Exit polls - Round 2

[Tio]

Loved
1. Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
2. Trevor Gulliver—Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler

Good
3. Doyle Tavener—Kar-en-haris, Grand Master of Spies
4. Carl Klutzke—Sharina Legendsinger

Also had a shot
Mark Thomas—Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon
James F.D. Graham—Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary
Jacob Manley—Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple

[magdalena thiriet]

Carl Klutzke - Sharina Legendsinger
Neil Spicer - Gulga Cench, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Trevor Gulliver - Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler

were the three obvious ones, and after much consideration the fourth vote goes to: Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan

I really would have liked to have that fifth vote.

There was some discussion last year if having these polls would affect voting, and as then I say now: reading the commentaries on the threads does already give me quite good idea which entries are very likely to make it to the top, which have not impressed many and which are on the fence...so tactical voting can be done according to those.

[Taliesin Hoyle]

Gulga Cench
Varrush
Bracht Darkhouse
Volner Tain

[Sue Flaherty]

In Alphabetically Order ...

Carl Flaherty - Bricius, The Wrath of the Forest
Neil Spicer - Gulga Cench, Scion of Cyth-V'sug
Philip Snyder - Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons
Trevor Gulliver - Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler

In another thread, Jason Nelson wrote the following:

If there is one thing the judges hammered home in the comments on last year's entries in the villain around, it was the nature of a villain:

1. Not be one-dimensional
2. Not be a one-shot antagonist
3. Be proactive - the villain is DOING something, and ideally something of consequence
4. Have plans and goals, and methods for achieving them.

These villains, for the most part, do these for me. Plus, they give me something I can understand and play with now, fitting them into a campaign with only a little work on my part. And hence, received my votes :)

[Glass Castle]

Ah, My choices are based on interesting concepts:

* Carl Klutzke—Sharina Legendsinger (No explanation needed.)

* Joshua Blazej—Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage (I would have liked to see him played a bit grander, but still, I see possibilities)

* Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug (I almost did not read this because of the ALLCAPS. I am glad I decided to give it a chance.)

* Victor Spieles—Veddic, Master of the Codex (I found him a bit intriguing as a possible shady "prime mover")

[Casey Smith]

1. Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
2. Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons
3. Myself

So far I haven't used my 4th vote because I'm not sure anyone else deserves it. As many folks have said this was a pretty weak round, myself being no exception it appears.

[delabarre]

The consensus I am seeing here and in the judging threads is that Gulga Cench, the fiendish otyugh mage appears to be the odds-on favorite of the villains.

Add to that the fact that the Last Leaves of the Autumnal Dryad was one of the most evocative of the wondrous items, and to my mind Neil Spicer has moved into an early lead in this horse race.

Well played, Mr. Spicer! Huzzah!

[Russ Taylor]

Leaning towards -
The otyugh
The flesh peddler
The Khan
And Blazej's demented alchemist

In no particular order, other than our smelly friend at the top.

[Kor - Orc Scrollkeeper]

I too found this to be a pretty weak round. Not only was I looking at the villain's concept, but also at the strength and creative flare of the writing behind it. Based on these merits, it is my opinion that only about 6 were worthy.

My Picks:
- Gulga
- Lord Jeroim
- Kardam
- Bracht

[lynora]

Bracht
Hecataeus
Sharina
Gulga

I also liked the khan, and ssythek, but was only allowed to vote for four.
Other than a couple of entries that ticked me off because they really didn't seem to be following the assignment at all, the rest were a total snoozefest.

[Paul Worthen]

I voted for:
Mine - the Vampire-child! Cermyk the Widower!
Gulga Cench, the albino abomination!
Bracht Darkhouse, the wicked warper of flesh!
and
Kardam, the everburning equestrian!

If I had a fifth vote, it would have gone to Count Falconbridge - I agonized for a long time over whether he or Kardam would get my vote.

[St. James]

In no particular order...

Gulga Cench
Brach Darkhouse
Hecataeus

[Reckless]

Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Mark Thomas—Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon
Jacob Manley—Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple
Joshua Blazej—Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage

Joshua Blazej was bumped into my final 4 by his wondrous item, which I thought was the best of the 32. As villains go, there were a couple that were as good, maybe slightly better than Derinogen, but the bracers became the tie breaker.

I think Gulga is the best of the villains hands down, and can't wait to see the stat block Neil comes up with.

[Elora]

In order of vote:

1) Neil Spicer
GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug

2) Trevor Gulliver
Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler

3) Mark Thomas
Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon

4) Vladislav Rashkovski
Kardam, the Burning Khan

The first two were a league above the other villains, in my book.

Lord Jeroim Borloz had flaws, but I just couldn't shake him. I loved the dwarf/dragon mojo going on there.

Kadram had to fight for my last vote, but the bloody barbarian won out in the end. He was tied with Sharina Legendsinger and Hecataeus. I really liked all three of them, but only had one vote left...so it went to Vladislav for his encouraging comments on my wondrous item submission. I figured that was as good a tie-breaker as any, since I also liked all three of their wondrous item submissions.

[cwslyclgh]

1) Neil Spicer
GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug

2) Trevor Gulliver
Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler

3) James FD Graham
Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary

4) Vladislav Rashkovski
Kardam, the Burning Khan

in order of how I voted.

[James Hunnicutt]

Carl Klutzke - Sharina Legendsinger
Neil Spicer - Gulga Cench, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Trevor Gulliver - Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler
Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan

[Zeugma]

1)Bracht (your friendly plastic surgeon)
2)Hecateus (because I love CHEESE!)
3)Gulga Cench (the EVIL Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle)
4)Sharina (she's devalicious)

In no particular order.

[Kruelaid]

Sharina
Gulga
Volner
Bracht

[Starglim]

Malgana
Gulga Cench
Zavanix

I'll keep my fourth vote to myself, if I may.

[Erik Anderson]

Only two villains stood out this round:

1) Mark Thomas' Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon
2) Randy Dorman's Hecataeus, Master of Constructs

I threw my other two votes to the designers of my two favorite items from round 1.

3) Elizabeth Leib (Haldon Valmaur, the Jade Shadow)
4) Jacob Manley (Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple)

I have to note that Randy Dorman's item also made my top five list for favorite items in the first round, so right now, Randy's the one I'm going to be watching the closest in the next round (and I have no doubt he'll make it to round 3).

[French Wolf]

Kar-en-haris
Gulga Cench
Kardam
Bracht

The top two I am actively planning to use in my campaign world.

Doyle and Neil are my favourites with Trevor close behind.

[Samuel Leming]

I voted for:
1). The otyugh
2). The mad scientist
3). The rakshasa
4). The spy master

I didn't like the bard provocateur or Elric the whocares.

There's an idea for next year... we each get four positive votes and four negative votes. ;)

Sam

[Tio]

Results so far:

1 Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug 19
2 Trevor Gulliver—Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler 15
3 Carl Klutzke—Sharina Legendsinger 7
3 Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan 7
5 Jacob Manley—Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple 4
5 Mark Thomas—Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon 4
5 Randy Dorman - Hecataeus, Master of Constructs 4
8 Doyle Tavener—Kar-en-haris, Grand Master of Spies 3
8 Joshua Blazej—Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage 3
10 Eric Bailey - Varrush, Master of the Palace of Abundance 2
10 Philip Snyder - Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons 2
12 Carl Flaherty - Bricius, The Wrath of the Forest 1
12 Casey Smith - Paradigm Theoguard, Pacifist Poet-Priest of Shelyn 1
12 Elizabeth Leib - Haldon Valmaur, the Jade Shadow 1
12 James FD Graham - Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary 1
12 Jeffrey Scott Nuttall - Zavanix 1
12 Kevin Carter - Malgana the Twistwood Witch 1
12 Paul Worthen - Cermyk the Widower 1
12 Victor Spieles—Veddic, Master of the Codex 1

Looks like the GULGA and Bracht will go through as favorites, followed by Sharina and Kardam. The rest will struggle to get through.

[MakeItADouble]

Okay I'll bite.

1. Gulga. This would be fun to DM.
2. Kardan the Khan.
3. Rustin Harp. The Satyr carny.
4. Sharina.

I really struggled to read all the druids and bards. Maybe because we don't use them much in our table top games.

[Set]

My choices;
GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler
Sharina Legendsinger
Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary

[TreeLynx]

My votes, adjusted for weak polling, were:

Eric Morton—Aelfric Dream-Slayer
James F.D. Graham—Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary
Mark Thomas—Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon
Vladislav Rashkovski—Kardam, the Burning Khan

I honestly thought Gulga Cench is stronger than any of them, as is Bracht, but I like to root for the underdogs. Sharina juggled for Aelfric's spot, but I just couldn't help but like the scale of Aelfric over Sharina.

Plus, I have a soft spot for mortals twisted into evil.

[William Senn]

I'm amazed that no one's polled as having voted for Sartel, the Mistress of the Headless Caravan, especially given the overall positive fan reaction and the several "I definitely will vote for this entry" posts in the thread.

My votes are, currently, for:

Gulga Cench
Sartel
Sharina Legendsinger
Kardam, the Burning Khan

[Ragwaine]

Here are mine in order:

Rustin Harp, Ringleader of the Lost Carnival
Sharina Legendsinger
Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler
Sartel Bollen, Mistress of the Headless Caravan

I really liked those top 2, thought the flesh guy was pretty cool and then the headless hag was just a step above Varrush (raksaha) and Volner (thrice damned).

Gulga was the 2nd entry I read and I hated it. Then after reading entry after entry that didn't do anything for me I wished that I would have read about the otyugh somewhere in the middle because at least then it would have broken up the monotony. I actually thought we had 5 votes so I was going to vote for him just because he wasn't a druid or a "hot" chick.

I guess creating a cool villain is harder than we all thought it would be. Hopefully Paizo picks a new challenge for next year. I'm not sure I can go through that again.

[stowcreek]

I sadly admit that I was quite depressed by being unable to appreciate most of the villains. I would go from one to the next with a common, internal refrain being(as the saying goes) MEH.
There were really only 5 or 6 I considered.
A number of others DID get my anticipation going at first, but for one reason (or several) or the other, I was let down, saggin in my chair, by the end.

However, that being said (probably better in the "impressions" thread), I did enjoy more completely:

- Aelfric
- The Count
- Gulga and
- Bracht

On another note, I know many of us that entered with our wondrous items started our villain creation (I put many hours of thought, just in case. . .). Can we make a thread to post our "Not-Top-32 Villains" to be shared and critiqued by whomever?

I would be willing, even if I end up wanting to use it next year (who would steal something that is already spelled out in detail in a thread? AND it can help folks know if there is going to be something similar, so they can make appropriate adjustments. AND one can be helped into perfecting their villain for said future entry.) ???

[noxumbra]

Randy Dorman - Hecataeus, Master of Constructs
Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Trevor Gulliver—Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler

[roguerouge]

Eric Bailey - Varrush, Master of the Palace of Abundance
Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Carl Klutzke—Sharina Legendsinger
Kevin Carter - Malgana the Twistwood Witch

Honorable Mention: Joshua Blazej—Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage

[Shri Tamana]

no order:

gulga cench, scion of cyth-v'sug
bracht darkhouse, the flesh peddler
sharina legendsinger
volner tain, the trice damned disciple

[roguerouge]

Updated:

Tio wrote:

Results so far:

1 Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug 26
2 Trevor Gulliver—Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler 20
3 Carl Klutzke—Sharina Legendsinger 13
4 Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan 10
5 Jacob Manley—Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple 5
5 Mark Thomas—Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon 5
5 Randy Dorman - Hecataeus, Master of Constructs 5
8 Doyle Tavener—Kar-en-haris, Grand Master of Spies 3
8 Joshua Blazej—Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage 3
8 Eric Bailey - Varrush, Master of the Palace of Abundance 3
8 James FD Graham - Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary 3
12 Philip Snyder - Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons 2
12 Kevin Carter - Malgana the Twistwood Witch 2
12 Matt Banach - Rustin Harp, Ringleader of the Lost Carnival 2
12 Eric Morton - Aelfric, Dream-Slayer 2
12 Matthew Stinson - Sartel Bollen, Mistress of the Headless Caravan 2
17 Carl Flaherty - Bricius, The Wrath of the Forest 1
17 Casey Smith - Paradigm Theoguard, Pacifist Poet-Priest of Shelyn 1
17 Elizabeth Leib - Haldon Valmaur, the Jade Shadow 1
17 Jeffrey Scott Nuttall - Zavanix 1
17 Paul Worthen - Cermyk the Widower 1
17 Victor Spieles—Veddic, Master of the Codex 1

So, basically, it's a crap shoot after the top four.

[Casey Smith]

roguerouge wrote:

So, basically, it's a crap shoot after the top four.

It certainly keeps things very exciting for the folks at the bottom of the totem pole. Things aren't quite so bad for myself and the 15 others who did not receive any judge recommendations. All it takes is a few people to throw their 4th vote your way for either liking your actual villain, waiting to see if the stat block is a vast improvement, or maybe even some kind of leap of faith based on the item round. There might even be people not bothering to vote for the strong leaders to give more of the marginal candidates they liked a chance, though I can't say I'd necessarily recommend any of this.

[Chris Mortika]

I made my choices based on the strength of the prose:

Carl Klutzke—Sharina Legendsinger
Mark Thomas—Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon
Randy Dorman—Hecataeus, Master of Constructs
Vladislav Rashkovski—Kardam, the Burning Khan

[Lanfranc]

My votes:

Carl Klutzke - Sharina Legendsinger
Mark Thomas - Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon
Neil Spicer - GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan

Also on the shortlist: Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple; Aelfric Dream-Slayer; Hecataeus, Master of Constructs; and Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler.

[Mark Moreland]

Three of these were immediate votes for me, the third was harder to decide. They're in alphabetical order; I'm not gonna say which was which.

Carl Klutzke - Sharina Legendsinger
Mark Thomas - Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon
Neil Spicer - GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Trevor Gulliver — Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler

[PulpCruciFiction]

Here are mine. Sharina was my top pick - I absolutely love that concept.

Carl Klutzke — Sharina Legendsinger
Trevor Gulliver — Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler
Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan
Philip Snyder - Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons

[Jason Nelson]

My top 5 items were by Andrew Judd, Eric Morton, Joshua Blazej, Matt Banach, and Neil Spicer, and of those 5 people 3 produced villains I liked. My true favorites this round that stood in my mind head and shoulders above the rest, were Bracht and Gulga, and it seems like most folks agree. Sharina was probably next on my list just because I really liked the concept. But just to be arbitrary, and because my three favorites have a huge amount of support already, I am going to use all 4 of my votes on contenders for "my #4 vote" - throw a bone to some of the also-rans and hope that they can make it thruogh. Some I really liked their concept this round, and others (like Joshua and Eric) I really liked their items and their villain ideas were good enough to give them a push.

So, after all of that rambling, my votes are going to:

1. Aelfric
2. Derinogen
3. Hecataeus
4. Kardam

Just missing out:

Varrush
Volner

[Zachary Hensley]

Neil Spicer — Gulga Cench, Scion of Cyth-V’sug
Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan
Joshua Blazej — Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage
Philip Snyder - Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons

Those we mine. Good luck to everyone!

[roguerouge]

Additional honorable mentions (do NOT add to tally!):

Trevor Gulliver—Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler
Philip Snyder - Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons
Eric Morton - Aelfric, Dream-Slayer
Matthew Stinson - Sartel Bollen, Mistress of the Headless Caravan

Congratulations, guys. Good luck if you make the next round.

Do NOT add to tally!

[Joao Beraldo]

Since its my birthday on the 10th its only fair that each of you give me at least one vote this round!

Thanks in advance! ;)

[David Vigil]

Huh. Set and I voted the same.
Gulga, Legendsinger, Falconbridge and the Flesh Peddler.

[Eric Morton]

jmberaldo wrote:

Since its my birthday on the 10th its only fair that each of you give me at least one vote this round!

Not so fast. My birthday's on the 10th AND the 11th. Vote Aelfric!

As for my votes, I'm lazy and have several entries yet to read before I'm ready to decide.

[Joao Beraldo]

Mmm... Im curious about something...
How many people actually vote each round? Can paizo mention how many were voting last year or how many have voted so far? Will they ever tell it?

Its like 10s, 100s, 1000s?

I need to consider how much votes mentioned on the boards statistically count against me ;)

[Glass Castle]

If I remember correctly, last year the boards' votes pretty much lined up to the real voting patterns for the first two rounds.

But this year, the field seems much closer.

[Glass Castle]

Rough update

Almost Certainly Advancing
1 Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug 30
2 Trevor Gulliver—Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler 23
3 Carl Klutzke—Sharina Legendsinger 18
4 Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan 15
----------

Likely Advancing
5 Mark Thomas—Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon 8
6 Randy Dorman - Hecataeus, Master of Constructs 7
7 Jacob Manley—Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple 5
7 Joshua Blazej—Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage 5
-----------

Who Knows? (Good Luck)
9 Philip Snyder - Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons 4
9 James FD Graham - Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary 4
11 Doyle Tavener—Kar-en-haris, Grand Master of Spies 3
11 Eric Bailey - Varrush, Master of the Palace of Abundance 3
11 Eric Morton - Aelfric, Dream-Slayer 3
14 Kevin Carter - Malgana the Twistwood Witch 2
14 Matt Banach - Rustin Harp, Ringleader of the Lost Carnival 2
14 Matthew Stinson - Sartel Bollen, Mistress of the Headless Caravan 2
-------------

Who Knows? (Good Luck)
17 Carl Flaherty - Bricius, The Wrath of the Forest 1
17 Casey Smith - Paradigm Theoguard, Pacifist Poet-Priest of Shelyn 1
17 Elizabeth Leib - Haldon Valmaur, the Jade Shadow 1
17 Jeffrey Scott Nuttall - Zavanix 1
17 Paul Worthen - Cermyk the Widower 1
17 Victor Spieles—Veddic, Master of the Codex 1

[Ingot Irontoe]

In order of presentation:

Sharina Legendsinger - *"I will make you immortal!"
Aelfric Dream-Slayer “If it prevents an apocalypse, a mere genocide is the lesser of two evils.”
Dalatai Shontrick, the Coinshark
Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons

Honorable mention: Varrush, Master of the Palace of Abundance
Honorable mention: KARDAM, THE BURNING KHAN

[roguerouge]

Honorable Mention leader board:

Eric Bailey - Varrush, Master of the Palace of Abundance 3
Jacob Manley—Volner Tain, the Thrice-Damned Disciple 3
Trevor Gulliver—Bracht Darkhouse, The Flesh Peddler 3
Vladislav Rashkovski - Kardam, the Burning Khan 2
Randy Dorman - Hecataeus, Master of Constructs 2
Philip Snyder - Ssyth'ek, He Who Devours Demons 2
James FD Graham - Count Falconbridge, Fate's Adversary 2
Eric Morton - Aelfric, Dream-Slayer 2
Neil Spicer—GULGA CENCH, Scion of Cyth-V’sug 1
Carl Klutzke—Sharina Legendsinger 1
Mark Thomas—Lord Jeroim Borloz, the Diamond Dragon 1
Joshua Blazej—Derinogen, Aristocratic Mage 1

[Fiendish Dire Weasel]

my votes went to sharina. gulga, bracht, and varrush.