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View Full Version : GitP PrC Contest XXXIX: Voting Thread!



ErrantX
2013-04-02, 12:24 AM
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than in this contest (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14807543) here folks, marking the end of the contest and the beginning of voting! Time to duke it out and let the best class win!

Please make three selections and rank them 1, 2, and 3. First choice gets 3 points, second choice gets 2 points, and third choice gets 1 point. The winner at the end gets bragging rights as having the most depraved class in the playground. Please bold your selection and please give a reason as to why you voted, as people like that sort of thing.

Voting starts now and runs until April 10th. Get to it people!


{table=head]Prestige Class|Author|1st|2nd|3rd|Votes!
Cackling Psychopath|malonkey1|0|1|2|4
Asura of Creeping Blight|sirpercival|1|1|1|6
Dread Blade|Aldurin|0|0|1|1
Colorless Rosethorn|Kazyan|1|2|1|8
Soul of Sin|Glimbur|0|0|1|1
Shattered Nightsider|TheGeckoKing|4|2|0|16
Unholy Crusader|Network|0|0|0|0[/table]

Apologies to the disqualified, but let the votes begin!

-X

Mephibosheth
2013-04-02, 07:14 AM
Very interesting entries this time around. Makes me wish I had been able to submit something, but all the ideas I had seemed better without the alignment requirement. More morally ambiguous than outright evil.

Anyway, on to the voting!
Colorless Rosethorn by Kazyan - Most personifications of nature that I'm familiar with emphasize it's neutrality. It's brutal and dangerous because it's uncaring, not because it's actively malevolent. I liked that this class shifted this assumption a little bit. I also liked the extra benefits for plant-like fey. Interesting fluff with solid crunch.
Shattered Nightsider by TheGeckoKing - I loved the idea of the Wells of Darkness. I don't know if this is part of the accepted corpus of writings on the Abyss or an original creation by TheGeckoKing, but the incorporation of it into the PrC is, in this case, very elegant. I think the binder or spellcaster path fits with the flavor of the class better than the martial maneuvers, but I understand why all three are included. The expansion on demonic grafts is interesting as well.
Asura of the Creeping Blight by sirpercival - I like warlocks and I like rakshasas, so this one had me from the get go. I only wish the fluff elaborated more on the link between the PrC and the rakshasas.
Nice job, everyone!

ErrantX
2013-04-04, 11:44 AM
Only one vote so far (Thank you, Mephibosheth!)? Come on guys! You're killing me here. There's some great classes here and some of you wrote them. Least you guys can do is vote on em!

-X

Mephibosheth
2013-04-04, 01:12 PM
Agreed! The dearth of votes in this and the last contest is pretty sad. IIRC, there were more participants in the "Chaos is as Chaos does" contest than there were voters.

Network
2013-04-04, 05:56 PM
Can contestants vote? Is there restrictions on our choices?

sirpercival
2013-04-04, 06:34 PM
1st - Shattered Nightsider by TheGeckoKing. This tied with my 2nd place vote for awesome flavor, and the mechanics are just damn interesting. It needs a little editing ("forth"->"fourth", requiring martial maneuvers before you grant them, etc.), but is overall very solid.

2nd - Colorless Rosethorn by Kazyan. I have no idea what to make of this class. The flavor is absolutely awesome (love the changing colors across the post, a stroke of genius). However, it seems like the pool of character concepts it's designed to complement is very small (pun intended). Also, for all the weird and cool flavor, the abilities are kind of... tame. I wanted more strangeness and awesome. Anyway, I guess that balances out to a 2nd place vote.

3rd - Cackling Psychopath by malonkey1. This was... a little stereotypical (I was hoping for more interesting takes than lolevil), but overall solid mechanics, and the fluff was well written.



Asura of the Creeping Blight by sirpercival - I like warlocks and I like rakshasas, so this one had me from the get go. I only wish the fluff elaborated more on the link between the PrC and the rakshasas.
Yeah... I had the hardest time writing the fluff for that class. It's weird... the connection I think is very self-evident and should've been easy, but I had a mental block.

Mephibosheth
2013-04-04, 07:56 PM
Yeah... I had the hardest time writing the fluff for that class. It's weird... the connection I think is very self-evident and should've been easy, but I had a mental block.

For me, the biggest part of the problem is that rakshasa fluff in D&D in general is so poorly-defined. While literature isn't my particular are of expertise, I have spent a long time studying South Asia, from whence comes the literary inspiration for rakshasas. So I can't get Ramayana depictions of rakshasas out of my head, which don't really square with the D&D depiction. At least, not as far as I remember. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can clarify.

So, I think my dissatisfaction is more with that than with your class per se. That said, your class seemed geared toward an intrigue-y warlock, which is all well and good but isn't inherently rakshasa-y. Even something as simple as mentioning what type of rakshasa plots an Asura of the Creeping Blight would participate in would go a long way.

sirpercival
2013-04-04, 09:34 PM
For me, the biggest part of the problem is that rakshasa fluff in D&D in general is so poorly-defined. While literature isn't my particular are of expertise, I have spent a long time studying South Asia, from whence comes the literary inspiration for rakshasas. So I can't get Ramayana depictions of rakshasas out of my head, which don't really square with the D&D depiction. At least, not as far as I remember. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can clarify.

So, I think my dissatisfaction is more with that than with your class per se. That said, your class seemed geared toward an intrigue-y warlock, which is all well and good but isn't inherently rakshasa-y. Even something as simple as mentioning what type of rakshasa plots an Asura of the Creeping Blight would participate in would go a long way.

Actually D&D rakshasas are pretty damn intrigue-y, in the sense of being the evil masterminds behind plots. Lots of minions and cat's paws.

Temotei
2013-04-05, 05:08 AM
1st: Shattered Nightsider by TheGeckoKing - The fluffiness! It's great. I love the ritual and continued payments over the class. And then there are the mechanics, which are so cool. The class as a whole is just awesome. There are some typos and such, and the third pact is kind of annoying in a standard party game since all of your party members are affected by a no-save reduction to their saves. Other than those issues, though, I really like it.

2nd: Asura of Creeping Blight by sirpercival - Despite the somewhat sparse fluff, this class gets 2nd place because of how the mechanics make the fluff pop out just enough. Each ability felt meaningful and special, even when simple. Playing one of these, I know I'd feel like a true manipulator, something that's hard to pull off in D&D. In an intrigue campaign, this class would be one of my first choices. Even outside of one, I'd be happy to play it.

3rd: Colorless Rosethorn by Kazyan - The fluff is fun and the take on nature is different and unexpected. The mechanics are decent, but just not as unique as the shattered nightsider's, in my opinion. Touching more on the fluff of losing color over the class and times of red and green would have been a good place to start there, since there's so much fluffiness there yet to be touched by the mechanics.

This was a hard choice, really. I switched asura of the creeping blight and colorless rosethorn a few times before deciding on an order and a couple of times I wanted to put in the soul of sin instead of one of the above, but...here we are. Nice job, everyone.

ErrantX
2013-04-05, 12:00 PM
Can contestants vote? Is there restrictions on our choices?

Contestants are encouraged to vote, yes. Please do!

As far as restrictions, there aren't any per se, but it's considered bad form to vote for your own class. Really at the end of the day we're all here to support each other's works and make friends, right?


Actually D&D rakshasas are pretty damn intrigue-y, in the sense of being the evil masterminds behind plots. Lots of minions and cat's paws.

I see what you did there :smallamused:

-X

Glimbur
2013-04-05, 05:36 PM
1st: Shattered Nightsider: I like it. Options in class features, interesting fluff, reasonable power level... good stuff.

2nd: Cackling Psychopath: Again, options and choices in class features. There were also a number of supportive abilities, which are nice but not too powerful.

3rd: Dread Blade. The assassin could use more love, and fear is a natural match for them.

Divayth Fyr
2013-04-05, 06:01 PM
1. Shattered Nightsider - a very interesting class both in fluff and the mechanics (and I love things like The Dark Patch which allow different types of characters benefit from a class).
2. Colorless Rosethorn - an original take on both nature and smallest of creatures. Definately gives one something to think over.
3. Cackling psychopath - still, sometimes the stereotypes work as well as completely original ideas. What's not to love about a villain that bursts out in maniacal laughter just to smack the heroes even more?

Kazyan
2013-04-05, 07:31 PM
1st: Asura of Creeping Blight
2nd: Shattered Nightsider
3rd: Soul of Sin

I like the first two because of the strong fluff matching up with solid mechanics. They'd fit well in a sourcebook, with Shattered Nightsider replacing Acolyte of the Skin and Asura of Creeping Blight being its own thing. Soul of Sin is a little weaker in this regard, but Soulborns don't have nice things and it's a neat class.

ErrantX
2013-04-08, 06:15 PM
Votes tallied, early lead goes to the Nightsider. Still time, you've got until April 10th to get you votes in! Make em count!

-X

ErrantX
2013-04-14, 01:32 PM
A couple days late getting back, but the end tally remained the same:

The winner of this contest is... The Shattered Nightsider by TheGeckoKing! Congrats to you for an awesome class.

ErrantX's pick for this month goes to the Colorless Rosethorn by Kazyan for such a truly creepy, evil, and despicable sort of creature that would take this class. It is full of flavor and fun, and I have to say that twisted and evil fey always get a check in the +1 column by me.

Great job to everyone who participated!

-X