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Iron DM 2009 - FINAL MATCH - it's over!
- Thread starter Nifft
- Start date
Iron Sky
Procedurally Generated
Hey Wik, just read through your entry and really dug it. Your interpretation of the wights, in particular, was fantastically creepy and awesome. I also liked the subtle build-up of tension as the PCs get closer to their goal and the "sudden but inevitable betrayal" that they have to figure is coming but can't figure out how to stop.
The classic Catch-22 is that they see all that slowly happening, but can't do anything about it until it's too late. Great entry man.
The classic Catch-22 is that they see all that slowly happening, but can't do anything about it until it's too late. Great entry man.
Wik
First Post
Thanks. And right back atcha... like I said earlier, "skywhales" are pure genius. And I loved how you used military terminology. The second I saw your entry, I knew "Oh, this is gonna be CLOSE". And when I saw "trident, Mk2" I instantly thought of Halo. Which is always awesome.
Iron Sky
Procedurally Generated
For the two judges who have already weighed in (since I don't know if posting a clarification here counts as attempting to sway the judges, I'll sblock it for Nifft):
[sblock]
If I understand correctly, neither of you saw the "healerness" of the Royal Wight. I hinged it on this:
"Mechanically, he is a Battle Wight Commander(MM1,p262), modified to be an elite – mostly consisting of making the Soul Harvest power an at-will rather than recharge power, augmenting the area-of-effect and healing quantity of Soul Harvest, and giving him 15 lightning resist."
When I looked up Wights in the MM (in desperation I might add), I notice that the Battle Wight Commander is a healer wight - as in, his most defining power is that he heals! I thought, ahah! Perfect! To make him a bit tougher, I made him an elite and made him even more of a healer.
I originally thought of slapping the cleric template on him to make him even more of a healer, but I thought this way was a bit more subtle - I didn't even really have to modify a pre-made wight to make him a healer(just augment what was already there when transforming him into an elite).
I guess I was right about it being subtle. Maybe I should have posted the power? Not sure how to handle that.
Anyway, just in case the judges were wondering. I will admit he's not as "healery" as Wik's healer, but I wasn't totally on crack when I did what I did.
[/sblock]
Also, to phoamslinger, no I've never played Paranoia, though I've heard of it a bit. I'll look into it.
And Radiant Gnome, I ordered the first Black Company book off of Amazon. I went there to read a summary and see what you were talking about in your judgment and those books sound right up my alley(I'd never even heard of them before!) Thanks for using that reference, hopefully they'll finally be a fantasy novel I can sink my teeth into again - George R. R. Martin ruined the genre for me since I compare all fantasy I read now on the ASOIAF scale, as in, would I rather re-read one of the books in the series that I've already read 4 times or read the fantasy novel in my hands. ASOIAF usually wins.
[sblock]
If I understand correctly, neither of you saw the "healerness" of the Royal Wight. I hinged it on this:
"Mechanically, he is a Battle Wight Commander(MM1,p262), modified to be an elite – mostly consisting of making the Soul Harvest power an at-will rather than recharge power, augmenting the area-of-effect and healing quantity of Soul Harvest, and giving him 15 lightning resist."
When I looked up Wights in the MM (in desperation I might add), I notice that the Battle Wight Commander is a healer wight - as in, his most defining power is that he heals! I thought, ahah! Perfect! To make him a bit tougher, I made him an elite and made him even more of a healer.
I originally thought of slapping the cleric template on him to make him even more of a healer, but I thought this way was a bit more subtle - I didn't even really have to modify a pre-made wight to make him a healer(just augment what was already there when transforming him into an elite).
I guess I was right about it being subtle. Maybe I should have posted the power? Not sure how to handle that.
Anyway, just in case the judges were wondering. I will admit he's not as "healery" as Wik's healer, but I wasn't totally on crack when I did what I did.
[/sblock]Also, to phoamslinger, no I've never played Paranoia, though I've heard of it a bit. I'll look into it.
And Radiant Gnome, I ordered the first Black Company book off of Amazon. I went there to read a summary and see what you were talking about in your judgment and those books sound right up my alley(I'd never even heard of them before!) Thanks for using that reference, hopefully they'll finally be a fantasy novel I can sink my teeth into again - George R. R. Martin ruined the genre for me since I compare all fantasy I read now on the ASOIAF scale, as in, would I rather re-read one of the books in the series that I've already read 4 times or read the fantasy novel in my hands. ASOIAF usually wins.
Last edited:
Radiating Gnome
Adventurer
LOL. My reply is below
[sblock]
Here I am, the 4e friendly judge on the panel, I didn't even look up the battle wight to see that. Odds are good that if I didn't do that, you're probably going to get even less credit from the less 4e centric judges. Sorry to have missed that detail.
[/sblock]
The first trilogy of black company books are seriously awesome. IMO, the series loses some steam after that, especially when there is a shift in narrating voice, but it's still good fun, and puts a lot of adult pragmatism and energy into a genre that could really use it.
If you love GRRM (and I do), I think you'll like it, although the two are very, very different.
-j
[sblock]
Here I am, the 4e friendly judge on the panel, I didn't even look up the battle wight to see that. Odds are good that if I didn't do that, you're probably going to get even less credit from the less 4e centric judges. Sorry to have missed that detail.
[/sblock]
The first trilogy of black company books are seriously awesome. IMO, the series loses some steam after that, especially when there is a shift in narrating voice, but it's still good fun, and puts a lot of adult pragmatism and energy into a genre that could really use it.
If you love GRRM (and I do), I think you'll like it, although the two are very, very different.
-j
Wik
First Post
Well, I.S., it's neck and neck. Phoam's was really well done, and had me second-guessing the whole way through who he was gonna vote for. I enjoyed it, is what I'm saying. 
Can't wait to read Nifft's judgery, regardless of which way he goes. This has been a VERY enjoyable round.
I do want to clarify a few things, which I'll do in a spoiler tag for Nifft's benefit.
[sblock]
Alright, so first off, is the "Fungal Forest". This is just a linguistic thing, on my part. I hate using the same word (in this case, "jungle") over and over again, so I subbed forest. Plus, I live in a rainforest, which many people often think of as jungle for some reason, so I guess the duality of the word always appeals to me. I get Phoam's point, though. Though I'm bugged, not at the judge, but at myself, because I had actually wanted to put a point in there about the draftees having to deal with the abundant animal life of the fungus jungle, but didn't, for space reasons. *facepalm*
Purple Wight: I couldn't do anything with these entries, until a friend called me up. She was sick, and i had to do a phone diagnosis to figure out what was wrong, so I dug up my handy occupational first aid book, and while flipping through it, saw some pictures of seriously hurt people - who look purple. And that kind of got things going. Which is when I started getting really excited.
Regarding Gnome's point about running my adventure being harder, I *almost* made it a Savage Worlds adventure to accomodate that, but then decided that if it were a skill challenge instead, it could work in 4e. Also, the PCs cannot just "go it alone", because if they did, they'd face 30 or 40 kuo-toa at once. One thing I really liked about writing my adventure was the idea that if PCs let draftees die, their force actually becomes stronger.... until the end fight, because hten they have to fight more wights.
Fort: I fully agree on this being my weakest part of the entry. The image of a "lightning fort" was not one I particularly enjoyed, and I would never put it in my own games. And since I try to make adventures that I would personally enjoy, I had to somehow make it work. The lightning is really only useful in the shocking of wights (which is fun!). Originally, I had it as an underdark fort that was also a lightning rod to the surface, but it was just too gonzo for my taste.
[/sblock]
Anyways, like I said earlier, I'm really excited by this match, and it's been a lot of fun.
Can't wait to read Nifft's judgery, regardless of which way he goes. This has been a VERY enjoyable round.
I do want to clarify a few things, which I'll do in a spoiler tag for Nifft's benefit.
[sblock]
Alright, so first off, is the "Fungal Forest". This is just a linguistic thing, on my part. I hate using the same word (in this case, "jungle") over and over again, so I subbed forest. Plus, I live in a rainforest, which many people often think of as jungle for some reason, so I guess the duality of the word always appeals to me. I get Phoam's point, though. Though I'm bugged, not at the judge, but at myself, because I had actually wanted to put a point in there about the draftees having to deal with the abundant animal life of the fungus jungle, but didn't, for space reasons. *facepalm*
Purple Wight: I couldn't do anything with these entries, until a friend called me up. She was sick, and i had to do a phone diagnosis to figure out what was wrong, so I dug up my handy occupational first aid book, and while flipping through it, saw some pictures of seriously hurt people - who look purple. And that kind of got things going. Which is when I started getting really excited.
Regarding Gnome's point about running my adventure being harder, I *almost* made it a Savage Worlds adventure to accomodate that, but then decided that if it were a skill challenge instead, it could work in 4e. Also, the PCs cannot just "go it alone", because if they did, they'd face 30 or 40 kuo-toa at once. One thing I really liked about writing my adventure was the idea that if PCs let draftees die, their force actually becomes stronger.... until the end fight, because hten they have to fight more wights.
Fort: I fully agree on this being my weakest part of the entry. The image of a "lightning fort" was not one I particularly enjoyed, and I would never put it in my own games. And since I try to make adventures that I would personally enjoy, I had to somehow make it work. The lightning is really only useful in the shocking of wights (which is fun!). Originally, I had it as an underdark fort that was also a lightning rod to the surface, but it was just too gonzo for my taste.
[/sblock]
Anyways, like I said earlier, I'm really excited by this match, and it's been a lot of fun.
phoamslinger
Explorer
I don't think it' s giving too much away to say that in the opening chapter of the GM's section of the Paranoia rules, it outlines the four key concepts of successful Paranoia gamemastering:
1. Fear
2. Ignorance
3. Fear and Ignorance
4. Ignorance and Fear
suffice it to say, it's an excellent opportunity to present your players with a no-win situation and be laughing about it behind the GM screen while you smile and help them with assistance that's no help at all.
Wik
First Post
Whew. Close match. Good game, Iron Sky, and have fun in the finals! This was, as I've said earlier, a great match, and I had a lot of fun. Wish you the best in the final round.
Oh, and Nifft - the kuo toa don't have the trident because they're searchign for it, too. I didn't make that clear enough. Which is too bad, but thems the breaks.
Oh, and Nifft - the kuo toa don't have the trident because they're searchign for it, too. I didn't make that clear enough. Which is too bad, but thems the breaks.
