So... How far are you on stage 2?

[Azmahel]

Just had this idea for the best Location/Encounter EVER.

Now I just have to make it to Round 4 and hope that a curve-ball doesn't invalidate the idea. :D

[Steven Helt]

I really dig these archetypes because they fil a void where a concept doesn't really deserve a full pestige class, but needs to sacrifice some features for something new.

I boiled myself down to three archetypes and I think I am going with the first one. It's something I've been jonesing to see and if I get to round two, I hope lots of folks will agree.

Having said that, I have only experimented with writing class features and choosing their replacements. I haven't actually done any real wrting for it. Probably work that over Christmas.

[Curaigh]

That Old Guy wrote:

Mine has the feeling of, "Hey, isn't that what that was always supposed to be?" At least, it does for me.

So are you ninjaing the pirate or pirating the ninja? O:)

[Andrew Christian]

Curaigh wrote:

That Old Guy wrote:

Mine has the feeling of, "Hey, isn't that what that was always supposed to be?" At least, it does for me.

So are you ninjaing the pirate or pirating the ninja? O:)

Zombie-ing the ninja-pirate

[Sean McGowan]

Andrew Christian wrote:

Curaigh wrote:

That Old Guy wrote:

Mine has the feeling of, "Hey, isn't that what that was always supposed to be?" At least, it does for me.

So are you ninjaing the pirate or pirating the ninja? O:)

Zombie-ing the ninja-pirate

And don't forget to cyborg-ize it.

[vikking]

Ive just written down a few concept ideas but havent bothered to really get into writing them. the way I see it, until the rules for the round comes out, why do all the work just to find out what I thought they wanted wasnt and I would need to scrap everything I wrote and start over. That, and I feel that I will not likely make it to round 2, but on the off chance that I do, I at least have an idea of what I want to do.

[Cody Coffelt]

Man I hope there aren't any little kids reading these entries... have you seen some of the previous entries? Give a person nightmares.

[That Old Guy]

FireHawk, Scipion, I'm sorry that you guys feel that way.

[Cody Coffelt]

That Old Guy wrote:

FireHawk, Scipion, I'm sorry that you guys feel that way.

By little kid I mean a tot who is just getting into reading. I played D&D when I was 8 and I expect no different from my son. I was not meaning to pass off any judgment on your post, merely trying to make light of an awkwardly tense response by FireHawk.

[vikking]

SO what is the likely hood of a serious twist being thrown into round 2 like....
design an Archetype for a specific class i.e. "We only want Rogue Archetypes to be submitted" or something like "Only use existing abilities" or what ever else that could be thought of?

Its these questions and others going threw my head that's stopping me from actually getting past what Ive done so far. All Ive done to this point is....

Fighter Archetype
this
Rogue Archetype
this
Druid Archetype
this

and so on.

Basically all Ive done is think of an Archetype title/s for each existing class. I have a few quick ideas of abilities written down but I don't want to really get into design until I know what the rules for round 2 actually are and I think that's going to really hurt me if I do make it past round 1.

[Cody Coffelt]

I doubt the judges will want to read through and compare 32 Rogue archtypes. They might say, "Only core classes" or "Only base classes" though...

[Andrew Christian]

vikking wrote:

SO what is the likely hood of a serious twist being thrown into round 2 like....

design an Archetype for a specific class i.e. "We only want Rogue Archetypes to be submitted" or something like "Only use existing abilities" or what ever else that could be thought of?

Its these questions and others going threw my head that's stopping me from actually getting past what Ive done so far. All Ive done to this point is....

Fighter Archetype
this
Rogue Archetype
this
Druid Archetype
this

and so on.

Basically all Ive done is think of an Archetype title/s for each existing class. I have a few quick ideas of abilities written down but I don't want to really get into design until I know what the rules for round 2 actually are and I think that's going to really hurt me if I do make it past round 1.

I think that we will probably see what is required for Round 2 shortly after December 31st, which should give everyone about 3 weeks to come up with their Archetype.

[vikking]

Scipion del Ferro wrote:

I doubt the judges will want to read through and compare 32 Rogue archetypes. They might say, "Only core classes" or "Only base classes" though...

well actually, 32 of one type is far easier to look threw than 100's possibly 1000's of items, so it is a considerable twist in my opinion.

[vikking]

Andrew Christian wrote:

I think that we will probably see what is required for Round 2 shortly after December 31st, which should give everyone about 3 weeks to come up with their Archetype.

Thats what Im hoping on. I think 3 weeks is very doable for me. much better than 3 days...lol

[Ziv Wities]

vikking wrote:

SO what is the likely hood of a serious twist being thrown into round 2 like....

design an Archetype for a specific class i.e. "We only want Rogue Archetypes to be submitted" or something like "Only use existing abilities" or what ever else that could be thought of?

Well, I might be misremembering, but IIRC Round 2 doesn't usually have much of a twist. Later rounds build on earlier rounds, sure, but Round 2 is pretty much the ground level.

That being said, I hope there is some twist, because that'll give me something very substantial to work with. Going over the existing archetypes, writing a new one doesn't sound very enticing to me - they seem difficult to make interesting, and I'm still uneasy about their precise place in the gestalt of character creation. A specialization of the core classes, but not at the level of choice of feats and skills... Somewhere odd in the middle, with a bazillion balance issues to boot.

And that being said, I'd say anybody who's done with round 1 would be well-served to start fiddling around with round 2. Sure, in all likelihood a rules twist will render any prewritten pieces obsolete - but it'll give you the opportunity the explore the format, which is probably new territory for a lot of us; to get some feel for re-balancing a class or two; to brainstorm for new character types and figure out what abilities will be appropriate. Practice, practice, practice - that's what makes a writer. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

[The Grandfather]

So far I have one archetype in mind. It has a very distinct flavor.

The overall concept is there, but I will not go any further with the design untill the round 2 rules are anounced.

This far I am very excited about the competition ;)

[vikking]

The Grandfather wrote:

So far I have one archetype in mind. It has a very distinct flavor.

The overall concept is there, but I will not go any further with the design untill the round 2 rules are anounced.

This far I am very excited about the competition ;)

Seeing this makes me feel glad Im not alone in my thinking....:)

[Ross Byers]

I removed a post and a reply to it. That kind of imagery is really not necessary.

Please flag offensive posts to bring them to the moderators' attention, rather than replying.

[Joshua Stevens]

Scipion del Ferro wrote:

I doubt the judges will want to read through and compare 32 Rogue archtypes. They might say, "Only core classes" or "Only base classes" though...

Or archetypes for only the new classes in the APG might make for an interesting round.

[Andrew Christian]

Eyebite wrote:

Scipion del Ferro wrote:

I doubt the judges will want to read through and compare 32 Rogue archtypes. They might say, "Only core classes" or "Only base classes" though...

Or archetypes for only the new classes in the APG might make for an interesting round.

That's kinda what I was thinking, given that the new classes don't have any archetypes yet.

The only thing is, while they are "base" classes, they are pretty specialized within themselves, almost archetypes of their own.

[Dan Jones]

I have several archetypes planned out. A couple are pretty long, and some are relatively short. I plan on working on a few more before the holidays end. So far I have decent mix of Core and Advanced base classes archetyped out.

[Desiderii]

Andrew Christian wrote:

The only thing is, while they are "base" classes, they are pretty specialized within themselves, almost archetypes of their own.

I could make an argument (might not be very good, but I could do it. :)) that Oracle Mysteries are a form of Cleric domain progression with the option to cherrypick theme-tailored abilities rather than simply gain a list of spells.

I think that some of the classes in the APG are difficult to modify not just because they're so flavorlicious and full of imagination-catching imagery, but also because they utilize the dynamic build philosophy that makes Clerics hard to make archetypes for. There's already so many ways to make them exactly how you want them.

[Steven Helt]

If the one I like the best is ruled out, I have three others, and one of them covers an APG class, so I feel pretty good about it.

[Steven Helt]

Make that four - and one I am pretty stoked about. Off to bed with books and paper.

[Stefan Schulz]

I've started with round 2 as soon as I submitted - I feel I've got a shot this year, but round 2 falls squarely into my honeymoon. :) So I want something good to submit beforehand.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

vikking wrote:

Basically all Ive done is think of an Archetype title/s for each existing class. I have a few quick ideas of abilities written down but I don't want to really get into design until I know what the rules for round 2 actually are and I think that's going to really hurt me if I do make it past round 1.

I started my noggin by doing that. Then I was busy waiting for some chow and thought, "Hey, what if it is a archetype for a monster or an NPC class?" I mean there are quite a few monsters that are really bland and need some spicing up and most NPC classes can be broadened as well.

But, I really hope they select the advanced base classes. Will be sweet to see what some of the great minds come up with.

[Eric Morton]

I've been writing lots of archetypes in my spare time. I've narrowed my list down to the best archetype I have for each of the base classes. Some of them are weaker than others, though, so I'm going to keep refining what I have in the coming weeks. I don't know if I'll make it to Round 2, but I plan on bringing the awesome if I do.

[Kenneth.T.Cole]

vikking wrote:

Ive just written down a few concept ideas but havent bothered to really get into writing them. the way I see it, until the rules for the round comes out, why do all the work just to find out what I thought they wanted wasnt and I would need to scrap everything I wrote and start over. That, and I feel that I will not likely make it to round 2, but on the off chance that I do, I at least have an idea of what I want to do.

Because I'm creating them for my players and my own campaign world anyways :) Might as well do it this way.

Besides, working towards a deadline is a great practice for when I do become a published author (When the kids of grown and gone).

Personally, this is where I am:

I came up with about 24 archetypes.
I compared them to the existing list, and dropped about 12.
I added a few more that I realized were missing that thought were obvious.
I chose about six that I thought would be:
1) Likely to be chosen by many players
2) Exciting
3) Not too specific (No flame-falchion spinning bear-shape-shifting barbarians)

Start brainstorming ideas for each archetype:
Randomly take notes about what abilities they should have/not have.

Pick one to start working on first.

Work on each Archetype:
1) Read the existing rules
2) Come up with a series of existing abilities for the class to keep or lose.
3) Come up with a list of new abilities(should be intuitive to the concept) and select where they should fit.

I'm almost done with the first draft of my first one and need to produce a second draft.
In the mean time I'll be working on the first draft of the other concepts I have.

That's where I am :)

Ken

[Nick Bolhuis]

While I don't want to get over confident, I'm trying to look at this archetype thing in terms of versatility.

First off, I'm not even sure there will be a twist for round 2, I think it's far more likely we'll see something like "use someone's round 2 archetype for your round 3 villain". If there is a twist, I really doubt it will be some genre-bending "Archetypes-ypes-ypes in-n-n SPAAAAACE!!!!"

My thinking is thus; I've brainstormed at least one concept that I really for each of the base classes (APG included). I'm not wracking the ol' noggin to finish them all, but my mind tends to wander a lot and when i come up with a good ability for one of them i note it down. Some of these archetypes will not get finished, others may be invalidated by the specific rules for round 2. Whatever's left over will be narrowed and polished for submission.

I'm really apprehensive about not getting a submission done in time and doubt I'll be able to take time off work, so I'm using my time now in what i thinks is the most productive way.

[Alcore]

Nick Bolhuis wrote:

..., I'm not even sure there will be a twist for round 2,...

Sure there will.

All submitted archetypes may not contain any of the words found in your wondrous item entry, including "a", "an", and "the". The word "fungible" being an exception. It will be required that you work "fungible" into your archetype someplace even if your wondrous item already used this word.

[Nick Bolhuis]

Alcore wrote:

All submitted archetypes may not contain any of the words found in your wondrous item entry, including "a", "an", and "the". The word "fungible" being an exception. It will be required that you work "fungible" into your archetype someplace even if your wondrous item already used this word.

Excellent! I've been agonizing over my toadstool-ranger, moldy-old-wizard and myconid-farming-druid. You have laid my fears to rest my friend!

[Wicht]

Nick Bolhuis wrote:

Alcore wrote:

All submitted archetypes may not contain any of the words found in your wondrous item entry, including "a", "an", and "the". The word "fungible" being an exception. It will be required that you work "fungible" into your archetype someplace even if your wondrous item already used this word.

Excellent! I've been agonizing over my toadstool-ranger, moldy-old-wizard and myconid-farming-druid. You have laid my fears to rest my friend!

One of us, I think, does not know what fungible means. :)

[Ryan Marsh]

I should probably bone up on archetypes.

[Nick Bolhuis]

Wicht wrote:

Nick Bolhuis wrote:

Alcore wrote:

All submitted archetypes may not contain any of the words found in your wondrous item entry, including "a", "an", and "the". The word "fungible" being an exception. It will be required that you work "fungible" into your archetype someplace even if your wondrous item already used this word.

Excellent! I've been agonizing over my toadstool-ranger, moldy-old-wizard and myconid-farming-druid. You have laid my fears to rest my friend!

One of us, I think, does not know what fungible means. :)

Fun-gi-ble (fuhn-gui-bhul) adj.

1.pertaining to the creation or growth of a fungus
2.capable of being converted into fungal matter
3.(colloq/aust)(n) a slab of old, moist bread thrown high into the air with a small rodent tied to it by the tail

[Curaigh]

Wicht wrote:

Nick Bolhuis wrote:

Alcore wrote:

All submitted archetypes may not contain any of the words found in your wondrous item entry, including "a", "an", and "the". The word "fungible" being an exception. It will be required that you work "fungible" into your archetype someplace even if your wondrous item already used this word.

Excellent! I've been agonizing over my toadstool-ranger, moldy-old-wizard and myconid-farming-druid. You have laid my fears to rest my friend!

One of us, I think, does not know what fungible means. :)

I must now work the word into the cost of my item.

[Curaigh]

Nick Bolhuis wrote:

...

3.(colloq/aust)(n) a slab of old, moist bread thrown high into the air with a small rodent tied to it by the tail

I am pretty sure this word is Diratigible.

[Nick Bolhuis]

Curaigh wrote:

Nick Bolhuis wrote:

...

3.(colloq/aust)(n) a slab of old, moist bread thrown high into the air with a small rodent tied to it by the tail

I am pretty sure this word is Diratigible.

In the north american vernacular to be sure, but you know how those aussies are sometimes

[Wicht]

Curaigh wrote:

I must now work the word into the cost of my item.

LOL :D

[Anthony Adam]

Ok, how far am I into round 2? Let's see.

I've pulled the arcetypes section in the Adv Players Guide and read it last week.

Then I read it again to try and understand the subtle nuances.

Then I read each example two-three times.

I'll probably read all of it again and again over the next week or two.

You see, I am only now starting to feel brave enough to look beyond round 1.

For the first time ever, I dont think I have been tripped up by the auto reject comments - but I also know there's plenty of time to do so.

For the first time ever, I think I just may have cracked it but I am also trying to be realistic as the competition gets more fierce every year.

For the first time ever, I have boned up on round 2 and started formulating, cogitating and brewing ideas.

I now have one very definite idea - it's way different from anything I have found anywhere else, so gonna keep that close to my chest, just... in... case...

Then, of course, I don't yet know the full criteria of round 2, so am hesitant to go much further than jotting down notes in my scribbles pad.

But, yeah, I do have some scribbles scribbled now.

[Swamp Druid]

This seems incredibly difficult. I've been trying to come up with some ideas, but they either seem too mundane, something that everyone else has probably already thought of, or a little too goofy.

[vikking]

Swamp Druid wrote:

This seems incredibly difficult. I've been trying to come up with some ideas, but they either seem too mundane, something that everyone else has probably already thought of, or a little too goofy.

Sorry, auto reject, goofy is a trademarked persona....:)

[CouncilofFools]

stage 2?! There's a stage 2?!

[Aurelius Sylvanus Treveri]

Noteleks wrote:

Just curious and wanted to change the subject of the hottest debate.

I have kind of started on round two in hopes of advancing, thinking positive :) Any way I have several ideas and kind of started working through the process which I am finding rather entertaining and enlightening.

So how many others have started and how is it going so far?

No, I haven't started Round 2 yet, nor will I until I hear that I passed Round 1. Heck, I just finished my Round 1 submission! And I only entered the contest because I found myself with some time on my hands this Christmas break.

Good luck to everyone.

[Gideon Black]

I started working on round 2 ideas shortly after I submitted my first round. I'm confident in my ideas....but so are the other couple thousand of people entered. But I've noticed that the new base classes are a bit harder to archetype then the older ones. Ideas for them are easy, but there's a lot of what to replace. The cavalier and the alchemist are a pain and the summoner is a vague. The oracle and witch, without archetype guidelines are a nightmare to work on. But I'm stubborn so I'm still hoping I make to round 2.

[Jeffrey Scott Nuttall]

Aurelius Sylvanus Treveri wrote:

No, I haven't started Round 2 yet, nor will I until I hear that I passed Round 1. Heck, I just finished my Round 1 submission! And I only entered the contest because I found myself with some time on my hands this Christmas break.

I'd suggest starting Round 2 anyway, just in case. That was my mistake in 2009... I was so sure my Round 1 submission wasn't going to make the cut that not only did I not give any serious thought to a Round 2 submission, but I didn't even bother checking the site to see who'd made it until the night before the Round 2 deadline... so when I saw to my astonishment that I had made it to Round 2, I was left with practically no time to try to cobble together an entry the next day in what few spare moments I could scrape up at work. So I guess it's not terribly surprising I didn't make it to Round 3...

So, yeah... you may not expect to make it to Round 2, but it wouldn't hurt to get a head start just in case. Don't repeat my mistake... ;)

[Gwenn Reece]

I had two ideas that popped into my head when I initially read the contest rounds and might do one of those. However, I've got a really cool 3rd idea that will probably be a lot more interesting, but I'm not sure it will fit into the word limits.

Oh, well. Even if I don't make it into round 2, they're going to be useful/interesting archetypes that I can use in local games.

Two words...

Spoiler:

Explosive Runes!