Aura faint evocation; CL 6th
Slot -; Price 1,200 gp; Weight 1 lb.
An ember glow lights the beady eyes of this blackened, burned out goblin’s skull. It is very brittle and shatters if dropped on solid ground. When a skull bomb breaks, the very last person to touch it bursts into a raging magical flame, automatically suffering 5d6 points of fire damage and also catching fire should he fail a reflex save (DC 13). If this kills a creature his body burns away in one round, leaving behind only a pile of ash and the victim’s blackened, burned out skull: a new skull bomb, just as deadly as the first. If the target survives the effect or doesn’t have a skull (or if the skull is shattered before touching a creature) then the skull bomb is simply destroyed without being replicated.
A skull bomb can be hurled at a foe (range increment 10 feet for a medium or smaller creature’s skull). On a successful ranged touch attack the skull shatters against and immolates the target; on a miss it dashes upon the ground and it is the thrower who suffers the flames. Touching the skull with gloves or handheld tools still counts as “touching” it, but it can be safely moved with spells (such as mage hand or telekinesis) or struck with ranged weapons.
Goblins love and covet these weapons, but they also delight in watching other goblins drop or fumble them. A dozen goblin warriors might turn each other to ash while bickering over a single skull bomb.
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Flaming Sphere; Cost 600 gp
Originally this started to annoy me, but the "hurt yourself if you mess up" part of it actually got me liking it.
One thing I DO NOT like is that it recreates itself when you use it. It's basically an infinite one-target fireball that you can use once per combat (or more, if you pick up the charred enemy's skull mid-battle).
On the fence.
I like the silly flavor of this. I like that it can harm you. It carries the proper goblin kill/clumsy/joke/death combo that makes goblins fun. I think it is a bit too powerful. 5d6 is a lot. Plus, it seems like more goblins would have these and that seems a bit problematic. I dont know that I want low level goblins flinging these at my PCs.
What happens with mage hand or telekinesis? I dont understand that and I think it needs some 'splaining.
Like you I was on the fence, but the infinite recreation pushed me off. I like the idea of that, but I'm not sure that is a proper limitation. Now, granted, it only works if the subject is killed by the immolation.
This has mojo. I'm convinced this is the kind of item that makes me say "I want to see what he can do in round 2."
One thing I DO NOT like is that it recreates itself when you use it. It's basically an infinite one-target fireball that you can use once per combat (or more, if you pick up the charred enemy's skull mid-battle).
Which in itself is a pretty neat limiting factor, as if you want more of these, you only use them on the mooks. You only get a new one if it kills its target after all. And, pretty much as soon as you miss, you lose it too. I think both of those angles are quite clever.
Keep.
I've really come around on this. This has become a big fun one for me. Maybe even top 5. Plus, the goblin thing just screams Pathfinder. Where is Mona when you need him?
Okay. This one made me laugh. And in a good way. I can totally see the inept goblins incinerating themselves while trying to use this thing. But, at the same time, it's totally dangerous and volatile and -- in the right hands -- devastatingly effective. I do agree with Sean that I'm not too keen on the method of perpetuating itself. And, as soon as you blow up a creature that isn't a goblin, you can't really call it a goblin skull bomb anymore, can you?
I appreciate that you limited the item by making sure it's lost if it misses...and it's got the unusual property of immolating the last person who touched it (including the thrower). But who would purposefully make an item that way? A high-level goblin spellcaster? Okay, maybe. But that's about the only creature crazy enough -- or inept enough -- to make an item with such a vicious backlash. But typically, weaving a cursed item effect like that into a supposedly beneficial item doesn't really make it something lots of players want for their characters. GMs, maybe. But that's a more limited audience.
Now, let's get into the mechanics of this item. Assigning a damage code of 5d6 implies it's a fireball in bomb form. But, your construction requirements cite flaming sphere instead. That seems unusual to me. Also, the application of this item requires the user to throw it at a target and you can only affect them with a successful ranged touch attack. If the victim survives, he only suffers 5d6 damage and the skull bomb is lost. But, if he's incinerated in a single round (and presumbably that goes for the thrower, too, if he misses), then the skull replicates itself. To me, this means it's mostly useful for clearing out low-level bad guys (singly or in large groupings). And, at just 1,200 gp in price, I could see a 3rd level PC buying one of these things and using it over and over to do 5d6 damage (which deals an average of 17 hp) to clear every minor minion of CR2 or less on his way to reaching the big bad guy at the end of an adventure. And he could probably accomplish that all by himself without the support of the other three PCs in a typical four-person adventuring party. So, it feels a little too powerful at the stage in which it would likely be used in a PC's adventuring career. And, once he advanced another level or so, the skull would likely be lost against a CR3 creature or higher. So, it won't stick around any longer after that.
I wanted to think through those aspects of the item, because I think you kind of have to go down that road when assessing the playability of items like the goblin skull bomb. Because it has combat potential, I think a playtest might have helped discover some of those possibilities. If the item is almost always a one-shot fireball with a ranged touch attack and then lost, well, it really doesn't matter if it has the ability to replicate itself, because it'll never get a chance to. Meanwhile, if the item almost always wipes out whatever it's thrown at and immediately gets to respawn itself from the cindered remains, well, it's a perpetuating device that might just be a bit too powerful for the point at which someone can afford it in their adventuring career.
At any rate, I'm probably going on further with the analysis and feedback here than is warranted. The important thing is that you've joined the ranks of RPG Superstar! And you did it with a really cool idea, some neat flavor, and a fairly professional presentation (though you need to lower-case your spell names in the construction requirements). I agree with the judges, the mechanical aspects to your item design are still a little shaky and not-quite-thought-through-yet. Even so, there's plenty of spark here that I'm really interested to see where your imagination takes us in later rounds. Best of luck to you!
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4
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Star Voter Season 6
aka raidou
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Pathfinder Goblins have become one of Paizo's best-loved creations. As murderous but ridiculous little gremlins, they are iconic and really fun. That theme is well-represented in this entry. The Goblin skull-bomb is a fun, dangerous, and very devious sort of device.
The mechanics of this item are pretty solid and clever. I really like that this thing can hurt you if you screw up. Its utility ends somewhere around level 3 or so, unless you start gaming the system to only throw these at people who are near-death. I think if you were to add these things to a game they would be fun for the first couple of adventures, and then it just either stops being cost-effective to make them, or else you can't keep one replicating for more than a few kills.
Even if this is somewhat overpowered and open to abuse (and I think it is), this round is about standing out and getting yourself visible. You've done that quite well. I am interested enough in your ideas and your presentation that I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with in future rounds. You've got the character of Golarion's goblins down quite well, so let's see what else you've got. Welcome to RPG Superstar!
Congrats on making it to RPG Superstar 2010! I asked myself the same three questions for each of the top 32 items. Here are my responses to your item:
Would this wondrous item unbalance or over-complicate my game if my PCs were to find it and use it?
Doesn't seem too unbalanced but it bears mentioning that the drawbacks of the this item can be easily mitigated by a creature with fire resistance or fire immunity, which can often apply to PCs if they have the right combination of gear and equipment. I don't think this is a problem, just a consideration.
Would my PCs be happy with this item if they were to find it during an adventure?
My PCs would be delighted by this item (Goblin skull bombs! Yes!), and I think it could make for an interesting mechanic in a low-level dungeon crawl through a goblins’ lair. The fact that you are punished if you miss might be a bit much. Remember, the PCs only get one attack action per round at lower levels, and if they spend that action accidentally immolating themselves, they will feel pretty bad about it, even if it was just the result of bad dice rolls and was otherwise a good strategy. Missing on an attack roll already sucks and this item will literally burn players on top of that. I get though that goblins are all about self-destructive magic and would delight in this kind of violent and potentially deadly mischief. Still, I would also be interested in an item that uses this same concept but instead applies some kind of benefit if you miss... not enough to encourage missing, but just enough to be a consolation prize for not landing the bomb.
Do I like the mojo? Does the item spark other ideas for my campaign?
I actually really like the mojo of this item. In my mind, goblins hurling cursed skulls about is what high-fantasy RPGs are all about. Great job here.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4
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Welcome to RPG Superstar 2010!
Well, I do love the flavor. I do remember one of the goblins on the cover of Pathfinder #1 wearing a skull on his belt (though I do believe it looked more like a dog skull). I don’t think it is too over-powered. I little over-powered yes, not too over-powered, and it's not over-powered just for the sake of being over-powered which in some cases can null the fact. I think that the PCs will end up losing the bomb more often then it seems at first glance. I also think a lot of PCs that aren’t at full hit points will be hesitate using the bomb because of the possibility of death at these lower levels. There is also the fact that the new bomb will appear where your dead enemy was standing when you killed them, which will often be next to other enemies that will gladly pick up this lovely bomb on their next turn. So I see a lot of tactics having to be employed with this item and it not being as much a straight forward “kill every mook I come across” item as it seems at first glace. Like Neil, I think the spell within the construction requirements should be changed from flaming sphere to fireball, but once the round is over next month I would like to hear your reasoning on choosing flaming sphere during your writing up.
At any rate, I can see this item making a low level dungeon fun and my PCs laughing all night at the table. I also have the image of this high level goblin caster crafting this item and him too laughing at all the flaming chaos that it will cause in all the stooges in the near by clans. That image alone makes this item awesome, because it really is more of a goblin joke than a weapon.
Can’t wait to see want you do in the later rounds. Good Luck!
I definitely give this one the "coolest name" award.
Somerset County, represent!
Awesome to see a Mainer in the top 32 this year, and I really dig this item. Colorful, funny, and useful. If my Rise of the Runelords campaign ever reboots, I suspect some of the goblins will have a very special surprise for the PCs . . .
Getting into the top 32 is a huge accomplishment, and I can't wait to see what you do in future rounds.
First up, thanks to the judges and previous contestants for all the feedback, and I'm incredibly honored (and TOTALLY stoked!) to be in the top 32.
Second, am I allowed to reply to feedback here? It looks like top 32 from previous years were permitted to talk about their items (in the first round only), but I want to err on the safe side.
Hydro, these items have already been judged so it's safe to talk about them. It's the future rounds, while the item is open for voting, when we're disallowed: the entries need to speak for themselves, we can't go around padding them up after submission.
This item is... well, it's just tremendously goblin. And that's far more important than whether the cost or replication effects are appropriate! Love it. :)
This... this is the kind of magic item goblin sorcerers, druids, and shamans make.
Either that, or hobgoblins or bugbears who then give it to goblin shock troops and sit back to laugh at the fun.
This is quintessential goblinoid design.
I love it.
It makes me miss Paizo goblins.
I like the name, and the recreation mechanic. Yes, it's potentially problematic, but that damage actually has to kill the target dead. Which is more difficult in Pathfinder, what with the "negative Con score" mechanic.
Hydro, these items have already been judged so it's safe to talk about them. It's the future rounds, while the item is open for voting, when we're disallowed: the entries need to speak for themselves, we can't go around padding them up after submission.
That was my initial assumption, but technically, the rules as I'm reading them don't make an exception for the first round. Has someone given an official go-ahead in another thread? I'm nearly positive you're right; just erring on the safe side.
Either way, I'm reading (and loving) the feedback and plan on posting my thoughts behind the design process sooner or later.
Somerset County, represent!
Awesome to see a Mainer in the top 32 this year, and I really dig this item. Colorful, funny, and useful. If my Rise of the Runelords campaign ever reboots, I suspect some of the goblins will have a very special surprise for the PCs . . .
Getting into the top 32 is a huge accomplishment, and I can't wait to see what you do in future rounds.
Thanks!
Waaaay off topic, but did you make it to Snowcon this weekend?
I didn't find out about it myself until last Friday; it was kind of nice to suddenly have a gaming convention to distract me from the nail-biting anticipation preceding the big reveal.
I would also like to say "Yay Maine!"
Thanks!
Waaaay off topic, but did you make it to Snowcon this weekend?
I didn't find out about it myself until last Friday; it was kind of nice to suddenly have a gaming convention to distract me from the nail-biting anticipation preceding the big reveal.
A buddy and I were going to try and go Saturday and play some pickup games, but he couldn't swing it. I have heard good things about it -- next year, I swear, I'm going!
I hate to say it, and I may get eggs and tomatoes thrown at me for this, but this one reads like a terrifyingly fun red card from a very widely-played trading card game. As such, I love it.
I couldn't base a full session's play on it, but
Actually, Dragon Mountain just flashed through my mind. Oh, good, good times. How much more deadly would those kobolds have been...
I have heard good things about it -- next year, I swear, I'm going!
You should. And you should run Pathfinder. :)
There were only one or two 3.5 games there, and they filled up REAL fast. But I did get to play some Kobolds Ate My Baby.
And I don't think it would be breaking any rules to say that the crazy, self-destructive goblins in Warcraft III (I've never played WoW) and M:tG were certainly an inspiration.
Though I don't think I'm familiar with the card in question.
Awright! Congrats Hydro! I look forward to what you have in mind for Round 2!
This is a great item. I need to find a way to put it in my next campaign.
I think this has to be my favorite one so far. Of course I am partial to "goblin" items. I just started to DM a RotRL game and I am already planning on using these. Good Luck on the next round.
Pretty cool item. Definitely think this would help make a band of goblins much more interesting.
One small thing: mage hand would not work on the bomb, as the spell mage hand can only be used on nonmagical objects. Watch those rules in the future rounds.
Overall, good job!
Star Voter Season 7
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The way this item works and propogates itself is funny, but also downright horrifying when you think about it from a low level PC's point of view, or if it winds up used against any NPCs they're attatched to.
Imagine someone just handing one of these over to some poor drunk in a tavern, and the ensuing chain-reaction.
Awesome, simply awesome.
A Goblin Chief deserves to have this item.
The replication gave me a moment's pause, but really, I think the price is very appropriate. It costs a touch more than an elixir of fire breath, which gives three uses of 4d6, instead of a variable (but probably not much over 3 average) uses of 5d6, with backlash potential.
The only part that makes me hesitate at all is the incineration makes raise dead impossible - slightly cheap for that effect (for the midst of battle anyways).
Congratulations Hydro - should have known you'd make a fire item :)
Superb! I hope you don't mind if I use this in my 4E games (pardon my heresy).
What happens with mage hand or telekinesis? I dont understand that and I think it needs some 'splaining.
They can pick the thing up and move it around without counting as having 'touched' it. Someone who picks the skull up with rubber gloves (or a robotic arm, or a pooper scooper) and then drops it burns; someone who picks it up with telekinesis and then drops it doesn't burn. That's all I was saying.
However,
mage hand would not work on the bomb, as the spell mage hand can only be used on nonmagical objects.
Is completely right, and I shouldn't have mentioned mage hand. That was a mistake (unless you're magehanding a string with some sovereign glue on the end, but that's a completely different can of worms).
I'm going to spoiler my thinking behind pricing and balancing because this would be a really long post otherwise. If you take the time to read them, please feel welcome to tell if/why you agree or disagree.
Now, the closest spell effect to this isn’t fireball (huge area attack with save for half), or flaming sphere (moderate damage over time) or even produce flame (much lower damage but with repeated attacks); it’s definitely scorching ray. Granted, the scaling for the real spell is kind of funny- it jumps up in 4d6 increments, and is actually better than 1d6/level at some levels- but I’m still quite comfortable saying that a 1d6/level ranged touch effect is comparable to a 2nd level spell.
If this were a one-use item, that would be 6 (caster level, for a roughly 6d6 effect) X 2 (spell level) X 50 (standard multiplier for a one-use item usable by anybody, such as a potion), or 600 GP. But this ISN’T a one-use item, so things get a bit more complicated.
There are two ways I could judge the item from here; either assuming that they make maximum use of the item (even if it means it doesn’t last very long), or assume that they do whatever they can to prolong it (even if they have to jump through hoops and reduce their effectiveness in combat).
In the former case, I’m not terribly worried about the item’s longevity; in fact, I think it might not survive its first use. Odds are a martial character will lob it at the most powerful foe around before closing with a melee weapon. It might conversely survive three or more uses, but only if they get really lucky; as a guestimate I would say that the players get to throw it three times before it’s done. That puts it at 1,800 gp.
Alternately, I could judge it assuming that they go to great pains to babysit the item (giving it to the character with the best ranged bonus, for instance, and only attacking foes who are nearly dead), in which case they get far more uses out of it. But here’s my theory: powers which kick in when you don’t need them are much, much weaker than powers which kick in when you do.
Consider the 3.5 feats Cleave and Great Cleave. These can potentially give you multiple extra attacks at your highest bonus- a HUGE benefit- yet were never considered overpowered in usual play. The reason for this is that the only time you get those attacks is if you’re fighting REALLY wimpy enemies, and if you’re fighting really wimpy enemies, you don’t really need the help anyway. Conversely, consider the third edition feat Power Critical (the one that let you threaten a crit automatically once per day)- in terms of net damage increase, this was pretty minor, but it was considered over powered because it gave you a lot of damage EXACTLY when you wanted it.
A canny PC, if he’s careful enough, might use this six or eight times before probability catches up with him. But if you’re only allowed to use it on mook enemies with low touch ACs and few hitpoints, how much is it really worth? Certainly not nearly as much as an item that let you fire the same number of scorching rays, whenever you wanted and with no strings attached. I don’t think that a careful party is really getting more out of it than a gung-ho party would be.
Further, there are certain drawbacks which apply no matter which approach you take. It can’t be used twice in the same fight, unless you make a concerted effort to get to the new skull before anyone else (this is a big drawback; most multi-use items, like wands, can be used over and over). It can potentially be used against you. It has a ten-foot range increment, which makes it much less accurate than a ray attack. And finally, it’s so fragile that it’s a hassle to transport. For these factors, I shave one-third off of my previous guestimate, for a final price of 1,200.
You’ll notice that I still haven’t mentioned the potentially-lethal backlash as a limiting factor. This is because I am assuming that the player characters DO go to lengths to reduce or negate the backlash: cast resist energy, give it to the fire oracle, give it to an undead minion, whatever. However, all of those things also count as ‘babysitting’ the item- even if no PC ever takes damage from her own skull bomb, the lengths that one must go to in order to avoid doing so constitute a significant drawback.
Some have suggested that this item sees a ‘sweet spot’ around third level, where it’s cheap enough to be purchased but powerful enough to really wreck the party's enemies over and over. I agree, but I think that this is balanced but how much more likely a low-level party is to mess up- their attack bonuses are lower, it’s much harder for them to employ the bomb without exposing themselves to the risk of backlash, and said backlash is much scarier due to their lower hitpoints. Likewise, they have more to fear from enemies recovering the bomb and using it against the PCs.
Finally, the only reason I picked flaming sphere for the prerequisite is because it's both a sor/wiz spell and a druid spell. scorching ray is a much closer fit mechanically, but that would mean that the main producers of this item would be goblin sorcerers (and, as someone else suggested, the non-existent goblin wizards). Flavor-wise, the skull isn't really a ray anyway; as far as in-world metaphysics are concerned the closes thing is probably some kind of touch-triggered trap, like exploding runes.
Once again, as much as you might be tired of hearing this from contestants, I feel deeply privileged to have been chosen. It's especially flattering to hear that I've made some posters' favorites lists; the more entries I read, the more of an honor I realize that to be. There are some FANTASTIC ideas here and I'm delighted to have my creation listed among them.
I really need to turn my attention to my monster for now (Friday will be here before I know it), but I'll still be checking the forums and soaking up the feedback. Thanks again!
Hydro, good thing you didn't include that pricing info IN your original submission, you'd be way over the word count. ;)
Are you sure? Really?
But those last 956 words are "designer's notes!" They shouldn't count!!
;)
Hydro, good thing you didn't include that pricing info IN your original submission, you'd be way over the word count. ;)
By the way, at least one person DID include a huge notes section. He/she/they were all autorejected. Bummer.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
aka Benchak the Nightstalker
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I like items that have a potential cost as well as a benefit, and I'm a huge fan of goblins, so it's no surprise that I loved this item. Really well executed in the flavor department, and definitely something I can see one of my goblin PCs picking up "for special occasions".
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Congratulations! Very flavorful item. One of the questions I have is a matter of range. Could an npc convince/deceive a pc into inspecting a number of "goblin skulls" for whatever reason and then have an unlimited range suicide switch on that pc? if it was a wizard/sorcerer( for mage hand ) they could even move the skulls to an undisclosed location and be able to kill the pc from anywhere in the world... Or other planes of existence! Because there is no save on the 5d6 even a relatively high level character who was convinced/conned into touching a few skulls has a pretty good chance of dying.
Good job on making it into the top 32! Look forward to seeing what you put forth in the next round :)
I just like imaginging the shenanigans that would occur if you mixed a trio of Golarion goblins with the Three Stooges. Madcap hilarity ensues. :D
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32
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Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8
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I love this, mainly because I remember the joy that the goblins in Burnt Offerings brought me when I ran it and I would have LOVED to be able to use this in that game! Images of a stupid goblin forgetting he's lit the thing and bending over to examine some beetle on the <BOOM!>
Priceless.
I've an image of a goblin thowing this, and then throwing a normal skull, just because the DM's a sadist.
*biggrin* you have just made one DM a little more sadistic. *biggrin*
- yes that is possible!
Great item by the Way. My personal favorite so far.
It has the potential of becoming the new hot potato and explosive runes in one item:
i have something for you: