That preview function on the submission is priceless! It was around 20 words less than my word processor (Google Drive Document).
If you had all your formatting notations like [./b] other services will count those as words
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Just got mine in. Feel pretty good about it. I'm sure that will change, though hah
I must get 3 or 4 emails a week from Paizo....weird that of them all, only the one announcing this year's contest went into my spam folder. Luckily, I checked in to see if the announcement was up yet.
I for one am glad of the change in round 1 and the limited time. I submitted an item last year that made the top 100, and it was the entry I spent the least amount of time on than any previous year, so I think that the less I tinker with an entry, and the less ideas I come up with overall, the better off I am. We'll see if that holds true this year.
Good luck to everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing the items and voting.
Yep, Clay, you are correct. I write these entries with the BBCode tags in it.
Superstar-level design involves a lot of things that may look like paradoxes but really aren't. I'll show an example with staves sometime when time allows.Indeed, it is no paradox with staves. It's really no different than saying "A weapon with enhancements and nothing else, like a +2 holy keen vorpal falchion, is not a Superstar weapon, but an item that doesn't start with a weapon with at least a +1 enhancement, for instance a magic pastry, is not a magic weapon."
It seems as though perhaps we are arguing the same point here. To me, your example is kind of a no-brainer, and I would think doesn't need to be explained. Though I have to admit, I am a bit confused about the magic pastry... Pretty sure that is not one of the categories...
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That preview function on the submission is priceless! It was around 20 words less than my word processor (Google Drive Document).If you had all your formatting notations like [./b] other services will count those as words
[b][/b] are supposed to be included in the submission, so words like "price" and "aura" are bolded? There goes my entry for this year.
[b][/b] are supposed to be included in the submission, so words like "price" and "aura" are bolded? There goes my entry for this year.That preview function on the submission is priceless! It was around 20 words less than my word processor (Google Drive Document).If you had all your formatting notations like [./b] other services will count those as words
yes all of those should be included that's why they are part of the example format. It isn't an instant DQ but your item would need to be stellar for people to overlook it. I was basically just letting him or anyone else that was afraid of word count know that if they have those in any document that isn't the forums it will count each of them as there own word.
Superstar-level design involves a lot of things that may look like paradoxes but really aren't. I'll show an example with staves sometime when time allows.Indeed, it is no paradox with staves. It's really no different than saying "A weapon with enhancements and nothing else, like a +2 holy keen vorpal falchion, is not a Superstar weapon, but an item that doesn't start with a weapon with at least a +1 enhancement, for instance a magic pastry, is not a magic weapon."It seems as though perhaps we are arguing the same point here. To me, your example is kind of a no-brainer, and I would think doesn't need to be explained. Though I have to admit, I am a bit confused about the magic pastry... Pretty sure that is not one of the categories...
The takeaway of the pastry is that a magic pastry that isn't a weapon and has "Craft Magic Arms and Armor" as its requirement is no more one of this year's acceptable categories than a magic pole that is not a staff that has "Craft Staff" as its requirement.
[b][/b] are supposed to be included in the submission, so words like "price" and "aura" are bolded? There goes my entry for this year.That preview function on the submission is priceless! It was around 20 words less than my word processor (Google Drive Document).If you had all your formatting notations like [./b] other services will count those as words
Yeah, as Clay said, the voters in general are pretty picky about that, so it's unlikely to filter to the top, but if it does anyway, we judges will likely take note that there might be something special that caused it to buck that weight around its neck and thrive.
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[b][/b] are supposed to be included in the submission, so words like "price" and "aura" are bolded? There goes my entry for this year.That preview function on the submission is priceless! It was around 20 words less than my word processor (Google Drive Document).If you had all your formatting notations like [./b] other services will count those as words
Also, be careful about describing your formatting errors in detail, because that can break anonymity.
IS there anyway to change a submission?, I made an error in the format.
IS there anyway to change a submission?, I made an error in the format.
Sadly, no. Once it is away it is away, cross your fingers and hope the error is minor and the content of your submission will overshadow it.
The takeaway of the pastry is that a magic pastry that isn't a weapon and has "Craft Magic Arms and Armor" as its requirement is no more one of this year's acceptable categories than a magic pole that is not a staff that has "Craft Staff" as its requirement.Superstar-level design involves a lot of things that may look like paradoxes but really aren't. I'll show an example with staves sometime when time allows.Indeed, it is no paradox with staves. It's really no different than saying "A weapon with enhancements and nothing else, like a +2 holy keen vorpal falchion, is not a Superstar weapon, but an item that doesn't start with a weapon with at least a +1 enhancement, for instance a magic pastry, is not a magic weapon."It seems as though perhaps we are arguing the same point here. To me, your example is kind of a no-brainer, and I would think doesn't need to be explained. Though I have to admit, I am a bit confused about the magic pastry... Pretty sure that is not one of the categories...
Well the good news is this seems to confirm that we were arguing the same thing all along. Like I said, this seems pretty self explanatory. If you make a stick that lets you breath underwater (a la armor of the deep) and call it a stave, well that's just silly, and is not superstar. I have faith that the voters can pick that one out. However, a stick with (10) charges and things that spend those charges has the potential to be superstar, and is in fact, a stave. Maybe hard mode, maybe not.
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One last tip that most of you were probably doing anyway, but it's just sad when someone doesn't follow it:
Probably Last Tip) Check the wordcount with a preview on paizo.com, even if you checked the wordcount elsewhere: We don't count wordcount exactly the same as your word processor. Based on my voter tags, you know I voted a bunch the last two years. And each year, there are too many items with ~301 words for coincidence. I can't believe that people didn't check their wordcount at all and just happened to be just over by chance; I believe it's from checking wordcount elsewhere and getting a lower count. So check it here too!
Do entries with word counts over 300 show up in voting?
IS there anyway to change a submission?, I made an error in the format.Sadly, no. Once it is away it is away, cross your fingers and hope the error is minor and the content of your submission will overshadow it.
Can I resubmit with another profile, or is that grounds for automatic disqualification?
Do entries with word counts over 300 show up in voting?One last tip that most of you were probably doing anyway, but it's just sad when someone doesn't follow it:
Probably Last Tip) Check the wordcount with a preview on paizo.com, even if you checked the wordcount elsewhere: We don't count wordcount exactly the same as your word processor. Based on my voter tags, you know I voted a bunch the last two years. And each year, there are too many items with ~301 words for coincidence. I can't believe that people didn't check their wordcount at all and just happened to be just over by chance; I believe it's from checking wordcount elsewhere and getting a lower count. So check it here too!
When they do, voters can flag them for DQing, and then they will vanish out of voting.
Can I resubmit with another profile, or is that grounds for automatic disqualification?IS there anyway to change a submission?, I made an error in the format.Sadly, no. Once it is away it is away, cross your fingers and hope the error is minor and the content of your submission will overshadow it.
That violates the forum rules of not having two accounts, as well as the contest rules of one entry. If we figure it out, we will disqualify you.
Do entries with word counts over 300 show up in voting?
Some do slip through the initial screening. Previously there was a way to flag them for DQ or you could send a note to the host to have them removed. Typically, you don't see any after the first day or two.
Can I resubmit with another profile, or is that grounds for automatic disqualification?
That is grounds for DQ, I believe. From the rules: "One entry per person. Anyone found submitting more than one entry will be disqualified and any prizes won will be immediately forfeited."
Can I resubmit with another profile, or is that grounds for automatic disqualification?IS there anyway to change a submission?, I made an error in the format.Sadly, no. Once it is away it is away, cross your fingers and hope the error is minor and the content of your submission will overshadow it.
You can only submit once for your entire account no matter how many aliases you make. The only let you submit once. If you create a second account with Piazo and try to submit it that way...that would get you DQ'd since it is against the rules. One entry per Person.
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Yeah, as Clay said, the voters in general are pretty picky about that, so it's unlikely to filter to the top, but if it does anyway, we judges will likely take note that there might be something special that caused it to buck that weight around its neck and thrive.[b][/b] are supposed to be included in the submission, so words like "price" and "aura" are bolded? There goes my entry for this year.That preview function on the submission is priceless! It was around 20 words less than my word processor (Google Drive Document).If you had all your formatting notations like [./b] other services will count those as words
Eh. For some of us it depends. Missing the formatting or having the incorrect formatting does put up flags but isn't a deal breaker for me. It certainly makes your item's job harder but it's probably not any worse than most of the other common errors.
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The takeaway of the pastry is that a magic pastry that isn't a weapon and has "Craft Magic Arms and Armor" as its requirement is no more one of this year's acceptable categories than a magic pole that is not a staff that has "Craft Staff" as its requirement....for instance a magic pastry, is not a magic weapon."...To me, your example is kind of a no-brainer, and I would think doesn't need to be explained. Though I have to admit, I am a bit confused about the magic pastry... Pretty sure that is not one of the categories...
As someone who often fails Craft (baked goods) checks, let me assure you that a non-magical pastry can be a weapon that does bludgeoning damage, is poisonous to consume, and requires adamantine to sunder it. :)
Battlebread. Thank you Discworld.
As someone who often fails Craft (baked goods) checks, let me assure you that a non-magical pastry can be a weapon that does bludgeoning damage, is poisonous to consume, and requires adamantine to sunder it. :)The takeaway of the pastry is that a magic pastry that isn't a weapon and has "Craft Magic Arms and Armor" as its requirement is no more one of this year's acceptable categories than a magic pole that is not a staff that has "Craft Staff" as its requirement....for instance a magic pastry, is not a magic weapon."...To me, your example is kind of a no-brainer, and I would think doesn't need to be explained. Though I have to admit, I am a bit confused about the magic pastry... Pretty sure that is not one of the categories...
I heard about your baked goods, so that's why I specified "a magic pastry that isn't a weapon" in my second post there :P
As someone who often fails Craft (baked goods) checks, let me assure you that a non-magical pastry can be a weapon that does bludgeoning damage, is poisonous to consume, and requires adamantine to sunder it. :)The takeaway of the pastry is that a magic pastry that isn't a weapon and has "Craft Magic Arms and Armor" as its requirement is no more one of this year's acceptable categories than a magic pole that is not a staff that has "Craft Staff" as its requirement....for instance a magic pastry, is not a magic weapon."...To me, your example is kind of a no-brainer, and I would think doesn't need to be explained. Though I have to admit, I am a bit confused about the magic pastry... Pretty sure that is not one of the categories...
I had a friend who won a bar fight with a "critical ham."
3) Watch your spelling and grammar: It makes you seem unprofessional if there are numerous spelling and grammar errors, and if you have, for instance, blatant misspellings that could be caught by a spellchecker, it makes it seem like you didn't take the time to ensure the quality of your submission. Misspelling a weird Golarion name that isn't in the spellchecker is more understandable.
Does your spellchecker have an issue with Queen's English?
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3) Watch your spelling and grammar: It makes you seem unprofessional if there are numerous spelling and grammar errors, and if you have, for instance, blatant misspellings that could be caught by a spellchecker, it makes it seem like you didn't take the time to ensure the quality of your submission. Misspelling a weird Golarion name that isn't in the spellchecker is more understandable.Does your spellchecker have an issue with Queen's English?
Since the final module would be written in American English, while you're not technically wrong to spell it the way you find the cosiest, when it comes to manoeuvring into the top positions, you aren't doing yourself any favours. Sometimes it can be difficult to practise the differences unless you have a skilful and encyclopaedic knowledge of what would change, and while it may seem crueller in the short term to homogenise, it is an unshakeable truth, so it behoves you to have learnt it as early as possible, like in this newbie-orientated contest setting!
Most editors of words theses days allow you to set the dictionary from English UK/Other to English US - it's the first thing I do to the new document I will be working in.
Now that we're on the "a staff by any other name" subject. Would a staff with charges that produced monk/ninja ki effects and was recharged with ki be considered a staff or a wondrous item? How about a staff whose charges allowed extra "Perfect Strike", "Elemental Fist", "Stunning Fist" uses per day?
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I'd be happy to see such an item, in my game, but I'd be wary of submitting one, because there are enough pedants about to point the finger and denounce it as 'Notastaff!'.
Also, be aware that you may eat some of your wordcount re-explaining the recharge rules.
And then there's setting the crafting requirements and costing it all.
What spells would you need to build one? Should it require spells at all? Does having to beg a caster to help you undermine its niche, as a mystical item, for mystical people?
I didn't have the time to wrestle with those issues, but I hope some else did.
If someone has submitted one as their entry, I hope it goes far, as it's a step on the road to breaking the monopoly that casters have on the crafting aspect of the game.
If someone has submitted one as their entry, I hope it goes far, as it's a step on the road to breaking the monopoly that casters have on the crafting aspect of the game.
Well, there's the Master Craftsman feat for Shields, Armor, Weapons and Wondrous items...
I am very interested in seeing such a staff, to the point I'm going to work on them. Pricing will get kinda dicey, I'm sure. We'll see.
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Well, there's the Master Craftsman feat for Shields, Armor, Weapons and Wondrous items...
If someone has submitted one as their entry, I hope it goes far, as it's a step on the road to breaking the monopoly that casters have on the crafting aspect of the game.
Which is nowhere near as good as people seem to think it is. Either you cross class Spellcraft or you sink skill points into a vastly more limited craft skill. And you're spending twice the number of feats.
Now that we're on the "a staff by any other name" subject. Would a staff with charges that produced monk/ninja ki effects and was recharged with ki be considered a staff or a wondrous item? How about a staff whose charges allowed extra "Perfect Strike", "Elemental Fist", "Stunning Fist" uses per day?
Personally, I think I'd be willing to consider that a staff.
I'm not sure if having NO spells at all (as opposed to one that had spells that interacted with ki or some other mechanic and maybe was even recharged/activated in a different manner) will pass muster with the judges even if they make it through the voters. I would originally have thought yet, but my new impression is maybe not.
Which is nowhere near as good as people seem to think it is. Either you cross class Spellcraft or you sink skill points into a vastly more limited craft skill. And you're spending twice the number of feats.Well, there's the Master Craftsman feat for Shields, Armor, Weapons and Wondrous items...
If someone has submitted one as their entry, I hope it goes far, as it's a step on the road to breaking the monopoly that casters have on the crafting aspect of the game.
Cross class isn't a thing anymore. You just get a +3 if it is a class skill. And a feat wouldn't be that bad for say a crafty fighter.
A staff that uses Ki or something else might also run the risks of braking game balance. Also I could see many of these written in away that having one would make having that character type in the group obsolete, something the design gurus have warned against.
A staff that uses Ki or something else might also run the risks of braking game balance. Also I could see many of these written in away that having one would make having that character type in the group obsolete, something the design gurus have warned against.
That said, even Pathfinder isn't free from caster hegemony, and normal staves aren't helping on that front anyway. The beleaguered monk has become a fair sight better than he was in 3.5e and other d20 games, but it's far from perfectly balanced. I think a ki staff (etc.) could help shift that balance towards resource-based martial characters.
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A couple of things to keep in mind if you were designing a staff fueled by ki:
Both monks and ninjas have ki pools, so you would be opening this up to both classes. Keep in mind that ninja multiclasses really well, and is often used as a base for Arcane Tricksters.
There is a magus arcana that lets you combine your ki pool with your arcane pool. This results in a character that has a much larger ki pool than you might otherwise think possible. Its very corner case, but my most-used character is a Staff Magus/Monk that could potentially break things with such a staff (especially since she has the arcana that lets you activate a staff as part of Spell Combat)
There's a monk archetype (Ouat? Something like that) that lets you give any character a temporary ki point for a round. I think there are magic items that do something similar. So assume that almost any character could theoretically fuel such an item once a day.
Now that we're on the "a staff by any other name" subject. Would a staff with charges that produced monk/ninja ki effects and was recharged with ki be considered a staff or a wondrous item? How about a staff whose charges allowed extra "Perfect Strike", "Elemental Fist", "Stunning Fist" uses per day?
As I understand it a staff must have a spell list to be a staff.
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Now that we're on the "a staff by any other name" subject. Would a staff with charges that produced monk/ninja ki effects and was recharged with ki be considered a staff or a wondrous item? How about a staff whose charges allowed extra "Perfect Strike", "Elemental Fist", "Stunning Fist" uses per day?As I understand it a staff must have a spell list to be a staff.
This is true, but it needn't only have one. Let's examine this potential ki staff as a case study. A really elegant thing to do would be to head on over to the qinggong monk and choose ~2 spells that are qinggong spells, then add maybe 1-2 typical monk abilities and perhaps a ki ability unique to the staff. Then we add special text allowing a ki user who has any of the ki abilities listed in the staff to use the staff without UMD and to charge it 1/day for ki (keeping the limit of one character charging the staff per day and still allowing a spellcaster to use and charge the staff). This maintains the qualities of a staff without sacrificing on monk-ness (since we picked only qinggong spells).
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This is true, but it needn't only have one. Let's examine this potential ki staff as a case study. A really elegant thing to do would be to head on over to the qinggong monk and choose ~2 spells that are qinggong spells, then add maybe 1-2 typical monk abilities and perhaps a ki ability unique to the staff. Then we add special text allowing a ki user who has any of the ki abilities listed in the staff to use the staff without UMD and to charge it 1/day for ki (keeping the limit of one character charging the staff per day and still allowing a spellcaster to use and charge the staff). This maintains the qualities of a staff without sacrificing on monk-ness (since we picked only qinggong spells).
Yes, this is cool.
What I fear we will see instead is a Ki staff designed to let characters who can wield staves get access to Ki powers, or a staff that lets a class with a Ki pool have access to spells typical only available to other classes using Ki as a way to have arcane or divine power.
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Cross class isn't a thing anymore. You just get a +3 if it is a class skill. And a feat wouldn't be that bad for say a crafty fighter.Which is nowhere near as good as people seem to think it is. Either you cross class Spellcraft or you sink skill points into a vastly more limited craft skill. And you're spending twice the number of feats.Well, there's the Master Craftsman feat for Shields, Armor, Weapons and Wondrous items...
If someone has submitted one as their entry, I hope it goes far, as it's a step on the road to breaking the monopoly that casters have on the crafting aspect of the game.
You're still +3 behind, plus since you're not an int-centric character you're buckets of skillpoints behind and don't get as much of a stat mod to the skill checks for crafting, meaning your work takes longer even though you've spent double the number of feats on it. And Master Craftsman isn't a combat feat, so fighters etc. don't get it as a bonus feat. And Master Craftsman forces you to use Craft or Profession, so I guess being +3 behind for non-class is moot, since pretty much everyone gets those, but it has its own issue: you're very severely restricted in what you can craft. Profession: Bowyer/Fletcher will let you make magic bows, for instance, but not swords, while Craft: Leatherworking will let you make gloves but not gauntlets.
If the entirety of a feat's function is to allow you to take another feat, it's not a very good feat. Yes, Master Craftsman lets you do things that you can't do otherwise, but that doesn't mean it lets you do them well.
EDIT: And to stay on topic, the above is also true for an item: just because an item lets you do something new doesn't mean that thing is now necessarily worthwhile. While a circlet of crazed intellect might let me make lore checks for one particular subject while under the effects of a confusion spell, that doesn't really mean that is either a good thing or worth expending my resources on.
Characters get a very finite amount of resources, with feats and levels being the most limited, followed by skill points, so the "effective cost" is something that one needs to keep in mind when designing. "Is this feat worth 1/11th of my feat choices for my entire career?" is practically the same to "Is this bracelet really work 2500gp?", except that feats are worth intrinsically more than items due to their rarity. There is always more gold, and if you're that strapped or you screw up, you can sell your stuff and try again. Feats have no trade-in option (in most cases), and there are few ways to get more feats that don't amount to "level up."
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A staff that uses Ki or something else might also run the risks of braking game balance. Also I could see many of these written in away that having one would make having that character type in the group obsolete, something the design gurus have warned against.
I was very VERY tempted to have my item involve Ki, but decided against it as I started putting better ideas together.
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A staff that uses Ki or something else might also run the risks of braking game balance. Also I could see many of these written in away that having one would make having that character type in the group obsolete, something the design gurus have warned against.I was very VERY tempted to have my item involve Ki, but decided against it as I started putting better ideas together.
I don't think taping into the the Ki mechanics is a bad idea, it just has to be done in a good and creative way that doesn't make another character un-fun to play because the guy/gall with the staff handles it every time.
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because the guy/gall with the staff handles it every time.
Gall? As in Gallstaff, Sorcerer of Light? I see what you did there... *narrows eyes suspiciously*
The problem with using alternative resource pools for staff activation is that staves (by definition) are spell-trigger items, thus requiring the corresponding spell to be on the user's spell list. Similarly, staves are also by definition items containing specific spells. So it's going to be a hard sell to do something different without redefining the fundamentals of what a staff actually is, as evidenced in the CRB.
That said, some of these ideas definitely have merit, and would/could/should be pursued on some level, somehow, going forward. I think bringing staves out of the sole realm of spellcasters (or, even more particularly, certain types of spellcasters) is a great idea, and I hope that one of the things that might develop from some of the creativity that is inevitably bound to happen during the course of this contest is that design space for staves might be revealed and further developed officially. :D
Depending what Superstar brings, I think someone(s) could pitch a neat idea of alternative staves -- using different class mechanics -- to a 3PP.
d20pfsrd.com just did a book of affordable staves, which I thought was a cool idea.
Personally, I think expanding a staff from a spell-trigger item into something more versatile could be Superstar. Honestly, I'd say they're one of the least seen magic items, in part because they're fairly limited in who can use them and because they're rarely worth the expense, IMO.
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The ki idea would be good, because there are a number of spells which seem designed to be used by monks, for some reason (Ki Arrow, Ki Leech, Blood Crow Strike). I wish I'd thought of that before, because I would have entered that!
Here's what I had written up for a martial staff that I didn't enter:
The engravings on this rough-hewn wooden staff depict feats of physical prowess. In addition to activating this staff as a spell-trigger item, the user can also activate it by spending a number of uses of martial flexibility, inspiration, or panache points equal to the number of charges required for the spell used. This still consumes charges from the staff as normal. When activated in this way, treat the user’s base attack bonus as her caster level, and Wisdom bonus (if using martial flexibility), Intelligence bonus (if using inspiration), or Charisma bonus (if using panache) as the spellcasting ability modifier. It can also be recharged by spending 3 uses of one of these abilities in place of a spell slot.
I couldn't come up with a spell list I liked for it, so I abandoned it, but it sounds like a lot of people had similar ideas. I look forward to seeing if anyone made it work better than I did.
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A really elegant thing to do would be to head on over to the qinggong monk and choose ~2 spells that are qinggong spells, then add maybe 1-2 typical monk abilities and perhaps a ki ability unique to the staff. Then we add special text allowing a ki user who has any of the ki abilities listed in the staff to use the staff without UMD and to charge it 1/day for ki (keeping the limit of one character charging the staff per day and still allowing a spellcaster to use and charge the staff). This maintains the qualities of a staff without sacrificing on monk-ness (since we picked only qinggong spells).
That's almost what I'd be aiming for, except... why do we need to allow casters to use it?
They could refuel it, for sure, but then hand it over to its rightful and proper wielders!Since we have a precedent for some items that are useable by anyone, and other classes of items ringfenced for casters-only, why can't turnaround be fair play for a change?
"I...I am but a feeble scholar, I could not survive the journey. But YOU! You are The Chosen One, The Enlightened Student who will destroy the Dark Lord. I can help you on your way, with THIS, the staff of the Quivering Toe! I have filled it with my arcane power, but it is you who must unleash it upon the unworthy!"
I once threw a cookie at a cabin when I was a kid at camp, it caused splinters to tip up out of the plywood of the back wall! +7 pecan piercing cookie of butterscotch bludgeoning!