Is it okay to give one of my creatures a special ability from a creature in the Bestiary?
To be clear, the ability is not in the Universal Monster Rules.
I don't work for Dreamscarred Press, but if it's not in the PRD then it's probably not open game content, and if it's not open game content I don't think they can use it.
Without knowing which bestiary monster you're talking about in particular, I can't answer that question, because it depends on if it is declared as open content or product identity.
Without knowing which bestiary monster you're talking about in particular, I can't answer that question, because it depends on if it is declared as open content or product identity.
It's the Ettercap from the first Bestiary.
I found it on the PFRG Reference Document site, so I'm adding it to my creature.
I had already given the ability to my creature anyway. When I went looking through the beastiaries to determine whether a different ability was an Ex or SU type ability I found that the Ettercap had the exact same ability as the previously mentioned one I had given my creature. (I do have to admit though, that the Ettercap's version was more clearly written than mine)
Crap! This talk about open content and the PRD made me realize that the Bestiary 2 creatures are not in the PRD.
My first two creatures are types that are found in the Bestiary 2. Is there any way to determine from the legal jargon in the back of the Bestiary 2 if these types are open game content?
Suppose I wanted to create a new Agathion. Would that be okay?
Crap! This talk about open content and the PRD made me realize that the Bestiary 2 creatures are not in the PRD.
My first two creatures are types that are found in the Bestiary 2. Is there any way to determine from the legal jargon in the back of the Bestiary 2 if these types are open game content?
Suppose I wanted to create a new Agathion. Would that be okay?
I don't have Bestiary 2, but you want to look at the beginning of the book.
Here's the relevant text from Bestiary 1:
Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content:
All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that have
previously been designated as Open Game Content or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Paizo Publishing game product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Gaming License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission.
As long as Bestiary 2 uses the same declaration, then you can use any game mechanics in it as long as you give proper reference.
Well, I've finished with my creatures. I'll look 'em over one more time tomorrow before I submit them.
Well, I've finished with my creatures. I'll look 'em over one more time tomorrow before I submit them.
Nice!!
And sorry for the bad advice; I should have remembered that there's usually a delay between Paizo publishing open content and actually putting it on the PRD.
Nice!!And sorry for the bad advice; I should have remembered that there's usually a delay between Paizo publishing open content and actually putting it on the PRD.
Don't worry about it. It was probably good that you mentioned the PRD. I hadn't even thought about checking it.
Is it okay to put the concentration next to the manifester level for the psi-like abiities line in the stat block?
Paizo did not do this in Bestiary 1 but they did it in Bestiary 2.
Is it okay to put the concentration next to the manifester level for the psi-like abiities line in the stat block?
Paizo did not do this in Bestiary 1 but they did it in Bestiary 2.
Sure.
I sent my creatures in. Treat my babies well.
And my two went in this morning. Good luck to all who entered! :)
Today's the last day to get your submission in! Don't miss out!
(And both of you should have received confirmation that your entries were received)
Statblocking isn't my thing, so I'm just being a spectator. I'm just hoping that there are enough good entries to warrant their inclusion so that those are rewarded at least with a free copy of the bestiary. :)
Statblocking isn't my thing, so I'm just being a spectator. I'm just hoping that there are enough good entries to warrant their inclusion so that those are rewarded at least with a free copy of the bestiary. :)
Based upon current entries, there will definitely be selections outside of the grand prize for consolation prizes (although the grand prize winner has not yet been selected, for obvious reasons).
Statblocking isn't my thing, so I'm just being a spectator. I'm just hoping that there are enough good entries to warrant their inclusion so that those are rewarded at least with a free copy of the bestiary. :)Based upon current entries, there will definitely be selections outside of the grand prize for consolation prizes (although the grand prize winner has not yet been selected, for obvious reasons).
Hey, if a consolation prize includes getting a free copy of the book, that's a win in my eyes. :)
Hey, if a consolation prize includes getting a free copy of the book, that's a win in my eyes. :)
+1
And The Best of Luck To All That Entered....:)
Just hit send.
Hope they arrived just fine.
Any word on how many entries were received?
Did those of you who have submitted or will submit creatures have an overall strategy to follow before you designed your creatures?
I've created the stat blocks for two creatures. They are CR 15 and CR 17, and both are outsiders. Obviously, I created them because I thought I had two cool ideas for creatures. However, when I sit back and take a look, I now realize that I probably should have been more strategic about what I designed.
It is better to create a diverse group of creatures with respect to things such as challenge rating, creature type, environement, attack forms,...etc. I should have created a low-level, a mid-level, and a high-level CR creature (and be more diverse in the other areas as well).
I'm just curious if other people planned better than I did.
Is it OK to talk in a greater extend and detail about our design process and decisions at this point of the contest?
Is it OK to talk in a greater extend and detail about our design process and decisions at this point of the contest?
If you want to. :)
Just keep in mind there's still time for someone to write up a monster from scratch and enter the contest.
Oh, I'm fine with that :)
Did those of you who have submitted or will submit creatures have an overall strategy to follow before you designed your creatures?
I've created the stat blocks for two creatures. They are CR 15 and CR 17, and both are outsiders. Obviously, I created them because I thought I had two cool ideas for creatures. However, when I sit back and take a look, I now realize that I probably should have been more strategic about what I designed.
It is better to create a diverse group of creatures with respect to things such as challenge rating, creature type, environement, attack forms,...etc. I should have created a low-level, a mid-level, and a high-level CR creature (and be more diverse in the other areas as well).
I'm just curious if other people planned better than I did.
Well, I didn't really plan anything, but I kept my eyes open for several points, when I was deciding which ideas to develop and while designing them.
1. Are the ideas thematically appropriate?
This is a contest for psionic monsters, so I wanted my monsters to be psionic by heart. Everyone who can design monsters can do some with psi-like abilities, but to write a psionic bestiary one has to be able to get the flair and feel of psionics and be able to develop ideas that are, at their very core Psionic.
I think all my entries are good and natural additions to any psionic campaign setting and capture the flavor of psionics quite well.
2. The CR.
If you want to write a whole bestiary you have to show that you can design fun and appropriate challenges for every level of play. Designing a Cr 1/2 Monster is completely different from a CR 19 one, and you will have to be able to do both. But you also have to have an eye for niches in the game and apropiate CRs for a concept.
I decided I would either desingn 3 monsters at very different levels of play (say, CR 1, 11 and 19) or all in the "Sweet spot"(CR 5-11) , close together, but distinct.
But since i had a great idea for a tag-team of 2 monsters that would almost always work together. This wouldn't work if their CR was far apart. And their concepts would have worked best for a mid-level CR anyways.
3. Monster Roles.
There are very different roles monsters can play, and their abilities and design vary greatly as a result. I wanted to show that I can do all kinds of roles, so I chose my concept in a way so that i covered 3 very distinct roles.
4. Abilities and something new.
Creating an interesting product is all about creativity and the ability to create new interesting abilities that work in unexpected ways with the rules. So I made sure that each of my entries has an ability that is really new and not just a mixup of other monster abilities.
Working with the rules in new, interesting ways and doing things that were made possible by the dreamscarred psionic rules, but hadn't been done before.
Did my entry arrive safely?
well, I use a helpful tool when designing monsters to throw at my group. its a tool for 3.5 DM's but I think it still helps when designing creatures to suit my groups level.
I believe I was thinking along very similar lines as Az, though I'm sure my mastery of Dreamscarred psionics (or psionics in general) wasn't all that impressive
Still, I think I had some neat ideas and am happy with their execution.
The rules don't mention this, but I assume sending the monsters as an attached .rtf is fine..?
Whew...
I didn't plan on my entries being in so close to the wire. I submitted them just several minutes ago, so I am hoping I'm in with enough time. I see the contest closes at 11:59 pm CST... I'm in Pennsylvania (so EST) I think that gives me a little wiggle room.
I sent in three critters. Jeremy and Andreas I hope you like what you see (read).
And once again I'd like to say Good Luck to all who entered.
Man... now it's a waiting game... again. ;)
Dean; The_Minstrel_Wyrm
Well, I didn't really plan anything, but I kept my eyes open for several points, when I was deciding which ideas to develop and while designing them.
I have to disagree after reading your post. It seems like you planned very well.
I have to disagree after reading your post. It seems like you planned very well.
Well, I didn't really plan anything, but I kept my eyes open for several points, when I was deciding which ideas to develop and while designing them.
Well, not planned in the sense that I made these decisions beforehand or used them as rules. Thats just stuff I considered as I went.
And all considerations aside I went with the ideas that excited me the most, even if they weren't perfect fits.But maybe I'm simply a more planned person than others ;)
@Hydro. I'm fairly new to psionics too, but I think I found some interesting, unexplored niches.
And now begins the judging portion of our contest.
Big thanks to everyone who entered - it certainly looks like picking a grand prize winner is going to be a difficult choice.
Dang it! I just realized I missed the cut off. "sigh" Here's to hoping someone else submitted a psionic fey, a brain eating giant and a pseudo undead psionic entity, because that would be a cool great minds think alike moment for me.
Good luck to everyone who entered in time!
This is a contest for psionic monsters, so I wanted my monsters to be psionic by heart. Everyone who can design monsters can do some with psi-like abilities, but to write a psionic bestiary one has to be able to get the flair and feel of psionics and be able to develop ideas that are, at their very core Psionic.
I think all my entries are good and natural additions to any psionic campaign setting and capture the flavor of psionics quite well.
This was probably my biggest weakness as I'm not familiar with psionics.
My approach was to create the concept of the creature and then add psi-like abilities, auras, and special abilities that fit the concept.
...Here's to hoping someone else submitted...pseudo undead psionic entity, because that would be a cool great minds think alike moment for me.
Awesome! Just like yours, my undead was extra handsome, eternally young, and even sparkles in the sun! SQUEEEEE! [/insane fangirl]
...
Dang it! I just realized I missed the cut off. "sigh" Here's to hoping someone else submitted a psionic fey, a brain eating giant and a pseudo undead psionic entity, because that would be a cool great minds think alike moment for me.
Good luck to everyone who entered in time!
You know, the 3.5 psionic rules are still open game content (and still up on d20srd.org), and last I knew Kobold Quarterly was still interested in good 3.5 content. Why don't you stat one or two of these up anyway and try to get them put up as Monday Monsters?
I'm particularly curious about the psionic fey (that didn't occur to me at all, but I can see it going in some interesting directions).
...Here's to hoping someone else submitted...pseudo undead psionic entity, because that would be a cool great minds think alike moment for me.Awesome! Just like yours, my undead was extra handsome, eternally young, and even sparkles in the sun! SQUEEEEE! [/insane fangirl]
...
I still say Twilight vampires are actually D&D maenads. Drinking blood, unique powers, outrageous histrionics, sparkling in sunlight, etc etc.
I still say Twilight vampires are actually D&D maenads. Drinking blood, unique powers, outrageous histrionics, sparkling in sunlight, etc etc.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! But... but... I like maenads.
I still say Twilight vampires are actually D&D maenads. Drinking blood, unique powers, outrageous histrionics, sparkling in sunlight, etc etc....Here's to hoping someone else submitted...pseudo undead psionic entity, because that would be a cool great minds think alike moment for me.Awesome! Just like yours, my undead was extra handsome, eternally young, and even sparkles in the sun! SQUEEEEE! [/insane fangirl]
...
You shut your amphibious mouth!
BTW, Swamp Druid - that's the same way I design monsters - come up with the concept and feel, and then make the mechanics match that. :)
I still say Twilight vampires are actually D&D maenads. Drinking blood, unique powers, outrageous histrionics, sparkling in sunlight, etc etc....Here's to hoping someone else submitted...pseudo undead psionic entity, because that would be a cool great minds think alike moment for me.Awesome! Just like yours, my undead was extra handsome, eternally young, and even sparkles in the sun! SQUEEEEE! [/insane fangirl]
...
You shut your amphibious mouth!
BTW, Swamp Druid - that's the same way I design monsters - come up with the concept and feel, and then make the mechanics match that. :)
As do I, but I made sure that the concepts were inherently psionic in background and feel.
Jeremy,
I meant to say thanks earlier today for the confirmation email. I feel better knowing that my entries got in, and in enough time to be included for the contest.
~Dean
I missed the contest. I knew about it, but it had slipped my mind amidst the deluge of work. It's a pity, but good luck to those who entered.
I missed the contest. I knew about it, but it had slipped my mind amidst the deluge of work. It's a pity, but good luck to those who entered.
We'll be doing some additional open calls for talented writers in the very near future, so stay tuned.
Probably not a contest like this one... and not for monsters... but still... :)
I missed the contest. I knew about it, but it had slipped my mind amidst the deluge of work. It's a pity, but good luck to those who entered.We'll be doing some additional open calls for talented writers in the very near future, so stay tuned.
Probably not a contest like this one... and not for monsters... but still... :)
That's exciting news. (Keep us posted). :)
Oh man... I just read over my submission... and I found a number of typos... and that just made me cringe. (What's worse, the typos were everyday words, that were missing a letter (but were still legitimate words) for example I meant to have the word with in one sentence and I typed wit. :(
And in the same entry I had meant to type the word more and somehow neglected the "m" and have the word "ore" in the sentence.
I'm so ashamed. (That's what I get for submitting so late).
Since I've just about finished reviewing all the entries (3 monsters left for my initial round of reviews), I'll give a little insight into how I personally graded them (Andreas and I graded them separately for the first round, we'll be discussing them in the second round to pick our grand prize winner and secondary winners).
First, I considered the concept of the monster. Did it feel psionic? Was it unique in concept or, if not necessarily unique, a concept that wasn't actually a monster yet? (Iconic / classic monsters that didn't actually exist in d20 / Pathfinder monster form)
Next, I considered the abilities of the monster. Did they go with the concept? Did they all work for the monster? Did the abilities enhance the overall impact of the monster in a game, did the abilities make it feel memorable?
Then I checked the descriptive part of the monster entry - yep, I read this first about 80% of the time. Was that part of the entry complete - or did it give enough information that a GM could use it as-is? This included combat tactics, physical description, and background information on the monster - i.e. stuff you'd expect to see in a creature in a bestiary.
Next, I considered if the monster would fit into Third Dawn. This was more of a bonus consideration, because this Bestiary wasn't intended to be Third Dawn related - but for secondary winners, this was a bit of a critical consideration, because Third Dawn is something we're going to be actively working on in 2011, and monsters for the setting are a big part of that. If a monster didn't fit into Third Dawn, but was otherwise good, this didn't knock them out of consideration.
The above conceptual / theme of the monster aside, then I moved on to mechanics.
Did the monster's stats match its CR? If not, how drastically were they apart? For example, was it somewhere between two CRs, or was it obviously not the CR it was listed?
Next, was the monster's stat block complete? If not, what was missing? Was it a formatting issue, or was it an oversight?
Next, were the monster's stats and mechanics accurate? Did it have the right number of feats? Were its attacks / DCs / etc. calculated properly? If it had special abilities, were its mechanics fully described? Did they make sense and were they balanced?
Those are the things I've been considering as reviewing the many monsters that were submitted. :)
I missed the contest. I knew about it, but it had slipped my mind amidst the deluge of work. It's a pity, but good luck to those who entered.We'll be doing some additional open calls for talented writers in the very near future, so stay tuned.
Probably not a contest like this one... and not for monsters... but still... :)
That sounds good to me! I am looking forward to the other types of contests you come up with. :)
Oh man... I just read over my submission... and I found a number of typos... and that just made me cringe. (What's worse, the typos were everyday words, that were missing a letter (but were still legitimate words) for example I meant to have the word with in one sentence and I typed wit. :(
And in the same entry I had meant to type the word more and somehow neglected the "m" and have the word "ore" in the sentence.
I'm so ashamed. (That's what I get for submitting so late).
Don't beat yourself up over it. If you've got some good ideas, then I'm sure they will overlook some typos.
Thanks Swamp Druid. :)
Good luck to you also.
~Dean
For those of us who haven't used psionics before, what makes a creature feel psionic?
For those of us who haven't used psionics before, what makes a creature feel psionic?
Unfortunately, there's not a quick and dirty answer for that question, because psionics can be a lot of things.
Mind-affecting abilities are iconic psionic abilities.
Augmenting / altering the physical body are, as well.
Telekinesis / pyrokinesis are other classic psionic abilities, as well as foresight / clairvoyance.
But that's not an exhaustive list, because there are also nomads and shapers. So it really is hard to say what makes a creature feel psionic. It's why it's part of my conceptual review of a creature, rather than part of the mechanical review.
But perhaps one thing I can say when I was judging was, when I looked at the creature - if I took the (psionic) descriptor off the stat block, did it change anything? If the answer was no, then it wasn't really a psionic creature (thankfully, that wasn't much of an issue for the contest).
But along those same lines - was psionics actually incorporated into the creature in a way that made sense? If it was a creature who typically resembled a harmless animal, but then used Expansion and a special ability to cover its body in sharp quills like a porcupine when backed into a corner, that seems pretty psionic to me (no, that was not an entry, just an idea off the cuff).
It wasn't an easy question to answer and involved looking at the whole picture of the creature - concept, description, abilities, tactics, everything.
For those of us who haven't used psionics before, what makes a creature feel psionic?
If you take a look at existing pisonic monsters and Prcs ( like in the Dreamscarred beta documents) you will see some themes emerging.
The most important common denominator will be "manipultaing stuff with the POWER OF MIND". Thats what sets psionics apart from magic.Magic is most times about manipulating outside forces to achieve effects (e.g. with words and gestures of power), while psionics always originate from the sheer power of the mind of the respective creature.
(Other common themes seem to include crystals, brains, tentacles and weird gooey stuff ;) )
My takeaway is that psionics lean more towards faux-science, while magic leans more towards faux-mythology. To me psionics are really rooted in early pulp-scifi, where a martian princess might easily possess 'telepathic powers'. They basically wanted a device to serve the same purpose as magic, but wanted to dress it up in a way that didn't break tone (in my opinion, Lovecraft also fits right in here, and I think that's why it's so easy to cast D&D's lovecraftian beasties as psionic).
A psionic power is likely to use science or medical jargon ('psychometabolism'), alien imagery (dromites and thri-keen), or creative takes on physics and make-believe-logic (the "skate" power) to create an illusion of superscience. Contrast with magic, which also goes that route, but overall is more likely to hang spell effects on religious, historical, or mythological trappings.
The simples way to put it is probably that magic is based on things we imagine from the past, while psionics is based on things we imagine or have imagined for the future. But again, just my take.