Well, the judges are all starting to compile their feedback on the Round 4 submissions and, as usual, I wrote way too much. But what's really interesting is that get the perspective of not one, but two professional cartographers this round. And that's an aspect of RPG Superstar which I think is so awesome. You really do get some fantastic insights into your design choices and skillsets from people who do all this for real. There's just no contest or forum where I've seen that kind of feedback before. So make the most of it, guys.
Just like last round, it's becoming very apparent that all of you continue to grow as designers. Each assignment has pushed you to learn and apply what you've learned. But, at the same time, everyone's creativity is really shining through. Some people took several steps forward this round, building upon everything they've done so far. And I felt like a couple of competitors also took a slight step back. That means the race for the Top 4 is going to get really tight this round and the voters (as always) will make the difference in who advances and who falls out of the competition.
All that said, this is one of my favorite rounds of the whole competition. Designing an encounter gives us a glimpse of what each designer would do in the course of writing a full adventure. I split my commentary into assessing everyone's descriptive writing, choice of location and villain pairing, mapwork, and finally the creativity and entertainment value of the actual encounter itself. To me, the result of all these assessments makes this the round for determining who's got the chops (and who deserves the chance) to compete for the final prize.
And the good news is that everyone who advances from here gets a chance to write an adventure of some kind. So, the voters need to weigh who they'd like to pen such a design for their personal use and enjoyment. I'd urge everyone to consider that as they head for the voting booth. Look at each competitors' body of work as well as how they put it all together for this round's challenge. And may the best designers win!
My two cents,
--Neil
..Some people took several steps forward this round, building upon everything they've done so far. And I felt like a couple of competitors also took a slight step back...
Is this really a race, or are we just doing the Hokey Pokey?
..Some people took several steps forward this round, building upon everything they've done so far. And I felt like a couple of competitors also took a slight step back...Is this really a race, or are we just doing the Hokey Pokey?
<snort!> LOL
..Some people took several steps forward this round, building upon everything they've done so far. And I felt like a couple of competitors also took a slight step back...Is this really a race, or are we just doing the Hokey Pokey?
...or else we're just reenacting Paula Abdul's greatest moment of shame.
I want to see Neil become more like the judges on "Face-Off."
"John, your encounter is a vessel for your ineptitude."
John gets "sent home" but not before vigorously defending how the judges didn't understand him, they were being mean to him, and he's really a superstar and one day he'll show them...
But you know I'm kidding. Win or lose, I know how to bring a better game to my players.
No matter on how it all plays out you all should be proud of the work you done to make it this far. It just goes to show how supportive, creative, and helpful this community of gamers really are.
Win or loss, you all merit great respect from me for I personally believe you all are winners. I am guessing we will be seeing great things in the future from all of you.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing what you all can drum up in round 4.
No matter on how it all plays out you all should be proud of the work you done to make it this far. It just goes to show how supportive, creative, and helpful this community of gamers really are.
Win or loss, you all merit great respect from me for I personally believe you all are winners. I am guessing we will be seeing great things in the future from all of you.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing what you all can drum up in round 4.
Noteleks, I appreciate it. I remember seeing your name as well as a few others that have commented on the contest in threads leading up to the contest. The supportive atmosphere you all fostered is what encouraged me, a new member to the boards, to submit my entry. I'm a natural introvert, but I've felt very comfortable being here. Thanks!
..Some people took several steps forward this round, building upon everything they've done so far. And I felt like a couple of competitors also took a slight step back...Is this really a race, or are we just doing the Hokey Pokey?
In the event of tie, I say we settle this Tokyo Drift style. Now if I can just learn to Tokyo Drift...
Sorry, watching "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift." Bad, yet like a McDonald's cheeseburger I can't help myself.
Sorry, watching "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift." Bad, yet like a McDonald's cheeseburger I can't help myself.
Hey, it's better than Fast and Furious.
...or else we're just reenacting Paula Abdul's greatest moment of shame...Some people took several steps forward this round, building upon everything they've done so far. And I felt like a couple of competitors also took a slight step back...Is this really a race, or are we just doing the Hokey Pokey?
Eeeeewwwwww. Can't we just forget about that part of the '90s? Skat Kat may have just cost you my vote for the round, sir. (KIDDING!)
I read each entry and I think that each one has something exciting going on and has excellent ideas to build upon. When I read entries I tend to look at them from a GM's point of view. Can I use it in my campaign? Do I have to do a lot of work to make it suitable for my players or is it nearly ready to run as is? With my players, mark my words, few even currently published adventures are almost never ready to run as is. That being said. Each and every one of you have things in your encounters that I like, from well done encounters, settings, backstory, to links to some interesting future development. Well done all!
Now for the bad, I do see a common thread in many; that being not taking into account the resources of a party of higher levels in the design of the encounter. I think that is what makes it very challenging to create encounters and even entire adventures for the higher party levels.
Now for the bad, I do see a common thread in many; that being not taking into account the resources of a party of higher levels in the design of the encounter. I think that is what makes it very challenging to create encounters and even entire adventures for the higher party levels.
What I've personally found very interesting through this whole process is the assumption that characters of a certain level have access to certain capabilities (whether granted by spell or item). I've played through four complete campaigns in the last twelve months, all of which reached at least 8th level, and in none of them has our party had the capacity to fly or teleport other than through scrolls or purchasing spellcasting. In fact, out of all four parties, only one had a primary spellcaster in it, and only one had a stealthy kind of Rogue. I think in twelve solid months of adventuring we've been in one dungeon--and even that was more a shanty town in an abandoned mine rather than an actual dungeon.
In the homebrew adventure we just finished up, we had a party consisting of a grappling Monk, a Rogue (Swashbuckler)/Paladin, a pacifist Cleric with Str 10, and a Sorcerer/Oracle who has the mind of a child.
Now, we're just about to start Curse of the Crimson Throne with a party that consists of a Bard, Druid, Magus and (last I heard) an Alchemist.
I didn't realise how much of an outlier my gaming group is, but it does make me wonder how many encounters that are written assuming a party is going to have access to certain things are likely to be impossible for my gaming group, as we don't seem to buy or find what is assumed to be standard kit for a particular level.
I didn't realise how much of an outlier my gaming group is, but it does make me wonder how many encounters that are written assuming a party is going to have access to certain things are likely to be impossible for my gaming group, as we don't seem to buy or find what is assumed to be standard kit for a particular level.
It's true that no game company can design a product for every possible gaming group and playstyle. Instead, the focus tends to be on meeting the needs of the many rather than the few. And, in those circumstances where play groups find an adventure that isn't quite to their tastes (design-wise), that's where a good GM steps in and tailors or re-jiggers things to more properly entertain and challenge his group.
...in those circumstances where play groups find an adventure that isn't quite to their tastes (design-wise), that's where a good GM steps in and tailors or re-jiggers things to more properly entertain and challenge his group.
Well said. And that certainly explains why we haven't seen a single trap since January 2010. Ah, Serina the Perform (dance (cheerleading)) Bard, how we miss you.
Actually, that's a lie. She was frankly quite irritating. Come to think of it, we haven't seen a pom pom or rah-rah skirt since January 2010 either. : )
Anyway, back to your regular programming; I voted on this round based on creativity rather than mechanics, largely because of precisely what Neil said above. I personally don't pay all that much attention to the statblocks presented in adventures because the vast majority of the time I rewrite them myself to suit the characters and players at the table. I'm much more interested in taking the motivations and backstory of the NPCs mentioned in an adventure and moulding that into something that can draw the PCs into a web of intrigue, deceit and danger.
Because there isn't enough room in a single encounter/location to give that kind of backstory, I voted purely on the creativity of the locations themselves, because that is what I would find valuable as a GM.
Nice job all eight of you by the way, there's some fun stuff out there this year. I look forward to seeing what the top four come up with.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
,
Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka JoelF847
|
Anothing thing to bear in mind is that just because a party has access to certain abilities, like flight, doesn't mean that the entire party can and will use it for a particular encounter. If we discussing tier 7-8, sure the wizard or sorcerer can have fly, but it's unlikely that they'll choose to cast it on all 4 (or more) party members. Also, when reviewing a single encounter, we can't assume that the party will have all of their resources availible - unless it's the first encounter of the day, they presumably have used some magic up - maybe they already used fly to cross a chasm, ascend a cliff, or deal with a flying attacker before this encounter. Maybe they haven't, but want to save it for the final fight, and the current encounter is only midway through the day for them. Or maybe they simply decided that they expect to need fire magic, water breathing magic, etc. later so don't have fly prepared, etc.
There's lots of reasons that a particular "I win" tactic might not occur in an encounter, and not good to judge an encounter solely based on - "well they can just ____ and cakewalk through it" mentality.
Anothing thing to bear in mind is that just because a party has access to certain abilities, like flight, doesn't mean that the entire party can and will use it for a particular encounter. If we discussing tier 7-8, sure the wizard or sorcerer can have fly, but it's unlikely that they'll choose to cast it on all 4 (or more) party members. Also, when reviewing a single encounter, we can't assume that the party will have all of their resources availible - unless it's the first encounter of the day, they presumably have used some magic up - maybe they already used fly to cross a chasm, ascend a cliff, or deal with a flying attacker before this encounter. Maybe they haven't, but want to save it for the final fight, and the current encounter is only midway through the day for them. Or maybe they simply decided that they expect to need fire magic, water breathing magic, etc. later so don't have fly prepared, etc.
There's lots of reasons that a particular "I win" tactic might not occur in an encounter, and not good to judge an encounter solely based on - "well they can just ____ and cakewalk through it" mentality.
+1
All that said, I take my hat off to the AP/module authors that manage to bring intriguing and challenging high-level play to us. Personally I like to think that the "sweet" spot for balanced "high" level play is currently around level 7 or 8. Enough time to get access to some serious powers - but not enough for the balance divide between characters to get out-of-hand.
|
Dedicated Voter Season 6
|
Anothing thing to bear in mind is that just because a party has access to certain abilities, like flight, doesn't mean that the entire party can and will use it for a particular encounter. If we discussing tier 7-8, sure the wizard or sorcerer can have fly, but it's unlikely that they'll choose to cast it on all 4 (or more) party members. Also, when reviewing a single encounter, we can't assume that the party will have all of their resources availible - unless it's the first encounter of the day, they presumably have used some magic up - maybe they already used fly to cross a chasm, ascend a cliff, or deal with a flying attacker before this encounter. Maybe they haven't, but want to save it for the final fight, and the current encounter is only midway through the day for them. Or maybe they simply decided that they expect to need fire magic, water breathing magic, etc. later so don't have fly prepared, etc.
There's lots of reasons that a particular "I win" tactic might not occur in an encounter, and not good to judge an encounter solely based on - "well they can just ____ and cakewalk through it" mentality.
+1
All that said, I take my hat off to the AP/module authors that manage to bring intriguing and challenging high-level play to us. Personally I like to think that the "sweet" spot for balanced "high" level play is currently around level 7 or 8. Enough time to get access to some serious powers - but not enough for the balance divide between characters to get out-of-hand.
I agree with this.
My current gaming group has 3 campaigns going, all of them are at 15th level and higher. So it makes it incredibly difficult for the 3 GM’s to consistently come up with challenging encounters.
I find as a GM, one thing you can do to help beef up an encounter or create a challenging encounter for party that pretty much has any spell or item they might need to “I win” the encounter, is to modify the environment in such a way as to take options away. Gust of wind is not a typical spell a high level party might memorize or have in their repertoire. But a nice fog can really limit options.
Terrain modifiers to movement can severely hamper things, especially if you start an encounter at range with the NPC’s having ranged spells or attacks.
Just adding hit dice to an encounter isn’t always the answer, but then I think you all already know that, so I’ll stop being redundant.
It's true that the PCs may have used up their allotment of fly for the day by the time they reach any given encounter, but the designers still have to design as if the PCs are at full strength, just in case. If 1 in 4 groups can bypass Cody Coffelt's chase scene in The Broken Crucible Foundry by flying above it (or sending their flying familiar/ animal companion after Tarvin), that's still a lot of groups missing a large section of the adventure if this was published.
For my own part as a customer, my attitude is that buying the adventure saved me a lot of work no matter how you slice it. So if a player uses just the right power at just the right time and skips two and a half encounters, or turns a challenging encounter into a cakewalk, I'll generally just offer them a high-five and keep going. Getting the most out of an adventure isn't nearly as important as letting the players get the most out of his or her character.
There can be problems in adventures where this is possible (if the PCs miss out on some important part of the plot for instance), but it's not always a problem.
I have also found that a good GM can compensate for the players bypassing important bits of an adventure. For a good GM will adjust to make sure that the important information finds its ways into the hands of the PC's.
I truly believe that PC's are meant to shine and if they can do that while surprising the GM more power to them. I may be bias on this though since me and my group have been gaming around 20+ years. We all tend to be somewhat creative and tend to think a bit outside of the box, which in turn can cause some GM's some trouble if they are not able to think on their feet.
Now some of this can be made easier by a well written module and this is where I believe Pathfinder shines. I have found that their modules as well as the PFS scenarios have been well written and have made it easy for the most part for the GMs to adjust to groups such as ours as well as easy for the GM to work with new players to Pathfinder.
That is also why I so strongly support this contest. For it helps GM's, players, and potential writers to improve their skills.
So good luck to whoever advances to the final round I really look forward to seeing how this all plays out.
I just wanted to say to each of you top 8, really well done on the part of all. I had some similar impressions of the top 16 in the previous round as well.
I for one had a really hard time coming up with negative things to say about any of your entries. As I stated before, I liked parts of each and everyone of your locations.
I know that it does seem somewhat overwhelming to read all the complaints and criticisms that people post. Like me, I bet they just want to see better adventures from everyone. More quality adventures means more things we can use in our own games.
To those who win the top 4 spots, serious congratulations are in order here. The competition was stiff and some really excellent ideas were tossed about. I hope to see some amazing adventure proposals in this next round. As they say in show business, break a leg! (Well no, don't really. I hear it hurts.)
Thank you everyone for your support, not just of me, but for all the contestants and the contest itself. I don't know if I will make it to the next round, but this has been a very fun and educational experience nonetheless and an amazing way to get involved with the Paizo community. This event is only possible because of your continued involvement and I feel that deserves acknowledgment. Thank you.
Well done Trevor, Artus, John, and Ethan. You made it difficult to choose a Top 4. Congratulations on getting so far. Use the experience, and make use of what you have learnt to take your next steps in game design (if that's what you want to do, of course).
Well done Trevor, Artus, John, and Ethan. You made it difficult to choose a Top 4. Congratulations on getting so far. Use the experience, and make use of what you have learnt to take your next steps in game design (if that's what you want to do, of course).
Honestly, I had never thought about game design much. I entered the contest not really counting on making it in. So I'm happy to have taken it this far. And now I kind of got the design bug...
And now I kind of got the design bug...
Yeah John, I know what you mean. I've got all these great adventure ideas now and I won't get to show them off.
It's a shame we can't compete next year but at least we got this far.
And now I kind of got the design bug...Yeah John, I know what you mean. I've got all these great adventure ideas now and I won't get to show them off.
It's a shame we can't compete next year but at least we got this far.
There's a lot of 3rd party publishers out there. Plus, I'm not sure what it costs to put together a product, but distributing it via PDF like many of them do I would imagine cuts down significantly on costs if you decide to start your own company.
There's a lot of 3rd party publishers out there. Plus, I'm not sure what it costs to put together a product, but distributing it via PDF like many of them do I would imagine cuts down significantly on costs if you decide to start your own company.
Also try the PFS Open Call, only 750 words for a pitch. (I'm sure Mark Moreland loves me plugging it, I can sense that he needs more pitches to read through. :-) :-)
Check out Kobold Quarterly as well. As a former RPGSS judge and all-around nice guy, Wolfgang takes pitches from the contest competitors pretty seriously. And, breaking into KQ can open other doors for you, as well.
Thanks for all the suggestions, I will definitely look into it (KQ, PFS Open Call, etc.)!
To the best of my knowledge KQ doesn't do long adventures (outside of Open Design), but I recall seeing at least one "micro adventure" published in Kobold Quarterly (the one where the PCs have to investigate a kenku children's school), which I thought was really neat.
Also, they're always looking for web content; they say that web submissions should be less than 800 words, but in my experience they've been flexible if you query first.