The Official Unofficial Top 32 Guildhall

[Sam Harris]

Alright, turned mine in! I had things pretty well finalized a while ago, and then did a lot of fiddling in the last 48 hours. Let's hope it helped more than hurt.

[Kalervo Oikarinen]

I'm still working on my monster. It's getting near completion but I'll probably do some final checks and touches on Friday, since the deadline is at midnight in Finland.

[Tripp Elliott]

Kalervo Oikarinen wrote:

the deadline is at midnight in Finland.

Ahh Finland, homeland of one of my childhood heroes, Simo Hayha.

[Mikael Sebag]

Wow, that word count really snuck up on me. Fortunately, after sleeping on it, I found whole phrases that needed some serious pruning.

My first monster idea was nearly identical to something a GM through at me within the last year, so I had to scrap that, but I ended up prefering my second concept more. We'll see if the judges agree!

Really excited to see what everybody else churns out as well!

[Grumpus]

Thanks for the google tip. Turns out my first choice for name was also taken.
Maybe it's just nerves, but I felt way more confident with my item than I do with my schlubby ol monster.
Been working all day as it's currently -26 windchill in good ol Minnesota, and going outside is out of the question. I should have mine entered sometime this evening.

[Andrew Marlowe]

Several of my name choices were taken.

Mostly by World of Warcaft. *shakes head*

[Jesse Southwick]

Submitted... We shall see.

[Joseph Kellogg]

Well, it's out there now. *fingers crossed*

[Sam Harris]

So, as a brief respite before the Round 3 rules go up for those who have submitted...what's the last good book you've read? Fiction or non-, fantasy or otherwise?

After reading one or two of his stories in other places, I recently picked up George Saunders' story collection Civilwarland in Bad Decline, and it's a beautiful and hilarious set of stories about messed-up ugly people trying to be decent people in the kind of world that seems to seek out people who are down on their luck and whack them upside the head with a tacky concrete mini-golf course dinosaur statue. "Offloading for Mrs Schwarz" is a gem, and you can read it here (Some adult themes and language, but New Yorker-safe).

[Mark Nordheim]

Well, I've submitted now too. I'm a little nervous, but at least I can't do any worse than last year.

[Christopher Wasko]

Last book I read was Divergent by Veronica Roth, given the movie's coming out soon. It was all but identical to The Hunger Games in my opinion; solid, but not mindblowing. The last mindblowing book I read was actually for one of my grad classes: Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. Very, very dense, but super interesting if you can slog through it.

[Emmanuel Greene]

Well, I'm finished with my monster! I'm going to sleep on it and then submit in the morning after I've given it one last read-through.

Whew! I think this one will be the hardest round for me. :-)

[Tripp Elliott]

Sam Harris wrote:

So, as a brief respite before the Round 3 rules go up for those who have submitted...what's the last good book you've read? Fiction or non-, fantasy or otherwise?

I've actually been tearing through the Pathfinder Tales novels lately. Only a few more to go.

So far my stand alone favorite is Blood of the City, but overall I like the Radovan/Jeggare series.

[James Casey]

I believe I have finished. I saved and will revisit tomorrow before submitting. Good luck everyone!!! Regardless of the outcome, I am honored to have been selected with all of you.

[Sam Harris]

Christopher Wasko wrote:

Last book I read was Divergent by Veronica Roth, given the movie's coming out soon. It was all but identical to The Hunger Games in my opinion; solid, but not mindblowing. The last mindblowing book I read was actually for one of my grad classes: Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. Very, very dense, but super interesting if you can slog through it.

I've never read the Freire book, but my sister, who's in education, really loves him, and there's a sort of connection in that a guy named Miles Horton, who started a community education center in Tennessee that was the subject of a research project of mine in college, wrote a book with him. I remember being impressed by his part of it.

[Grumpus]

mine is now submitted. I really don't know what to expect. The 'twist' made it pretty challenging for me. It's been a wild day for sure.

good luck everyone, can't wait to see what everyone else came up with. I expect to be able to insert many of your efforts into my Dragon's Demand campaign I am running :)

-AU

[Andrew Black]

Christopher Wasko wrote:

Last book I read was Divergent by Veronica Roth, given the movie's coming out soon. It was all but identical to The Hunger Games in my opinion; solid, but not mindblowing. The last mindblowing book I read was actually for one of my grad classes: Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. Very, very dense, but super interesting if you can slog through it.

Out of curiosity what class had you read Freire's book? I haven't read it but we've discussed it's relevance in Christian Education at Seminary.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

I'm with those who are done but want to give it one more read in the morning. I was pretty calm the first couple days, but nerves are settling in now.

I'm on the third book of the "Divergent" trilogy. Definitely don't like them as much as "Hunger Games." Last one to really make an impact on me? Probably Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings," even though I think it was actually about this time last year when I did so. Really enjoyed it and looking very much forward to the sequel.

[Rich Malena]

Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan wrote:

I've actually been tearing through the Pathfinder Tales novels lately. Only a few more to go.

So far my stand alone favorite is Blood of the City, but overall I like the Radovan/Jeggare series.

I thought Blood of the City was great! I also enjoyed Death's Heretic a bunch. Jeggare series is up next from the recommendation I've gotten.

[Matt Goodall]

*Wanders in to the guild hall, admires all the runes that seem to adorn everything*
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Congratulations Top 32, very nice to see 8 repeaters, and also nice to see a lot of voting tags from 2013.

I found it interesting that 18 of the Top 32 had voter tags from 2013 (7 Star, 5 Dedicated, and 6! Marathon voters.)

Also interesting to note that 5 of the 6 Marathon voters were repeaters from 2012 and 2013.

Seems like voting a lot helps with making an item that appeals to the public.

Good luck to everyone with the monster round, I love a good low CR monster.

[Mikko Kallio]

Finished... one of my proofreaders shall make one last check and then it's time for that terrible alea iacta est moment...

[Andrew Marlowe]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

... Last one to really make an impact on me? Probably Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings," even though I think it was actually about this time last year when I did so. Really enjoyed it and looking very much forward to the sequel.

I really enjoyed "Way of Kings". Very excited for "Words of Radiance" too.

[Andrew Shumate]

Finally, finally have a near-finished product. I'll review in the morning, then submit!

Best of luck to you all! This has been a rather tough round.

[Mikko Kallio]

Aboleth in the sea, you know how I feel
Goblins runnin' free, you know how I feel
Monkey swarm in the tree, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me,
And I'm feelin' good

[Kalervo Oikarinen]

My monster is nearly ready to bust out of its design cage.

[Joseph Kellogg]

Sam Harris wrote:

So, as a brief respite before the Round 3 rules go up for those who have submitted...what's the last good book you've read? Fiction or non-, fantasy or otherwise?

For fiction, I think the last great book I read was either Countdown City, the sequel to The Last Policeman, which are both about a detective investigating murders a few months before all life on Earth is wiped out by an asteroid, or Warbound by Larry Correia. Non-fiction would be Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton.

[Kalervo Oikarinen]

When it comes to Pathfinder Tales, in addition to the adventures of Count Jeggare and Radovan, I really enjoyed the Liar's Blade. Several others were enjoyable as well.

In other books, Joe Abercrombie's fantasy novels come to mind, and I have several books from China Miéville in the to-read pile having read many of the older ones.

[Mikko Kallio]

I've been reading crime novels by Jo Nesbø, a Norwegian author.

[Jesse Southwick]

As much as I love to read, I haven't found much time to do it recently... I've been reading Deliverance Lost(Black Library Horus Heresy) for about 6 months.

[Jacob W. Michaels]

And I'm in. Hopefully that'll do the trick. :)

Anyone cutting it close to deadline this year?

[Joseph Kellogg]

I didn't cut it close to the deadline, but I was sitting at over 590 words...

And now I'm paranoid that I made some bonehead mistake, like leaving out part of the statblock, or having different names for the same thing in different places.

[Template Fu]

Template Fu stirs...

* stat block? that's like... a... template! *

* Send me your errors, feed me now! *

PM me your entry after you have entered if you are brave enough and I will see if I can spot any template issues for you.

It will give me some breaks between these big old item reviews ;)

[Andrew Shumate]

Template Fu wrote:

Template Fu stirs...

* stat block? that's like... a... template! *

* Send me your errors, feed me now! *

PM me your entry after you have entered if you are brave enough and I will see if I can spot any template issues for you.

It will give me some breaks between these big old item reviews ;)

Is the invitation open for before we submit?

[Robert Brookes]

I haven't had the time to read a novel in a while, but I did just read Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half book, which is as phenomenal as her blog.

Best of luck to everyone today with your final submissions. I feel confident in my design, and am looking forward to seeing what everyone else brings to the table!

[Anthony Adam]

Netopalis wrote:

Template Fu wrote:

Template Fu stirs...

* stat block? that's like... a... template! *

* Send me your errors, feed me now! *

PM me your entry after you have entered if you are brave enough and I will see if I can spot any template issues for you.

It will give me some breaks between these big old item reviews ;)

Is the invitation open for before we submit?

Unfortunately not - it wouldn't be fair to those who have submitted already, sorry.

[Robert Brookes]

You might want to wait to accept those until after submissions close, then. Just to be certain.

[michael patrick]

Well...I submitted. I hated every idea I came up with and so was up until 3 am with a new beastie. I just reread and hit send.

Good luck to everyone!

[Andrew Shumate]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Netopalis wrote:

Template Fu wrote:

Template Fu stirs...

* stat block? that's like... a... template! *

* Send me your errors, feed me now! *

PM me your entry after you have entered if you are brave enough and I will see if I can spot any template issues for you.

It will give me some breaks between these big old item reviews ;)

Is the invitation open for before we submit?

Unfortunately not - it wouldn't be fair to those who have submitted already, sorry.

No worries! Thought I'd ask.

[michael patrick]

One thing I kept on doing while working on my entry was paste the data into a forum thread and hit "Preview" so that I could see how it formats and also cut and paste the content without tags into a word counter.

Each time I was worried that I would accidentally hit the "Submit Post" button.

Am I the only one who does that?

[Andrew Marlowe]

Joseph Kellogg wrote:

I didn't cut it close to the deadline, but I was sitting at over 590 words...

I was also within a sneeze of that 600 word wall.

[Clay Clouser]

Last good book I read was Patrick Rothfuss 'name of the wind'. I also highly recommend anything by Brent Weeks especially the night angel trilogy

[Sam Harris]

Andrew Marlowe wrote:

Joseph Kellogg wrote:

I didn't cut it close to the deadline, but I was sitting at over 590 words...

I was also within a sneeze of that 600 word wall.

Me too.

[Anthony Adam]

Sam Harris wrote:

Andrew Marlowe wrote:

Joseph Kellogg wrote:

I didn't cut it close to the deadline, but I was sitting at over 590 words...

I was also within a sneeze of that 600 word wall.

Me too.

Good job for me that I didn't make it then. My final draft came in at 561 words >.< and I usually hit the limit!

O-O
O-o
o-O
>.<

[Jacob W. Michaels]

michaeljpatrick wrote:

Each time I was worried that I would accidentally hit the "Submit Post" button. Am I the only one who does that?

Nope. Every single time I've ever done it for the last three years, I've been terrified I'd hit the wrong button somehow. I suppose as far as fears go, that's not a bad one to have, but I could still do without it. :)

[Mike Kimmel]

Yesterday was all about trimming down my word count and tightening up the language. I let it sit overnight and read it again this morning, then added all of the code tags. I'll submit just as soon as I get the final nod of approval from the wife, my second set of eyes!

I feel much better about my monster this year than I did about my archetype last year.

On the books front, I haven't had a lot of time to read lately (being a first-year teacher and all), but I did re-read The Name of the Wind recently. I also enjoyed Liar's Blade and started Death's Heretic but got too busy to finish it. In general I enjoy reading fantasy, sci-fi, the occasional mystery, and non-fiction (especially books on education and history).

[Mike Kimmel]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

michaeljpatrick wrote:

Each time I was worried that I would accidentally hit the "Submit Post" button. Am I the only one who does that?

Nope. Every single time I've ever done it for the last three years, I've been terrified I'd hit the wrong button somehow. I suppose as far as fears go, that's not a bad one to have, but I could still do without it. :)

I'm the same way. :)

[Joseph Kellogg]

Mike Kimmel wrote:

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

michaeljpatrick wrote:

Each time I was worried that I would accidentally hit the "Submit Post" button. Am I the only one who does that?

Nope. Every single time I've ever done it for the last three years, I've been terrified I'd hit the wrong button somehow. I suppose as far as fears go, that's not a bad one to have, but I could still do without it. :)

I'm the same way. :)

I had both hands on the mouse as I slowly, slowly coaxed it toward the Preview button.

[Victoria Jaczko]

Nah, I'm cutting it close to the deadline, too. I actually finished the beastie last night, but waned to sleep on it in case my sleep-deprived brain missed something.

Now I'm just staring at it and wondering what tragic rules loophole it has or language convention I am missing. They're all gonna laugh at you!

Regarding books, The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and... some other guy whose name escapes me... was a great read. If you've utterly lost your faith in vampire fiction, it can bring it back. One particular scene has rendered me permanently unable to see a mail slot in a door without getting creepy vibes.

[Iain Reid]

Just submitted. 4 hours to go. Hopefully I'm the last and no one is cutting it finer than that.

In terms of novels, just re-reading The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson which is just... the best thing ever. I cannot recommend it enough.