InVinoVeritas
Adventurer
So, here it is, the final round. I'll try to keep this short, but I probably can't. First off, a huge congratulations to both contestants. Getting this far is tough, really tough. Hats off to you. Heck, hats off to everyone willing to give this a go—it’s not easy.
Iron Sky’s Song of the Prophet vs. ajanders’ Have a Heart, Please?
Here is the judgment:
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First, the ingredients. We had talked about having a theme with the ingredients, and we eventually chose Dada. It gives us a bunch of items that seem unimportant on the surface, but can be used in a myriad number of ways.
Exquisite Cadaver: Originally from the parlor game of the same name, from which one of the first sentences written was, “The exquisite cadaver shall drink the new wine.” We get the parlor game from ajanders. It’s a very clever way to introduce a number of details for the PCs. Iron Sky gives us a literal Exquisite Cadaver, the floating body of the prophet. The picture adds to the evocative nature. Both are quite lovely uses. I give the edge to ajanders because the “method of delivery” technique is stronger.
Festooned Cabaret: A reference to the Cabaret Voltaire, a popular Dadaist hangout. The Festooned Cabaret is the opening cantina in Song of the Prophet. Unfortunately, I’m not seeing the festooning in the central prayer chamber as a cabaret. Singing and dancing, and a stage, but not with the cabaret vibe. The cabaret is the location that the PCs return again and again while traversing the Feywild. Through the entertainment acts, the plot is revealed. A far stronger use. The advantage goes to ajanders.
The Girl with the Prefabricated Heart: A story within the Dreams That Money Can Buy movie. The prefabricated heart became very important in both adventures—an object of desire in Have a Heart, Please? and an object of scorn in Song of the Prophet. I felt that the Clockwork Heart was a far superior use of the Prefabricated Heart than Mrydah’s failing transplant bridge in that there are a lot more details to it, but ajanders did very little with the girl. I would imagine that just making Abelard Faux or Le Duc D’Automne female would have gotten around this problem instantly with no loss to the flow of the adventure. Iron Sky gets the advantage here, but I have to give special mention to ajanders for the fully detailed Clockwork Heart.
Dreams That Money Can Buy: The movie mentioned above. In both cases, it involves people with hopes that coin ostensibly makes right. I don’t see a particular advantage here.
Prestigious Urinal: The sculpture “Fountain,” by Marcel Duchamp. I felt it clever that three bodily fluids were required in Song of the Prophet. That made for an interesting use for the urinal. The urinal was another prop used in the entertainment of the plot—and for a fun, disgusting moment. The chamberpot establishes the role of the devils, but it’s more of a chamberpot than a urinal. Advantage to Iron Sky.
Handkerchief of Clouds: A play written by Tristan Tzara. In Have a Heart, Please? the handkerchief gives the PCs an ally for useful skill bonuses, but does not move the plot along. In Song of the Prophet the handkerchief is one of the important bodily fluid vessels of the prophet—the stronger use in this case. Advantage to Iron Sky.
Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear: A musical symphony by Erik Satie. It also was ambiguous in meaning—were the three pieces individually pear-shaped, or were they pear-shaped in aggregate? In this case, we have the mist-pear shapes of clouds and Mrydah’s defective heart from Iron Sky, and the three pears received from the trees. The number three didn’t do much in Iron Sky’s adventure, but was key in the travels in ajanders’ submission. I felt that ajanders had the stronger use here, because of the use of the number three, and the more direct usage of the pieces as bribes or tools in the final scene.
Originality: Iron Sky’s adventure is beautiful, poignant. The tale of a man who is willing to give everything—including his faith—to save his daughter is a gorgeous tale that we don’t get to see enough of. Yet there is still something more about ajanders’ entry that interests me. Watching the party go through much the same action three times wouldn’t make a lot of sense, but it does in the Feywild. Sure, it’s on the surface easy with some cut and paste, but I’m less interested in the what and more in the how. Enough was varied each time to make the similarities as noticeable as the differences.
Playability: Iron Sky leaves the conclusion of the adventure open for the DM to fill in with whatever he wants. It is useful, but clearly a player would prefer a definite resolution—not that we should cater to the player, necessarily. In addition, it comes with artwork throughout. It’s quite lovely and helps to establish the entire piece. That is well done. In ajanders’ entry, we are given background, how a number of skill checks should work, and the details of the ins and outs of the adventure—especially the listing of the various tasks that need to be accomplished in the final scene. We are given lots of details about characterization for Gaston, Le Duc D’Automne, and Abelard Faux, which is valuable in determining how to play them. These extra pieces make the adventure more useful. It does not match the beauty and grandeur of Iron Sky’s entry, but makes it up with playful practicality.
Conclusion: These are both very solid entries. They are quite worthy of the final round, and both contestants should be proud. In the end, I decided that the originality and playability is the strength of ajanders’ entry, making it more interesting overall. The ingredient use was rather well split between the two, so I am delivering my vote to ajanders.
Well done to both of you!
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Iron Sky’s Song of the Prophet vs. ajanders’ Have a Heart, Please?
Here is the judgment:
[sblock]
First, the ingredients. We had talked about having a theme with the ingredients, and we eventually chose Dada. It gives us a bunch of items that seem unimportant on the surface, but can be used in a myriad number of ways.
Exquisite Cadaver: Originally from the parlor game of the same name, from which one of the first sentences written was, “The exquisite cadaver shall drink the new wine.” We get the parlor game from ajanders. It’s a very clever way to introduce a number of details for the PCs. Iron Sky gives us a literal Exquisite Cadaver, the floating body of the prophet. The picture adds to the evocative nature. Both are quite lovely uses. I give the edge to ajanders because the “method of delivery” technique is stronger.
Festooned Cabaret: A reference to the Cabaret Voltaire, a popular Dadaist hangout. The Festooned Cabaret is the opening cantina in Song of the Prophet. Unfortunately, I’m not seeing the festooning in the central prayer chamber as a cabaret. Singing and dancing, and a stage, but not with the cabaret vibe. The cabaret is the location that the PCs return again and again while traversing the Feywild. Through the entertainment acts, the plot is revealed. A far stronger use. The advantage goes to ajanders.
The Girl with the Prefabricated Heart: A story within the Dreams That Money Can Buy movie. The prefabricated heart became very important in both adventures—an object of desire in Have a Heart, Please? and an object of scorn in Song of the Prophet. I felt that the Clockwork Heart was a far superior use of the Prefabricated Heart than Mrydah’s failing transplant bridge in that there are a lot more details to it, but ajanders did very little with the girl. I would imagine that just making Abelard Faux or Le Duc D’Automne female would have gotten around this problem instantly with no loss to the flow of the adventure. Iron Sky gets the advantage here, but I have to give special mention to ajanders for the fully detailed Clockwork Heart.
Dreams That Money Can Buy: The movie mentioned above. In both cases, it involves people with hopes that coin ostensibly makes right. I don’t see a particular advantage here.
Prestigious Urinal: The sculpture “Fountain,” by Marcel Duchamp. I felt it clever that three bodily fluids were required in Song of the Prophet. That made for an interesting use for the urinal. The urinal was another prop used in the entertainment of the plot—and for a fun, disgusting moment. The chamberpot establishes the role of the devils, but it’s more of a chamberpot than a urinal. Advantage to Iron Sky.
Handkerchief of Clouds: A play written by Tristan Tzara. In Have a Heart, Please? the handkerchief gives the PCs an ally for useful skill bonuses, but does not move the plot along. In Song of the Prophet the handkerchief is one of the important bodily fluid vessels of the prophet—the stronger use in this case. Advantage to Iron Sky.
Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear: A musical symphony by Erik Satie. It also was ambiguous in meaning—were the three pieces individually pear-shaped, or were they pear-shaped in aggregate? In this case, we have the mist-pear shapes of clouds and Mrydah’s defective heart from Iron Sky, and the three pears received from the trees. The number three didn’t do much in Iron Sky’s adventure, but was key in the travels in ajanders’ submission. I felt that ajanders had the stronger use here, because of the use of the number three, and the more direct usage of the pieces as bribes or tools in the final scene.
Originality: Iron Sky’s adventure is beautiful, poignant. The tale of a man who is willing to give everything—including his faith—to save his daughter is a gorgeous tale that we don’t get to see enough of. Yet there is still something more about ajanders’ entry that interests me. Watching the party go through much the same action three times wouldn’t make a lot of sense, but it does in the Feywild. Sure, it’s on the surface easy with some cut and paste, but I’m less interested in the what and more in the how. Enough was varied each time to make the similarities as noticeable as the differences.
Playability: Iron Sky leaves the conclusion of the adventure open for the DM to fill in with whatever he wants. It is useful, but clearly a player would prefer a definite resolution—not that we should cater to the player, necessarily. In addition, it comes with artwork throughout. It’s quite lovely and helps to establish the entire piece. That is well done. In ajanders’ entry, we are given background, how a number of skill checks should work, and the details of the ins and outs of the adventure—especially the listing of the various tasks that need to be accomplished in the final scene. We are given lots of details about characterization for Gaston, Le Duc D’Automne, and Abelard Faux, which is valuable in determining how to play them. These extra pieces make the adventure more useful. It does not match the beauty and grandeur of Iron Sky’s entry, but makes it up with playful practicality.
Conclusion: These are both very solid entries. They are quite worthy of the final round, and both contestants should be proud. In the end, I decided that the originality and playability is the strength of ajanders’ entry, making it more interesting overall. The ingredient use was rather well split between the two, so I am delivering my vote to ajanders.
Well done to both of you!
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