Round 3 Initial Impression

[Andrew Christian]

So far, I just looked at the photos. I was actually surprised to see 6 or 7 of the photos all get used twice.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Andrew Christian wrote:

So far, I just looked at the photos. I was actually surprised to see 6 or 7 of the photos all get used twice.

I was disappointed not to see pictures 3 or 23 used, but glad 30 was. Twice!

Gentleman Knave was my favorite, by far. I did not have a problem this round with selecting who to vote for. That being said, I mostly skipped the stat blocks, since I usually redo those my self if I have time. I made my selections based on flavor and usability in any campaign I would run.

EDIT: The reason I restat everything is because my players all buy the same stuff I do. They claim not to read the villain's stats, but it is obvious they do.

[Ask A RPGSupersuccubus]

I shall be posting regarding the entries at my leisure over the next few days on the appropriate threads.
So far the apparent absence of overt diabolic/Asmodean influence in this round is pleasing to me, although some of the villains presented seem rather limited in their ambitions and scope - scarcely more than seventh rate thugs and petty criminals.
I know that the conditions Paizo placed on entries to this Round being acceptable to their standards may have been rather restrictive, but I feel that there could have been more efforts made to present villains at the start of long and potentially promising careers, rather than ones who apparently consider that they have reached their peak in committing a series of unambitious misdemeanours. In fact it's difficult to be certain that some of the villains have any character at all.

Disclaimer:
Ask A RPGSupersuccubus is posting from the viewpoint of a (very advanced) succubus of CE inclinations, who happens to socialise with demon lords, enjoy the irony of a good devil roast, and who only ever sharpens a quill herself if she feels like it. She currently has a paladin of Iomedae house pet, two vrocks as staff for non flower-picking duties, and a library full of esoteric and interesting literature on the art of making and creatively utilising paper doilies. Yes, she can do things with a paper doily which will make an archon cry.

[Varthanna]

I feel the vast majority of the 16 are very "meh", and I'm needing to look at the WHOLE picture (wondrous items, archetypes, and villians) before making my votes.

[Paul Brown]

I liked several of them, though I didn't look at them through a microscope. I sort of squinted and said, "Would I run that guy in my campaign?"

[James Martin]

Isaac, that was my take, too. I figure a good editor can fix a stat block, but the key to me is: Would I enjoy portraying this villain in a game?

[Ziv Wities]

Whew! I've gone through half of the 16. This bit of reviewing before I read comments is a really good idea - I really want to read all the comments, so that's great motivation to get my own reviews done :)

I think there are some pretty awesome entries in the running. Far and away above what I see in most modules. I'm looking at the entries more in the terms of concept and gameplay; I really can't delve into the stat blocks too deeply at the moment, and I see that as something eminently editable if the rest of the content is good.

Best of luck to the Top 16! I promise to get to the rest of you soon! It's not like I've got a Game Theory exam to study for or anything!

[Paul Brown]

With a lot more examples to draw from, I think that there were fewer misses than Round 2's archetypes.

[Andrew Christian]

My 2nd impression is:

Many of the judges are dinging the entries for not enough information in the background, motivations, and/or plot hook sections. With only 600 words, I think most contestants did a decent job, and some information had to be sacrificed as a large portion of the 600 words was tied up in the stat block.

That being said, there were some contestants that tried to do way too much, and some who elaborated in areas better left to the GM and didn’t elaborate in the right areas. By and large though I disagreed with many of the judges assessments that there wasn’t enough info.

One thing that surprised me, is all the apotheosis motivations. A villain doesn’t have to have visions of godhood to be a good villain. Especially at the lower levels that these villains are. I was kinda disappointed in this, it seems a copout just the same as the “he’s crazy” copout.

[Sean K Reynolds]

James Martin wrote:

Isaac, that was my take, too. I figure a good editor can fix a stat block...

Every minute the *developer* spends fixing a stat block is a minute he could have been spending making other parts of the adventure better.

The freelancer's job is to provide a good turnover. Getting "close" to that means more work for the developer, and makes the developer (who's usually the one making the assignments) wonder why he's paying that freelancer....

[James Martin]

Sean K Reynolds wrote:

James Martin wrote:

Isaac, that was my take, too. I figure a good editor can fix a stat block...

Every minute the *developer* spends fixing a stat block is a minute he could have been spending making other parts of the adventure better.

The freelancer's job is to provide a good turnover. Getting "close" to that means more work for the developer, and makes the developer (who's usually the one making the assignments) wonder why he's paying that freelancer....

I can understand that, but it's a heckuva lot easier to learn the mechanics than it is to learn how be creative. You can teach one, the other not so much.

[Russ Taylor]

James Martin wrote:

I can understand that, but it's a heckuva lot easier to learn the mechanics than it is to learn how be creative. You can teach one, the other not so much.

Turns out both get better the more you exercise them.

[Ziv Wities]

Russ Taylor wrote:

James Martin wrote:

I can understand that, but it's a heckuva lot easier to learn the mechanics than it is to learn how be creative. You can teach one, the other not so much.

Turns out both get better the more you exercise them.

...but only one of them has an official company spreadsheet!