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Iron dm summer champion announced!
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<blockquote data-quote="Rune" data-source="post: 996759" data-attributes="member: 67"><p><strong>IRON DM SUMMER 2003 JUDGMENT!</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Nemmerle vs. Seasong</strong></p><p></p><p>Well, I'm going to start by saying that I'm slightly disappointed with these submissions. I had expected better from both contestants at this point in the tournament.</p><p></p><p>That's not to say that these entries are bad, but they're certainly unpolished.</p><p></p><p>Ah well.</p><p></p><p>There is, at least, a lot of good stuff to latch onto. Take, for instance, the hooks. In Nemmerle's case, they are all varied and plausible. In Seasong's case, they are also varied, with the added bonus of being bastardly, in some cases. Getting the PCs to start the scenario by advancing the goals of someone they'll later be trying to stop is a very nice touch.</p><p></p><p>I also like the format of both works. Seasong's has an interesting "stop the bad-guy by any means at your disposal" quality to it, as well as an implied frantic rush against time. Meanwhile, Nemmerle provides an amazingly evocative saga (journey/Odyssey) format that strikes me in all the right ways.</p><p></p><p>And, most importantly, it's <em>very</em> creative. I love the red-herring court, the horseshoes used as a means of transport to the moon, the moral ambiguity inherent in aquiring them, all of the other means described of getting to the moon, and the wonderful character of the Empress of Dreams. Add to that the excellent tips on running the dream-city, and I'm practically ready to hand the crown over right now.</p><p></p><p>But then I read Seasong's and see the (characteristically) excellent characterization, the complex and weighty motives, the well-handled epic scope of the adventure, and I'm not so sure, anymore.</p><p></p><p>Additionally, Seasong's scenario allows for a follow-up campaign, much, much better than Nemmerle's, which relies mostly on the curriosity of PCs to explore the unknown, especially if the PCs fail stop Ing from becoming a goddess. Suddenly, there's a totally new evil goddess up there, with a totally new porfolio--and she's out to get the other gods!</p><p></p><p>Okay, so how were the ingredients handled?</p><p></p><p>Well, neither entrant fell for the "leach/leech" trap. I very much like the way Nemmerle's leach (the verb form) drains the wisdom and sanity of folk through dreams. Very cthuloid. On the other hand, using the noun version of the word gets Seasong extra points, even if it isn't overly intrigal to the story.</p><p></p><p>I think both entries used the Horn of Valhalla paricularly well. I especially liked seeing a well-fleshed out artifact version in Seasong's entry, but the link to the dream-city in Nemmerle's is also exceptionally good.</p><p></p><p>Both entries use the Dark side of the moon effectively. It's nice to see it as the source of dreams in Nemm's entry--quite creative. On the other hand, using it, not only as an encounter location, but also as a "reward" for failure (that is the domain of the new, evil goddess) is very nice.</p><p></p><p>I loved both Wuxia cats, even while I was disappointed with them. Their characterization was excellent, and both were quite evocative, but neither needed to be a cat and both looked like they were cats, merely because cat was part of the ingredient. Seasong's partial explanation for the form went a little ways toward solving the problem, but not far enough. Another problem with the ingredient use is that Seasong's character is <em>way too heavy-handed</em>, so much so that he smacks of railroading. Meanwhile, it doesn't make any sense whatsoever for the Emperess of Dreams in Nemm's entry to duel anybody, and telling me that it's a dream and shouldn't make sense won't help the players warm up to the idea any better.</p><p></p><p>The use of the lost vault wasn't particularly special in either scenario, but I did like the writhing nature of Nemm's version.</p><p></p><p>As for other ingredients, they are mostly good, and don't count against the players (I love, for instance, Nemm's Spider Monkey and Seasong's Eyes), but Seasong does include a poor one, which I can't let slide. I really think calling Asgard and other mythological locations a "fairy-tale land" is just stretching it too far. You wouldn't call them that if I hadn't included it as an ingredient, would you?</p><p></p><p>Okay. Neither of these entries is perfect, but with work, both would be excellent to run. Seasong, I really like the form of this one, and the epic scope could be unwieldy, but isn't. If you had submitted something of the quality of your last entry, I probably wouldn't even have bothered reading an opponent's (that's hyperbole, by the way).</p><p></p><p>Nemmerle's got a scenario that shines with creative inspiration and a format that works well for it. It's pretty sloppy--but the <em>meat</em> of it is all good.</p><p></p><p><strong>Seasong</strong>, you are the <strong>Secondary Champion of Iron DM Summer 2003</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Which means, <strong>Nemmerle</strong> is <em>the</em> <strong>IRON DM SUMMER 2003</strong>!</p><p></p><p>Congratulations!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rune, post: 996759, member: 67"] [b]IRON DM SUMMER 2003 JUDGMENT![/b] [b]Nemmerle vs. Seasong[/b] Well, I'm going to start by saying that I'm slightly disappointed with these submissions. I had expected better from both contestants at this point in the tournament. That's not to say that these entries are bad, but they're certainly unpolished. Ah well. There is, at least, a lot of good stuff to latch onto. Take, for instance, the hooks. In Nemmerle's case, they are all varied and plausible. In Seasong's case, they are also varied, with the added bonus of being bastardly, in some cases. Getting the PCs to start the scenario by advancing the goals of someone they'll later be trying to stop is a very nice touch. I also like the format of both works. Seasong's has an interesting "stop the bad-guy by any means at your disposal" quality to it, as well as an implied frantic rush against time. Meanwhile, Nemmerle provides an amazingly evocative saga (journey/Odyssey) format that strikes me in all the right ways. And, most importantly, it's [i]very[/i] creative. I love the red-herring court, the horseshoes used as a means of transport to the moon, the moral ambiguity inherent in aquiring them, all of the other means described of getting to the moon, and the wonderful character of the Empress of Dreams. Add to that the excellent tips on running the dream-city, and I'm practically ready to hand the crown over right now. But then I read Seasong's and see the (characteristically) excellent characterization, the complex and weighty motives, the well-handled epic scope of the adventure, and I'm not so sure, anymore. Additionally, Seasong's scenario allows for a follow-up campaign, much, much better than Nemmerle's, which relies mostly on the curriosity of PCs to explore the unknown, especially if the PCs fail stop Ing from becoming a goddess. Suddenly, there's a totally new evil goddess up there, with a totally new porfolio--and she's out to get the other gods! Okay, so how were the ingredients handled? Well, neither entrant fell for the "leach/leech" trap. I very much like the way Nemmerle's leach (the verb form) drains the wisdom and sanity of folk through dreams. Very cthuloid. On the other hand, using the noun version of the word gets Seasong extra points, even if it isn't overly intrigal to the story. I think both entries used the Horn of Valhalla paricularly well. I especially liked seeing a well-fleshed out artifact version in Seasong's entry, but the link to the dream-city in Nemmerle's is also exceptionally good. Both entries use the Dark side of the moon effectively. It's nice to see it as the source of dreams in Nemm's entry--quite creative. On the other hand, using it, not only as an encounter location, but also as a "reward" for failure (that is the domain of the new, evil goddess) is very nice. I loved both Wuxia cats, even while I was disappointed with them. Their characterization was excellent, and both were quite evocative, but neither needed to be a cat and both looked like they were cats, merely because cat was part of the ingredient. Seasong's partial explanation for the form went a little ways toward solving the problem, but not far enough. Another problem with the ingredient use is that Seasong's character is [i]way too heavy-handed[/i], so much so that he smacks of railroading. Meanwhile, it doesn't make any sense whatsoever for the Emperess of Dreams in Nemm's entry to duel anybody, and telling me that it's a dream and shouldn't make sense won't help the players warm up to the idea any better. The use of the lost vault wasn't particularly special in either scenario, but I did like the writhing nature of Nemm's version. As for other ingredients, they are mostly good, and don't count against the players (I love, for instance, Nemm's Spider Monkey and Seasong's Eyes), but Seasong does include a poor one, which I can't let slide. I really think calling Asgard and other mythological locations a "fairy-tale land" is just stretching it too far. You wouldn't call them that if I hadn't included it as an ingredient, would you? Okay. Neither of these entries is perfect, but with work, both would be excellent to run. Seasong, I really like the form of this one, and the epic scope could be unwieldy, but isn't. If you had submitted something of the quality of your last entry, I probably wouldn't even have bothered reading an opponent's (that's hyperbole, by the way). Nemmerle's got a scenario that shines with creative inspiration and a format that works well for it. It's pretty sloppy--but the [i]meat[/i] of it is all good. [b]Seasong[/b], you are the [b]Secondary Champion of Iron DM Summer 2003[/b]. Which means, [b]Nemmerle[/b] is [i]the[/i] [b]IRON DM SUMMER 2003[/b]! Congratulations! [/QUOTE]
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