Mini Encounter Contest - Heat Six

Here we go - the sixth heat in the mini encounter contest. The entries for this heat are:

• The Blood Soaked Seal
• The Haunted Box Canyon (.zip file)
• Ruins and Statues
• The Hungry Dead
• Mom's Butcher Shop
• Springlodge
• To Defy the Setting Sun (or My Sun Shrine, My Only Sun Shrine)
• Prisoners for the Web
• The Granite Beak

Will there be a seventh or eighth heat? Just wonderin. Thx.

As I recall there were 69 total entries. 6x9 is 54, so there would need to be at least two more heats. Though the last heat might only have 6.

Where can we get the previous ones?

Have FUN!
Baumi

Baumi said:

Where can we get the previous ones?

Have FUN!
Baumi

Click to expand...

Links are available for all of them, including ones not yet voted on, in the Free Adventure Guide.

I voted for Prosoners for the Web, 'cause it had a decent synopsis and sounded interesting.

Baumi said:

Where can we get the previous ones?

Have FUN!
Baumi

Click to expand...

Also all the previous heat threads are archived in the "archive" forum.

Well, this 'uns quite a batch. More rule abidin', less interestin'. I had a hard time votin', mostly 'cause o' the lack o' lizardfolk in any o' the adventures. That's a requisite fer the contest, right?

Let's see here.......
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The Blood Soaked Seal
Hmmm. Well, it's goin' by th' rules....but it seems like this'd have ta be a major, world shapin' event. As a DM I'd hafta change things around quite a bit ta make this fit. Since I'm guessin' the "spirit o' th' contest" is to make a "one-shot" adventure, this one doesn't make th' grade. Picture's nice, tho'.

The Haunted Box Canyon (.zip file)
..a ZIP file. 'nuff said.

Ruins and Statues
Th' writin' o' this 'un could be cleaned up a bit...('course, look who's talkin'...). Pretty standard fire temple (while I was readin' this I couldn't help but murmur: "If ya've seen one Ring of Standing Stones Fire God Temple(tm), ya've seen 'em all...."). The gargoyle is interestin', though. If this were more developed...well, I suppose you'd run into th' problem Mistwell is always harpin' on and on about....th' location an' the NPC wouldn't be separate. Still, needs a better reason fer th' NPC ta be in the temple area.

The Hungry Dead
Nice, quiet village...but fer this contest, th' location has ta be as impressive (or unusual) as the NPC. That sunk it fer me. Well written, an' I like how this is definately a "one-shot" sort of scenario......I swear I've DMed a brief encounter jus' like this.....on th' down side, the NPC motivations are weak, and they're not (in a fantasy setting) that unusual. The PCs would be all over this 'un.

Mom's Butcher Shop
A very solid entry. Gruesome, but solid. The shop itself is unremarkable, of course...it's only because of it's "use" (and the NPC) that it's interestin'. (I'm sure someone'll complain about that.) Oh yeah: an' it's well formatted. "Hey looky -- an adventure that's easy ta read and find relavent info! What-a-concept!"

Springlodge
Th' location is okay, but I had ta read thru most of the doc before I found out why it's special. That's not good: ya need a summary. The spring is an interestin' idea, but if I were in th' driver's seat, I'd hesitate ta put it in my campaign. Ya just know th' PCs will try ta use it....I guess that's all just DM preference. The NPC, however, was....ermmmmm....boring. Nothing special about him at all. In fact, he's jus' part of th' location. Sorry, kid.

To Defy the Setting Sun
Very good. An interesting location, and a conflicted (an' therefore interestin') NPC. Y'all should check this one out.

Prisoners for the Web
.......an "okay" encounter. Not particularly interesting or memorable, in either location or NPC. ...But it's solid enough. Jus' not enough opportunity fer role-playing....ah, who needs talkin' anyway: Time ta kick some spider arse!

The Granite Beak
Like many in this batch, a solid, if not facinating, entry. The location is well described, and the NPC has a good motivation ta go with a captivatin' presense. (Sorry, couldn't help it.) I really have only a few 'nits ta pick. First, this can't be a very well used pass -- if it were, th' harpies could hardly be a surprise to th' merchants. T'would be better ta have the PC hired ta "take care o' th' problem". Second, I was really hopin' fer some connnection between th' legends of th' place wit' the adventure....that is, some sorta play on th' idea of a trapped wind god. Wouldn't have ta be an actual god err anything (heaven knows we got enuff o' them already....), but jus' some sort of hook or twist that would bring that out.
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Outta this batch, I'd say that Mom's Butcher Shop, To Defy the Setting Sun, an' The Granite Beak are th' best.

And of those three, To Defy the Setting Sun got my vote. Original, memorable, well written. How can ya go wrong wit' that one?

-Nail

Here's my quicky reviews. I'm likely to be harsh... anyone can see the good points, I think the bad points are more relevant.
This group of encounters was both more imaginative and better written than the last, in my opinion, and may even be the best heat so far. Certainly the best at following the rules and having solid grasp of encounter design.

The Blood Soaked Seal: I'd have to rewrite my world's history and introduce an entire race of evil nasty god-killing elves to run this. No thanks. Plus, I'd have to accept that a God sealed a prison, and then a mortal mage broke the seals. Right.

The Haunted Box Canyon: Not bad, would need conversion for a regular D&D game, but that's the point. I applaud the decision to write for a heavily variant published setting. No real complaints, but not much that stands out too far either. No real NPCs, just some new monsters. It's not quite the same thing.

Ruins and Statues: Ho hum. Not much to this one. At least the two parts are separate. The NPC is mildly cool in concept too.

The Hungry Dead: Okay, I liked this one a lot. It looks like one kind of encounter, but really is another. Most PC groups will see right through the NPC unless it's handled carefully, but this could be a lot of fun for a one-shot. Night of the Living Dead, anyone? Poisoning your Zombies is also a seriously cool idea.

Mom's Butcher Shop: This is not so much an encounter as a place where an encounter could be set. How the PCs arrive and why is left up to the DM, making this very flexible. I'd set this up as a recurring location in the PCs home city, and keep the secret for a while. Maybe have the shop be supplying the PCs trail rations....

Springlodge: Other than the hideously exloitable water, there's not much here. No real location or NPC , and only a sketchy encounter. I like the idea of controlling amulets, but the why is left up to the DM. Pretty thin.

To Defy the Setting Sun (or My Sun Shrine, My Only Sun Shrine): Hmm. A travelling building. I said this was overdone the first time it came up in this contest, and I stand by that here. The reason for the NPC to be there is very cool, but there's still not a whole lot here, and I don't particularly want to figure out in advance where all the stops of the building are... because you know that the PCs are going to try to find out.

Prisoners for the Web: Pretty standard, but well done. Location and NPC are both good.

The Granite Beak: This fulfills it's purpose admirably, being a single session encounter. Nothing stunning, but solid.

--Seule

Here we are again...
as usual, I will probably talk aboit negative issues, and neglect most positive parts.
That doesn't mean I didn't like the entry in question.

Now to the good stuff!
Note: This time, it seems as if all entries conformed to the rules laid out, so it's possible to do!

1. The Blood Soaked Seal
This was just off of my league somehow. All the talk of Gods and them warring an Elfen race, one god closely beating one of the elves, then another one defying the god's most powerful spell, just didn't ring true with me. The location and the NPc are also very much tied together.

2. The Haunted Box Canyon
This one was nice, and I liked the idea of a non-D&D standard adventure. However, the critters are just that, critters, and not really NPCs. Location and Critters are tied together, as well.

3. Ruins and Statues
That one had a neat NPc, the gargoyle sorcerer. The fire temple was nice, but unspectacular, and not even hallowed. NPC and location weren't tied together, which is good, but was there really an ecounter using both?

4. The Hungry Dead
Location and NPC/encounter were tied closely together. Furthermore, the NPC's motivation wasn't very elaborate, and there was no purpose to the zombies.

5. Mom's Butcher Shop
Why do people feel the need to give their NPCs humorous names? Gertrude, or Mom, etc. Also, Mom is a Thief 3, and nitpicking me says it's a Rogue.
This nitpicking was what didn't put the butcher's shop at No. 1 for me, even though I love the PCs buying rations there...

6. Springlodge
The NPC and the location are tied very much together. I'm also curious why the 10 Watchers don't come to help defend against the troll.
Furthermore, as had been said, the potion-ability is bound to be abused by PCs. If they are not meant to find it out, it shouldn't even be mentioned in the first place. No gold, no XP - heaven!

7. Defy the Setting Sun
I liked the idea of both NPC and location, and how they were tied together, yet could be used separately very easily.
However, the shrine just left to much work for me as a DM.
Where does it appear in the next day (or days, or weeks, or)
How big is my campaign world (distance calculation)
Can i teleport into the shrine? Is it a well-known location, or always a new one? Or do I appear where I last entered it?
That was too much work for me, and so the neat idea will likely remain unused.

8. Prisoners for the Web
Straightforward combat encounter. However, when traveling in the Underdark, my players would take care they are equipped with some ability to navigate/escape webs...
As a whole, the encounter was a little too plain for my tastes.

9. The Granite Beak
I liked how the location was full of mystery not pertaining to the matter at hand. A fiendish harpy is also not a nice image. All in all, this was the one that got my vote.

Short, but...

I'm sure Granite Beak won't win, for my tips haven't won any contest yet - though I voted for last heat's winner, I didn't manage to post some thoughts on them

Ja mata,
Berandor

Hi, everyone!

I'm a long time lurker, first time poster.

Are there a lot of these contests? How can I get involved?

I hope my "horse" comes in first.

Thanks!