The Pumpkin Pie Spice RPG Contest Discussion Thread

[CleverNickName]

Surely you've heard about the American cultural phenomenon that is "Pumpkin Pie Spice." This time of the year it finds its way into everything from espresso drinks and donuts, to deodorant and candles. And whether you love it or hate it, most Americans have an opinion about it, and that's what this thread is for! So tell us: how do you really feel about PPS?

What is this "Pumpkin Pie Spice," you might ask? Wikipedia is here to help.

Pumpkin pie spice - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Also: it's been a while since I've hosted a fun little contest on ENWorld. I think this thread has inspired me to do another one!

The Pumpkin Pie Spice RPG Contest

Who: RPG fans, creative writers, artists, and lovers of all things Pumpkin​

What: This is a writing/art contest for RPG fans​

Where: Post your entry right here, in this thread​

When: entries are due before midnight, October 1st (12:00 a.m. PST)​

Why: a chance to win bragging rites, a gift certificate, and maybe other prizes.​

Here's how it works: create something for your favorite tabletop role-playing game, and post it into this thread sometime between now and the end of the month. Then on October 1st, I'll gather up all of the submissions, and put them into a two-week survey for all of ENWorld to vote on. The entry that has the most votes on Sunday, October 15th will win first pick of the prizes!

Spoiler: The Rules of the Contest

The rules are pretty straightforward:

• Submissions must be posted into this thread.
• Once it has been posted, you cannot edit it, for any reason. Submissions that have been edited (visible by an automatic watermark in the lower-right corner of the post) are disqualified. So don't forget to proofread!
• All submissions must include "Pumpkin," "Pie," and/or "Spice" in some way: it can be the name of a villain, it can be an actual spice for actual pumpkin pies, it can be a delicious pastry or the mathematical expression, it can be the MacGuffin that drives a whole adventure hook....it's all up to you. The more frequent and creative use of Pumpkin, Pie, and/or Spice, the better!
• Your submission must be something that can be used in a tabletop RPG of your choice. The sky's the limit: it can be a new magic item or spell, it can be an encounter, a battle map, a custom mini, a whole adventure...again, this is all up to you. And it can be for D&D 5E, or Pathfinder, or Call of Cthulhu, or Honey Heist, or any other tabletop RPG game you want! It can even be a whole new RPG of your own design! Remember that your entries will be judged by your peers, though, so take that into consideration.
• Only one submission per user. If you post more than one entry, be sure to delete the first one before October 1st...because only the first one will be entered and the rest will be ignored.
• You must submit your own original work: no plagiarism, no AI-generation, no hiring subconsultants to do the writing for you (is that even a thing? I don't understand the criminal mind).
• Entries posted after midnight on October 1st (12:00 a.m. PST) will be ignored, so don't be late!

The Prizes
I've managed to secure three four different prizes, and I'm working on more. They are as follows:

• a £25 gift certificate to the EN Publishing store
• a $10 gift card to Starbucks (obviously)
• a custom mini from HeroForge.com
• a gift certificate to Penzy's Spices, good for a 2oz. jar of Pumpkin Pie Spice

The first-place winner of the contest will get first pick of the prizes. Second place gets second pick, etc., until all of the prizes are gone. I'll add more prizes to the list as they become available (and if you'd like to donate a prize to this contest, DM me). More prizes means more winners!

List of Entries
"Create Pumpkin Pie Spice - Pie," by @GreyLord, a new spell for 5E D&D that delivers fresh pie to your door!
"Pumpkin Slice," by @Ralif Redhammer, a new jack o'lantern themed weapon for Cyberpunk Red
"Cursed Pumpkin Pie Spice," by @Old_Skool, a cursed (and delicious!) magic item for B/X D&D
"PUMPKINHEAD," by @Whizbang Dustyboots, a pumpkin-themed slasher for Shadowdark
"Pumpkin Spice Season," by @Gradine, a one-page RPG about teenage girls, pumpkin pie spice lattes, and joy.
"The Spice Must Flow," by @Snarf Zagyg, a one-page RPG about luchadores, pumpkin pie spice, and the sanctity of horchata.
"Farmer Kemp's Pumpkin Harvest" by @CleverNickName, a set of four custom pumpkin-themed minis for your game.
"Engelbert Murgatroyd, aka The Ghost of Harvest" by @GMMichael, a cinnamon-and-nutmeg scented NPC/monster for the Modos2 rule set.
"Magnificent Pumpkin Spice Cafe" by @Cadence, a 7th level Conjuration spell for 5E for all your extradimensional coffee needs.
"Pumpkin Spice Golem" by @Deset Gled, a delicious CR 3 monster for your 5E game. In Tall, Venti, and Grande!
"A Pie to Die For" by @For Valor , a 5E D&D adventure for 3rd Level characters.

 

[prabe]

I always have it in my spice cabinet,and I use it year-round. I don't care much for the perfume versions, but I don't care much for perfumes, period. So ... it's not just a seasonal thing, and it's not something I obsess about.

 

[CleverNickName]

Me? As a food, I love it. I use it year-round in every recipe that calls for cinnamon: oatmeal cookies, cinnamon rolls, you name it. Years ago I was baking an apple pie but discovered too late that I didn't have any cinnamon...I used pumpkin pie spice instead, and now I can never go back.

As a cultural phenomenon, I'm....confused, mostly. I mean, it's a tasty and aromatic spice blend, but it's just one of several in my pantry. (Why no love for curry spice or chili powder?) But I'm not gonna hate on someone else's good time: life is short, let folks enjoy stuff.

It was bound to happen: someone made a set of Pumpkin Pie Spice polyhedric dice for your tabletop game.

 

[J.Quondam]

It's nice. Nothing new or flashy or special, it's just exactly as lovely as it needs to be for what it is. I mean, punkin pie has been a round a long time, after all.
On the other hand, the hype around it that has emerged over the couple decades is a little strange. And it appears in rather odd places sometimes. Beer? Deodorant?* Scratch-n-sniff doorbell stickers?* Scented fuel injector cleaner?**
No thanks, I'll keep mine in the desserty stuff.

* Not really, probably?
** No, not really. I hope.

 

[Parmandur]

It's a good spice blend, amd it works in all sorts of dishes, so why not? I think peak "PUMPKIN SPICE" was a few years ago, and has cooled off to appropriate "what a nice flavor" levels.

 

[MGibster]

Every once in a while we run through food fads or trends and pumpkin spice has been it for a little while. Remember when everything and everyone was advertising bacon a few years ago? Other than pumpkin pie, I don't really eat anything with pumpkin spices in it, but I can certainly see the appeal. It tastes good and it smells great.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

These are good...



... but I haven't seen them at the store yet this year.

 

[Dioltach]

Pumpkin Pie Spice was my favourite Spice Girl.

 

[schneeland]

I find the idea of having pumpkin flavour in anything that is not an actual pumpkin or pumpkin cream soup quite weird. But then I'm not American, and I assume every culture needs to have a few things that are deeply confusing to the people outside it.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

LET THE PUMPKIN SPICE FLOW!!!!