Holiday Iron DM!!!! {Final Judgment Posted!}
- Thread starter el-remmen
- Start date
Quickbeam
Explorer
arwink said:
I got lucky. The last campaign I ran had a lot of dinosaurs working as beasts of burden
Quietly waiting for a judging now. Good luck QB.
I sorta know what you mean about getting lucky with the ingredients. I much preferred the list provided for my battle with Zappo, over any of the other three sets of theme elements in the Round #1 matches. Just the luck of the draw sometimes.
Anyway, good luck to you as well. And now we wait.
Last edited:
incognito
First Post
The real killer is, I would really like to congradulate one of the contestants for an ingenious use of an ingredient (which i have ALREADY ripped off!)
However, as Mirthcard poitned out - it is better form to wait until after the judgement. And I must say - I'm not sure which way I would rule on this one...
Good luck to you both.
However, as Mirthcard poitned out - it is better form to wait until after the judgement. And I must say - I'm not sure which way I would rule on this one...
Good luck to you both.
el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
Quickbeam vs. Arwink - Judgment
Arwink vs. Quickbeam – Semi-Final Round – Judgment
First of all, Quickbeam, in the future, please use breaks between paragraphs – it makes it a lot easier to read.
Second of all, I think both entries were flawed – or at least they seriously lacked something to make them leap off the page and draw me in and say, “Cool! I’d love to run a version of this in my game!”
Let me take this moment to say that I think coming up with a good side trek is as difficult as writing a good short story – and writing a good short story is often more difficult than writing a novel – because every word counts – and in a side trek D&D adventure every encounter, every ingredient, every NPC REALLY counts.
Arwink: Let me start with you – The brontosaurus as a steed is pretty ambitious idea – but I would think such a man as your Katilar would travel with a retinue of servants and perhaps local guides – such a detail may not matter so much in the overall determination of how good an entry is – but does lend some more confirmation on the NPC’s character.
Also, how can the pit-fiend (or is it a Gelugon? You contradict yourself) take on the brontosaurus form? Wouldn’t a brontosaurus be gargantuan? I could be wrong as no stats exist for it in the Monster Manual. . . So, let’s put that aside, however, doubtful it is.
I was expecting both entries to use mudmen – and while not an altogether original idea – it was better than the nutrient mud of Quickbeam’s entry. . . I could envision the scene much better than where the action takes place in the other entry as well – a tomb hidden behind a frozen waterfall is a cool idea – and the skeletons in the ice were a nice (in not wholly unexpected touch) – the fact that they are NOT animated at first will do much to lower the PC’s guard –as they will not expect them to attack as they emerge.
However, the tomb itself could have done with a bit more elaboration than “has a few traps” – even if using the flying carpet as a means of trapping a demon is clever.
One suggestion I would make is perhaps playing up on the dinosaur theme and perhaps have the pit-fiend (or is it a Gelugon?) summon some fiendish dinosaurs for the climatic fight.
In the end, the conclusion of this entry left me flat – and I do not see why the Gelugon (or is it pit-fiend) would not just attack the party as they emerged – since it is probably powerful enough to defeat the party (as he will be well-prepped for them) and in an isolated place where no one is likely to witness the melee.
Quickbeam: – What can I say? Your entry was hard to judge as well (I’ve gone back and forth in my opinion a few times).
Despite being a bit beyond my usual taste for “high magic” the image of a flood permanently frozen above a town as a constant sign of favor from a god and the town’s dedication to that god, is damn cool (no pun intended). But the foppish foreigner seems shoe-horned in and awfully cliché. . . What purpose does his being a foreigner serve? What is the point of him fulfilling some kind of gay stereotype?
I do like the idea/image of the frozen waterfall “crying” and “sweating” – it helps set up the environment and can even be seen as creepy – regardless – it shows that the destruction of the town could be imminent and something is definitely wrong.
As I have already mentioned, Quickbeam’s Magical Mud seems a weak use of the ingredient – and while the idea of using a huge beast for a source of blood is clever– the brontosaurus still seems shoe-horned in – how did they get such a beast up into the hills? There was no mention of the climate of the area. However, allowing PCs a chance to use skills or class abilities to notice the truth about the wounds
Also, the flying carpet also seems “just dropped in” serving no purpose or function in the entry (though the floating moths clue is a nice touch). . .
This is getting difficult – I can see problems with both adventures that make me want to declare the other the winner – but I flip and then I flop.
I am always in favor of adventures with difficult choices, subterfuge and things not being what they appear to be - so the assault on the sanctuary by clerics of Obad-Hai should be an interesting encounter – but these clerics (like the mephitis) were not ingredients – so while I like their effect on the adventure, how much can I really weigh them?
Also, Quickbeam does not offer us some lies Oseera can use to state her case. . . Why does she not offer any explanation on the source of the attacks?
Going back to Arwink’s entry – what we basically have is a coincidental meeting hopefully leading to tomb (with lack of detail) leading to a fight with a demon.
Quickbeam’s has the good old stand-by of “the heroes are sought out” leading to a journey to a sanctuary where things are not as they seem (but not much advice on how to cover it up is given) which leads to a big fight with people who are really good guys.
Arwink did a better job of incorporating the ingredients than Quickbeam – but just marginally – while Quickbeam has an entry with more room for role-playing and challenging encounters.
Feh!
I give this round to Quickbeam – But Arwink it was damn close – and if we had a wild card spot I’d place you in that round to fight for 3rd place
So I guess it will be Quickbeam vs. Wicht in the final. . . I look forward to it.
Arwink vs. Quickbeam – Semi-Final Round – Judgment
First of all, Quickbeam, in the future, please use breaks between paragraphs – it makes it a lot easier to read.
Second of all, I think both entries were flawed – or at least they seriously lacked something to make them leap off the page and draw me in and say, “Cool! I’d love to run a version of this in my game!”
Let me take this moment to say that I think coming up with a good side trek is as difficult as writing a good short story – and writing a good short story is often more difficult than writing a novel – because every word counts – and in a side trek D&D adventure every encounter, every ingredient, every NPC REALLY counts.
Arwink: Let me start with you – The brontosaurus as a steed is pretty ambitious idea – but I would think such a man as your Katilar would travel with a retinue of servants and perhaps local guides – such a detail may not matter so much in the overall determination of how good an entry is – but does lend some more confirmation on the NPC’s character.
Also, how can the pit-fiend (or is it a Gelugon? You contradict yourself) take on the brontosaurus form? Wouldn’t a brontosaurus be gargantuan? I could be wrong as no stats exist for it in the Monster Manual. . . So, let’s put that aside, however, doubtful it is.
I was expecting both entries to use mudmen – and while not an altogether original idea – it was better than the nutrient mud of Quickbeam’s entry. . . I could envision the scene much better than where the action takes place in the other entry as well – a tomb hidden behind a frozen waterfall is a cool idea – and the skeletons in the ice were a nice (in not wholly unexpected touch) – the fact that they are NOT animated at first will do much to lower the PC’s guard –as they will not expect them to attack as they emerge.
However, the tomb itself could have done with a bit more elaboration than “has a few traps” – even if using the flying carpet as a means of trapping a demon is clever.
One suggestion I would make is perhaps playing up on the dinosaur theme and perhaps have the pit-fiend (or is it a Gelugon?) summon some fiendish dinosaurs for the climatic fight.
In the end, the conclusion of this entry left me flat – and I do not see why the Gelugon (or is it pit-fiend) would not just attack the party as they emerged – since it is probably powerful enough to defeat the party (as he will be well-prepped for them) and in an isolated place where no one is likely to witness the melee.
Quickbeam: – What can I say? Your entry was hard to judge as well (I’ve gone back and forth in my opinion a few times).
Despite being a bit beyond my usual taste for “high magic” the image of a flood permanently frozen above a town as a constant sign of favor from a god and the town’s dedication to that god, is damn cool (no pun intended). But the foppish foreigner seems shoe-horned in and awfully cliché. . . What purpose does his being a foreigner serve? What is the point of him fulfilling some kind of gay stereotype?
I do like the idea/image of the frozen waterfall “crying” and “sweating” – it helps set up the environment and can even be seen as creepy – regardless – it shows that the destruction of the town could be imminent and something is definitely wrong.
As I have already mentioned, Quickbeam’s Magical Mud seems a weak use of the ingredient – and while the idea of using a huge beast for a source of blood is clever– the brontosaurus still seems shoe-horned in – how did they get such a beast up into the hills? There was no mention of the climate of the area. However, allowing PCs a chance to use skills or class abilities to notice the truth about the wounds
Also, the flying carpet also seems “just dropped in” serving no purpose or function in the entry (though the floating moths clue is a nice touch). . .
This is getting difficult – I can see problems with both adventures that make me want to declare the other the winner – but I flip and then I flop.
I am always in favor of adventures with difficult choices, subterfuge and things not being what they appear to be - so the assault on the sanctuary by clerics of Obad-Hai should be an interesting encounter – but these clerics (like the mephitis) were not ingredients – so while I like their effect on the adventure, how much can I really weigh them?
Also, Quickbeam does not offer us some lies Oseera can use to state her case. . . Why does she not offer any explanation on the source of the attacks?
Going back to Arwink’s entry – what we basically have is a coincidental meeting hopefully leading to tomb (with lack of detail) leading to a fight with a demon.
Quickbeam’s has the good old stand-by of “the heroes are sought out” leading to a journey to a sanctuary where things are not as they seem (but not much advice on how to cover it up is given) which leads to a big fight with people who are really good guys.
Arwink did a better job of incorporating the ingredients than Quickbeam – but just marginally – while Quickbeam has an entry with more room for role-playing and challenging encounters.
Feh!
I give this round to Quickbeam – But Arwink it was damn close – and if we had a wild card spot I’d place you in that round to fight for 3rd place
So I guess it will be Quickbeam vs. Wicht in the final. . . I look forward to it.
Similar Threads
