Talisman of Synchronicity
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 15th
Slot neck; Price 36000 gp; Weight -
Description
This item appears as a primitive jade fetish on a leather string, with both sides depicting an identical, genderless face. Three times per day, as a swift action, the wearer may activate the talisman to transport himself over a short distance similar to a dimension door spell. Only the wearer and his equipment may travel this way (he cannot bring other objects or creatures) and the destination must be within 30 feet and line of sight. However, the talisman creates a juxtaposition effect and for the duration of the round the wearer appears in both his starting square and his destination square. During that round, the wearer and his juxtaposed counterpart may share some or all of the character’s actions. One may perform a move action while the other performs a standard action, or any other combination of actions that the character can perform in a single round. Anything that requires a full-round action must be performed by either the wearer or his juxtaposed counterpart. The wearer of the talisman may not use any other forms of extradimensional travel during the round that the talisman is activated.
Since they are one entity, the wearer and his counterpart share the same current statistics and equipment that the character has at the time the talisman is activated. Any changes, damage or effects experienced by one is experienced by the other, including area of effects and death. Likewise, spells cast and items used or lost apply to both. At the start of the wearer’s next turn, the juxtaposition effect ends and he is relocated to his counterpart’s current square.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, dimension door, clone; Cost 18000 gp
Hah! Very interesting item! I even really like the spells involved in the crafting...dimension door and clone are very appropriate here. I'm not sure about the game balance between the splitting of actions between these two versions of the wearer, but as long as they're not receiving twice the number of actions and just splitting them up across the twin "clones" I think I'm okay with that. It's a short duration, since it ends on the wearer's next turn. It requires spending a swift action to activate it, so you're not going to be able to slip another one into the remaining actions available to you. And imagine all the uses you could do by splitting yourself into two versions to carry out your actions.
One of you stays in combat to engage an enemy with an attack action. The other version of you uses the talisman to dimension door behind the enemy and bar the door with a move action so reinforcements can't join the fray.
Or maybe you're a rogue and one of you stays behind to try and disable a trap with a standard action, while the other you moves into combat to flank an enemy in support of your companions. And you can use this juxtaposition effect three times per day. Kinda cool. And the price seems reasonable to me. Also, near flawless execution in presentation with the template (except for alphabetizing the spell names). Very professional and polished.
Anyone else care to comment?
I'm a Keep.
I'm a keep too. I can see all sorts of interesting uses (rogues would love this item!)
RyanD
Director of Brand Strategy
|
I'd like to know if I can flank with myself when using this, and whether I take double damage if both versions of me are hit with a fireball. It's a really cool idea that I think tons of people would love, but it's also fairly complex and I think needs to be clearer on how to handle fringe situations. The author didn't waste words talking about a backstory, so I can't think of anything to cut from this to make room for the additional information I think should be included.
I'm for keeping it as well, despite these issues because I think this item and the designer who crafted it are exactly the type of things we want in this contest. Now I need to convince my GM to let me buy one of these and combine it with a quicken metamagic rod!
We had some split-yourself-and-your-actions items last year. If I recall correctly, rejected them because character-splitting items come with a lot of mechanics baggage and can create weird, hard-to-adjudicate situations.
However, the splitting in this one only lasts 1 round, though, and it's only a secondary aspect of its dimension door ability, so it's not like the PC is going to walk around splitting their actions for minutes a day and driving the GM crazy.
I would have liked clarification about how this interacts with the "you can't take any other actions until your next turn" rule from dimension door.
Keep.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 16, 2010 Top 4
aka Alexander MacLeod
|
A fine item that calls to mind several cool story points from various dimension-hopping and time traveling tales. A bit of clarification on what happens if both selves are caught in one area effect (perhaps time-and-a-half damage like a swarm?) would be nice, but I could otherwise stand behind this item without a problem.
No, wait. Problem. Use commas in your numbers! But, several people seem to have this problem, and it's easily fixed...
A person splitting talisman, interesting. I think you have buried your lead here, you talk about dimension door too much at the start, when I want to hear about this cool juxtaposition effect. As Sean says, one of the problems with calling out dimension door is that the spell states that you can’t take any other actions until your next turn after casting it, you could have avoided this by just saying ‘… to teleport himself to a destination within 30 feet…’
I’m unclear as to which body I finish in, I think it would be cool for you to choose which copy of you vanished at the end. As you still only get one person’s worth of actions, the talisman seems fairly reasonably priced, although I’m sure there are sneaky tricks you can do with this. I like the effect, while I’ve seen variations of this before, yours is well worded and covered a lot of the possibilities for abuse.
I’m a fan of chronomancy items like this. I have characters that would definitely want to mess around with one of these.
Welcome to the ranks of RPG Superstar! I like that you chose a niche that is cool, but has the pitfalls of balance to avoid, and takes effort to squeeze into the word count. Keep it up, just make sure not to choose a topic that won’t fit into your word count in a future assignment. Best of luck!
This is a new slant on Teamwork Feats. ;D
As the others have mentioned, my one concern is how AOE damage spells would be addressed.
Matt, the final paragraph indicates that you end up in the body of the 'destination' body's current square. Though the ability to choose would be cool.
I think it is fairly clear that you could flank yourself. Clever! And it nicely avoids confusing the GM with actual time travel.
Well done, this is a clever item that doesn't create so many more problems. Your presentation was spot on!
We can only hope the skill with which you handled Round One is mirrored in Round Two! We shall see.
Good luck!
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6
|
I fooled around with PC-splitting in one of the spells in the APG, and boy does it open up a can of worms. This seems to cover most of them. It does seem to give you a fringe benefit of a one-round dimensional anchor - I might have covered that with "any additional dimensional travel immediately ends the effect", or something similar, but it's sort of a cool side effect. I like the idea of an after image that has some volition, particularly since it isn't immune to harm.
This was the first one I looked at when they came up and I loved it -- it grabbed me right away and shouted "TAKE ME AND USE ME! I'M UBER AWESOME!" The fact that the balance of it works so well too really makes me happy.
This one is a really fine item, plus its a swift action! It gets my Vote.
I will remind all the people above
"Any changes, damage or effects experienced by one is experienced by the other, including area of effects and death. "
So you do take double damage. (or am I reading that wrong?)
Steve Russell
Nice, very solid...
I would have probably specifically mentioned the number of AoO`s being shared, but that appears to be the case.
Good work!
I’m sure there are sneaky tricks you can do with this.
The one I see immediately is using the swift action to flank an enemy with yourself, and then full attack. A high level rogue could be devastating with this power.
Still, this item is really cool. Every video game character ever needs this item for those puzzles where you need to pull two switches at the same time, and that alone makes me think this is pretty cool.
The few mechanics issues brought up are fairly minor to me actually - this is a damn cool item.
Congrats on making it to the top 32. I really like this. Very well done.
I’m sure there are sneaky tricks you can do with this.The one I see immediately is using the swift action to flank an enemy with yourself, and then full attack. A high level rogue could be devastating with this power.
Still, this item is really cool. Every video game character ever needs this item for those puzzles where you need to pull two switches at the same time, and that alone makes me think this is pretty cool.
The few mechanics issues brought up are fairly minor to me actually - this is a damn cool item.
Imagine doing that with some teamwork feats -- outflank, and precise strike spring to mind -- you would have someone on the other side with the same feats so you would get your extra bonuses.
This is a cool item. I love clone effects. I like the name too.
How does this item work with ongoing effects? If I have darkness cast on an object I'm wearing before I use this item, does my double also emit darkness?
Wow! Thank you all for some great feedback! I wish I could address some of the raised issues, but my understanding of the contest rules prohibits me from this, no?
Nevertheless, I'm really pleased to be here and look forward to round 2!
Wow! Thank you all for some great feedback! I wish I could address some of the raised issues, but my understanding of the contest rules prohibits me from this, no?
It's perfectly allowable at this stage to offer commentary and answer questions about your design decisions. The time when you can't do that is when voting is on-going. "Voting" is technically over this round as soon as the judges finished selecting the Top 32. So, you're in the clear.
My favorite item of the round; for starters, it's the single coolest one I, as a player, would want to use. Wonderfully clever concept, beautiful execution, and fun. Fun, fun, fun. Plus it's utilitarian enough that any class can make use of it, and requires some cleverness to solve, but is brilliant for helping you out of suspect circumstances, which come up over and over in the best games. A-game work, sir. I'm giving this to my PCs.
Unless you horrifically screw up in latter rounds, you're in my Legacy position; you'll be getting a vote no matter what the next designs are.
So, you know, don't screw up. ^_^
And congratulations on sweeping into the top 32!
Okay, thanks for the clarification, Neil. Due to space I had to keep the wording simplified here. As far as area of effects go (like fireball), Steve got it right: if both the character and his counterpart are subjected to a single area of effect then both will receive the effects. In the case of the fireball, the character takes double damage.There should be inherent risks to duplicating yourself, and this is the risk when using the talisman.
Sean, I have to be honest. The rule regarding no other actions with dimension door was an oversight, but to clarify the wearer is allowed his full round of actions in the same round. Matt's re-wording suggestion would have worked better here.
Regarding which body the character occupies when the juxtaposition ends, it is the counterpart's current square. I considered allowing the wearer to choose but felt since it is a dimension door effect the wearer should end up in the body that arrived at the destination.
Ongoing effects (like the darkness example) apply to both the wearer and his counterpart. The same applies to any buffs or magic item effects.
Varthanna, you bring up some very valid issues that I simply couldn't address in my entry, but is explained very simply: "...the wearer and his counterpart share the same current statistics and equipment that the character has at the time the talisman is activated." So whatever equipment the character personally carries when the talisman is activated is also carried by the counterpart. "Any changes, damage or effects experienced by one is experienced by the other, including area of effects and death." "Any changes", in this case, means anything that affects the character's statistics or equipment. So if the counterpart picks up a crowbar or steals a lich's golden scepter to open a door, both the wearer and the counterpart possess the item now. However, because their actions are still independent of one another it doesn't mean both are holding the item, only the one who obtained it (in this example it would be the counterpart). The item now becomes part of the wearer's equipment. Likewise, if only one is wielding a weapon and it is somehow lost or destroyed, the weapon is gone on both. Remember that it is for a single round only to keep it from getting overly complicated. I'm sure at some point complications will arise, they always do with items like these.
At any rate, I hope that helps clear up any concerns and thanks again for the feedback.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
|
I really like this item.
I feel like the author was able to take a very complex idea, and make it work elegantly. This answers most of the questions I have, and isn't open to abuse. Limiting this to one round and requiring the actions to be split, and both versions vulnerable to full damage makes this easier to GM.
Well done. This is one of my favorites so far.
|
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
,
Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
|
This looks pretty nifty. I can definitely see rogues wanting this just to flank with themselves. It also seems like a someone with a reach weapon could threaten a giant area for the round, and with Combat Reflexes could make a lot of AoOs.
On a side note, if someone takes double area of effect damage, they should also be subject to doubled area of effect healing from channel energy or mass cure spells. At really high levels, doubled Mass Heal would be a stupendous amount of healing.
If both copies are in a fireball, one save or two?
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4
,
Star Voter Season 6
aka raidou
|
Trevor, congratulations and welcome to Superstar! A fantastic item here which opens the door to creative play. You've already recognized the flaw in writing up a device like this - It's very complicated and eats up a lot of word count, forcing you to be super concise about how you explain away all of its corner-cases. That said, I'd happily use this item in my game. It's really a great idea and well executed.
This has some cool ideas, but the first thing that popped into my head were the 'what about flanking' 'what about area spells' etc. The description leaves open some rules issues on how it works precisely.
This is a pretty trippy idea. It opens a fat can of worms rules-wise, but I'm glad you went for it just the same. It's really crazy in a fun way and I'm enjoying trying to come up with ways that it could be useful. The most obvious option is to let a reach fighter control both areas, but there are other considerations like auras or other continuous offensive effects.
Imagine an item that did this to one of your enemies! I think that would be more interesting than a typical forced-teleport effect. They would still be in their regular position, able to carry out whatever their original plan was, but they would ALSO be right next to you (or right next to some rabid wolves, or on the edge of a cliff with your barb buddy rushing at them) and forced to respond to that.
Talisman of Synchronicity
Uberlike. Like it so much that I'm sorry I don't know how to get umlauts over that "u". :)
A great twist on dimension door, with a good built-in drawback of being able to take damage from multiple sources while you and your counterpart are in flux for a round.
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
,
Star Voter Season 6
|
Hmm, so it doesn't make your character take a single word name and conjure something from a dark Scottish Lake.
It's a bit complex and confusing. I wasn't clear on the 'counterpart's space. Trevor's clarification helped, but that wouldn't help if it was a voting round. Something you'll need to watch for. As someone who enjoys juggling the 'action economy' I do enjoy this. Silly question though...
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
aka AWizardInDallas
|
These are my comments before reading the comments of the judges or others:
This item is awesome! What a great core concept--now you really can be in two places at once. Haha! I love this item for its sheer ingenuity. While the title as it stands is quite cool, a more accurate and relevant title might be talisman of juxtaposition or talisman of synchronized juxtaposition (which is admittedly a geeky mouthful), since you use that word in the text more than once.
Anyway the writing is tight, the pricing/costing seems maybe a little low, but the construction requirements speak volumes about what's going on with this thing. I can't find any immediate holes in your restriction logic either. What I especially love it that this item doesn't rely on shadows or illusions or mirror image or any of that. Both the wearer and counterpart are the real McCoy and that's just cool. :)
Overall, I love this item a bunch!
This is a cool item, that actually manages to do a split body mechanic that isn't completely broken. actually it works out quite well. It could even cost a bit less for my taste.
Aside from that i love this item and think it is a great superstar item. It barely fails to make my top though. It's just missing that extra bit of Sexyness.
I'm looking forward to see what you can do with archetypes.
Contributor
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
|
My rating system: (++) awesome > (+) good > (+-) ok > (-) weak > (--) terrible
Core idea, innovation: (+) A very, very cool idea! The only thing that bugs me is that it resembles the Temporal Bracers, a Top 32 item in 2009. So it's not a completely novel idea. Otherwise I would have given it a (++).
Flavor, description and name: (+-) There isn't much going on in the way of visuals and flavor. The description of the item itself is nice.
Mechanics, balance and rules-fu: (++) I really like how it works. It seems pretty easy to understand how it works. Well done!
Formatting and spelling: (+) Other than the missing commas in the Price and Cost figures, everything seems correct.
Overall rating: (+) Very good, almost a (++). One of my favorites.
Sort of a variance on The Picard Maneuver. Interesting. Careful with your language, however, as Dimension Door doesn't allow you to do anything afterwards, while you clearly intend the wearer to be able to act after its use.
|
|
Hey, wow! I didn't actually see this item on my first go-round, but now that I look at it, it's really awesome! Very, very nice.
My only thing: I'm not sure that "juxtapose" is the right word insofar as the way you're using it. This is merely an editing nitpick, but that's the sort of thing I do for a living, so...
dictionary.com defines "juxtapose" as:
–verb (used with object),-posed, -pos·ing.
to place close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast.
So, on the one hand, you're saying "juxtaposition effect" (which would pretty much mean that you and your duplicate are placed close together or side-by-side) when what you actually mean is that you are existing in two places at the same time, which may be as far apart as 30 ft.
In short, I'd have called it a "concurrancy" effect. But hey, what do I know? You're in the Top 32, and I am decidedly not. The good (great!) news: Your item is awesome. I'm hoping your archetype will be too! Congratulations!
Really appreciating the comments, folks. This is really giving me a good grasp of the talisman's pros and cons, and some of the ideas mentioned for the talisman's use are awesome (I hadn't considered the double whammy from a mass heal!) And to answer you question, Joseph, the fireball would require a save from both the wearer and his counterpart. Even if the character has evasion or improved evasion and only one makes the save, they both will take any damage suffered by the one who missed the save.
Unless you horrifically screw up in latter rounds, you're in my Legacy position; you'll be getting a vote no matter what the next designs are.
So, you know, don't screw up. ^_^
Wow! Thanks for the endorsement, Thunderbuckets. No pressure now...:D
You split, but your familiar/bonded mount doesn't go to your new square. It stays in your 'old square' doesn't this mean that it's going to be all by itself saying 'kick me' at the beginning of the next round?
I'm afraid so, Mathew.
In short, I'd have called it a "concurrancy" effect.
Funny you should mention this, because I thought about using that word (actually, I think the word was "concurrently"). I'll admit I went with "juxtapose" because it sounded cooler and its meaning could be stretched a little for the description of the talisman.
Tight. Unusual, useful effect, bolt-solid execution. Really like it.
Talisman of Synchronicity
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 15th
Slot neck; Price 36000 gp; Weight -
Description
This item appears as a primitive jade fetish on a leather string, with both sides depicting an identical, genderless face. Three times per day, as a swift action, the wearer may activate the talisman to transport himself over a short distance similar to a dimension door spell. Only the wearer and his equipment may travel this way (he cannot bring other objects or creatures) and the destination must be within 30 feet and line of sight. However, the talisman creates a juxtaposition effect and for the duration of the round the wearer appears in both his starting square and his destination square. During that round, the wearer and his juxtaposed counterpart may share some or all of the character’s actions. One may perform a move action while the other performs a standard action, or any other combination of actions that the character can perform in a single round. Anything that requires a full-round action must be performed by either the wearer or his juxtaposed counterpart. The wearer of the talisman may not use any other forms of extradimensional travel during the round that the talisman is activated.
Since they are one entity, the wearer and his counterpart share the same current statistics and equipment that the character has at the time the talisman is activated. Any changes, damage or effects experienced by one is experienced by the other, including area of effects and death. Likewise, spells cast and items used or lost apply to both. At the start of the wearer’s next turn, the juxtaposition effect ends and he is relocated to his counterpart’s current square.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, dimension door, clone; Cost 18000 gp
Ask A RPGSuperstar Succubus is posting from the point of view of a CE aligned succubus – fairness is an adjective applicable to hair coloration, balance is what a couple of mortals on opposite ends of a plank pivoted on a rocky spire above a drop of several hundred feet into a pool of molten basalt frantically try to do, and logic is something which proves anything a demon of adequate status and charm requires it to demonstrate.
Is the item Pretty?
Jade. I'm going through a jade appreciation phase right now so, oooh, yes, definitely pretty.
Does the item help a demonic seductress to keep a paladin house pet?
Not really. Seeming to be in two places at once for only three periods of half a dozen seconds a day is good, but has its limits when it comes to house-keeping.
Is the item otherwise useful?
Yes.
Other Comments? (including World Domination potential on the evil laughter scale, where appropriate)
In so far as I understand the item it warps space so that two points within thirty feet and line of sight of one another are - for a duration of six seconds - effectively the same point. And apparently a relatively modestly skilled wizard can churn items which do this out at a bargain price... This is Good News. :)
However before considering a bulk order of these items, I need to enquire as to one point - does an area effect directly targeted upon or actually originating with a person actively employing the item radiate out from both apparently occupied positions? To use an example: a worthless, (but fire immune) incubus appears in a bazaar in Katapesh, employs the item, and there are now two of him standing either side of a stall where a cheap-rate huckster who hires out what are ostensibly 'bodyguards' does his trade. The incubus removes a necklace of fireballs and stomps it. Am I correct in my supposition that in this purely hypothetical situation multiple blasts will radiate out from 'both' the positions which the incubus currently occupies, leaving the stall owner with no place to hide and thoroughly crisped by the blasts coming at him from both sides?
World Domination Potential:
(Assuming a favourable reply above) Bwahahaha!
Gollum Rating:
So juicy-sweet.
To use an example: does an area effect directly targeted upon or actually originating with a person actively employing the item radiate out from both apparently occupied positions? To use an example: a worthless, (but fire immune) incubus appears in a bazaar in Katapesh, employs the item, and there are now two of him standing either side of a stall where a cheap-rate huckster who hires out what are ostensibly 'bodyguards' does his trade. The incubus removes a necklace of fireballs and stomps it. Am I correct in my supposition that in this purely hypothetical situation multiple blasts will radiate out from 'both' the positions which the incubus currently occupies, leaving the stall owner with no place to hide and thoroughly crisped by the blasts coming at him from both sides?
No, it would only radiate from the one source because that was his action (but the necklace would now be gone from both) and it is not a change, damage, or effect that is experienced to the one triggering the fireball. The wearer and his counterpart do not mimic each other's actions or attacks, but "any changes, damage, or effects experienced by one are experienced by the other, including area of effects and death." And if said worthless incubus was not not fire immune, he would experience the damage twice from the blast.
Hope that helps, great question and sorry it doesn't help you with world-domination!
I read this last night, and I liked it. It was late and my brain didn't exactly process the mechanics very well. I felt like I was reading Einstein's theory of relativity so I didn't post. :P Upon re-reading it this morning, I still like it. This allows a character to better control the immediate environment for a short time. Sometimes, that's what it takes to live through an encounter.
I did have a thought about how this item might be abused, though. A character with a poor Acrobatics modifier could use this 3 times a day to bypass any and all AoOs he would otherwise incur by physically moving from the point of origin to the destination. It also bypasses the frustration of going the long way around to avoid those AoOs. Just a thought.
Still, this is a nifty item I'd like to have for any number of characters. :)
Congratulations Trevor!
Strength (Overall): 15
Dexterity (see time in my campaign): 12
Constitution (long-time keeper): 12
Intelligence (mechanics): 14
Wisdom (writing craft): 14
Charisma (flavor/visuals): 12
A sneak attack and a flank whenever I need it? Nice. I like the clone aspect, this works better than many of the shadow versions I have seen and the additional 30 feet is nice too--a lot more versatility this way. :)
My apologies for being such a slow reader and not getting you feedback sooner. Again, congratulations and good luck! :)
