Morrus said:
Uncle Bill's Pawn Shop
Fires in Bisiv's Forge
Enough to Drive you Batty
Crocodile Tears
The Trouble with Dryads
Marshall Law
King Troll and his Pet Rex
Jakob Stonewarren
The Endless Maze
An' interestin' list, to be sure....but there are only two standouts, in me ever-so-humble-opinion: "Crocodile Tears", an' "Enogh to Drive You Batty".
Both have strong character concepts an' good (believable) hooks. Neither smack of either "Railroading" or "Munchkiness". An' hey, they both followed the contest rules! How about that!
But I think Crocodile Tears has the stronger location, so I'm votin' fer it. Sorry, 'Batty.
As fer th' others:
*Uncle Bill's Pawn Shop is a great idea, but it's likely ta get th' player's dander up. I mean: hey, they're screwed, unless they're careful. ...But if they do take their time, they're likely ta by-pass the trap at the end all-together......<hint, hint>
*"Fires....." Neat idea, but doesn't do much fer me. Perhaps if the ghost starts pocessing PCs......
* "The trouble with Dryads" Les' jus' say that someone should.....<edit> ....jees, every response I write fer this one is likely ta offend someone, so I'll jus' keep me trap shut......
*"Marshall Law" As presented this is jus' too direct an' in yer face....an' annoying. Players would figger out the "recurring villian" part pretty quick...... Maybe a talented DM could pull it off tho'.
*"King Troll and his pet Rex" Err, not sure where this one comes from. Seems to combine all the "Railroad the PCs" element-cliches I could think of. I hope yer players don't have their own weapons scattered about...'cause they're likely ta use them on the DM. An' why isn't the rust monster eatin' the weapons, again?
*"Jacob Stonewarren" Cool, but.....well....jus' combines my "I hate psionics" with "I hate drow". Sorry bud, can't vote fer it. (Where is that lawyer-type an' his "objective criteria" gone to....)
*"Endless Maze" Sorry kid, my work computer doesn't have an Unzip utility. Can't read it, can't vote for it.
-Nail