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IRON DM 2014 Tournament
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<blockquote data-quote="Radiating Gnome" data-source="post: 6524171" data-attributes="member: 150"><p>It’s a common enough occurrence in Iron DM that a contestant has RL problems that interfere in his ability to complete an entry – it seems like that happens at least once per contest, and it’s always a shame to see. However, there’s a precedent for short, hastily completed entries that were so cool they won anyway, so we should make no assumptions, and get right down to judging this worthy contest between The Battle of the Temple of Seven Gates (7G) and War Games of Infamy (WGI). </p><p></p><p><strong><u>Ingredients:</u></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>War Game.</strong> In 7G, we have the lopsided challenge the PCs are forced into; outnumbered 10-to-1 to settle an idle bet made by their Lord. It’s an effective use of the ingredient, and sets up the whole adventure. In WGI, the war games again pit the PCs as the “natives” in staged entertainment battle they’re scripted to lose. I like this one too, and I can forgive any striking similarities to movies I might have seen. A lot. It still works. </p><p></p><p><strong>Demonic Kangaroo.</strong> In WGI, we understand in the background that the demonic aspect of the Kangaroo god Hiawatha needs to be summoned, but in the actual action of the adventure that doesn’t seem to come up – it’s apparently something the PCs will have to do, but this is a victim of the author’s time crunch. In 7G, on the other hand, the Demonic Kangaroo is a statue of a kangaroo, possessed by a demon, that teases and torments the defending samurai. An excellent application, so advantage 7G</p><p></p><p><strong>Treasured Junk.</strong> In 7G, this is the enemy General Hoshi’s pride and joy, and his command center. It works, but the adventure does not need the presence of this offshore command center – it’s not really integral. At the same time, in WGI, the more mundane use of Junk seems to be the less obvious choice, but it’s again not important that it be there – in the scene, the junk hides the prize, but it might as well be a chest – it doesn’t matter that it’s junk. So, that one also really suffers. I don’t think either is really worth the advantage here, but might circle back if I wind up needing a tiebreaker. </p><p></p><p><strong>Repurposed Temple.</strong> The setting for the mock battle in 7G is the temple of the Seven Gates, long abandoned and now haunted by demons. I found this setting evocative, well-illustrated, and engaging – a place I really wanted to run for players. So, really good stuff. In WGI, I think we have a clear victim of time crunch – there’s no sign of the coliseum being a repurposed temple except in the list of ingredients. Clear advantage to 7G.</p><p></p><p><strong>Boastful Promise.</strong> In WGI, the impresario staging events in the coliseum has promised powerful, authentic natives whom he guarantees the imperial forces will defeat. It works. In 7G, Lord Kyngamoto has boasted that his samurai can defeat a force of Lord Ingyatomi’s ten times their strength – this one also works. And, I think it benefits from being the entire setup for the adventure, rather than being a potentially unnecessary detail like the one in WGI. </p><p></p><p><strong>Absent-minded golem.</strong> I’m amused by Sutondor – he is a fun addition to the adventure in 7G – but in a very real way he’s a tacked-on complication that does not need to be there. In that way he’s not really a stronger use of the much less colorful kangaroo golem guide used by the PCs in WGI. So, even though I like Sutondor a lot, he doesn’t earn much advantage here. </p><p>Still, looking at the ingredients as a whole, 7G has a big leg up over WGI. </p><p></p><p><strong>Overall</strong></p><p></p><p>I really like 7G. It has flavor and texture and a hopelessly complicated situation that the PCs are caught in, beset on all sides and desperately trying to keep their contest with the enemy samurai non-lethal will be a really complicated challenge. </p><p></p><p>WGI, on the other hand, is obviously less developed; the clash of cultures implied in the adventure could be used a great deal more. I’d love to see this fleshed out – I’ve always been a sucker for adventures that involve gladiatorial contests, so I want a lot more from this that it doesn’t quite deliver </p><p></p><p><strong>Judgement</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p>So, at this point, it’s not much of a surprise that I’m going to cast a vote for <strong>The Battle of the Temple of Seven Gates</strong>. </p><p><strong>Waylander</strong>, I’m glad you submitted your entry at the buzzer even if it wasn’t everything it could have been. Like I said, we’ve seen those dashed off entries blow the minds of the judges in the past, but this time, that didn’t quite happen. </p><p>So, <strong>Wicht</strong>, you get my vote. We’ll have to see how the other judges vote. </p><p>[/sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Radiating Gnome, post: 6524171, member: 150"] It’s a common enough occurrence in Iron DM that a contestant has RL problems that interfere in his ability to complete an entry – it seems like that happens at least once per contest, and it’s always a shame to see. However, there’s a precedent for short, hastily completed entries that were so cool they won anyway, so we should make no assumptions, and get right down to judging this worthy contest between The Battle of the Temple of Seven Gates (7G) and War Games of Infamy (WGI). [B][U]Ingredients:[/U][/B] [B]War Game.[/B] In 7G, we have the lopsided challenge the PCs are forced into; outnumbered 10-to-1 to settle an idle bet made by their Lord. It’s an effective use of the ingredient, and sets up the whole adventure. In WGI, the war games again pit the PCs as the “natives” in staged entertainment battle they’re scripted to lose. I like this one too, and I can forgive any striking similarities to movies I might have seen. A lot. It still works. [B]Demonic Kangaroo.[/B] In WGI, we understand in the background that the demonic aspect of the Kangaroo god Hiawatha needs to be summoned, but in the actual action of the adventure that doesn’t seem to come up – it’s apparently something the PCs will have to do, but this is a victim of the author’s time crunch. In 7G, on the other hand, the Demonic Kangaroo is a statue of a kangaroo, possessed by a demon, that teases and torments the defending samurai. An excellent application, so advantage 7G [B]Treasured Junk.[/B] In 7G, this is the enemy General Hoshi’s pride and joy, and his command center. It works, but the adventure does not need the presence of this offshore command center – it’s not really integral. At the same time, in WGI, the more mundane use of Junk seems to be the less obvious choice, but it’s again not important that it be there – in the scene, the junk hides the prize, but it might as well be a chest – it doesn’t matter that it’s junk. So, that one also really suffers. I don’t think either is really worth the advantage here, but might circle back if I wind up needing a tiebreaker. [B]Repurposed Temple.[/B] The setting for the mock battle in 7G is the temple of the Seven Gates, long abandoned and now haunted by demons. I found this setting evocative, well-illustrated, and engaging – a place I really wanted to run for players. So, really good stuff. In WGI, I think we have a clear victim of time crunch – there’s no sign of the coliseum being a repurposed temple except in the list of ingredients. Clear advantage to 7G. [B]Boastful Promise.[/B] In WGI, the impresario staging events in the coliseum has promised powerful, authentic natives whom he guarantees the imperial forces will defeat. It works. In 7G, Lord Kyngamoto has boasted that his samurai can defeat a force of Lord Ingyatomi’s ten times their strength – this one also works. And, I think it benefits from being the entire setup for the adventure, rather than being a potentially unnecessary detail like the one in WGI. [B]Absent-minded golem.[/B] I’m amused by Sutondor – he is a fun addition to the adventure in 7G – but in a very real way he’s a tacked-on complication that does not need to be there. In that way he’s not really a stronger use of the much less colorful kangaroo golem guide used by the PCs in WGI. So, even though I like Sutondor a lot, he doesn’t earn much advantage here. Still, looking at the ingredients as a whole, 7G has a big leg up over WGI. [B]Overall[/B] I really like 7G. It has flavor and texture and a hopelessly complicated situation that the PCs are caught in, beset on all sides and desperately trying to keep their contest with the enemy samurai non-lethal will be a really complicated challenge. WGI, on the other hand, is obviously less developed; the clash of cultures implied in the adventure could be used a great deal more. I’d love to see this fleshed out – I’ve always been a sucker for adventures that involve gladiatorial contests, so I want a lot more from this that it doesn’t quite deliver [B]Judgement [/B] [sblock] So, at this point, it’s not much of a surprise that I’m going to cast a vote for [B]The Battle of the Temple of Seven Gates[/B]. [B]Waylander[/B], I’m glad you submitted your entry at the buzzer even if it wasn’t everything it could have been. Like I said, we’ve seen those dashed off entries blow the minds of the judges in the past, but this time, that didn’t quite happen. So, [B]Wicht[/B], you get my vote. We’ll have to see how the other judges vote. [/sblock] [/QUOTE]
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