Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons

[Corrosive Rabbit]

roguerouge wrote:

If it's inside the rules that the contestant is supposed to play by, he and his priestesses have got to be using Planar Ally spells as a cleric. And I've got to wonder how that works because:

SRD wrote:

Few if any creatures will accept a task that seems suicidal (remember, a called creature actually dies when it is killed, unlike a summoned creature).

If he's using this ancient and dark ritual--which are not in the rules that EVERY other contestant had to design within--that works for home campaigns but not here. It's a strong reason to vote against this submission.

I think the key rules are here (emphasis mine):

Round 2 Rules wrote:

ALLOWED SOURCES:

Apart from your own original content, you are limited to using or referring to the following sources:

* Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta Release, and officially released web enhancements to the Beta

* The 3.5 SRD as presented at d20srd.org
* Published content from Paizo's Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting
* Content from the earlier round of this year's RPG Superstar contest (whether you created it or not)
* Content that is in the public domain (such as mythological references, etc.)

And here:

RPG Superstar Press Release wrote:

In round three, Pathfinder RPG designer Jason Bulmahn will help critique the villain stat blocks and new rules.

By my interpretation, this entry is within the rules of the contest as it stands. That said, it's now up to the author to turn that concept into workable mechanics in the next round.

I would make the same rules-based argument in favour of the Malgana entry -- my issue there is not that the author can't do it, but that maybe he shouldn't. This is my own bias against "unkillable except for one weakness" NPCs, and obviously my opinion on this is just that.

As far as this entry goes, the demon-eating aspect is what won my vote. I couldn't help but paraphrase the old newspaper truism in my head: "Demon Eats Mortal" is overdone. "Mortal eats demon?" Now that's interesting!

CR

[Philip Snyder]

Ok, I may get disqualified for this, but I feel I have to weigh in...

Ssyth'ek calls his sacrifices using Demono's. They're pretty good about it too, getting it there within 30 minutes or the material component cost is free...

Spoiler:

This is clearly in jest, and I hope has no bearing on actual voting. After the votes are tallied I may be able to fully explain how Ssyth'ek does it.

[roguerouge]

NChance wrote:

Ok, I may get disqualified for this, but I feel I have to weigh in...

Ssyth'ek calls his sacrifices using Demono's. They're pretty good about it too, getting it there within 30 minutes or the material component cost is free...

** spoiler omitted **

LOL.

[deadly_puddingcup]

Russ Taylor wrote:

Giving your villain a new ritual (the entry suggests the ritual is what he's calling the outsiders with) is well within the contest rules - just like it is fine to make your entry a severed head, or an incorporeal creature carrying a solid object. Villains don't need to fit the SRD to the letter, they just need to not use non-SRD sources other than the writer's imagination (with some broad leeway for inspiration, of course). If there is in fact some D20 product that has such a ritual, that doesn't necessarily mean anything - as long as the variation of that idea isn't taken from that source.

Just my 2 coppers.

Agreed.

[TreeLynx]

Agreed. The way I might do it is by using the SRD incantation rules, basing the effect off of binding rules, rather than ally, since binding rules do not have the proviso of non-suicidal actions.

[roguerouge]

Not sure if this is relevant, but it came up in another contestant's thread, quoting from the round's rules:

"Q12: Can I create new abilities, feats, spells, powers, items, or rules for my villain?

No. This stage of the contest is about story, not about mechanics. Resist the urge."

If this is a voting concern for anyone, I thought I'd bring it up as it is for some elsewhere.

[roguerouge]

TreeLynx wrote:

Agreed. The way I might do it is by using the SRD incantation rules, basing the effect off of binding rules, rather than ally, since binding rules do not have the proviso of non-suicidal actions.

Cunning. Good work.

[roguerouge]

New post from a judge in the general forums clarifies that you CAN institute new rules and abilities in this round. You just can't spell out the mechanics.

[Steven Helt]

Xaaon of Xen'Drik wrote:

I like that concept also.

If he only expanded his kingdom by expanding his swamps...

This may yet get a vote from me, I'm still deciding.

That's exactly what I thought when I started reading Ssyth'ek. Last year, use of the terrain around a villain was featured by some of the best entries. A magically imposed, apocalyptic winter in the middle of a jungle. An oasys protected by magic and surrounded by a sand storm.

My villain entry this year would have featured teleporting fiendish mammoths (closely related to the terrain in that they were being smugled through a forest to surround a certain crusading country) or a druid who steals oases and moves them to her private haven, leaving people to die in the desert. Something similar would be awesome here. A swamp that expands, with dire and fiendish swamps things growing at phenomenal rate and moving outwards with the marsh. Trade is disrupted, civilization feels threatened. Whatever magic Ssyth'ek uses to expand the marsh gets smuggles down river to the middle of the delta and surrounding the coutryside.

Ssyth'ek may not be a complete villain, but he's an evocative image and might have enough going for him to get my vote. Good luck to you if you advance.

[Philip Snyder]

Steven T. Helt wrote:

Xaaon of Xen'Drik wrote:

I like that concept also.

If he only expanded his kingdom by expanding his swamps...

This may yet get a vote from me, I'm still deciding.

That's exactly what I thought when I started reading Ssyth'ek. Last year, use of the terrain around a villain was featured by some of the best entries. A magically imposed, apocalyptic winter in the middle of a jungle. An oasys protected by magic and surrounded by a sand storm.

My villain entry this year would have featured teleporting fiendish mammoths (closely related to the terrain in that they were being smugled through a forest to surround a certain crusading country) or a druid who steals oases and moves them to her private haven, leaving people to die in the desert. Something similar would be awesome here. A swamp that expands, with dire and fiendish swamps things growing at phenomenal rate and moving outwards with the marsh. Trade is disrupted, civilization feels threatened. Whatever magic Ssyth'ek uses to expand the marsh gets smuggles down river to the middle of the delta and surrounding the coutryside.

Ssyth'ek may not be a complete villain, but he's an evocative image and might have enough going for him to get my vote. Good luck to you if you advance.

So much I want to say but cannot due to contest stuff. I'll fully respond, if I can, after the voting ends.

[Jorrik the Fat]

I thought this was a good villain, and one I could see myself using. Although the judges don't seem to agree, I would like to see this one advance to the next round. But... not quite as much as I'd like to see some of the others advance. I do hope it gets through, and it would have been a serious contender for my fifth vote, if I had one. But, as it is, there are others I'm keener on. Tough competition, this one...

So, sorry, and hope to see you in the next round!

[Charles Evans 25]

(edited, expanded on comments, corrected contributor)
My votes are now all gone to other entries, but I wanted to come back and comment again on this one.
The description is good, and the concept seems original enough to have won many voters over despite the judges having failed to recommend it (apart from the unofficial '5th judge', Josh :D) but the description didn't include enough information/details on current activities for me, and failed to make clear enough long-term goals beyond the 'eat the father' business. Steven T. Helt shouldn't have needed to come to the entry's defence with proposals about extending the swamplands, because these could have been covered in the entry.
Last year I may have gone for this entry with a vote on the basis of the originality anyway, but I am being a little more demanding in my expectations this time around.

Ssyth'ek is up there with Gulga Cench in origin, and what he is, I feel, but Gulga Cench is continents ahead in having minions, allies, current activities, and aggressive long-term goals (he wants to elevate Otyghs out of the sewer) drawn clearly out. Ssythek's only long-term goal, as stated in the entry, affects only himself and his father. It needed something about what Ssythek intended do with all that power once he had it.

Like Veddic (who starts wars in which thousands dies, and then makes a profit selling weapons to both sides) this villain could have been presented much better, I think.

Please raise the level of your game for the stat block round, if that is at all possible. Or if not, be prepared to come back stronger, next year.

You give me the impression you have talent, but now you need to work to develop it.

[Joel Flank]

This is a really cool monster, but I guess I'm more interested in what he'll do after the ritual. Just do another ritual?

"Hey, I ate my demon dad, hmmm, what to do next...I've got it! I'll eat a maralith! And after that, a Balor, and then I'll work my way through the demon lords. What a feast!"

If the PCs know what he's doing, they could just quietly leave and let Ssyth'ek reduce the number of demons out there.

Also, I felt too much emphasis was placed on his various abilities. A hint of them is fine, but I'd have rather seen them show up next round in the stat block, which would have left more room this round for goals, hooks, etc.

A good effort, and I'd love to see your stat block, but this only hits my maybe category, and doesn't break inot my vote getters.

[Victor Spieles]

Congratulations Philip on making it to the RPG Superstar Sweet Sixteen. (applause, applause, applause)

Keep up the good work.

[Charles Evans 25]

Congratulations on making the top 16, Philip.

[roguerouge]

Congratulations on advancing! Have fun with new digesting rules!

[lweismann]

So, if the PCs defeated him, presumably they could take the book and engage in a little infernal fine dining?

Hmm, interesting way to template a PC after the fact and not affect your Level adjustment...

Also, if that is allowed, maybe limit it to those of the same bloodline, ie: at least tieflings for infernal and etc...