Iron DM 2009 - FINAL MATCH - it's over!

[Wik]

Well, screw you, too, buddy!

Ha ha. Nothing personal. I've read your entries from earlier tournies, and they're great. If you changed your name to some derivative of "wik", I'd be cheering for you.

since Veritas hasn't acknowledged, I'll push the start back to 6pm tonight.

ALTERNATELY
would Wik or Pour like to jump the queue and start now against Brent?

Yeah, I don't mind doing it at all.

 

[phoamslinger]

OK then, Brent_Nall and Wik starting in just a few minutes from now, going to 6pm Sunday. I will be judging...

(Pour and InVinoVeritas, your match will start at Noon on Sunday.)

***

a short introduction for those who don’t know me.

I won the first Nutkinland Iron DM tourney and I’ve run a couple of them since (including the Iron Tapestry, which if Nemm ever gets it up on his site is a full 20+ level campaign setting as well as a blast to read). I like thinking outside the box and creative usage of the various ingredients. So if you spin me a tale of a group of women who hire the group to rob a bank, escaping through a swamp where they have to fight a hydra using a magic potion, I know which one I WON’T be picking for the win. in other words, a generic plot device hires the PCs to rob a generic target in a generic setting, fighting a generic monster with a generic magic item is not the way to go. stretch your creativity a bit here guys and girls.

another thing I look hard at is why the ingredient is there. if I can replace the hydra with an ogre or a group of troglodytes and it would make no major difference to the plot, I’m not as impressed. (the best example of this I ever saw btw, the ingredient was Brass Buttons: the secret villain was recognizable by the buttons on his clothes, but when he made his escape through a crevice, the buttons popped off his vest providing the clue who had committed the crime! that item could not have been replaced with anything else without changing how the scenario ended, therefore it was integral to the overall story.)

I also look for links between the ingredients; how does the first relate to each of the others, how does the second relate to the rest, etc.

so be creative and tell a good, fun story and you’ll do well.

and your ingredients are there!

 

[InVinoVeritas]

...and now I'm here.

Just to check, I work typically from 8am-7pm EST Mon-Fri... I don't think I would have had the opportunity to see that the round would exist at any time today.

 

[Wik]

So, here's my submission.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/plots-places/266192-iron-dm-2009-match-1-a.html#post4957525

It was a lot harder than I thought it'd be! My ingredients were tough to gel together cohesively, for sure.

 

[rogueboy]

I have nothing but respect for everyone who does this. I would love to participate, but there is no way I have enough time to do so (I barely have enough time to keep up on the forums)

Perhaps next time I'll have more time and will be able to participate, we'll see. For this time, good luck all, and I look forward to all the entries!

 

[humble minion]

the Iron Tapestry, which if Nemm ever gets it up on his site is a full 20+ level campaign setting as well as a blast to read

Agreed! That's an incredible piece of imagination and worldbuilding, and I sincerely hope to see it accessible some time soon. It's in fact the reason I'm doing this in the first place, I found it so inspirational.

For what it's worth, I'm utterly terrified of my turn coming around, and simultaneously can't wait. This could be rough, but dammit, I'm going to submit SOMETHING no matter how tricky the ingredients!

 

[Pour]

For what it's worth, I'm utterly terrified of my turn coming around, and simultaneously can't wait. This could be rough, but dammit, I'm going to submit SOMETHING no matter how tricky the ingredients!

Same here.

And high noon tomorrow sounds perfect.

 

[CleverNickName]

Wow...another early submission! If I have any time left over after writing my adventure, I think I would be tempted to continue polishing and adding to it right up to the buzzer. I hope it doesn't count against me if I use every single minute of the time available to me...

 

[Woas]

I saw on the previous page that Iron DM is 'edition-neutral'. But is it 'game-neutral' too, or just aimed at D&D? I didn't see that anywhere...

Thanks!

 

[Nifft]

I saw on the previous page that Iron DM is 'edition-neutral'. But is it 'game-neutral' too, or just aimed at D&D? I didn't see that anywhere...

Thanks!

It is game-neutral, but... use discretion.

Usability is a criteria for judgment. If your entry is only usable in some custom homebrew game system, it's not gonna win. Likewise, a less-used game (like SW Saga or d20 Modern) has a usability gap that must be compensated for with that much more awesomeness in all other areas.

Also, many ingredients are drawn from D&D's iconic landscape. If you get the ingredient "Grell", for example, you'd better do a damn good job convincing me that at least one "Grell" belongs in whatever game and/or setting you choose.

Grell in d20 Modern? Plausible.
Grell in Exalted? Hoo boy.

That said, you may be inspired to create such a work of overwhelming awesomeness, that it more than compensates for your game and/or setting handicap.

So basically: use discretion.

"You Do Your Best, We'll Do Our Worst!", -- N