Wicht
Hero
My Judgment:
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And so we come to the final round of judgments (barring a runoff for 3rd) in our Iron DM Tourney. Let us see what we have...
Deuce Traveler's Rouge Blues (RB) vs. Waylander the Slayer's King of Thieves (KT)
Both of our contestants turned in on time and under word count, though it seems fairly clear that one of the candidates rushed his work a bit. Using the same scoring system I've used throughout, both candidates get full marks for following these two simple rules.
Looking at Ingredient use (just the 6 main – I'll only consider the bonus material if its close), we begin with the seared seer, an evocative ingredient if I do say so myself. Though I first raised an eyebrow at the short description before the adventure, I found myself really liking the talking stone seer in Rouge Blues. The seared seer in King of Thieves though, not as much, as the NPC is not actually a seer and does little in the way of prophesying. I'm giving 2 out of 2 to RB but only 1 out of 2 to KT for the seer. The Desert Dessert is also used better in RB than KT. While the concept of an edible pile of sand is interesting, I am left with more questions after reading it, like how much sand must be eaten and how long does it take. 2 of 2 to RB and another 1 of 2 to KT for the dessert. The Knave's Nave, in RB is a little weak, in that its not clear how much it matters to the adventure, but its there and is worth 1 point and a half to me. The Knaves Nave in KT is ambiguous and seems at first to refer to the competition. I think that is unintentional and it is supposed to refer to the final location of the competition, but its confusing enough to only be worth 1 point. The Terraced Tarrasque is used far more evocatively in RB but I suspect that is mostly due to the lack of descriptive text in KT. A full 2 points to both here. The still stiletto in both is used well enough, though it plays a much more pivotal role in RB. But a full 2 points to both. Finally the party parity. Here is the only ingredient where I actually prefer KT to RB, as the text in RB was a bit confusing to me at first and overly complicated for a synopsis. That is not to say that KT exactly shone, but the balance between the two competing parties of demons does fit the use of the word. In the end, I deduct half a point from both for this one. Which gives us 8.5 points for KT but a 11 for RB.
As far as useability, I confess that RB grew on me the more I read of it. I think that it would make quite a challenge and could probably be used in a variety of settings. I am a bit of a traditionalist in liking to think there is only 1 Tarrasque, but thats a minor setting quibble. The tarrasque in KT was, I am assuming, dormant, and that might make for an interesting bit of background but it wasn't actually gone into, which I find dissapointing. The contest of KT is more limited in its appeal than the scenario of RB and that hurts its useability some. I also think the rather quirky, disjointed nature of the scenarios of KT hurts it as far as useability. On some levels it reminds me of some of the older modules, but not necessarily the good ones – the ones like The Forest Oracle. I think with some thought some of the defects could be overcome, but as it stands now, I'm giving KT a 4 out of 6 for useability and a full 6 to RB.
Finally with Style, I would prefer for RB to have been presented a bit more neatly, with subheadings, etc. Such things make reading it easier. With KT, there were far too many things mentioned in passing, without ever being fully expounded upon, like the Terraced Tarrasque. I had to conclude on my own that the landscape was in fact the Tarrasque, because it never actually seems to be mentioned. Likewise, the aforementioned eating of the sand is not adequately addressed as to how much need be eaten. Little details like that make it harder reading as one must back up and reread to see if something was missed. For style, I'm giving RB 5 points, but only 4 to KT.
I think it clear that RB was an entry with more thought put into it than KT (or at least more time). I think it clear that Rouge Blues is the better entry and the score agrees. Deuce Traveler is this judge's choice for Iron DM champion of 2012.
Rouge Blues
Follow the Rules 6/6
Ingredients 11/12
Useability 6/6
Style 5/6
Total: 28/30
King of Thieves
Follow the Rules 6/6
Ingredients 8.5/12
Useability 4/6
Style 4/6
Total: 22.5/30
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And so we come to the final round of judgments (barring a runoff for 3rd) in our Iron DM Tourney. Let us see what we have...
Deuce Traveler's Rouge Blues (RB) vs. Waylander the Slayer's King of Thieves (KT)
Both of our contestants turned in on time and under word count, though it seems fairly clear that one of the candidates rushed his work a bit. Using the same scoring system I've used throughout, both candidates get full marks for following these two simple rules.
Looking at Ingredient use (just the 6 main – I'll only consider the bonus material if its close), we begin with the seared seer, an evocative ingredient if I do say so myself. Though I first raised an eyebrow at the short description before the adventure, I found myself really liking the talking stone seer in Rouge Blues. The seared seer in King of Thieves though, not as much, as the NPC is not actually a seer and does little in the way of prophesying. I'm giving 2 out of 2 to RB but only 1 out of 2 to KT for the seer. The Desert Dessert is also used better in RB than KT. While the concept of an edible pile of sand is interesting, I am left with more questions after reading it, like how much sand must be eaten and how long does it take. 2 of 2 to RB and another 1 of 2 to KT for the dessert. The Knave's Nave, in RB is a little weak, in that its not clear how much it matters to the adventure, but its there and is worth 1 point and a half to me. The Knaves Nave in KT is ambiguous and seems at first to refer to the competition. I think that is unintentional and it is supposed to refer to the final location of the competition, but its confusing enough to only be worth 1 point. The Terraced Tarrasque is used far more evocatively in RB but I suspect that is mostly due to the lack of descriptive text in KT. A full 2 points to both here. The still stiletto in both is used well enough, though it plays a much more pivotal role in RB. But a full 2 points to both. Finally the party parity. Here is the only ingredient where I actually prefer KT to RB, as the text in RB was a bit confusing to me at first and overly complicated for a synopsis. That is not to say that KT exactly shone, but the balance between the two competing parties of demons does fit the use of the word. In the end, I deduct half a point from both for this one. Which gives us 8.5 points for KT but a 11 for RB.
As far as useability, I confess that RB grew on me the more I read of it. I think that it would make quite a challenge and could probably be used in a variety of settings. I am a bit of a traditionalist in liking to think there is only 1 Tarrasque, but thats a minor setting quibble. The tarrasque in KT was, I am assuming, dormant, and that might make for an interesting bit of background but it wasn't actually gone into, which I find dissapointing. The contest of KT is more limited in its appeal than the scenario of RB and that hurts its useability some. I also think the rather quirky, disjointed nature of the scenarios of KT hurts it as far as useability. On some levels it reminds me of some of the older modules, but not necessarily the good ones – the ones like The Forest Oracle. I think with some thought some of the defects could be overcome, but as it stands now, I'm giving KT a 4 out of 6 for useability and a full 6 to RB.
Finally with Style, I would prefer for RB to have been presented a bit more neatly, with subheadings, etc. Such things make reading it easier. With KT, there were far too many things mentioned in passing, without ever being fully expounded upon, like the Terraced Tarrasque. I had to conclude on my own that the landscape was in fact the Tarrasque, because it never actually seems to be mentioned. Likewise, the aforementioned eating of the sand is not adequately addressed as to how much need be eaten. Little details like that make it harder reading as one must back up and reread to see if something was missed. For style, I'm giving RB 5 points, but only 4 to KT.
I think it clear that RB was an entry with more thought put into it than KT (or at least more time). I think it clear that Rouge Blues is the better entry and the score agrees. Deuce Traveler is this judge's choice for Iron DM champion of 2012.
Rouge Blues
Follow the Rules 6/6
Ingredients 11/12
Useability 6/6
Style 5/6
Total: 28/30
King of Thieves
Follow the Rules 6/6
Ingredients 8.5/12
Useability 4/6
Style 4/6
Total: 22.5/30
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So I got stuck on geography and distance when it came to parity and couldn't unlock my mind from such. Still it seemed clever when I started, but came out disjointed by the time I was finished. I decided to leave it as it was due to time constraints. Which highlights the good reasons why we have these time limits in the first place as it forces us to be quicker in wit.
