Okay, it seems an easier round from some threads, but that coud be a superficial read.
Christine and Boomer surprised with the two most complete encounters, while also offering the most inspired. They have my votes this round.
Neither was my favorite to take the contest after Round 4; so this round shifted the picture for me a bit.
Impartial Tribunal, Chase on Charred Ground
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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If this were a presidential primary, we would now be declaring: "BOOMER, CHRISTINE WITH COMMANDING LEAD - YOUR FUTURE PRESIDENTS, all other candidates consider dropping out of race and throwing their support behind the leaders."
:)
I've only read 2-1/2 so far. I'll have to finish reading later.
I've read them all.
If I could I'd give two votes to Christine.
I don't think I can do much more than echo the previous comments: Boomer and Christine's entries are the stand-out ones here, and got my votes. They're both great evocative stuff that would be fun to do as part of an adventure.
Despite the terrible name, Monkey Goblins Attack! would probably have got my third vote, had I had one. It takes some effort to get past the naffness that is the name 'monkey goblins' (and here I must respectfully disagree with Clark Peterson... seriously, this was a major strike against the encounter for me). But, once you have got past that side of things, the encounter does hang together nicely, is detailed in all the right ways, and, perhaps most importantly, looks like it belongs in an adventure with a proper plot.
The other three entries really did very little for me, although all of them had at least some nice touches (as one would hope, at this stage of the contest). But, overall, they just left me cold, and I'd have a hard time deciding between them. I guess, if I had to pick a fourth to go through, it would be the Vale, because I rather like white dragons, but still, meh...
Chase on Charred Ground and Monkey Goblins Attack! would be the ones I would personally use. Overall I think the quality is high in this round, all of the contestants did a good job.
Subject to change, but...
Boomer and Rob.
Christine almost there, so very close. It just came down to personal preference. Monkey Goblins beat out Temple Of Doom Mine Cars.
My girlfriend agrees with your sentiments.
*grin*
Incidentally, I've voted for you every round so far, Boomer.
Looks like it's that time again, folks!
I can't resist stirring up trouble at the bottom of the list so my votes once again go to a couple of the underdogs: Joe and Jason.
10 Total Respondents
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08 Chase on Charred Ground
05 Impartial Tribunal
04 Monkey Goblins Attack!
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01 Vale of Rohthang's Rest
01 A Precarious Shrine
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00 A Prayer for the Fallen
01 Total Floaters
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01 ericthecleric
One vote for "Chase on Charred Ground" hands down, an awesome idea very reminiscent of one I had a while ago.
I'm so torn between "Impartial Tribunal" and "Monkey Goblins Attack!" for my second one...
The Tribunal is a high quality entry, but Boomer didn't go all-bizarre-but-awesome like in previous rounds. Alas, it seems this was what I was looking for in his attempts so this one strikes me a bit mainstream. Still, very solid and evocative. And it seems the only high-level encounter around, so it sticks out a bit.
The Monkey Goblin ambush is awesome - concept-wise, humor-wise, all around awesome. I saw myself using it immediately - and in fact, I did. I actually ran it a few hours ago. It was a breeze for me, and it was fun. I felt the RPG Superstar quality. BUT! I haven't liked any of Rob's entries since Iskandria. Onuyaka wasn't bad but didn't make me want to run him at all. And I literally rolled my eyes when I saw that the Ooze Imperium managed to get him in the top 6.
Rob redeems himself in my eyes with this entry completely, and I like it better. But I am consistently happy with Boomer's entries, which is not the case with Rob.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 8
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At present my votes must go with Boomer and Christine. These are the most intriguing encounters that seem to stem from enjoyable adventures.
These are also two authors I'd love to work with, especially with psionics. I'm glad they continued on to this point. I must admit I don't think I'd have presented as well as they at this stage. I rarely run published adventures, don't have much use for them personally but I'd welcome either of these DMs to run my table any day.
Good Show!
Voting history:
Christine Schneider, Neu-Isenburg, Hessen (Germany)
Chase on Charred Ground (Voted for it)
Mind the Machine
Arthelia "Lady of Legends Undone"
Theocracy of Carnamach
Arcane Anvil
Clinton Boomer, Macomb, IL (USA)
Impartial Tribunal
Kakuen-Taka, The Hunger that Moves
Abzirael Ul-Shadai, the Cackling Whirling
Cyrehllan, The Isle of Cold Tears
Crown of the Breaching Legion
Jason Nelson, Seattle, WA (USA)
Vale of Rohthang's Rest
In the bleak midwinter (Voted for it)
Avinash, Master of the Catspaw Marauders
Bereket
Phial of Ebon Flame
Joe Outzen, Saint Louis Park, MN (USA)
A Precarious Shrine
Born of Lightning
Kotalya, Mistress of Demonlake
Moros Akalein: The Wandering Nation
Torch of Solidity
Rob McCreary, Prague (Czech Republic)
Monkey Goblins Attack! (Voted for it)
The Ooze Imperium
Onuyaka, the All-Seeing Eye
Iskandria
Coin Belt of Beguiling
Russell Taylor, Eugene, OR (USA)
A Prayer for the Fallen
The Darkblight (Voted for it)
Seskadrin, Satrap of the Ahestian Sea (Voted for it)
Eluraelon
Gloves of Force Shaping
Just to show that none of the contestants have consistently written stuff that measured up to my exacting standards ;>
Impartial Tribunal is a great encounter, and I loved the cursed inevitable as the 'bad guy.' Kudos for that... The map is excellent, and I'd love to see it rendered by a professional cartographer.
Chase on Charred Ground is one of the coolest encounters I've ever seen. I tried to run a run-away wagon chase once when I first started playing and I'd have killed for an encounter like this to fall back on.
These two get my vote for the next round.
Christine and Russell for me. Russelll's entry led me to complete revise the adventure that I'm running this Monday, and his past work requires that I give him a nod. Christine's entry was exactly what I was hoping for out of this round.
Christine and Boomer got my two. Exceptional entries which I will probably use both of you. Great job!
A close runner-up was Monkey Goblins Attack. It's title made me skeptical but it was an excellent entry. It only barely didn't get my vote.
I voted for Christine and Rob.
Christine's was a slam dunk as my favorite encounter, and I've voted for her every round since I discovered this competition. She has been the most consistent competitor throughout in my opinion.
My second vote came down to Rob and Boomer. Both had great entries, but I think it comes down to Rob because his encounter is more useful for me, and I've liked his previous work more than Boomer's.
If I had more votes then Boomer would be third, followed by Jason.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka JoelF847
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My votes are for Chase on Charred Ground and Monkey Goblins Attack!
I really wish I had a third vote for Vale of Rohthang's Rest, as that one seems to be on the bubble, but I've got to vote the two I like the best.
My two votes went for Christine and Rob.
I thought, hands down, that Christine's was the best one of the bunch. Challenging for the PCs and yet fun and crazy at the same time.
Rob's encounter seemed to be teeming with fun and hilarity, but also had a very strong connection to a running campaign/adventure, which really made it come alive. Lots of cool concepts (the use of alternate rules and the use of existing rules with such certainty) - it just gives off, to me at least, a huge India/Planet of the Apes feel. Tres cool.
I was so-so about Clinton's encounter... it sort of felt a little... I don't know if "messy" is the right word, although it was the first word that popped into my head. Some cool stuff there, but it just felt a little unorganized to me.
I absolutely frickin' loved the overarching idea behind Russell's encounter, but as several have pointed out in its thread, the excecution could have been better (the map, some more reasoning behind some of the "powers" used etc.).
The last two didn't do anything for me at all.
Going for Christina and Boomer this round. Christina keeps me going every round with imagination and creativity and I really want to see what so does all the way up until the end. Boomer, although sometimes off the wall takes a lot of chances. I would also like to see what he would do all the way up to the end.
It looks like Christine has basically invited the rest of the field to eat her (volcanic) dust.
As for everybody else, this could be a real slugfest all the way to the finish line. Exciting stuff!
22 Total Respondents
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20 Chase on Charred Ground
09 Impartial Tribunal
09 Monkey Goblins Attack!
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01 Vale of Rohthang's Rest
01 A Precarious Shrine
01 A Prayer for the Fallen
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03 Total Floaters
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ericthecleric (chase/???)
Clandestine (chase/???)
WormysQueue (chase/???)
This round was amazing. All six were excellent, but some were more excellent than others and only two votes could be made. These were mine:
Goblin Monkeys Attack! - Rob McCreary
Is anyone particularly surprised?
{shake purple pom-pom}
Impartial Tribunal - Clinton Boomer
No one is more surprised than I!
If I had a third vote, it would have gone to:
Vale of Rothang's Rest - Jason Nelson
:-j(enni)
I voted for Russ and Christine. I'm impressed with what was written, and I look forward to seeing what the top four give in the coming round.
I find myself unsurprised to be voting for Christine and Boomer.
This round, I find Boomer's entry to be the top of the bunch, though not by much - probably because I have a soft spot for inevitables - that's what made me like the Pandorym chapter in Elder Evils so much.
It was a harder pick last time, since all three that I voted for were strong in different ways.
I am a bad person.
I decided to play the odds, and vote only for one of my this round's favorites, Christine and Clinton (not telling which one of them got my vote).
The second vote goes for Jason's Vale. I liked the entry, though you need a good editor (it was rather hard to keep track what on earth was happening there).
But all of them were enjoyable, and I still hope to read more from you in the future.
I am a bad person.
I decided to play the odds, and vote only for one of my this round's favorites, Christine and Clinton (not telling which one of them got my vote).The second vote goes for Jason's Vale. I liked the entry, though you need a good editor (it was rather hard to keep track what on earth was happening there).
But all of them were enjoyable, and I still hope to read more from you in the future.
...So I kinda did what you did.
I voted Rob and Jason.
I absolutely LOVE Christine's and Boomer's entries. But they will have no trouble at all getting to the next round, and I'd love to see what Jason and Rob could do, too.
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Me too...
Seeing as Christine and Boomer are more than likely going on into the finals, I placed my votes for Nelson's Vale and McCreary's Monkeys. Loved the visuals in the Vale quite a bit and, looking back, have voted for his work every round. If I had voted without considering who was already a lock for the finals, I would have voted for Boomer and the Vale.
I am secretly hoping that Nelson can blow our socks off in the finals and get an underdog win.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Me too...
Seeing as Christine and Boomer are more than likely going on into the finals, I placed my votes for Nelson's Vale and McCreary's Monkeys. Loved the visuals in the Vale quite a bit and, looking back, have voted for his work every round. If I had voted without considering who was already a lock for the finals, I would have voted for Boomer and the Vale.
I am secretly hoping that Nelson can blow our socks off in the finals and get an underdog win.
I am not-so-secretly hoping for the same thing! :)
And thanks to all for voting!
The battle continues and both ties are shattered!
It's very stormy at the bottom though, and the critical 4th place spot is in very rough contention.
30 Total Respondents
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23 Chase on Charred Ground
14 Monkey Goblins Attack!
11 Impartial Tribunal
04 Vale of Rohthang's Rest
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03 A Prayer for the Fallen
01 A Precarious Shrine
04 Total Floaters
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ericthecleric (chase/???)
Clandestine (chase/???)
WormysQueue (chase/???)
magdalena thiriet (vale/???)
I voted for Chase over Charred Ground and Monkey Goblins Attack!
Boomer was a very, very close third, and I was really impressed with his entry this round. This time, it actually looks like something I can run pretty much as is.
In the end his choice of EL 16 worked against him, and I went with the lower EL 3 Monkeys. They seemed "simpler" mechanically while still having as much fun stuff and options going on during the encounter as the Tribunal, and so the ability to do that with a low EL won out in the end for me.
But all the entries were of a very high standard, and I can probably see myself running any of them. But I really want to run Chase and Monkeys, they look like so much fun, while still being easy for the DM (very few special abilities / rules to keep track off), which is a very hard act to pull of (especially at low levels).
Put me down for the Charred Chase and the Monkey Goblin Attack entries.
I love seeing people take well known (and often considered cliche or boring) monsters and doing something new and fun with them.
Great work to everyone though. Very fun to read through all of these.
Put me down for the Charred Chase and the Monkey Goblin Attack entries.
I love seeing people take well known (and often considered cliche or boring) monsters and doing something new and fun with them.
Great work to everyone though. Very fun to read through all of these.
Ditto on my votes: "Chase on Charred Ground" and "Monkey Goblins Attack!" Loved them, and could play both out in my head.
Just like I had to not vote on Christine's "Mind the Machine" last round and betting she would move on, I'm giving Boomer's awesome "Impartial Tribunal" a pass while being pretty assured he's going to the final round...
Not that it was needed, but my wife (who has voted all of twice in this contest) placed another for Christine.
She didn't mention using a second vote.
I voted for Boomer and Jason, my favorite entry was Christines but I don't think she is in any danger of dropping out of the top 4. I think that 4th spot might come down to a handful of votes.
Good luck to all!
Man, the one thing I am not looking forward to is picking one contestant to vote for in the final round.
That's going to suck, having to pick.
But by the sound of it, we may see published adventures from more than just one of the finalists in our future!
I'd be surprised if Paizo didn't work out some early negotiations for at least the top 4. Might not all come to pass, but I bet the negotiations happen on some level.
Similar stuff happens on Idol, not that there's anything but an arbitrary connection between the Superstar contest and Idol.
I'd be surprised if Paizo didn't work out some early negotiations for at least the top 4. Might not all come to pass, but I bet the negotiations happen on some level.
Similar stuff happens on Idol, not that there's anything but an arbitrary connection between the Superstar contest and Idol.
I am SO hoping you are right. If any of the three non-winners don't get recongition for being some of the best writers all around I'd... well... be severely disappointed.
I voted for Monkey Goblins Attack! and Impartial Tribunal.
This may be the first time I haven't voted for Christine... For some reason the orc luge down the exploding volcano did nothing for me.
I must not be a true gamer. Monkeys do nothing for me.
Perhaps I'm just grouchy. The characters in my campaign are drifting towards chaotic evil and it's pissing me off. I don't like running evil campaigns, situations where they decide the right thing to do with a prisoner is to break both his legs while questioning him then to snap his neck really rub me the wrong way.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I voted for Monkey Goblins Attack! and Impartial Tribunal.
This may be the first time I haven't voted for Christine... For some reason the orc luge down the exploding volcano did nothing for me.
I must not be a true gamer. Monkeys do nothing for me.
Perhaps I'm just grouchy. The characters in my campaign are drifting towards chaotic evil and it's pissing me off. I don't like running evil campaigns, situations where they decide the right thing to do with a prisoner is to break both his legs while questioning him then to snap his neck really rub me the wrong way.
My advice: Tell them so. You are a player at the table as well, and your enjoyment is as important as theirs. If you don't want to run an evil campaign, don't. Tell them you don't enjoy it and it makes the game un-fun for you. Sure, these are their characters and they have the right to run them the way they want, but you also have the right to run a campaign the way you want. If they strongly want to play evil characters, maybe they need to find someone else to run that sort of campaign. If they would rather play with you as the DM, they need to find a different way to enjoy the campaign.
I've run evil campaigns before and it's not really my cup of tea either. After about a year of one such campaign I just decided I didn't want to do it any more, so the campaign ended. Maybe that's the answer for you, maybe not, but value yourself and your enjoyment of the game as much as you do the players'.
My two bits...