How far would you have gotten in the top 32 self analysis


RPG Superstar™ General Discussion

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

After reading and observing the top 32 and then the entire contest there where times where I thought, this part should be easy and other times, reading the requirements and said to, if this were me I'd be so screwed.

My thought on myself--

Round 2--Came up with two great ideas, a Kaer Maga dining establishment and an Osirian temple complex. Either would probably have me advance.

Round 3--Monster round, came up with a great idea but realised my experience in making monsters would make it hard for me to fully realise my vision. This is the round I'd probably go out. If I didn't, I'd probably go through like Crystal did i.e. with no judge recomendations but lots of "this idea is so dang cool I have to vote for it." More likely, I'd get a wtf reaction and come in dead last in the voting.

Lesson for me, create more monsters.

Round 4-- I'd probably have a 50/50 shot of advancing do to stiffening competition. I would not use the bridge.

Round 5-- I've always had this great idea for when I make the finals. Unfortunately, it's set in Mendev and the Worldwound. Oops. I'd think over adapting it but if I I'm smart, reject the idea.

So I go with my list of cool ideas and probably settle on the one about a Changeling child being kidnapped and the pcs going to rescue her.

I'm sure no one else would think to include that in their final entry.

Regardless, I'd loose. Nicks was much better than mine.

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

Gotta make the Top 32 first!

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

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
Gotta make the Top 32 first!

Agreed. However, if your going to go anywhere you need to plan ahead. There are plenty of people who make the top 32 once and never show up again. If I make it, I want to do well. Looking at the future rounds and realising your monster creation fu needs work is valuble. Realising that they are putting regional restrictions on the region of the final module is important.

Basically, it's a useful thought exersise in figuring out what you can do better.

Liberty's Edge Star Voter Season 8, Dedicated Voter Season 9

I too believe in creating an entry for each round as an excellent practice of the skills needed for the RPGSS. Though I would not even try to assess the worth of my would-be entries.

This season, all of my would-be entries had a strong Nature component to them, as I was envisioning the adventure pitch (Druidic things) and using it as a theme for the rest of my creations.

Round 2 (map) : a wildness location with a variety of elements. I am likely to keep on refining this as I feel it could make a powerful creation if I ever make it to this round in future seasons. Funnily enough, I realized in the last round that the perfect location for this map was in the Sodden Lands (did not now much about them before).

Round 3 (monster) : a magical beast dealing with damage types in almost all their forms, both offensively and defensively. Still at the conception stage because of balance/CR issues. Another idea I had from previous season was a magical beast expert in all ways to deal sneak attacks.

Round 4 (encounter) : the bridge with its outdoor elements was a good fit for a druidic oriented encounter as a tipping point of the druidic adventure I envisioned.

Round 5 (adventure pitch) : I had a general idea for several years already of some nice druidic adventure but I would have really needed to consider how best to adapt it to the Sodden Lands and it likely would have needed a complete overhaul to fit the location.

That last point is the greatest tip I got from this round : it is better to consider the location and then create the adventure pitch that fits it rather than try to adapt a pre-existing idea to the location post haste.


The idea I had for the sodden lands was to riff from the tribal aspects and have an adventure where each part is a stage of life in the life of a tribes-person.

The big difference for my idea which probably would have blown my chances would be that the adventure would not be a one shot play it through to the end, but actually a life journey where a campaign set in the sodden lands could have these tribal rites, rituals and ceremonies interspersed with such a campaign.

It would have featured coming of age rituals, becoming a provider/gatherer for the tribe, the first hunt/gather, tribal matrimonial ceremonies and rites, becoming cheiftan, trials for a both becoming a chieftain, challenging for the position and alternative rites and quests for ascendancy to that position.

Each section therefore being a vignette of pivotal life moments of being in a tribe.

That was my core plan anyway, cest la vie!

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

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Template Fu, had you asked I would answer 'save such a pitch for after RPGSS.' I would love to you see how you make 'an adventure' (singular) out of it. I am sure it is possible, but it would railroad character generation, a character's life, or rely on an NPC.

If When I broke into the Top 32*
Round 2: I would have nailed this.
Round 3: I would have nailed this. (cute tiny dragons win every year. I'm cute and a tiny dragon.)
Round 4: I would have nailed this. Using the dungeon map and the entire dungeon map for a single encounter is hard mode.

An observation on R2. So many Top 32 are caught in the headlights that it becomes less about outrunning the bear. Either that or they just entered on a lark and weren't planning to accept the contract the contest offers.

*Though honestly, I think almost every year "I nailed this" with the first round and never do. My tendency to over complicate design is a real hindrance. Please take the above paragraph with the sarcasm it is dripping with. :)

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16 , Dedicated Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9 aka Petty Alchemy

Mapmaking is just such a different skill and requires different technical knowledge.

I'm fairly confident in my ability to make cool character options (such as items, feats, prestige classes), but I'm more used to sitting on the player side of the table, so maps are scary. I'm sure a lot of contestants feel that way.

I was lucky to have more free time (a lot of contestants have families to take care of) so I could figure out how to use GIMP decently well.

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

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Curaigh wrote:
Template Fu, had you asked I would answer 'save such a pitch for after RPGSS.' I would love to you see how you make 'an adventure' (singular) out of it. I am sure it is possible, but it would railroad character generation, a character's life, or rely on an NPC.

Yeah, that's why I admitted it was a bit of a gamble - the plan was not to railroad but to provide set ups for tribal events and then the pc's could be observers, visitors, the hunter or the hunted and so on allowing the GM the utmost flexibility in its use. ;)

For round 2 my map was a two story affair, a single story above ground - the false apothecary shop front with a torture chamber and cells area underneath it.

This would have open fire and acid pits, open iron maidens, hooked chains from the ceilings for hanging unfortunates on, benches with all sorts of "tools" that can be used as improvised weapons, cages of creatures that can be let loose by the combatants and so on. The shop stores has secret areas containing "less savoury" parts (some of which may have been harvested from those being tortured).

For my creature feature - I was looking at the Yeti Crab on this page of strange beasties of the world as my inspiration...

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