Not the Iron DM Tournament

[chaochou]

The Iron DM tournament is currently running - if you're not aware of the concept you get six 'ingredients' to work into an adventure and 24 hours to write that adventure in, within a set word count (currently 750 words, but it goes up each round).

So here's the thing - setting aside the timing and judging, creating stuff for a variety of RPGs with some structure and some constraints is a fun and interesting exercise in its own right.

This thread is for anyone who wants to give the concept a go outside of the formal structure. So no time limit or judging, but keeping the 750 word limit and the six ingredients, posting an adventure precis. I think it's polite to let competitors post their formal entries before using a set of ingredients, but maybe that's just me.

Here's three sets of ingredients from the first round.

Swift Action
Tin Star
Waterlogged Sewers
Debt Collector
Hidden Knife
Underground Dance

Simple Plan
Credit Due
Dogs of War
Poor Reception
Last Knight
Reality Breach

Ghost Mushrooms
Rotting Utopia
Bear Necessities
Armored Lizard
Rootless Tree
Broken Angel

And a fourth set from the first round:

Empty Treasury
Wonderful World
Terrible Bard
Historic Bridge
Uncivil War
Spectral Lion

 

[chaochou]

And here's an example to get the thread started in earnest.

The Glare of Progress
A Cyberpunk situation for The Veil

• Ghost Mushrooms
• Rotting Utopia
• Bear Necessities
• Armored Lizard
• Rootless Tree
• Broken Angel

The vast arcologies rise so high that sunlight doesn't reach down this far. Only the constant drip of a million streams of condensation, where the clouds form around the tops of the towers miles overhead and the water runs down, and down and down, here to fractured concrete, decayed pylons, rusted signs and busted hydrants of the once original streets. The rot of utopia set in down here on The Floor, and started climbing. But the Floor is the most rotten - if you're down here, you hit rock bottom, probably a while back.

The Broken Angel is what the the Floor locals call their sanctuary - part soup-kitchen, part club, part conduit for The Veil, four stories of crumbling ruin, festooned with miles of old cabling and filled with old jukebox parts, run by a mysterious figure called Salem.

The Laiety, a group of anti-corporate radicals in the area, are being stirred up by a preacher called NineLiveS, and have stopped visiting and partying at the Broken Angel. NineLiveS is trying to instigate a raid against a corporate headquarters, although he hasn't yet picked a target.

GianFranco is a researcher from the the Church of the New Saints. He believes the Floor may house new species which have adapted to low-light, high humidity conditions. If he finds new species he wants them wiped out as the Church seeks to destroy evidence of evolution.

Juice is one of the unofficial leaders of petty street hooligans The Elevators, about 15 smart, directionless youths prone to hacking the arcology elevators and riding upward to infiltrate, tag and prank in the suburban zones.

The Ursa Major corporation wants space for a new nutrient processing plant and this rotting utopia, filled with the remnants of the underclass is - in corporate terms - uncontrolled, unclaimed and unwanted. Perfect. They plan to clear the area they need with obselete battlefield atomic warheads from the previous century, codenamed Project Ghost. Technically its illegal, but who enforces the law here?

The Project Ghost timeline is to:

1. send scout teams into the area to survey for structural weaknesses in the arcologies
2. send a specialist demolition team in to advise on placement of the warheads
3. bring in a heavily guarded nuclear team to install the charges
4. wait for favourable conditions
5. detonate the charges

Player Character 1
Anand is The Attached, a slim Latino with a worn face. An articulated metal Gecko, driven by some kind of AI, skitters across his body, slipping into a pocket then appearing from under his shirt to glide gracefully onto his shoulder, hexadecimal code blurring across its neon-blue eyes. Maybe he controls it, or maybe it controls him. Right now he's a wanderer, in thrall to its whispers.

Beliefs
Progress does not require violence
Strangers are usually well-meaning and friendly
Staying still is a slow death

Player Character 2
Lisbet is The Wayward, known as the Rootless Tree, because of the branch she carries filled with the essence of her Forest Homeland. The branch feeds on dreams to replenish the Forest, and so she found her way to The Floor - filled with dreamers all hoping for something else.

Beliefs
Without dreams my homelands will become barren
The Veil is good - it helps people dream
No-one else can be relied upon so I must do everything myself

Player Character 3
Salem is The Onomastic, the last of his order, whose Sanctuary is Broken Angel, the decayed and crumbling old building, and who is hunted by iconoclasts within the pure light. He doesn't remember how the old order came to be destroyed, but he fled here to the depths, away from the light. He feels it searching for him even here. How long before the light comes?

Beliefs
The light is the enemy of the order
When the people are joyful, I am joyful
The Broken Angel must be preserved above all else

Player Character 4
Juice is The Honed, a natural athlete and brawler who kicks around The Floor with her friends, looking for a purpose. Some would call The Elevators a gang but she doesn't see it that way. She doesn't act like the leader, except when danger is close when she feels responsible for those around her.

Beliefs
We need risk and danger to feel alive
I need my friends more than I need technology
It's not wrong if no-one gets hurt

 

[Rune]

Neat! There hasn’t been a Home Game version of IRON DM on these boards in many years!

Some quick thoughts about The Glare of Progress:

I really like the various flavorful factions presented here and the choice to use specific characters for the PCs helps set the tone in a good way, too. The beliefs, especially, are helpful. I’m thinking convention game.

 

[Fenris-77]

I like the approach to ghost mushrooms there. That's very clever. I like clever. Specifically for an Iron DM type entry, I might slim down the characters in exchange for buffing the timeline and tightening up consequences and connections. I like it a lot though, lots of good cyberpunk flavour.

 

[Fenris-77]

@chaochou - are you planning to keep the OP updated with the new ingredient sets as they come out?

 

[pemerton]

So here's the thing - setting aside the timing and judging, creating stuff for a variety of RPGs with some structure and some constraints is a fun and interesting exercise in its own right.

In addition to this, I like your use of pregen PCs as the focus for conflict/complication.

Swift Action
Tin Star
Waterlogged Sewers
Debt Collector
Hidden Knife
Underground Dance

This makes me want to post an island for Agon 2nd ed (I think it comes in at about 550 words):

Kassos
A steep-sloped island of handicrafters and traders

Signs of the Gods
Demeter (Goddess of Law): Her sign is the seal - promises made and obligations kept.

Hephaistos (God of Crafting): His sign is a star-shaped brooch wrought out of tin, the imposition of form onto the chaos of the natural world.

Zeus (Lord of the Sky): A storm rages and torrential rain is falling as your sailors dock your vessel.

Arrival
Water flows through the streets of the town, sweeping away the market stalls and hand carts.

A crowd gathers at the edge of a cliff that overlooks the port - led by Dares, the priest of Zeus, they are going to throw a young man, Pythios, over the edge as a sacrifice.

A middle-aged woman, bedraggled in the downpour, recognises you as heroes and looks at you imploringly. She is Chryse, mother of Pythios.

You must choose swiftly: will you listen to Chryse (Arts & Oration to stop the crowd performing the sacrifice), or comfort her (Resolve & Spirit: if she wins, she hurls herself into the sea after her son), or join the crowd on the cliff (Resolve & Spirit: if the heroes win, the Strife Level is lowered by one)?

Trials
To learn the truth about Dares choice of sacrifice: he is in debt to Chryse (Craft & Reason in the temple records; Arts & Oration vs Dares).

To repair the drains and sewers (Craft & Reason; Arts & Oration my ad an advantage from willing townsfolk).

To offer a different sacrifice to Zeus to end the storm (Resolve & Spirit; if the storm continues, raise the strife level and repairing the drains and sewers becomes Perilous).

Battle
Will the heroes confront the wild cultists who dance in the under temple, praying for the sky and earth to swallow up the town and restore Kassos to its primeval state? Threats: the cultists kill Dares; more rain falls.

Or will the heroes topple Dares from his position of influence? Threats: Dares destroys the records in the temple; violence breaks out among the townsfolk as old debts are called in and new ones established in the struggle for power.

Characters
Dares, Priest of Zeus (d8). Cunning (d6). Pious (d8, and Sacred in his temple).
Chryse, Townswoman (d6). Devoted to her son (d8). Honest (d6).
Townsfolk (d6). Industrious (d6). Cooperative: Advantage on any endeavour where they work together.
Thesela, cult leader (d8). Zealous (d6). Hidden knife (d8 Perilous). Accompanied by her cultists, she is Epic.

Places
The buildings in the town have copper downpipes; the sewers and drains made of brick and clay pipe, into which these flow, are in disrepair.

The temple of Zeus contains records of all debts and promises.

The under temple, lit by torches, has brick walls but an earthen floor.

Special Rewards
Trade goods to fill the hold of your vessel.

Mysteries
Why does Zeus send rain? Is it at the supplication of the cultists? To punish Dares for allowing the temple to fall into debt?

Who are the cultists? Are they townsfolk who despise urban life? Are they descendants of the farmers and hunters who once ruled on Kassos? And do they have some hold over Dares such that he dare not drive them from the under temple?

 

[Rune]

I’m not familiar with the system, but that game (Argos) looks great! It hits a spot I I’ve been looking for ever since the 2e AD&D green-cover historical-setting days. D&D has never been the best fit for mythic Grecian roleplaying (although I think it would have worked okay in E6).

Some thoughts on Kassos:

That’s fun! There’s a real quality of exploration and wonder in this set-up that is very appealing!

 

[pemerton]

I’m not familiar with the system, but that game (Argos) looks great! It hits a spot I I’ve been looking for ever since the 2e AD&D green-cover historical-setting days. D&D has never been the best fit for mythic Grecian roleplaying (although I think it would have worked okay in E6).

I've only played one session, and this is my first attempt to write up an island. It's a little less magical than the default (eg nothing overtly supernatural beyond the storm), but I think that's what happens when you try to put industriousness into a Homeric scenario!

 

[Imhotepthewise]

Thank you for doing this. In the early days of Iron DM, parallel threads like this allowed me to sharpen up to jump into the real thing without the competitive pressure. I have competed a few times in the real thing, even making it to the second round once!

 

[pemerton]

Simple Plan
Credit Due
Dogs of War
Poor Reception
Last Knight
Reality Breach

I think this list invites a Prince Valiant episode (which comes in just under 750 words by my count):

After the battle
Episode Type: Assistance

Begin with: As you crest the hill with the morning sun behind you, a sorry sight meets your eyes: a battle was fought here yesterday, and many dead bodies lie strewn across the ground, left unburned and unburied. Some of them are being mauled by war hounds, cruel dogs unleashed by one side upon the other. You hear a voice calling: one last knight is still alive!

Name: Sir Emmett

Situation: During the battle Sir Emmett was pulled from his horse by the dogs of war, and now he is dying. He wishes to be buried rather than eaten. Secret: if the Storyteller wishes, Sir Emmett can be a member of the winning side in the battle, Count Leal’s army. The master of hounds lost control of the frenzied dogs, and they attacked a knight on their own side. Sir Emmet was left behind because the dogs would not let anyone approach him, and in his state of collapse he was assumed to be dead.

Short Term Goal: Die with honour and dignity.

Long Term Goal: Go to a peaceful, eternal rest.

Planned Activity: Sir Emmett will ask the passing knights to keep him company as he dies, and then to bury him once he is dead.

Personality: Sir Emmett fought valiantly. He now wishes to be properly laid to rest. If the Storyteller is using the secret situation, Sir Emmett will be ashamed of Count Leal's use of the dogs and treatment of the dead, and will admit his participation only if encouraged or comforted or forced to confront the truth.

Special Effect: Inspire to Greatness (each Adventurer who helps Sir Emmett).

First scene: The arrival of the Adventurers will be poorly received by the war dogs. To get to Sir Emmett, the Adventurers will have to fight the hounds, or otherwise drive them away.

Second scene: When the Adventurers approach Sir Emmett, they will see that he is dying. Healing skill used against a Difficulty Factor of 4 can save his life. Otherwise he will ask the Adventurers to keep him company as he dies, and to bury him. To keep him calm as he dies is Presence + Fellowship against a Difficulty Factor of 2; if the Storyteller is using the secret situation, to persuade him to tell his story requires a throw against a Difficulty Factor of 3, with additional successes reducing the Difficulty Factor until all is revealed at zero. If Sir Emmett is in peace at the moment of his death, he will gift the ring that he wears to the Adventurer with the highest fame, as a token of thanks (+1 to Presence for the purposes of prestige and influence on Sir Emmett's manor and at Count Leal's court).

Third scene (if Sir Emmett dies): the Adventurers can bury him if they wish. If Sir Emmett is buried, the Adventurers will see a flash of light in the sky as his spirit passes on. (If the Storyteller is using the secret situation, this happens only if Sir Emmett has repented and come to terms with the wrongful conduct that he took part in.) Each Adventurer who assisted him gets one use of a limited Inspire to Greatness, adding two coins/dice to one future throw.

Further development: If the Adventurers wish to seek out Count Leal and his army who left the bodies of the dead to be eaten by dogs, they have several options: they may ask Sir Emmett for information before he dies; they may follow the tracks of the victorious army; or they may wait for the master of hounds to return to collect the dogs. The Storyteller will have to develop the details if necessary; but the Adventurers can be confident that any attempt to confront Count Leal will undoubtedly meet with a poor reception, doubly so if they are accompanied by a healed and still-living Sir Emmett, who will be ready to give Count Leal all the credit he is due.

Statistics: Dogs of war (two per Adventurer) Brawn 4, Presence 3, Brawling 4, combat total 9 with fangs (+1 weapon).

Sir Emmett (Fame 3,000) Brawn 4 (currently reduced to zero), Presence 3, Agility 1, Arms 3, Battle 2, Courtesie 1, Hunting 2, Jousting 1, Riding 2, combat total 10 with medium armour (+2) and sword (+1) or lance (+1; 11 with Riding).