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The culls are really showing their effects. I've just had four or five pairs in a row where both items made me stop, and weigh, because both items did most things well and had a lot going for them. Maybe no show-stoppers among them, but just a nice, consistent stretch of reasonably quality items competing.
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I think I remember reading (maybe from Mikko's blog) that a good rule of thumb is try to stay within 10% under of targets given by publishers. But, for this contest, use whatever word count is necessary within the limit. For an assignment try to be within 10% under.
Just remember that if go to either extreme for this co test then the voters (I know at least I) will be looking harder at the item. Too low and I'll be poring over it to see if it's I interesting. Too high and I'll be poring over to see if it's in need of editing or has tacked on too many powers or has attempted to handle something that shouldn't be in 300 words.
10% is usually a bit too much. If you're assigned 1,000 words and you turn over 900, the developer or publisher is going to ask "where's my 100 words?" For an assignment of that size (1,000 words) I'd say +- 20 words is an acceptable margin. Speaking of margins, in my experience, it's more likely that the word count you get is a target number rather than a maximum limit. So, if you're assigned 1,000 words, 1,010 words is probably much much better than 950 words, even though the former would get you DQ'd in RPGSS whereas the latter would not. (But check with your publisher if you're not sure what they prefer.) Sometimes, though, you're given a range (e.g. 10,000-12,000 words) and you're expected to stay within that range.
Going back to magic items and similar short entries (feats, spells, and archetypes), it's very unlikely that a freelancer is assigned to design a single 300-word entry, so comparing round 1 items to 6-page assignments is not a very good analogy. Apples and oranges.
You usually get a word count based on pages (e.g. a 2-page spread, approximately 1,400 words). Sometimes it's a round number like 2,000 words. It's up to you to decide how you use up that word count, but it's important to understand that different types of entries have different sweet spots for word counts.
Magic items should average around 200 words. 100-word items and 300-word items are fine, but if the majority of your items are that short or long, it's a good idea to consider if you're maybe designing too simple (or flavor-starved) items, or too complex (or bloated) items, respectively.
Note: The recommended averages above are based on my own experiences, not any official Paizo guidelines.
All that said, in the context of RPG Superstar, I'd err on the side of shorter items. If an item is 300 words long, it really really has to impress me to keep me interested until the end. It's a lot easier for a 100-word or 200-word item to do that. I believe a lot of voters are like me in that sense.
It's good to remember that the later rounds are different. On round 3 and beyond, my advice is to use up your word count the best you can, but it's wise to stay ~10 words below it so you don't get DQ'd if you accidentally leave out something that would add to your word count.
Thanks for chiming in Mikko.
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Oooooh-kay, I just saw the most evocative item I've seen this year. I'm hard to impress, but this item... yeah, totally a Keep.
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I've been curious about you ever since I first saw your name on the list.
And you were worth the wait. An interesting item that does a few things I didn't expect, and one of the very view teetering near the word limit that actually needed all those words.
Having said that, you are still a little bit too fiddly. I'd love to see what you would look like with streamlined mechanics and another editing pass.
My first new keep in a while, and a joyful upvote.
Curious. PM Me, please?
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Oooooh-kay, I just saw the most evocative item I've seen this year. I'm hard to impress, but this item... yeah, totally a Keep.Lastly, THIS has me very curious. ^.^
You, me and many more I suspect.
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... You good item, address an under represented part of the game.
Good job item, Nice niche. It was the same Niche I was attempting to address, but you do so in a much more utilitarian fashion.
Good job!
I'm easily impressed, but only one has the 'why hasn't this been done before' feel so far. I suspect this is the one Mikko refers too.
But he could be referring to yours, well done!
The pairings are getting tougher. I think even the 'weakest' remaining items are BoMI quality. :)
Book of Magic Items. Items that are good enough to be published in something like Ultimate Equipment but not really good enough to be Superstar.
Hey, a new item!
And it's neat!
Of course! :)
I have notified Ms. Slaad of our interest.Just PM the person your request directly, guys.That's too much work! Couldn't you just PM him our requests and then PM his response back to us? It would certainly make it a whole lot easier for everyone involved, barring you.
I'd rather not post the name openly on the forums, but I have replied to everyone who PMed me about it.
26 of my personal Top 32 chosen.
I like your idea, but you're much too cheap for allowing that. And the spell in the construction requirement would match much better to a higher level one, since the low level spell specifically cannot let you do what you make the item do. Upvoted, but had the competition been better that might not have been the case. (Ah and small break of the Template.. tsk tsk tsk).
I'm sort of sad that some of these items that I would have voted for immediately most of the time at the start, or after cull 1, or even after cull 2, I'm now having to look at and go "Sorry, you're really flawed." While they're good items (comparatively), I'm having to downvote them most of the time because their competition is now so much better.
On that note, well done to everyone who's made it this far! You nearly all made the early rounds much more bearable.
Mikko knows what's up, and I have to completely agree. If you're more than 1% off the wordcount you're asked to provide, you're probably not doing what you were asked. And in nearly all cases it's better to be over wordcount than under.
That said, RPG Superstar isn't a publisher. The rule is not submit 300 words of magic items, it is submit a single magic item that is absolutely not more than 300 words. So, if someone can write a great item in 100 words, great!
That said, of my eight favorite items of the round, only one is below and only one is above the 210-250 wordcount range.
And on the more direct subject of praise...
Wow, I had considered using a children's story as a basis for my item, but I don't think I could have ever done something that good.
Wow. Saw a new item for the first time in days. It's a good one too.
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I have finally found a good shield (of about 5 seen personally). Very well done designer, with a couple modifications I would actually put this in the game.
There's one shield out there that is really awesome - easily one of my top 5 items.
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10% is usually a bit too much. If you're assigned 1,000 words and you turn over 900, the developer or publisher is going to ask "where's my 100 words?" For an assignment of that size (1,000 words) I'd say +- 20 words is an acceptable margin. Speaking of margins, in my experience, it's more likely that the word count you get is a target number rather than a maximum limit. So, if you're assigned 1,000 words, 1,010 words is probably much much better than 950 words, even though the former would get you DQ'd in RPGSS whereas the latter would not. (But check with your publisher if you're not sure what they prefer.) Sometimes, though, you're given a range (e.g. 10,000-12,000 words) and you're expected to stay within that range.
Hopefully that means a 610-620 word NPC is better than a 550 word NPC. The last 20 words to get to 600 is rough.
Okay 2 excellent items that will make my strong keep list went at it it was a tough call, winner shield designer.
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Hopefully that means a 610-620 word NPC is better than a 550 word NPC. The last 20 words to get to 600 is rough.
Spoilered for Villain Codex -related off-topicness
Yes, that's correct. If an author turns over a 550-word villain, it means that Jacob or I will have to add ~50 words. While it's possible to just make the character art bigger on that page to make up for it, I like being consistent whenever there's no reason not to be consistent. In practice, 600 words means 590-610 words. Going a little over or under that isn't an unforgivable sin, but following the instructions to the T is the best way to get more work from us (or to get my recommendation if you're looking to work for bigger publishers).
Oh, hello there. You are new. Not bad. I like you. I will give you my vote.
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You keep popping up for me and every time I remain impressed. Your effect is simple, but the way you let the mechanics speak for themselves and what's happening when you use the item is top notch.