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[IRON DM] Winter '04 Tournament (IRON DM ANNOUNCED!)
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<blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 1364278" data-attributes="member: 11"><p><span style="font-size: 15px">Judgment of Round One - Second Match-Up: MacBeth vs. CarpeDavid</span></p><p></p><p>Oh man, this is one of those really tough matches to judge because - well, because both entries are awfully weak, but weak in different ways that make them hard to compare - However, both had elements I found very interesting, and as often happens in cases such as these a much better scenario could probably be crafted from a combination of the two. </p><p></p><p>But I can't put both entries in a blender and advance some frightening Frankenstienian combination of a contestant called MacDavid or CarpeBeth to the next round - so I choice must be made.</p><p>But who to choose?</p><p></p><p>Shall it be MacBeth?</p><p></p><p>Well, I have a problem with MacBeth's set-up right from the get-go. There is this conundrum with this kind of scenario; part of me chafes at the extra-fantastical set-up of a "faerie tale" world that does not have any specific explanation, while part of me understands the need to stretch the rules and introduce mysterious forces to have an adventure have a driving edge to it and keep the PCs on their toes, a have a problem with how it was accomplished. My problem is that the idea of faerie tales in a world where fairies are real and all the elements for such tales exist in the "real world" seems unlikely, as does the set up of having the witch read a children's book and be trapped within it - why would she read such a thing? Sure, this is all in the background, so it is not <em>so</em> bad, as it is not something the PCs directly interact with - but still, it gives me pause.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately for MacBeth, the problems with this scenario do not stop with the background information. While the capricious and cruel nature of the "vicious gnomes" acting "because it's fun!" can be written off as acceptable within the context of the adventure and I love their names and description, I have to wonder how they arrived in the "real world" to begin with. What is the connection between the wish-granting cow and the witch and how did she exert her will from the "fictional realm" into the real one to have the cow work for her scheme?</p><p></p><p>And here is a hint for all you would-be IRON DMs out there, however neat an idea you present might be (like having the wishes the cow grants transport you to a fairy tale world where they come true and replace you with thematically-aligned monsters to wreack havoc in the "real world") make sure you include a damn example or two, to show what you mean and as a guideline for how it is to be handled - otherwise it just comes off as a half-assed idea.</p><p></p><p>Really, the best idea from MacBeth's entry is the faded memory of the missing children. It was a good and creepy touch that kind of reminded me of <em>"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"</em>. It works, because it makes finding the children harder as there is no one else that seems to care that they are gone, while at the same time making obvious that something is wrong in the town. It was a good use of the ingredient, and better than the winter wolves that don't seem to need to be <em>winter</em> wolves at all.</p><p></p><p>But that's just about it. The climax doesn't work because all of sudden the witch is able to manifest herself in time for a big fight, and killing her returns the children and any missing PCs - too neat, too simple, and ignores elements set-up in the background of the scenario. What happened to the cursed book? Would it not have been better to include that somehow? Would it not have been better to set up the Rat Bastardly choice for the PCs of setting free the witch themselves in order to get the children back too? That's what this adventure needs, a moral quandry.</p><p></p><p>Making the cow omplacent was kind neat, if only because that is how cows come off; phlegmatic. But still, this adventure needs a lot more - like possible follow-ups for future adventures and perhaps a line about how the children might have been effected by their ordeal, etc. . .</p><p></p><p>And CarpeDavid?</p><p></p><p>CarpeDavid's entry also suffers from lack of follow-up options, but much like MacBeth's entry, problems plague this entry from the very beginning. I was liking it and thinking it would easily blow away MacBeth when I first started reading the background, but when I got to the "What the PCs Don't Know" section the bells started going off. </p><p></p><p>My first question: How in the heck does a 5th level illusionist cast so many damn illusions and keep them all up and working at once when the illusion spells available to him at that level require concentration? There is no way he'd be able to create 13 independently acting gnomes and 13 winter wolves. And later CarpeDavid has Snivilus using illusions to hide holes and such in his tower - how does he accomplish this?</p><p></p><p>"The Human Factor": CarpeDavid had got some of this in the guise of the parents of the selected child, though I like to see my NPCs fleshed out a bit more - but pathos helps to drive an adventure - and while the lack of concern in MacBeth's adventure is a result of the magic in the adventure itself and thus more than understandable, it is just a great idea - who can compete with grieiving and frightened parents? However, CD's use of 'complacency' is weak, and his description of the townsfolk reaction to having to give up their children seemed to be more aptly called "grudgingly", not "complacent'. </p><p></p><p>And what is with the wish-granting cow? Why a cow? What is its deal? It seems thrown in and its shape and function does not gel thematically with the rest of the adventure. At least MacBeth's cow had a personality, this one is nothing but a personified "deus ex machina" that allows the evil gnome to do some of the stuff he does. And I am of two mind with there being one wish left to the cow - while I am all for giving low level PCs possible rewards that could be dangerous (i.e. a wish), what keeps the desperate gnome from using the wish against them to insure victory? </p><p></p><p>However, the thing I love more than anything in BOTH entries is how the granted immortality works. Too bad immortality was not an ingredient, but it certainly works for why the gnome needed the children. I am not as sure about their melting (though it is a cool image, no pun intneded) and was expecting for them to be found as withered old men and women - but here is a question: Gnomes have a long-ass lifespan, why would he need children so often or even any at all yet, unless they somehow arrested his aging altogether (not something made clear). But still, the important thing is that it works thematically with the ice and frost stuff - and the tower itself is much better than MacBeth's because it fits the frost theme and there is good reason for it to be crumbly. And the use of the tower's crumbling state as an obstacle to getting to the gnome was a nice touch - not all encounters in an advbenture should be combat - environmental factors should come into play as well.</p><p></p><p>In the end, despite its weakness, the unity of theme and the good combination of the required ingredients pushes [spoiler]<span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>CarpeDavid's</strong></span>[/spoiler] entry over the finish line just a nose ahead [spoiler]of MacBeth.[/spoiler] It just seems like a potentially more fun adventure. However, if he hopes to make it past the second round (where he is likely to face Wulf), he is going to have to work a lot harder at some basic elements of adventure creation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="el-remmen, post: 1364278, member: 11"] [size=4]Judgment of Round One - Second Match-Up: MacBeth vs. CarpeDavid[/size] Oh man, this is one of those really tough matches to judge because - well, because both entries are awfully weak, but weak in different ways that make them hard to compare - However, both had elements I found very interesting, and as often happens in cases such as these a much better scenario could probably be crafted from a combination of the two. But I can't put both entries in a blender and advance some frightening Frankenstienian combination of a contestant called MacDavid or CarpeBeth to the next round - so I choice must be made. But who to choose? Shall it be MacBeth? Well, I have a problem with MacBeth's set-up right from the get-go. There is this conundrum with this kind of scenario; part of me chafes at the extra-fantastical set-up of a "faerie tale" world that does not have any specific explanation, while part of me understands the need to stretch the rules and introduce mysterious forces to have an adventure have a driving edge to it and keep the PCs on their toes, a have a problem with how it was accomplished. My problem is that the idea of faerie tales in a world where fairies are real and all the elements for such tales exist in the "real world" seems unlikely, as does the set up of having the witch read a children's book and be trapped within it - why would she read such a thing? Sure, this is all in the background, so it is not [i]so[/i] bad, as it is not something the PCs directly interact with - but still, it gives me pause. Unfortunately for MacBeth, the problems with this scenario do not stop with the background information. While the capricious and cruel nature of the "vicious gnomes" acting "because it's fun!" can be written off as acceptable within the context of the adventure and I love their names and description, I have to wonder how they arrived in the "real world" to begin with. What is the connection between the wish-granting cow and the witch and how did she exert her will from the "fictional realm" into the real one to have the cow work for her scheme? And here is a hint for all you would-be IRON DMs out there, however neat an idea you present might be (like having the wishes the cow grants transport you to a fairy tale world where they come true and replace you with thematically-aligned monsters to wreack havoc in the "real world") make sure you include a damn example or two, to show what you mean and as a guideline for how it is to be handled - otherwise it just comes off as a half-assed idea. Really, the best idea from MacBeth's entry is the faded memory of the missing children. It was a good and creepy touch that kind of reminded me of [i]"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"[/i]. It works, because it makes finding the children harder as there is no one else that seems to care that they are gone, while at the same time making obvious that something is wrong in the town. It was a good use of the ingredient, and better than the winter wolves that don't seem to need to be [i]winter[/i] wolves at all. But that's just about it. The climax doesn't work because all of sudden the witch is able to manifest herself in time for a big fight, and killing her returns the children and any missing PCs - too neat, too simple, and ignores elements set-up in the background of the scenario. What happened to the cursed book? Would it not have been better to include that somehow? Would it not have been better to set up the Rat Bastardly choice for the PCs of setting free the witch themselves in order to get the children back too? That's what this adventure needs, a moral quandry. Making the cow omplacent was kind neat, if only because that is how cows come off; phlegmatic. But still, this adventure needs a lot more - like possible follow-ups for future adventures and perhaps a line about how the children might have been effected by their ordeal, etc. . . And CarpeDavid? CarpeDavid's entry also suffers from lack of follow-up options, but much like MacBeth's entry, problems plague this entry from the very beginning. I was liking it and thinking it would easily blow away MacBeth when I first started reading the background, but when I got to the "What the PCs Don't Know" section the bells started going off. My first question: How in the heck does a 5th level illusionist cast so many damn illusions and keep them all up and working at once when the illusion spells available to him at that level require concentration? There is no way he'd be able to create 13 independently acting gnomes and 13 winter wolves. And later CarpeDavid has Snivilus using illusions to hide holes and such in his tower - how does he accomplish this? "The Human Factor": CarpeDavid had got some of this in the guise of the parents of the selected child, though I like to see my NPCs fleshed out a bit more - but pathos helps to drive an adventure - and while the lack of concern in MacBeth's adventure is a result of the magic in the adventure itself and thus more than understandable, it is just a great idea - who can compete with grieiving and frightened parents? However, CD's use of 'complacency' is weak, and his description of the townsfolk reaction to having to give up their children seemed to be more aptly called "grudgingly", not "complacent'. And what is with the wish-granting cow? Why a cow? What is its deal? It seems thrown in and its shape and function does not gel thematically with the rest of the adventure. At least MacBeth's cow had a personality, this one is nothing but a personified "deus ex machina" that allows the evil gnome to do some of the stuff he does. And I am of two mind with there being one wish left to the cow - while I am all for giving low level PCs possible rewards that could be dangerous (i.e. a wish), what keeps the desperate gnome from using the wish against them to insure victory? However, the thing I love more than anything in BOTH entries is how the granted immortality works. Too bad immortality was not an ingredient, but it certainly works for why the gnome needed the children. I am not as sure about their melting (though it is a cool image, no pun intneded) and was expecting for them to be found as withered old men and women - but here is a question: Gnomes have a long-ass lifespan, why would he need children so often or even any at all yet, unless they somehow arrested his aging altogether (not something made clear). But still, the important thing is that it works thematically with the ice and frost stuff - and the tower itself is much better than MacBeth's because it fits the frost theme and there is good reason for it to be crumbly. And the use of the tower's crumbling state as an obstacle to getting to the gnome was a nice touch - not all encounters in an advbenture should be combat - environmental factors should come into play as well. In the end, despite its weakness, the unity of theme and the good combination of the required ingredients pushes [spoiler][size=4][b]CarpeDavid's[/b][/size][/spoiler] entry over the finish line just a nose ahead [spoiler]of MacBeth.[/spoiler] It just seems like a potentially more fun adventure. However, if he hopes to make it past the second round (where he is likely to face Wulf), he is going to have to work a lot harder at some basic elements of adventure creation. [/QUOTE]
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