IRON DM 2011--Rules, Entries, Judgements, & Commentary

[Pour]

Thank you [MENTION=95387]BriarMonkey[/MENTION] for the kind words and the great adventure. I think we both agreed in PM that time constraints and word count were difficult factors, and I definitely felt them if my 3:30AM submission revealed anything. Good luck in your next match!

A big thank you to the judges, as well, given their very busy lives, and my condolences Wicht for your losses.

Those ingredients definitely required some contemplating, and I'm glad they and their interactions mostly met with your approval. The accessibility of the adventure was definitely something I questioned moving forward, and before I finalized the idea I considered pursuing less specific themes. However, it all just seemed to click in a Hindu context, so I figured I'd take the risk.

I really like the idea of sending the rest of the party into Naraka after their friend. Having had more time to ponder it over, I also think the adventure could play at any tier.

I wanted very badly to include more on each of the small hells and potential trials and tribulations, and by the time I was done writing one I was already a hundred words over the limit hehe. They were going to be pretty gruesome.

 

[steeldragons]

Conrats Pour! Keep kickin' the Iron DM butt!

--SD

 

[Rune]

Round 3, Third Place Match

Unfortunately, [MENTION=95387]BriarMonkey[/MENTION] has withdrawn from this match, but [MENTION=3192]howandwhy99[/MENTION] is still willing to give the ingredients a go, so we'll treat this as an exhibition match. Should BriarMonkey change his mind, he is welcome to submit an entry, but otherwise, howandwhy99 will post the only entry in this match.

All that said, the format for the third round has traditionally differed, somewhat, from previous rounds.

There are a group of 6 mandatory ingredients and a group of optional ingredients which may be included at the contestant's discretion. Normally, these ingredients would only count in a contestant's favor when breaking a tie, but would always count against the contestant, if used poorly. Since (if) there is no competing entry, this is obviously a moot point.

That said, here are the ingredients:

Mandatory Ingredients:

Golden Comb
Reformed Pirate
Cavalier
Farmer
Secret Page
Undue Strife

Optional Ingredients:

Barbarous Manners
Overgrown Vinyard
Very Badlands
Thorn Blade
Orb of Kings
Un-funhouse

You have until 11:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, Thursday, August 4 to post your entry.

 

[steeldragons]

Just as a point of clarity, [MENTION=67]Rune[/MENTION], for future reference...the Optional Ingredients.

Are those each, independently optional? Can you use one or two and not the others or is it, if you opt to use the "optional ingredients", you have to incorporate them all?

I really hope its the former. The latter would be phew! tough.

(Though I could see some bonus, like, if you use all of the Optional Ingredients as well, you get another 500 or 1000 words or something like that.)

Just curious.

Very much enjoying the tournament thus far and reading all of the entries and the judgements/critiques are quite interesting as well.

Congrats to everyone involved and good luck to those still going.
--SD

 

[Rune]

Just as a point of clarity, [MENTION=67]Rune[/MENTION], for future reference...the Optional Ingredients.

Are those each, independently optional? Can you use one or two and not the others or is it, if you opt to use the "optional ingredients", you have to incorporate them all?

I really hope its the former. The latter would be phew! tough.

The use of each such ingredient is optional.

 

[Rune]

Unfortunately, howandwhy99 also bowed out of the third-place (exhibition) match, so we have a list of perfectly good ingredients going to waste. Oh well. Now that Gen Con is over, stay tuned for the championship match!

 

[steeldragons]

hmmmm...

Might someone else be able to put forth an "exhibition" adventure using that perfectly good list of ingredients?

--SD

 

[Rune]

hmmmm...

Might someone else be able to put forth an "exhibition" adventure using that perfectly good list of ingredients?

--SD

I'd love to see that (and I doubt I'm the only one), but, to keep from cluttering this thread too much, please post any such "home-game" entries in the other thread (or start a new one).

 

[steeldragons]

I'd love to see that (and I doubt I'm the only one), but, to keep from cluttering this thread too much, please post any such "home-game" entries in the other thread (or start a new one).

Cool!

No prob.

--SD

 

[howandwhy99]

Reposted from other thread upon request:

Ran the second and last session of Catoblepas Stew tonight for our group. It turned out to be a 2-shot, but pretty fun overall. The wizard rabbit was pretty nasty in the end, but both sessions were very eventful. They tied up and practically tortured the wizard prince not believing his story (even with wedding band and badge of office in hand). Two players were nearly petrified with the Medusa head trap. Another two nearly firebombed themselves when they fireballed the hippo and trapper secret room. Then they left the trapdoor unlocked after the thought they had killed the poor beast. (q.v. Even adolescent trappers, 8hd, are powerful threats)

More Medusa antics occurred when they tried to find it the second session. They all closed their eyes and one PC circled around with the head outwards to "clear" rooms. They started with the 1st level and the bearer opened his eyes. He had a reason and was averting them, but rolled a 1 on his save. Petrified PC (don't worry, he rolled up another). What was hilarious was 10 minutes of separated PCs stumbling about in random directions trying to find each other with their eyes closed. One nearly fell into an open trapdoor in the floor. In the process, the bound prince who did not trust the PCs at all did not follow their directions to close his eyes and ended up petrified as well (the poor mermaid).

Chasing after the invisible turning white rabbit (the evil wizard) the party managed to burn his spellcasted web only to nearly torch every sub-level of the tower. And meanwhile, it escaped. Not until the last couple hours tonight did they encounter the mermaid and give her the bad news... which didn't go over too well. So much more happened in both sessions, but it ended in a drawn out pursuit against a cigar-smoking white rabbit up and up the tower stairwells with spell combat all along the way. Great fun and a great time in the end.

They actually complained there wasn't enough treasure until I pointed out they hadn't searched everywhere and had 4 magic manuals, a library and laboratory of a high level M-U, a Medusa head weapon, and a whole, newly unclaimed tower at their disposal. When they looted the silverware and china in the first 30 minutes of the game they weren't complaining then. What do I have to do?