R2 rules update


RPG Superstar™ General Discussion

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Designer, RPG Superstar Judge

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Hello!

1) Chris Lambertz says she should be posting the R2 rules before this weekend. That'll include the specifications for CR and so on.

2) Adam "master of the Adventure Path monsters" Daigle is going to post some monster-design advice once the R2 rules are ready. Similar to my "auto-reject" rules for wondrous items, the intent of his advice posts are to help you design better monsters and avoid pitfalls that might make your R2 submission fare poorly with the judges and voters.

{the more you know...}

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8

Wohooo!

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9 aka Arkos

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Whew! And here I thought I was going to be grading homework all weekend. Now I get monster design to play with!

Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9

Oh, cool. I've already got my monster concept and basics roughed out in my head, and was going to try and start statting it up this weekend, so this will be great to see!

(Planning on working on my round 3 idea as well. Maybe even plot out my round 4 entry some more than it is in my head.

That's right! I'm planning on going the distance!!!)

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

(*&^%)&@#!
Now I will have to divide my time between monster-munching and voting!
Just kidding this is good news :)
Thanks Sean and Chris and soon Adam!

Paizo Employee RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32 , Dedicated Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8

Excellent! Looking forward to it.

Silver Crusade Star Voter Season 7

I've already got my idea coming along smoothly as well, now that I know I made it past the cull.

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8 aka Gio

I just finished my first "in-case" monster draft, now I wonder if the round's twist will have any effects on it!

Revealing the twist this early will dramatically reduce the amount of different monsters I'll prepare this time around, I appreciate that!

Advice on monster creation?!, really?!, That is going to be so awesome and helpful!!

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9 aka motteditor

Fantastic news. Thanks. This will definitely help me focus that monster creation practice I've been doing.

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 9

This is good. I will be able to cut the thinking about monsters from all my wacky ideas to just a few.

Designer, RPG Superstar Judge

Correction: Adam's advice might not start until this weekend (instead of today). Sorry for the confusion!

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 32 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9 aka theheadkase

That's ok! Still plenty of time to comb through it and re-design!! Thanks!

Shadow Lodge Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
Cthulhudrew wrote:

Oh, cool. I've already got my monster concept and basics roughed out in my head, and was going to try and start statting it up this weekend, so this will be great to see!

(Planning on working on my round 3 idea as well. Maybe even plot out my round 4 entry some more than it is in my head.

That's right! I'm planning on going the distance!!!)

I'm doing the same. Are there any general templates out there for the later rounds, maybe from earlier years? I've some rough ideas sketched out, but I don't have a clear idea of the word count for a pitch.

RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8

pH unbalanced wrote:
I'm doing the same. Are there any general templates out there for the later rounds, maybe from earlier years? I've some rough ideas sketched out, but I don't have a clear idea of the word count for a pitch.

Yeah, the previous years are linked on the main RPG Superstar page.

2013 Monster Round

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16 , Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8 aka Cyrad

I cannot contain my excitement.

Digital Products Assistant

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And the rules are up!

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9 aka motteditor

Thanks, Chris!

Low-level urban beasties!

Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9

So Golarion-specific urban. This is probably a dumb question, but does that mean it's okay to create a monster unique to a specific city?

Designer, RPG Superstar Judge

Thanks, Chris!

Designer, RPG Superstar Judge

Nazard, that's definitely allowed.

Paizo Employee Developer , Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9

Hey folks! I'm not done writing up my monster design advice. I'll get it shaped up soon and probably post it this weekend.

Until then, keep in mind that Table 1–1 in the Bestiary is your friend.

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16 , Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8 aka Cyrad

Oh dear, I'm going to have to totally retool my beastie or start from scratch.

Shadow Lodge Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
Garrick Williams wrote:
Oh dear, I'm going to have to totally retool my beastie or start from scratch.

Yeah, totally from scratch for me. So much for the alpine wilderness creature I was writing up.

Thanks for giving us enough time to retool.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9 aka motteditor

I've been practicing monster-making -- the one I just finished today ended up at CR11. Oh well.

(I actually didn't expect at all that it'd be suitable for Superstar but had it in mind and figured it was good practice.)

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16 , Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8 aka Cyrad

On second thought, I think I can still salvage my entry. In fact, it might actually bring something unexpected to the table.


Well, there go the three I had lined up as contenders.

CR1-4 urban monster?

Challenge accepted! :D

Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Clouds Without Water

Wow, those rules knocked out every monster I was considering.

This will be fun. :-)

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7

CR 4 cap kills off the idea I had been playing on using...

Oh well the fun is in the creating side anyways!

Silver Crusade Dedicated Voter Season 7

Urban... a perfect setting for the monster that has been inhabiting my dreams as of late...

Where can I submit a redo on my wondrous item so I can actually make it to the top 32?

Or should I just e-mail Sean directly...? **plaintive sigh***

RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Phloid

I can't say I'm excited about the low CR of this year's monster round. I thought last year's entries were a little mundane and it had one greater CR limit. Everyone better bring their best ideas to the table for this one. Low level monsters are not easy. Good luck top 32.

At least this year there is no creature type restrictions. I hope that wasn't an oversight that they will spring on us as the deadline gets closer.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16, 2012 Top 32 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9 aka Epic Meepo

Nickolas Floyd wrote:
I can't say I'm excited about the low CR of this year's monster round. I thought last year's entries were a little mundane and it had one greater CR limit.

I am excited about this year's monster round, because I don't believe monsters in any CR range have to be mundane.

Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9

Quote:
Entry must be a new Golarion monster (not world-neutral or set in a world other than Golarion).

That's somewhat disappointing.

Oh well, I guess that won't change how I determine what to vote for (I ask the question "if I bought this in a product, would I feel it was money well spent?"), although it does somewhat lower my expectations for quality useability. *
EDIT:
*for like, a few minutes before I look at past years entries and look at the requirements again, and decide that I can probably adapt any good entry to what the heck:D


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137ben wrote:
Quote:
Entry must be a new Golarion monster (not world-neutral or set in a world other than Golarion).

That's somewhat disappointing.

Oh well, I guess that won't change how I determine what to vote for, although it does somewhat lower my expectations for quality useability.

I don't see why it would lower their useability any. It's easy enough to change "City of X on Golarion" to "City of Y anywhere else but Golarion." I've yoinked monsters from all sorts of world-specific books for my own campaigns.

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 , Champion Voter Season 6, Champion Voter Season 7, Champion Voter Season 8, Champion Voter Season 9

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There goes my idea for an advanced kaiju skeleton...

Liberty's Edge Marathon Voter Season 7

Just file off the serial numbers when you're done. =)


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Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
There goes my idea for an advanced kaiju skeleton...

What if it's a minature kaiju skeleton that only rampages on settlements of Tiny or smaller creatures?

Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9

Jeff Lee wrote:
137ben wrote:
Quote:
Entry must be a new Golarion monster (not world-neutral or set in a world other than Golarion).

That's somewhat disappointing.

Oh well, I guess that won't change how I determine what to vote for, although it does somewhat lower my expectations for quality useability.
I don't see why it would lower their useability any. It's easy enough to change "City of X on Golarion" to "City of Y anywhere else but Golarion." I've yoinked monsters from all sorts of world-specific books for my own campaigns.

If that is the only thing I need to change, then you are correct, it certainly wouldn't lower useability:)

It only becomes an issue when a large portion of the monster entry is tied to a setting in some way. Usually, this only happens for monsters with loooong fluffy descriptions. If I need to discard or rewrite a substantial amount of description, then the part of the cost that goes towards that description is a waste for me.
As far as mechanics go, good monster stats almost never depend on campaign-specific things, so I would agree with you, at least partially.
Really, I just get somewhat annoyed with overly-long descriptions that drive up the word-count (and hence cost) that are hard to adapt to my game.
But come to think of it, I actually don't think it will be a huge issue in this year's RPG superstar, because the 600 word limit prevents a lot of the adaption issues I most frequently see in monsters.

So, yes, I changed my mind: I am now as excited for the monster round as I was before reading the rules/requirements:)


137ben wrote:


So, yes, I changed my mind: I am now as excited for the monster round as I was before reading the rules/requirements:)

Glad to be of service. :)

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
There goes my idea for an advanced kaiju skeleton...

Crap, there goes my idea for kaiju skeleton!

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32, 2011 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Boxhead

Me, I love low CR monsters. Those are the ones that are easiest to get to mob up, add a few templates to, really go to town if you need a bigger bad. Plus, maybe one of these bad boys will be that next great 1st level story...

Silver Crusade Star Voter Season 7

This does nix the monster idea I really wanted to give some airtime, but I think I can salvage some of the themes for a low-CR urban being. :)

Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9

BQ wrote:

CR 4 cap kills off the idea I had been playing on using...

Oh well the fun is in the creating side anyways!

When I first read the CR limit, I thought the same thing. I was really down about it. My monster was supposed to be CR 10! And then I suddenly realized it actually works even better this way...

Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9

Hm. Have to rethink my concept now. Not sure if it can be easily adapted to urban, or if I have to go back to the drawing board.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8 aka Ezekiel Shanoax, the Stormchild

Chris Lambertz wrote:

And the rules are up!

"Entry cannot be or use a monster template (fiendish, lich, and so on)"

There are a lot of templates out there, many of them mimicking the features of a creature that could be designed without explicit use of a template but which would nevertheless end up looking very much like a creature with that template applied.

There is the official PRD list of simple templates here, but is there anywhere else we can check to make sure that we're not accidentally applying a template?

I apologize if this seems obtuse, but there are certain types of Bestiary entries that involve a certain type of monster which shares other characteristics with monsters of that type, which could be described as a template, and I wouldn't want to "accidentally" write up a monster of which it could be said "oh, that's just a Blahblahderbeast with the zombie template", for a not-actually-doing-that example.

Grand Lodge Marathon Voter Season 7

Eric Hindley wrote:
Me, I love low CR monsters. Those are the ones that are easiest to get to mob up, add a few templates to, really go to town if you need a bigger bad. Plus, maybe one of these bad boys will be that next great 1st level story...

This. Aside from "adventuring races" that take class levels, low CR monsters are some of my favorites, as they can be scaled up to match appropriately to parties as they level. While it's nice to keep introducing new and interesting monsters, it can also be nice to have a set of default monsters for any given adventure.

That said, I do think they are a bit harder to make memorable, as their powers need to be toned down. I think it's a nice challenge for the top 32 to come up with a way to make more mundane CR monsters interesting.

Grand Lodge Marathon Voter Season 7

Matt Banach wrote:
There is the official PRD list of simple templates here, but is there anywhere else we can check to make sure that we're not accidentally applying a template?

The d20 PFSRD has a pretty massive storage base, and includes some of the more obscure templates. Alchemically Invisible, for example, was from the Rival Guide, and as such isn't listed on the official PRD.

Liberty's Edge RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32 , Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8 aka Cathara

Woot! My monster is set to be low level and quite urban, this works well. May have to get the flavour a tad more in line but I think it works :)

RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8

Interesting, I think I might be able to make my original idea work with this.

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8 , Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Mark D Griffin

My practice monster was CR 5, any Urban. I thought choosing urban as the environment would help me stand out, because it's been uncommon in previous years. Looks like that is no longer true. Now I have to look real hard at my monster and make sure he'd stand out from a whole slew of urban monsters. Assuming the improbable happens, and I advance.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8 aka Ezekiel Shanoax, the Stormchild

The Notes for the Competitors say: "When you are finished, your stat block shouldn't have any "blank" entries like "DR —.""

That makes sense with respect to stuff like DR, which many creatures don't have...

But: Does this also apply to essential statistics, such as Int, Con, CMB, and CMD?

For instance, undead creatures don't have a Constitution score, their stat block typically includes the usual array of base stats, with "Con —" serving as a placeholder to remind us that the undead doesn't have a Con score... and because a stat array without a Con spot would just look weird, and seem like a typo as opposed to a purposeful omission.

I figure that in the end, substance and reasonable adherence to the prompt will win out over the technicalities, but it'd be nice to have a clarification to make sure that the judges aren't expecting something format-wise that is purposefully divergent from the way we usually see things in the Bestiary.

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