Round 3: Who has your vote?

[Ahwe Yahzhe]

Laserray wrote:

The technique of voting for submissions you don't think are the best - if commonly used by voters - will affect the validity of the results.

Since I intend to buy products created by the winner, I recommend that people vote for their favorite entries, period.

I went with Arthelia, Kotalya, Cackling Whirling, and Onuyaka. Nothing surprising, I can just see using these as throw-away one adventure villains or recurring pains-in-the-ass.

[Jason Nelson]

James Hunnicutt wrote:

Seskadrin

The sahuagin paladin of tyranny has gotten some love on this thread, but not enough. He is by far the best "villain" when you consider the elements of what constitutes the ideal villain: a smart leader, ambitious with long-term goals, manipulative, a brutal combatant combining melee prowess with magic powers (his own and his cohort's), and devoted to an evil idealogy. Seskadrin is the Darth Vader of the ocean.

Plus, the author did a great job describing Seskadrin, statting him out, fitting him into his country, and providing a couple cool plot hooks, which tells me Russell Taylor can write a fantastic adventure.

Seskadrin has been growing on me as well the more I think about him. I might reconsider one of my votes. Have to keep thinking...

[Nem-Z]

Fresh update for page 2

It appears the top 8 are still very solid, though there is a little bit of jostling taking place this time.

EXIT POLLS wrote:

33 Total Respondents
12 Floaters
~~~~~~~~~~~
21 Arthelia
15 Abzirael
15 Kotalya
12 Avinash
11 Onuyaka
10 Seskadrin
10 Voeren
08 Hetty
~~~~~~~~~~~
06 Durgal
03 Fleshstripping
03 Torquil
02 Kalyani
02 Mwana
01 Haunter
01 Limro
00 Elsie

Spoiler:

12 Floaters
~~~~~~~~~~
03 James Hunnicutt
02 Clouds Without Water
02 SmiloDan
02 Darkjoy
01 Hideously Deformed
01 Lathiirra
01 Hellacious Huni

[Joel Flank]

Finally finished reading all 16 and it was a blast. Overall, I think I liked a higher percentage of these than the last round (which is as it should be.)

I voted for:

Arthelia "Lady of Legends Undone"
Durgal Maldar "the martyr eater"
Avinash, Master of the Catspaw Marauders
Kotalya, Mistress of Demonlake

Honorable mention to:

Kalyani Yafa, High Priestess of the Scaled One - loved the vibe, just not the mechanics
Seskadrin, Satrap of the Ahestian Sea - great job, but in the end a little bit too safe compared to the 4 I voted for - this would have been my 5th vote.

[French Wolf]

Although I wasn't blown away by many entries when it came to voting there was plenty of competition for my votes.

Seskadrin - love the setting and the paladin of tyranny.
Athelia - clever dual personalities and I admire the work done here
Onuyaka - love the ogre mage and I could use this villain.
Abizael - outrageous fun and at the moment the one adventure I'd like to read.

I'd also like to see Hetty get through, because of the previous rounds work and because of the writer's nationality but I couldn't use the villain.

Good Luck

[Ragwaine]

A couple of my least favorites are in the top here. My votes:

Hetty - She just stuck with me like the Migrus Locker. She also fits perfectly with my gaming style.

Onuyaka - This guy seemed to meet the requirements of the contest more than any other. I liked the multiple fake personalities.

Abzirael - I absolutely loved the poem and visuals. I liked the name and over the top fits with the al-qadim type setting. I was a little confused about his personality but that's an easy fix.

Fleshstripping in Zopotishto - Interesting could have been much better, not really a villain but judging by past entries I REALLY want to see what he has next. I save his for last every round because I just assume I'm going to like it the most.

Honorable mention to Arthelia because she gave me ideas for a different kind of villain.

I was thinking what it must be like for the contestants to read this thread. Like every time they see their entry mentioned they probably get stomach cramps and have a goofy smile on their face.

[Starglim]

EXIT POLLS wrote:

36 Total Respondents
12 Floaters
~~~~~~~~~~~
23 Arthelia
17 Abzirael
16 Kotalya
13 Avinash
13 Onuyaka
11 Seskadrin
10 Voeren
09 Hetty
~~~~~~~~~~~
07 Durgal
04 Fleshstripping
03 Torquil
02 Kalyani
02 Mwana
01 Haunter
01 Limro
00 Elsie

If I can make a prediction about actual votes going in, I'll be surprised if Samuel Kisko doesn't get in and Durgal does. But no doubt that's why I only get the same number of votes as everyone else.

[Dirk Gently]

When I first read the bloc for the Cackling Whirling, I thought it was over the top. Then I imagined roleplaying that villain. I decided I liked him. Very interesting.

[Tio]

My top 4:
Christine Schneider—Arthelia "Lady of Legends Undone"
Joe Outzen—Kotalya, Mistress of Demonlake
Rob McCreary—Onuyaka, the All-Seeing Eye
Russ Taylor—Seskadrin, Satrap of the Ahestian Sea

[Ed Zoller 52]

I have to say that after reading all of the entries, only three stuck out in my mind. Not only could I visualize them, but my mind started adapting them to the savage tide campaign. Not in any order I voted for,

Arthelia
Avinash
Elsie

All are creative, could be a thorn in Pc's side for a long time, and sparks imagination. Too many entries are what I call rules lawyers creatures. All about the stats, and nothing about the imagination side of characters. I will personally test these creatures out in my campaign. A truly great master villain like Acerak from Tomb of Horrors brings fear and awe and the best part is most (95%) of all characters never met or encountered him. I was looking for that type of villain in the entries, but could not find it. These three with a little creativity, could become one of those hated, feared, and loathed villains of all time (at least to my PC's). Of all of the contestants, these are the most adaptable. Just imagine every NPC the characters met and befriend lose their hands the next day, eventually the PC's are missing hands, One loses both, I can see that as a tension building trick Elsie can do so that by the time the PC's meet her, their eyes fill with blood and hate and the climatic battle begins. I love it when you can mix hack with emotions. The kind of battle that makes PC's cheer out loud with every bone crushing blow they deliver. Can you say your pick can do that?

[Clark Peterson]

See my "vote vote vote" thread.

Your vote still matters.

It would suck if your favorite missed advancing by only a few votes.

So go reward the hard work of these great contestants by casting your vote. Whatever your criteria, this contest deserves your input. So let your voice be heard. It could impact the result.

[Liquidator Queeg]

As with the last round, only one vote from me: Onuyaka. Great work, Rob!

[Clinton Boomer]

Liquidator Queeg wrote:

As with the last round, only one vote from me: Onuyaka. Great work, Rob!

From my Villain Thread:

Liquidator Queeg wrote:

Reading each of Mr. Boomer's entries is like watching an impending train wreck.

Or perhaps rather like watching an army of Great Old Ones hover down to earth on impossibly-angled barbwired half-pipes doing 720s while riding skateboards made of infant body parts ...

... I'm horrified by the results but I can't look away! :D

I promise you, on the soul of Christmas, that if you give me one of your three left-over votes, I will not disappoint you in Round 4.

PROMISE.

[Dragonknight]

Im another one of those who only got to join this rounds voting. I have read all the previous entries with great interest including (especially) the judges comments to the entries. I have learned a great lot from it already...

I have to agree with some of the others that this round none of the entries stood out like The Land of Stained Peaks last round. That one will definitely be in my next campaign...

The way the readers are judging the entries are very varied. I for example do not care at all about the stat block and all the technicalities. I read through the bold printed words to get a rough idea of what the idea behind the villains combat mechanics is, but as someone else mentioned already:

A true villain will (in my campaigns) NEVER be defeated by combat mechanics! He needs to have the ability to to get away from combat with the PCs if he happens to be confronted in a situation that doesnt promise to be a climactic finale properly suited for the end of the campaign. In the end MY villain will be able to do anything to give the players their well deserved victory in a way that they will forever remember it. And yes, I will change stats on a whim and adjust dice rolls to give my players that experience... so thats why ideas, originality and flavor are more important to me than stats...

I decide on entries by the gut feeling I have after reading them… if the reading turns me off already than that is a definite out for the entry. Unfortunately for some entries I cannot handle Psionics (because in order to use them I would need to learn the rules, and they just cannot be converted into non-psionics without loosing the whole idea behind them) and water/underwater, fishy villains. Sorry for that, your entries might be great, but I cannot make myself read through them because they are just too far out from the settings I play in.

Another point I would like to make is that I don’t understand how someone can discard a great villain just because the description says that the villain likes to stick to his own area… You are GMs for gods sake… it takes one sentence to change that “flaw”!

That being said, here my comments on the villains (I wrote the impression that I had when reading it, please don’t take it personal):

Torquil Wiesel, Ghost of the Stoneburg: Whimpy ghost in gay clothes. Too context specific.

Kalyani Yafa, High Priestess of the Scaled One:
I agree that the princess would make a better villain, she was the one thing that I thought was an original twist… but shes not the villain.

Arthelia "Lady of Legends Undone":
gender-bender Psionic… needs a good slapping

Abzirael Ul-Shadai, the Cackling Whirling:
Amazing writing, but felt like a munchkin monster

Mwana, Queen of the Slithering:
cant really remember what she was about…bad sign

Durgal Maldar "the martyr eater":
Liked the idea of exploding books. A lot of his drive needs refinement but the concept just sparked loads of ideas on how to make this villain a great one! Got a vote.

The Haunter of the Hills:
Maybe not a real villain, but the imagery caught me. Maybe a subconscious country bonus too…. Vote number 2

Avinash, Master of the Catspaw Marauders:
Loved the idea, because I just know that it would work with my players. Concept needs refinement, but its an originally presented idea. Vote 3

Kotalya, Mistress of Demonlake:
A villain without ambition is no villain. So I just change the ambition bit and voila…shes a bad ass villain… Vote 4

Voeren van Premie, Herald of Than Aivel:
A psionic fish priest… double turn off for me.

Henrietta "Hetty" Miller, Murderous Midwife:
How does she feed all those kids, what are they doing all day long etc... well, and the name…

Onuyaka, the All-Seeing Eye.
A cliché if I have ever seen one… He actually does have exactly what a villain needs….except for originality.And if Im voting for a superstar designer I want to see that someone has ideas that I have not seen before…

Seskadrin, Satrap of the Ahestian Sea:
Fish-villain, didn’t read all of it

Fleshstripping in Zopotishto:
Not bad, but not really original.

Elsie, The Hand Collector:
The reason for her doing what she does is that she has lost her hand… ok. But she had it regenerated a long time ago… how did she get the money? Why did she do it? She could have posed as another victim of the Hand collector, instead the compromising evidence is explained away by magical regeneration… very weak, my players would hate it.

Limro the Constructor:
Not a villain but a dungeon with a boss encounter.

Merry christmas everyone!
Michel

[Dangerous Jack]

I had a hard time deciding on this one. I have never used psionics, and wouldn't want an adventure that required me to use them. That said, I thought that Arthelia "Lady of Legends Undone", Abzirael Ul-Shadai, the Cackling Whirling, and Voeren van Premie, Herald of Than Aivel were all in my top 5 villains to read about. But in the end, my votes were cast for villains I would use in a game:

Voeren van Premie, Herald of Than Aivel - He was the only one of the psionic villains that really made me want to learn the system.

Onuyaka, the All-Seeing Eye - A villain that could easily pop up in any world. Fun to play, fun to visualize.

The Haunter of the Hills - Not a recurring villain without a bit of work, but a cool concept that really gets my imagination going. And I think James is possibly the strongest writer in the group.

Torquil Wiesel, Ghost of the Stoneburg - Villains don't need to always be over the top evil, but he could definitely be a persistent thorn in the PCs side if they thwart his plans. And there are a few fun adventures that he would be the centrepiece of.

[Liquidator Queeg]

thatboomerkid wrote:

I promise you, on the soul of Christmas, that if you give me one of your three left-over votes, I will not disappoint you in Round 4.

PROMISE.

OK. You got my vote, Clinton. I may regret this. :D

However, I decided to use all four votes. So it goes:

Onuyaka by Rob
Haunter of the Hills by James
Abzirael by Clinton
Hetty Miller by Neil

[Clinton Boomer]

Liquidator Queeg wrote:

thatboomerkid wrote:

I promise you, on the soul of Christmas, that if you give me one of your three left-over votes, I will not disappoint you in Round 4.

PROMISE.

OK. You got my vote, Clinton. I may regret this. :D

However, I decided to use all four votes. So it goes:

Onuyaka by Rob
Haunter of the Hills by James
Abzirael by Clinton
Hetty Miller by Neil

HOOOOORAY!

[Clinton Boomer]

Dangerous Jack wrote:

I had a hard time deciding on this one. I have never used psionics, and wouldn't want an adventure that required me to use them. That said, I thought that Arthelia "Lady of Legends Undone", Abzirael Ul-Shadai, the Cackling Whirling, and Voeren van Premie, Herald of Than Aivel were all in my top 5 villains to read about. But in the end, my votes were cast for villains I would use in a game.

*SNIP!*

Jack, I hope that you will take a look at the Ul-Shadai: Director's Cut - with a little luck, he could be used in your game immediately.

Rock 'n Roll Christmas, everyone!

[Jorrik the Fat]

I suspect my criteria are different from many people's. For a start, I didn't bother to read more than a line or two of the stat blocks (I'd change them anyway for my own campaign, so the just don't interest me). But, hey, that won't stop me voting.

I picked: Arthelia (which would have got my vote even if I'd had only the one), Seskadrin, Mwana, and Kalyani. It looks as if two of those will probably go through, which isn't bad considering I'm not looking for the same thing as most others.

The others I'd like to see advance are Hetty, Katalya, Onuyaka, and Avinash. Again, at least two of those seem to have a good chance, judging from the straw poll here.

[Ragwaine]

Jorrik the Fat wrote:

I suspect my criteria are different from many people's. For a start, I didn't bother to read more than a line or two of the stat blocks

I'm with you on that. I glanced at them a bit and I looked to see what magic items they possessed and then went right to the tactics and story.

[Steven Helt]

Dragonknight wrote:

Another point I would like to make is that I don’t understand how someone can discard a great villain just because the description says that the villain likes to stick to their own area....

I don't think anyone misses that they can make whatever changes they need to to improve or cater the villains to their own needs. But the point is, which villain is the best in this round and deserves advancement.

My posts are intended to exactly illustrate how I think an entry could have been made better and earn my vote. If I feel like I have the best ideas for the villain, I can't vote for it. It shouldn't just be able to get my juices running. If I have an hour to prepare for my game, I can make a black pudding a diabolical villain and get the juices flowing. Most of the work has to be done for me. Why spend money on it if it isn't saving me time?

I am only casting votes for entries that are around (or better than) the quality I feel my entries would have been. I can't cast a vote for someone who clearly shouldn't supplant me in the contest, because if I wasn't superstar this round, they aren't either. That might seem self-centered to some, but I am not the only voter that feels this way. You beat me, so your future entries should also beat me.

If entries were given a pass on how fixable they are, we could conceivably elect a superstar who wrote a flawed adventure, containing flawed creatures, featuring a flawed, reclusive villain with incorrect stats, in a country no one wants to adventure in, to obtain a magic item no one wants. I am not saying there are any entrants whose compiled work is just like that. I am saying a good DM can fix any of the flaws in any of the entries, but that doesn't change the fact that we are anointing a superstar who doesn't have those flaws. I am voting for the entries with the fewest flaws every round. My only caveat is that since the rules of the round require that a certain number of people advance, I will use all of my votes. Some are only casting one vote or only votes when they are impressed. I am casting the full allotment every round, and this round that means one or two votes even though I am underwhelmed by the entries a little.

This was a lot of words for a simple response. I am simply very serious about the idea that we should be pretty hard on the entrants and only allow superstar ideas to advance. The judges were a lot more harsh on the simple magic item entries than we seem to be on the higher rounds. I don't think entrants should be geting a pass just cause we can fix what their entry is missing. I don't want to buy a product where I have to go fixing things before I add it to my game.

[Dangerous Jack]

thatboomerkid wrote:

*SNIP*

Jack, I hope that you will take a look at the Ul-Shadai: Director's Cut - with a little luck, he could be used in your game immediately.

I took a second look, and then decided to pore over your original stat block without dismissing it after reading psionic prestige class. To my surprise, it was extremely easy to read and I could definitely use this, even as originally stated. In fact, I'll probably be looking at the rest of the SRD on psionics to see if there's other stuff that's immediately transferable without learning the Power Point mechanic.

I now am really hoping that the exit polls in this thread are accurate and we'll see you in the next round.

[propeliea]

and we represent again. interesting.

[Clinton Boomer]

Dangerous Jack wrote:

I took a second look, and then decided to pore over your original stat block without dismissing it after reading psionic prestige class. To my surprise, it was extremely easy to read and I could definitely use this, even as originally stated. In fact, I'll probably be looking at the rest of the SRD on psionics to see if there's other stuff that's immediately transferable without learning the Power Point mechanic.

I now am really hoping that the exit polls in this thread are accurate and we'll see you in the next round.

Sir, I am both greatly humbled and greatly pleased - and I can only hope that my submission for the next round is as quirky, usable and well-received.

Here's hoping that a Soulknife Pyrokineticist finds his or her way into your game!