Yay, toys are fun!
So at Dungeon we have a list of monsters/adventure ideas that we feel have been overused recently. While it is possible for us to green light an adventure that features one of these monsters/ideas, it is very unlikely. Every once in awhile we reevaluate "The List" and update it.
Which one of these deserves to come off "The List"?
Rakshasa and woodland druids are on "The List"?
/me glances despairingly at the Rakshasa-centric proposal he was cobbling together.
Much better.
See? 100% of poll respondents think Raks should be off "The List".
It is the will of the people! Let it be done!
Edit: OK, which wiseacre added Deathbringers before I could hit submit?
I didn't know Rakshasa were on the list, either. Fortunately, I don't have any pending queries with them, so it's all good for me. :)
For that matter, I didn't know Shar was on the list either...
Deathbringers are cool!
/me narrows eyes.
I must destroy you.
If anyone votes that Jason Bulmahn should be "off the list" I'll...I'll...scream and hold my breath and pout a lot at you.
I can't get enough of that guy's brutal adventures.
Contributor
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If anyone votes that Jason Bulmahn should be "off the list" I'll...I'll...scream and hold my breath and pout a lot at you.
I can't get enough of that guy's brutal adventures.
But if you like his adventures you should vote for him. The poll might be rephrased as "What would you like to see more of in Dungeon that we currently think we have too much of?"
I think you forgot an option:
Leave the list like it is.
I think it's a solid list of overused monsters, at the moment. Well, maybe with the exception of jason.
Director of Games
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Hmm.. I never knew I was ON the list.
But now that I am, I am not sure I want OFF the list.
Then again, not be ON the list might be better for my writing career.
On the othe hand, being OFF the list is bad for the longevity of PCs I hear.
If I was ON again, OFF again, would that mean I could cowrite and adventure.
Its not like I am an ON/OFF switch here you know...
Wait... what was I talking about again. This whole thing has me confused. I think I will just keep writing until someone tells me to stop.. hows that?
Jason Bulmahn
ON again, OFF again Dungeon Writer
Managing Editor of Dragon
You must, at all costs, impose a rule to keep vampires on the overused list, so that no one offers a vampire query to compete with the one query I wrote that involves vampires. Then you must grant one exception to prove the rule.
(Who knew vampires were on the list? "That's the trouble with Santa Carla . . . too many vampires!")
(And why oh why didn't I just make my query about ultra-powerful, chaotic evil fruit bats?)
But if you like his adventures you should vote for him. The poll might be rephrased as "What would you like to see more of in Dungeon that we currently think we have too much of?"
Wait, what?
Alright, if any of you don't vote for Jason Bulmahn, I'll...wait, what?
Hmm.. I never knew I was ON the list.
But now that I am, I am not sure I want OFF the list.
Then again, not be ON the list might be better for my writing career.
On the othe hand, being OFF the list is bad for the longevity of PCs I hear.
If I was ON again, OFF again, would that mean I could cowrite and adventure.
Its not like I am an ON/OFF switch here you know...
You see? You see what I'm talking about? That was just brutal.
This poll's giving me a headache.
I'll put one for half-dragons, but on the premise that they should be used intelligently, not for a cheap boost to a creatures CR.
Although a remote island, populated by one randy dragon and a whole lot of other critters... eh, too much inbreeding after a while, my PCs would just say "leave 'em alone and let cancer sort 'em out".
I loves me dragons, and loves me half-dragons twice as much. But even I recognize the inherent stupid possible in the template. I can buy, with some stretching, that one could make a half-dragon warforged (within the rules, kinda). But consider the following:
You see a black ball, 4 feet wide, hovering in the air. Dirt, debris, even light is drawn towards it. As you watch, two clawed arms appear from it's sides, and what you presume is it's front surface opens to reveal jagged dentition, still black as night.
Go go, half-dragon umbral blot, back to stupid land with you.
You can change your vote as often as you wish.
And who knew JB was a monster? Well, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise, the way the man treats my queries lately...
:D
Rakshasas should definitely come off "the list"; the editors know why. ;-) Ie. it could lead to my first published adventure, the revision of which was much better than the original script.
They don't need to come off the list for you to get published; there's exceptions to the rules, after all. Think how much cooler it'll be to say, "Yeah, not only did I get published in Dungeon, I did so with a creature they don't like to use - just because I'm that good!"
;)
Yeah, the half-dragons have been on "the list" ::makes quote sign with fingers:: for like 3 years. It's time to let 'em have some fun again.
Jason... wha? How'd Jason "spell my name wrong and I kill ya" Bulmahn get on ::makes finger signs again:: the list? Is he really that difficult to work with? ;)
I am tired of killing dire rats. They are in every low level dungeon.
If it was in the "Vampires of Waterdeep" arc, it stays on the list.
No vampires, no half-dragons, no Malar. For a long, long time.
But if you like his adventures you should vote for him. The poll might be rephrased as "What would you like to see more of in Dungeon that we currently think we have too much of?"If anyone votes that Jason Bulmahn should be "off the list" I'll...I'll...scream and hold my breath and pout a lot at you.
I can't get enough of that guy's brutal adventures.
I don't know, Jason got a lot of ink in that Paizo Blizzard Adventure printed just a little while back...
But mostly I'm gonna have to go with rakshasas...so good they are! Also, you know, I have a really cool rak-heavy prop somewhere in that monstrous pile of submissions. ;-)
/me goes back to rewrite a proposal to include ...erm... let's see... pants druids and a cheesebringer.
I would say that aranea/giant spiders should come off the list (with the emphesis on the spiders, I could care less about aranea...)
So does that mean the following are not/no longer/never were on "The List"? Or is it just too heinous to even contemplate removing these from "The List"?
Sharn
Dopplegangers
Awakened animals
Lycanthropes
Framing the fey
Borg/assimilation
Jumping from piling to piling
"Challenge of Champions"-style obstacle courses
Rescuing someone’s kidnapped daughter
Murders perpetrated by a doppelganger
Retrieving an ancient artifact
Deranged wizard or sorcerer
Logue
Repelling a simple humanoid infestation
Undead army
Thanks :-)
Oh, and I voted for Malar. A mere 4 adventures in ~2 years IIRC?
Vampires ...
garlic works wonders ...
Can't a Shar-worshipping vampiric half-dragon/Bulmahn not choose to not participate double negative poll? Or not?
Oh, and Mr. Bulmahn - would it be possible to see your stats here ;)
Well...I shouldn't, but...I saw things I wasn't supposed to when I gamed at the Paizo offices. Top-secret documents that, technically, I shouldn't have looked at. But if the magazine won't secure its proprietary information, is it really my fault for not averting my gaze?
I may have some details wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is what I saw.
Jason Bulmahn (unique monster) CR 20
Monstrous humanoid (editor)
Init +0; Senses Listen +7, Spot +28
AC 22, touch 10, flat-footed 22
(+0 Dex, +12 natural)
hp 189 (18 HD)
Fort +17, Ref +11, Will +13
Spd 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee +4 meteorite die of confirming criticals +31/+26/+21/+16 (1d6+12/19-20)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +18; Grp +30
Atk Options rage, smite 1/day (+4 attack, +18 damage)
Abilities Str 26, Dex 11, Con 22, Int 18, Wis 24, Cha 18
SQ consumption, large frame
Feats Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (unarmed strike), Improved Natural Attack (x2), Monkey Grip, Power Attack
Skills Appraise +25, Craft (adventure) +27*, Perform (critique) +25, Profession (editor) +28, Search +25, Spot +28
Rage (Ex): Jason Bulmahn enters a rage whenever anyone misspells his name. This functions as the barbarian rage ability, except that it ends immediately if anyone gives Jason a cookie.
Smite (Ex): Once per day, Jason Bulmahn may smite a character in the course of a game session. He adds his Charisma bonus to attack and deals 1 extra point of damage per hit die he possesses. If Jason uses this ability on a player instead of a character, he does not gain the smite bonuses and the smite attempt is wasted.
Consumption (Su): Anyone accompanying Jason Bulmahn on a night of drinking must make a Will save DC 25 or be stunned for 1d4 rounds at the amount of booze that man can put away. The save DC is (Bulmahn's) Constitution-based.
Large Frame (Ex): Treat Jason Bulmahn as being one size category larger than normal for purposes of grapple checks and resisting bull rushes, overruns, and trips.
Skills: Jason Bulmahn's ranks in Profession (editor) grant him a +2 synergy bonus to his Craft (adventure) checks.
Meteorite Die of Confirming Criticals: This minor artifact must be held clenched in one's fist to operate. The meteorite die adds its enhancement bonus to unarmed strike attack and damage rolls its weilder makes. In addition, anytime the wielder (Jason Bulmahn) rolls a potential critical, the meteorite die automatically confirms said critical.
Nah, Bulmahn stays on the off list. Dang abiel-lover. Apparently he just doesn't get the fact that D&D is all about the yakfolk.
;)
GGG
PS And isn't Nick Logue over-used as well? I'd love tohear Richard Pett's input on this subject.
Also I feel much better about my hag proposal from back in.... 2,3,4,5,6. 6? Can't be! ::recounts:: Six months, ago when the last query meeting occured.
I voted for Rakshasas... I was never a real fan of them in other DnD settings, but I find I quite like using them as agents of the Lords of Dust in Eberron to torment my PCs...
PS And isn't Nick Logue over-used as well? I'd love tohear Richard Pett's input on this subject.
If I get on the Paizo blacklist...I'd better at least get a cool stat block out of it...and no Rich I'm not talking about that little NPC you so originally named after a fellow contributor in "Scuttlecove." Bastard! ;-)
It would be nice to have a middle-high level Eberron adventure featuring a regular, old-school Rakshasa.
Maybe an adventure for level 10 characters that one could drop right after "Eyes of the Lich Queen" and written by one of the author of that module...
I don't know if he is available, but Nic Logue is quite good actually. Maybe Dungeon could get him to write such a thing, if he finds the time and has the inclination. ;-)
Bocklin
Dire rats are on a list? I can't remember the last time I saw anything to do with Dire Rats.
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I voted for Half-Dragons, because since 3.0 I got the impression that 4.0 will be named DUNGEONS & HALF-DRAGONS... :(
Oh, and Mr. Bulmahn - would it be possible to see your stats here ;)
I am so stupid...
Ok, the Half-Dragons should stay on that list ufn!Read the post wrong...
So I say now - Deathbringers - keep'em coming!!!
Medesha: Jasons main-weapon is sooooo coool!!! ;)
So, if I change Jason Bulmahn to some other editor as BBEG in my adventure proposal it has bigger chance of getting accepted? Volunteers?
Voted for Shar as it was one of those options on which I have no opinion...
So evil wizards (and their scheemes) arent on the list anymore..?
Doesent that mean there is a whole lot of old proposals that could be dug up.. ;)
Anyway, came to think of liches too, those really havent been around much... esp not something more unique as say a warlock lich.
Seems as if the liches around are more often players that decide they like the paralyze touch, mind protection, other immunities and protection from rolling up new characters... :D
The fact that I (alongside others) do not immediately know what a Death Bringer is must mean that it is not being over-used, and so should be taken off the list.
So my vote's for the Death Bringer(s).
Jason Bulmahn (unique monster) CR 20
Monstrous humanoid (editor)
You forgot to include his size... You also failed to mention his ability to send out hundreds of form letters to reject queries in one day - or is that just a use of the Profession (editor) skill?
Ah, crud. I voted for the "formians" without realizing that I thought I was voting for "fomorians", as in the giants. I even had a speech prepared about how, as a giant deformed freak, I feel it is my duty to support other deformed giant freaks. Oh well.
"But it was a good thing we did, Pop. The ant people needed our help!"
"Help, shmelp! The big REWARD they promised us was just an old licked up Jolly Rancher."
"They did give us the key to their enchanted underground city!"
"And Brock made SPECIAL FRIENDS with their queen! You can't put a price on that!"
If anyone votes that Jason Bulmahn should be "off the list" I'll...I'll...scream and hold my breath and pout a lot at you.
I can't get enough of that guy's brutal adventures.
When I first read that I thought it said "brutal advances"...
I must confess a cascade of odd notions went through my mind :)
Things like "maybe that's why I have some much trouble getting him to reply to my emails"
Or "advances are one one thing, but must they be 'brutal'?"
And of course, "there's going to be laaaaaaaaaw suuuuuits"
Then I re-read it and saw it was actually "brutal adventures" and things made a lot more sense.
Ah, crud. I voted for the "formians" without realizing that I thought I was voting for "fomorians", as in the giants. I even had a speech prepared about how, as a giant deformed freak, I feel it is my duty to support other deformed giant freaks. Oh well.
"But it was a good thing we did, Pop. The ant people needed our help!"
"Help, shmelp! The big REWARD they promised us was just an old licked up Jolly Rancher."
"They did give us the key to their enchanted underground city!"
"And Brock made SPECIAL FRIENDS with their queen! You can't put a price on that!"
Or you could, you know, change your vote. ;)
I agree with Meds' suggestions for expanding it...
It's not really my list. I compiled it from Paizo staff posts on this board and from the submission guidelines. (Ok, ok, I added one item/personage.)
I suspect the items from the submission guidelines (the latter half), are still on "The List".
But some of the others date from messageboard posts a couple of years ago, so I suspect they're already back below readers' saturation thresholds.
Personally, my taste buds have already recovered from the sensory overload of, say, Sharn adventures (the Eberron city not the FR monster), and they're ready for more.