Michael Iantorno PhD Candidate, Game Designer, and Writer

We Suck at Paizo’s RPG Superstar

I can’t remember whether it was on the Twitter or the blog, but a while ago I mentioned that Radiostorm and myself had entered Paizo’s RPG Superstar contest. RPG Superstar is purportedly the largest open-call tabletop roleplaying game design contest in history, and allows gamers from all over the world to show off their game design skills in a tournament style competition.

The first round required contestants to design a Wondrous Item; an artifact or otherwise magical doohicky for use in Paizo’s Pathfinder roleplaying game. Radiostorm and I decided that “divide and conquer” would be the best approach, so we each designed and submitted our own items. Unfortunately, neither of our items got picked! I would generally humour myself by blaming our defeats on politics and conspiracies, but the simple fact is that there were 100s of entries and the two of us have zero professional writing experience.

Regardless, for your viewing pleasure, I have posted our entries below. Feedback is welcome!

Radiostorm’s Entry

Burglar’s Boon
Aura faint transmutation; CL 3rd
Slot hands; Price 9300 gp; Weight 1 lbs.

Description
Pairs of these unassuming black leather gloves are responsible for some of the most notorious crime sprees in Golarion history.

When donned as a pair, Burglar’s Boon bestows a +5 competence bonus on both Stealth and Disable Device checks. By rubbing the palms of the gloves together, the wearer may gain the benefits of an ant haul spell once per day. The garments radiate a subtle warmth when this ability is used to pick up something especially large and valuable.

If a lawful character attempts to make use of a pair of Burgler’s Boon, the empty fingers contort and bind together, preventing the gloves from being slipped on. Otherwise the leather of the gloves automatically stretch or retract to fit a character’s hands.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, ant haul, cat’s grace; Cost 4650 gp

Michael’s Entry

Scabbard of Telling Blows
Aura Faint, Transmutation; CL 3rd
Slot Belt; Price 3780 gp; Weight 2lbs.

Description
This fine, black leather scabbard is banded with steel and adorned with silver runes. It fits any bladed slashing weapon.

Once per day, as part of the action of drawing forth the weapon held by the scabbard, the wearer can subtly alter the physical properties of said weapon, enabling it to bypass damage reduction of one the following types: bludgeoning, cold iron, piercing, silver, or slashing. Alternatively, the wearer can choose to align the weapon as chaotic, evil, good, or lawful, as long as the weapon does not currently have an alignment. The affected weapon still inflicts damage of its normal type and its hardness and hit points are unchanged.

The duration of the transformation is 3 minutes, after which time the weapon reverts back to its original form.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Versatile Weapon, Align Weapon
Cost 1890 gp

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By Michael
Michael Iantorno PhD Candidate, Game Designer, and Writer