I't funny I ran a game last night and the camaraderie and support sort of put me at ease for submitting today. Still editing is a litttle stressful.
Good luck to all of you.
Last Tuesday was my gaming night and I told myself I would not look until then, since I would be disappointedly distracted from work. Of course Vic's email popped up with bad news/good news subject. Guess who was too distracted to get work done :). I called Mate at home: no luck. I called her at work: no answer. I called her cel still no luck. Who to share with?
longer story
So gaming night was a bit of buzz for me. Which it always is anyway. I felt like Homer beerbeerbeerbedbedbed O:)
I have to say, and there may be a better place for this, but I feel I have already gotten the best prize ever. Getting feedback from three designers and four pros is worth a lot to me. The real prize. Last year I did not know where I fell in the process. This year I got feedback! Genuine feedback!
I found out that I was in the 32 after I got back from my routine cleaning at the dentist. I was just going to check my e-mail to see if I had gotten the notice that PF 18 had shipped and instead saw the confirmation e-mail.
I was super excited and my hands were uncontrollably shaking making it difficult to type.
The word count of my villain fluctuated a lot crossing the 500 word limit a few times before I got it straightened out.
I think my villain first came to mind back in '08 when I was watching that year's Superstar competition. Either that or I was bitten in my sleep by a dream-spider sent from a long-forgotten secret civilization hidden beneath the Arctic Circle. no, wait, that's...
Yo yo yo - what we really need here is some fan art. Round 2 calls for some awesome villains, and while it is our job to paint with words, how freakin awesome would it be to have a collection of artist's renderings to bring them further to life...?
Second-best to actual artwork is the classic "who would play them in a movie" game...
Huzzah to all the field! This is all a grand adventure.
I checked the website during my lunch break at school and learned results wouldn't be out until 5:00... then spent the afternoon convincing myself I could take the ego hit if I didn't make it and it was no big deal... then thought for sure I hadn't made the cut when I couldn't find my name under the Ms... then realized the list was alphabetized by first name and did a little happy jig that frightened my roommate's cat.
I started writing up my villain and realized I had broken 500 words before even writing the backstory or motivations/goals. A long series of revisions and trimmings followed, but I think I ended up with something much stronger than my original concept as a result. I write best with tight word limits... I'd never properly edit without them. Like my Big Brother always says, Freedom is Slavery!
So pumped for this contest. Can't wait to see everyone's villains, and learn what diabolical (or abyssal, or daemonic) twists the judges have planned for round 3.
(For whatever it's worth, I think this message may mark the first time I've ever used the phrase "Holy cow". I'm not sure why I decided to use it here...)
Oh, come now. You're just trying to throw us off from guessing your villain. I'll go first...
Was it a...celestial bovine by any chance? :-D
--Neil
Was it a...celestial bovine by any chance? :-D
Perhaps it has +30 to Acrobatics checks when the moon is out? ;-0
-S
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
aka flash_cxxi
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Just thought I'd poke my head in, nod, and say "cool"...
I'm still trying to wind down from the multiple edits on my villain concept. I've got a low-level headache (probably from stress?) and my stomach either doesn't like what I had for lunch (pizza and hot wings!) or it too is tied in knots.
Thanks for setting up Guildhall 32...
P.S. It's so much easier when you just post under your one avatar. Although I've got several PbP avatars on the boards. ;-)
Wow, it's like I posted something but it's not me talking!
Every one of these statements mirror my own sentiments perfectly (except I had Subway with chicken, bacon, pepperoni, 2 cheeses, salad & Southwest Chilli sauce for lunch - I love that my Parents own 2 Subways).
Good Luck with Round 2 everyone. After the first round I am really looking forward to reading about everyone's Villains and Elizabeth, I'm looking at you in particular here; I loved your Haunted Shoes).
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
aka flash_cxxi
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After the contest is over, maybe we should start a clearing house thread where the Top 32 unload everything they almost submitted, but didn't. It'd be like a giant volcano of awesome.
It's funny, but the Dazzler was my first idea and I liked it so much that I never even bothered trying to think up alternates. I'm glad I didn't now, I might have gone with something else and not gotten picked.
Just poking my head to to say howdy. Ever since Tuesday it seems as though I've had all of zero time to myself. Between the villain fine-tuning from Tuesday night to Friday afternoon, scheduled games that aren't gonna stop just cuz I made it into the Top 32, and general running around, I'm going at a mile a minute. Oh, and trying to comment on everyone's item, that's taking longer than I'd have hoped as well.
Anyway, I digress. I hope everyone else is having a bit of a more stress-free time of it than I am, and I wish everyone the best of luck in the upcoming rounds.
Good Luck with Round 2 everyone. After the first round I am really looking forward to reading about everyone's Villains and Elizabeth, I'm looking at you in particular here; I loved your Haunted Shoes).
I hope I live up to your expectations in the next round! I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with.
Ever since Tuesday it seems as though I've had all of zero time to myself.
I feel the same way. I should have been more optimistic and planned my villain in advance.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Star Voter Season 6
aka TerraNova
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Ditto on the zero time for myself - but it's a dry heat, and beautiful kind of pain ;)
I'm only now starting to look through the other items, and after burning my fingers once will probably refrain from commenting.
Ah well, good of luck to all of you, but best luck for me ;)
Come on people,
Update those profiles!
Done (finally).
Visit my profile and find out more about me than you could have possibly ever wanted to know!
(Uh... not that there's really all that much about me there. But it's not like there's all that much you want to know about me anyway, right?)
We have profiles?!
How long have those been there?
Ok.. all set!
Hey, they posted up our locations - glad to see a few fellow New Englanders on the list!
Apologies for the brief gatecrash.
For those who were unaware of it, there is a rough Beta playtest index on the Paizo boards here: *link*
The later hyphenated versions give some idea of the indentation structure of my original word documents.In case it helps with the statting round.... :)
Kicks Charles Evans 25 on the way out!
Greetings Fellow 32'ers, and everybody else as well.
My first reaction when I read my email that said I was in the top 32 was, "alright which of my friends faked the email." I could not verify since the site was bombarded with users. Then once it set in, I had to give my baby girl to my wife so I could jump up and down for joy. hahahaha
As for the villain writing I am right there with a lot of you, I had one villain idea in mind and got to writing, and when I thought I had a good outline for each section I hit word count. 875! That was the outline. So I was like hmmm, ok that is too complex. Let me redo this. 6 revisions later I was able to drop down under the 500 mark.
Checked the time at 30 minutes to deadline. Sweat started to bead up at this point, then the submission started to appear to not take. Almost had a heart attack. hahahahaha
Sorry I have not posted much earlier, had a little more excitement the next morning and got the joy of a CT Scan and other batteries of tests. AT least I got time to think of my villain instead of going to work.
Good luck to everybody. It is a honor to be amongst the top 32! <bows deeply to everybody>
If any of you guys make it to DragonCon come find me at The Cheese Grinder table and say hey!
Question for the other alternates. One of my pbp folks wants to see my item. I did not want to post it yet. Though not the 32, I'm not out until Tuesday either. Have you are did you plan to post your item somewhere?
I would like to BTW to see them, just for curiosity's sake *grin*
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4
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On a related note, am I the only one who ended up dropping the first villain concept he came up with in favor of something else?
No.
In fact, my final Villain submission from last year was the last in a long, LONG line of ideas, some of them (and no one ever belives me when I say this) a million times more gonzo than the Ul-Shadai ever was.
I look forward to seeing what you guys have got cooked up for all of us Superstar! fans, and best of luck to each and every one of you!
Question for the other alternates. One of my pbp folks wants to see my item. I did not want to post it yet. Though not the 32, I'm not out until Tuesday either. Have you are did you plan to post your item somewhere?
I would like to BTW to see them, just for curiosity's sake *grin*
Might well do tho I understand we can't anyway til the next round proper starts.
Having said that, with the benefit of all the advice I have already received I've (in the matter of a few minutes) revamped the original into a MK2 version which is much tighter rules wise and more condensed. Just goes to show that a little constructive "overview" can help your game and often it doesn't take much to make something nearly good into something quite a bit better.
Congratulations to everyone who made it into the top 32 (and the alternates too)! I love the wondrous items you came up with, and I'm eager to see what your villain concepts are.
I'd actually forgotten about the contest! I just thought it would be fun to submit something, so I came up with a couple dozen ideas, had friends and family help me pick the most interesting one, went through the Magic Item Compendium to make sure it hadn't already been done, and then wrote it up. I don't hang out here much, so I only found out by checking my mail; my jaw hit my lap. I didn't even know what the next round was! And then I had a panic attack, because I'd spent most of a month thinking up Boundary Chalk, and now I had to come up with a villain idea in three days (and not even a weekend!).
So I did the same process for round 2. I came up with a bunch of one-line ideas for villains. It helped that I keep around a file of "story seeds": random story or adventure ideas I've had in the past that might be useful someday. I also reread a series of Villain Builder articles that I'd seen a while back. I again had friends and family narrow down the choices, and picked the one that seemed most interesting. Then I had another panic attack, calmed down, and wrote up a villain that I'm totally stoked about. I ran over the word count coming up with hooks, and trimmed it back to 495 words.
If I make it to round 3 I may be hosed, because I haven't actually played Pathfinder much, and have little confidence I can put a stat block together in three days. But I'm honored to have been selected for round one, and had such a good time with my villain concept that I feel like I won even if this is as far as I get.
You seem like a great bunch, and I'm thrilled to be included in your number. I wish all of you the best of luck.
Come on people,
Update those profiles!
Did it last night. Took me too long, because, well, look at my Special Ability.
The villain I scrapped before coming up with my actual entry was based on the Monkey King from Chinese folklore. He was going to be an awakened monkey lich wizard (illusionist) 20 who created duplicates of himself by casting the simulacrum spell on his own hairs.
But then I realized that the concept itself wasn't original at all. (One of the Monkey King's names in Chinese folklore can be translated as Awakened Monkey, so even that design choice is entirely derivative.) Don't get me wrong, the stat block and combat tactics would have been extremely original. But a concept lifted straight from mythology probably wouldn't have made it to the stat block round.
Now that's blatant.
I dunno. Depending on how creative you were with the concept, it might have won you Wolfgang Baur's vote. Have you seen the name of his blog?
I look forward to seeing what you guys have got cooked up for all of us Superstar! fans, and best of luck to each and every one of you!
Once again, Boomer has shown us the way. I too cannot wait to see the villains and wish everyone the best of luck.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am really eager to see everyone's villians. I know that I worked especially hard on mine, and I'm sure the rest of the top 32 did as well.
I plan on commenting along with the casual reader. I think every writer wants to see as much comments about his creation, as early as possible! Or at least I do.
I did that in the previous round, too. :)
What Vladislav said. Of course, I've got auditions to keep me distracted, so I'll be even worse about villain comments than I have been about items. Which will ALSO keep me from commenting on my own villain. Lucky me. =0
Is anyone else starting to get a case of nerves? I am, for sure. Jeez, I can't submit early or do anything else to calm my OCD-afflicted self. I just have to wait it out. And the results aren't even in, just the comments from the judges.
Jeez.
Doyle
I don't think I responded to the original question at the beginning of this thread, about how I heard about the results of the 1st round.
I was out of the house, during my day off on Tuesday, when I stopped by my job (I work at a game store) to pick up my check. So I used the work computer to check the results, the whole time trying to tamper down my expectations. (Visualize how you will feel when you don't see your name. Visualize how you will feel when you don't see your name. Visualize... Etc.)
When I did see my name I let out a whoop you could hear in the next county. And I smacked my hand so hard it hurt for an hour afterward. :)
And then I jabbered mindlessly for a while. Whatever happens from now on is gravy, as far as I am concerned.
Doyle
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8
aka Tarren Dei
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I'm curious: are folks planning on commenting on other finalists' entries while voting is underway, or are folks planning on waiting until voting is finished before critiquing the competition?
I probably wouldn't say anything negative about other finalists' entries but might voice my support for the ones I like. That's just me though.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Star Voter Season 6
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I probably wouldn't say anything negative about other finalists' entries but might voice my support for the ones I like. That's just me though.
I'm curious: are folks planning on commenting on other finalists' entries while voting is underway, or are folks planning on waiting until voting is finished before critiquing the competition?
I think that's the route I'll take. At the very least I'll post positive comments if anything at all.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8
aka Tarren Dei
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Is anyone else starting to get a case of nerves? I am, for sure. Jeez, I can't submit early or do anything else to calm my OCD-afflicted self. I just have to wait it out. And the results aren't even in, just the comments from the judges.
Jeez.
Doyle
Ha. We've got a bus strike going on in Ottawa and I have to do some work in the downtown for a teacher training institute. I'll be leaving just in time to hit an hour and half of congested roads. I won't be able to see anything until around two hours after they open up the voting. I'm a pretty calm guy but tomorrow's ride home should test my patience.
I probably wouldn't say anything negative about other finalists' entries but might voice my support for the ones I like. That's just me though.
I'm curious: are folks planning on commenting on other finalists' entries while voting is underway, or are folks planning on waiting until voting is finished before critiquing the competition?
I think I'm just going to stay away from those threads, I would feel a bit guilty supporting one submission over another, so it would be likely that I would just say the same thing in every thread which I can say just as well here.
Good luck you all and I'm looking forward to reading your villains!
I think my plan is to read all the entries and give both positive and negative feedback.
Provided I can of course, if it turns out that I can't think of anything to say about some of them then I just won't post at all. You know, an "all-or-nothing" deal to remain fair.
I will say right now however, that I am very excited about reading all the entries. I will have my OpenOffice document open with my copy and paste buttons at the ready.. believe you me.
I plan to read and give feedback on everyone else's villian. The real test is going to be not giving any replies to comments on my villian until voting ends!
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Star Voter Season 6
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It's so funny that I've never really liked trying to be a rules lawyer, but as I get ready for Round 3 I realized I should have be trying harder all these years.
See that's why I worried I'm <redacted> for round 2. I read all the comments on the bracelet, and I keep seeing compliments on the technical, round two isn't technical, it's fluff.
If I make it to round 3 (and don't have a heart attack) you're all in trouble. Mechanics I can do. ;-)
Hey, guys...I just wanted to post here that I'm going to withhold commenting on anyone's stuff until after the voting is done. I don't want to influence anyone else's vote (positively or negatively) based on which entries I liked or disliked. Instead, I'm going to use that time to start early on my stat block. That said, I wish all of you luck and much respect.
My two-cents,
--Neil
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Star Voter Season 6
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Hey, guys...I just wanted to post here that I'm going to withhold commenting on anyone's stuff until after the voting is done. I don't want to influence anyone else's vote (positively or negatively) based on which entries I liked or disliked. Instead, I'm going to use that time to start early on my stat block. That said, I wish all of you luck and much respect.
My two-cents,
--Neil
No problem Neil. I'm doing the same. I will admit, there are many I like almost as much as my own.
Vote for Father Avon, the family wants you to.
Hey, guys...I just wanted to post here that I'm going to withhold commenting on anyone's stuff until after the voting is done. I don't want to influence anyone else's vote (positively or negatively) based on which entries I liked or disliked. Instead, I'm going to use that time to start early on my stat block. That said, I wish all of you luck and much respect.
Same here.
A bit early for a concession speech if you ask me, Victor. Voting isn't even over yet!!!
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Star Voter Season 6
aka TerraNova
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Agreed. I for one thing a thing's not over till its over (to horribly mangle some quite, I'm sure). I know I've turned this round into a very long shot, but if you give up, you won't win - period. Otherwise, you may wish for a strike of good luck, or small miracle.