D&D General Iron DM 2020 Interest Thread

[CleverNickName]

Hello fellow gamers!

It's about that time of the year again, when we decide to challenge our D&D writing skills against unreasonable deadlines and hard-to-please judges. There hasn't been much discussion about it in the forums, though, so I wanted to gauge some interest before I kicked off the official thread. Look back over some of the older competitions (like this one from 2019, and this one from 2018) to get a good idea of what to expect.

For a proper tournament, we need 16 participants, but 32 is best. Participants will be required to create an adventure using a short list of ingredients, on a short deadline, with a strict word count. (And I can tell you from experience, the word count is the absolute worst part.) The word count and schedule starts out pretty generous in the early rounds of the contest, but get maddeningly difficult as the finals draw closer.

We also need at least three judges, who have plenty of time to read and critique dozens of submissions from the writers.

And I'll be the emcee and referee, who will keep everyone engaged and on schedule, organize the brackets, and get everything together.

Is this something you would be interested in?

 

[Unwise]

Roughly when does this take place? How long does it generally run for? I am keen to participate, but have a few projects due soon.

 

[CleverNickName]

Ooof. So far, this quick poll is...discouraging.

@Unwise, the competition is running a bit behind schedule this year. (But it's 2020. Time has no meaning.) Iron DM typically happens in July or August, and runs for about 2 months. It usually goes like this...

The contestants are put into a bracket and paired off. Then they are sent a list of ingredients via IM, and they have to create an adventure that uses all of those ingredients. They have to submit their work in a short amount of time, and under a certain word count. Then the judges review the entries, and decide who proceeds to the next bracket. The further up the bracket you go, the more ingredients you have to work with.

Each round of writing and judging can take about 6-10 days...so with a full bracket of 32 contestants, Iron DM can take about 6-8 weeks to go from start to finish. We are off to a late start, so if we want to finish before the holiday season (and we do!), we'll need to get rolling within the next couple of weeks.

 

[CleverNickName]

With only 3 responses (4 if I count my own), it looks like I've got my answer. Alas, it looks like Iron DM 2020 is officially cancelled.

Perhaps it's time to retire this writing contest, and come up with something new? Ideas and suggestions are welcome.

 

[Rune]

Just found this. Which perfectly illustrates the kind of challenge IRON DM recruitment is facing these days. It’s quite possible that most of the folk who know this tourney don’t visit this site regularly anymore (myself included). Even direct messages within this new software don't send emails anymore.

With all that said, IRON DM 2020 is late, but it is not cancelled. A panel of judges is being assembled. Recruitment for contestants will begin soon thereafter.

 

[Rune]

Although, to clarify about the format: almost every tournament run on ENworld has been run with eight contestants. It was a little looser in the Rat Bastards DM Club (there was once a double-elimination tourney that was nuts).

Given the current challenges to recruitment, however, I’m confident it’ll be an eight-contestant format this time around. Ideally, with the reigning IRON DM 2019 (Iron Sky) among them, defending his title.

 

[el-remmen]

I am down to come out of retirement to play one more time and see if this old-schooler can succeed in a new environment.

 

[Mistwell]

Is there a copy of some of the winners from past years works somewhere to take a look at, to see how this works?

 

[Asisreo]

Is there prizes? Can I at least rub my success in other people's faces? Can I bring home a trophy?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Is there a copy of some of the winners from past years works somewhere to take a look at, to see how this works?

In the OP (above) there seems to be a link to other times they have done this. I clicked through and there were a bunch from prior years.