Star Voter Season 6
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I am excited about competing this year (my first time). However my wife, as wonderful and supportive as she is, doesn't quite understand.
Barbara: "So what do you get if you win?"
me: "Well, with each round I get to create something new."
Barbara: "No, I mean what do you get if you win the whole contest?"
me: "I get to write a published Paizo adventure."
Barbara: "So let me get this straight: the better you do the more work you GET to do? You're nuts."
:)
Wow, talk about not understanding.
Sorry, Marv.
How about this: if I win this, I get the freelance job I have always wanted and the opportunity from there to catapult myself, as prior winners have done, into a full time game design gig.
In short: if I win this, I get an opportunity to do what I have always wanted. Without this contest, I would likely never get that opportunity.
Does your wife watch X Factor? American Idol?
Her mistake is calling this "work." Use her analysis on American Idol: "You mean, the better you do on American Idol the more work you get to do?" Yeah, work, in the music biz, where I have always wanted to work and have never really gotten the chance. None of those contestants consider it work, and I imagine neither do you doing game design.
Good luck, bro. Try rephrasing your answer to "what do you get if you win the whole contest." Maybe that will help.
Marv: Try telling her that if you win, your Pathfinder character gets ONE MILLION GP!
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Star Voter Season 6
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She doesn't understand but she is very understanding. I am a lucky man.
For so many years (from Issue 1) I had wanted to submit an adventure to be published in Dungeon and now (from my perspective) that magazine is no more. The lesson learned is capre diem. When you are young you take for granted opportunities.
I am grateful to Paizo for this opportunity. As small as my chances are, I will enjoy (and learn from) every step.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Locke1520
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I am grateful to Paizo for this opportunity. As small as my chances are, I will enjoy (and learn from) every step.
Best of Luck...unless it comes down to you and me then afraid I'll have to be biased. ;D
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Star Voter Season 6
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Best of Luck...unless it comes down to you and me then afraid I'll have to be biased. ;D
Thank you and best of luck to you too (unless you stand in the way of me and my MILLION GPs). I am amazed at how much support on this site there is for this contest. Certainly, if I fail to get into the 32 it won't because I wasn't well equipped with suggestions and advice.
You can't do any worse that I would Marv. My other half has entered in the last few years, DM's our games and is a bit of a rules lawyer. I have trouble understanding Power Attack. I figured what the hell though and have sent my idea (decided and written in all of 30minutes)May the best idea win is all I can say ^^
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You can't do any worse that I would Marv. My other half has entered in the last few years, DM's our games and is a bit of a rules lawyer. I have trouble understanding Power Attack. I figured what the hell though and have sent my idea (decided and written in all of 30minutes)May the best idea win is all I can say ^^
Alpyra
I do hope you win, of course, but I think I might use your post as an object lesson. I hope you don't take offense, I don't intend any. I doubt you intended in your comments to mean what I am taking from the comments, but you gave me such a good lead in, I had to take it. So here are a few observations:
First, the best ideas DON'T EVER win. The best entries win. Ideas are only the start of an entry. We are all gamers. We all have great ideas. If that is all it took, we'd all be game designers. So ideas are not enough, you need execution. And turning now to that...
Second, good writing is rewriting. I don't know that I've ever seen a professional first draft (ie 30 minutes of writing) that is good enough to make the cut at the level of scrutiny we are applying. Frankly, even Neil or Sean would have a hard time designing a good, tight item with proper mojo and rules-fu in 30 minutes. If they can't do it, then people not named Neil and Sean certainly can't do it. Let your submission percolate and cook for a while, let it simmer in your mental juices. Then take a look at it. Check every rules issue you have in your item. Spells, feats, powers, effects, whatever. Compare to existing items. Check where it fits on the price list. Check if you italicized the right stuff and capitalized the right stuff. Then let it sit some more. Not saying your 30 minute entry may not rock the world, it could. Chances are against it, though.
But all that said....
Good on you for entering. I hope you learned something. And if you make it, well then my hat is off to you. If you don't I hope you ask for and get feedback that helps you.
Clark
Best of Luck...unless it comes down to you and me then afraid I'll have to be biased. ;D
Brevity is the soul of wit. I just wish everybody the second-best of luck.
Thanks for your reply Clark. To be honest it was less about entering an winning though for me. (Though that would be a bonus)It was more about getting the motivation to write again. Working full time and having commitments outside of work leaves little time for creativity so this was more to motivate myself to do something about it.
As for spending little time on writing, I'm the type of person where if I over think on something I lose passion for it. I also end up just making it worse. It's not the best plan for everyone and hey I may have shot myself in the foot but that's what this is for. For me to learn and grow :)
I got that sense, which is why I begged your pardon for using your comments to highlight a few points. I got the sense that this was about getting back to it rather than winning. Thanks for letting me use your comments as a launching pad :) I hope you didn't take offense and I salute you for entering!
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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If the goal weren't to get some name recognition for future opportunities I don't think I could enter. Seriously entering is hard work - you go through a list of items, pick one you think resolves issues you had with previous entries, do some rewrites, and finally hit the button. Then you have to start working right away on shells and other ideas for later rounds to stay ahead of the schedule. So just committing to staying in the contest, when you don't even know you'll be there is a big deal.
I think anyone that enters ought to gleefully have 'winning more work' in mind.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Star Voter Season 6
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Thanks for your reply Clark. To be honest it was less about entering an winning though for me. (Though that would be a bonus)It was more about getting the motivation to write again. Working full time and having commitments outside of work leaves little time for creativity so this was more to motivate myself to do something about it.
I understand what you say. I've a hard enough time to complete a project before- SQUIRREL!
Ahem, before something grabs my attention. I was hoping that if I made it, the outside imposed deadline would be the push I needed.
I think anyone that enters ought to gleefully have 'winning more work' in mind.
Agreed and this is a good mindset to have if you decide to get into freelancing. I can't do it as a fulltime job and even though I put a lot of hours in, I enjoy doing it. However, when I discuss this topic with dear old mom, she doesn't understand.
On another note, if you make into the Top 32, good luck in trying to explain to others what exactly this contest is. Seriously, every time I told someone it was a game design contest they assumed I meant video games :).
Wow, talk about not understanding.
Sorry, Marv.
How about this: if I win this, I get the freelance job I have always wanted and the opportunity from there to catapult myself, as prior winners have done, into a full time game design gig.
In short: if I win this, I get an opportunity to do what I have always wanted. Without this contest, I would likely never get that opportunity.
Does your wife watch X Factor? American Idol?
Her mistake is calling this "work." Use her analysis on American Idol: "You mean, the better you do on American Idol the more work you get to do?" Yeah, work, in the music biz, where I have always wanted to work and have never really gotten the chance. None of those contestants consider it work, and I imagine neither do you doing game design.
Good luck, bro. Try rephrasing your answer to "what do you get if you win the whole contest." Maybe that will help.
From what I have observed, the vast majority of the winners on those shows go on to disappear entirely from the earth. And, sorry, but I don't know the names of any of the previous winners of the RPG Supastah! contest, either, even though I've been visiting this site for a few years now.
Now, I'm not trying to rag. I, too, am a writer and I wish you all the best of luck. It's just that after having dabbled with near and minor success in at least three art forms over the decades, I have discovered that the artist who self-publishes and then works his tail off promoting himself, has about fifty times better of a chance to make it than one who wins a contest.
This is just my opinion. Well, also my experience. But it doesn't mean I wish any of you ill. I absolutely do not. Good luck!
Thanks for your reply Clark. To be honest it was less about entering an winning though for me. (Though that would be a bonus)It was more about getting the motivation to write again. Working full time and having commitments outside of work leaves little time for creativity so this was more to motivate myself to do something about it.
As for spending little time on writing, I'm the type of person where if I over think on something I lose passion for it. I also end up just making it worse. It's not the best plan for everyone and hey I may have shot myself in the foot but that's what this is for. For me to learn and grow :)
Have you ever done the NaNoWriMo thing (50,000 words of a novel in one month)?
I hated it, myself, but it did do me a lot of good. Like nasty-tasting medicine.
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From what I have observed, the vast majority of the winners on those shows go on to disappear entirely from the earth. And, sorry, but I don't know the names of any of the previous winners of the RPG Supastah! contest, either, even though I've been visiting this site for a few years now.
*koff*NeilSpicer*koff* :)
Marathon Voter Season 6
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From what I have observed, the vast majority of the winners on those shows go on to disappear entirely from the earth.
I suppose it possibly comes down to the goals of the contest and the aims of the people running the contest. Music competitions seem to be all about promoting a winner before discarding them so as to promote next year's winner. The winners seem to get a swift contract of support before being discarded and more than likely forgotten by the TV executives and a fickle public.
From what I've seen, RPG Superstar is quite different. It takes the old Dungeon submission process, turns it upside down and then opens it to the community for everyone to get their hands on. Like most aspects of their business, Paizo really puts the O in OGL as the key pillar of their business strategy and from what I've seen, it really works. Winners are supported and nourished to the level of commitment and talent they have and display. The dynamic between Paizo and their freelancers seems very positive.
And, sorry, but I don't know the names of any of the previous winners of the RPG Supastah! contest, either, even though I've been visiting this site for a few years now.
Clinton Boomer, Jason Nelson, Rob McCreary, Ross Byers, Russ Taylor, Neil Spicer, Jim Groves, Matt Goodall (Go the Aussie!), and last year's winner Sam Zeitlin (who is just about to start making his mark) are all past contestants/winners that have grabbed their opportunity to make their mark upon the Paizo landscape (amongst numerous other past contestants). If those names aren't ringing some bells, then perhaps you are not visiting here quite as often as you thought. ;) I know that if I pick up any recent Pathfinder product, I'm likely to see multiple names from that list in the credits and essentially this is the difference in support Paizo offers versus TV singing competitions. Look a little harder and I think you'll see why Paizo actively support this competition and the contestants competing in it.
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise
And, sorry, but I don't know the names of any of the previous winners of the RPG Supastah! contest, either, even though I've been visiting this site for a few years now.
I have discovered that the artist who self-publishes and then works his tail off promoting himself, has about fifty times better of a chance to make it than one who wins a contest.
This is just my opinion. Well, also my experience.
Not trying to rag, but...
You are simply poorly informed.
Whatever "experience" you have in the gaming industry, I venture to guess, it is less than mine, and I can tell you with complete certainty your opinion is mistaken.
The value of winning RPG Superstar far outstrips "self publishing and working your tail off." Now, I'm not downplaying the value of either of those and they can work. But you go far in Superstar and doors open for you that don't open just from doing what you say. It is a very unique and unusual contest. So please don't come here and down play Superstar when you don't know what you are talking about. If you want to be a serious fantasy RPG freelancer, particularly for Paizo or Pathfinder 3Ps, this is a unique opportunity.
The internet may permit everyone to have an opinion, but it doesnt make them equal.
Clark
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Star Voter Season 6
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[This is just my opinion. Well, also my experience. But it doesn't mean I wish any of you ill. I absolutely do not. Good luck!
Bruunwald, I think you are missing a key point.
I have been writing RPG adventures for my own consumption as a DM/GM for going on 33 years now. And in my own way, as a DM/GM, yes I do consider myself a highly skilled artist. However, when it comes to writing adventures for other people's usage I am a complete nube. This round one, so far, has taught me to think about the purpose of each word and the effect of those words on game balance and mechanics in a way I never have. As a DM/GM those are things I can fix on the fly so I don’t worry too much.
So no, I am not (yet) an artist as a game writer nor do I think my extensive experience behind the screen is helping me much with this contest. As I am now, I could not self publish and expect to succeed.
What is so amazing about the "open" nature of this contest is that you not only see feedback on your work but also the work of others. I have never seen anything like this. You should enter (the rules might not allow you if you've already published).
Marv I feel yah on being a DM and creating adventures since you were young. I was 15 when I started playing and I’m 42 now. I haven’t used a store bought module in forever but I do buy supplements and the materials I need to create my own portion of “their” worlds. I currently DM for an average of 7 to 8 folks every 2 weeks or so (when we can all get together- family time rules the day unlike when we were kids and could play 12 hours a day all summer! Lol). So needless to say I have had my fair share of crafting fantastic module ideas, world building, and crafted more magic items, spells, classes, and such then anyone I have come into contact with. But that doesn’t mean I have yet to even place in the 4 years I have made submissions. Really you make your mistakes (yes I even realized I made one this year on accident- sigh) and you grow as an artist from the “adventure of doing” and you take what you learned to the next session like you do as a DM learning more about that grey area of the game. As for your wife not understanding your desires to pursue this or your love for gaming (mine things it’s childish) that is ok- It’s not important that they understand your love for what you like, but it is important for them to understand their love for you. That is the most important thing two people can understand about one another. All the things you don’t have in common, all the things you don’t understand about each other really don’t matter as long as you understand your love for them. That is your epic win.
Best wishes to you in the comp and thank you for helping me see I’m not the only old school DM in this comp… glad to not be alone~
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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If you attended the "Freelancing 101" seminar at Gen-Con with Wolfgang Bauer and professional freelancers for Kobold Quarterly (Adam Daigle, Brandon Hodge, Ben McFarland), they talked about working your butt off versus entering competitions. One of the panelists said that he doesn't really enter contests since he can use his time more profitably in other ways --- EXCEPT for RPG Superstar. As he said, "RPG Superstar is the Golden Ticket" and he'll enter every year he's still eligible.
If people who are well-known and doing well at freelancing for 3PP enter this contest, then that means it's worth your time. As another poster mentioned, there are quite a few Superstar contestants who have gone on to publish with Paizo, and even more if you consider Rite Publishing, Open Design, and other 3PP.
Sure you have to give up an item that you spend time crafting and grow to love. But the potential rewards far outweigh the costs in time. And even crafting an item and reading through the generous pages upon pages of advice (a book's worth of free RPG design information) help you develop your craft.
Of course, you're welcome to your opinion in regards to entering contests, and honestly I have very strong feelings against entering contests for graphic design (which is my day job). But I personally think this contest is a good thing for the RPG industry, and for the people who enter it seriously -- whether they win or not.
From what I have observed, the vast majority of the winners on those shows go on to disappear entirely from the earth. And, sorry, but I don't know the names of any of the previous winners of the RPG Supastah! contest, either, even though I've been visiting this site for a few years now.
Well, I remember the names of the previous winners: Christine Schneider, Neil Spicer, Jim Groves, Matt Goodall, and Sam Zeitlin.
I also remember Jason Nelson -- when I don't get his name wrong ;-) -- Clinton Boomer, and Russ Taylor from the final couple rounds of Year One, not to mention Paizo's own Rob McCreary. (Year One was a mother lode of writing talent, incidentally.)
I've bought several Paizo products because of almost all of those names. I like something from nearly every name on that list. Hell, I'd buy a matchbook cover with Neil Spicer's name on it; in my opinion, he's that good.
I guess what I'm saying here is, I believe you're in the minority with that perspective.
Of course you remember the names of some of the previous winners: Wittman, Price and Hadad.
Last season's winners.
No. Last season's losers.
(Running Man quote FTW.)
I guess what I'm saying here is, I believe you're in the minority with that perspective.
That is very nice of you to be so courteous.
But this isn't really an "opinion" thing, where there can be majority and minority opinions; this is a "right or wrong" thing.
For example, the question of "Is Tim Tebow a good quarterback." That could have two opinions and be subject to differing opinions and a majority and minority view. There is no real way to say what is right or wrong, there are lots of points of view.
The "opinion" by Bruunwald, however, is not actually an opinion. It is a misstatement of fact disguised as an opinion and it is simply flat out dead wrong. That has now been identified.
Chief Technical Officer
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...Music competitions seem to be all about promoting a winner before discarding them so as to promote next year's winner. The winners seem to get a swift contract of support before being discarded and more than likely forgotten by the TV executives and a fickle public.
From what I've seen, RPG Superstar is quite different.
Nope—RPG Superstar and shows like American Idol do the same thing: They let talented people get a foot in the door. And in both cases, what follows is largely what the contestant makes of the opportunity.
Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood launched hugely successful careers (by *any* standard) after winning American Idol, and even non-winners such as Chris Daughtry and Clay Aiken have done very well—certainly much better than they would have without Idol. And even though 7th-place finisher Jennifer Hudson didn't really become a successful album artist, she still managed to parlay her Idol exposure into Broadway shows and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Clinton Boomer, Jason Nelson, Rob McCreary, Ross Byers, Russ Taylor, Neil Spicer, Jim Groves, Matt Goodall (Go the Aussie!), and last year's winner Sam Zeitlin (who is just about to start making his mark) are all past contestants/winners that have grabbed their opportunity to make their mark upon the Paizo landscape (amongst numerous other past contestants).
Saying those folks "grabbed the opportunity" is exactly right. All of those folks recognized that Superstar is not an endpoint, it's just a step on the right path—and if it isn't followed up with hard work, it's all for nothing. And, like Idol, not every winner has used it to their advantage.
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I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. It's not what you do during RPG Superstar, but what you do after that matters the most.
I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. It's not what you do during RPG Superstar, but what you do after that matters the most.
Not to sound like a shameless plug but participating in RPG Superstar does do a lot for your freelance career. Last year, no one knew who I was. I'm not a big internet poster but being in the contest definitely meant I had to get my presence out there. I didn't win the big prize as you can see from my tag but it definitely opened doors for me. Within a month or two after the contest, I got my first freelancing assignment for Raging Swan Press and they just released it last week. Plus I'm working on the follow-up and have been in talks with another company to do some work for them. I honestly don't think I'd have the opportunities I've had if it weren't for this contest.
I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. It's not what you do during RPG Superstar, but what you do after that matters the most.
This idea is going to sound weird coming from me, but the first thing I thought of when I read this was, "Just like having a child."
Thanks for your reply Clark. To be honest it was less about entering an winning though for me. (Though that would be a bonus)It was more about getting the motivation to write again. Working full time and having commitments outside of work leaves little time for creativity so this was more to motivate myself to do something about it.
As for spending little time on writing, I'm the type of person where if I over think on something I lose passion for it. I also end up just making it worse. It's not the best plan for everyone and hey I may have shot myself in the foot but that's what this is for. For me to learn and grow :)Have you ever done the NaNoWriMo thing (50,000 words of a novel in one month)?
I hated it, myself, but it did do me a lot of good. Like nasty-tasting medicine.
Thanks for the link. Will give it a try and see how it goes. :)
I've been reading through the previous years feedback threads. If anything, that will be the hardest part for me. I expected in depth critique but wow. I guess the first thing I should have learnt was this isn't just game for some people. Will get my serious head on for next year. (Or the next round if lady luck is on my side)
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Star Voter Season 6
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Marv I feel yah on being a DM and creating adventures since you were young. I was 15 when I started playing and I’m 42 now. ...glad to not be alone~
Well met! I was 13 when my friend Tim ran a small adventure he wrote using the blue box rules with me as the only player. My elf died in the last room. I was so struck by how immersed I was and had a blast. At the end I asked him how he did that and he showed me his hand written one page map and one page room key. Instantly upon seeing them I said to myself "THAT is what I need to be doing" (DMing). Once or twice a year I force myself to play and usually enjoy it. However nothing gets my juices going like DM/GMing. As you said, I am now only able to game once a month because of wife, kids, and work obligations.
I'm happy to have met you.
Did you get good feedback on your loosing entries?
As two post notes:
* Two years ago I reconnected with Tim and he still had that adventure. He scanned it and emailed it to me. It's amazing how little it took back then to impress. I ran it as a solo adventure for my step son using blue box rules and it was a huge hit again after all those years!
* I am planning on running a blue box adventure at PazioCon next year (probably won't be that adventure but another that I wrote back then).
You get to see how bad/good your writing is. It takes skill to capture flavor in only a sentence or two. Skill that I most likely do not possess.
You do get a very cool "RPG Superstar 2012 Top XX" tag which makes all the girl mooses go waaaaahh.
Of all the places I expected a Princess Diaries 2 reference, this was not it.
good job, sir. I enjoyed the laugh.
Well, to put it simply. I want to do this because I know I can. I know I should. And know that I'll regret not trying.
That's my answer at least.
Yep. If you don't make the Top 32, it's worth asking for feedback as to why. I think a large part of the problem is that people who aren't used to critical feedback tend to be thin-skinned. Rather than listening to the feedback and using it to improve, they look at it as a rebuke and sulk.
I'll admit it: when I found out I hadn't made the Top 32 last year, I was kind of butt-hurt. I let the emotion run its course, then I went in looking for feedback. Neil was kind enough to provide me with detailed feedback as well as some of what the other judges said regarding my item. I took notes, and I referred back to them when working on this year's item. My submission this year is stronger than the last, which was stronger than the one before that. That's a good enough reason to enter as far as I'm concerned.
While I have no problems reading English, writing and speaking is completely another thing. Darn you :3 I'll take a shot to the contest because I want to prove myself, at least. I'm going to read and control my entry billion times.
What is the reason for me entering this contest? Well I guess you could say I have always wanted to write. This gives me a vehicle to test myself against others. To get honest feedback, some of which I may not like.
I believe, and I guess this year will show if it is true or not, that I have made strides from last year, my first year entering. If I continue to improve my writing skills from year to year then win or lose this contest has proven to be a benefit to me and for that I thank Paizo and this community.
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See this is why I'm not entering. I'm not sure I want to win because that will turn my hobby into my job. I'm pretty sure that will suck the fun out of it.
If I don't have the time to write my own campaigns how the hell will I have time to write freelance work of the quality that Paizo expects?
So to quote Shakespeare:
"Thou never shalt hear herald any more." (At least not in relation to a submitted item.)
Good luck to you all.
:)
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See this is why I'm not entering. I'm not sure I want to win because that will turn my hobby into my job. I'm pretty sure that will suck the fun out of it.
Trust me. It's still a whole lot of fun. And, quite honestly, writing for Paizo (or any company as a freelancer) helps you get better...as a writer, as a GM, and as a player of the game.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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I gotta be honest, sometimes it does feel like a job. Then you see your stuff in print and it's pretty awesome. When you see other people using your stuff, sometimes lots of other people, it's even more awesome. If you are lucky, some folks really enjoyed using your stuff it's amazingly awesome and satisfying in a way that few jobs or pastimes ever are.
So yeah, it IS a job, but it's easily the most awesome jobs I've ever had.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Star Voter Season 6
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I gotta be honest, sometimes it does feel like a job. Then you see your stuff in print and it's pretty awesome. When you see other people using your stuff, sometimes lots of other people, it's even more awesome. If you are lucky, some folks really enjoyed using your stuff it's amazingly awesome and satisfying in a way that few jobs or pastimes ever are.
So yeah, it IS a job, but it's easily the most awesome jobs I've ever had.
Nothing to add to Neil's and Dennis' posts, except a hardy +1.*
*
I've entered every year, so that makes me a masochist I think :)
This year will likely be my last attempt because in March 2012, I turn 50, and with my kids leaving home this year, demands from my wife to decorate just about everything has gone through the roof.
Yuck!
Yes dear, ceilings done, I'm just having a breather and a cuppa before starting on sanding the walls down...
See this is why I'm not entering. I'm not sure I want to win because that will turn my hobby into my job. I'm pretty sure that will suck the fun out of it.
If I don't have the time to write my own campaigns how the hell will I have time to write freelance work of the quality that Paizo expects?
So to quote Shakespeare:
"Thou never shalt hear herald any more." (At least not in relation to a submitted item.)
Good luck to you all.
:)
If you love your job, you will never work a day in your life.
EDIT:...though Confucious might have said it first :)
You do get a very cool "RPG Superstar 2012 Top XX" tag which makes all the girl mooses go waaaaahh.
Well my first attempt was terrible because I was too clever for my own good. I created a figurine of wondrous power that was a mule. This mule when enlarged came into play with great wisdom and could speak the language of its owner. When asked questions it would reply and offer advise but doing so made it increasingly unwise until it finally had a wisdom of 3 and became a simple figurine again losing its powers for 1 months time. I had a buddy in a module use this and he loved it, conversations with this mule were endless and he relied heavy on it until he started following the advise of an increasingly more and more stupid animal. Finally he found out it was not even a real mule but a figurine. He was certainly surprised and I loved it so much of course it was my first entry but it was seen as a joke item. (Gulp).
Ok so next I submitted a nice little number that I felt was totally on point but its bad mechanics did not allow the object to work well. (It dealt with spacing too much and that is always a tough sell.Lastly came an item I wrote a whole adventure for regarding a thought to be evil ranger the city elders wanted found and killed but in reality he was using the magical item to try and lead the party and authorities to finding a real killer who was using his power as the towns chief official to protect himself. In the end the magical item was the boot’s as a gift to the players for helping the Ranger bring the bad official and his minions to justice.
Here is that item:
Boots of the Masterful Step
Aura faint Transmutation Magic; CL 6th
Slot Feet; Price 10,000 gp; Weight 2 pounds
These typical looking black leather boots grants the wearer with the ability to subconsciously control the nature of their footprints and adjust them at will simply by thinking about the animal or humanoid they wish to mimic and those tracks are left. The wearer can also decide to leave no tracks at all or stop and start tracks at will. The wearer can also decide to increase or decrease the size of the tracks they do decide to leave by 1 category size. (For instance a Medium sized creature wearing these boots could leave footprints of a Small or Large category creature or Animal.)
These boots are for made for Medium sized creatures; however, they will shrink or grow 1 size category to fit their new owner.
Note: All footprints the wearer can leave are limited by the thoughts of the wearer and do not span into magical creatures or outsiders.
Faint transmutation Magic; CL 6th; Craft Wondrous Item, Alter Self; Pass Without Trace; Price 8,000 gp.
I included flavor text not seen here that didn’t help the item much. I am not fully sure why it didn’t do better other than the fact that there were so many better entries.
You can be good and honestly have an excellent entry and still not make it because you happen to end 33 in the list of good ideas and great form. This year my entry is in the same breath. I wrote an outline module that contains all the contest elements so that when all is said and done the outline is completed in case I am one of the lucky few. Again I feel outlining your plan for the big picture helps you in your planning stages and gives you a chance to remain consistent with your theme rather than working into an idea after you have completed a successful item. That is just my advice and take it was salt. (smiles)
I see another contestant later in the string mentioned they are 50 now and still going strong with this. A+ man on continuing what you love. Good luck with the Blue box adventures by the way, I loved that rule set because it was so simple and as a DM you were king of the grey area of the rules back then. Now with the internet your crafty little players rule hunt things to death just to find that 1 out of context reference. (sigh)
Anyways love what you do… and keep on keeing on.
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See this is why I'm not entering. I'm not sure I want to win because that will turn my hobby into my job. I'm pretty sure that will suck the fun out of it.
I've been doing this full-time for about 12 years now, and I still I love going to work every day. Just sayin'. :)
See this is why I'm not entering. I'm not sure I want to win because that will turn my hobby into my job. I'm pretty sure that will suck the fun out of it.I've been doing this full-time for about 12 years now, and I still I love going to work every day. Just sayin'. :)
Yes I am jealous! If you ever need a vacation… give me a call! (smiles)
So yeah, it IS a job, but it's easily the most awesome jobs I've ever had.
More reasons if you need them:
Getting your NPCs pictures drawn by amazing artists.
Getting your maps drawn professionally. (I still get happily geeked when I remind myself that Chris West did my Sothis map.) :-)
See this is why I'm not entering. I'm not sure I want to win because that will turn my hobby into my job. I'm pretty sure that will suck the fun out of it.
If I don't have the time to write my own campaigns how the hell will I have time to write freelance work of the quality that Paizo expects?
So to quote Shakespeare:
"Thou never shalt hear herald any more." (At least not in relation to a submitted item.)
Good luck to you all.
:)
Hmmm, it seems to me that there is no better 'job' than the one that allows you to turn a hobby that you are passionate about into something that makes you money while allowing you to create something for others to enjoy. That sounds like success to me!
I personally will find the time if I earn the opportunity to work with Paizo.