saying, suggesting, implying, or thinking what you told me I was. I shall keep my opinion to myself in the future. No hard feelings, I'm just tired of being called a "sour grape" or whatnot just because I disagree with the judges.

Good day to you all.

I'm the one that started the hit parade against this item, and I've kind of passively watched this discussion go on. My fundamental problem with this submission is the contest rules stated "original." I personally defined "original" apparently far more narrowly than the judges. I define "original" as

"2. new; fresh; inventive; novel: an original way of advertising.
3. arising or proceeding independently of anything else: an original view of history."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/original

I know there is the "it replaces not adds damage" rejoinder, but IMHO that is sophistry. It would be like someone submitting a "Heward's Handy Dufflebag" or a "baseball cap of intellect"...an item that is slightly different but clearly been done before.

I think in the future the judges should clearly define what "original" means. Does "original" mean "it hasn't appeared in print." Does it mean "It hasn't been printed by WotC before?" Does it only mean "Its not in the SRD." If it is "not in the SRD", that means a lot of people might have done things differently.

ancientsensei wrote:

Erik Mona wrote:

Feel free to post your non-advancing items in this thread. We don't mind.

Well, since the Man Himself has said so, I'll post mine. I welcome any input, especially from designers, but I expect the judges will decline since that request cannot fairly be made by everyone:

Prescience Pillow

Does too much and makes exploring not a hassle. Not any bounds or guidelines on how much trap info they get and the +2 bonus lasts too long and appears to be stackable, that is, on day 7 I can have a +14 stacked up and ready to use.

I saw this style of comment under the "Pet Peeves" thread, and I had some thoughts about that. In a world (like ours) without magic, many of the annoyances of daily life is dealt with by technology. Do you have a toilet in your house? Your grandparents (or likely great-grandparents) probably didn't. 100 years ago, people couldn't fly. Within the last ten years or so, cell phones went from bulky items only few could afford to iPhones, Razrs, etc. In short, there was a need for a device, and the need was met by technology.

However, what about the need for technology in a world with magic? Think about it. In a way, the fantasy world of D&D is more "advanced" that the 21st century. A person cannot fly without a bulky jet pack or more, let alone teleport anywhere else on Earth instantly. Any disease, injury, or even death itself can be instantly and completely cured. In a world like D&D, anyone with sufficient intelligence or wisdom (with experience) can cast magic. In a fantasy world, would an airliner or a car be invented? What about mass farming in a world where magic can create food? What about landfills when you could open a gate to the elemental plane of fire, etc. Why electricity when even a novice magician can create light at will?

If you compare magic items prices to other mundane items, magic items are bargain. Most characters are absurdly wealthy by the time they reach 20th level. Ergo, why wouldn't a wealthy person want to deal with the hassles of common life when he instead he could use magic to overcome the inconvenience. When was the last time Warren Buffet or Bill Gates flew on a commercial airline? A moderately powerful character has a dragon-slaying sword, a back pack that holds 3 times more than it should, but he's going to rough it? An adventurer makes his "living" by adventuring. An adventurer would buy whatever he could to make adventurer easier and less of a "hassle."

Gene Roddenberry had it right when he invented the transporter for Star Trek. One reason was the cost of special effects made shuttle landing sequences too expensive, but also no one wants to see how Kirk, Spock, etc. got to the planet...they wanted to see what they did when they got there. In other words, Roddenberry didn’t want the tedium of travel to interfere with the story. Now can being lost in the woods or desert lost, hungry, and tired a good story? Yep. Is it a good story for characters who teleport around the globe in a thought? No.

In the games I play, I don't like counting how many days rations I've got or gallons of water I'm toting. I want to get to dungeon and find the bad guy. After all, that’s why haversacks, bags of holding, and portable holes are so popular. They allow you for the most part to carry a lot of stuff (and loot) without worry necessarily about how much it weighs. I guess it is a style of play thing. Roleplaying out the tedious nature of daily life is boring; real life is tedious enough.

Handy potion bottle

This bottle is typically fashioned of a hard metal and designed to have negligible weight. It is usually about three inches in length and one inch in diameter with a hinged stopper. Inside the bottle is a nondimensional space allowing it to hold up to six doses of a potion, each dose must be of the same kind of potion. When it is empty the bottle can be refilled with either the same or another kind of potion.
Drinking a dose from this bottle does not provoke an attack of opportunity and is considered a swift action, refilling the bottle is a standard action for each dose.
If the bottle is placed inside a bag of holding or portable hole then a rift to the Astral Plane is torn in the space, both items are sucked into the void and forever lost before the rift closes.

Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item, secret chest; Price 2,600 gp (Price is for an empty bottle)

I like it. I guess you could put water in it, too. You seemed to be aiming for what I thought would be a "superstar" item: an item like the Handy Haversack or a portable hole that no adventurer would dare leave town without.

Erik Mona wrote:

Feel free to post your non-advancing items in this thread. We don't mind.

*snip*

Prescience Pillow

Another quality, unique item.

bcgambrell wrote:

Boxhead wrote:

Everflapping Cape

Freakin' sweet! I love it!

Heh, at least someone did...

I like it because it combines a useful item with the ability to recognize its still part of a game.

CNB wrote:

I was just commenting in the context of the thread, which went:

bcgambrell: This item is an exact copy of X
Erik Mona: Well, we can't be aware of every item out there.

Which seemed to me to be a little cavalier towards the implicit accusation.

Uh, if there was plagiarism, it's an automatic disqualification. But no one has stepped forward with evidence of that. So I'm not sure what's cavalier about it, exactly.

If someone wants to level the charge, do so. If not, I think a good item is being unfairly tainted by whispers of impropriety, and that's shameful.

Whether its intentional plagiarism or designed independently, I think the larger point is that this item should be disqualified because it lacks originality. There are items that made the cut that certainly very original.

I would disqualify the item I submitted (Portable Pavilion of Perfect Pause), too. My item did far more the Personal Oasis, but it is too similar to get by. I am sure Joseph Yerger created his item without looking at the one book that has a large compilation of 3.5 items. I looked through MITC before I wrote my item up, and I missed Personal Oasis completely. I found it tonight when I was trying to find the Quiver of Energy. I would have hoped someone would have vetted the winners because I'm sure you would eventually want to publish those items without WotC breathing down your neck later.

I thought the point of the contest was to find someone who had a command of the source material, too. After all, I sure you wouldn't want someone to submit a copy of nation like Cormyr or Gondor regardless of how ignorant its creator was that someone had done it before.

Everflapping Cape

Freakin' sweet! I love it!

I wasn't "charging" plagiarism. I'm sure the author worked hard and came up with (in his opinion) an original item. I discovered an item tonight in the MITC that was very similar to one I had submitted, too. It seemed, IMHO, the rules stressed originality. The item is a good idea, but somebody else had the same good idea before. If originality were the crucial consideration, then I don't see how Elemental Quiver made the cut.

Here's mine:

Portable Pavilion of Perfect Pause

This ordinary-looking tent stake provides convenient traveling accommodations. The activation word transforms the stake into a fully erected small tent camouflaged for its environment (+10 Hide check). The pavilion secures to the ground regardless of hardness, and it is able to withstand winds up to hurricane force without failing. The interior is the size of a large pavilion tent and is furnished with seven fully made beds with winter blankets and a large table with chairs. There is enough additional space for ten medium sized creatures to comfortably sleep on the floor. The temperature within the pavilion is controlled as the Tiny Hut spell. The pavilion’s flap is not magically secured versus intrusion, but it can be tied shut from inside. The pavilion provides enough meals and drinks for seven three times a day, and resting within the pavilion for 2 hours gives the benefit of 8 hours of sleep. A second command word reverts the pavilion to the stake expelling everything not conjured by the pavilion. Cutting the pavilion or breaking the stake ruins its magic.

Moderate evocation . CL: 6; Craft Wondrous Item; Disguise Self; Create Food & Water; Tiny Hut. Price: 15,000 gp

Notes

I struggled with a long time which spell (bouncing between Tiny Hut and Magnificent Mansion...probably in retrospect should have went with Magnificent Mansion) I later found a similar item in the Magic Compendium (Personal Oasis pg. 168) If its similarity is what kicked it out, then somebody better have a good explanation for how Quiver of Energy (pg. 172) and Elemental Quiver are different enough to win.

My other idea:

Collapsible Closet of Cleaning

This small ordinary box (14 in long, 3 in deep) contains a useful means of storing clothes and keeps them ready for use). Upon command, the box expands and unfolds (taking one full turn to complete) into a wooden rack with hangers capable of handling 20 changes of clothes, robes, etc. (If it fits on a standard clothes hanger, it can fit within the closet.) All of the items contained therein are perfectly pressed, cleaned, and ready for use. For the purposes of extradimensional space, treat the closet as a bag of holding and the closet cannot contain a portable hole without similar explosive results. A second command word reverts the closet to the small box.

Moderate conjuration. CL: 9; Craft Wondrous Item; Secret Chest, Prestidigitation. Price 2,500 gp.

How is this item original? It is almost an exact copy of the "Quiver of Energy" found on page 172 of the Magic Compendium.

Boots of Stinking Retreat

On command once per day, these boots emit a stinking cloud from the back heels. The cloud is as per the spell except the cloud forms a cone (10 ft. height and 50 ft. long) as the cloud streams from the back of the boot, if the wearer is running, as is usually the case. If the wearer is standing still, the cloud forms a sphere as per the spell and the wearer is affected by the cloud as normal.

That is a great item. This is the kind of item that I thought would be a real winner.