Note for next round for competitors:
Don't trust Google Doc word count tool - use the Paizo counter even if you aren't ready to submit.
Otherwise the time you spent trimming your entry down to 600 words is all for naught when the Paizo counter tells you it's only 450.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Wow, fellas. Five of you waited until the last half-hour of the submission window to turn in your entries. And three of you were inside the final 5 minutes. Way to cut it close.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Wow, fellas. Five of you waited until the last half-hour of the submission window to turn in your entries. And three of you were inside the final 5 minutes. Way to cut it close.
** spoiler omitted **
Guilty.
I guess you just have to know when to let go and submit the thing...
Yikes. Glad everyone got them in on time. At least for me, the Paizo site wouldn't come up around 5 p.m. Monday (the deadline for voting for Round 2) and I was thinking how I really wouldn't want to cut things to the last minute.
Thanks for the links, Sean. I'd already started looking at the 2008 entries and think it's amazing how much more chatty folks seemed to be on their entries. Stuff I suspect would be DQ worthy if it happened today. Just kind of interesting to see how the contest has both changed and stayed the same over the five years.
I'm wondering if we're going to get the twist of having to use someone else's Round 3 monster in our scenario. I like it, though it seems almost too obvious.
Now that you've finished your monsters (RIGHT???), you should start brushing up on your mapmaking and encounter skills.
Here is last year's R4 rules and FAQ.
Here is an old Paizo blog with examples of awful, bad, mediocre, and reasonably good maps, plus two links to common map symbols used in the gaming industry.
It doesn't hurt to get a head start... or, if you've never done a map before, get caught up!
Thanks Sean, great resources. I'm taking the rest of today out for beach and bbq, then time to bust out the maps.
Maaaaps! Ooh, I'll make such a map. :3
I really hope we do get to use someone else's material for round four. It's great to have something like that to build off of.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
,
Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Locke1520
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
beach and bbq,
Grrr...Its too cold here for that. Add to that the dusting snow and I'm officially jealous.
Id be angrier but I've got a date tonight. Father Daughter dance at my daughter's elementary school. I can't believe she's in third grade already.
Enjoy the beach.
Now, I'm not going to look at it again until I see the judges comments. I don't want to spend the next four days worrying about something I can't fix.
+1
Maps, you say. I'll get right on that. Right after i get some sleep.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Am I the only one who's head is spinning just a bit right now? Then again, might be the two glasses of Dalwhinnie single malt I just had.
Any of you whiskey fans?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Mmm, yeah a good whisky is a thing of beauty - I particularly like the smokey peaty Islays like Ardbeg and Tallisker. Not that I have anything against a good cider on a hot day, or red wine with a great steak, or proper British ale with a pub lunch.
Beach was great thanks, good surf today. Benefits of being southern hemisphere at this time of year.
Quiet weekend. I gather from Clark's post that competition for the Top 8 slots is going to be fierce. Great job everyone. Can't wait to read all the cool new monsters.
How is the map/encounter prep going? Like in the organization round, I've raided my bookshelf for some 2nd ed goodness that is still useful today.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How is the map/encounter prep going? Like in the organization round, I've raided my bookshelf for some 2nd ed goodness that is still useful today.
You know, when I read the Maidens of Veiled Vengeance I immediately thought of Lady Silith. I love that book. It made medusae work for me as society villains and I guess it did for you too, Jacob. I think that's why I loved your organisation.
The system may have been 'troublesome', but some of the writing on 2nd Edition was superb and still useful today. I still use The Complete Book of Villains for inspiration. A recent campaign of mine had a Half-Elf ranger as a recurring villain, taken straight from that book. Such a fun character. Ravenloft, Planescape, some of the Forgotten Realms stuff (Faiths and Avatars of course) all get regular use in my games.
You know, when I read the Maidens of Veiled Vengeance I immediately thought of Lady Silith. I love that book. It made medusae work for me as society villains and I guess it did for you too, Jacob. I think that's why I loved your organisation.
The system may have been 'troublesome', but some of the writing on 2nd Edition was superb and still useful today. I still use The Complete Book of Villains for inspiration. A recent campaign of mine had a Half-Elf ranger as a recurring villain, taken straight from that book. Such a fun character. Ravenloft, Planescape, some of the Forgotten Realms stuff (Faiths and Avatars of course) all get regular use in my games.
I was wondering if anyone would be familiar with that book, and the Lady Silith. As soon as I realized I had made it to the top 32 and had to turn in an organization, I knew I had to find it, since it had all this great info not only on villains, but also on their organizations. And I just kept coming back to the great color illustration (by Jeff Easley, I think) of Silith standing over a petrified victim.
That illustration has stayed with me too. It's an iconic pose. There's another one of a warlord bathed in red light staring at his hands that has always inspired me. You can just sense the tragedy that has led him to this point and that is still to come. Great stuff.
Also, I think it must be the only mainstream D&D/PF book that references the little old ladies from Arsenic and Old Lace in a discussion on villainy.
*grabs a rag, wipes down the Guildhall bar*
Barkeep, I'll have a bottle of creative juices please. 1986 Savant, if you have it.
And that concludes the last official business I have here in Superstar 2012. Starting now, I have nothing left to do but kick back, vote a bit, and keep the Guildhall tidy.
Eric, if you have the time and inclination it would be great if you posted comments and critiques on our entries. I found your comments on my work last year very honest and helpful ... even though you didn't particularly love my submissions. ;-)
And that concludes the last official business I have here in Superstar 2012. Starting now, I have nothing left to do but kick back, vote a bit, and keep the Guildhall tidy.Eric, if you have the time and inclination it would be great if you posted comments and critiques on our entries. I found your comments on my work last year very honest and helpful ... even though you didn't particularly love my submissions. ;-)
What Tom said!
Also, I would love to see a "If i had made it top the Top 16, I would have submitted..." post from you. In fact, I would love to see that from all Top 32. Think of it as practice for next year.
Eric, if you have the time and inclination it would be great if you posted comments and critiques on our entries. I found your comments on my work last year very honest and helpful ... even though you didn't particularly love my submissions. ;-)
Whoops! I meant your comments from the 2010 contest, Eric. You didn't leave comments last year. :-P
How is your wife doing, Tom?
She's doing ok, thanks for asking. She had her appendix taken out very early (around 1 AM) last Friday and was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon. She's on the mend with no serious complications so far.
Here is last year's R4 rules and FAQ.
Here is an old Paizo blog with examples of awful, bad, mediocre, and reasonably good maps, plus two links to common map symbols used in the gaming industry.
It doesn't hurt to get a head start... or, if you've never done a map before, get caught up!
Thanks for the links Sean! I was wondering how some of the maps for previous years were made.
Hmm... if next round is going to be like previous years and use content from round 3, I'm even more excited to see everyone else's monsters! It'll be awesome to see what kind of encounters this monsters can create!
Glad to hear that your wife is OK and there are no complications Tom.
Yeah, I've got a half-dozen ideas I'm pondering but I figure I'll really start trying to narrow them down (without getting TOO specific pending the twist/twists) once I can see some of the monsters and figure out which one(s) I like best and that could work with my scenario.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Being a superstitious sort, I figure posting a quote from the Bard did me well last round, so again, for everyone's pleasure.
Makers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet,
Are of imagination all compact:
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold —
But that way, a DQ;
The lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Sothis.
The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And, as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination,
That, if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy;
Or, in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush suppos'd a dire bear.
-- From "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
I have two fingernails left! Luck to all.
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
,
Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Locke1520
|
Good luck guys. Sounds like this will be a tight round. I'm looking forward to seeing what sorts of terrors we've all unleashed on Golarion.
Ditto. :D
Time to distract myself with work!
Ditto. :D
Time to distract myself with work!
I've tried that strategy for most of the day. I hope you have better luck than I do.
Fortunately, I have two full days worth of training (InDesign for Beginners - that should be helpful in map-making) to keep me occupied.
So what else are people doing for distraction until the reveal?
Today's big agenda item is making beef stew for dinner*, maybe try to catch up on a little more TV, which I've been neglecting horribly since the contest started.
* And possibly some gyoza and fried tofu, though I think I'll more likely save those for tomorrow.
Provided I can find the time, I'll leave comments for anyone who specifically asks for them here in the Guildhall.
(Only ask me for a monster critique if you want me to tear your entry apart; I have every intention of being as harsh as I feel necessary in any monster critique that I write, so consider yourself warned.)
I absolutely welcome your feedback, Eric. Positive or negative, I look at feedback and comments as valuable learning aids. So, if you have the time, please critique my critter. You were one of the folks who didn't like my slithering horror back in 2010, and I still found your comments insightful.
Eric, if you have the time and inclination it would be great if you posted comments and critiques on our entries.Provided I can find the time, I'll leave comments for anyone who specifically asks for them here in the Guildhall.
(Only ask me for a monster critique if you want me to tear your entry apart; I have every intention of being as harsh as I feel necessary in any monster critique that I write, so consider yourself warned.)
I hereby officially request having my poor monster torn apart by Epic Meepo.
Indubitably! Eric for honorary monster judge!
|
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2012
,
Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
|
Mike, do you play Pathfinder Society? MiniMACE is over, but MACE West is out your way. We could use some Pathfinder GMs/Players.
I haven't played/GMed PFS except during PaizoCon, but I've wanted to play more. Actually, since MACE doesn't run right up against PaizoCon this year, I think I'd like to go. I'll probably bring my kids too, since they like to play.
Thanks for the reminder!
Edit: I was thinking of ConCarolina, which ran up against PaizoCon. We usually miss out on MACE in High Point, because my kids are super busy during the fall. All the same, though, MACE West is an hour away, so I should be there. :)
I'm friends with many of the folks who put on MACE, MiniMace, MACE West, and Concarolinas. Sadly, the only one I've made with any kind of consistency has been ConCarolinas. It's more of a fandom con...but still with some solid gaming tracks and tables. I think Pathfinder has been gaining popularity alongside the RPGA. A strong Savage Worlds contingent there, too.
From what I've heard, MACE, MACE West, and MiniMace are heavier gaming cons, I believe. That seems to be their primary focus. I really ought to try getting up to MACE West this year.
Wow. It seems we have lots of new dads in the group.
I'm going to wait, for a good while I hope, for grandchildren.
And I thought, with my 14 week old daughter, I'd be the newest dad. Guess not.
Looks like Jacob WM and his new girlfriend have some catching up to do.
What's with all the North Carolinians in this contest anyway? Contestants and judges. A good friend of mine in NC likes to point out how well they're doing. As well as all us 'foreigners' put together!
Daniel, we're definitely not ready for that yet! : ) I might get another dog in a couple years, but I'm pretty happy with just my one hound baby at the moment.
But congrats to all of you new dads. I can't imagine having to do this contest while also taking care of a newborn.