benjover's page

benjover wrote:

Yikes! I was with you until this very scary line. I hope you don't ever seriously wonder about freedom of speech being a "good thing".

That's taking her comment out of context and isn't fair. Her main point, as I understand it, is not much different than mom's best advice: "If you dont have anything nice to say, dont say anything at all."

I got her main point. As I said I was with her until that line, but any time anybody questions freedom of speech in any aspect/context it makes my skin crawl. And I simply said I hoped that wasn't what she really meant by that line. So thanks for defending her but I'm sure she's more than capable of expressing herself and clearing up any missgivings her line on freedom of speech may have incurred...if she feels so inclined, if not, no biggie, it's off topic anyway.

In alphabetical order.

Michaels
Miller
Morton
Phillips
Polak
Ross
Rust
Vaneekhoven

This kind of inconsiderate use of your freedom of speach makes me wonder if freedom of speach is a good thing.

Yikes! I was with you until this very scary line. I hope you don't ever seriously wonder about freedom of speech being a "good thing".

As for the original post, I too was surprised that the submissions weren't a little better. But I had no problem picking 8 to vote for that I thought were more than worthy to move on. I understand that the constraints...I mean rules...for this round were very hard to work with because I had made my own organization under those guidelines and it was difficult. So I give props to all who submitted their organizations in round 2, even if a few fell short, and I look forward to all the up coming rounds.

Well played sir, well played. It certainly gave all my jollies a good jiggle. And to make that Hitler scenario, (which I thought had been completely played out), fresh and funny again took some major skills. *hats off*

Flumph (anyone else remember this marshmallow sugar rush?)

Portable Camp Fire
Self Erecting Tents
Space Hoppers
Many Pocket Purses (just trust me, ok?)
Brutal Nappy of the Witch Queens Daughter

Nice list.

And please tell me there are stats on the Brutal Nappy.

I submitted a "hairball" and another contestant submitted a sponge. After seeing the judges reactions to just the basis of the item I have learned that there are just some things, no matter what kind of cool you think you're adding to them, that will not be considered Superstar. In other words you can polish a turd all you want in the end its still a turd. So I thought this might be a fun and educational way to learn me and others that there are some things that Superstar just won't accept.

I shall start the list with two I know won't fly.
Hairball
Sponge
And two I think won't be accepted.
Bedpan
Lint

Please add any that you think would not make the Superstar cut.

Sponge Stone Maid

I liked your idea but then again I submitted a "hairball". I feel your pain my friend.

Well, I think you missed the real problem, though it is astute of you to note the save issue.

The real problem is that your Superstar entry was basically a hairball. That's just not superstar....

Got it, I will definitely be crossing "hairball" off the submission list. Are there any other items I should avoid that would strike you gentlemen as not up to superstar caliber? I'm thinking you guys might not be impressed with an outhouse even if said outhouse took you on ‘Bill & Ted’ like awesome adventures. *scratches ‘Outhouse of the 9 Hells’ off list in advance*

In all seriousness, thank you so much for the extra information and the time you took to give it. I feel much better after getting your detailed/encouraging review. I will definitely take it, learn from it, and submit again next year.

benjover wrote:

Gibber Bane

I'd rather see something that would apply to a witch with the animate hair hex. Also, looks like silence-in-a-can.

I was kind thinking of this as a witch item. Perhaps if I crafted it specifically for witches and made it some thing other than a "hair ball", I would have done better. Thanks, Ivan. :)

benjover wrote:

Gibber Bane

*Ouch. I hope you have some thick skin. We were not kind.

*A hair ball? Your Superstar submission idea is a hair ball?

*Vote to Reject.

*(No saving throw, too... ancient red dragon has to spend a standard action clearing its mouth so it can use its 20d10 breath weapon.)

*Reject.

*Rejected.

But it was a really cool hairball! :D Thank you Neil, I'll try and steer away from "gross" stuff in the future. And I do have thick skin...covered in thick manly man hair. :D Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Also I would like to thank anybody else that might have some more detailed criticism on my item.

Gibber Bane

Aura faint transmutation and conjuration; CL 3rd
Slot -; Price 4000 gp; Weight -

Description

This three inch long hair-like strand of black fibrous material wiggles to life when touched. If placed against any surface where hair follicles grow it roots itself in, sinking one of its three inches underneath the surface of the host’s skin. This results in a slight itching sensation but causes no other ill effects.
Once a day gibber bane can be easily plucked from the body and commanded to fill a target’s mouth with writhing hair. These hairs completely clog the mouth disrupting bite attacks, breath weapons, and speech for 1d3+1 rounds. As a standard action the target may attempt to fish the hairs out of its mouth reducing this duration by one round and provoking attacks of opportunity. If a target has multiple mouths, every mouth is affected. Gibber bane may only be used on a single target within 60 feet of the host.
Gibber bane re-grows on the host’s body 24 hours after being used. It can be permanently removed with a special pair of tweezers that are usually purchased, or found, with it. This removal does not destroy gibber bane and allows it to be reapplied.

Construction

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, entangle, summon swarm; Cost 2,000

=========================

Reviewing it myself I see a couple of problems. Price is too low and I think I should have allowed for a save against its effects.

Ahh! Hive mind! I had a wondrous item just like this only it was a hand on a chain that would "snap" you out of being dazed and slap you back into consciousness. That being said of course I think your item is top notch, you executed very nicely and I can't wait to see what you come up with next.
Now if you'll excuse me *sniffle* I have some business *sob* to attend to. *crosses potential wondrous item off next years entry list*

These gloves make me want to adventure north and challenge the first NPC we come across to a "one-on-one" snowball fight. But seriously these gloves are great, with a few minor glitches I believe the judges covered already. The sleight of hand thing is over powered and, (this is nitpicky, but a rule), your required spells are supposed to be in alphabetical order, WOOP! I don't know why anybody would have issues about them resembling real world magician gloves, I actually dig that kind of cleverness, it totally adds to the flavor...it also makes me want to take a few ranks in perform-dance so I can moon walk and throw "magic dust" all over my adoring fans...those of legal age, of course.
After some minor edits these gloves should definitely get an honored place in a Pathfinder book someday. I'll definitely be adding them to my game.
All and all an excellent job Josh, I can't wait to see what you come up with in the coming rounds.

This item is awesome enough to make me salivate when pondering the fun I could have with it and the Improvised Weapon Mastery feat. I LOVE the flavor of it and want to get my character's battle thirsty hands all over it. It's so hard to pick a favorite out of the top 32 but if somebody put a sword tip to my temple I would probably say this is #1.

I like this item a lot. I know you were probably trying to give it as much gunslinger flavor as possible with the perception penalty being negated by grit but I would penalize a gunslinger the same as everybody else on that one. Other than that it's solid as a stone...er, rock, I mean.

This is one of my favorite entries this year. I'm definitely going to be making a case for this one to be available in our gaming group.
I can't wait to set up a horse thief with this thing, as soon as he gets going full speed "Command Word" baby and watch that sucker fly!!! Muwhahahaaa!

I like this one a lot. The only drawback is the ki. Share this awesome item with every class! You know what they say, spread the wealth and the wealth will spread you...like butter on toasty goodness...oh wait, who said that? Never mind. Great item, can't wait to read your organization.

You two owe me a morning. Behold:
** spoiler omitted **...

My friend, that was a work of art. *wipes awe drool away from corner of mouth* And I shall send you two breakfast sandwiches and one potato side of your choosing in exchange for the one lost morning.

Bag of Endless Caltrops. Just call me the Johnny Appleseed of punctured feet.

Naw, they did pictures last year (though for monsters is does set up a bit of a different angle). No, no, the twist will be something like use only universal monster rules, or the entire entry must be a palindrome. There will be a CR restriction, or must incorporate a template somehow, or be a playable race, or must be a variant on some obscure subtype. It must be subject to some manner of dietary restriction, yeah that's it! And must be made of cloth

Hahahaaa! Yeah! Those last two gave me an idea. A patchwork rabbit that only eats carrots dipped in the blood of virgins that are of the local legal drinking age.

I have two, basically have two monsters finished, and I'm on to my encounter. Anyone want to check my math on an advanced fiendish half-dragon tarrasque?

It's good your getting that far into your future rounds but as far as the monster goes I have a funny feeling we might be seeing some pictures to select from that we then have to draw stats up for.

Finally entered, hope its what the judges are looking for.

Only thing I'm worried about is it's meant to be a fun item and I hope the judges don't interpret it as funny instead and reject it as being a gag.

benjover wrote:

Crap!!!!

And I was just thinking about finally getting around to downloading my Pathfinder PDF's!

Damn you procrastination! And damn you WOTC!

If only I'd checked my email yesterday. SOB

Dude. Pathfinder has nothing to do with WotC. Paizo has no intention of taking away the pdf rights for Pathfinder.

This affects only digital products from TSR, and from WotC.

Sweet, thank you!

I was playing with my Jump to Conclusions matt and got carried away.

Crap!!!!

And I was just thinking about finally getting around to downloading my Pathfinder PDF's!

Damn you procrastination! And damn you WOTC!

If only I'd checked my email yesterday. SOB

benjover wrote:

Spoon of Dragons Diet

Change this to "any inanimate non magical material" and drop the damage aspect and you have a solid item.

But I just finished reading The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance and he had a very similar item in it. And he wrote in the 1960's.

I was trying to make it more flavorful, but that would simplify it without taking too much away. Good suggestion.

Heh, dang, seems somebody has thought of everything already. So much for originality.

Thanks for your feedback, Patrick.

1. Nausea Pill

2. Lantern of Selective Perception

3. Beacon of Hope

Honorable mentions: Migrus Locker & Elemental Quiver

This is my favorite item out of the bunch, except for the name of course. I think I would have called it Bitter Bite.

benjover wrote:

Clark Peterson wrote:

allen trussell wrote:

Clark, since so many have asked, and you've kindly responded, would you mind critiquing my item? Thank you.

Would you be so kind as to critique mine as well? I'm very interested in seeing your, and the other judges, opinion on my item. Thanks!

Spoon of Dragons Diet

This silver spoon is of fine make its handle is made of ivory and bears intricate carvings of dragons. When the spoon is held and the command word spoken, any solid material scooped into the spoon becomes an edible paste.

The spoon can scoop through any non magical material as if it were made of soft clay. The spoon functions in this manner as long as the wielder consumes its contents, discarding a spoonful of material without eating it results in the spoon becoming inactive for 12 hours.

If used on living creatures the spoon does 1 hit point of permanent damage per scoop.

Moderate transmutation; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; keen edge, polymorph; Price 8,500 gp

I like the concept of this item, eat your way through a door, or into a chest. IMO however it allows players to bypass stuff too easily, anything that turns 'anything' into paste can lead to abuse. Plus you didn't give any detail of how fast you consume stuff and what volume someone can eat before getting full-- or maybe attends the vomitorium --where is vomit guy when you need him?

Thanks, I kind of figured I should have added more detail to the mechanics of consumption, and vomiting would be considered discarding so that would render its powers dead for 12 hours.

You're right it is a bit too wishy washy and could lead to arguments between DM and Players. I'll definitely clarify its functions before before throwing it into my campaign.

Thanks again werecorpse! :)

allen trussell wrote:

Clark, since so many have asked, and you've kindly responded, would you mind critiquing my item? Thank you.

Would you be so kind as to critique mine as well? I'm very interested in seeing your, and the other judges, opinion on my item. Thanks!

Spoon of Dragons Diet

This silver spoon is of fine make its handle is made of ivory and bears intricate carvings of dragons. When the spoon is held and the command word spoken, any solid material scooped into the spoon becomes an edible paste.

The spoon can scoop through any non magical material as if it were made of soft clay. The spoon functions in this manner as long as the wielder consumes its contents, discarding a spoonful of material without eating it results in the spoon becoming inactive for 12 hours.

If used on living creatures the spoon does 1 hit point of permanent damage per scoop.

Moderate transmutation; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; keen edge, polymorph; Price 8,500 gp

Spoon of Dragons Diet

This silver spoon is of fine make its handle is made of ivory and bears intricate carvings of dragons. When the spoon is held and the command word spoken, any solid material scooped into the spoon becomes an edible paste.

The spoon can scoop through any non magical material as if it were made of soft clay. The spoon functions in this manner as long as the wielder consumes its contents, discarding a spoonful of material without eating it results in the spoon becoming inactive for 12 hours.

If used on living creatures the spoon does 1 hit point of permanent damage per scoop.

Moderate transmutation; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item; keen edge, polymorph; Price 8,500 gp

Violin of Violence/Fiddle of Frenzy

When this ordinary looking stringed instrument is played it incites extreme reactions in those listening to it depending on what social class they belong to.

For Example:

If played as a fiddle in front of a group of sophisticated upper class people they fly into an offended rage and begin rioting like a bunch of mad men, breaking, smashing, and beating up everything, (and everyone), in their path.

If played as a violin in front of a bunch of local yokels, (poor, country, folk), they turn into a pack of rabid beasts and start trashing everything that they can get their hands on, including each other.

This violent frenzy lasts for 8 rounds after the performer has stopped playing. The raging crowd can be brought to a halt immediately by reversing the playing style. Any affected by the item are left fatigued for an hour once they are no longer under its influence.

Those of middle class stature are allowed a Will save, DC 8, to ignore the effects of the item.

The only one safe from the rampager's fury, (and the effects of the item), is the musician and anything, or anyone, touching her at the beginning of the performance.

I'm waiting for the guidlines. I've got an idea in my head but I'm not going to bother writing a bunch of crap up only to find out I had the complete wrong idea in mind.

I'm sure they've factored in plenty of time for us to get submissions in and complete by their due date, so I'm not going to sweat it.

*Encourages bad play ideas, its out.

As in can be used as a torture device? Perhaps tempting "good guys" to do acts of evil that they may not other wise resort to?

Garnet of Growth

Appears to be nothing more than a common garnet but when affixed to a piercing weapon and the command word spoken it causes the weapon to grow one size category larger.

Common command words for this item are Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis.

It can also be added to a kettle of boiling water to make wet noodles hard again.

Consult a wizard if enlarged item fails to revert back to normal size after 4 hours.

Faint Transmutation CL 3rd: Craft Wondrous Item, Enlarge, 1,000gp

To assist the OP and anyone else that is unsure about how to price their item, I've found the CREATING MAGIC ITEMS section of the online d20srd to be a great help in pricing. I'm sure there is room for argument, but I think you can establish a good baseline price.

Thank you!!!

And flash thank you as well. :)

Callum Finlayson wrote:

Given that calculating magic item prices is a bit of a black art once you step away from the simplest items, and given that any item that is little more than just "use spell X up to N times per day" is going to fall foul of originality and/or creativity criteria... if the item cost is calculated incorrectly (in some sense) will the entry be automatically rejected, or can we get away with estimating prices (as close to the rules as possible) by judging which similar items it is more/less powerful than?

I'd say it will be rejected only if the judges think the pricing is way off. As you say, there is a bit of a black art above it, and RPG Superstar is searching for the next great black artist.

Any tips on how one would go about calculating the price and figuring out the CL level?