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Just thought that, as long as we're all waiting for the results from this year, it might be fun to post our submissions from last year that didn't make the cut.
Here's mine:
The Codex of All Vendettas
Aura: Strong Divination, CL 11
Slot ---; Price 80,000 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description:
This worm-eaten old tome contains the record of a multitude of grudges, debts, and feuds, all of which were repaid with violent revenge. There is ample room for further entries.
The Codex of All Vendettas may be used to swear a magical oath of vengeance upon a single individual person or creature. To begin a vendetta, a character must inscribe his desire for revenge in the Codex, detailing how he was wronged and the identity of his target. The writer’s motivation must be genuine - attempting to lie to the Codex will cause the inscription to fail. The target’s name need not be known: for example, targeting "the man who killed my father" would be acceptable.
Once the vendetta is inscribed, additional notation appears in the Codex offering clues to the target's location, habits and defenses. This grants the writer a +4 Insight bonus on all Knowledge, Diplomacy, Sense Motive and Survival checks undertaken to discover the location or identity of the target. When in combat with the target, the writer gains a +4 Morale bonus on Attack and Damage rolls, and may re-roll missed attacks due to concealment.
The vendetta is binding, and unless the writer spends every day attempting to track and kill his target, he suffers ability penalties as if under the effect of a Lesser Geas spell. The vendetta ends when the writer records a successful kill in the book or else dies in the attempt. Should the writer lose possession of the Codex, all benefits disappear, but the Geas effect persists until the vendetta ends.
The Codex will only support one active vendetta at a time.
Construction:
Requirements: Legend Lore, Lesser Geas; Cost 40,000 gp
What I learned from it:
The Coolest thing about this item was the name, which will shortly be making an appearance in my own campaign (in a modified form) but the entry is too long, too complicated, and basically amounts to the ranger's favored enemy bonus against a single creature while imposing a severe penalty on the user in terms of a geas. Roleplay: +1, Mechanics: meh.
I'll bite, this was mine from last year:
Spindle of the Moirai
Aura moderate illusion and necromancy; CL 9th
Slot --; Price 50,000 gp; Weight --.
Description
These sewing spindles are made of bone and wrapped with 6 feet of a fine thread. To use the spindle the bearer measures out a foot of thread and applies a needle to one end, thereafter the user can target a living creature within 100 feet.
Each of the following afflictions can be tried, as a standard action, once per target:
Gesturing toward his eye with the needle the user can cause the target’s eyes to be sewn shut; the target takes 1d4 points of damage and is blinded unless a fortitude save (DC 13) is made. This blindness lasts until the stitches are removed (a full round action).
Gesturing toward his mouth the user can cause the target’s mouth to be sewn shut; the target takes 1d4 points of damage and is prevented from speaking unless a fortitude save (DC 13) is made. Creatures that have their mouths sewn shut cannot make bite attacks or speak (unable cast spells with verbal components or utilize command word activated magic items). This condition lasts until the stitches are removed (a full round action).
Finally by cutting the thread the user can try to slay the target. The target must make a fortitude save (DC 17) or take 12d6+9 points of damage, if the save is successful the target instead take 5d6+9 points of damage. This is a magical Death effect. Once the thread is cut that particular target can never again be targeted by that spindle. Cutting destroys a foot of thread and once the sixth foot is cut the spindle loses its powers.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, blindness/deafness, silence, slay living; Cost 25,000 gp
In the end, I think this item fails because it is basically some spells in a can with some flavorful special effects, though honestly I don't know if the judges even saw it, it is listed at 297 words on my word 2010, but I was in a hurry when I posted it and neglected to hit preview to get the Paizo word count. I may have ended up being one of those people that Clark rants about every year.