Items I loved (that didn't make the top 32) a toast to you...

[Ariax]

KingmanHighborn wrote:

I doubt my item will even get mentioned there but if it is...I'll be ready.

It won't be posted in the Critique thread unless you post it there yourself. At least, that's how it has always worked before.

[James Raine]

Here's my list of "I loved these items". Note, not all of them are superstar quality, but these were certainly the items I liked enough to save a copy of the item and say, "I'll be using this later."

Spoiler:

Aegis of the Three Realms
Amulet of the Selfless
Battle Standard of Perilous Defiance
Bookmark of Duplication
Boots of Stillness
Bountiful Quiver
Bowstring of Additional Might
Buckle of Innocuous Threat
Castling Gloves
Chronicler's Boon
Corpse Coffer
Cubes of Crossbreeding
Cuff of the Feral Lord
Discordant Cur
Door Chalk
Doppelganger’s Locket
Dungeoneer's Collar
Ego Shroud
Flute of Silver Winds
Gauntlet of the Grappling Talon
Gentleman’s Ensnaring Cane
Ghost Ship Binnacle
Gloves of the Eldritch Duelist
Handkerchief of the Scoured Vision
Hat of the Capricious Trickster
Hell-shod Boots
Ironseeker Compass
Journal of Biographical Revivification
Light Shelf
Mortal Coil
Motive Capacitor
Orb of Aggravation
Patient Bandoleer
Periapt of Eldritch Thirst
Quickchange Coat
Reel of the River King
Reins of the Unstoppable Stride
Relativistic Boots
Scabbards of the Honorable Duel
Shoanti Scrolltube
Shoes of Sudden Escape
Singing Scripture
Tabard of Cunning Tactics
Tempest Regalia
Thorn Creeper Sandals
Tincture of Marking
Tree Frog's Gloves
Trusted Signet Ring
Twinning Glass
Verdant Crown of Oak and Iron
Vrolikai Hide Belt Sheath

I'm a little disappointed--though I can't say I'm surprised--that no one's mentioned my first light.

[Dragonborn3]

There was one item that reminded me of the sphere/map thing from the movie Treasure Planet that I really liked. Anyone remember the name?

[Tripp Elliott]

I'm surprised the Dragon Talon Staff Recharger isn't on that list, I forget its name, but its function was so easily understood, it was genius in its simplicity.

[Jason S]

Thunderbuckets wrote:

Otherwise, my three favorites made the top 32, so I'll give quick shoutouts to three more I loved: ... the handwraps of unerring flows (monks turn misses into a dance that boosts up their next attacks). All ingenious and joyful. I'll save further discussions for the Critique thread.

I'm glad someone else liked my item, it makes me feel a little better. I'm a little surprised since it went extremely well when playtested, players actually liked missing a little too much.

[Raphael]

James Raine wrote:

Here's my list of "I loved these items". Note, not all of them are superstar quality, but these were certainly the items I liked enough to save a copy of the item and say, "I'll be using this later."

** spoiler omitted **

I'm a little disappointed--though I can't say I'm surprised--that no one's mentioned my first light.

Okay Mr. Raine, you've officially become my favorite forum poster -- you mentioned my item!

I do recall the name first light (sorry I didn't take notes). Can you poke my memory and describe it?

[Jason S]

The following items deserve mentioning. Unfortunately I didn't keep their names.

Alchemist’s Gloves: Basically added damage to your bombs. It’s an item that probably should already be in the game. It was still a really basic item, but I thought it was creative in the sense that it hadn’t been done already before.

Assassin’s Gloves: This wasn’t the name but it had some unique assassin abilities.

I have to admit that I heavily favor items that I can see myself and my players actually buying and enjoying, as opposed to quirky items that people seem to like. RPG Superstar supports quirky items that have great flavor text. By contrast, Ultimate Equipment contains mostly useful items that players would want to buy, with hardly any flavor text (probably because of word count). My strong preference is UE type items, but now that I know how the contest works it's easy to adjust.

[James Raine]

Raphael wrote:

Okay Mr. Raine, you've officially become my favorite forum poster -- you mentioned my item!

I do recall the name first light (sorry I didn't take notes). Can you poke my memory and describe it?

Which one was yours?

The first light was a vial of liquid light that shed light like a torch, empowered light spells, depowered dark spells, raised the nearby ambient light level one step, and had a reflexive blinding strobe for defense.

[Jacob Kellogg]

Jason S wrote:

I have to admit that I heavily favor items that I can see myself and my players actually buying and enjoying, as opposed to quirky items that people seem to like. RPG Superstar supports quirky items that have great flavor text. By contrast, Ultimate Equipment contains mostly useful items that players would want to buy, with hardly any flavor text (probably because of word count). My strong preference is UE type items, but now that I know how the contest works it's easy to adjust.

I was in a similar mindset when I made my item, and I'm 98% sure that's exactly what kept me out of the Top 32 this year.

It's like if the contest said "Remodel this old cathedral, make it awesome!" and instead of designing a stunning new stained-glass window, I went and reinforced the load-bearing walls. :/

[Anthony Adam]

Jacob Kellogg wrote:

Jason S wrote:

I have to admit that I heavily favor items that I can see myself and my players actually buying and enjoying, as opposed to quirky items that people seem to like. RPG Superstar supports quirky items that have great flavor text. By contrast, Ultimate Equipment contains mostly useful items that players would want to buy, with hardly any flavor text (probably because of word count). My strong preference is UE type items, but now that I know how the contest works it's easy to adjust.

I was in a similar mindset when I made my item, and I'm 98% sure that's exactly what kept me out of the Top 32 this year.

It's like if the contest said "Remodel this old cathedral, make it awesome!" and instead of designing a stunning new stained-glass window, I went and reinforced the load-bearing walls. :/

Same here I think, went solid and long term scalable rather than shine flash bang :(

Which is now my quandary, if I try again, do I aim for crowd pleaser or stick to the principles I have spent the last few years learning... It is a tough one.

[Raphael]

James Raine wrote:

Which one was yours?

The first light was a vial of liquid light that shed light like a torch, empowered light spells, depowered dark spells, raised the nearby ambient light level one step, and had a reflexive blinding strobe for defense.

Yes, I remember seeing it and thinking my PC would definitely make use of it.

I had the corpse coffer.

[Coridan]

I really wish there was an extra round and the first round was top 64.

I think I made the same error Jiggy, I went for what I believed to be interesting and solidly built, but it wasn't "wow". Whereas quite a few that made it are "wow" but are either poorly built mechanically, or not really useful in actual play.

[Whale_Cancer]

Jacob Kellogg wrote:

Jason S wrote:

I have to admit that I heavily favor items that I can see myself and my players actually buying and enjoying, as opposed to quirky items that people seem to like. RPG Superstar supports quirky items that have great flavor text. By contrast, Ultimate Equipment contains mostly useful items that players would want to buy, with hardly any flavor text (probably because of word count). My strong preference is UE type items, but now that I know how the contest works it's easy to adjust.

I was in a similar mindset when I made my item, and I'm 98% sure that's exactly what kept me out of the Top 32 this year.

It's like if the contest said "Remodel this old cathedral, make it awesome!" and instead of designing a stunning new stained-glass window, I went and reinforced the load-bearing walls. :/

There is an item which I think exemplifies this philosophy exactly, but I won't name it as it could be seen as a criticism (even though I prefer UE style wondrous items as well and like the execution of the item quite well).

[James Raine]

Raphael wrote:

I had the corpse coffer.

I loved the corpse coffer. It was literally in my first item pull, and I went, "I'm saving this." I think you could have really benefited from another 100 words just to edge out corner cases (like how it works with liches and their phylacteries) and while I liked that you geared it more towards a DM item than a player item, I'm willing to bet not everyone did.

[mad_mac_hl]

Raphael wrote:

I had the corpse coffer.

Loved the corpse coffer. Limited use but well thought out in my view.

[Correlon]

Jacob Kellogg wrote:

It's like if the contest said "Remodel this old cathedral, make it awesome!" and instead of designing a stunning new stained-glass window, I went and reinforced the load-bearing walls. :/

Yes. That is exactly how I feel...although I'm sure the critique will find plenty of other flaws past this friday.

[Kiel Howell]

I most definitely went with super low word count, super simple execution, somewhat bland, and somewhat boring (in retrospect). I liked it because of the RP value behind it though.

[Clark Peterson]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Same here I think, went solid and long term scalable rather than shine flash bang :(

Which is now my quandary, if I try again, do I aim for crowd pleaser or stick to the principles I have spent the last few years learning... It is a tough one.

I believe you can do both. And I also believe you have the talent to do both. :)

[Celeador]

James Raine wrote:

Here's my list of "I loved these items". Note, not all of them are superstar quality, but these were certainly the items I liked enough to save a copy of the item and say, "I'll be using this later."

James you just made my day! I made the Cuff of the Feral Lord and it makes me happy to see that you liked it!

[Jeff Lee]

Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan wrote:

I'm surprised the Dragon Talon Staff Recharger isn't on that list, I forget its name, but its function was so easily understood, it was genius in its simplicity.

That one hit my wall of bias, which repels "wondrous items that only work in conjunction with/to enhance other items."

[Raphael]

Thanks James Raine and mad_mac_hl for your kind words. You guys really brightened my day!

[ciretose]

James Raine wrote:

Here's my list of "I loved these items". Note, not all of them are superstar quality, but these were certainly the items I liked enough to save a copy of the item and say, "I'll be using this later."

** spoiler omitted **

I'm a little disappointed--though I can't say I'm surprised--that no one's mentioned my first light.

I'm a little disappointed--though I can't say I'm surprised--that you didn't mentioned my item I am not naming for fear of ridicule :)

[James Raine]

I saw the cuff of the feral lord and immediately thought a player in my game who's playing a druid with a tiger pet and how much she'd love it.

[ciretose]

I created an item I would want my players to have access to that I thought would be very popular and very practical. I took a big chance with the pricing (I went low because it had a major drawback included in use that I felt mitigated the value) and I wonder if that is what hurt me or if it was just not viewed as a very good item.

But like I said, I made the cull, that is something.

[Raphael]

So what was your item, ciretose??

[ciretose]

Raphael wrote:

So what was your item, ciretose??

Stone of Sacrifice. After I saw it I realized the flaws, but I liked the idea.

[PhineasGage]

I just want to say that I'm really grateful for this thread. I was considering not throwing my item into the "Critique" thread this year, simply based on my disapointment and conclusion that I'm obviously not "ready" to be designing RPG products at this time.

Then a few of you beautiful people mentioned my item, and it warmed my heart.

I still have the feeling that I'm likely not "ready" but I feel much better about that being a goal I'd like to work towards!

[Clark Peterson]

I know it hurts not to make the top 32 but let me put things in perspective.

First off, I couldn't win this thing. I might not even be able to make the top 32. And yet, I was able to start and run a very successful game company. So not making the top 32 is not an indication you can't be successful in gaming.

Second, let me use another example. I love the Olympics. I mean I LOVE the Olympics. They are my absolute favorite sporting even (except for when the Lakers are playing in the NBA finals which doesnt look like is happening this year). And I love watching them with my daughter who is 10. I use watching the Olympics as a teachable moment because here is what always happens. Take, say, womens gymnastics. Right before the medal ceremony, the team that takes silver or bronze is always crying and sad. I talk to my daughter about that. I tell her, look at those girls, why are they crying? And my daughter will say "because they lost." And then I encourage her to shift her perspective. I say, "no, they didn't loose, they just didn't win gold on that particular day. On another day, who knows what would have happened." I get her to see they won silver or bronze, so that day they were the second or third best in all the world. It's common to feel that only the top winner is actually a winner, but you can't define your life like that. If that was the case, I wouldnt be a good judge because someone else won the Granata award this year, not me. But that is silly.

The bottom line is this: I encourage my daughter to measure your success by what you did accomplish, not by what you didn't.

The same thing applies to Superstar. You may not have made the top 32, but my guess is most of your items ranked pretty darn high out of over a thousand entries. That is amazing. So on that day with that item you didn't make top 32. That doesn't mean on a different day with a different item you couldnt do it.

So focus on what you did accomplish, not what you didn't accomplish.

Just a few thoughts.

[Lloyd Jackson]

Ah, would anyone care to repost some of this interesting items, or link to their location. I've tried looking for the patchwork kitty, but can't seem to find it.

[Jeff Lee]

Lloyd, check your PMs.

[P33J]

Clark Peterson wrote:

And I love watching them with my daughter who is 10. I use watching the Olympics as a teachable moment because here is what always happens. Take, say, womens gymnastics. Right before the medal ceremony, the team that takes silver or bronze is always crying and sad. I talk to my daughter about that. I tell her, look at those girls, why are they crying? And my daughter will say "because they lost."

Funny, I tried the same thing with my daughter and she said because they didn't pay the French Judges enough. ;)

[Monica Marlowe]

Garrett Guillotte wrote:

Chris Shaeffer wrote:

Who made Beardforge? I love you. Perfectly formatted and perfectly ridiculous.

Yep... that was me.

Man, we laughed every time this one came up because we wanted to use it with the Desna Butterfly Beard item, I don't remember it's real name.

[Kiel Howell]

Clark, thank you for putting it in perspective for us.

Even though it was my first time, I still was disappointed in my non 32 status.

I am determined to read all the comments and provide my own comments on all things in all rounds, to hopefully better myself for next year.

[Andrew Marlowe]

Clark Peterson wrote:

I know it hurts not to make the top 32 but let me put things in perspective.

.....

So focus on what you did accomplish, not what you didn't accomplish.

Just a few thoughts.

I think this is why I was calm heading into the announcement and wasn't too disappointed by missing being part of the top 36.

I'm proud of my effort, maybe it wasn't Superstar this year but I'm still proud.

[thunderspirit]

P33J wrote:

Clark Peterson wrote:

And I love watching them with my daughter who is 10. I use watching the Olympics as a teachable moment because here is what always happens. Take, say, womens gymnastics. Right before the medal ceremony, the team that takes silver or bronze is always crying and sad. I talk to my daughter about that. I tell her, look at those girls, why are they crying? And my daughter will say "because they lost."

Funny, I tried the same thing with my daughter and she said because they didn't pay the French Judges enough. ;)

"Corrupt them early." Words to parent by. :-D

[James Raine]

You and me, Andrew: next year, we're going to do a Final Showdown of Ultimate Destiny for the adventure proposal. Pick two Jacobs for the other two at the final four: can hardly tell them apart with their avatars anyway.

PhineasGage wrote:

Then a few of you beautiful people mentioned my item, and it warmed my heart.

Which one was yours, by the by?

[PhineasGage]

Thanks for your words of inspiration Clark.

(So there is some Paladin in there after all...)

[Clark Peterson]

thunderspirit wrote:

Funny, I tried the same thing with my daughter and she said because they didn't pay the French Judges enough. ;)

So true, but I'm saving the real world lessons of global politics for when she's 16.

[Monica Marlowe]

Sean McGowan wrote:

While I will be posting a personal top 32 list in the next few days, I'll just here mourn my top items that also made my 'but probably too weird for primetime' side list.

The aforementioned patchwork cat. Probably my overall favorite. It does cheer me up to hear it did well in the overall votes.

...

And last but not least, the flask of the moonchild. Oh, I loved this creepy little thing. I never saw it after the cull, so it's possible the creepy-gonzo factor turned too many voters off too fast. Pity, if so.

Oh no, Sean, the flask made it through the cull. I saw it more times than my soft sympathetic soul could handle. I did, however, love the patchwork cat, I told my table mates my next PC would be a witch whether they liked it or not.

[George Cunningham]

Patchwork cat, Paper messenger, and Roost of razors were all great! Very surprised not to see them in the top 32.

[Coridan]

I never saw patchwork cat or paper messenger, if someone would PM them to me ^^r

[Smiling-Jack]

Ariax wrote:

In no particular order...

The hat that you can put a feather token in: I really like items that interact with other items.

Yay, that was me, glad you liked it even though I submitted it by accident (hence why it didn't have any bolding or proper layout.)

On a related note, does anyone know if we'll be able to see the ones that didn't make it? Just I'd quite like to save mine for nostalgia purposes or the critique threads but failed to save it when I was writing it. Also there have been a lot of mentions of items that seem cool which I didn't get to see whilst voting.

[Eric Morton]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Same here I think, went solid and long term scalable rather than shine flash bang :(

Which is now my quandary, if I try again, do I aim for crowd pleaser or stick to the principles I have spent the last few years learning... It is a tough one.

I have some firsthand experience with this.

Discounting my Top 16 run in 2009, which I attribute to beginner's luck because I clearly had no idea what I was doing at the time, I've submitted four items to Superstar. Three of those items were items I enjoyed writing, and which I thought were mechanically sound. Each would have been kept for many levels by various characters in games I've run, would have added lots of subtle but interesting utility to a PC, and incorporated well-defined rules. All three of those items were rejected.

The one item I wrote in the past four years that did well was a formulaic item that was painstakingly boring to write. It was was all style and no substance, with flashy but redundant mechanics that added nothing to the game. It was an item which any character I played would have sold for cash at the first available opportunity, and its mechanics had huge holes which I recognized but willingly ignored. The only thing the item did well was intentionally parrot things the judges said they liked about previous years' winners. That item made the Top 32.

Ideally, if you want to make the Top 32, you'll create a well-designed, publishable-quality item that also has a bunch of shiny flash bang. Failing that, ignore "well-designed" and "publishable-quality" and just go straight for shiny flash bang tailored to the judges, even if it results in something that makes your inner designer cringe. (I couldn't bring myself to do this two years in a row, which likely contributed to my poor performance this year.)

But (and here's the lesson I didn't learn in time in 2012), as soon as your shiny flash bang item gets you into the Top 32, immediately ditch shiny flash bang and start writing well-designed, publishable-quality stuff. Include shiny flash bang in Round 2 if you can, but the primary goal in Round 2 should be demonstrating the solid design principles you could completely abandon in the previous round.

EDIT: Or, if you're less cynical, just go with what Clark said up-thread.

[Duskrunner1]

Clark,

In response to your Olympic example I would like to add my opinion. I have absolutely no problem losing when I know that I have been bettered, and those that have won actually do deserve it(I believe my item, Fiddle of the Dance, was culled). This is simply a part of life regardless of whatever competition we enter. It actually helps to see what has been achieved by those who did win, and then do what is needed to improve for the next challenge. However some of the items that are listed on the 32 I disagree with. For myself I do not see them as having that mojo that has been thrown about so loosely. That is ok, as it is simply my opinion, and I give kudos to those who did won, as they did clearly impress.

With this being said I will say that we are all winners. Our prize is simply the experience of the competition. The overreaching goal is to present a well polished story that leaves the players with a sense of awe. I look forward to seeing the end product of this competition, and I will leave it at that.

[Anthony Adam]

Clark Peterson wrote:

And I love watching them with my daughter who is 10. I use watching the Olympics as a teachable moment because here is what always happens. Take, say, womens gymnastics. Right before the medal ceremony, the team that takes silver or bronze is always crying and sad. I talk to my daughter about that. I tell her, look at those girls, why are they crying? And my daughter will say "because they lost." And then I encourage her to shift her perspective. I say, "no, they didn't loose, they just didn't win gold on that particular day.

Fabulous story!

Here's my daughter's return volley - I'm still laughing right now.

Watching WWE match, the "face" loses...
I turn to my daughter... "Why is he upset"
She answers deadpan...

"Cos the other guy kicked the ref in the g'nads first!"

Hmmm, is this where I'm going wrong I now wonder - LOL

Love my daughter so much, she is sharp as anything and is my greater wondrous item :D

[James Raine]

In the graaaaaaaaaaads, man, right in the grads. Give that little one a diploma of junk-kicking +3.

[Anthony Adam]

Yeah, flipping iPad auto correct >.<

[Randall Newnham]

James Raine wrote:

Here's my list of "I loved these items". Note, not all of them are superstar quality, but these were certainly the items I liked enough to save a copy of the item and say, "I'll be using this later."

** spoiler omitted **

I'm a little disappointed--though I can't say I'm surprised--that no one's mentioned my first light.

You just made my day! My Orb of Aggravation is on your list! Thanks!

BTW, I really liked first light. It reminded me somewhat of the phial Galadriel gave Frodo.

[Kris G]

I didn't see paper messenger either. But loved the patchwork cat. I take it single use items weren't very popular this year. Note to self for next year...... No more paint.....

[Randall Newnham]

BTW, the Patchwork Cat was pretty awesome, too.