Fool's Errand Iron DM Competition #1

[Sniktch]

Howdy, al I'm just lurking as usual looking for nifty ideas I can yoink from the competition - I just love these things! Anyway, I wanted to jump in and say something about:

Why are the crocodiles attacking the PC’s, in pack formation no less ?

Before last night I would've asked the same question, but then I saw this nature show on PBS. A crocodile and a leopard were fighting over the corpse of a dead warthog. Two more leopards showed up and chased the lone crocodile off.

Well, wouldn't you know it, but within ten minutes a whole pack (between 10 and 15) of crocodiles showed up, encircled the leopards, and drove them off. It really looked to me like the first croc had gone to fetch his friends and then they drove off the leopards with their greater numbers and teamwork. It was a fascinating scene and I found myself glued to the TV the whole time it was on.

Just thought I'd throw that out there - apparently crocs really do operate in packs sometimes

 

[mystraschosen]

Howdy, al I'm just lurking as usual looking for nifty ideas I can yoink from the competition - I just love these things! Anyway, I wanted to jump in and say something about:



Before last night I would've asked the same question, but then I saw this nature show on PBS. A crocodile and a leopard were fighting over the corpse of a dead warthog. Two more leopards showed up and chased the lone crocodile off.

Well, wouldn't you know it, but within ten minutes a whole pack (between 10 and 15) of crocodiles showed up, encircled the leopards, and drove them off. It really looked to me like the first croc had gone to fetch his friends and then they drove off the leopards with their greater numbers and teamwork. It was a fascinating scene and I found myself glued to the TV the whole time it was on.

Just thought I'd throw that out there - apparently crocs really do operate in packs sometimes

No way I so totally saw the same show,that's exactly where I got it from. This is so freaky I am scared

 

[Sniktch]

No way I so totally saw the same show,that's exactly where I got it from. This is so freaky I am scared

LOL! Scared because other people watch PBS? Or just that rats do?

BTW, as fir why the crocs would attack the PCs - crocs are pretty vicious animals - they will attack anything that moves too close to them, and they are not picky about what they eat. A very aggressive animal.

Alligators on the other hand, are almost docile and tame by comparison...

 

[ajanders]

Contest structure

I like the third option myself, so can support that.

As for the owlbears, well, I was using them as a symbol of chaos and the violation of the laws of nature.
But you're right. Now that everybody's reading Lovecraft, nothing vertebrate violates That Which Is Right And Proper nearly enough anymore.

Nice job, all.
I'm astonished we got everything in and had something playable.
aja

 

[lightful]

You live, you learn.

Still, I think pack attack tactics by crocodiles would elicit wails of dissent from the players nad start them thinking about who's controlling them...which is not altogether bad.

I still stand by my decision.

 

[Destil]

I think #3 is my favroite, as well. Exposition for "Shadows of Justice" when I get a chance....

 

[Destil]

Exposition for "Shadows of Justice"

Shadows of Justice

The title is probably the weakest part of this adventure !

Yeah. Titles have always been a big weakness of mine. I Didn't like it much either, but I was in a real hurry to get this all down (my notes were what I would have had before running it as an adventure in my game: a basic idea in my head and a list of proper nouns. Even the adventuring party was a creation I hadn't really given any forethough to. And I had around 4 hours to write it before class).

The Good:
Combining the judge and the paladin into one character is self-evident, but I really like Lethyeas. I like the Force manacles, confining him with rotting corpses so that he’d eat them and set himself up for ghast-hood is eeeeevil ! I love it !

The judge / paladin connection jumped right out at me. The manacles were originally slated for possible PC wear after a trial of some sort, but this was easier. If anything I think perhaps having S.L. subdue the party and letting them try and escape may have worked better, but runs the risk of dues ex machiena. And generaly I was aiming more for playability of the adventure above anything else (just my game design instincts, I hope).

The bodies were just the first thing that came to mind while thinking about some logic holes (why S.L. dosn't just kill Lethyeas right off).

The Bad:
The owlbear is, again, an encounter designed only so that the ingredient would be used. An ogre or (several bugbears !) would work just as well or better. The wizards name changes halfway, but that’s a minor point (more of a nitpick, not even a full quibble).

Yeah. I knew this one was a real weakness. In my own defense from a mechanachal standpoint I think the owlbear combat would keep the flow of the combat aspects of the adventure very well. But from a story standpoint I was just glad I didn't have to figure out where joyous laughter would fit in. Oh, well... my first idea was to call the adventueing group the "Mighty Owlbears" or something similar. At least they would have been consistantly called it, unlike poor Rist / Rast.

The Ugly:
This is, by far, the best entry in the competition to this point. The whole shadow plane double is ingenious, uses the ingredients well, and provides motive for all of the NPC’s.
Ex-adventuring parties are always fun to mention, and they bring a great sense of realism to the PC’s (admit it – they do live strange lives, hearing that someone else did so as well helps).

The shadow crocs were the axis around which the rest of the advenure was spun in my mind. Then you have the dimatericaly opposed paladin judge with his mandicales and animate dead, and with the shadow plane linking alternate primes the idea of the "evil twin" tie in was too tempting to avoid, though I wondered if the crocs themselves were a little forced (any shadow creature of similar CR could have worked equally well). We'll just assume S.L. shaved off the gotee before steping through the planar gate.

Looking forward to the next round!

 

[lightful]

Destil, you don't do yourself justice !

I really liked that babbling brook and waterfall turning into a stagnant swampy morass, and what better to put in a swamp (\hags aside) than crocodiles.

I'll give dave_o, and MerakSpielman some more time to weigh in with their opinion for the next round and then post the pairs and ingredients.

 

[MerakSpielman]

No strong opinions either way.

 

[lightful]

While we wait for dave_o to chime in, I'll just post the ingredients for the next round (semifinal or round-robin).

MerakSpielman vs. ajanders
Your ingredients are:

1. Daern's Instant Fortress
2. dire lion
3. energy admixture
4. silk merchant
5. student
6. feather
your wild card ingredient is: abjuration magic


Destil vs. dave_o
Your ingredients are:

1. rogue harpy
2. nalfeshnee
3. philanthropic heir
4. glaive
5. control weather
6. broken glass
your wild card ingredient is: hide and seek

Try to stick to the 4 day deadline.

I wish you the best of luck.

PS> dave_o, I still need to hear from you regarding the format.