@ Trench and other entrants.
Good on ya!!I might sound repetitive and it might not be that comforting, but y'all should again understand how close the entire contest was (at least as far as the five early judges--I can't speak for the good Mr. Sutter--who I also want to thank for donating his time and efforts to the Paizo/Pathfinder fan community.)
It is disappointing to the runner who comes in .02 seconds behind the winner, but he still ran a good race.
You all should be very proud of the writing you did. As any writer will tell you, entire walls can be papered with rejection slips. Just keep writing. Keep editing. Share your work with the world.
Ted has created something very useful, very democratic (by which I mean we all have an equal voice), and very enjoyable. Come by and see us sometime.
I shall.
Now I just have to figure out how to actually throw something onto wordpress... even with the tutorial I can't seem to figure out how to use it...
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I shall.
Now I just have to figure out how to actually throw something onto wordpress... even with the tutorial I can't seem to figure out how to use it...
the forums are separated from the main site, so you might need editor's permission, register yourself, upload your story in http://groups.google.com/group/pathfinder-chronicler and I will upload it while Ted gives you permissions.
We would just keep it private a bit longer so those who won or we close by had their fair share of the spotlight :)
I shall.
Now I just have to figure out how to actually throw something onto wordpress... even with the tutorial I can't seem to figure out how to use it...
the forums are separated from the main site, so you might need editor's permission, register yourself, upload your story in http://groups.google.com/group/pathfinder-chronicler and I will upload it while Ted gives you permissions.
We would just keep it private a bit longer so those who won or we close by had their fair share of the spotlight :)
heh. Fair enough.
And my self-imposed ban on posting with this Alt is now over. >:)
Having said that, I'm curious as all heck to see any comments the other judges had on my story, and likewise if anyone else has commentary on it once they read it. Be blunt, be brutal if you feel like it, but it's probably going to be nothing compared to how I've now progressed into the stage of beating myself up mentally for changes I could have made to the story.
And for Sutter's commentary, that's actually something that I don't like as well in fiction. I'm a bit flummoxed as to where that happened though since there wasn't combat and no rules were mentioned, just perhaps a failing attempt to detect evil (which didn't follow any in-game rules) which was an allusion to the situation at play in the story later on. In retrospect, I could have cut the section entirely and handled it differently as it was a late addition to branch between two sections of the story I'd already written.
Any comments are more than welcome. And now back to thrashing myself in the back of my head. ;)
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*checking notes on Tegresin*
as I noted them in your entry:
Wonderful story and very well written, but it slows on some parts, it has a few details that could be bettered.. especially considering it’s a horror story, yet it misses that point even when it tells it clearly.. it makes too much fun and tries to hard and it loses there…
I think Todd makes references to some certain individual in Golarion.. if its like that then he has his data wrong and being a fan of Iomedae I need to mention it… otherwise the reader needs more ideas, its ok that the devil and the character don’t know the name, but we should have an idea…
Its good story, unfortunately not great.
which was our general discussion last Saturday, we liked the story... but many liked other stories more... but it was well written and the scores spoke by themselves (I will talk about this later), in the end we all agree that is a good and well written story but was lacking that punch that made us say "WOW!"
Personally (and the reason I insist is a horror story) it reminded me a lot of Ravenloft (its not bad) in the sense of a domain making prisoner both the ruler and its subjects, where the domain is under his control but beyond it, and escape is practically impossible.
And since Ravenloft is my favorite setting (which is why my fondness on Ustalav) and this kind of concept is close to my heart, so I was sad it missed that which made the "Bang!"
anyway, remember, I am not a professional writer or editor... just well and variedly read, and while I might miss some exactness on detail and grammar (I am not native speaker) I can feel when an story flows and is well written. This are only my personal impressions, hope they serve you in the future.
I think Todd makes references to some certain individual in Golarion.. if its like that then he has his data wrong and being a fan of Iomedae I need to mention it… otherwise the reader needs more ideas, its ok that the devil and the character don’t know the name, but we should have an idea…
Not really referencing any specific canonical character there. The only person in the story to have appeared in previous material was Tegresin himself, and even then he was in a different physical form (sort of like a nalg, rather than a quasit).
Had I had more word count, I could have provided a hint to the reader what the case there was in specific through a memory (that Darius no longer remembers).
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As for the heated race. We had a scoring system that brought 10 entrees to the top. Though we give honorable mention to each Judge's favorite, the points speak something a little different. Out of 100 possible points, here is how the top 10 panned out. Thank you Montalve for keeping such a fantical excel sheet. I just want a few of our contestants to see just how incredibly close they came to being in the Top Five. I believe everyone deserves a shake of the hand and serious acknowledgement for their efforts and I will attempt to do that in the coming days ahead. Once this Wayfinder business is sorted out.
87 Points: Rain of Redemption
87 Points: Enchained
86 Points: Unrequited
84 Points: A Feast to Remember
82 Points: Tea with the Laughing Fiend
81 Points: Family Business
81 Points: The Wandering Kingdom
80 Points: The Three-faced Card
79 Points: The Half Elf and Echinoderm
79 Points: A Bride in Korvosa
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I'm viewing the page with Mozilla Firefox, and I'm still not able to see Neil's story. #1 just doesn't show up on the list.
Epic, you will not see Neil's story featured on our site until Wayfinder publication. That is their exclusive! Neil get's 6 pages and three pieces of art. So that is now Lilith's baby!
Interesting stats. Out of morbid curiosity, what was my story's score?
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Not really referencing any specific canonical character there. The only person in the story to have appeared in previous material was Tegresin himself, and even then he was in a different physical form (sort of like a nalg, rather than a quasit). ** spoiler omitted **
but i am biased, i love Iomedae :P
edited
Interesting stats. Out of morbid curiosity, what was my story's score?76
i will explain how we got the scores
Cool.
And if I haven't said before, congratulations to Mister Spicer. With a last name like that, he's already primed for a decent book jacket.
Congratulations Neil and everyone else in the top 10! And to everyone else who entered too!
Alas, my story is not in the top 10. Oh well. Such is life.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a little too excited to say anything much coherent right now--I definitely never believed I'd make the top five!
THANK YOU to the judges and Sutter, and to Pathfinder Chronicler for hosting the contest and posting the stories.
I hope people enjoy Enchained!
"Enchained" definitely stood out from the rest of the pack both in its subject matter and setting. Well done.
Edit: Since this question has been (and will be) asked - please do not send your submissions for this contest as submissions for Wayfinder #4. New entries with the same characters are fine, but original and new content is appreciated!
Hm. If we're interested in feedback on our stories should we post them in that thread?
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As for the heated race. We had a scoring system that brought 10 entrees to the top. Though we give honorable mention to each Judge's favorite, the points speak something a little different. Out of 100 possible points, here is how the top 10 panned out. Thank you Montalve for keeping such a fanatical excel sheet. I just want a few of our contestants to see just how incredibly close they came to being in the Top Five. I believe everyone deserves a shake of the hand and serious acknowledgment for their efforts and I will attempt to do that in the coming days ahead. Once this Wayfinder business is sorted out.
87 Points: Rain of Redemption
87 Points: Enchained
86 Points: Unrequited
84 Points: A Feast to Remember
82 Points: Tea with the Laughing Fiend
81 Points: Family Business
81 Points: The Wandering Kingdom
80 Points: The Three-faced Card
79 Points: The Half Elf and Echinoderm
79 Points: A Bride in Korvosa
Heh, so close, and yet, not close enough. Oh well, it was still fun to write. ;)
And while this was probably a LOT of work for the judges, I expect next time (next year? next quarter? next month? XD ) there will be many, MANY more entries.
ANY chance for James' (I know he'd have to read them) and/or judges comments/notes on the rest of the top 10?
(Yes, I blatantly admit to being very curious to what people thought to The Three-Faced Card, and I unabashedly would beg James to comment if I thought begging would work...begging won't work, right? I'm not above it! :p)
Ha! I missed the top 5 by one point.
Does that mean my story could have been a finalist if one of the other finalists had gone down with an injury?
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8
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Ha! I missed the top 5 by one point.
Does that mean my story could have been a finalist if one of the other finalists had gone down with an injury?
Exactly what I'm thinking. It wouldn't have to be a serious injury. Even a cold might have made the difference. You break out the cold germ infested kleenexes; I'll grab an envelope and a time machine.
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ok an small teaser for those waiting around, one fo the things asked from the beginning: Contest Entries!
The title to my story is wrong and that can mean only one thing... I accidently submitted the rough draft instead of my actual story. I apologize to the judges that came upon mine and were like, “WTF?”
Congrats to all winners. Looking forward to reading Wayfinder #4!
Not really referencing any specific canonical character there. The only person in the story to have appeared in previous material was Tegresin himself, and even then he was in a different physical form (sort of like a nalg, rather than a quasit). ** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **
edited
Also, this all assumes that the story is being told during the present day. There should be no way to absolutely date the events of the story since the names I provided weren't in canon or had no date in canon applied to them, and the two gods mentioned -Pharasma and Desna- are two of the older gods so no help there. Given another few thousand words, the intent was to suggest but never solidly point a finger towards Sarenrae (who as an ascended angel was likely a mortal at some point).
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Ha! I missed the top 5 by one point.
Does that mean my story could have been a finalist if one of the other finalists had gone down with an injury?
pretty close... we thought 1 of the characters in one of the stories might had been property of WotC... after some documentation... it was all fine with it
edit: duh... you mean that other kind of injury :P
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** spoiler omitted **Not really referencing any specific canonical character there. The only person in the story to have appeared in previous material was Tegresin himself, and even then he was in a different physical form (sort of like a nalg, rather than a quasit). ** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **
edited
mmm, interesting
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ok an small teaser for those waiting around, one fo the things asked from the beginning: Contest Entries!The title to my story is wrong and that can mean only one thing... I accidently submitted the rough draft instead of my actual story. I apologize to the judges that came upon mine and were like, “WTF?”
Congrats to all winners. Looking forward to reading Wayfinder #4!
which would be yours?
I am also curious about what my score was.
title?
mmm, interesting
And this is what happens with multiple revisions to a story, when you're thinking of one of them, but talking about an earlier one. Yes, the knight was being talked about, no it wasn't Iomedae.
Been a long day for me, so pardon me. :)
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I didn't make the top 10, but if anyone is interested in reading my submission "Everything's Inevitable" its online at Everything's Inevitable
very good story, this was one of the first to catch my eye
Congratulations, Neil and the rest of top five.
Guess I'll have to get to work polishing my jungle bestiary for consideration in PF #4...
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ok an small teaser for those waiting around, one fo the things asked from the beginning: Contest Entries!The title to my story is wrong and that can mean only one thing... I accidently submitted the rough draft instead of my actual story. I apologize to the judges that came upon mine and were like, “WTF?”
Congrats to all winners. Looking forward to reading Wayfinder #4!
which would be yours?
I am also curious about what my score was.title?
Sorry, my story was "Baker of Kaer Maga".
Sorry, my story was "Baker of Kaer Maga".
Hey, my story was based in Kaer Maga too.
It was only after I finished it that I realized James Sutter wrote the Kaer Maga supplement, and I got nervous.
Sorry, my story was "Baker of Kaer Maga".Hey, my story was based in Kaer Maga too.
It was only after I finished it that I realized James Sutter wrote the Kaer Maga supplement, and I got nervous.
HAW! Ditto my friend. Ultimate ditto.
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lol
actually there are quite many Varisian stories.
We have at least 3 from Korvosa, at least 3 from Kaer Maga, a couple around the shoanti's side, two in Riddleport... there is a lot of talk of Varisia i the entries... we could mostly make a Varisian Anthology :P
Everything’s Inevitable by Ty Arthur (there is mention on Varisia)
Family Business by Andrew Crossett
Nahdep’s Journey by John Anglin
Four more years by Joseph Steele
Dusk of the Dawnflower Dervish by Shawn Feakins
A Bride in Korvosa by William David Wood
Baker of Kaer Maga by Michael Franke
Keeping the Band Together by Matthew A. Cicci
Zayla by Michael Ray Johnson
Savage Dance by Karen Bovenmyer
Milani’s Chosen by Austin Coppock
this is from memory, so if i missed or put anyone wrong, please tell me.
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Congratulations, Neil! And congrats to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place winners, too!
A big THANK YOU > infinity to the judges!
I'm very pleased to get an honorable mention and I look forward to any feedback I receive!
your feedback is here
Ha! I'm honored that several people liked Kaer Maga enough to set their stories there! I might have to go check those out. :)
Ha! I'm honored that several people liked Kaer Maga enough to set their stories there! I might have to go check those out. :)
I'm a China Mieville fan and I see in your interview that so are you. Kaer Maga is precisely my type of town, so as soon as that sourcebook dropped I gobbled it up. I am so stealing bits of it for a Mos Esley-like insane coastal city in our campaign world.
And to tell the truth, when I realized three weeks into the contest that you were actually the writer of the setting of my story, I nearly chucked it for the Thuvia idea I had. Figured it'd be waaaay too high a bar to jump.
I gotta admit I too was attracted by the idea of getting my story read by James, so Mr. Sutter add me to the begging list for comments on my story Nahdep's Journey. My email is Johns.anglin@yahoo.com
Now, having said that, you're totally welcome to check out my Kaer Maga story anyway if you're being gracious/curious. Should be on Chronicler eventually (and there's always email). I'm easy. But I totally understand if you have way too much on your plate right now.
Edited: On account of possibly being way too snarky. heh.