Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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Attic whisperer = evil undead arising from the death of a neglected child.
Pregnancy item = magic item that promotes/advocates adventuring while pregnant or otherwise doing something to a pregnant woman.
The first presents neglecting a child as a bad thing.
The second implies that adventuring while pregnant is a good thing, or that there is some utility in using magic on a pregnant woman.
See the difference?
I will be putting a pregnancy related item on the auto rejects after the 24th that avoid all these issues. It is not there now because the train of thought and some of the fluff I started with led to the item I actually submitted and therefore might give it away.
The underlying idea behind it though was that it could prevent the resurrection/reincarnation etc of a BBEG by inducing a pregnancy from a willing target. The ensouled child, provided they failed their saves, would loose the memories and class levels of the former BBEG.
No advocating adventuring while pregnant, creates RP situation along the lines of, how would Hitler done had he had another set of parents? Leads to possible redemption in the long term.
Would something like that be allowable?
So you're conceiving a child that'll have the soul of the most evil man in recent history? And you don't think that would be a little awkward from a Paizo PR standpoint? :)
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Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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So you're conceiving a child that'll have the soul of the most evil man in recent history? And you don't think that would be a little awkward from a Paizo PR standpoint? :)
If I had put in say, little Abrogail Thrune instead of a RW reference, gave her a chance to grow up in wholesome, backwater Andoran with parents like the the Kents of Superman fame, say Seelah and Valaros Kent to keep an eye on her, would that spin work better?
Or you could turn it around and let a villian raise a former hero.
But... if he grew up evil again, that'd just be more of a chance to use the epic sword that allows you to kill Hitler!
I think the idea of intentionally putting an evil person's soul into a baby is a PR problem.
So you're conceiving a child that'll have the soul of the most evil man in recent history? And you don't think that would be a little awkward from a Paizo PR standpoint? :)
But good is guaranteed to triumph, in that situation. Either the soul is redeemed or, well... baby AC is garbage. In any case, justice prevails!
In fact, fighting a debuffed BBEG in baby form could be the climax of a whole adventure path. "Rattle of the Serpent King," anybody?
I think the idea of intentionally putting an evil person's soul into a baby is a PR problem.
I have seen what happens when a child has the soul of an evil person.
In fact, fighting a debuffed BBEG in baby form could be the climax of a whole adventure path. "Rattle of the Serpent King," anybody?
It's settled. If you make it to the final 4, that must be your adventure proposal. There can be no other option.
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Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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I think the idea of intentionally putting an evil person's soul into a baby is a PR problem.
Fair enough. To me the point was to make 16 year old Abby Kent NG, a little freaked out by the whole fiendish bloodline sorcery that is suddenly manifesting and worried as to whether that might effect her chances with that cute Rodgers boy Mom's training to be Captain Andoran.
Fair enough. To me the point was to make 16 year old Abby Kent NG, a little freaked out by the whole fiendish bloodline sorcery that is suddenly manifesting and worried as to whether that might effect her chances with that cute Rodgers boy Mom's training to be Captain Andoran.
Personally, even if the pregnancy-related aspects of your item idea were allowable, I'm fairly certain the judges would view your concept as a plot device item and universally reject it. That's because it would only show up in a very specific instance, most likely for story reasons within a game. And then, you'd almost never see that item again. The applicability of it is purely meant as a plot device. While that might be all well and good for your homebrew campaign, it's not really the mark of a Superstar designer's thinking. Maybe a great GM. Just not a designer who needs to be conscious of the marketability of ideas for a publishable product line.
Make sense?
--Neil
No problem. It's a legitimate question.
And just to widen out this topic a little, I think there's usually this divide in how certain ideas seem appealing to designers because they're thinking of it more in terms of how they'd use it or see it implemented in their own game. That's both good and bad, as active gaming in your own campaigns can certainly lead to new, great ideas. But sometimes, they just extrapolate such an idea and assume everyone else would use it the same way in their games...or find it just as awesome. And that's not always the case. Usually, that happens because it's what we call a homebrew campaign item or a plot device item. It involves an idea that has complete and understandable relevance to their individual game, gaming group, or style of play. But it actually may not be as applicable or even marketable to other gamers.
A publishing company...and hence, their stable of dependable Superstar freelancers...have to recognize that and realize when one of their cool ideas is forming for the wrong reasons and needs to be set aside in favor of something with more appeal that'll find greater acceptance from a game company's consumers. Occasionally, you'll see such a company take a risk on something, like the Book of Erotic Fantasy or maybe even Paizo's own Hook Mountain Massacre. And, while that might appeal to a certain segment of their market, it almost always divides it. There'll be some who decry the exploration of such topics and there'll be some who revel in it because it gives them exactly what they need...again, for their specific game. But companies like Paizo have to be careful with print runs that divide their customer base. I think even Vic Wertz and James Jacobs are on record as saying Hook Mountain Massacre established a line that they won't be crossing again anytime soon. And that line might even be a step back from the one HMM established.
So, a topic like pregnancy can fall into this same niche. It's got the potential to be a very touchy subject with some folks. I'm probably a prime example of that right now. As many of my friends on Facebook know (and most everyone at Paizo, too), my wife and I were expecting our fourth child in July. It's what caused me to cancel my PaizoCon reservations. Unfortunately, we found out just last week that she miscarried 8 weeks into her term. So, a pregnancy-related item is going to touch a potentially raw nerve for someone like me. And the same can happen among many other gamers who are out there. Even if you, as the designer, have the best intentions in mind for putting together an awesome pregnancy item. Now, you might be tempted to think that's more my hang-up or someone else's hang-up if we've got issues with pregnancy-related items just because of our prior experiences or tragedies. But, the truth of the matter is, such an item is still going to potentially divide the marketplace. And, so gaming companies...and designers (freelance or otherwise)...have to consider situations like that if they want to produce products that still sell well.
Additionally, as I mentioned before, pregnancy is a situation that almost always serves as a plot device. It's an event that happens a very limited number of times in someone's life...including the life of an adventurer. And, the birth of a new child has life-changing (and hence, story changing) ramifications to it. That's why it's more of a plot device in gaming than anything else.
Just my two cents,
--Neil
My condolences Neil and Mrs. Spicer :(
Condolences and prayers for you and your wife, Niel.
Thank you for thoughtfully commenting on a sensitive issue, Neil. My condolences on your loss, and I hope your family is doing all right.
I'm very sorry Neil.
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Sorry to here that Neil; and my condolences to both of you.
I went through a similar situation with my first wife. In fact during our marriage we went through two miscarriages. In fact I can positively say today that those might of very well added to the reasons of our divorce. Because of that I commend you both on your strength, devotion, and perseverance. Best wishes.