Time For Another Round Of Iron Dm!!!

[el-remmen]

Let me begin by thanking all of our contestants not only for playing, but for coming up with such creative endeavors, win or lose.

Now for the final round. . .

Radiating Gnome and Rune both up with very creative approaches to using these ingredients.

I loved RG’s hook – while it may seem heavy handed – by having the baron willing to go to any lengths to get them to save his “good for nothing” son it sets up a realistic character ~ I particularly like that if bribery and reward does not work he will use blackmail or threats to the PCs or the people they know to get what he wants – of course, this runs the risk of putting the PCs in direct conflict with the Baron, but that would be an adventure in and of itself.

Rune’s hook by comparison is infinitely weaker – the whole “if the pcs are traders” thing is kind of slim – and while being boarded by the Empire’s Navy or being forced to land by pirates who steal their goods might work better – it still seems more contrived than RG’s – personally I think, by making the PCs some kind of ambassadors or representatives of some noble or despot they have worked for before – or perhaps seeking some rare component for a spell or magical item might have worked better – forcing the PCs to treat the people of this island with respect and deference in order to get what they want.

But put that aside – Rune’s scenario is just AWESOME. . . Ok, ok, the dead horses thing was stuck in there awkwardly – but the idea of the PCs are foreigner s embroiled in politics and cultural conflict that they can barely keep up with or understand is just the kind of adventure that we should see on the shelves more often - forget ruins and dungeons and caves – the labyrinths of human interaction in royal courts are the real dangerous places in the world. I also like the chance of becoming addicted to opium – again, providing a great and lasting role-playing opportunity I mean, damn! Between the PCs, the far eastern themed land and the conflict with fey – you have a triad of possible conflict, confusion and wonder. . . Bravo Rune!

But what about RG’s scenario? – well, I have to admit it went straight to my soft spot for strange dream-like scenes and Lewis Carroll imagery – with the children’s party, the bad men made forgetful and the talking wizard mouse. . . Question about the mouse though: How does he cast spells with no hands?

In the end, I think it is pretty clear that the final round goes to Rune. Radiating Gnome, you’re scenario was excellent – but I guess it just fell short of being spectacular. . . I think in some future Iron DM competition you will definitely be one of the favored competitors.

I am willing to do a round of Rune vs. Vaxalon for the title of “Iron DM of Enworld” – but it is really all I have time for what with so much I have to do these days. . .

I will do another competition in a few months time, so keep an eye out for it. . .

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Oh, wow.

Congrats to both... For what it's worth, RG, your entries got better and better each time, and I thought you had that last round for sure. (No offense to Rune!)

This was an Iron DM made for surprises!


Wulf

 

[Xarlen]

Okay, three things.

First, congrats both of you.

Second, RG, I was rootin' for you, I liked yours alot.

Third, When's the next game? And, in reference to the first half of this question, sign me up for it!

 

[Wicht]

Wow, congragulations Rune. Hold on tight to your trophy cause you know we are all going to be gunning for it whenever Nemm does this again

And congragulations to the short guy as well, I too thought the Gnome was going to win this round.

I thought the moral ambiguities of the forest tea party and the role-playing required by the PCs searching for the son to be excellently crafted. Like Wulf, I thought your entries kept getting better and better.

 

[Rune]

RG, your entries got better and better each time, and I thought you had that last round for sure. (No offense to Rune!)

This was an Iron DM made for surprises!

RG, I was rootin' for you, I liked yours alot.

And congragulations to the short guy as well, I too thought the Gnome was going to win this round.

Thanks for all the confidence, guys!

Seriously, though, Radiating Gnome, your entry was very good and my hook was very weak (although I did think making PCs ambassadors before the game would have been too contrived for a "generic" adventure, even if it is great for an ongoing campaign)! I kept thinking of so many things that I would have done differently after I had submitted my last entry that I was pretty sure you had that last round, too, although, in my defense, your scenerio seemed a little narrow in scope to me. If the PCs decided to do things a little differently, I didn't see how they would find the information necessary to proceed with the adventure. Many groups I know would just get frustrated and leave without going into the woods.

On the other hand, you had a great batch of characters. The cultural conflict in my scenerio pretty much insured that I wouldn't be able to explore mine as well as you did (even if I was as good at it as you--or Wicht, for that matter, to begin with), you certainly beat me in that part! Loved the mouse--it hit my soft spot for Douglas Adams!

I had a really tough time with this one, because those ingredients kept screaming, "Through the Looking Glass!"

Which is kind of what I specialize at. Consequently, I knew that was exactly what Nemmerle was expecting to see and that I'd lose for sure if I went that route. Damn that Rat-Bastard!

As a side note, Nemmerle, the mind-game involved in including the extra, optional ingredients is just pure evil (don't lick it!). I used a lot of them, but only because they fell into place with what I was trying to do. The horse, by the way, served a very useful purpose; it allowed the PCs (and the NPC nobles and regent) to make a spot check before the Shadowdancers killed them all--ah, a room filled with opium...what better location for a battle?

Wow, congragulations Rune. Hold on tight to your trophy cause you know we are all going to be gunning for it whenever Nemm does this again

Hey, I haven't got it yet! There's still Vaxalon. Maybe you all might remember him...he'd be the guy who won last time!

For what it's worth, it's been a blast, y'all. I've enjoyed reading some absolutely stellar entries and stretching myself to the limits of my creative endurance--and pushing against those limits! Whatever happens in this last round, I can certainly say that I've enjoyed my run! I want to personally thank ninjajester, Wicht, and Radiating Gnome for giving me ulcers (and you too, Nemmerle!) and for being excellent competitors. There are only two match-ups that I'd like to see (both for the sake of curiosity) that will have to wait for another contest--Wicht vs. Wulf and Wulf vs. myself.

And, y'all watching this at home (and, hopefully, playing the Home Game), I hope you have been able to glean a tip or two about what makes a good adventure and what hinders a good adventure, which is, I believe, really the whole point of this contest.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Hey Rune...

For what it's worth, it was just a matter of personal taste as a DM that sided me with RG. I can't imagine anyone had any criticism per se of your entry.

Just in my opinion, I found yours was actually TOO ambitious and TOO wide in scope. I got the feeling as I was reading it that it just kept setting up more and more scenarios, but that I was going to have to do the legwork myself.

That's not a flaw, just an opinion. It's totally a subjective thing from DM to DM. Most "real" DMs would prefer your style, I guess, but I am fundamentally lazy.

This contest vies with the World Cup right now for the number of surprises and different competitors everyone seems to want to keep an eye on.

I don't know how I am going to wait months for another contest. I hope I can get in!


Wulf

 

[Rune]

Hey Rune...

For what it's worth, it was just a matter of personal taste as a DM that sided me with RG. I can't imagine anyone had any criticism per se of your entry.

I can. And I have some, but Nemmerle pretty much covered the rough spots in his nemmerlesque analysis. It definitely could have used some polishing up (as opposed to my second entry, for which the ingredients were easy enough that I had the chance to smooth out all of the rough spots and have plenty of time to spare--tougher ingredients=rougher adventures).

Just in my opinion, I found yours was actually TOO ambitious and TOO wide in scope. I got the feeling as I was reading it that it just kept setting up more and more scenarios, but that I was going to have to do the legwork myself.

That's not a flaw, just an opinion. It's totally a subjective thing from DM to DM. Most "real" DMs would prefer your style, I guess, but I am fundamentally lazy.

I don't know if most would, but I know I certainly do (and, I suspect, Nemmerle also does). I personally love adventures that produce a lot of strong hooks for the players to follow up on later, if they chose to. I've never seen an adventure with too many plot hooks. I try to include as many strong (outgoing) hooks in my scenerios as possible--it makes running the rest of the campaign that much easier.

I don't know how I am going to wait months for another contest. I hope I can get in!

I'll battle you in the Home Game thread after my contest with Vaxalon, if you want!

This will offer us an opportunity to get pretty critical with each other's entries--and our own! What do you say?

 

[Rune]

By the way, if anyone's interested, I used the naming conventions from my ongoing campaign (see the sig) for the names in my last entry.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

Aw shucks

I mean, congradulations, Rune! It's well deserved, of course -- you layed out a very ambitious campaign, going places I decided not to go with my entry because of time and energy constraints. Heck, when I decided not to force a third optional item into the adventure I figured I was shooting myself in the foot.

Because of the Opium and the Tea I gave serious thought to drawing in Oriental Adventures (it would finally justify the money I spent on the book!) but in the end decided not to, that it would be too much, and I would just stick to the core stuff. I made the same decision with the other sort of anachonistic elements, like the Umbrella optional ingredient -- I didn't want to have to explain the changes in setting it would take to create that adventure. Trying to explain big setting things like that would distract me from creating the smaller scale details that would make it fun for the players, I felt.

I do wish I'd had more time on my entry -- not that I think it would have made a difference in the competition, but there are a few undeveloped areas (now that I have a few nights sleep under my belt and can think clearly again).

For example, yesterday afternoon I was sitting around (in the "library", if you must know -- where I do all of my truly deep thinking and floss a little less frequently than I tell my dentist) and really struggling to deal with Webly's background a little. I mean, the awakened mouse as co-ringleader of a band of pixies is interesting, but who taught him wizardy? And so right there on the crapper it came to me -- the only obvious choice was Ottar, the king's wizard, and the connection there would do a LOT for the story -- it would explain the Mouse's wizardry, it would better explain the oddly civic-minded band of pixies (if they were running the little secret prison in part under the guidance of Ottar, through his apprentice Welby), and it would also help deal with the too-good-to-be-true potential hook -- because Ottar is not about to spend months creating magic items for a party of heroes who killed his appretice and destroyed the prison he created to keep the countryside safe.

I realize that my approach to the hook for this adventure was a bit unusual, but it does tend to fit my personal DM style a bit better. I tend to create adventures in which there is a lot less loot available to the PCs. I like the action to keep moving, and not to have to deal with all the petty looting that tends to go on. In this instance, the PCs would probably not find the lair of the Pixies and Welby, they would get only meager equipment from the Tea Party Guests, if they managed to control the clearing long enough to gather it all up, etc. And more than likely they would not be able to completely win a toe-to-toe fight in the end, so to have succeed they will have had to come up with something pretty creative, or fought really well against overwhelming odds. A big paycheck at the end -- even one that included a few magic items, would go a long way to make up for the poor loot in the adventure. Of course, the adventure would not end with the big christmas party of magic items the players would expect -- in the draft that I entered Ottar would stall and drag his feet, and the party would certainly get bored and move on before they had everything they wanted. And in my more developed revision, with Ottar much more connected to Welby, he would either refuse to create the items for the party, create flawed or even cursed ones, or something else to get back at the party for foiling his plan -- which, in turn, would drive the party back to discover Ottar's involvement in the Tea Party.

Welby is a very interesting NPC, though. I like the idea that there's a slim chance that the party might find his lair -- some sort of burrow or hollow tree -- with it's library of teenie tiny spellbooks each about the size of a coin, and holding a single spell each (some of the higher level spells might require multiple volumes).

Given more time, I would have to spend some time working on Welby's spell list -- he really should limit himself to spells that have no material component. I mean, the little ball of bat guano that (at least used to be) is required to cast fireball would be about half Welby's weight. It's possible that some of the scale things in the game break down when you take them to this sort of extreme -- would the fireball cast by a fine-sized spellcaster have the same area of effect as one cast by a medium sized spellcaster? The rules as they are make no distinction -- which is fine, we wouldn't want the fireball cast by a gargantuan dragon to be any bigger than it is already -- but it's an interesting wrinkle in the rules nonetheless.

Anyway, Nemmerle, this has been a lot of fun, and I'm especially excited to have made it as far as I did -- it put me into a position to create entries for all three levels. I could always have played the home game, or just played around with the ideas myself, but I know this from my other projects -- it's not the same without the real deadline, the real pressure.

And to Wulf, and Wicht, and Xarlen -- and everyone else -- thanks for the support, and for rooting for me.

-rg

 

[Little_Buddha]

Just in my opinion, I found yours was actually TOO ambitious and TOO wide in scope. I got the feeling as I was reading it that it just kept setting up more and more scenarios, but that I was going to have to do the legwork myself.

Absolutely! That's exactly what I thought when I read it; I gave the edge to RG because Rune's was so ambitious it required ten times more exposition than he gave it! The outline of the adventure seemed terse because there's virtually an entire campaign setting contained within it!