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Time For Another Round Of Iron Dm!!!
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<blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 210484" data-attributes="member: 11"><p><strong>Wulf vs. Zappo</strong></p><p></p><p>I was really impressed by the background for Zappo's scenario - placing it in Greyhawk (the generic world) was a good idea - and adding racial politics to the adventure is something few people have the guts to do in modules - so I liked it. . . I loved the inbred and twisted monks - whether they were originally evil or good - doesn't matter by the time the PCs get there - what matters is that they are forced into a culture and society they are not used to and must slowly learn what is going on here and what the rules are. . . I am personally a sucker for adventures that introduce a new way of looking at things counter to the PC's assumptions.</p><p></p><p>However, the scenario that Zappo has created has an incredible amount of room for things to go utterly different than described in his synopsis. . . This is a strength for an experienced DM who can handle such a wide number of variable - but a weakness for any beginning DMs who struggle when verisimiltude demands that something different than predicted in the adventure should happen.</p><p></p><p>While the idea of escaping while a funeral takes place is very cool and very dramatic - the fact that the slaves come up with the plan kind of leaves the PCs out of the loop - when such "plans" are part of what makes being a PC fun - or at the very least perhaps the slaves' plan could be flawed and the PCs could have the opportunity to improve on it. . . And of course this ASSUMES that the PCs will go along with this plan to begin with - the combination of the funeral, the escape attempt, the revenge of Maklor and the hunt for the parrot eggs leads to a wide variety of possibilities. . . </p><p></p><p>Also, Zappo did not include a very important possibility - what if the PCs insist on seeing "the leaders" and want to negotiated with the monks? What would their reaction be to strangers? Also, something needed to be included that would give the slaves an opportunity to trust the PCs - otherwise why would they risk confiding in them about the escape plan?</p><p></p><p>Now Wulf's scenario at first sight looks typical and probably boring - the good ole "hunt for components" stand-by that we have probably all done a million times - but whoa. . . did he do a friggin' good job with it! </p><p></p><p>First of all, the way he handled the amnesia (potion of forgetfulness & the lotus flower) was brilliant (and much better than the way Zappo seemed to shoe-horn his into his otherwise well-blended scenario). Secondly, the scenario as a whole has a tenseness and a revealing of question after question that works really well. . . as the PCs proceed their suspicion grows - not only of their employer - but of the monks they are visiting (and if the GM uses one of the "twist" options appended by Wulf they can even grow suspicious of themselves!)</p><p></p><p>the possibility of combat during this scenario is real - but the great thing is that a party could handle it in an investigative or diplomatic kind of way and still have positive results. . .</p><p></p><p>Wulf's deceptively simple entry is particularly great because in addition to presenting a one-time encounter of interest and different levels - it can easily be used to have ramifications to the campign both to the future and the past - the two "curveballs" really help to flesh out the scenario as part of a greater campaign - as does the idea that these cursed items are purposefully made and distributed can lead to clues about the Scarlet Brotherhood in the future (yes, Wulf used Greyhwawk as well) Thought I have to admit I like Zappo's inclusion of the back-biter spear better as it has a dramatic role as opposed to being a MacGuffin.</p><p></p><p>The cool thing about BOTH entries is that they could probably be combined without too much effort and be very multi-layered and very messy. . . </p><p></p><p>In the end, I award <strong>Wulf</strong> this round . . he really blended the elements well - and his use of the harpies to ensure one small initial combat to counter-balance the "talking" of later in the scenario was very good. </p><p></p><p>Personally, I think that if Wulf keeps writing scenarios like this he is going to give even masterful Wicht a run for his money. ..</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="el-remmen, post: 210484, member: 11"] [b]Wulf vs. Zappo[/b] I was really impressed by the background for Zappo's scenario - placing it in Greyhawk (the generic world) was a good idea - and adding racial politics to the adventure is something few people have the guts to do in modules - so I liked it. . . I loved the inbred and twisted monks - whether they were originally evil or good - doesn't matter by the time the PCs get there - what matters is that they are forced into a culture and society they are not used to and must slowly learn what is going on here and what the rules are. . . I am personally a sucker for adventures that introduce a new way of looking at things counter to the PC's assumptions. However, the scenario that Zappo has created has an incredible amount of room for things to go utterly different than described in his synopsis. . . This is a strength for an experienced DM who can handle such a wide number of variable - but a weakness for any beginning DMs who struggle when verisimiltude demands that something different than predicted in the adventure should happen. While the idea of escaping while a funeral takes place is very cool and very dramatic - the fact that the slaves come up with the plan kind of leaves the PCs out of the loop - when such "plans" are part of what makes being a PC fun - or at the very least perhaps the slaves' plan could be flawed and the PCs could have the opportunity to improve on it. . . And of course this ASSUMES that the PCs will go along with this plan to begin with - the combination of the funeral, the escape attempt, the revenge of Maklor and the hunt for the parrot eggs leads to a wide variety of possibilities. . . Also, Zappo did not include a very important possibility - what if the PCs insist on seeing "the leaders" and want to negotiated with the monks? What would their reaction be to strangers? Also, something needed to be included that would give the slaves an opportunity to trust the PCs - otherwise why would they risk confiding in them about the escape plan? Now Wulf's scenario at first sight looks typical and probably boring - the good ole "hunt for components" stand-by that we have probably all done a million times - but whoa. . . did he do a friggin' good job with it! First of all, the way he handled the amnesia (potion of forgetfulness & the lotus flower) was brilliant (and much better than the way Zappo seemed to shoe-horn his into his otherwise well-blended scenario). Secondly, the scenario as a whole has a tenseness and a revealing of question after question that works really well. . . as the PCs proceed their suspicion grows - not only of their employer - but of the monks they are visiting (and if the GM uses one of the "twist" options appended by Wulf they can even grow suspicious of themselves!) the possibility of combat during this scenario is real - but the great thing is that a party could handle it in an investigative or diplomatic kind of way and still have positive results. . . Wulf's deceptively simple entry is particularly great because in addition to presenting a one-time encounter of interest and different levels - it can easily be used to have ramifications to the campign both to the future and the past - the two "curveballs" really help to flesh out the scenario as part of a greater campaign - as does the idea that these cursed items are purposefully made and distributed can lead to clues about the Scarlet Brotherhood in the future (yes, Wulf used Greyhwawk as well) Thought I have to admit I like Zappo's inclusion of the back-biter spear better as it has a dramatic role as opposed to being a MacGuffin. The cool thing about BOTH entries is that they could probably be combined without too much effort and be very multi-layered and very messy. . . In the end, I award [b]Wulf[/b] this round . . he really blended the elements well - and his use of the harpies to ensure one small initial combat to counter-balance the "talking" of later in the scenario was very good. Personally, I think that if Wulf keeps writing scenarios like this he is going to give even masterful Wicht a run for his money. .. [/QUOTE]
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