MortalPlague
Adventurer
[sblock]Oh man, the anticipation is killing me! 
[/sblock]
[/sblock]
IRON DM 2014 Tournament
- Thread starter Rune
- Start date
Rune
Once A Fool
Championship Round: Wicht vs. MortalPlague
Well, these both look like lots of fun.
Wicht's Easy Come... (henceforth Easy) sets up a scenario that would probably work best as a one-shot. But, man, what a setup! Playing monstrous PCs is something many groups dabble with occasionally. Having those PCs stock and defend a dungeon is a great twist to the trope and promises a memorable game.
MortalPlague's Beneath Ratter's Dell (Dell) is a little less complex, but still has a lot going on and also promises fond memories.
Let's examine the ingredients.
Evil Wizard: Easy provides us with an evil wizard whose presence is mostly felt through its absence, until the end, when it becomes a final complication. Nice, but in a one-shot, at that point it is probably just denouement. Additionally, the evilness of the wizard is merely assumed. He has bound a demon to serve him, he's turning lich, he didn't pay his ogre and his surname is "the Cruel." But these things don't show us that he's evil, they merely suggest it.
In contrast, the evil wizard in Dell doesn't give us such indicators. Instead, he simply does evil things and schemes evil schemes. Consistently. This is a superior use of the ingredient.
Low Level Dungeon: Dell provides a nice little dungeon complex (with a map!) that is specifically underground in a lowland area.
Easy provides us with a few possible interpretations--some pretty incidental. Despite claims to the contrary within the piece, the strongest of these uses is the dungeon that the PCs are expected to stock with low-level monsters. While the multiple interpretations presented bother me a bit, that one is strong enough to edge out the fairly generic one that Dell presents.
Angry Ogre: Easy has a justifiably angry ogre in it. But the ogre itself is just one of many complications to the adventure. Sure, he could also be an ally, but that's true of most of the complications. Individually, the ogre isn't very important to the adventure.
Dell uses the ogre in almost the same way, but manages to make it a constant threat, even when it isn't on the rampage. Additionally, the varied anticipated approaches to interacting with the ogre help solidify it as the better ingredient.
Pile of Treasure: I'm of two minds with this one. On the one hand, Dell uses an animated (humanoid) pile of treasure that is interesting and interactive. on the other hand, Easy uses what is essentially a MacGuffin, but in a way that somehow doesn't feel like it. It focuses the adventure and holds it together. It has presence without personality. I'll call this one a wash.
Help Wanted Sign: Easy provides a hook that also serves to further complicate the adventure. At least somewhat--surely the rumors Tromk intends to spread (and I have to ask, how?) will do a far better job of bringing in recruits than the sign itself.
Dell uses the ingredient primarily as a hook, but what a hook! Getting attacked by an animated brick with a misleading message for help scrawled on it is sure to work, sure to fit almost any situation, sure to mislead, sure to be memorable, and may also provide a hint that the author of the note is a spellcaster (not necessarily so--although, in this case, yes). This is by far the best use of any of these ingredients (which were chosen to be deliberately generic and cliched). And that's in both entries. A great hook can go a long way.
Magic Sword: the magic swords in both of these pieces are strikingly similar (maybe that's not so surprising). I do wonder how the one in Dell is controlling all of those constructs, but, in this case, "it's magic!" is actually a good answer!
The main difference between the two uses of this ingredient is that, in Easy, it is merely another complication along the way and, in Dell, it is actually an important part of the adventure (and a great secondary villain working against the primary villain--who may succeed in tricking the PCs into thinking the sword and its attached ogre is the only villain). This, also, is excellent.
[sblock]We can see the main differences in the structure of the adventures reflected in the way the ingredients were used. Basically, Easy has a great scenario set up and a bunch of complications thrown in, but this leads to the feeling that the adventure is a sum of its parts.
Added to this, it raises a lot of the wrong kind of questions. Like, how does Tromk spread rumors about help wanted at the tower so quickly (surely the sign won't be enough)? Wouldn't a devil be a better fit than a demon for the contract-wriggling? How was he powering the defenses? And, crucially, what happens if the PCs decide not to engage with Jihrgfrolm at all? Surely low-level PCs will go out of their way to avoid being noticed by the scary demon guarding the door. What if they sneak around back, plant the sign, and go home? No adventure?
Contrast this with the extraordinarily tight structure of Dell. It is a rare adventure in which I can't really find anything to critique, but this is one such adventure. An excellent hook leading to a focused, fun little delve with a healthy dose of intrigue thrown in gives the PCs plenty to do and plenty to figure out along the way.
MortalPlague has given us an entry worthy of an IRON DM.
...and, at last we have a decision that was not unanimous (not surprising, as both entries were excellent)! Which means that, with a 2 to 1 decision, MortalPlague becomes the IRON DM 2014!
Congratulations! We've a spiffy badge for you, pending Morrus' approval and granting thereof. [/sblock]
Well, these both look like lots of fun.
Wicht's Easy Come... (henceforth Easy) sets up a scenario that would probably work best as a one-shot. But, man, what a setup! Playing monstrous PCs is something many groups dabble with occasionally. Having those PCs stock and defend a dungeon is a great twist to the trope and promises a memorable game.
MortalPlague's Beneath Ratter's Dell (Dell) is a little less complex, but still has a lot going on and also promises fond memories.
Let's examine the ingredients.
Evil Wizard: Easy provides us with an evil wizard whose presence is mostly felt through its absence, until the end, when it becomes a final complication. Nice, but in a one-shot, at that point it is probably just denouement. Additionally, the evilness of the wizard is merely assumed. He has bound a demon to serve him, he's turning lich, he didn't pay his ogre and his surname is "the Cruel." But these things don't show us that he's evil, they merely suggest it.
In contrast, the evil wizard in Dell doesn't give us such indicators. Instead, he simply does evil things and schemes evil schemes. Consistently. This is a superior use of the ingredient.
Low Level Dungeon: Dell provides a nice little dungeon complex (with a map!) that is specifically underground in a lowland area.
Easy provides us with a few possible interpretations--some pretty incidental. Despite claims to the contrary within the piece, the strongest of these uses is the dungeon that the PCs are expected to stock with low-level monsters. While the multiple interpretations presented bother me a bit, that one is strong enough to edge out the fairly generic one that Dell presents.
Angry Ogre: Easy has a justifiably angry ogre in it. But the ogre itself is just one of many complications to the adventure. Sure, he could also be an ally, but that's true of most of the complications. Individually, the ogre isn't very important to the adventure.
Dell uses the ogre in almost the same way, but manages to make it a constant threat, even when it isn't on the rampage. Additionally, the varied anticipated approaches to interacting with the ogre help solidify it as the better ingredient.
Pile of Treasure: I'm of two minds with this one. On the one hand, Dell uses an animated (humanoid) pile of treasure that is interesting and interactive. on the other hand, Easy uses what is essentially a MacGuffin, but in a way that somehow doesn't feel like it. It focuses the adventure and holds it together. It has presence without personality. I'll call this one a wash.
Help Wanted Sign: Easy provides a hook that also serves to further complicate the adventure. At least somewhat--surely the rumors Tromk intends to spread (and I have to ask, how?) will do a far better job of bringing in recruits than the sign itself.
Dell uses the ingredient primarily as a hook, but what a hook! Getting attacked by an animated brick with a misleading message for help scrawled on it is sure to work, sure to fit almost any situation, sure to mislead, sure to be memorable, and may also provide a hint that the author of the note is a spellcaster (not necessarily so--although, in this case, yes). This is by far the best use of any of these ingredients (which were chosen to be deliberately generic and cliched). And that's in both entries. A great hook can go a long way.
Magic Sword: the magic swords in both of these pieces are strikingly similar (maybe that's not so surprising). I do wonder how the one in Dell is controlling all of those constructs, but, in this case, "it's magic!" is actually a good answer!
The main difference between the two uses of this ingredient is that, in Easy, it is merely another complication along the way and, in Dell, it is actually an important part of the adventure (and a great secondary villain working against the primary villain--who may succeed in tricking the PCs into thinking the sword and its attached ogre is the only villain). This, also, is excellent.
[sblock]We can see the main differences in the structure of the adventures reflected in the way the ingredients were used. Basically, Easy has a great scenario set up and a bunch of complications thrown in, but this leads to the feeling that the adventure is a sum of its parts.
Added to this, it raises a lot of the wrong kind of questions. Like, how does Tromk spread rumors about help wanted at the tower so quickly (surely the sign won't be enough)? Wouldn't a devil be a better fit than a demon for the contract-wriggling? How was he powering the defenses? And, crucially, what happens if the PCs decide not to engage with Jihrgfrolm at all? Surely low-level PCs will go out of their way to avoid being noticed by the scary demon guarding the door. What if they sneak around back, plant the sign, and go home? No adventure?
Contrast this with the extraordinarily tight structure of Dell. It is a rare adventure in which I can't really find anything to critique, but this is one such adventure. An excellent hook leading to a focused, fun little delve with a healthy dose of intrigue thrown in gives the PCs plenty to do and plenty to figure out along the way.
MortalPlague has given us an entry worthy of an IRON DM.
...and, at last we have a decision that was not unanimous (not surprising, as both entries were excellent)! Which means that, with a 2 to 1 decision, MortalPlague becomes the IRON DM 2014!
Congratulations! We've a spiffy badge for you, pending Morrus' approval and granting thereof. [/sblock]
Last edited:
Wicht
Hero
Noooooooo!
um, arhum... I mean, Congratulations MortalPlague.
Heavy lies the crown upon your brow this year...
Some thoughts...
After reading both entries, I told my kids (who are somewhat biased) that I thought Mortal Plague had the slight edge on ingredients. Specifically, I thought my help wanted sign was better (my bias, admittedly, but as a recurring sort of gag it had real legs) but that his wizard and ogre were superior uses. My prediction, based on my experience and read of what the judges liked, was that Radiating Gnome would break for me, mildly preferring the flavor, Rune would break against me, preferring the flavor and ingredient use of Mortal Plague's and Phoamslinger would be the deciding vote. So, when Phoamslinger voted against me right off, I kinda suspected the outcome.
This was definitely an entry I wrote as a tongue-in-cheek fun sorta romp. I didn't worry too much, thus, about the various plot-holes that would be imperfections in a more serious sorta campaign. I do disagree somewhat that it works best as a one-shot; I actually was thinking it was a cool little intro adventure to a group of monsters employed by a lich campaign.
I mentioned somewhere, in the other thread I think, that the ingredients put me in the mood for SnarfQuest, and that inspiration stayed with me as I put them together. The whole set-up, with its comical undertones, was a riff off the ideas that monstrous humanoids have their own particular set of memes and expectations, one being the expectation of being the underdog at the mercy of powerful forces who must be obeyed (the demon, the warlord, the wizard at the end) and what might happen when things seem to break the underdog's way, even for a moment.
Once I had my inspiration, and had settled on a reverse dungeon sort of theme, it was certain that the evil wizard had to be someone not to be trifled with, but who might also himself be inable to stop the PCs from doing whatever they were doing, at least for a moment. The magic sword also had to be a personality, one that would be both a major advantage to the PCs and a major pain. The split personality seemed apropos. I settled fairly early on with the treasure being just that, a huge pile of treasure free for the taking, but one which would not be able to be kept. Having it belong to the wizard seemed right, and that led to the idea of him being out of commission for a few days. The ogre and the dungeon were both weaknesses I knew in the entry, but at the same time they both fit the flavor of what I wanted the adventure to be and so I went with them anyway as was.
The sign, as I said, I personally thought was the best part, and would be, in play, the thing that would stick with everyone, especially as monster after monster showed up expecting a job. The characters trying to get rid of the sign would be a source, I thought, of much amusement.
Anyway, again MortalPlague, congratulations!
um, arhum... I mean, Congratulations MortalPlague.
Heavy lies the crown upon your brow this year...
Some thoughts...
After reading both entries, I told my kids (who are somewhat biased) that I thought Mortal Plague had the slight edge on ingredients. Specifically, I thought my help wanted sign was better (my bias, admittedly, but as a recurring sort of gag it had real legs) but that his wizard and ogre were superior uses. My prediction, based on my experience and read of what the judges liked, was that Radiating Gnome would break for me, mildly preferring the flavor, Rune would break against me, preferring the flavor and ingredient use of Mortal Plague's and Phoamslinger would be the deciding vote. So, when Phoamslinger voted against me right off, I kinda suspected the outcome.
This was definitely an entry I wrote as a tongue-in-cheek fun sorta romp. I didn't worry too much, thus, about the various plot-holes that would be imperfections in a more serious sorta campaign. I do disagree somewhat that it works best as a one-shot; I actually was thinking it was a cool little intro adventure to a group of monsters employed by a lich campaign.
I mentioned somewhere, in the other thread I think, that the ingredients put me in the mood for SnarfQuest, and that inspiration stayed with me as I put them together. The whole set-up, with its comical undertones, was a riff off the ideas that monstrous humanoids have their own particular set of memes and expectations, one being the expectation of being the underdog at the mercy of powerful forces who must be obeyed (the demon, the warlord, the wizard at the end) and what might happen when things seem to break the underdog's way, even for a moment.
Once I had my inspiration, and had settled on a reverse dungeon sort of theme, it was certain that the evil wizard had to be someone not to be trifled with, but who might also himself be inable to stop the PCs from doing whatever they were doing, at least for a moment. The magic sword also had to be a personality, one that would be both a major advantage to the PCs and a major pain. The split personality seemed apropos. I settled fairly early on with the treasure being just that, a huge pile of treasure free for the taking, but one which would not be able to be kept. Having it belong to the wizard seemed right, and that led to the idea of him being out of commission for a few days. The ogre and the dungeon were both weaknesses I knew in the entry, but at the same time they both fit the flavor of what I wanted the adventure to be and so I went with them anyway as was.
The sign, as I said, I personally thought was the best part, and would be, in play, the thing that would stick with everyone, especially as monster after monster showed up expecting a job. The characters trying to get rid of the sign would be a source, I thought, of much amusement.
Anyway, again MortalPlague, congratulations!
Last edited:
Radiating Gnome
Adventurer
DAMN I hate being predictable. Next year I plan to secretly decide who wins based on wordcount alone. Winning entries must have a wordcount that is a prime number. Nothing else will matter.
Gradine
The Elephant in the Room (she/they)
Congratulations, MortalPlague! Well played and well deserved!
I was perplexed a bit, at first, when I read the ingredients. It took a moment before it dawned on me how truly insidious they were. Props to both contestants for taking such generic ingredients and making something memorable with them.
I was perplexed a bit, at first, when I read the ingredients. It took a moment before it dawned on me how truly insidious they were. Props to both contestants for taking such generic ingredients and making something memorable with them.
Wicht
Hero
DAMN I hate being predictable. Next year I plan to secretly decide who wins based on wordcount alone. Winning entries must have a wordcount that is a prime number. Nothing else will matter.
Heh.
Wicht
Hero
They were indeed.
I am happy to have played some small part in entertaining you with my offering...
Rune
Once A Fool
Wicht said:
But, if you expected a campaign to emerge, those plot-holes would be more glaring. Maybe. If it wasn't episodic.
I mean, they didn't take away from the light-hearted tone, but neither did they emphasize the tone. Compared with an adventure lacking such plot-holes, I had to side with the other one.
Yeah, it was good. If you had emphasized and explained how it acted as a beacon it would have been better.
DAMN I hate being predictable. Next year I plan to secretly decide who wins based on wordcount alone. Winning entries must have a wordcount that is a prime number. Nothing else will matter.
I don't mind being so predictable; it implies consistency.
(And by the way, it's not a secret if you tell everybody. Or, at least, not a very good one.)
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