ENnies 2002 Nominees (was "IT is done!")

[KDLadage]

Wow.

I am quite surprised to see that Volume III of the Umbragia setting was nominated. I figured I was a longshot to even make it in this year (given the level of competition).

Thanks.

I already feel like a winner.

One of these days, I will have to figure out why I keep typing the word "the" as "teh" nearly every time...

 

[Ysgarran]

Question about Hallowfaust.

Personally, I was very pleasantly surprised - heck, blown away is a better way to put it - by Bluffside and Hollowfaust. Hollowfaust I immediately decided to place in my own campaign world, and Bluffside is reminiscent of classics like City State of the Invincible Overlord and Lankhmar.

I have a lot of Scarred Lands products and I liked 'Barok Torn' better than I like Hallowfaust. I'm curious as to some insight about the choice between these two products.

 

[Klaus]

A big Thank You not only to the judges, but also to everyone who thought a product with my art was worth their hard-earned pennies!

It's a thrill to be nominated!

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Come on, now, you have to admit -- despite their creaky navigation scheme and sometimes flaky performance, they are the undisputed king of content for D&D and related stuff. Would have been a crime not to include it!

Yes, I love their content, too! But, BY THE GODS, my 11-year-old could design better navigation!

 

[Psion]

Gee... I was expecting more interesting shrieks of pain that this. WotC website? C'mon!

 

[CRGreathouse]

Re: Wow.

I am quite surprised to see that Volume III of the Umbragia setting was nominated. I figured I was a longshot to even make it in this year (given the level of competition).

Thanks.

I already feel like a winner.

Being nominated is the real victory. The actual "winner" is generally picked by people who haven't read all the products/entries in the category... it makes it into something of a popularity contest.

I'm happy to say that Umbragia III was an easy choice for the nomination - it's well-written, creative, and crunchy.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Yes, I love their content, too! But, BY THE GODS, my 11-year-old could design better navigation!

What are you talking about? I love their navigation! Just go to enworld.org and click on each of the WotC features, hitting the "back" button after each one. It doesn't get any easier!

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Re: Question about Hallowfaust.

I have a lot of Scarred Lands products and I liked 'Barok Torn' better than I like Hallowfaust. I'm curious as to some insight about the choice between these two products.

Burok Torn was pretty good, but it wasn't as thoroughly detailed and well-conceived as Hollowfaust. Hollowfaust was also a very original concept. As I've said elsewhere, it takes a cliche (a city run by necromancers) and gives it a unique twist (it's actually a very livable city). The details of Hollowfaust were also a big plus - the army and public workforce is made up of undead; people who choose to live in Hollowfaust sign an agreement that their body is forfeit to the city upon death, to be added to the ranks; the necromancers, more scientists than death-obsessed villains, carefully teach the public that the body is just a shell, and that the soul has moved on after death. Details like those are very evocative.

Burok Torn, as I said, is good. However, the basic premise is one I've seen many times - a dwarven city pushed to the brink of extinction by an incessant war with an implacable enemy. For example, I was strongly reminded of the dwarven kingdom making a last stand in the 1e module Queen of the Demonweb pits, and the mega-module Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. Also, there wasn't enough detail of either the dwarven or dark elven culture, so the book seemed a bit unfocused. Still, it wasn't a bad book at all.

Basically, that's how I saw both books.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Well, I was going to post, but the Colonel summed it up pretty nicely.

I liked Burok Torn just fine, but it wasn't the creative risk that Hollowfaust was.

 

[King_Stannis]

Ain't that the truth!

The quality of of products this year was amazing.

Anyone who enters my Post ENnies Haiku Contest (on this very message board) stands to win some seriously great product.

There were many instances where we were debating over how to decide between 4-5 really worthwhile Honorable Mentions.

T-Bill - when does that start and where will it be?