I just wrapped up my archetype and now all I need to do is let it sit a few days and give it a reread and edit if needed. I hope I make the cut so my work wasn't in vain.
I just wrapped up my archetype and now all I need to do is let it sit a few days and give it a reread and edit if needed. I hope I make the cut so my work wasn't in vain.
I have mine fully concepted, but not actually written out.
If I don't get in, I'll still post it in the inevitable thread for doing so. Hopefully I can get some good feedback.
Nah. I have a vague outline of three different options. Names and basics for half a dozen others.... Still have a week or so before it is due (or never due more likely :)
I feel like my entry was pretty decent, but I found an error in it, so I have been more brainstorming in my head than anything. I probably won't put pen to ink until I know for sure if I made it to the next round...
RPG Superstar 2013
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Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
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Fully ready and typed out. Edited a couple of times. ANd now waiting til the weekend to look it over again. Had to cut one ability I really thought was cool because of word count, but I think it stands as is. ALso developing a second archetype in case I suffer a loss of confidence in the first one. But, I think the current one is go. Fun. Multiple different characters could play it. Fills a niche the class hasn't really had satisfied before. Breaks a cardinal suggestion. Woot!
Just about, but I'm going on vacation near that week, so I need things ready, just in case.
-Ben.
I made mine but decided I made it over powered, so I've got to start over again.
I'm done with the concept but I'm currently working on the word restriction
I thought I had finished.
Then I saw the "Word 2007" word count hit exactly 450.
Hmmmm, time to start polishing and bringing that in just a tad.
The challenge for me was ensuring the feature added that replaced was added at the same level and power balance as that which was replaced.
He he, that's a head bending sentence if ever I wrote one.
Nope.
Had one idea so far then when I thought it out more I knew it would exceed 450 words easily. So I will worry about it if I make it into the next round.
I am thinking of ideas, but not working on them outside of my head. (I have two little kids 1 year old and 2 year old, full time job, teach TKD twice a week. No spare time, but if I make it in the top 32 then I will forgo sleep to get things done.) :)
After reading over the official rules I found I had a lot more left in my word count than I had prior. Not sure if I should fill it up. That's today's task. I've got a second one already in the works as well.
...snip... (I have two little kids 1 year old and 2 year old, full time job, teach TKD twice a week. No spare time, but if I make it in the top 32 then I will forgo sleep to get things done.) :)
I so feel your pain - my two are teenagers, so feel mine :P
I happen to have been given some unexpected time off, so I spent some time putting things to paper. I've got a few friends and allies who make capable editors, both writing and rules wise so i wanted to get everything lined up for them to take a look. Not sure what my work schedule is going to be like so I'd rather have things ready to go, and not have to scramble at the last minute.
As I've been formating my potentials to fit the template, I found that my "safe" idea fit the word count without problem, but another one which is more adventurous came in way over and I had to go all frankenstein on it. Formating my "middle of the road" idea today hopefully it fits because there's not a lot of fat on it and I'd hate to pick one on size rather than merit. We'll see what my peanut gallery has to say, though I really don't think playing it safe will do me much good.
Best of luck to all you hopefuls!
it's done!
and it's alive!
Mine is almost finished, though the last days usually bring some last minute changes :D
Just finished the first writeup of my first idea. It came in around 300 words sans padding. so enough space for flavorful padding or even another ability I'm toying with.
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I have two ideas good enough to polish. I'm taking the weekend off to run some Pathfinder Society at a friendly little gaming con (Myth-a-Con in Calgary, Alberta if you want to drop by). Come Tuesday, if I have a thumbs up from the judges I will polish the one I like best at the time and submit. If I have a thumbs down, I will polish them both and submit to the inevitabley forthcoming "This is what I would have submitted for Round 2" thread. :)
Variations on this theme have been posted several times, but I'll add my voice to the choir: we have all won already, just by entering the contest. So few people take the important first step of putting their work out there; I know I avoided it for years. The only way to make sure you fail is to not start.
Best of luck to all the competitors, thank-you to all the judges and hey: go game this weekend! If you are in Calgary, come by and join my table. :)
I'll admit, I'm actually slightly bricking it for this one. The underlying problem is I have no experience of playing, or DMing, any of the archetypes other than Hungry Ghost Monk and Sniper Rogue, so have little-to-no practical experience of how they actually play.
This worries me, because the important thing after wow factor is balance, and I don't know how well my own creations will balance off against other archetypes or even just the base class. Even coming up with playtest scenarios and trying them out with a friend isn't working well enough for my liking, as they inevitably either favour the archetype idea too strongly, or else its much of a muchness and it makes no real difference.
Yep, definately feeling unnerved by this round. Good on you, RPG Superstar! :D
Tzatziki,I know where your coming from when you say "never GM'd an archetype" but dont let that stop you. I didnt let it stop me.
I took one of the archetypes from the APG and really looked at the way it was done. I read it close to 100 times and was still worried I would over power my archetype.
I wrote mine out and sat it next to the APG and compared it to two. I looked at designing the archetype mush like designing a prestige class, just a weaker version, and I think I did ok. Well at least well enough to submit it if I make it into round 2.
Dont be discouraged, try your best, you may surprise yourself.
Tzatziki,I know where your coming from when you say "never GM'd an archetype" but dont let that stop you. I didnt let it stop me.
I took one of the archetypes from the APG and really looked at the way it was done. I read it close to 100 times and was still worried I would over power my archetype.
I wrote mine out and sat it next to the APG and compared it to two. I looked at designing the archetype mush like designing a prestige class, just a weaker version, and I think I did ok. Well at least well enough to submit it if I make it into round 2.
Dont be discouraged, try your best, you may surprise yourself.
Heh, thanks for the support, I know I'm not the only one who needs it.
Thing occured to me as I was trying things out. Over the span of my creative endeavours in DnD (and other systems, obviously) I have done many things to change from standard from almost insignificant little house-rules up to full-blown standard classes and a few prestige classes for them, I have only ever taken what was there and built something new. This will actually be the first time I've effectively sat down and thought about adapting something at this level, what could effectively be a 'happy medium' in terms of complexity versus basics.
Its actually made me think a bit further on how to go about changing classes to fit extraordinary campaigns, which is exactly what this sort of contest SHOULD do. Last year, due to workload, I could only really watch the rounds after the first, but this year, succeed or not, I will endeavour to have a go at each category, just to see what comes out of them.
One thing I've noticed about archtypes when my players use them is you really see the abilities coming into play. People are really excited to drop boring things like trapfinding and pick up measure the mark or bravado's blade. They have an idea of a character in their head, and these really help add the flavor they want for the class.
It's not fully ready yet, but I've gotten it fleshed out and put to notepad. Currently it's in its second draft.
I'm finding it really intriguing to work on the fluff/crunch balance. It's not something I've ever had to worry about before because anything I've created in the past could have half a page of fluff and then ten words of mechanics...
That doesn't work when you're writing for others, you can't just say 'it gives darkvision, more of it every other level'. You actually have to go in, give amounts, give exact levels. The mechanics need to be fleshed, and the fluff, in many cases shouldn't be. Giving it too much fluff makes it a one adventure or one setting gimmick.
Intriguing, very intriguing.
I haven't put anything down on paper, but I do have what I think is a very interesting take on a particular class ready to go should I make the cut. I'm not going to go ahead and throw anything down too soon however. No need getting too carried away too soon.
I've been working on a bunch, and I think I finally have one that is both eye catching and mechanically sound.
I think the winning archetypes are going to grab your attention, then have really neat mechanics and flavorful options.
I've got a very nice draft I've mercilessly whittled down to 464 words. I can do this, I can do this...
I've been toying with ideas since my item was submitted but I haven't wanted to get too far ahead of myself. I think I've got an original idea and I'm hoping three evenings will be enough to get the mechanics sorted out.
I think this is a particularly difficult task as it's such a new concept in d20. I too have little experience of playing or GMing a character with an archetype (I've played one session as an undead scourge paladin and it did give me a different angle to the standard paladin but not enough to actually test the rules).
The difficulty is in coming up with an idea that isn't cliched but is instantly recognisable as a classic concept in fantasy literature or gaming (and isn't a ninja).
Ahhhhhh! Everything I create is overpowered! (but seems pretty cool to me)
I've been brainstorming- a lot! Like 10 hours a day... but only a bit is actually typed up (and hidden away inside a triple-encoded extra-dimensional safe where only a 25th level mage could find it!). I've been thinking along the lines of variants for the bard, paladin, monk, druid, ranger and rogue. Oh, and once or twice about an archetype for the barbarian... and the witch... and the sorcerer... just so you know. ;-)
On a more serious note, I'll be finalizing my design over the next few days... so I won't have to rush (agonize) during the short time given for the next tier. IMHO, we should not wait until the announcements to begin considering our next entry. Brainstorming and initial writing should start before you know if you'll make it or not- just because the deadline always comes faster than we'd like! If you don't make it, well... you can always use the entry for your own campaign!
I have narrowed mine down to two choices also. There is the one I want to do, and the one that I think has a better chance. I will most likely go with the 2nd one because I expect the first one to be done by someone else. I really hope I make it. I did not really expect to make it last year, but this year I would like to at least get out of round 1.
Despite not planning on doing much until I heard the results, I went ahead and did some historical research on the take I want to do on my archtype. I think I have a solid idea now of abilities I want to give it, just need to balance those with the original class abilities to see where they should fall and write it up.
I wonder if my archetype doesn't 'pop' enough...
My first draft was under 300 words and I've done very little editing since...
Well I reread my Archetype design last night and this morning and realized it wasnt as clear as I would have liked. I spent 6 hours, this morning alone, reworking the concept and its abilities and I now think its 100%, well maybe 90% done.
I have also seen why my Professor told me not to write while on meds. Everything I wrote made sense at the time, but when off the meds, really seemed broken or incomplete.
lol
I have three. I've been tweaking them for weeks. I thought that the first one I made was going to be the one I submit if I am accepted, but after a lot of editing two of them seem to keep fighting for my winning slot. My first one got left on the wayside.
I am very excited about tomorrow!
First there was none and lo, the muse of creation did visit.
Then there were 7 and much rejoicing.
The scythe of death passed through and now there were 3
The word juggler then visited gifting many words and the one known as 3 fell by the wayside under the burden.
The two faced each other "To the death" they cried.
The heavens cried at the carnage they wrought, but the 1 prevailed.
And so there is 1.
The dawn of a new day approachs, will this be the day of the 1?
No, that movie started Jet Li and was made some years back, so the "1" already had its day....lol
vikking, that is just baaaaaaaddddddd....
I know, bad joke, I just couldnt help my self.....lol
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RPG Superstar 2013
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Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
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Was pretty sure I had mine all tidy and ready, at 449 word, then I decided to develop my second-favorite idea in a moment of doubt. Then I made a big, dumb mistake with the second one and now I am giong to have to fix it if I'm gonna compare them and potentially enter the second one instead.
REally, I jsut like the first one, but it really does combine neat mechanics with breaking a cardinal suggestion for archetype design. It fills abadly needed, but very specific hole in options for this class. Do I risk it? Hmmm.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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I'm still nowhere close on mine. All my favorite ideas rely on adding something else to the archetype, like an order or bloodline or something along those lines. I have some ideas that don't break the rules, but I only really like one, and it's pretty expected.
I'll see at 2PM PT if I need to start worrying. . .
(stuff) ... I'll see at 2PM PT if I need to start worrying. . .
Exactly. Though I'm certainly hopeful.
I've had some ideas dancing around in my head, but nothing's on paper. If I make it, I'll get to one or two of them, but otherwise, I'm focusing on my current professional career. Notice I said "current". Here's hoping.
I've managed to narrow it down to one final idea which is pretty fleshed out. Just started putting it on paper.
All I have is concepts at the momentbut seeing as my brain is working at a few hundred miles per hour these days i'm sure I will be able to whip at least one of them into a fully working archetype if need be.
Don't get me wrong, I want to get through to the second round but I figured I would wait.
Boy, how I wish I'd worked out more than a brainstorm outline on the side of my desk. Fortunately, the three day deadline coincides exactly with my weekend. Except to head off to the first days of my new classes, I'll be working on the archetype nonstop.