<thunder crashes. lightning flashes. the ghostly green heads of the tribunal of judges appears above the dais as flames flare from the censers.
The face of the one called 'Gregor' speaks his piece and fades from view.
A mob of Munchkins -the Oz ones, not the D&D player ones- rush into the chamber to wave and wish him well.
The disembodied head of the one called 'Steel Dragons' speaks...>
"Hail and welcome, ALL, to this most worthy and well-written FINAL contest between the titans of typing, PirateCat and Rodrigo Instalindir.
We appreciate your indulgence of our absence and your patience for our most humble judgement of these masterful works."
THE FINAL ROUND JUDGEMENT
Round III: Match 1
PirateCat's Pillars of the World
vs.
Rodrigo Instalindir's The Inquisitor
Gentlemen...however this pans out, know that you, and ALL of the contestants for this bout of Ceramic DM from day ONE, have given us the greatest pleasure and honor to be a part of. I am sincerely humbled (and somewhat embarassed) by the creativity, visions, and just damn good writing with which you have approached these challenges. You have made me, personally, a better writer by your submissions. I thank you from the bottom of my floating disembodied green head.
XPs all around!
Now...let's to it...shall we?
1) Writing style/skill: The tale woven by PirateCat is of remarkable quality...as have all of your submissions! The writing is tight, descriptions thorough and evocative, the characters are wonderfully brought to life through all of the constraints and limitations of space/word count. from our main protagonist, to the village boy, the other "epic" party members, and the malleable familiar, Slink, who almost literally jumps off the page/screen in 3-dimensions. The plot unfolds with expected tropes and unexpected twists. This is truly a masterpiece of D&D-inspired fiction.
Rodrigo does an equally good job in character development, through a masterful crafting of flashback/what was vs/and what happens/is happening. We are brought into the Inquisitor's pain, his fear, his loss, determination and surprise. This is a bit more poignant in
Inquisitor because we are focused throughout on a single character. The horror and "weirdness" of the demon-cat and the demon-posed-as-Prior is thoroughly felt by the reader...and the surprise of the protagonist is shared. Again, simply masterful.
2) Picture Use: Ugh, this is a toughy. Though at this stage of the competition I would not have expected it to be.
First, the scene of the leaning cabin/cottage. While a setting for both, each piece makes complete use of the image in a way we have rarely seen throughout this contest.
Inquisitor uses the building, the crows about it, the approaching figure (the Inquisitor), and incorporates beautifully the "foreboding" and "gothic" touches of the image.
Pillars, similarly, leaves no piece un- or under-used. The approaching archmage, the "flying assassins" about the roof, and the cottage/cabin, itself as the immortal-heroes base of operations is just fantastic!
No points here. You guys done good.
The ocean...or whatever that is...
Pillars' sinking ocean is brilliant. Not just using the image as a "scene" but making it the whole impetus and crux of the adventure plot...the ocean is disappearing, we need to fix this/call to action. Just beautiful and brilliant. I believe I mentioned in one of the previous rounds, your ability, PC, to not just use the pic but really make it relevant to various areas of the story is not to be trifled with. So good.
Inquisitor's, in contrast, while very poignant, kind of reads as a rush/tack on at the end. It is a huge event at the end of the tale, the world is destroyed to cleanse it...It just seems fast...or an afterthought. For as good as the rest of the story was...this felt rushed...even anti-climactic. Not a BAD way to end a short story, to be sure. Unexpected, to say the least...again, not a bad thing. But I'm giving PC the edge here for the more in depth use of the image.
The weird calcified mummy/demon/thing image:
Pillars and
Inquisitor both used this to great effect. As the dead "true form" of Olhydra it is just genius. As, again [interesting both writers went this route with it] the "true form" of the demon-posing-as-head of the church, it is again brought in in a most unexpected way that has thoroughly serious ramifications for the story/plot. Another beautiful twist of a most...what's the opposite of 'beautiful'? hahaha...unsavory image. Well done to you both, again.
The statue/rock giant/thing...As a statue that gives
the Inquistor insight, it is what it is. It is necessary to the plot, and offers a revelation (however disappointing) to the character. As the evil prince of elemental earth, who then turns out to be the true villain of the piece, I feel
Pillars, again, warrants an edge here for use above/beyond a statue.
The kitty...ahhhh the kitty....born out of a mind that rivals Erol Otus on smoldering myconid and absinthe stew...You guys made this a treat on both stories. As
Inquisitor's immediate nemesis of the possessing demon...I was chilled with
The Exorcist-style goosebumps. But was a bit disappointed by the brevity of its appearance. Still, totally fitting and relevant to the story.
Pillars use of the image as the creation/character of Slink as the morphing familiar of our archmage [primary] hero is another stroke of pure genius (that I will totally be stealing for my games at some point if you don't mind, PC? So my players feel I am that much of a genius too!). The insinuation of Slink as the source of the D&D trope of the "mimic" monster just...I can't really describe...every cell of my being was just bursting with "That's soooo cooooool! Such a great idea!"
I am afraid, RI, that the edge for this image, again, goes to
Pillars of the World.
3) Personal Enjoyment: I can honestly say (as I have with all of my judgements, of course!) that I enjoyed both.
Inquisitor gave us, as I said above, a bit of horror, loss, twists and turns and a finale that can only be described as the very "final" finale. But, again, it felt rushed...well, not the story part, but the ending. I suspect this may have been due to deadline time constraints and would thoroughly enjoy reading a more fleshed out version. However, as has been said in previous judgements, leaving the reader wanting more/wondering about things in the story, is definitely a GOOD thing. In this case, however, it just seemed a bit too...abruptly cut/end scene.
Pillars of the World gave us some tropes, some surprises, some nostalgia, the comradery and humor of a group of old adventuring companions...as I read it, I totally was feeling the "group around the table" who hadn't seen each other in a long time and had dusted off their old characters for a reunion. Just as much as I was reading, following and interested in what actually happened to the characters...It was reading about PCs without thinking only about them
as PCs...if that makes sense? Yet not a mention anywhere to bring one out of the story. They just existed...on separate planes, as it were. Each character had a distinct voice and history, special abilities and items...and I've already mentioned the ultimate "coolness" of Slink being the mimic.
Final Judgement: It is with a bit of more thorough and integral weaving of
the images as well as a bit of personal enjoyment that Steel Dragons' choice for the winner....and ultimate CHAM-PIOHNE for this edition of Ceramic DM goes to...
Congratulations and, again, superbly done both of you. Thank you for sharing you intense creativity and incredible writing skills with us all.
And thank you again for allowing me to be a part of this. I've never seen or been a part of a Ceramic DM before. I will happily again...perhaps even as a competitor.
<the green floating disembodied head of the one called 'Steel Dragons' fades from view. Only the head of the one called 'Mirth' remains to make his final proclamation.>
Cheers all and hope you are all having good weeks and looking forward to the weekend.
--SD
