Ah. The Helm of Brilliance booby trap. Reminds me of when my party started using barrels packed with Necklaces of Fireballs as demolition explosives.
I wasn't DMing at the time, thank god.
I've never actually used a Helm of Brilliance in any campaign I've ever run, in all my (albeit limited) years of gaming. No particular reason why either, but I think my players have always thought that it looked far too gaudy for any of their particular characters to wear. :)
Oh you missed out :) I random rolled a helm in a treasure way back in my 1st edition campaign, probably in '00. Kitera, the fighter/cleric/magic-user who picked it up was already known for fireball'ing herself, so the *double* fire resistance the helm gave (which I interpreted as -4 per die, instead of the usual -2 per die) let her get away with that a whole lot more often (average of 7 damage after save at 12th level).
The Helm never exploded until early '07, after eventual conversion to 3rd edition, at 30th level, while alone in the Abyss under the affects of Damnation (epic spell - 24 hours in Hell or the Abyss, 1d4 pit fields/balors show up per hour). Two balors had just firestormed her and, wearing the helm, she had no fire resistance. 17 fireballs and 12 walls of fire later she had taken 395 points of damage.. and... *sigh*... lived. Just can't kill her.
[/threadjack-storytelling]
I like the ankle bracelet thing.. that actually would have gone off much sooner.
Ah. The Helm of Brilliance booby trap. Reminds me of when my party started using barrels packed with Necklaces of Fireballs as demolition explosives.
10. Channeling items. There were a lot of items that worked with channeling mechanics. Like the augury items last year, there's nothing *wrong* with that mechanic, but seeing it fairly often means we probably set the bar higher.
{sigh}.
Of course, my idea was based on something I thought of for classes that can turn or rebuke and I had to adjust my idea to accommodate the PF channeling concept - that is, I didn't go for channeling because it was "new and shiny". So there's always a chance that mine is one that meets the "higher bar". :D
:-j(enni)
My entry in 2007 was a faceless helmet carried by armies, which, when placed on the head of a fallen body of either army, rose as a silent undead warrior for your side. The undead took control
Unfortunately, I'll never know if it would have made the cut or not, as in my haste I left off the item creation stats.
Next year I'm designing an item that fulfills every point on Clark's list of bad design.I should do that! Since I'm ineligible anyway, what do I have to lose? :)
Well, there's the gag items thread. Go nuts.
My entry in 2007 was XXXX
Unfortunately, I'll never know if it would have made the cut or not, as in my haste I left off the item creation stats.
You could always resubmit the item next year - that's permitted as long as it didn't win.
I'd suggest removing the description of your item from your post (if you see this in time), in case you want to do that.
We really havent had many over word count submissions this year. That is, until today. I had a 311 word submission. Can you say "auto-reject"? Didnt even read the item. Couldnt tell you what it was. It looked really long so I cut and pasted it into Word, saw the word count and nuked it.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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We really havent had many over word count submissions this year. That is, until today. I had a 311 word submission. Can you say "auto-reject"? Didnt even read the item. Couldnt tell you what it was. It looked really long so I cut and pasted it into Word, saw the word count and nuked it.
In the immortal words of the Knights of the Dinner Table: "Rules are rules, suck it up!"
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2012
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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We really havent had many over word count submissions this year. That is, until today. I had a 311 word submission. Can you say "auto-reject"? Didnt even read the item. Couldnt tell you what it was. It looked really long so I cut and pasted it into Word, saw the word count and nuked it.
Awww! You didn't get to find out if the entry defined a word for you.
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Marathon Voter Season 6
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"liked the idea but the execution sucked and the cost is whack and the spell names are capitalized and it lacks important mechanics to adjudicate the use of the item"
Oh god I think that one is mine >.>
I did capitalize the spell name, and I did just make up a price based on the level I think players should be able to attain the item (since the formulas didn't apply really).
I think everyone has the nervous jitters right now. I have yet to see a post from someone who is confident they are getting into the Top 32.
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Marathon Voter Season 6
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Careful what you wish for :)Honestly, (and Wolf and I were just discussing this in a post last night) we got a couple items where you can just tell that the author thinks he or she is god's gift to game design and the item is really not that good at all.
I can't even imagine how superego can come through in an item description.
I really hope there's a good opportunity for feedback from this. I missed out on the Society Open Call that Josh gave all the feedback on and (while I completely understand the reasons why) was a bit disappointed not to get it.
"liked the idea but the execution sucked and the cost is whack and the spell names are capitalized and it lacks important mechanics to adjudicate the use of the item"Oh god I think that one is mine >.>
I did capitalize the spell name, and I did just make up a price based on the level I think players should be able to attain the item (since the formulas didn't apply really).
I think everyone has the nervous jitters right now. I have yet to see a post from someone who is confident they are getting into the Top 32.
No one should be confident they are getting into the top 32. Anyone who is confident doesnt have a clue (well, except perhaps one item, and I think that will become obvious as to why he or she may think pretty strongly that they may be advancing).
The best anyone can say is: "I think my item was good, I did my homework, I tried my best, I edited the heck out of it, I checked the rules, I checked the format, I used the wisdom from last year. This item is as good as I can make it and now it is up to the judges."
Oh man, I just had the mother of all word count violations.
It was 920 words. The item itself was 192 words. The huge "note" s/he added at the end was the extra 728.
Total inability to follow rules. I didnt even read it.
Autorejected.
"I think my item was good, I did my homework, I tried my best, I edited the heck out of it, I checked the rules, I checked the format, I used the wisdom from last year. This item is as good as I can make it and now it is up to the judges."
I'm gonna print this out, laminate it, and then tape it to the front cover of my Stuart Smalley self-help book. ;)
I hope my item is good enough, if a role indicates intelligence then it's smart enough, and gosh darn it, people will like it!!!
No one should be confident they are getting into the top 32.
A quote I've always liked, that seems appropriate to this contest:
“True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often, and changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance.” - Akhenaton (King of Egypt, 14th century BC)
No one should be confident they are getting into the top 32.A quote I've always liked, that seems appropriate to this contest:
“True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often, and changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance.” - Akhenaton (King of Egypt, 14th century BC)
Didnt he get assassinated by someone he presumed was his friend? Ah, irony!
[disclaimer: the above historical fact was completely fabricated for literary effect]
OK, here is another thing I am really seeing alot of this year.
Remember how I was saying that my new saying of the year is "reject, and its too bad, too..."?
Well, I've had more of those. And I can explain a bit better.
I keep seeing these really good items with some neat ideas behind them. But the author falls down on the mechanics or other things. Those kill me. Those are hard to reject. Because, in general, the inspired idea is the part that is hard to come up with. That is the visionary big thinking part that is hard to nail. Christine from last year was great at it. The mechanics and execution stuff is the hard work.
So I guess we are seeing some more items this year with some inspired ideas (like, for example, last years torch of solidity). Problem is, they keep tripping on the little stuff.
Mojo and good ideas count for alot, but we cant just give a pass to big mechanics blunders, because that is as much a part of great design. It reminds me alot of last year. Christine won because she had great huge awesome ideas coupled with a very workmanlike ability to craft the mechanics. Jason, for instance, didnt have perhaps the inspired huge ideas of Christine but he was a shade better at the mechanics (and Christine was no slough). Boomer was off the charts on big ideas, but his mechanic follow through was not as good as Jason or Christine.
In the end, the big idea will grab our attention, but it isnt enough. You need more.
We are seeing some great, great items this year that unfortunately have some flaws that mean they dont advance.
Think about it like this, a scoring system if you will (that we dont actually use, it is just used here as a reference).
Idea: Great!
Execution: Poor!
= Reject
Idea: Above Average
Execution: Above Average
= Keep (maybe)
See what I am saying?
I just voted Reject on an item that had so much promise but had a few fatal flaws. I rejected it. And it was too bad, too.
I keep seeing these really good items with some neat ideas behind them. But the author falls down on the mechanics or other things. Those kill me.
I have to think that there must be an urge for the judges to pause in judging and rewrite or tweak some of these great concept items to their mechanical standards, in that they're all game designers themselves.
CR
I have to think that there must be an urge for the judges to pause in judging and rewrite or tweak some of these great concept items to their mechanical standards, in that they're all game designers themselves.
CR
Oh man, you have no idea. I just was doing that on an item I was clearly rejecting. :)
And earlier Wolf and I were riffing on an item that would have been so much better as a whip (yes, I know, weapons arent allowed, but we judges can talk about what we want).
I was worse about this last year. Last year I literally would write: "This item would have been better if..." and then redo the whole submission formatting and all with my changes. I tried to reign that in this year because of the time it takes.
Oh man, I just had the mother of all word count violations.
It was 920 words. The item itself was 192 words. The huge "note" s/he added at the end was the extra 728.
Total inability to follow rules. I didnt even read it.
Autorejected.
Hey WATCHER!
This one yours? I know your a fan of designer notes ;>
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I just voted Reject on an item that had so much promise but had a few fatal flaws. I rejected it. And it was too bad, too.
Oh man! Sorry to you, that you must judge. Sorry to me, that I must be judged. Such dread.
Wait a minute. Judge Dredd?
BTW, I didn't know till just now they were making a new one. Coolio.
Cheers,
Zux
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We really havent had many over word count submissions this year. That is, until today. I had a 311 word submission. Can you say "auto-reject"? Didnt even read the item. Couldnt tell you what it was. It looked really long so I cut and pasted it into Word, saw the word count and nuked it.
I haven't entered, so I don't have a horse in this race.
I'm just curious in case I ever did submit something for publication in general.I totally understand the need to reduce unnecessary space in a published product, to keep down the page count and weight. But why is space measured in word count? Surely it would be more accurate to judge the number of characters used? Someone who uses short, pithy, sentences that get to the point, should be able to fit more words and sentences in the alloted space, than someone who attempts to discombobulate the adjudicators with an egregious surfeit of thesaurialisationalism?
(No, that's probably not a real word.)
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
aka flash_cxxi
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As always Bob, you bring up an interesting point.
What would happen if you got two submissions that had exactly the same word count but one is half a page longer than the other because they use larger words?
What would you (any of you Publishers/Editors, not just Clark) do if something like this happened for a Submission for a contracted piece (be it article or adventure)? You got the submission in and it ran two pages longer than the space you have available because larger words were used? From an Editor's point, would you just pull out the Thesaurus and correct, or send it back for a re-write?
aka Robert G. McCreary
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Mojo and good ideas count for alot, but we cant just give a pass to big mechanics blunders, because that is as much a part of great design. It reminds me alot of last year. Christine won because she had great huge awesome ideas coupled with a very workmanlike ability to craft the mechanics. Jason, for instance, didnt have perhaps the inspired huge ideas of Christine but he was a shade better at the mechanics (and Christine was no slough). Boomer was off the charts on big ideas, but his mechanic follow through was not as good as Jason or Christine.
And where do I fit in there, Clark? Already forgotten after only a year? :)
As always Bob, you bring up an interesting point.
What would happen if you got two submissions that had exactly the same word count but one is half a page longer than the other because they use larger words?
What would you (any of you Publishers/Editors, not just Clark) do if something like this happened for a Submission for a contracted piece (be it article or adventure)? You got the submission in and it ran two pages longer than the space you have available because larger words were used? From an Editor's point, would you just pull out the Thesaurus and correct, or send it back for a re-write?
I always assumed Word counted WPM, i.e., 5-letter word units. On a typing test, one 20 letter word would be the same as 4 5-letter words.
It was 920 words. The item itself was 192 words. The huge "note" s/he added at the end was the extra 728.
I'd throw that on the pile with the dictionary guy as 'people who think they're smarter than the judges'.
As far as idea vs. mechanics: That's absolutely true. I'm much better with mechanics than inspiration. It got me into the Top 32 last year as the best of a large category of items (Augury items). And that was with some lucky 'flash of insight' type ideas. But I washed out in the very next round. Christine, who clearly had no lack of inspiration, went on to win it (and I didn't like her item, sorry Christine).
And where do I fit in there, Clark? Already forgotten after only a year? :)
If it makes you feel better Rob I don't remember anyone's final entry very well other than something about a city contruct walking around fighting some other giant creature and something about dwarf valkries or something like that.
I keep seeing these really good items with some neat ideas behind them. But the author falls down on the mechanics or other things. Those kill me. Those are hard to reject.
Question for you, Clark. And the other judges, too, I suppose, if they're of a mind to answer...
If we wind up falling into that category this year (or think we have)...and do exactly like you and go back to tinkering with it to refine the idea so it works better mechanically...would you like to see such an item resubmitted next year? Or would you prefer an all-new idea rather than something reworked?
--Neil
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2012
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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Oh man, I just had the mother of all word count violations.
It was 920 words. The item itself was 192 words. The huge "note" s/he added at the end was the extra 728.
Total inability to follow rules. I didnt even read it.
Autorejected.
I can see this as an honest mistake--the item itself fit within the 200 word limit, but maybe there was some other information the author wanted to impart (perhaps behind a spoiler tag). Of course there are two caveats to that. 1. The author put in notes weighing in at nearly 4 times the item description. 2. The question about putting in "designer notes" and applying them to the word count was answered in these forums, so anyone following the forums should have known better. It seems there were a few auto-rejects that would have had a chance if the authors had looked at the rules clarifications which appeared in the forums.
I think I avoided the obvious pitfalls. I do have a nagging suspicion that I put my item name in the subject line, but failed to put it in the actual submission text.
I think I avoided the obvious pitfalls. I do have a nagging suspicion that I put my item name in the subject line, but failed to put it in the actual submission text.
Item name or user name? If you put the item name in the subject line that is what is supposed to happen, you don't need to put the item name in the submission text.
Putting your user name in the submission text is bad.....really bad.
Rules state: The subject line of the submission form should contain only the name of the item. The body of the form should include only the complete item text in the appropriate format (this means the item name will be included in the body as well).
Rules state: The subject line of the submission form should contain only the name of the item. The body of the form should include only the complete item text in the appropriate format (this means the item name will be included in the body as well).
Based on comments made by the judges so far in this thread, I would imagine that omitting the item name from the body of the entry would be a strike against the entry, but probably wouldn't lead to an automatic rejection on its own. This is just my opinion, of course.
CR
Rules state: The subject line of the submission form should contain only the name of the item. The body of the form should include only the complete item text in the appropriate format (this means the item name will be included in the body as well).Based on comments made by the judges so far in this thread, I would imagine that omitting the item name from the body of the entry would be a strike against the entry, but probably wouldn't lead to an automatic rejection on its own. This is just my opinion, of course.
CR
Let's hope so.
"I think my item was good, I did my homework, I tried my best, I edited the heck out of it, I checked the rules, I checked the format, I used the wisdom from last year. This item is as good as I can make it and now it is up to the judges."
Assuming I don't make it into the top 32, this is going to be my mantra. Then I shall keep working fevorishly hard for 2010.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2012
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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I think I avoided the obvious pitfalls. I do have a nagging suspicion that I put my item name in the subject line, but failed to put it in the actual submission text.Item name or user name? If you put the item name in the subject line that is what is supposed to happen, you don't need to put the item name in the submission text.
Putting your user name in the submission text is bad.....really bad.
I definitely did not put my user name in the submission. That would have been the height of presumption. Presuming what, I don't know exactly...
I'm a little confused regarding the whole "backstory" issue. I know there was a suggestion that this was not the best way to go, but it was definitely NOT a rule regarding the contest itself that you could not. In fact, a question was asked that was placed in the FAQ regarding use of Golarion and other Pathfinder products in the contest, and the answer was, yes, you could use the background material. Now, why else would you use the background material if you were not going to extrapolate on the item itself?
Just curious, and hope that backstory was not criteria for immediate rejection as it was not stated in the rules. My opinion; if you can create a decent wondrous item AND background given the confines of the 200 words, you should certainly not be rejected automatically.
I'm a little confused regarding the whole "backstory" issue. I know there was a suggestion that this was not the best way to go, but it was definitely NOT a rule regarding the contest itself that you could not. In fact, a question was asked that was placed in the FAQ regarding use of Golarion and other Pathfinder products in the contest, and the answer was, yes, you could use the background material. Now, why else would you use the background material if you were not going to extrapolate on the item itself?
Just curious, and hope that backstory was not criteria for immediate rejection as it was not stated in the rules. My opinion; if you can create a decent wondrous item AND background given the confines of the 200 words, you should certainly not be rejected automatically.
As was said earlier in the thread, large amounts of backstory are not part of the wondrous items that appear in the SRD or Beta rules. I don't believe that backstory is a reason for automatic rejection, as if I remember correctly, at least one item that made it into the top 32 last year included some backstory. However, that same backstory was cited as a strike against the item by the judges.
As far as the use of Golarion and other Pathfinder products, I'm guessing that there's a distinction between backstory and flavour/description wherein backstory discusses who made the item and why, and flavour/description factors more into what the item looks like and perhaps brief indications as to how it's used. For example, the difference between,
"The Widget of Incredible Awesomeness was created by the Chelaxian sorcerer Blazzle",
and
"The Widge of Incredible Awesomeness is highly valued by Chelaxian agents working under secret identities."
The first doesn't really add anything to the item, except for information that most GMs would change to suit their campaign. The second gives an indication as to a type of character or NPC who would find the item useful.
Of course, this is just my opinion, based on previous posts. Maybe if Clark Peterson, or one of the other judges has time, they can clarify if they are drawing a distinction between backstory and flavour/description. That said, I think their views on backstory are pretty clear from previous postings.
CR
I always assumed Word counted WPM, i.e., 5-letter word units. On a typing test, one 20 letter word would be the same as 4 5-letter words.I believe Word counts words by the actual "words." I remember writing a paper in college and it needed to be 750 words. The final draft came up about 5 words short, so I added a bunch of "a"s "the"s and "of"s.
All letters shorter then 5 letter units, and they increased my word count 1 for 1. Maybe you can set word to detect word count that way, but it's not the default.
word processing programs such as Word etc. count the actual number of words... back in the old days (when typed manuscripts were the most common medium) most magazine editors used to use the standard of 5-letters/spaces equals one word, because it always lead to a firm understanding of how much space any given article would take up (from a writers point of view this was potentially a good thing, because it meant that you got payed for more words then you actually wrote most times... I mean who really writes entire articles with nothing longter then 3 letter words--three letters plus two spaces equals one word in that system). Now days however, most magazine editors have caved to the easiness of simply doing a word count,and going by the actual number of words submitted.
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Marathon Voter Season 7
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I always assumed Word counted WPM, i.e., 5-letter word units. On a typing test, one 20 letter word would be the same as 4 5-letter words.
I'm pretty sure Microsoft Word counts spaces before and after letters, not the letters themselves.
To test, I just typed in "supercalifragilistic" and Word counted it as a single word. Likewise "supercalifragilistic-expialidocious," with a dash still counts as a single word. But, "a wee bit o' lint," is recorded as 5 words.
edit: ninja'd
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Star Voter Season 6
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I always assumed Word counted WPM, i.e., 5-letter word units. On a typing test, one 20 letter word would be the same as 4 5-letter words.I'm pretty sure Microsoft Word counts spaces before and after letters, not the letters themselves.
To test, I just typed in "supercalifragilistic" and Word counted it as a single word. Likewise "supercalifragilistic-expialidocious," with a dash still counts as a single word. But, "a wee bit o' lint," is recorded as 5 words.
edit: ninja'd
wc -w for me.
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Marathon Voter Season 7
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Hmm. The more comments I see here, the more I doubt that there will be a 'top 10' to go through to the next round, let alone a 'top 32'. Are the judges actually seeing any items worth keeping, Clark? I have an idea that I've seen posted somewhere that there weren't very many that all the judges agreed on last time, and that 'the golden tickets' ended up making up the tally of 32 very handily.
Hey, don't be so negative.
This thread has given me hope as so far I think the only listed problem mine is overly guilty of is capitalization of the spell names, and maybe just a dash of spell in a can. Don't burst my hope. :)
I'll be glad when the twentieth gets here. Last night I dreamt about this contest. I was at a convention and the names of the top thirty two were being announced for the first time. They called out the five alternates, then the bottom sixteen. I waited anxiously, expecting my item to be called any moment. And then I woke up without ever hearing what the last sixteen were.