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Scheduling Thread for the IRON DM 2020 Tournament!
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<blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 8146082" data-attributes="member: 221"><p>I am looking forward to working as a judge again this year.</p><p>I have missed being a part of this competition over the last couple of years and I look forward to seeing a fine batch of entries.</p><p></p><p><strong>I want to take a moment, as a judge and a past contestant, to offer my advice to would be contributors. </strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>1. </strong>Word limits are not an obstacle, but a tool to keep yourself in check. Be descriptive but pithy. Let the reader's imagination do some of the work.</p><p><strong>2.</strong> You are writing an adventure summary, not a module. You don't need stats. You don't need many game terms. Focus on story not rules.</p><p><strong>3.</strong> Adventures are not backstory. Don't waste so much time on backstory that you fail to incorporate the adventure. (Seriously. Its a common mistake, so be careful of the trap.)</p><p><strong>4.</strong> Game adventures are not novels. Make sure there are actual choices for the characters to make. Its going to be their story, not yours. Let them tell it. Avoid deus-ex-machina, aggressive railroading (the best railroads provide an illusion of agency), or villainous monologues.</p><p><strong>5.</strong> Neatness and sensible formatting (including breaking your writing apart into the classical tropes of backstory, adventure summary, plot hook and encounters) go a long way towards readability. Don't make the judges eyes bleed.</p><p><strong>6. </strong>And as you get confidence, try to write for your audience (in this case the judges). Your writing should please yourself but that only gets you so far.</p><p></p><p><strong>For those wondering about what appeals to this particular judge, let me add...</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>a.</strong> I like elegant more than I like epic... not that there is anything inherently wrong with epic, but elegant will always trump epic for me.</p><p><strong>b.</strong> I am an old-school neo-gygaxian DM. I like Lovecraft, Howard and Tolkien. My RPGs of choice are Pathfinder 1e, Call of Cthulhu, Toon, and Paranoia.</p><p><strong>c.</strong> My appreciation for elegance includes an appreciation of a well-turned evocative phrase. This includes puns.</p><p><strong>d.</strong> I want to see ingredients blended in a wholistic, organic way, with each piece supporting and enhancing the others.</p><p><strong>e.</strong> I have historically judged by assigning points to a set of criteria and will do so again this go-round.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wicht, post: 8146082, member: 221"] I am looking forward to working as a judge again this year. I have missed being a part of this competition over the last couple of years and I look forward to seeing a fine batch of entries. [B]I want to take a moment, as a judge and a past contestant, to offer my advice to would be contributors. 1. [/B]Word limits are not an obstacle, but a tool to keep yourself in check. Be descriptive but pithy. Let the reader's imagination do some of the work. [B]2.[/B] You are writing an adventure summary, not a module. You don't need stats. You don't need many game terms. Focus on story not rules. [B]3.[/B] Adventures are not backstory. Don't waste so much time on backstory that you fail to incorporate the adventure. (Seriously. Its a common mistake, so be careful of the trap.) [B]4.[/B] Game adventures are not novels. Make sure there are actual choices for the characters to make. Its going to be their story, not yours. Let them tell it. Avoid deus-ex-machina, aggressive railroading (the best railroads provide an illusion of agency), or villainous monologues. [B]5.[/B] Neatness and sensible formatting (including breaking your writing apart into the classical tropes of backstory, adventure summary, plot hook and encounters) go a long way towards readability. Don't make the judges eyes bleed. [B]6. [/B]And as you get confidence, try to write for your audience (in this case the judges). Your writing should please yourself but that only gets you so far. [B]For those wondering about what appeals to this particular judge, let me add... a.[/B] I like elegant more than I like epic... not that there is anything inherently wrong with epic, but elegant will always trump epic for me. [B]b.[/B] I am an old-school neo-gygaxian DM. I like Lovecraft, Howard and Tolkien. My RPGs of choice are Pathfinder 1e, Call of Cthulhu, Toon, and Paranoia. [B]c.[/B] My appreciation for elegance includes an appreciation of a well-turned evocative phrase. This includes puns. [B]d.[/B] I want to see ingredients blended in a wholistic, organic way, with each piece supporting and enhancing the others. [B]e.[/B] I have historically judged by assigning points to a set of criteria and will do so again this go-round. [/QUOTE]
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