Archetype question.

[Ben Keysaer]

I'm sure it's not a bad idea to start planning ahead, so I had a quick question about round 2. Do we have the choice of Class Archetypes and Racial Archetypes? Sorry if this has already been answered. Did a search and didn't find anything.

[Ziv Wities]

Usually, details like that aren't provided until the rules are officially announced. They like throwing the contestants twists - keeps 'em on their toes, and it helps cull the weak and infirm!

[Ben Keysaer]

You got to love little twists. Thanks for the response.... I'll prepare both! lol

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Mythic archetypes!

[Anthony Adam]

Hi everyone.

I have been looking at the archetypes in the Ultimate books - and I recall someone mentioning the format has changed a bit recently - could some kind soul point me to the product(s) with the latest formats in so I ca peruse and make notes in preparation for round 2?

Many thanks in advance.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

I'd look at the Advanced Race Guide as the most recent book with archetypes. I'm not sure how much has changed, but you can see some.

For example, in the 2011 rules, it states:

Quote:

Class Skills: Your text goes here. This should be a complete listing of the class's class skills, not a "add this and remove these" sort of statement. It should include "These replace the standard [class] class skills." If your archetype does not alter the original class's class skills, omit this line.

Comparing with ARG, you can see:

Quote:

Class Skills: A spell dancer adds Acrobatics and Perform (dance) to his list of class skills and removes Intimidate and Ride from his list of class skills.

Now that's just an observation. I've obviously got no idea what the full list of formatting differences are...

[Anthony Adam]

Ah ha - subtle, I see, thanks!

I actually purchased the ARG recently in pdf form, so can curl up now with that for a couple of days.

[Garrett Guillotte]

I'm looking at the 2011 RPGSS template, the example provided with the template, Ultimate Magic's April 2011 printing, and the Advanced Race Guide. For relevant issues I'll also reference judge's comments or 2011 RPGSS entries. My notes are in italics, notable differences are in bold.

Archetype name:
2011 template: Archetype Name (Original Class Name)
2011 example: Cloistered Cleric (Cleric)
Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat: Internal Alchemist (Archetype) (GG: All caps in the book, but the PDF indicates the text is actually restyled title case; archetypes are associated with the class chapters and don't include the class in the name)
Advanced Race Guide: Spell Dancer (Magus)

First graf:
2011 template: Your text goes here. This first paragraph is your descriptive introductory paragraph about the archetype. No game mechanics appear in this part of your submission.
2011 example: A cloistered cleric typically lives in a temple and rarely interacts with the outside world. They are bookish and well-learned in the lore of the faith, paying less attention to its magical and martial aspects. (GG: two sentences of flavor)
Ultimate Magic: An internal alchemist studies medicine, diet, and the living body to purify the self in the hope of gaining immortality by means of alchemical concoctions and controlling vital energy. Internal alchemists develop unusual physical abilities from heightened knowledge of how their bodies work. An internal alchemist has the following class features. (GG: 1-2 sentences of flavor, and an additional sentence on all archetypes: "An (archetype name) has the following class features.")
Ultimate Combat: (GG: Sentences of flavor, no "has the following class features" leadout.)
2011 entry, Cody Coffelt's Hound Master: Most cavaliers charge into battle atop mighty steeds, however some lack the finesse with equines required to be proficient riders. Still wishing to serve their order, hound masters choose to fight beside war hounds which are powerful animals trained for battle. A hound master has the following class features. (Ryan Dancey: "Followed the template well.")
Advanced Race Guide: (GG: Inconsistent. For example, all of the dwarven archetypes are only one sentence of flavor, but elves, half-elves, half-orcs, halflings, and humans follow Ultimate Magic with multiple sentences of flavor and the "has the following class features" leadout. One of the gnomes' archetypes has the leadout, two don't. Foehammer's graf is 23 words long; Wild Shadow's is 91! Doesn't appear to be much of a rhyme or reason to it, although the Ultimate Magic model appears to be dominant.)

Class skills:
2011 template: Your text goes here. This should be a complete listing of the class's class skills, not a "add this and remove these" sort of statement. It should include "These replace the standard (class) class skills." If your archetype does not alter the original class's class skills, omit this line.
2011 example: None provided.
2011 entry, John Bennett's Saboteur: The saboteur’s class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str). These replace the standard ranger class skills. (GG: No judge's commentary on this part of the entry. Most entries didn't change class skills.)
Ultimate Magic: The cloistered cleric’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). (GG: No "replace the standard (class) class skills" line.)
Ultimate Magic: An enlightened philosopher adds Linguistics and all Knowledge skills to her list of class skills. These replace the additional class skills from her mystery. (GG: An "add this and remove these" sort of statement instead of a complete list as advised by the template. Most UM archetypes that modify class skills follow the add-and-remove model.)
Ultimate Combat: (GG: Add-and-remove model.)
Advanced Race Guide: A spell dancer adds Acrobatics and Perform (dance) to his list of class skills and removes Intimidate and Ride from his list of class skills. (GG: Most ARG archetypes that modify class skills follow the add-and-remove model.)

to be continued...

[Joe Wells]

Even the APG wasn't consistent about how class skills were handled for archetypes.

Quote:

Beast Master:

Class Skills: A beast master’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Wis). These replace the standard ranger class skills.

Quote:

Urban Ranger: At 1st level, an urban ranger adds Disable Device and Knowledge (local) to his list of class skills and removes Handle Animal and Knowledge (nature) from his list of class skills.

This was pointed out during RPGSS '11. I much prefer "add/remove these skills". I'm sure the template will be clear on how Paizo wants the skills listed.

It's also possible that there is some threshold of skill changes after which Paizo would prefer to list them all, rather than a big list of adds and removes.

[Garrett Guillotte]

... continued.

Grabbed a copy of Ultimate Combat to check against it as well.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency:
2011 template: Your text goes here. If your archetype does not alter the original class's weapon or armor proficiencies, omit this line. (GG: After Skill Ranks per Level)
2011 example: Cloistered clerics are proficient with light armor and with the following weapons: club, heavy mace, light mace, quarterstaff, and sling. They are not proficient in shields. (GG: Before Skill Ranks per Level)
2011 entry, Tom Phillips' Varisian Carver: Varisian carvers are proficient with light armor and simple weapons. They are not proficient with shields. (GG: with, not in; after Skill Ranks per Level) (Ryan Dancey: "Followed the template well.")
Ultimate Magic: Cloistered clerics are proficient with light armor and with the following weapons: club, heavy mace, light mace, quarterstaff, and sling. They are not proficient with shields. (GG: with, not in; before Skill Ranks per Level)
Ultimate Combat, Advanced Race Guide: The skulking slayer gains proficiency with greatclubs and whips, but loses proficiency with rapiers and hand crossbows. (GG: Add-and-remove model; with, not in; before Class Skills and Skill Ranks per Level, except for UC's Gladiator and Sohei, where it's after Skills)

Skill Ranks per Level:
2011 template: (GG: "Per" is capitalized only in the 2011 template. All other official sources I looked at lowercase it.) Your text goes here. If your archetype does not alter the original class's skill ranks per level, omit this line.
2011 example, Ultimate Magic, Advanced Race Guide: 4 + Int modifier.
2011 entry, Tom Phillips' Varisian Carver: Skill Ranks Per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Ultimate Combat: No archetypes modify Skill Ranks per Level.

Abilities:
2011 template: Your text goes here. Every new or altered ability your archetype has should have a bold entry like this one. Make sure you identify whether this ability is extraordinary (Ex), spell-like (Sp), or supernatural (Su) in the bold header. If this ability replaces an existing ability from the original class, you should include a sentence that says "This ability replaces OriginalAbilityName."
2011 example: Brewmaster (Ex): At 3rd level, a cloistered cleric gains a +2 bonus on Craft (brewing) checks. (GG: No example abilities demonstrated a replacement of a class ability.)
Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat: (GG: Alchemist archetypes' abilities did not include their type in the description or parens. All other archetypes followed the 2011 template. If a class ability was replaced, the original ability was not capitalized. If the new ability is a named spell, the name is italicized and boldfaced, but the (Sp) type is only boldfaced.)
Advanced Race Guide: (GG: As UM and UC. See Detect Chaos (Sp) for Exarch, which italicizes and boldfaces the parens-enclosed ability type, vs. Wild Caller's Summon Nature's Ally I (Sp), which boldfaces but does not italicize the parens-enclosed type. If the ability is spell-like but not a named spell, it's simply boldfaced, no italics.)

Assorted notes:
- Oracle archetypes in UM and APG recommend, but do not require, specific mysteries. Judges criticized Jerry Keyes' decision to limit the mysteries available to his Chronologist (Oracle) archetype. On the other hand, Artus Nemati's Charlatan (Rogue) archetype got bonus points for recommending appropriate Rogue and Advanced talents.
- Many oracular archetypes recommend curses and mysteries, replace mysteries' bonus spells, and modify revelations. That's a lot of overhead that doesn't explicitly define an archetype; it's feasible to build a character on an Oracle archetype and apply few, if any, of its rules. Judges have pushed back against locking Oracles into mysteries, but a few official Oracle archetypes limit alignment and limit the available curses or require multiple curses. Also, the line between an Oracle archetype and an Oracle mystery can get fuzzy if you replace too many revelations or spells.

Total archetypes per class in UC, UM, ARG, APG:
Rogue 23 (12 in APG)
Fighter 23 (12 in APG)
Bard 20 (9 in APG)
Monk 20 (10 in APG)
Barbarian 18 (10 in APG)
Ranger 16 (8 in APG)
Paladin 15 (6 and antipaladin in APG)
Druid 14 (total archetypes and shaman types; 10 archetypes in APG and 5 shaman types)
Alchemist 13
Cavalier 9
Cleric 9 (0 in APG)
Inquisitor 9
Magus 9
Oracle 8
Gunslinger 6
Summoner 6
Witch 5
Wizard 5 (0 in APG)
Sorcerer 3 (0 in APG)

[Ben Keysaer]

Lots of info here. Thanks to everybody. The total archetypes per class list really put things into perspective for me. New bloodlines and schools really leaves the sorcerer/wizard with fewer archetypes than I had realized.

[James Raine]

I think this is the part I'm looking forward to most.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

I've actually got one I love, which I put 90 percent together today. Of course, I think it's WAY more words than we'll actually get, so we'll see what happens.

I suppose I also have to get my wondrous item finished and sent in first too (much less hopefully voted into the top 32 and accepted by the judges).

[Garrett Guillotte]

Ben Keysaer wrote:

New bloodlines and schools really leaves the sorcerer/wizard with fewer archetypes than I had realized.

It's nuts how few archetypes there are to take wizards out of their element. Hell, most of the wizard archetypes in the entire system are in Ultimate Combat, not UM.

Only two of the 32 entries in 2011 were wizard archetypes; only one advanced, and that was over the judges' recommendations.

Meanwhile, my favorite wizard archetype, UM's Scrollmaster, is 400 words longer than the 2011 word count. My second favorite, UC's Spellslinger, is nearly 300 words over. For archetypes under 450 words, that leaves UM's Siege Mage (extreeeeemely niche), UC's Arcane Bomber (including an ability "nearly identical to the alchemist's bomb ability," and I imagine copying other classes is a tough sell in Superstar), and ARG's Spellbinder (swap one spell, replacing arcane bond).

Not a lot to go on.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

I think part of it is because there are so few class features to swap out as compared to some of the other classes where there are far more to play with. Compare it to the monk, for example, which has a class feature at every level.

Granted, they've given us some examples of ways to handle that in some archetypes with diminished spellcasting, for instance, but with spellcasting being the class' bread and butter, I think you've got to give some great abilities to replace it if you go in that direction. I think if you can find something that works, you'll have a great shot, but it's treading a dangerous line.

[Garrett Guillotte]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

With spellcasting being the class' bread and butter, I think you've got to give some great abilities to replace it if you go in that direction.

The flip-side is it's easier to give a non-casting archetype a spell-like ability than to build new mechanics into a spellcaster. I think that's why the more transformative wizard archetypes require so many words.

But that also means its largely unexplored, and the official mechanics that have come out of those transformative wizard archetypes (Shooting spells out of guns! Using scrolls as magical swords and shields!) are great examples of it.

The problem is you won't likely have the word count to work at that level in RPGSS.

[Saint Caleth]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

Granted, they've given us some examples of ways to handle that in some archetypes with diminished spellcasting, for instance, but with spellcasting being the class' bread and butter, I think you've got to give some great abilities to replace it if you go in that direction. I think if you can find something that works, you'll have a great shot, but it's treading a dangerous line.

The wizard has arcane bond and several bonus feats as well as his school ability from 1st level which are replaced in various archetypes without messing around with his spellcasting at all. I think that this is plenty to work with, especially considering that arcane bond is likely to be the first thing to go in a really transformative archetype.

The main problem is that the wizard is already a very modular class with all the various variant schools as well as arcane discoveries, and classes like that don;t lend themselves well to archetypes (cf Sorcerer with bloodlines, Cleric with Domains and Oracle with revelations).

[James Raine]

Garrett Guillotte wrote:

Using scrolls as magical swords and shields!

I made a weapon, once, that was an ironshod spellbook on the end of a chain. On crit, instead of dealing extra damage, it triggered a random scroll within the book's pages.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Prestige archetypes...

[Duskrunner1]

Anyone have an idea when the rules to the archetypes are gonna be put up?

[Jacob W. Michaels]

Dusk -- probably at the same time they announce the Top 32. Typically the next round's "twist" (and word count) are revealed at the same time as the people who'll be able to compete in that round, though they sometimes give the formatting out earlier.

They hinted a few times that they would give earlier notice last year, but I don't think they ever ended up doing it.

[Duskrunner1]

Thank you for the info Jacob. Was hoping that the rules are (were) posted a little bit in advance of the winner announcements. Having three days time to develop something can be quite stressful, especially with having a full time job already. Was there an archetype portion of the contest in the past? I looked but seem not to locate one (other than the info Garrett has posted above: Thank you Garrett).

[Jacob Trier]

Duskrunner1 wrote:

Thank you for the info Jacob. Was hoping that the rules are (were) posted a little bit in advance of the winner announcements. Having three days time to develop something can be quite stressful, especially with having a full time job already. Was there an archetype portion of the contest in the past? I looked but seem not to locate one (other than the info Garrett has posted above: Thank you Garrett).

I can tell you from personal experience that once you make it to the Top 32, it's like a roller coaster ride that doesn't stop until you either get voted out or win. Those deadlines come thundering down on you without mercy, and all you can do is try to prepare as best you can and roll with the punches.

As to archetypes, they were the Round 2 assignment in 2010.

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Duskrunner1 wrote:

Having three days time to develop something can be quite stressful, especially with having a full time job already. Was there an archetype portion of the contest in the past? I looked but seem not to locate one (other than the info Garrett has posted above: Thank you Garrett).

Only the 2011 competition had an archetype round.

I would suggest jotting down some basic ideas. Look at the previous years and at least get familiar with the previous entries and templates for the archetype and monster rounds. Look at some of the more recent archetypes from the ARG and the Companion line. Ensure you understand the basics of monster creation a la the Bestiary. And finally figure out how you are going to draw your map.

If it seems like too much to handle, just remember the "prize" is creating a full module. I am not sure on the timeline you will be given, but let me tell you that 10,000 words for a product in a 30 day period is a pain in the tookus!

[Sean K Reynolds]

BTW, a 32-page module is about 20,000 words, not 10,000. ;) Fortunately, the deadline for the actual module gives the designer more than a month, as we expect a new designer needs a little extra time to get used to writing something that long. :)

[Jacob W. Michaels]

I agree with Jacob T. Start doing your research/planning now, not just for Round 2, but 3 and 4 and even 5. You don't know what the twists are, so don't lock yourself into anything, but be ready. Also brush up on your Golarion knowledge.

Since most of us have full-time jobs, we're limited to writing in times outside that, plus also still need to do whatever other chores you may have, so every second counts. I was playing catchup furiously last year. The second I submitted for rounds 2 and 3, I started doing research for the next round as I waited to find out if I'd advance and what the rules for the next round were.

If you can pull it off, I'd even think about taking some time off at the appropriate spots if you can. If I get in, I'd probably ask to move around my "weekends" so I have the night off (or even two nights off) before the submission's due (granted, my work schedule lets me do that pretty easily, though I'd also be afraid it would jinx myself, since I'm superstitious that way).

I might even tell my boss that I might need to use a week of vacation in the middle of March. That time's valuable and I'd hate to think I got to the top four but didn't get to do a module because I didn't give myself the time to perfect my pitch. Again my personal schedule would probably let me bail on that vacation if I didn't get off (or I could still take it and spend the time drinking myself into a stupor to get over my pain of losing ;) ), which I know not everyone else can do as easily.

[Kevin Jesse]

I think the fact that there are so many archetypes already (and items, and monsters, and so on) makes the contest even more creative. Much the same way poets often force themselves to work within the constraints of rhyme and meter, imposing limitations on yourself spurs creativity. I look forward to the archetype round, whether I make it or not, though there's obviously a side of that equation I'd rather be on.

[Anthony Adam]

Sean K Reynolds wrote:

BTW, a 32-page module is about 20,000 words, not 10,000. ;) Fortunately, the deadline for the actual module gives the designer more than a month, as we expect a new designer needs a little extra time to get used to writing something that long. :)

Some fun maths.

30 days == 43,200 minutes.

Which means with no eating, sleeping or take biological breaks...

The winner will need to finalize/be happy to submit at a rate of one word every 2.16 minutes.

Lets say you sleep 8 hours a day... you just lost 14,400 minutes.

Say an hour a day in eating and bios on average (which is probably a bit low) and two hours set aside for family/friend.

That's another 5,400 minutes.

Which means to write 20,000 words, working full time, you get 23,400 minutes. 1 word every 1.17 minutes.

Assuming an effective working level without writers block of 20% (it's kind of an 80/20 rule thing), loses another 4,680 minutes.

20,000 words now produced in just 18,720 minutes.

That's one word, in submittable happy-with quality, every 56.16 seconds.

Now some of us, who would love to win, may be holding a job until the time when freelancing can pay the bills. It's a big dream - but let me dream while I can :)

Let's say 160 hours in that 30 days are lost to work/meeting the bills diversions (9,600 minutes)

Eek, we now have 20,000 words to do in just 9,120 minutes - 1 word every 27.36 seconds.

But of course an hour a day is spent on forums, checking rules, talking to Sean, et al.

Lose another 1,800 minutes!

7,320 minutes remain, and we had so many when we started. 1 word every 21.96 seconds now !

Let's also say you will have to give interviews and the like that same month, averaging, as a guess-timate, 20 hours - doesn't seem unreasonable

Down another 1,200 minutes!

And that gives us 6,120 minutes to write 20,000 words, 1 word per 18.26 seconds needed now...

There will probably be other distractions too, which will probably eat another 25% of that remaining productive time on average...

4,590 minutes left... 1 word every 13.77 seconds.

Now, having written your item and revised it on average 6 times?

For ease of maths, that's an equal time slice per revision.

So you first draft needs to be done in 655 minutes to give you time to revise, revise and revise for up to 6 revisions after the draft.

Yeah, 655 minutes, almost 11 hours = 39,300 seconds - 1 word every 1.965 seconds!

Now you tell me - do you really want to ask Sean and Clark for a day off? (1440 minutes > 655 minutes)

And THAT is why you must pay attention to every word of advice they give you, because every word of advice gives you back some time to get it right faster!

[Template Fu]

What???

And they gave them 2 weeks to write 300 words and get the template right?

Spoilt I say! Spoilt!

[Coridan]

Psh I type 120wpm. Easy peasy ;)

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Round 2, create an archetype:

1) that uses an organization from last year.

2) that features an ability from one of the Top 32 Wondrous Items.

3) based on the soon to be released [redacted] from Paizo.

(ranked from least to most likely)

[Cthulhudrew]

I wouldn't mind seeing:

4) Use the name of an existing Pathfinder archetype to create an archetype for a different class. Ex. Fighter (thug).

[Anthony Adam]

5) Archetype class and Name is drawn at random from a hat for each finalist :D

[Pedro Coelho]

Anthony Adam wrote:

5) Archetype class and Name is drawn at random from a hat for each finalist :D

That would actually be quite cool. ;)

[James Raine]

Pedro Coelho wrote:

Anthony Adam wrote:

5) Archetype class and Name is drawn at random from a hat for each finalist :D

That would actually be quite cool. ;)

It would also not be very fair.

[Curaigh]

It could be. And might simulate a freelancer picking up where someone else left off. 32 people 4 classes. Even if you got a class you were not familiar with, folks would still compare the 8 [edit: people doing the same] class. But I think there are more likely twists.

[frank gori]

Would LOVE to see Archetypes for the NPC classes as a twist (though admittedly it would throw me for a loop.)

[Jacob Kellogg]

James Raine wrote:

Pedro Coelho wrote:

Anthony Adam wrote:

5) Archetype class and Name is drawn at random from a hat for each finalist :D

That would actually be quite cool. ;)

It would also not be very fair.

I think you mean it wouldn't be very even. It would be brutally fair. ;)

I'd love to have my archetype (or at least the class) assigned to me. I do much better when I'm given a starting point. As it is, with all of the classes before me, I'm like a deer in the headlights. I don't know what to do! O_O

[Will Cooper]

Jacob Kellogg wrote:

I think you mean it wouldn't be very even. It would be brutally fair. ;)

I'd love to have my archetype (or at least the class) assigned to me. I do much better when I'm given a starting point. As it is, with all of the classes before me, I'm like a deer in the headlights. I don't know what to do! O_O

I can assign you one if it would help. At random, even.

1d22 ⇒ 8 = Ranger.

HTH

[Jacob Kellogg]

Great, now I can't do a ranger archetype due to anonymity. Stop helping! ;)

[Dan Jones]

How could you make an archetype from an NPC class? They don't have any class features to trade out. Maybe the adept, since it has spells and a familiar (right?). All the warrior gets is a handful of class skills and full BAB. The expert only gets customizable class skills. The commoner doesn't even get that.

[Damon Griffin]

Dan Jones wrote:

How could you make an archetype from an NPC class? They don't have any class features to trade out. Maybe the adept, since it has spells and a familiar (right?). All the warrior gets is a handful of class skills and full BAB. The expert only gets customizable class skills. The commoner doesn't even get that.

Hey, if it were easy, anyone could do it. :)

[Sean McGowan]

Dan Jones wrote:

How could you make an archetype from an NPC class? They don't have any class features to trade out. Maybe the adept, since it has spells and a familiar (right?). All the warrior gets is a handful of class skills and full BAB. The expert only gets customizable class skills. The commoner doesn't even get that.

Eric Morton actually did a massive archetype thread a while back, which included one archetype for each of the NPC classes. Finding the thread itself eludes me, but they're all up at d20pfsrd.com. At a glance, I'd say they're less about subbing and swapping and more about adding a few details to make them at least vaguely on par with PC classes.

Which isn't to say that I think that would be a viable superstar task; it would still be a very limited field and those tend to produce boring results.

[Jacob Trier]

Sean McGowan wrote:

Eric Morton actually did a massive archetype thread a while back, which included one archetype for each of the NPC classes. Finding the thread itself eludes me, but they're all up at d20pfsrd.com. At a glance, I'd say they're less about subbing and swapping and more about adding a few details to make them at least vaguely on par with PC classes.

Which isn't to say that I think that would be a viable superstar task; it would still be a very limited field and those tend to produce boring results.

Here you go:

Epic Meepo Presents: Archetypes

[Anthony Adam]

Jacob Trier wrote:

Here you go:

Epic Meepo Presents: Archetypes

The link doesn't work for me - I just get the Messageboards page - is this in a protected forum only visible by finalists or something?

[Jacob Trier]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Jacob Trier wrote:

Here you go:

Epic Meepo Presents: Archetypes

The link doesn't work for me - I just get the Messageboards page - is this in a protected forum only visible by finalists or something?

Fixed link - otherwise, check out Eric's profile, under the threads tab.

[RonarsCorruption]

Coridan wrote:

Psh I type 120wpm. Easy peasy ;)

I can type nearly 100wpm, but that only helps if your first draft is absolutely perfect - editing content is like slogging through porridge when you compare it to the number of words you can put down in a first draft.

[Bbauzh ap Aghauzh]

RonarsCorruption wrote:

Coridan wrote:

Psh I type 120wpm. Easy peasy ;)

I can type nearly 100wpm, but that only helps if your first draft is absolutely perfect - editing content is like slogging through porridge when you compare it to the number of words you can put down in a first draft.

If you force yourself to type your entire document all at once before you do any editing at all, sure.

Last typing speed test I took was 14 or 15 years ago or so, and I was at 77wpm. That’s on a typing test. I learned to type so fast playing a Text Based MMORPG where I could fight and talk faster than most other folks using long-hand commands where they were using the short-hand commands. I could almost fight faster than using a macro or script.

This means I’m probably faster than 77wpm when typing stream of thought, which is how I write most of the time.

My last major writing assignment (sans the Open Design stuff I’ve been doing in the last year or so) was with Fantasy Flight Games where I wrote a 15,000 word chapter for the Dragonstar Players Companion where I did the Dragonstar treatment of 3.0 Psionics. Took me about 12 hours total to write it.

My 5,000 word island (Terminus Island) in Open Design’s Journeys to the West took me approximately 8 to 10 hours over the course of 2 weeks to write.

Basically, you should be able to write 20,000 words in 30 days with no more than an hour or two per evening devoted to writing. Unless you hunt and peck.

[Anthony Adam]

RonarsCorruption wrote:

Coridan wrote:

Psh I type 120wpm. Easy peasy ;)

I can type nearly 100wpm, but that only helps if your first draft is absolutely perfect - editing content is like slogging through porridge when you compare it to the number of words you can put down in a first draft.

You are so lucky - my porridge is known as quick dry cement!

[cwslyclgh]

Bbauzh ap Aghauzh wrote:

Unless you hunt and peck.

Hey now... I generally type looking at the keyboard and with only my index fingers, and I still type more than 50 wpm...

Of course I get lots of practice, as I write every day.