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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I thought I'd start a thread with questions not covered in the announcement or FAQ, since I'm sure there will be many.
1) Since the competition will be using the Pathfinder Beta rules, would this be limited to the rules in the Beta document, web enhancement, and prestige class documents only? How should alteratives from Jason (such as for the Paladin class and animal companion rules) posted on the messageboards be treated?
2) Will the existing name tags from last year's RPG superstar remain once RPG Superstar 2009 begins, or will they be replaced with the current Top 32, Top 16, etc.?
Chief Technical Officer
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1) Since the competition will be using the Pathfinder Beta rules, would this be limited to the rules in the Beta document, web enhancement, and prestige class documents only? How should alteratives from Jason (such as for the Paladin class and animal companion rules) posted on the messageboards be treated?
Just the Beta and the supplements you mention that were released as official PDFs; anything that exists only in messageboard posts doesn't count.
2) Will the existing name tags from last year's RPG superstar remain once RPG Superstar 2009 begins, or will they be replaced with the current Top 32, Top 16, etc.?
Current tags will remain; this year's top 32 will get "RPG Superstar 2009" tags.
3) Any problem with resubmitting the previous entry?
I had a weird problem last time where I sent the wrong incarnation of the description so it was over the word limit, and until the judges realized this it seemed to be taken fairly positively.
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Tetujin, your question is answered in the Round 1 FAQ:
Can I resubmit an item from last year?
Provided the item was not selected for the Top 32 last year, you can choose to resubmit it for this year's contest. The judges have long memories, however, and are probably not likely to advance an item that they passed on last year. Your best bet is likely to create an entirely new item specifically for this year's contest.
And, I'll definitely try to get into the top 1.000 once again :D
Important quesion; what about psionics? I recall it being said (a while back, so things may have changed) that Pathfinder RPG wasn't going to be supporting (e.g. updating) psionics for the immediate future; does that mean that we can't use the SRD/OGL Psionics at all, or are they still acceptable?
I ask because I do like to sprinkle a bit of psionics in with my magic but most importantly, I like cover all my bases with rules so that magic-users and psions alike can benefit - or not - from them.
(I'm already working on my item, I must add...)
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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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Question:
Items are supposed to be designed using the Beta rules, if I read correctly; are they supposed to be generic 'drop into any game/setting' items, or if you have the word-count spare for item back-story, can you reference Golarion?EG
Even though it squanders word-count scurrilously, would the phrase '....used in the frigid northern wastes of the Land of the Linnorm Kings...' be acceptable?
Can I use material from any published books in my entry?You may use material from the Pathfinder RPG, any of the Paizo's Pathfinder products, and the 3.5 SRD as shown at www.d20srd.org. All other books are off limits (unless you're specifically directed otherwise in later rounds). Use of other content is grounds for disqualification.
I've noticed that the schedule is pretty tight, it seems as if you are only allowed 3 days per design task.
It also seems as if this year's superstar has a very narrow focus compared to superstar 2008. Gone are the countries and monsters. Instead we have villain, villain, villain.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I've noticed that the schedule is pretty tight, it seems as if you are only allowed 3 days per design task.
It also seems as if this year's superstar has a very narrow focus compared to superstar 2008. Gone are the countries and monsters. Instead we have villain, villain, villain.
I noticed that too and thought it was too bad. I really enjoyed the country and linked-monster rounds.
I am also wondering if this year I should go gonzo, or because everyone will be going gonzo again will I have to go non-gonzo?
Ah decisions, decisions.
Luckily, the wondrous item came to me a few hours ago ;>
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I am also wondering if this year I should go gonzo, or because everyone will be going gonzo again will I have to go non-gonzo?
Ah decisions, decisions.
Luckily, the wondrous item came to me a few hours ago ;>
Well, if one thing became abundantly clear last time, gonzo won some and gonzo lost some. Gonzo might get you noticed, but it might also get you dropped in the "yeah, that's a little too weird kthxbye" pile. Of course, that's no more risky than making something clean and traditional and having people go "yawn, NEXT."
It's a hard balance, but I think my advice to people is don't get caught up in trying to game the gonzo system. Whatever direction you go, make it the coolest version of THAT that you can come up with, and realize that you never can tell with people and what they're gonna like.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Dedicated Voter Season 6
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Just wanted to re-iterate: go for good, not just gonzo. Gonzo can definitely work, and work well, but I got pretty far last year doing submissions that were rather on the predictible fantasy side :)
Probably the best test is "Would I want to use this in my campaign". If the answer is yes, chances are many of the voters agree.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Important quesion; what about psionics? I recall it being said (a while back, so things may have changed) that Pathfinder RPG wasn't going to be supporting (e.g. updating) psionics for the immediate future; does that mean that we can't use the SRD/OGL Psionics at all, or are they still acceptable?
I ask because I do like to sprinkle a bit of psionics in with my magic but most importantly, I like cover all my bases with rules so that magic-users and psions alike can benefit - or not - from them.
(I'm already working on my item, I must add...)
You may use material from the SRD, but your entry also must conform to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta Release. So if you want to reference SRD mechanics that aren't in the Pathfinder Beta, you'd need to include those mechanics in your entry, and I don't think that would go over so well with the judges.
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Chief Technical Officer
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I'm asking for clarification on whether items submitted are supposed to be free of 'fluff' ties to any specific setting, not whether or not I can use material (spells, feats, etc) from the Paizo canon generally?
There's little point to my writing an item description specifically referencing Razmir in the 'fluff', if Paizo are looking for items which they want to be specifically free from references to Golarion to put in the PF RPG.
Can we refer to Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting material, such as nations, heroes, or gods, when describing our item?
Yes, but keep in mind that only one of the judges works at Paizo and has a strong knowledge of the campaign setting, and many of the voters are not regular Pathfinder readers. Contestants hoping to get an "edge" by including a bunch of Pathfinder and Paizo-related inside jokes may be shooting themselves in the feet.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Maybe this is jumping the gun, but with rounds 2, 3, and 4 all about a villain, are they supposed to be linked and refer to the same villain?
Specifics for each challenge will be announced as each round begins.
(We've said there will be some twists this year... this may just be one of the places you'll find them...)
Quick question, if there is a difference between the SRD and the Pathfinder RPG rules, should we use the PF version?
Just wanted to re-iterate: go for good, not just gonzo. Gonzo can definitely work, and work well, but I got pretty far last year doing submissions that were rather on the predictible fantasy side :)
I am going with Clark's advice from last year: my Goblin Gruel needed more spark.
I can't really do gonzo well, but spark may be in my range ;>
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Chief Technical Officer
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I am assuming that we should use the Pathfinder layout for the basis of our entry?
It's a bit disconcerting how many of these questions are answered in the rules, the FAQ, or the Round 1 rules. Folks who don't read the rules are probably not going to fare well in this contest.
PRESENTATION: Use the presentation for magic items found in the wondrous item section of Chapter 15 in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta rules, which can be downloaded for free at paizo.com/pathfinderRPG.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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See the SRD.(More than a few people did get disqualified last year for entering non-wondrous items.)
/begin whine
But I did. It says: "This (wondrous item) is a catch-all category for anything that doesn’t fall into the other groups. Anyone can use a wondrous item (unless specified otherwise in the description)."Which I translate as "anything that is not armor, a weapon, potion/oil, ring, rod, scroll, staff, wand, cursed item, intelligent item, or artifact" which just seems wrong to me. But those are the other "groups."
Am I just over-thinking this? What am I missing? :-/
Yes to the first and nothing to the second.
Make sure your item is not one of those other things, and you should be fine.
P.S. A wondrous item can be intelligent, as can any magic item. A wondrous item can also be cursed, as can any magic item.
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I am also wondering if this year I should go gonzo, or because everyone will be going gonzo again will I have to go non-gonzo?
Ah decisions, decisions.
Luckily, the wondrous item came to me a few hours ago ;>
I have a feeling that everyone who followed this last year will go gonzo, so the judges will probably go the other direction, looking for good, solid entries. I don't think they're looking for gonzo this time, but definitely creative, "outside-the-box" type of entries.
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RPG Superstar 2013
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Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
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Several weeks ago, I couldn't sleep, but I didn't want to turn my light on and wake the wife. So I wrote names of ten different magic items on a legal pad in the dark, and fleshed them out the next day.
Some of my best campaign stuff comes to me when I can't sleep, which happens a lot.
So, I have ten pretty good items in the kittyu. Now I just need to tailor them to Golarion, double check their presentation, and then think of ten more. Then pick one.
Kobold Love project is getting farther and farther from being done.
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Director of Narrative
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Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
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Your "P.S." is a tad contradictory? "Intelligent" and "cursed" items are legit objects, but the other categories aren't? Sorry if I'm being dense. :-/
Any magic item that is not armor, a weapon, a potion or oil, a ring, a rod, a scroll, a staff or a wand is a wondrous item. I believe Jason was also including intelligent items and cursed items among what is acceptable because they are two additional types of items. Consider cursed and intelligent as being “templates” for all magic items, however in this competition, only wondrous items can be used.
Using this page might be helpful as well.
I hope any of this helps.
Design a compelling wondrous item for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta Release, using the Item Creation guidelines that will be released December 2, 2009.
I'm assuming the 2009 is a typo and its supposed to say 2008? Because it would be fairly hard to use rules that don't come out until a year after the contest begins. ^^;
I am absolutely insanely crazily out-of-control fired up to be involved in this contest again. I thought last year was amazing and I cant wait to do this again. I am really looking forward to the creativity and the fantastic community spirit of this competition. Everyone was so cool about comments and "criticism" it was wonderful to be a part of as a judge.
Best of luck to everyone!
Clark
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Senior Software Developer
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I'm assuming the 2009 is a typo and its supposed to say 2008? Because it would be fairly hard to use rules that don't come out until a year after the contest begins. ^^;
An RPG Superhero is expected to be able to travel through time.
Oh, wait. This is RPG Superstar. I was thinking of a completely different, as-yet-unannounced, Paizo project....
We'll fix the date on Monday.
I have a feeling that everyone who followed this last year will go gonzo, so the judges will probably go the other direction, looking for good, solid entries. I don't think they're looking for gonzo this time, but definitely creative, "outside-the-box" type of entries.I am also wondering if this year I should go gonzo, or because everyone will be going gonzo again will I have to go non-gonzo?
Ah decisions, decisions.
Luckily, the wondrous item came to me a few hours ago ;>
Also I'd say the public votes did favor gonzo entries more than the magic item round. And being able to go gonzo on 200 words and still managing to make a complete item is quite a feat...
And I am also quite sure there will be some themes which will be suggested by ten different contestants without knowing (like hobgoblins and coins with luck powers from last year).
New question: How 'concerned parent' friendly must entries be? Must we avoid subjects such as Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'roll to avoid cries of 'think of the children' or can we deal with the sinister and strange roots of fantasy.
Specificially can we reference sacred protitution or the use of arcane narcotics to achieve altered states?
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RPG Superstar 2013
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Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
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I think the Paizo family has always been tolerant of a little edge or grit, but also careful to maintain a PG-13 atmosphere. Maybe references to temple prostitutes or consorts are one things. Much more detail might cross the line. But that's just me interpreting Paizo.
I have definitely learned: no violence towards children. Even a mild hint will get you a "please rewrite those elements" email.
Your "P.S." is a tad contradictory? "Intelligent" and "cursed" items are legit objects, but the other categories aren't? Sorry if I'm being dense. :-/Any magic item that is not armor, a weapon, a potion or oil, a ring, a rod, a scroll, a staff or a wand is a wondrous item. I believe Jason was also including intelligent items and cursed items among what is acceptable because they are two additional types of items. Consider cursed and intelligent as being “templates” for all magic items, however in this competition, only wondrous items can be used.
Using this page might be helpful as well.
I hope any of this helps.
Is an "artifact" a template as well then? Or is there a specific limit on how weak or powerful a wondrous item can be?
Thanks for all the help folks! :)
Form the SRD, i am pretty sure that you can make items which are wands or scrolls in all but name and discription with craft wonderous, and bracers of armour are basicially magic armour, just without the armour.
I think the Paizo family has always been tolerant of a little edge or grit, but also careful to maintain a PG-13 atmosphere. Maybe references to temple prostitutes or consorts are one things. Much more detail might cross the line. But that's just me interpreting Paizo.
I have definitely learned: no violence towards children. Even a mild hint will get you a "please rewrite those elements" email.
Don't worry, none of that here.
aka Robert G. McCreary
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Your "P.S." is a tad contradictory? "Intelligent" and "cursed" items are legit objects, but the other categories aren't? Sorry if I'm being dense. :-/Any magic item that is not armor, a weapon, a potion or oil, a ring, a rod, a scroll, a staff or a wand is a wondrous item. I believe Jason was also including intelligent items and cursed items among what is acceptable because they are two additional types of items. Consider cursed and intelligent as being “templates” for all magic items, however in this competition, only wondrous items can be used.
Using this page might be helpful as well.
I hope any of this helps.
Is an "artifact" a template as well then? Or is there a specific limit on how weak or powerful a wondrous item can be?
Thanks for all the help folks! :)
This is by no means an official answer, but I know last year one of the goals of the Wondrous Item round was to test a writer's knowledge of game mechanics, in this case, the creation of a wondrous item. Artifacts have no rules for creation, since they are legendary items beyond mortal magic.
If it can't be built using the Craft Wondrous Item feat, it might be a risk to submit it.
Hi, my name is Doyle Tavener, and I have had some game material published in the past.
My only 'cover credit' is listed in very small print below a primary author's name. That product, Miskatonic University, is shown here:
http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=41&products_id=747
My name, as well as several others, were listed for elements and systems we contributed that were re-written by the primary author, Sam Johnson. I was not paid for the work.
I do have several small RPG pieces in print, only two of which I was ever paid for (a magazine article and a scenario in The Great Pendragon Campaign). Neither merited cover credit.
My question is simple. Am I excluded from participating in RPG Superstar 2009?
Thanks!
Doyle
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I am absolutely insanely crazily out-of-control fired up to be involved in this contest again. I thought last year was amazing and I cant wait to do this again. I am really looking forward to the creativity and the fantastic community spirit of this competition. Everyone was so cool about comments and "criticism" it was wonderful to be a part of as a judge.
Best of luck to everyone!
Clark
And good to have you back, Clark. It was great to see that you and your fellow judges were every inch as enthusiastic about this contest as we would-be star designers were. That you're willing to spend all the time once again is really great news.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Your "P.S." is a tad contradictory? "Intelligent" and "cursed" items are legit objects, but the other categories aren't? Sorry if I'm being dense. :-/Any magic item that is not armor, a weapon, a potion or oil, a ring, a rod, a scroll, a staff or a wand is a wondrous item. I believe Jason was also including intelligent items and cursed items among what is acceptable because they are two additional types of items. Consider cursed and intelligent as being “templates” for all magic items, however in this competition, only wondrous items can be used.
Using this page might be helpful as well.
I hope any of this helps.
Is an "artifact" a template as well then? Or is there a specific limit on how weak or powerful a wondrous item can be?
Thanks for all the help folks! :)
This is by no means an official answer, but I know last year one of the goals of the Wondrous Item round was to test a writer's knowledge of game mechanics, in this case, the creation of a wondrous item. Artifacts have no rules for creation, since they are legendary items beyond mortal magic.
If it can't be built using the Craft Wondrous Item feat, it might be a risk to submit it.
That's pretty much it.
Any permanent magic item can be intelligent. Weapons are the most common, but the DMG states that any permanent item could be intelligent.
Any permanent magic item can be cursed; on in 3rd Ed parlance a "cursed item" can be an item of any sort, since the list of cursed items is itself specific and includes items of various types, rather than each item type list having a couple of cursed items on it (as was the case in 1st/2nd Ed).
An artifact is a permanent item and it may be of any type, weapon (axe of the dwarvish lords, mace of Cuthbert), staff (the shadowstaff, staff of the magi), ring (ring of Gaxx), wondrous item (jacinth of inestimable beauty, Johydee's mask, Queen Ehlissa's marvelous nightingale), armor (invulnerable coat of Arnd), etc. on down the list. If you want to create an artifact of the wondrous item type and think you can fit it into 200 words, then roll the dice and take yer chances.
But, if the contest is to show a wondrous item one part of that is showing the creation specs, for which there are none for an artifact, you might be taking a big risk.
Appealing on technicalities can have mixed results. For example, some people complained that Sam Kisko's Migrus Locker last year was not an actual ITEM per se, but really more of a creature. In the end the judges let it pass and he made it two more rounds in the contest, but there was some controversy. Other people may have likewise skirted the line and gotten bounced before their names and items ever came to light.
You get one shot in each round. My advice is to be careful. Not safe, mind you, but careful, which means that you should absolutely be willing to take risks, but be wary of taking unnecessary risks. Trying to push the boundaries of what is or is not a wondrous item may work out, but know that it's a gamble going in.
My question is simple. Am I excluded from participating in RPG Superstar 2009?
Hey, Doyle. I asked a similar question last year. I have a cover credit to my name on a softcover book that was a compilation of 3 PDF releases through The Game Mechanics and Green Ronin. Since it wasn't a hardcover credit, the Paizo crew indicated I was still eligible to enter. Alas, my magic item never made it past the first cut. But I would assume I'm still eligible to participate this year. At least, I hope so...and since your cover credit is also a softcover, I would think you'd be in as well.
Regardless, don't take my word for it. One of the judges or rules wranglers should be along to confirm or deny...
--Neil