Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
aka Benchak the Nightstalker
|
Steadfast Gut-Stone
Aura faint abjuration; CL 3rd
Slot — ; Price 800 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description
This fist sized chunk of off-white stone seems too large to fit inside a man's mouth, but may be swallowed with ease as a standard action. Once ingested, the gut-stone may remain active for up to a week, maneuvering itself within the body to protect its owner's vital organs. Any time an attack would subject the user to precision based damage (such as a rogue's sneak attack), that damage is instead directed to the gut-stone. All other damage from the triggering attack, as well as damage that surpasses the gut-stone's hit points, is applied to the character normally. A gut-stone has 10 hit points and 0 hardness.
When a gut-stone is damaged by a melee weapon attack, as a free action it's owner may sacrifice the stone to damage the attacker's weapon. Treat this as a regular sunder attempt, except that it does not provoke an attack of opportunity, bypasses the weapon's hardness, and deals 1d4 points of damage.
Only one gut-stone may be in a body at a time. Any attempt to swallow a second destroys both stones and forces the swallower to make a DC 15 fortitude save or be sickened for one round. If a gut-stone is not used within a week of being swallowed, or is destroyed, it crumbles apart and is passed harmlessly out of the body.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, magic stone, shield other; Cost 400 gp
Ha!
KEEP!
A bit gross, but this is cool. It thwarts sneak attack damage in a really cool way and can be redirected as a weapon sunder attack. Now that is creative.
Keep, keep, keep!
And I can't believe I am writing that, since when I saw the name of the item I had a grouchy attitude and was predisposed against the item as I started to read, ready to type reject. And then look what happened. I loved it.
Pretty clever, doesn't require vomiting or excretion, and is useful!
Keep!
Ha! This is cool. It's that simple.
Without a doubt one of my top 5 favorites of this whole contest so far. I really, really love this thing.
That is a Superstar item. People want examples of what is mojo and what is more than "good but not good enough". This is it. Its not gonzo. Its funky, but it works directly and very well with the mechanics.
And there's not a "in addition the user may cast haste 3/day" sort of stuff. This item found what it was, found its core, and did just that and did it well.
And it does what great wondrous items do--it breaks the rules in a limited way. How else can you do this? You cant.
Hmmm...the "gut" stone? Okay. I agree with Clark. When I first read the name, it turned me off. But, you totally redeemed yourself with the item's description and mechanics. An internalized shield other effect that helps absorb damage from precision-based attacks (which affects more than just a rogue's sneak attack) is a fantastic idea. Coupling that with your own "sneak" attack sunder attempt on the weapon dials it up to another level of awesome. And yet, you didn't go overboard with it. I'm not entirely sure that 1d4 points of damage on a sunder attempt will be enough to take out most weapons, though. So, I might recommend upping the damage a bit so enough gets through to do the job.
Mechanically, having the item stick around for a week before being totally consumed (assuming it goes that long without taking damage) is a good check and balance. It's priced well. And I love the spell requirements for constructing it with magic stone and shield other. That combination makes perfect sense. And both spells are low enough in level to justify how it's priced.
Other than that, I am left with a couple of questions, though. The visual image of this gut-stone blocking an attack from inside someone's body and making a sunder attempt, left me with thoughts of a broken weapon potentially leaving behind shards of itself inside the wound. So that stretched the item's credibility just a bit for me. But, not enough to still fall in love with it.
In addition, I'm wondering about the size of the stone. If it's "fist-sized" as the description states, can such a stone be expected to safeguard a creature larger than man-size? Could an ogre or giant or dragon swallow one of these things and benefit from it? I would expect so. But, maybe some reference to the stone sizing itself to the creature's inherent size once swallowed could help answer that type of question.
Regardless, it's great to see this type of item come through and help you join the ranks of RPG Superstar! Your creativity is top-notch. And your professional execution and application of the rules is right on target. You'll bear watching in the rounds to come. Just work on naming things a bit better. And best of luck!
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4
,
Star Voter Season 6
aka raidou
|
I'm going to go in the opposite direction on this one, unfortunately.
From the first sentence, I am sort of ambivalent about this item. It seems too large to fit into a man's mouth (I picture about the size of a tennis ball), but may be swallowed with ease. I want the item's creator to follow through here. You set up a visual puzzle, and then leave me hanging. After that, though, the writing is tight. You don't waste words, and you don't overwrite this item. That earns you some props.
Basically this item gives you 10 temporary hit points, usable only against sneak attacks and some other corner-cases. It might also do some minor damage against the attacking weapon. It can deal a maximum of 4 points of damage, so if you are sneak-attacked by a weapon made of glass, rope, cloth, paper, ice, or animal skin, or by a small wooden chest, your opponent will be suitably hindered. Since you can't swallow more than one at a time, you will need to rely on someone else to finish the sundering job for every other weapon.
That said, I see a case for this item to be used when fighting small or tiny opponents, where weapon hit points are reduced and you see a lot more of the precision type damage from creatures with big DEX scores and finesse weapons.
This item is conceptually interesting and provides a nice visual image, but I can't imagine choosing this over a potion of extended Aid or False Life, both less expensive by 150 gold and useful in more situations. This particular item just fails to grab me in the way it hooks the judges.
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4
,
Star Voter Season 6
aka raidou
|
Ah, and there's the thing I missed. This item bypasses all hardness. OK, so now I see the utility.
1d4 damage against a weapon is going to take out a non-magical light blade or light hafted weapon (2 hit points) 3 out of 4 times, and automatically add the broken condition to such weapons even rolling a 1.
It will add the broken condition to a non-magical one-handed blade or a one-handed hafted weapon (5 hit points) about 50% of the time.
once you start factoring magic weapons into the mix this item's utility is lost, as it won't ever cause enough damage to add the broken condition to a weapon with 12-15 hit points or more.
Given that, I'd say this item has a neat little low-level niche that I overlooked on the first pass, that goes beyond what a False Life or an Aid spell can do. I'm not sure it's a "must-have" item, but I can see its usefulness.
Ah, and there's the thing I missed. This item bypasses all hardness. OK, so now I see the utility.
Given that, I'd say this item has a neat little low-level niche that I overlooked on the first pass, that goes beyond what a False Life or an Aid spell can do. I'm not sure it's a "must-have" item, but I can see its usefulness.
You are now ALSO a Superstar judge :) It's quite clever, isn't it.
I'm glad you posted that discussion, Eric. That is a great breakdown. I posted in the public forums that a funny thing happens with good items in our discussions in the judges chambers. Often we just focus on what is wrong with an item because we all can see what is good about an item and we dont have enough time to do full posts about the good stuff. Thus, we often just analyze whether the bad stuff is enough to reject the item. What we often dont do in writing, but always do in our heads, is exactly what you did in your post above. Excellent, excellent breakdown.
Yep, I gotta agree. Eric's analysis helped me wrap my head around the sundering potential of the gut-stone much better. Thanks, man!
Congrats on making it in to RPG Superstar 2010! I asked myself the same three question for each of the top 32 items. Here are my responses to your item:
Would this wondrous item unbalance my game if my PCs were to find it and use it?
Seems good on this front. My big concern is that your use of the phrase "precision based damage" is a bit subjective. There are many ways a PC could take damage ranging from very precise (i.e. stiletto sneak attack) to very broad (AOE fireball), and everything in between, and I'm not quite sure where this item draws the line. I would suggest being a bit clearer about that. Still, I like your restrictions of not allowing players to stack gutstones and the time limit of a single gutstone’s use, so the use of this item is not necessarily a no-brainer. PCs have to think and strategize about when to eat the stone, and that I like very much.
Would my PCs be happy with this item if they were to find it during an adventure?
Sure, I guess. My PCs don't generally use sunder attacks, but this is probably just because they have not yet found a character build that really maximizes Sunder's potential.
Do I like the mojo? Does the item spark other ideas for my campaign?
Yeah, I really like the mojo of an ingested gem that sits in the PCs gut insides waiting for an attack to land to trigger a magical effect. I've run Sci-Fi games with syringes of injected nanites (microscopic robots) that do all kinds of fun mechanics, and this is a great way to adapt the idea to a fantasy setting.
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4
|
So upon reading your entry I immediately thought of a thousand flavor uses for this item. I saw Torag priests partaking of these stones as part of a war blessing, Ogre shamans making ‘stone soup’ before a large raid, and gnome mother’s force-feeding their children these before a long trip through the wilderness. It’s a good flavor item for a world with so much ‘earth’ and ‘stone’ themed people and religions. I could also see these stones becoming a staple in any low level ‘assassination’ adventure, as in the PCs have a price on their heads or are protecting someone who does. It would be very useful in those situations as you can see above in Eric’s brake down, and unlike potions or even extended potions of aid or false life these stones stay in place for a whole week which makes the time of use less restrictive. These steadfast gut-stones can also easily compliment these potions for extra aid at the time of attack.
Neil’s concerns about your size description does not bother me since it is made clear from the first that the stones can change size. If it can shrink to get into a medium sized creature’s mouth, I can’t see why it cannot enlarge itself once inside a large or larger sized creature’s belly. Besides there has be some crazy magics going on in the body anyway for the stone be flying around fast enough to block attacks and not harm your internal organs.
Good job and good luck! Welcome to RPG Superstar 2010.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
,
Star Voter Season 6
|
Hmm, there was a story about how Samurai used to 'test' their blades on convicted criminals. One of the criminals told the young Samurai, "If I had known this, I would have swallowed rocks to dull your blade."
That's the story I thought of when I read this. Cool item.
Director of Narrative
,
Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
|
My first instinct was to type, "This rocks!", but I was fearful of the pun. Regardless, this item is awesome. I love the imagery, and you don't get that kind of imagery out of every magic item. Well freakin' done!
Hot damn. This beats my bag of posies hands-down. I totally want to win, but I won't feel bad if you beat me. :)
Well, I'm not as crazy about it as everyone else seems to be, but this is a fairly neat little item. Of limited utility, but it gets the job done for 800 gold. It's off-kilter enough that I'm curious about your monster, though. Congrats!
|
RPG Superstar 2013
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
|
This is the most Superstar item I have seen so far. You can tell Superstar by Clark's reaction - it is instantly lovable.
Well done. This kind of imagination will create high expectations for the rest of the rounds. Good luck to you.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
aka AWizardInDallas
|
The title is edgy and ingenious. Plus, any character willing to go to the trouble of swallowing a dang rock deserves a bit of extra protection. I was just wondering if a chocolate coating would make it go down easier? :)
Congrats, Benjamin! Good, solid item!
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
|
Really nicely done item Ben, the mechanics could maybe use some work but the imagery and effect are just cool. The only thing that makes me cringe is it makes me think of kidney stones. I could just imagine this thing breaking up in your stomach and having to pass it :o
Look forward to seeing your entries in the later rounds, good luck!
I have to admit, I really like the name of this item.
It's grotesque and visceral (sorry if that's too pun-nish, but it's true.)
I find myself more attracted these days, to wondrous items without overlong, borderline pretentious names. This one is straightforward and to the point, with just a hint of welcome flair.
Also, despite using shield other, what it does is different from any other item I can remember... and how it does it... from within, now that's definitely new!
It makes me think of gizzard stones like some birds and reptiles gather and swallow, which is a fun association for me.
|
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
,
Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka JoelF847
|
Great job making the top 32, and great, fun little item! Dennis beat me to the reference, but this is the kind of kidney stone you'd want to have (and trust me, there are no kinds like that in the real world!) Yes, it's a bit more expensive than a potion of whatever, but it lasts a week until used, and stacks with any other defensive effect I can think of. The sunder attempt is a nice way to crank the item up a notch beyond simply stopping sneak attack or favored enemy damage, and the types of weapons that are more often used for these types of attacks are going to be more vulnerable to the sunder damage - and a rogue is more likely to be hindered by the broken condition than a fighter, so they're good targets for sundering.
This is a really fun item, I love the visual of this rock bouncing up under someone's abdomen to deflect an oncoming sneak attack.
I share the opinion that the sunder damage should be higher, perhaps 2d6.
I also find the assertion that it's the size of a fist but easy to swallow is kinda fun, does it shrink? does the user's mouth grow? does the stone change shape? I think leaving this to the imagination was a bold move which conjures a host of interesting mental images.
I see a sudden rush of stomach based items to capitalize on your unique idea. Good luck on the next round.
|
Benchak, sir, I've already congratulated you in many digital and aural forms, but here's one more: congratulations, sir! And I think I'll be buying one of those when Cheng Wen has more than 30 gp to his name.
Actually, can we all get one free? Since you're our ever-generous GM? :P
PS- I just finished illustrating the, erm... rock. Here it is. Enjoy!
|
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
|
I also find the assertion that it's the size of a fist but easy to swallow is kinda fun, does it shrink? does the user's mouth grow? does the stone change shape? I think leaving this to the imagination was a bold move which conjures a host of interesting mental images.
I agree.
The way this triggers the imagination (I'm seeing a weird Alice in Wonderland moment) immediately got me interested in the item, easing me into the concept. I was literally thinking "that's a cool image" before I even got to the mechanical part.
And the mechanical part is cool.
And I can't believe I am writing that, since when I saw the name of the item I had a grouchy attitude and was predisposed against the item as I started to read, ready to type reject. And then look what happened. I loved it.
This too shall pass. ;P
I would definitely use this item. :)
|
|
Bloodstone by Judas Priest
It sounds like Rob Halford is screaming, "Guuuuuuuuuuuuut Stone!"
Badass.
And so a new item slot is invented....
ED: oops MD beat me to it.
I see a sudden rush of stomach based items to capitalize on your unique idea. Good luck on the next round.
It crumbles harmlessly and comes out... but man, if I were DM, does it ever hurt when it comes out.
It sounds like Rob Halford is screaming, "Guuuuuuuuuuuuut Stone!"
Badass.
I LOVE that song, by the way. I'm a Huge Priest fan. :) I've got to break it out now and play it. Yet another reason to love this item.
PRIEST!
Man, that takes me way back. Bootlegging vodka and m*%$^#&*a into the Northlands Coliseum. Damaged eardrums. Chicks with big hair and miniskirts.
Screaming for Vengeance... Electric Eye. Great album.
|
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
aka Benchak the Nightstalker
|
Wow, just wow! I'm absolutely thrilled to hear what everyone thinks of my item, it seems like most of you are getting a kick out of it! Thanks so much for your feedback, and an especially huge thank you to the judges for placing me in the top 32.
I also wanted to take a moment to thank Neil Spicer and everyone else who participated in his 'Advice for Round One' thread, I found it to be particularly helpful, and I can't imagine that I'm the only one.
Ogre Stone Soup!
And a really cool story about a Samurai and a Criminal! I hadn't heard that before, but it fits perfectly.
Now I just hope I can live up to peoples expectations for Round 2!
I also wanted to take a moment to thank Neil Spicer and everyone else who participated in his 'Advice for Round One' thread, I found it to be particularly helpful, and I can't imagine that I'm the only one.
You're quite welcome. It was my hope some folks would find the advice useful and apply it to create some really innovative, cool wondrous items that would crank this contest up to ever higher levels of awesome. Your work here has done exactly that. :-)
What I want to know is what happens when someone accidently passes a gut-stone? I'm holding my stomach just thinking about it. :P
|
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32
,
Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8
|
What I want to know is what happens when someone accidently passes a gut-stone? I'm holding my stomach just thinking about it. :P
Terrible, terrible things. There are certain things which Man Was Not Meant to Know. I think this qualifies.
This is a cool item with a really evocative description. I'm frightened of how my players would figure out how to use it the first time and that makes my hard DM heart happy. Oh so very happy. Congrats!
The second 'swallow a rock' item I find myself liking. The gut stone is brilliant, Ben. Very cool.