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If you want to make sure you don't win, here is a simple suggestion: disregard the provided formatting. In fact, go ahead and do it however you want. Don't worry that Paizo and the judges have literally handed you the proper format, complete with the codes necessary for the formatting. Just go ahead and do your own thing! You'll look like a super-creative trail blazer! I mean, who wants to conform? Am I right, people? Because deep down in their hearts, Paizo wants to find freelancers that don't follow rules, won't use provided tools and templates. So if you want to lose for sure, and I mean just fail spectacularly, please please please ignore the formatting.
For those foolish few who want to actually win (what a bunch of losers!) here is the proper format from the rules. Use at your peril!
True, the provided format is not required. But really the only dummies who would use the provided format are those people who actually wanted to win (or at least for those lame-os who actually want to win, ha!). Nerds!
Oh, and look, more tips for weirdos who actually want to win: You should not use ALL CAPS for any part of your wondrous item submission.
Here it is:
For your convenience, the following text contains all the necessary message board formatting to make your submission comparable to those in the Core Rulebook. You may copy this text to help format your submission, but are not required to do so. Remember that improperly formatted entries may be disqualified. You should not use ALL CAPS for any part of your wondrous item submission. "ZZ" is a placeholder to indicate you should replace that text with appropriate information for your wondrous item.
ItemName
Aura ZZstrength ZZschool; CL ZZth
Slot ZZslot; Price ZZ gp; Weight ZZ lbs.
Description
ZZItemDescriptionParagraph
Construction
Requirements ZZfeats, ZZspells, ZZotherrequirements; Cost ZZ gp
NOTE: You must use the above format from the Core Rulebook, not the graphical magic item format used in Ultimate Equipment.
Yes, this thread was started because we have already had submissions that don't follow the proper formatting, that use ALL CAPS and make other atrocious mistakes.
Come on, people!!!! You're better than that.
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Requirements ZZfeats, ZZspells, ZZotherrequirements;
Feats should be capitalized - Craft Wondrous Item,
Spells should be italicized - inflict moderate wounds,
If a skill is part of 'other requirements,' the skill name should be capitalized, but not any parenthetical sub-category of that skill - creator must have 5 ranks in Knowledge (engineering);
Following the formatting in the Core rulebook is literally the easiest part of this contest. Don't mess this up!
Please, people, I am begging you. Breathe. Edit. Wait a day. Edit again. Check formatting. Then submit. There is no prize for early entry.
Don't submit early just to get it in quick. But for a tiny handful, the initial entries have been dreadful--horrible formatting errors, ghastly typos, shocking grammar issues coupled with other issues.
Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Quarterly, RPG Superstar Judge
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Yep, the contest that rewards early entries is the Valhalla Calling adventure design contest. Totally different. Open a few weeks yet.
Clark, with all this good device about formatting and taking time to do things right, don't you worry you are making it too easy for people?
Wolf, not really. I mean, how many times have I said it and it still isn't working. If someone isn't going to do their homework then they won't find this thread either. :)
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
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Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka CalebTGordan
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Got it. You aren't to leave the room until I come and get him.
Ahh.. Wait. I and him, are not to come and get him until you leave the room.
Ohh.. Okay. So I stay here and you come and get him after he leaves the room.
That should sum up nicely what it is like to see such horrible early entires.
People have already submitted? Wow. That's a really quick turnaround.
Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
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People have already submitted? Wow. That's a really quick turnaround.
People know this is coming. I imagine quite a few people have designed their item well in advance or have already brainstormed monsters or encounters.
Or are just too excited to hold off...
Not judging from most of what I've just read. There are maybe 3 even worth considering.
Seriously, using ALL CAPS, spelling errors, bad formatting, not capitalizing letters at the start of a sentence, one is a staff, one is an artifact. I'm not kidding. Its a disaster.
Please, breathe, edit, submit. This is crazy.
Don't worry, Clark. I'm sure the good submissions are coming. With the level of commitment we have seen in the practice thread, I KNOW there are a bunch of people out there who can follow the template perfectly.
They are probably doing just what you are suggesting: revising, spellchecking and trying to come up with an even more awesome item.
Clark, with all this good device about formatting and taking time to do things right, don't you worry you are making it too easy for people?
At this point, I think we're way past "being informative". I think this is more of a "safely letting off steam" thing.
Not judging from most of what I've just read. There are maybe 3 even worth considering.
QUICK, folks! Wrassle up a technically-perfect entry, and make an easy Keep! Do it now, while the field's wide open!
(Folks, please do not do what Standback just said. Do what Clark said. Please. Please.)
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I'll admit I got really superstitious about timing my submission the years I entered. Not in the 'I need to be the FIRST ENTRY THEY SEE' sense, but I became obsessed about a specific entry date. I think the first time was just an arbitrary date and time after revising and re-revising my entry a few times, waiting 24 hours after my final revision to make sure it was picture perfect, then hitting enter.
And I got in, yay. Then went out in round 2, boo. But so the next year, I had my entry down, formatted, and ready weeks before the contest started, I think. I could probably have submitted it in the first couple hours. But instead I got all paranoid and decided I had to submit at the same time I had the last year. Not just the same day, mind you; the exact same MINUTE. So I sat on an entry that I didn't really edit in more than very minor ways for several weeks before finally submitting it.
And I got in, yay...
So if I'd been eligible for a third run, I guarantee I would have done the exact same date, hour, and minute because there would be NO breaking the superstition any more.
Disclaimer/public service announcement for all potential contestants: This story is for anecdotal purposes only. There is no such thing as a 'perfect' magical entry date. Submit WHEN YOUR ITEM IS READY, and not before.
Man, I wish I remembered exactly when I entered last year.
Though I think the open voting probably makes it a little less important exactly when you submit -- last year, I didn't want to be too early or too late.
Man, I wish I remembered exactly when I entered last year.
Though I think the open voting probably makes it a little less important exactly when you submit -- last year, I didn't want to be too early or too late.
The date's on your entry on last year's boards. But since it was the 27th, that does you no good for this year.
Guess you're just gonna have to remember what clothes you were wearing at the time and recreate the outfit.
what u guyz is sayn that garmmar nd puncutation count welll ima not engrish nativ speakaer so who carez transaltor gunna corretc me aways and as formattin my entry z gonna b 2 so f brillaint thatz not gunna matter anywayays LULZ
The way I see it, Clark is double-dog daring you all to be so brilliant he won't mind reading your mind-bendingly bad composition. Don't be a wuss: make it interesting and take him up on the dare!
No please don't! :) Please edit and submit good entries. Please make our job hard. Please make it so that we have so many good entries we really have to work to sort them out.
Shoot! I forgot to include the weight of my item! Then again, its weight is negligible, since it's a small item. Would it still be disqualified?
If you've already entered you may have just removed anonymity. Which means disqualification. Don't comment on the item you submitted.
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Disclaimer/public service announcement for all potential contestants: This story is for anecdotal purposes only. There is no such thing as a 'perfect' magical entry date. Submit WHEN YOUR ITEM IS READY, and not before.
If you do not wait for the stars to align before pressing submit, Azathoth will devour your item.
True story.
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Though waiting a few days and thinking about it is a fantastic idea, remember all of you who would wait until the last hour/minute/second to submit your item that internet blips happen. Give yourself at least a few minutes before the absolute last one to confirm that your item gets in!
And if you haven't found it yet (and Clark did say he might point you here last year), I have now double checked that it is still pretty much a-ok with round 1 - an in depth review of every part of the the round 1 template.
And know this - Template Fu is very, very hungry - so sort out your formatting people.
OK Thank goodness day 2's submissions are WAY better.
Wow, that was crazy.
EDIT: I should have said the day 2 submissions LOOK better. Having read them, they aren't a ton better but at least there are fewer just total fails. There are some good ones.
OK Thank goodness day 2's submissions are WAY better.
Wow, that was crazy.
Hey Paizo/Clark
I suspect what has happened with the submissions is the worry that if you submit towards the end, the voting public will not have the time or energy to get through them all and may not even see your entry before voting.
I will admit, it does concern me a little.
So as the round is more open this year, would you like to give us voters an idea of how many submissions we are likely to have to review before voting - just a ball park would do? It will help us prepare for the time investment likely needed.
Will there be any auto reject filtering behind the scenes to reduce the number of entries we will be reviewing / voting on to help allay these fears and so encourage people to not rush their work?
Thanks in advance for your kind time and attention.
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No need to rush. There is a long voting period and I dont think rushing an item in increases the voting period. In fact, the deadline for submissions comes before voting even opens. So there is literally no rush. Getting it in early doesnt give you the chance for more votes. It doesnt work that way.
As for behind the scenes screening, the judges are going to address that in all likelihood. I'd expect we would weed out the bad ones. In fact, I wish my reject button was live already. I'd have nuked about 90% of the ones submitted yesterday. Today's batch is much much better.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8
aka Jiggy
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@Anthony Adam - Voters don't have to "wade through" anything, and when you submit your item makes no difference.
The voting system is kind of unique: every time you open the voting page, you'll see a random pair of two items, and you vote for one of them. Next time you open the page, you see a different random pair. So there won't be any "voting fatigue" to deal with based on when you submit.
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I suspect what has happened with the submissions is the worry that if you submit towards the end, the voting public will not have the time or energy to get through them all and may not even see your entry before voting.
Public voting doesn't start until AFTER the submission period is closed. So there is no advantage or disadvantage to submitting your entry early (or late) because the voters are shown a random pair of items--one may be from submission day 1, one may be from the very last possible minute before the submission period closes.
Will there be any auto reject filtering behind the scenes to reduce the number of entries we will be reviewing / voting on to help allay these fears and so encourage people to not rush their work?
Unless something violates the rules of the contest (like your item is a wand instead of a wondrous item, or you went over the word count, or it's obscene), we're not planning on rejecting submissions before they go to the voters.
I personally want the public to see both the high-quality submissions and the low-quality submissions, just so y'all know what we've been dealing with all these years. :)
No need to rush. There is a long voting period and I dont think rushing an item in increases the voting period. In fact, the deadline for submissions comes before voting even opens. So there is literally no rush. Getting it in early doesnt give you the chance for more votes. It doesnt work that way.
As for behind the scenes screening, the judges are going to address that in all likelihood. I'd expect we would weed out the bad ones. In fact, I wish my reject button was live already. I'd have nuked about 90% of the ones submitted yesterday. Today's batch is much much better.
Only 90%? - my how you have mellowed :P
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I personally want the public to see both the high-quality submissions and the low-quality submissions, just so y'all know what we've been dealing with all these years. :)
...Is it wrong to imagine that as that last sentence was typed, a 'NYAH-HA-HA!' was heard resounding around the Paizo offices?
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Paizo is an American company, and we use American spelling and conventions in our books.
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Hear that? Brits are officially WRONG!
NO, we just have it harder! Everything's set for Americans; Them other foreign types *have* to change their spell checker to American, it's obvious. But us Brits (and Welshies, and Scots!) could easily forget, and think everything is hunky dorey, and get caught out!
Oh, and thanks Ross nice to have an official line, even if it should be obvious.
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As one senior staffer says, "We fought a war so we wouldn't have to put a 'u' in 'armor' and 'color.'"
In shorthand editorial markup, we just draw an American flag next to any problem text of this nature. :)
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As one senior staffer says, "We fought a war so we wouldn't have to put a 'u' in 'armor' and 'color.'"
In shorthand editorial markup, we just draw an American flag next to any problem text of this nature. :)
That seems like a lot more work than the standard proofreading mark for deleting a letter. But hey, freedom isn't free!
i am almost certain i know what you are talking about on formatting but if you get a chance could you post a sample item from somewhere that follows proper format. please! thanks ether way...in advance.
The rules give you the formatting and refer you to the Core Rulebook. That really should be all you need.
If you need more, scroll up a couple to Anthony's AMAZING link to his in-depth break down of the format.
For those of us who use 'Non-American English', here's a handy link to make your copy of MS Word (if that's what you are using) mark things like armour, honour, and colour as mistakes.
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Ok... frustrated.
I saw the basic request of what they wanted and the general contest FAQ, but failed to see the Round 1 specific rules. (right hand column, not a great place to put things that are important)
I've just submitted my item and followed most of the formatting requirements. I copied the Core Rulebook formatting, but **REDACTED**
Is there any way to change this? Am I just SOL?
You are unfortunately SOL; you also need to be careful that you don't break anonymity (and thus disqualify yourself) by discussing your item.
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I think submitting early at least for me was to prevent too much over thinking and over editing... Then of course the next am i thought of a single but maddening flaw. No details but wait a day before submitting even if you have edited you submission five times. Walk away, sleep on it then take a last look.
Requirements ZZfeats, ZZspells, ZZotherrequirements;Feats should be capitalized - Craft Wondrous Item,
Spells should be italicized - inflict moderate wounds,
If a skill is part of 'other requirements,' the skill name should be capitalized, but not any parenthetical sub-category of that skill - creator must have 5 ranks in Knowledge (engineering);
Following the formatting in the Core rulebook is literally the easiest part of this contest. Don't mess this up!
I just want to clarify, the italics does need to match the core book for requirements, may match, shouldn't match?
I am guessing by official guidelines it doesn't matter for this small detail, but I did want to be sure.
It won't get you auto-rejected to not use italics.
But this isn't a small detail. This is, basically, a job interview to be a freelancer for Paizo. They expect their freelancers to italicize spell names and item names. If you don't you are just saying "I may not be ready to be a superstar."
Yes, this thread was started because we have already had submissions that don't follow the proper formatting, that use ALL CAPS and make other atrocious mistakes.
Come on, people!!!! You're better than that.
A someone who is guilty of posting a hasty submission in the incorrect format, how can I undo my grevious error?
When I first say the RPG Superstar page I saw a submit wondrous item button, so I went off and created my item hit submit. Then I decided to read the offical rules which mentioned following the format in the Pathfinder products (I didn't see an actual template). Once I realised my mistake I re-foratted and PMed it to Sean K Renolds.
I'm more than happy (some would say desperate) to send it again thru an offical channels if possible.
Ravening...
Congratulations on submitting.
Unfortunately, you get one shot per year at this. You can't go back and correct it by any means.
Follow along and vote this year, and try again next.
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...
I realize contests are exciting, but you should always before entering anything. After all, it's the best way to avoid not being eligible to enter because, well, you'll know the rules before you enter.
The internet's TL;DR generation seems to be shooting itself in the collective foot.