Raptoring Gloves

[Ask A RPGSupersuccubus]

Blow. I need to fix my disclaimers. The scribe just noticed my cunning cut and paste scheme to spread chaos with the primary one...

[Mark Hart]

This item has an excellent theme to it, and it gives me fun concepts for character themes. That's when you know you have a neat item -- someone wants to make a character who would want to have that item, and designs their character concept around its ideas.

The druids and rangers will be lining up to get their hands on this one.

Fantastic work!

[Luthia]

Congratulations on the top 32 and good luck with the rest of the contest (especially organization voting, no?)

Wauw, there's Succubi all over this place... (I'm not saying it's a bad thing, mind you)

Okay you'll get an analysis:

The Name: I like it quite a bit, it's fairly fitting for the item (discounting that dinosaurs kinda outshine eagles).

Theme: I like it. Raptoring is an underplayed part of medieval society in my games, and one I like at that. If nothing else, you've just given me an inspiration for another thing to bother my players in Kingmaker with. I have a premonition that their nobility will get obsessed with raptoring/general bird hunting soon! Okay, I got a little side-tracked there.

Effect: Wiauw, I think you're doing a little too much. Too may different things, and they just get too much on top of each other. I like the summoning the most, and that seems to be the central part, so I guess your idea is good. The theme is also tight enough that I won't go mumbling about SAKs here.

Description: I think tightening up the different effects, having fewer and working more to make what you do have cool, is the best single piece of advice I can give you here.

Overall: A really neat idea, with a less than perfect application, though. However, you're being watched for vote potential...

Good luck, again. (I'm saying that too much lately, am I not? Well, I'll go on the safe side of too much, rather than too little, in wishing people the best)

[Eric Morton]

Threat Analysis

You could be serious competition because.... you had the guts to design an item that had three different versions, you executed it well, and you demonstrated an ability to pick and adhere to a strong theme.

You could become an even bigger threat in future rounds if... you reign in the gonzo a bit. Those gloves went way overboard.

[Russell Vaneekhoven]

These gloves definately have flavor. Congrats!

[Mike Welham]

Russell Vaneekhoven wrote:

These gloves definately have flavor. Congrats!

It's the leather. :)

And, thank you!

[Mike Welham]

The summoning effect was definitely the kernel of this item. I made it with my daughter in mind, since she likes to play druids, wizards, and witches--primarily because of the animal companions and familiars, so that's where the augmentation effect came into play.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Mike Welham wrote:

I should shorten the summoning time for the standard and greater. My thought was that it was a once/day thing, but, as Sam pointed out, the gloves will only be used for one combat, so the amount of time really shouldn't be so large. If I had to do it over, I'd probably increase the number of times per day (1 for lesser, 2 for standard, 3 for greater) and significantly decrease the amount of time.

I would have gone the opposite route. I would have increased the times and given the summoned creatures 3 tricks. The tricks could be changed with every use. But that is where I would have gone with it. I feel there is too much focus on combat and I like items that give adventuring and roleplay options.

[Mike Welham]

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

Mike Welham wrote:

I should shorten the summoning time for the standard and greater. My thought was that it was a once/day thing, but, as Sam pointed out, the gloves will only be used for one combat, so the amount of time really shouldn't be so large. If I had to do it over, I'd probably increase the number of times per day (1 for lesser, 2 for standard, 3 for greater) and significantly decrease the amount of time.

I would have gone the opposite route. I would have increased the times and given the summoned creatures 3 tricks. The tricks could be changed with every use. But that is where I would have gone with it. I feel there is too much focus on combat and I like items that give adventuring and roleplay options.

That's a great way to go with it. To do that, I'd have to reduce the power of the summoned raptors, so it doesn't go overboard in combat.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

After reading your item the first time, I had an image of flying Superman style in my head. No wings = gloves pulling the player through the air...

Quick rewrite:

Raptoring gloves wrote:

Raptoring gloves also grant a taste of Supermans's abilities.

[Mike Welham]

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

After reading your item the first time, I had an image of flying Superman style in my head. No wings = gloves pulling the player through the air...

Quick rewrite:

Raptoring gloves wrote:

Raptoring gloves also grant a taste of Supermans's abilities.

You know, I had the same image in my head when I wrote up my item, but I was really hoping no one else would. I should have known better. :)

[Jacob Trier]

Opponent overview

Style Mastry - Strong. The Raptoring Gloves are a crowdpleaser, and nothing says "style" quite like throwing a fist full of Roc in the enemy's face.

Mechanics Mastry - Weak. The cost/power issues with the gloves are pretty nasty. You will need to demonstrate a good understanding of basic game balance mechanics if you want to advance.

Golarion Mastry - Unknown. The Raptoring Gloves are pretty much setting neutral. Later rounds will likely reveal more about this.

Special Abilities - Strong forum reputation. Name recognition provides a head start in relation to RPG Superstar rookies.

CR 10 - Likely to advance, but much depends on the round 2 entry.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

Mike, I can't say these are my favorite items (sorry), but I think you did a really nice job executing the theme. I like the progression from the lesser to greater versions, even if pteranodons seemed like a slightly odd choice to me. I have to admit, those are probably the ones I'd want for a player because as cool as a roc is, how cool is it to throw a fricking dinosaur at someone? (I remain baffled why one of my gaming friends doesn't like dinosaurs; I think you've got to put them in the right location, but when you do, they're all kinds of awesome.)

[Mike Welham]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

Mike, I can't say these are my favorite items (sorry), but I think you did a really nice job executing the theme. I like the progression from the lesser to greater versions, even if pteranodons seemed like a slightly odd choice to me. I have to admit, those are probably the ones I'd want for a player because as cool as a roc is, how cool is it to throw a fricking dinosaur at someone? (I remain baffled why one of my gaming friends doesn't like dinosaurs; I think you've got to put them in the right location, but when you do, they're all kinds of awesome.)

How dare you not like my item?!?! :P

Seriously, I looked through the list of raptors available in Pathfinder, and I came across the pteranodon, and I just *knew* the item had to summon them. Also, considering the current theories surrounding the links between dinosaurs and avians, I thought it was a good fit.

[Ragwaine]

Having the different levels makes it seem really "busy" but I think Mr. Welham did as well as anyone could have. I think these big bulky gloves should prevent spell casting (but that would have just made it even more busy).

I just keep picturing a cartoon of some wizard holding out his arm so a roc can land on it. Not a bad item, but not my favorite.

[Mike Welham]

Ragwaine wrote:

Having the different levels makes it seem really "busy" but I think Mr. Welham did as well as anyone could have. I think these big bulky gloves should prevent spell casting (but that would have just made it even more busy).

I just keep picturing a cartoon of some wizard holding out his arm so a roc can land on it. Not a bad item, but not my favorite.

Admittedly, that was also an image I had in my mind when I was working on this.

Hopefully, I can make a better impression with my organization.

[Craig Johnston]

Mike Welham wrote:

Ragwaine wrote:

Having the different levels makes it seem really "busy" but I think Mr. Welham did as well as anyone could have. I think these big bulky gloves should prevent spell casting (but that would have just made it even more busy).

I just keep picturing a cartoon of some wizard holding out his arm so a roc can land on it. Not a bad item, but not my favorite.

Admittedly, that was also an image I had in my mind when I was working on this.

Hopefully, I can make a better impression with my organization.

I wanna see Mason get some of these and walk around with a Roc on his arm. No Bandits and Crocodiles would dare attack us then! ;)

[David Ludwig]

Aw, I really liked this item until it ‘granted a taste of a flying raptor’s abilities’. Very cool to have the gloves built around commanding raptors, and having the option for summoning or enhancing but only one or the other per day.

I would’ve liked it this item better without the whole last paragraph though. I have a handful of characters with raptor companions who would love these, and could conceive even more who could make use of the summoning.

[Anthony Adam]

Ant Health Warning: this year, I really worked hard on technical execution of my item, so these reviews will likely reflect template use. Brace yourselves for the template fu - it can sting.

Template Use: 8.5/10

template fu simply drops jaw and collapses under the comma onslaught. This looks to be template perfect but I do wonder if the greater version would be heading into strong Aura territory, but as I'm not 100% sure, I'll only dock a half point.
template fu gets up again and snatches a point whilst pointing at the PRD for Bag of Holding - which takes price to a table in the description, and Bag of Tricks - which also shows the type bracketing in the Aura. template fu thinks that this should have followed Bag of Tricks more than Bag of Holding. template fu is so mean.

Slot affinity: 9/10

The affinity is good - I envisage real world bird trainers with their leather gloves, removing a hawks hood etc, so affinity scores well.

Abuseability: 6/10

Unfortunately, we take a hit here due to pricing. With comparisons to other items at the different price levels, the biggest shocker is the greater version. A roc is a very powerful ally, more so when you compare what the roc can do for you against what the other items in the 45k price zone can do for you. For me, I think the price should have been around the 70-90K for this one, possibly a smidgeon higher. Pricing is an art thought as well as a science, it's just this one kind of got close to being obviously wrong by a big margin, my estimates double it which is bad.
At the current prices, everyone of mid to high levels would buy a greater one and unleash their roc squadrons against their enemies.

(As an aside, in previous years, I entered a Cloak of the Seasons which allowed once a year, on the summer solstice, a druid to assume a phoenix form. I so bolo'd for the same reasons, which is probably why I noticed this in your entry).

Desirability: 8/10

I think if pricing was sorted, this would be an interesting choice to make at the proper price levels, so Im scoring you well here based on that.

Originality: 8/10

Gloves that summon items, spells, weapons or creatures are not so original, but the way that you structured the entry and kept the overall design tight shows a very good design mentality, so I'm scoring relatively high here for you.

Ant Score: 39.5/50 (79%)

[Clark Peterson]

By the way, what a great instruction your item is for us as judges.

It is important to keep in mind that items with flaws can and do come from contestants who have what it takes to win it all.

That's why we discuss them so critically, but in the end we keep so many items in the "keep" pile.

I know this year in particular we had people after round 1 saying "omg the judges were so critical, do all these items suck, what is wrong with the contest this year." This item is a great example of why that is not the case. Getting all 4 judges to believe, uniformly, that your item is awesome is rare, and is not a prediction of who might win. This item was a split and you went on to win.

That shows that items are a great way to help us sort out contestants but you cant expect flawless items.

What a great instructional bit this is.

Great work, Mike.

Clark

[Clark Peterson]

What I am trying to say is this:

Last year I think too many people took our comments about first round items too negatively and they took from that that somehow the field wasnt as good last year.

That's not the case at all.

For you to catch the eye of one of us, let alone two or more, you have something special.

So don't look at it as "oh Mike only got 2 judges to support his item", instead look at it as "out of tons and tons of items, two or more judges said this is one to hang on to."

[Mike Welham]

Thank you, Clark! If memory serves, few of the wondrous items, across all years of the contest, got unanimous support from the judges.

I am looking forward to seeing this year's entries!

[Clark Peterson]

You are right, but for some reason last year people took the lack of unanimity by the judges as some sign that the contest had weaker contestants, which I dont agree with at all.