Wicht
Hero
Another judgment is in... nailbiting can continue.
Iron DM 2023 Scheduling Thread
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
That's always my approach (except the writing bit). I always try to look at the ingredients, and then just think about them for a while. And keep thinking about them periodically. But I don't start writing until after I've slept once.
And while I mightily struggled with this list, going through and discarding a lot of ideas, when I woke up this morning it all clicked. I'm not saying it clicked in a manner that's any good ... but at least it clicked in a manner that I find entertaining.
Gradine
The Elephant in the Room (she/her)
@Whizbang Dustyboots and @FitzTheRuke, your final judgment of the match has been posted. Congratulations and/or condolences, as appropriate.
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
The fun / crazy-making part of Iron DM is that I never end up writing what I thought I might be writing.
I'll write a brief bit on the process for this latest entry, for those interested. I'll put it in spoiler tags for judges, competitors, and, um, for those not interested!
I'll write a brief bit on the process for this latest entry, for those interested. I'll put it in spoiler tags for judges, competitors, and, um, for those not interested!
Remember how I said that I was incredibly frustrated by the list of ingredients? Well, Iron Sky noticed (and said) the same thing that I was thinking- Owlbear is a D&Dism, and when Owlbear is in your list of ingredients, it's really really really hard to not think about D&D! Because there aren't Owlbears outside of D&D.
Except that I didn't want to do a D&D adventure. Call me stubborn, but I like to play with the form when I'm doing this. And yet, owlbear was there, mocking me and my pretensions. C'mon, Snarf. You know you want to do a 5e adventure. Not one of your usual weird things. Do it. Do it now.
So yesterday, in between working on other things, my mind kept coming back to this. And I was cycling through a number of ideas- one that I kept returning to was some kind of RPG centered around a creative battle between RPG designers, and the "goal" was creating a game (I had it kinda worked out). Then I started working out a way to do Being John Malkovich as an RPG, but with Gary Gygax instead. Then I was thinking about an RPG about the D&D movie ... yes, "Hit or Flop" was involved. But the other ingredients weren't speaking to me for any of those ideas. Maybe a horror game? I could totally do Silent Choir in a horror game. But I just did a horror game ... well, a tragic horror game, but close enough. I don't like to repeat myself.
Anyway, as I was drifting off to sleep last night, for some reason I was thinking about Will Ferrell and his impression of a prior president, and the whole "Animal-Human Hybrid" thing. And then when I woke up this morning, I was like ... Gamma World?
But wait ... BETTER THAN GAMMA WORLD! Because Rowdy Roddy Piper. And also because I can't resist messing with the mechanics and form of games. The rest just tumbled out. Not in a good way, mind you, but at least it was written.
The lesson, as always, is that the mind is a terrible thing totaste waste. Or something. Honestly, there really isn't a lesson there. Other than eff owlbears. Ima put them on the Bard list.
Except that I didn't want to do a D&D adventure. Call me stubborn, but I like to play with the form when I'm doing this. And yet, owlbear was there, mocking me and my pretensions. C'mon, Snarf. You know you want to do a 5e adventure. Not one of your usual weird things. Do it. Do it now.
So yesterday, in between working on other things, my mind kept coming back to this. And I was cycling through a number of ideas- one that I kept returning to was some kind of RPG centered around a creative battle between RPG designers, and the "goal" was creating a game (I had it kinda worked out). Then I started working out a way to do Being John Malkovich as an RPG, but with Gary Gygax instead. Then I was thinking about an RPG about the D&D movie ... yes, "Hit or Flop" was involved. But the other ingredients weren't speaking to me for any of those ideas. Maybe a horror game? I could totally do Silent Choir in a horror game. But I just did a horror game ... well, a tragic horror game, but close enough. I don't like to repeat myself.
Anyway, as I was drifting off to sleep last night, for some reason I was thinking about Will Ferrell and his impression of a prior president, and the whole "Animal-Human Hybrid" thing. And then when I woke up this morning, I was like ... Gamma World?
But wait ... BETTER THAN GAMMA WORLD! Because Rowdy Roddy Piper. And also because I can't resist messing with the mechanics and form of games. The rest just tumbled out. Not in a good way, mind you, but at least it was written.
The lesson, as always, is that the mind is a terrible thing to
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
You went somewhere completely different than I would have. I made a remark on another thread the other day about a canonical origin for owlbears, and then saw your list of ingredients, and instantly, my mind went toward building an adventure centered around their secret origin.
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
Well, I think that the ingredient list is often just something that pokes and prods what is already rattling around in the brain.
The origin of the Owlbear would be a cool idea, but I tend to take ingredients figuratively, not literally.
That said, I would be somewhat surprised if anyone came up with similar things to me, simply because I'm kinda perverse in that way. I look at the ingredients and think, YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!
Which may explain why I don't win these things....
That said ...
Once I went with the whole "Gamma World" vibe because of Owlbear, everything snapped into place when I looked at the City in a Bottle. For me, the classic City in a Bottle is Logan's Run. This started me thinking about two things- that Logan's Run (and other "city in a bottle" futuristic scenarios) always have things not be what they first appear, and the classic tropes of '70s and '80s B movies, as we normally see in Corman and Golan & Globus (Cannon) productions.
The desert with a mix of "normal things" that are shot in a way to make them seem threatening (like dogs) and the borrowed sci-fi elements (always, always, always something under the ground .... almost as if Dune was influential). The weird plot elements that seem plausible, yet don't quite make sense (what does an injection have anything to do with an energy field that works on your eyes?). The main characters just get more aggro as the movie goes on, fighting everything. And they get better at fighting, too! The choices that were made because of budget (the exterior is a hill, but the interior of the lair is just rooms with food and stuff, almost like it was filmed in a regular building interior ... all of the people in the lair appear to be the same type of mutant hybrid because then you can re-use the same costume, etc.). The person who is with the party until ... they suddenly turn on them for reasons. And, of course, the idea that this is all occurring at some point in the distant future, and yet you can find a still-functioning nuclear warhead. Because isn't there always a still-functioning nuclear warhead?
I love those movies so much! And as I always say, The less you think about it, the more it makes sense!
As always, I couldn't tell if my references were too obvious, or not obvious enough. I did have one regret, which I will explain after the judges eviscerate me.
That said, I would be somewhat surprised if anyone came up with similar things to me, simply because I'm kinda perverse in that way. I look at the ingredients and think, YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!
Which may explain why I don't win these things....
That said ...
Once I went with the whole "Gamma World" vibe because of Owlbear, everything snapped into place when I looked at the City in a Bottle. For me, the classic City in a Bottle is Logan's Run. This started me thinking about two things- that Logan's Run (and other "city in a bottle" futuristic scenarios) always have things not be what they first appear, and the classic tropes of '70s and '80s B movies, as we normally see in Corman and Golan & Globus (Cannon) productions.
The desert with a mix of "normal things" that are shot in a way to make them seem threatening (like dogs) and the borrowed sci-fi elements (always, always, always something under the ground .... almost as if Dune was influential). The weird plot elements that seem plausible, yet don't quite make sense (what does an injection have anything to do with an energy field that works on your eyes?). The main characters just get more aggro as the movie goes on, fighting everything. And they get better at fighting, too! The choices that were made because of budget (the exterior is a hill, but the interior of the lair is just rooms with food and stuff, almost like it was filmed in a regular building interior ... all of the people in the lair appear to be the same type of mutant hybrid because then you can re-use the same costume, etc.). The person who is with the party until ... they suddenly turn on them for reasons. And, of course, the idea that this is all occurring at some point in the distant future, and yet you can find a still-functioning nuclear warhead. Because isn't there always a still-functioning nuclear warhead?
I love those movies so much! And as I always say, The less you think about it, the more it makes sense!
As always, I couldn't tell if my references were too obvious, or not obvious enough. I did have one regret, which I will explain after the judges eviscerate me.
Radiating Gnome
Adventurer
Wicht
Hero
My judgment for Match 2 is up.
I apologize for the delay in getting it done. I had a 4H zoo trip yesterday which literally consumed my entire day, and for which I had to work on other stuff overtime on Friday to make sure I had all my work done before losing Saturday.
I apologize for the delay in getting it done. I had a 4H zoo trip yesterday which literally consumed my entire day, and for which I had to work on other stuff overtime on Friday to make sure I had all my work done before losing Saturday.
Radiating Gnome
Adventurer
Spoiler to keep out Gradine until his judgement is in....
I'm going to laugh all week at our disagreement over Kettle and Cauldron. While similar, I consider them distinct cooking implements (one to cook, especially stews, another to boil water specifically).
And if that is not the DUMBEST thing to have an Iron DM debate over, I'll eat my shoe.
And if that is not the DUMBEST thing to have an Iron DM debate over, I'll eat my shoe.
