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IRON DM 2023 Tournament Thread
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<blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 9206718" data-attributes="member: 221"><p><strong>Iron DM 2023 Round 3, Final Match</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>[USER=7023840]@Snarf Zagyg[/USER] vs. [USER=11760]@Whizbang Dustyboots[/USER]</strong></p><p></p><p>As we enter the last match of this year’s Iron DM, we have Snarf Zagyg giving us yet again another self-contained game disguised as an adventure, this time a storytelling meta-game with three antagonistic goals meant to provide tension between the storytellers as they try to create a set of rules that allows one of the three goals to become reality. On the other hand we have an epic end-of the multiverse as we know it (but we feel fine) adventure as the PCs race to stop a villain from blowing everything up, or maybe choosing to replace all things with a multiverse remade in their own image (though this latter choice is not actually overly contemplated in the text).</p><p></p><p>Scanning through the entries, I have two immediate thoughts, both of which I have commented on in previous judgments this year. The second, which I will mention first, is that this is meant to be a contest in providing the outline of an adventure, and while it might be helpful to a writer to frame his adventure within a game system such as 5e, it is not necessary, nor is it necessary to provide mechanics relative to the adventure. The judges are not supposed to be considering the mechanics of an offering, they are judging how well the given ingredients have been used to craft a captivating adventure/story for use in a role-playing session. This round, both entrants spend valuable word-count giving us mechanics. This isn’t really necessary.</p><p></p><p>The other thing I will note upfront is that while on the one hand, I admire Snarf’s single-minded dedication to crafting one-page games as Iron DM entries, they often fall short of what I personally want as an Iron DM judge. I think that in the second round it worked, but that was an exception to my general receptivity to the practice. Its not just that I’m a fairly traditional sort of gamer, and story-telling improv exercises, while I understand them, are not necessarily my cup of tea, what I want in an Iron DM offering is an adventure being presented to explore, not a demand that the the participants craft their own adventures as they go. Relatedly, all the time spent trying to make rules, goes back to my other thought: In Iron DM, I am less interested in the mechanics of the adventure than the story of the adventure. I can critique mechanics, but its not what I am here to judge, and the most beautifully crafted mechanic, if it does not actually integrate seamlessly with the story, is somewhat meaningless in swaying the judgment. If your whole entry is a mechanical offering, and I am forced to judge the mechanics, we are starting off, I feel, on the wrong foot.</p><p></p><p>All that being said, lets get down to actual cases, and look at how these two entries do this round. I shall designate Snarf Zagyg’s “<strong><em>Notes from a Tavern</em></strong>” as “<strong>Tavern</strong>,” and Whizbang Dustyboots’ “<strong><em>The Dungeon at the End of the Multiverse</em></strong>” as “<strong>End</strong>.”</p><p></p><p>Both entries were on time and under word-count, so we will jump right into our ingredients, of which there were eight.</p><p></p><p>The first ingredient was a <strong><em>guardian goose</em></strong>, one of the ingredients I suggested after listening to a discussion of the historical use of geese as guard animals on the BBC. It tickled me, and I wanted to see what our contestants could do with it. <strong>Tavern</strong> uses the goose as a mechanic by which the PCs are kept in their tavern, from which there is no escape. There is nothing here that tells me why they can’t simply beat up the goose, but I guess that is on the participants to come up with a reason. This gets to a complaint I have about the <strong>Tavern</strong> “adventure” as a whole, two complaints actually. The first is that the ingredients all seem rather arbitrary, used only because they were on the list, but there is no real reason for any of them to be what they are, except that is what they are. But secondly, what and how these things work (not mechanically, but just in the context of the fiction) is left completely up to the creativity of the participants. Which is, in my opinion, a lazy way of writing an adventure. The PCs are just given a description of something that is, and then they have to do all the work in figuring out the what, where, why, how, and so forth. I will not be repeating this complaint throughout, but the reader can assume I am likely making it multiple times going forward. On the other-hand, we have a massive star goose in <strong><em>End</em></strong> which serves as both guardian and doorway thanks to t<strong><em>he hollow peg-leg</em></strong> of the goose. This is, in my opinion, a great way of tying two ingredients together, and is I think a great use of both ingredients. And since I mentioned the <strong><em>hollow peg-leg</em></strong>, I will jump ahead and say that in <strong>Tavern</strong>, I am not sure exactly what the peg-leg is adding to the adventure, except that it is there. There is nothing I can see where the peg-leg makes any difference in the adventure at all. And this is my second thing I will say about the various ingredients in Tavern: They are there, but so what? Do the players/PCs, as they craft their own story even have to interact with any of these ingredients? What if the ingredient is never mentioned by any of the participants as they brainstorm new rules and situations? So, with both ingredients, advantage <strong>End</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Moving on to <strong><em>Flooded Cavern</em></strong>, both adventures have one, though I have to again wonder what the purpose of the flooded cavern in <strong>Tavern </strong>is, other than being there? See all the above ingredient critiques above. On the other hand, in <strong>End</strong>, the flooded cavern is a bit more integral as an obstacle that has to be overcome, and it is in a wettish sort of world, so it thematically makes sense. So again advantage <strong>End</strong>.</p><p></p><p>When we get to <strong><em>Elemental Orchestra</em></strong>, I am going to have to once more give the advantage to <strong>End</strong>, though I think this is perhaps the weakest of the ingredients in the adventure. It provides some background color, but if none of the adventurers have musical inclinations, it probably is nothing more than that. But with <strong>Tavern</strong>, while I appreciate the play on words being utilized, we have the ingredient being made into a weak sort of Macguffin, easily replaced by any other band, or even event, and then we have an actual album (which the players may not even own – I confess I do not), being used not as an ingredient but as a mechanic. Cute, but not really what in my mind the contest is about.</p><p></p><p>The next ingredient is <strong><em>Legendary Door</em></strong>, and I think that this is <strong>Tavern’s </strong>strongest ingredient use within the meta-game structure of the narrative. But an ultimate locked door which is the ideal of all locked doors is both epic and entirely fitting to the narrative of <strong>End</strong>, and I am going to have to again give the advantage to <strong>End</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Which brings us to c<strong><em>ured orc</em></strong>, and the word-play of <strong>Tavern </strong>is, as one might expect from the author, clever. But cleverness is not the same as being integral. Why does it have to be cured orc? Why not pickled fairy-feet, or the apple of a dream? Again, it is cute, but cute only goes so far. On the other hand, the cured orc of <strong>End </strong>is a definitive antagonist, and though I am not sure he has to be an orc, orcs are a staple across fantasy worlds, and there is something poetic about an ancient, immortal orc who has left violence behind and seeks to lift his whole race through remaking the cosmos, so once more I lean towards <strong>End </strong>as having the better use.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Time and Space bomb</em></strong>, in <strong>Tavern</strong>, is a potential player goal, one of three. It is weakened as an ingredient in that it is creation of semantics, and also may never see use if the players don’t go that way with their storytelling. The “bomb” of <strong>End </strong>is nothing less than the end of existence as we (the PCs) know it. Clear advantage here to <strong>End</strong>.</p><p></p><p>And thus the final ingredient, a <strong><em>captivating toy</em></strong>. In <strong>End</strong>, this is a device which can potentially sidetrack the PCs. A decent enough use. I had to read, and reread, <strong>Tavern </strong>to figure this one out, and I am left to conclude that the captivating toy is the game itself which the PCs are trying to escape from? I would mark this one higher, but the ambiguity, and the fact that I am just guessing that this is the ingredient means I am not going to.</p><p></p><p>Throughout the ingredients, in my estimation, <strong>End </strong>has a clear, lopsided advantage. But what of useability and appeal?</p><p></p><p>With <strong>End</strong>, we have an epic, over-the-top, campaign ending adventure which, though niche is still a great outline of an adventure. It doesn’t hit all the right notes with me, but there’s enough there that I could see myself using the scenario given the right circumstances. Good job with a tough set of ingredients. I especially like the massive star fowl with a peg-leg, and could see lifting that idea for inclusion elsewhere.</p><p></p><p>With <strong>Tavern</strong>, I have some issues. Firstly, while it is a game, and technically it is a role-playing game, I am not convinced it properly qualifies as an adventure. It is a story-telling exercise where, at the end, the participants are encouraged to stop making up their own game and just go play <em>Dungeons and Dragons</em>. I like games, and there are even some story-telling games I have enjoyed over the years (<em>Aye, Dark Overlord</em> comes to mind; <em>But Wait, There’s More</em> is a good one I would gladly play). Such exercises work best, in my opinion with either a judge or a voting system of some sort. In the improv exercise that is offered here, I suspect that there will either be confusion as to how to win, or else the stronger story-teller will always win (which is a weakness of the genre; same as with a skilled artist playing Pictionary). The thing is only going to be useable if you have a set of equally skilled players, and all are on the same page as to how to discern a winner. The ingredients are mere window-dressing, meant to be creative writing seeds, and its very likely the players will create all of their own ingredients as they go along anyway. It’s a valiant effort crafted according to its authors own internal rules as to how to play Iron DM, but in my opinion, it is less effective an entry than I would like to see.</p><p></p><p>[spoiler=”Judgment”]</p><p>At this point, it should be no surprise that I think The Dungeon at the End of the Multiverse is the better entry and the clear winner, and I vote for Whizbang Dustboots to be this year’s Iron DM.</p><p></p><p>I see that once more, Radiating Gnome and I are split in our decisions, so we again must await the third judgement.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Notes From a Tavern</u> (Tavern)</strong></p><p><strong>Follows Rules 6</strong></p><p><strong>Ingredient Use</strong></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Guardian Goose 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Flooded Cavern 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Hollow Peg-leg 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Elemental Orchestra .5</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Legendary Door 1.5</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Cured Orc 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Time and Space Bomb .5</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Captivating Toy 1 <strong>(total 7.516)</strong></p><p><strong>Useability 2</strong></p><p><strong>Appeal 2</strong></p><p><strong>TOTAL SCORE 17.5/34</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong><u>The Dungeon at the End of the Multiverse </u>(End)</strong></p><p><strong>Follows Rules 6</strong></p><p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Guardian Goose 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Flooded Cavern 1.5</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Hollow Peg-leg 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Elemental Orchestra 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Legendary Door 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Cured Orc 1.5</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Time and Space Bomb 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Captivating Toy 2 <strong>(total 14/16)</strong></p><p><strong>Useability 6 </strong></p><p><strong>Appeal 4</strong></p><p><strong>TOTAL SCORE 29.5/34</strong>[/spoiler]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wicht, post: 9206718, member: 221"] [B]Iron DM 2023 Round 3, Final Match [USER=7023840]@Snarf Zagyg[/USER] vs. [USER=11760]@Whizbang Dustyboots[/USER][/B] As we enter the last match of this year’s Iron DM, we have Snarf Zagyg giving us yet again another self-contained game disguised as an adventure, this time a storytelling meta-game with three antagonistic goals meant to provide tension between the storytellers as they try to create a set of rules that allows one of the three goals to become reality. On the other hand we have an epic end-of the multiverse as we know it (but we feel fine) adventure as the PCs race to stop a villain from blowing everything up, or maybe choosing to replace all things with a multiverse remade in their own image (though this latter choice is not actually overly contemplated in the text). Scanning through the entries, I have two immediate thoughts, both of which I have commented on in previous judgments this year. The second, which I will mention first, is that this is meant to be a contest in providing the outline of an adventure, and while it might be helpful to a writer to frame his adventure within a game system such as 5e, it is not necessary, nor is it necessary to provide mechanics relative to the adventure. The judges are not supposed to be considering the mechanics of an offering, they are judging how well the given ingredients have been used to craft a captivating adventure/story for use in a role-playing session. This round, both entrants spend valuable word-count giving us mechanics. This isn’t really necessary. The other thing I will note upfront is that while on the one hand, I admire Snarf’s single-minded dedication to crafting one-page games as Iron DM entries, they often fall short of what I personally want as an Iron DM judge. I think that in the second round it worked, but that was an exception to my general receptivity to the practice. Its not just that I’m a fairly traditional sort of gamer, and story-telling improv exercises, while I understand them, are not necessarily my cup of tea, what I want in an Iron DM offering is an adventure being presented to explore, not a demand that the the participants craft their own adventures as they go. Relatedly, all the time spent trying to make rules, goes back to my other thought: In Iron DM, I am less interested in the mechanics of the adventure than the story of the adventure. I can critique mechanics, but its not what I am here to judge, and the most beautifully crafted mechanic, if it does not actually integrate seamlessly with the story, is somewhat meaningless in swaying the judgment. If your whole entry is a mechanical offering, and I am forced to judge the mechanics, we are starting off, I feel, on the wrong foot. All that being said, lets get down to actual cases, and look at how these two entries do this round. I shall designate Snarf Zagyg’s “[B][I]Notes from a Tavern[/I][/B]” as “[B]Tavern[/B],” and Whizbang Dustyboots’ “[B][I]The Dungeon at the End of the Multiverse[/I][/B]” as “[B]End[/B].” Both entries were on time and under word-count, so we will jump right into our ingredients, of which there were eight. The first ingredient was a [B][I]guardian goose[/I][/B], one of the ingredients I suggested after listening to a discussion of the historical use of geese as guard animals on the BBC. It tickled me, and I wanted to see what our contestants could do with it. [B]Tavern[/B] uses the goose as a mechanic by which the PCs are kept in their tavern, from which there is no escape. There is nothing here that tells me why they can’t simply beat up the goose, but I guess that is on the participants to come up with a reason. This gets to a complaint I have about the [B]Tavern[/B] “adventure” as a whole, two complaints actually. The first is that the ingredients all seem rather arbitrary, used only because they were on the list, but there is no real reason for any of them to be what they are, except that is what they are. But secondly, what and how these things work (not mechanically, but just in the context of the fiction) is left completely up to the creativity of the participants. Which is, in my opinion, a lazy way of writing an adventure. The PCs are just given a description of something that is, and then they have to do all the work in figuring out the what, where, why, how, and so forth. I will not be repeating this complaint throughout, but the reader can assume I am likely making it multiple times going forward. On the other-hand, we have a massive star goose in [B][I]End[/I][/B] which serves as both guardian and doorway thanks to t[B][I]he hollow peg-leg[/I][/B] of the goose. This is, in my opinion, a great way of tying two ingredients together, and is I think a great use of both ingredients. And since I mentioned the [B][I]hollow peg-leg[/I][/B], I will jump ahead and say that in [B]Tavern[/B], I am not sure exactly what the peg-leg is adding to the adventure, except that it is there. There is nothing I can see where the peg-leg makes any difference in the adventure at all. And this is my second thing I will say about the various ingredients in Tavern: They are there, but so what? Do the players/PCs, as they craft their own story even have to interact with any of these ingredients? What if the ingredient is never mentioned by any of the participants as they brainstorm new rules and situations? So, with both ingredients, advantage [B]End[/B]. Moving on to [B][I]Flooded Cavern[/I][/B], both adventures have one, though I have to again wonder what the purpose of the flooded cavern in [B]Tavern [/B]is, other than being there? See all the above ingredient critiques above. On the other hand, in [B]End[/B], the flooded cavern is a bit more integral as an obstacle that has to be overcome, and it is in a wettish sort of world, so it thematically makes sense. So again advantage [B]End[/B]. When we get to [B][I]Elemental Orchestra[/I][/B], I am going to have to once more give the advantage to [B]End[/B], though I think this is perhaps the weakest of the ingredients in the adventure. It provides some background color, but if none of the adventurers have musical inclinations, it probably is nothing more than that. But with [B]Tavern[/B], while I appreciate the play on words being utilized, we have the ingredient being made into a weak sort of Macguffin, easily replaced by any other band, or even event, and then we have an actual album (which the players may not even own – I confess I do not), being used not as an ingredient but as a mechanic. Cute, but not really what in my mind the contest is about. The next ingredient is [B][I]Legendary Door[/I][/B], and I think that this is [B]Tavern’s [/B]strongest ingredient use within the meta-game structure of the narrative. But an ultimate locked door which is the ideal of all locked doors is both epic and entirely fitting to the narrative of [B]End[/B], and I am going to have to again give the advantage to [B]End[/B]. Which brings us to c[B][I]ured orc[/I][/B], and the word-play of [B]Tavern [/B]is, as one might expect from the author, clever. But cleverness is not the same as being integral. Why does it have to be cured orc? Why not pickled fairy-feet, or the apple of a dream? Again, it is cute, but cute only goes so far. On the other hand, the cured orc of [B]End [/B]is a definitive antagonist, and though I am not sure he has to be an orc, orcs are a staple across fantasy worlds, and there is something poetic about an ancient, immortal orc who has left violence behind and seeks to lift his whole race through remaking the cosmos, so once more I lean towards [B]End [/B]as having the better use. [B][I]Time and Space bomb[/I][/B], in [B]Tavern[/B], is a potential player goal, one of three. It is weakened as an ingredient in that it is creation of semantics, and also may never see use if the players don’t go that way with their storytelling. The “bomb” of [B]End [/B]is nothing less than the end of existence as we (the PCs) know it. Clear advantage here to [B]End[/B]. And thus the final ingredient, a [B][I]captivating toy[/I][/B]. In [B]End[/B], this is a device which can potentially sidetrack the PCs. A decent enough use. I had to read, and reread, [B]Tavern [/B]to figure this one out, and I am left to conclude that the captivating toy is the game itself which the PCs are trying to escape from? I would mark this one higher, but the ambiguity, and the fact that I am just guessing that this is the ingredient means I am not going to. Throughout the ingredients, in my estimation, [B]End [/B]has a clear, lopsided advantage. But what of useability and appeal? With [B]End[/B], we have an epic, over-the-top, campaign ending adventure which, though niche is still a great outline of an adventure. It doesn’t hit all the right notes with me, but there’s enough there that I could see myself using the scenario given the right circumstances. Good job with a tough set of ingredients. I especially like the massive star fowl with a peg-leg, and could see lifting that idea for inclusion elsewhere. With [B]Tavern[/B], I have some issues. Firstly, while it is a game, and technically it is a role-playing game, I am not convinced it properly qualifies as an adventure. It is a story-telling exercise where, at the end, the participants are encouraged to stop making up their own game and just go play [I]Dungeons and Dragons[/I]. I like games, and there are even some story-telling games I have enjoyed over the years ([I]Aye, Dark Overlord[/I] comes to mind; [I]But Wait, There’s More[/I] is a good one I would gladly play). Such exercises work best, in my opinion with either a judge or a voting system of some sort. In the improv exercise that is offered here, I suspect that there will either be confusion as to how to win, or else the stronger story-teller will always win (which is a weakness of the genre; same as with a skilled artist playing Pictionary). The thing is only going to be useable if you have a set of equally skilled players, and all are on the same page as to how to discern a winner. The ingredients are mere window-dressing, meant to be creative writing seeds, and its very likely the players will create all of their own ingredients as they go along anyway. It’s a valiant effort crafted according to its authors own internal rules as to how to play Iron DM, but in my opinion, it is less effective an entry than I would like to see. [spoiler=”Judgment”] At this point, it should be no surprise that I think The Dungeon at the End of the Multiverse is the better entry and the clear winner, and I vote for Whizbang Dustboots to be this year’s Iron DM. I see that once more, Radiating Gnome and I are split in our decisions, so we again must await the third judgement. [B][U]Notes From a Tavern[/U] (Tavern) Follows Rules 6 Ingredient Use[/B] [INDENT]Guardian Goose 1[/INDENT] [INDENT]Flooded Cavern 1[/INDENT] [INDENT]Hollow Peg-leg 1[/INDENT] [INDENT]Elemental Orchestra .5[/INDENT] [INDENT]Legendary Door 1.5[/INDENT] [INDENT]Cured Orc 1[/INDENT] [INDENT]Time and Space Bomb .5[/INDENT] [INDENT]Captivating Toy 1 [B](total 7.516)[/B][/INDENT] [B]Useability 2 Appeal 2 TOTAL SCORE 17.5/34 [U]The Dungeon at the End of the Multiverse [/U](End) Follows Rules 6 Ingredients[/B] [INDENT]Guardian Goose 2[/INDENT] [INDENT]Flooded Cavern 1.5[/INDENT] [INDENT]Hollow Peg-leg 2[/INDENT] [INDENT]Elemental Orchestra 1[/INDENT] [INDENT]Legendary Door 2[/INDENT] [INDENT]Cured Orc 1.5[/INDENT] [INDENT]Time and Space Bomb 2[/INDENT] [INDENT]Captivating Toy 2 [B](total 14/16)[/B][/INDENT] [B]Useability 6 Appeal 4 TOTAL SCORE 29.5/34[/B][/spoiler] [/QUOTE]
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