So my item didn't make the Top 32. Not a huge surprise given the number of submissions and the quality of the items that made the cut.
As I have read through the items and the judges comments I was struck by how often they commented on how well the item tied into the Golarian campaign setting. While my group has adopted the Pathfinder rules we are still playing in the 3.5 Forgotten Realms setting/time period and my knowledge of Golarian is still pretty superficial. In an effort looking towards improving in next year's competition I wonder how important you think connecting your item to the Pathfinder campaign setting is?
Important? Not important? A nice edge for items that might have other deficiencies?
It's not really important for R1 (in fact, the R1 rules say that throwing in a Golarion reference with your item isn't automatically a good thing, as not all of the judges work for Paizo).
It may be in later rounds, however (which perhaps is one reason why all the Top 32 got a free copy of the campaign setting PDF...).
I have to say I was surprised how many of the top 32 had very specific Golarian references (countries even, not just deities). Deities are one thing since they're at least in the Core Rulebook, but I didn't expect anything more detailed than that to make it into the top tier of items.
I have to say I was surprised how many of the top 32 had very specific Golarian references (countries even, not just deities). Deities are one thing since they're at least in the Core Rulebook, but I didn't expect anything more detailed than that to make it into the top tier of items.
Yeah, that was an interesting coincidence. I dont work for Paizo and have no real knowledge of Golarion whatsoever. I can tell you that content played no part in any decision to keep, reject or select an item for top 32.
I was vaguely aware that my entry would be considered Tian-themed if anyone wanted to plop a cultural label on it, but that's about it. Frankly, I was worried that my utter ignorance of Golarion would kill me in later rounds until I saw the free PDF mentioned!
Edit: Wait, Sean says top 32 get the PDF? I thought it was only top 8. I don't have it listed in my downloads, and I don't see anything about it in the email...
Edit: Wait, Sean says top 32 get the PDF? I thought it was only top 8. I don't have it listed in my downloads, and I don't see anything about it in the email...
There was some miscommunication among the staff about this, but we're getting it worked out. Don't worry, you don't need the PDF for R2, R2 is non-world-specific. :)
Yeah, I wasn't worried for this round. (I'm in the final editing stage anyway.) And I'm crossing my fingers for next round to be "pick someone else's monster and stat it up," so I'm guessing Top 8 was correct in the sense that we wouldn't need it until then.
Contributor
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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The Golarion fluff is like whipped topping on a pie. If the pie tastes like crap, the topping won't do anything to make it better. Likewise, if the topping is rancid, then you've ruined the whole pie.
Every item I've seen that had Pathfinder Campaign Setting ties used those ties very well and enhanced the item for me. If the item hadn't referenced Golarion, it wouldn't have taken away from its SuperStar-ness.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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The Golarion fluff is like whipped topping on a pie. If the pie tastes like crap, the topping won't do anything to make it better. Likewise, if the topping is rancid, then you've ruined the whole pie.
Every item I've seen that had Pathfinder Campaign Setting ties used those ties very well and enhanced the item for me. If the item hadn't referenced Golarion, it wouldn't have taken away from its SuperStar-ness.
Also, the judges are looking at the fluff to see how it complements the item more than what who's fluff is being used. The judges are familiar with Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms and didn't have any indication that they would reject an item based on those worlds. The one comment I've seen about non-Golarian fluff was in the rejected thread. Clark made a comment about someone's item not living up to the Tiamat reference it included. So if you use fluff use it carefully and don't just drop names. It's much better to skip the Golarian references entirely than to use them incorrectly.
The judges are familiar with Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms and didn't have any indication that they would reject an item based on those worlds.
No, using non-Paizo/non-OGL properties (as both Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms are) is an instant and automatic rejection. You cannot refer to another company's intellectual property in this contest.
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Contributor
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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The judges are familiar with Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms and didn't have any indication that they would reject an item based on those worlds.No, using non-Paizo/non-OGL properties (as both Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms are) is an instant and automatic rejection. You cannot refer to another company's intellectual property in this contest.
That is correct.
Can we refer to the campaign setting material of other publishers?
No. And while we're at it, if you refer to a monster please be sure to use only monsters published in Pathfinder products. Reference to non-Paizo rules or monsters may be grounds for disqualification.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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The judges are familiar with Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms and didn't have any indication that they would reject an item based on those worlds.No, using non-Paizo/non-OGL properties (as both Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms are) is an instant and automatic rejection. You cannot refer to another company's intellectual property in this contest.
Oops, I didn't catch that bit. I wonder why Clark didn't mention that with the Tiamat reference. Does Tiamat predate D&D?
I'll have to double check that, maybe he did.
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Contributor
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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Oops, I didn't catch that bit. I wonder why Clark didn't mention that with the Tiamat reference. Does Tiamat predate D&D?The judges are familiar with Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms and didn't have any indication that they would reject an item based on those worlds.No, using non-Paizo/non-OGL properties (as both Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms are) is an instant and automatic rejection. You cannot refer to another company's intellectual property in this contest.
Tiamat as a Babylonian goddess is OK. Tiamat as a multi-headed chromatic dragon goddess is owned by WotC. So, it depends on how you use her. Or vice versa. :)
I wonder why Clark didn't mention that with the Tiamat reference. Does Tiamat predate D&D?
Yep, by a couple thousand years. Tiamat is the Babylonian Goddess of the sea and of primordial chaos, and is frequently depicted as a serpent or dragon. She shares a lot of similarities with Cronus, the father of the Greek gods.
As taig said, the depiction of Tiamat as a dragon with five heads, each a different color associated with the chromatic dragons, is property of WotC. Tiamat as a deity involved with dragons actually is Golarion-related, because there's a mention of her in the Dragons of Golarion article in Rise of the Runelords #4.
So, Tiamat as a dragon goddess = OK, Tiamat as WotC's dragon godess = not OK. And because Tiamat has such a close association with dragons in D&D historically, Tiamat as a <something other than dragon goddess> = probably not OK.
EDIT: Note that Apsu, a major Golarion dragon deity, is also Babylonian and was paired with Tiamat. Paizo did their homework ;)
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Hah... so not only did I screw up the contest rules, I screwed up the whole Tiamat thing also... AND the fact that there is a Golarian reference. Good thing non of this is part of my contest entries.
*scurries off to re-read the FAQs again to see if he missed something else.*
Seems to me the Golarion fluff is pretty important. At least four of the Top 32 had it, which given the apparently hundreds of entries is a pretty fair percentile of the Top 32. Evidently Plane of Shadow/illusion items are golden too, as there are at least four of those too. I guess if you created a shadow/illusion item with Golarion content this year you would have REALLY been on the yellow brick road.
Chief Technical Officer
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The Golarion fluff is like whipped topping on a pie. If the pie tastes like crap, the topping won't do anything to make it better. Likewise, if the topping is rancid, then you've ruined the whole pie.
And if you do the topping right, it improves the pie.
This is a very accurate analogy—at least, for the rounds we've seen so far...