Pathfinder Grab Bag Competition XIX Voting Thread

[Tanuki Tales]

{table=head]Entry|Author|1st Place|2nd Place|3rd Place|Total|MLTSP Votes|MUE Votes


Bad Dude (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15957327&postcount=8)|malonkey1|7|0|0|7|0|0

Boomzerker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15966518&postcount=12)|Sengmeng|0|3|3|6|2|0

Liberal Arts Major (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15967576&postcount=13)Courses and Minors (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15974377&postcount=14)|zhdarkstar|0|6|1|7|0|3

Talisman of Terror (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16015036&postcount=16)|gr8artist|7|3|1|11|3|3

Aegis Mechanic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16124333&postcount=17)|caledscratcher|7|3|0|10|1|0

Badass (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16129968&postcount=18)|DawnbringerSO|7|0|0|7|0|0

Titan Toppler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16132126&postcount=19)|xammux|14|3|1|18|0|0
[/table]
Unfortunately, the Cloaked Knight, Soldier of Truth and Resolute Warrior have been disqualified for not being complete by the end of the contest period.


Welcome one and all to the Voting thread for the nineteenth Pathfinder Grab Bag Competition! We have seven wonderful entries for you to peruse over, but only one will end up taking home the gold!

Now, the way the voting for this competition works is as follows:

You receive five votes to cast.
The first three votes are to be given to the entries that you believe should come in first, second and third place respectively. First place votes are worth seven points, second place three points and third place one point each. Keep in mind that such choices should go to the entries that you believe fit most closely to the given concept of the contest and not just the entries you like the most.
The fourth vote is to be given to the entry that you believe is "Most Likely to See Play". This vote is cast for the entry that you could see yourself allowing as a DM or you could see yourself wanting to and being allowed to play at an actual game session by your DM.
The fifth vote is to be given to the entry that you believe is the "Most Unique". This vote is cast for the entry that you least expected to see made for this competition and that stands out the most compared to it's peers.
You may apply all types of votes to the same entry (but you of course cannot select the same entry for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place), but doing this does not better the chances of that entry winning anymore than if you selected three separate entries.
Once you make your vote, that's final. You can not take it back or change it. The first vote I see and tally on the scoreboard is how it will be until the end of the voting period.
Entrants are allowed to vote and can vote for their own entries if they so wish.
Please give reasoning for why you selected an entry as the recipient of any of your votes.
Please Bold your choice for each vote.
In the case of any ties I will cast the tiebreaker vote.


The voting will remain open through October 17th and the winners will be declared September 18th.

[SamBurke]

1st: Titan Toppler. While there are more dead levels than I would have liked, it definitely gets rid of the (massive painful) problems with the Titan Mauler subtype. Thanks for fixing it, I've felt the need to for a looooooooong time.

2nd: Boomzerker. I really love the fluff, and the crunch is strong.

3rd: I've already got an award for the Liberal Arts Major, but it goes here, too.



Most Likely to See Play: Talisman of Terror. NO doubts, I will be using this, sometime. Maybe with a few tweaks for leveling, but it will be done.

Most Unique: Liberal Arts Major. While its mechanics are more of a game system than a set of class mechanics, it's quite interesting, and we haven't had anything like it in a while.

[gr8artist]

1st: The Bad Dude. Though there were others that may have been more interesting or unique, or even more extraordinary, I feel that this is the entry that really met all the criteria well. Epic level play, getting away with stuff that's too good for normal classes, humor and power and a thriving ego... everything this competition called for.
2nd: Liberal Arts Major gets my love here. There's a lot of effort, and the 20-level base class can end up doing everyone else's job better than they can, if you're good enough to manage it all. The sheer volume of power and customization available make this an awe-inspiring entry, and it would have taken first place if the Bad Dude hadn't been so... perfect.
3rd: Titan Toppler. Because I love the idea, I love the execution, and it's right on par with the theme of the contest. Weapon too big? Not for me! I have a background in Scion, a game where (at one point) we needed stats for using an aircraft carrier as a bludgeoning weapon. For the fond (and terrifying) memories you've conjured, you have my unrivaled thanks.
MLTSP: The Boomzerker. Because I was a big Borderlands fan, and I never realized how much I wanted to RP Brick (http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/Brick) until now.
MUE: The Talisman of Terror. I feel a little guilty voting for myself, but I can't help but feel that the intelligent item template is more unique than most anything else here. Call it vanity, I guess, but I like my entry. :)
Bad Dude and Badass are very similar in theme, but very different in execution and design. The Boomzerker and the Titan Toppler brought a lot of humor to the competition. The Aegis Mechanic, although strong and interesting, doesn't seem to fit the theme as well as the other entries, in my opinion. And the Liberal Arts Major is just... well, amazing.

[xammux]

1st: Titan Toppler. While I'm hugely biased here, I like to think I captured the essence of over the top epic unbelievability the contest was looking for mixed with a relatively balanced and playable class.

2nd: Liberal Arts Major. This class came all the way out of left field and managed to turn something that wasn't particularly cool in my mind into a truly brutal class. I really enjoyed looking at the mechanics and working out what I could make. My only complaint is that it ultimately blows nearly every other class out of the water and that the Jock Recruit archetype can basically let you play a Mystic Theurge with full BAB and multiple other feats and abilities.

3rd: Boomzerker. If I wasn't admittedly biased toward base classes, the sheer awesome from the concept of charging into a crowd of Orcs screaming and exploding them all in one massive blast emanated from my fists, bodies flying like rag dolls through the air, makes this archetype/rage powers entry compete powerfully with the others.

MLTSP: Boomzerker. It's a hard choice, but knowing my group and DM, this above all others has the most likelihood of seeing play, particularly because one of the players only ever plays barbarians and bomb alchemists, he would probably die of gamer ecstasy if I showed him an archetype combining his favorite things.

MUE: Liberal Arts Major. Again, I was very surprised to see something like this, especially because it had some unique new abilities that were awesome in addition to potentially the abilities of basically every other class. It also reminded me of the "better than it sounds" contest held a while back for 3.5, maybe we should do something like that.

On the others, Talisman of Terror is a great concept, but I've had a pathological hatred of intelligent magical items since my first ever D&D game got involved with the Sword of Kas at like 4th level. I didn't really think a whole lot about the Bad Dude because I've never played an epic level game in my life. The Badass seemed more like an a hole than a badass, to me a bully isn't a badass, he's a loser, though the actual design was well done. Aegis Mechanic seemed cool and well done considering the short amount of time it was done in, but felt out of place in this contest.

[Tanuki Tales]

Votes tallied to here.

[3WhiteFox3]

1st: Aegis Mechanic - This is what sword-and-board should have been. The class takes the idea of the tank/leader role and turns it up to 11. The Aegis Mechanic is what the fighter was intended to be (a tank capable of dishing out the hurt), but never actually became thanks to lacking the necessary means to assist the party and force the opponent's attention onto it. This does that job nicely.

2nd: Titan Toppler - A really fun melee class that really seems to fit the theme perfectly. After all, taking down things much bigger than you has been a popular idea; one of the most captivating images when I think of 'badass' is the image of a fighter with a big sword taking down something even bigger. My only complaint is that the Titan Toppler doesn't really get going until about 5th level. Before that he feels more like a fighter archetype.

3rd: Talisman of Terror - An obvious homage to the One Ring, but with it's own twist and concept. It also fills a niche that wasn't adequately filled before, that of the malevolent intelligent being that works to subvert and kill it's masters. This would make a great campaign.

MLTSP: Aegis Mechanic - As I said above, I just really like this class. It's both powerful and interesting and makes me really want to play it. If I can find a way to fit a Good NPC in as an adversary for a campaign I run, it'll definitely be this class.

MUE: The Liberal Arts Major - This is so different that it's both awesome, but also a bit of an odd duck, I probably wouldn't allow this in an actual game (unless I was going to make a campaign based completely around it) and I'm not really sure where it fits in a normal Pathfinder game. However, it's an extensive class that seems like it would make a great Pathfinder variant (especially if more student classes are added).

[Tanuki Tales]

Votes tallied to here.

[zhdarkstar]

1st) Badass: I think the name is a little misleading as the class seems more thematically in-line with the japanese "Bancho" style rather than the western interpretation of a badass. This archetype is perfect for those who prefer to beat the respect out of their peers, rather than earn it via diplomatic means.

2nd) Talisman of Terror: This is the most ruthless item variant I've ever seen. I foresee this falling into the arsenal of any vindictive DM who sees it.

3rd) Boomzerker: I have to admit that this choice was a bit biased because of my renewed interest in Borderlands due to the BL2 Loot Hunt. I feel that the BL2 devs wanted to nerf rocket launchers by making their ammo beyond scarce and massively overpriced. Therefore, I fully support and advocate anything that supports blowing things up.

Most Likely To See Play) Talisman of Terror: The reason I think this will see the most play is because it's something that DMs can keep hidden from the PCs until it's too late.

Most Unique Entry) Talisman of Terror: You rarely ever see homebrew specifically for items. Not only did this fill that niche, but did so in a way that you never see coming.

[Tanuki Tales]

Votes tallied to here.

[DawnbringerSO]

1st. Talisman of Terror: I really love this entry, and it can come as a nasty shock to a party a critical moment. I can't see how any DM could resist adding this to their campaign.

2nd. Aegis Mechanic: I like the feel of this class and think it plays the role of support quite well.

3rd. Boomzerker: The idea of charging and exploding everything around you just strikes me as really cool.

MLTSP: Talisman of Terror. Again, I can't see how any DM could resist this.

MUE: Talisman of Terror. I certainly didn't expect to see anything like this.

[Tanuki Tales]

Voting is closed (late, but real life happens) and congratulations to those who won!



1st Place - Titan Toppler

2nd Place - Talisman of Terror

3rd Place - Aegis Mechanic

Runner Up - Liberal Arts Major

Most Likely to See Play - Talisman of Terror
Most Unique Entry - Talisman of Terror
Judge's Choice - Bad Dude