Adventure Idol: Dungeon's New Competition

[Arnwyn]

The low-level adventures were all very neat ideas.

I voted for the race, as it sounds very unique. The Salvagers was a close second, and The Feast a distant third, as it sounded to me like the most boring (and most poorly written summary on top of everything else).

 

[Mortellan]

Genius! First they push the cost of printing off on us by making the magazines PDF, now they are putting the editorial decision of which modules get published on us too? I can't wait to we actually pay for this content.

 

[Mistwell]

After reading the full summaries...I can't decide on the lower level adventures. For those who can't access the full summaries....

Cross City Race
The adventure begins upon the adventurer’s arrival within a sizeable city or metropolis. The city is alive with talk about a special race across the city; one held every year or two, to deliver a letter from one side of the city to the other as quickly as possible. While it started out as a simple competition between message carriers to settle a dispute, it is now open to anyone to enter; though no magical transportation or killing is allowed, the race is otherwise a glorious free-for-all of sneakiness, athleticism and brute force, all to claim the prize: a sizeable money pot and magical item donated by the city treasury to encourage the competition.

Adventure in a Nutshell: The adventure itself is the race, made up of an interlinked series of encounters along the route: including sabotage, traps, ambushes and other underhanded and sneaky obstacles, as well as the terrain and daily life of the city itself getting in the way. The intended theme would almost be that of a car chase in a modern cop show, complete with exploding melons, cardboard boxes and chicken cages getting devastated en route. The adventurers may spring their own traps and obstacles for the other racers, and the various Skill and Ability checks—as well as the conditions and the route taken—add or subtract to the time taken to try and claim the prize.

The various encounters interlock with each other in a similar fashion to the old Choose Your Own Adventure books and could, conceivably, be run through by a single player. Failing to jump a roof-gap in one encounter, for example, might drop you down into an encounter on a ground route.

The final goal of the competition is the guardhouse atop the gate on the opposite side of the city, but the door is locked and the climax is a death-defying climb to deliver the letter and claim the prize. A failure in this could lead to a nasty fall, especially with other competitors trying to push you off, pouring oil over the stones, or otherwise doing things to get in the way.

The city treasury may have put up the prize for a reason. A proven, capable and ruthless messenger may be just what they need to take a letter or item securely, safely and swiftly from their city to another. What the package is may not be clear, but it may well be important enough for other people to pursue. With that as a hook, this adventure may act as a springboard to other adventures and a way to get the adventurers in the good graces of the ruling powers in several cities.

This sounds very cool, and more unique than the other two.

 

[FadedC]

The race is by far the most unique and interesting, but it's also the most likely to end up as something cute to read but which doesn't really work as an adventure. This is definitely something where you'd realistically need to see an actual example of work to make a decision.

 

[delericho]

Genius! First they push the cost of printing off on us by making the magazines PDF, now they are putting the editorial decision of which modules get published on us too? I can't wait to we actually pay for this content.

When you go to a restaurant, do you expect the waiter to choose your meal for you?

Besides, we'll still have the benefit of WotC's quality control. I'm sure the adventures will be of the highest quality, free from typos, with no instances of one word being used where another is meant, and absolutely no mistakes in the stat blocks.

 

[freyar]

Besides, we'll still have the benefit of WotC's quality control. I'm sure the adventures will be of the highest quality, free from typos, with no instances of one word being used where another is meant, and absolutely no mistakes in the stat blocks.

Wow, what a beautiful use of verbal irony!

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me why this is in the 4e forum...

 

[KingCrab]

That's a pretty bad typo. I'm wondering whether it was the author's or on the part of whoever put the article together on the website.

Or maybe it was sabotage by a 3.5 grognard that has secretly infiltrated WotC headquarters and is working against the upcoming DI.

 

[KoshPWNZYou]

Mechanus Unwound
Entropy’s scion has arrived. Nehbirkinezihr, a powerful dust mephit and self-styled scion of entropy seeks to undermine all reality. Recently, his monstrous cult, the Order of Chaos, have discovered what he believes to be the ‘weak point’ in all of creation, found in Mechanus. High-level.

Nice to see that the works of He of Eternal Darkness are being carried out.

Mmm. Entropy. I feel so tentacly.

 

[catsclaw227]

I voted Salvagers, but the Race was good as well. Nice summaries, and I like the way WOTC is involving the gaming community in selecting ideas.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

When I first read the title of this thread, I thought there was a new print D&D magazine coming out.