IRON DM 2020 Tournament Thread

[Iron Sky]

I'm not going to record everything this time, but will do the initial (probably more interesting) brainstorming and adventure drafting sessions. After that, it's all editing and revision.

Judges and Fitz probably don't watch?

Part 1: Brainstorming.
Part 2: Filling in.

 

[Gradine]

Apologies for the delay in my judgment for R2M1. I have been dealing with some health issues that have sapped a lot of my energy. I have read these entries multiple times, and have a pretty good idea about what I want to say, I just need to be able to sit at a computer long enough to type it all out. My hope is that happens tomorrow, Monday at the latest

 

[Rune]

Apologies for the delay in my judgment for R2M1. I have been dealing with some health issues that have sapped a lot of my energy. I have read these entries multiple times, and have a pretty good idea about what I want to say, I just need to be able to sit at a computer long enough to type it all out. My hope is that happens tomorrow, Monday at the latest

I hope you are on the mend and feeling better soon.

 

[humble minion]

Take whatever time you need @Gradine - health takes precedence over our silly internet games...

 

[Imaculata]

I'm loving that we have yet another awesome Call of Cthulhu adventure.

Also, take care @Gradine, and I hope you are alright.

 

[el-remmen]

I want this round judged, but I want you to be healthy and safe even more. Wishing you well!

 

[Imaculata]

Your ingredients are:

Window of Opportunity
Nameless Things
Weird Magic
Unlightable Lantern
Occupied Mine
Old Ways
Faster Car

These sound like the perfect ingredients for some kind of occult adventure to me. I like it and I am eager to see what the contestants come up with.

 

[Iron Sky]

Postmortem
A post-TPK, "Norsepunk" adventure​

Ingredients
Window of Opportunity
Nameless Things
Weird Magic
Unlightable Lantern
Occupied Mine
Old Ways
Faster Car

And... TPK​

The PCs are dead. As they teeter on the edge of oblivion, a trio of voices speaks: “We three the Norns of your births and namings. We three cast the runes, wove into your names the Wyrds pulling you ever towards this fate. We a single strand held unwoven that you might perform one task unbound by fate. Your doom may yet be unraveled, rewound, respun. Swear by your birth names to aid and it shall be so.”

If/when they agree, each voice makes a plea:

• “I am Hersker, Norn of the Wyrd Thing ruling the World Space from Møtehall-upon-Yggdrasil. Our Thing knits the Wyrds weaving history and future such that all destined to transpire does so. This duty we've performed since the Beginning; should you aid us, until the End shall we continue.”

• “I bear no name but represent a Thing that would replace the Wyrd Thing strangling the World Space with rails of iron, controlling everything touched by Yggdrasil's roots, and entrapping all named beings in their webs. With your aid shall we fill the Møtehall with a more enlightened Thing, the snarled, dark web they spin for their own ends re-knit as elegant tapestry.”

• “I and my Thing likewise bear no names, pursuing neither establishment nor replacement, but freedom. Aid us in breaking these Things seeking control from above. The Norn once again shall stand free, weaving the fates by their own wisdom. No Thing shall ever again grow so large that all futures and pasts lie upon a single loom.”

Brief​

Whichever Thing the PC's choose, their spirits descend into vast space, the impossibly vast Yggdrasil dominating the center. Its upper branches hold up the starry heavens, its roots anchor in the depthless void, entire worlds and worldlets tangle in its roots. Whichever Norn they joined presents a highly skewed/propagandized version of this brief:

The Norn of the Wyrd Thing sought ever-more control and so commanded the Dvergr to build Stortlykt, the Great Lantern, hung from one of Yggdrasil's highest branches directly above the Møtehall where the Wyrd Thing assembles. They planned to shine its bright beam upon the stars, studying sidereal influences to uncover means of steering the fates of nameless creatures unaffected by Wyrd name magics.

The Norn's offspring – purposely left nameless to prevent rival Norn from using Wyrds to manipulate them – formed their own Thing and secretly built a fleet of airships. Using Stortlykt's light, they navigated the treacherous, misty expanses of the World Space, prepared to take Stortlykt for themselves and overthrow the Wyrd Thing. The ruling Møtehall Norn unearthed this betrayal with no time to spare, desperately weaving a Wyrd preventing any being called Norn, Dvergr, or Jotun from entering Stortlykt. Their cannon fire shattered the Lantern's windows and the howling, high-altitude winds snuffed its flames.

Their now-unguided fleet scattered and lost in the mists, the nameless Thing fractured in tween: one Thing seeking means to relight Stortlykt and relaunch the assault, the second seeking Stortlykt and Møtehall's complete destruction.

Unbeknownst to the PCs, whichever Things they didn't join foresaw their decision. Two of greatest foes the PCs have ever slain accepted similar offers...

Race​

Each faction possesses unique transportation:

The Møtehall controls a vast, run-down network of railways built atop Yggdrasil's roots. The team (PCs or returned foes) working for them descend to a dilapidated train station at Yggdrasil's base. Given a locomotive engine plus coal and passenger cars, they're ordered to the Stålholder Mine to replenish stocks of golden thread depleted warding Stortlykt. Thread gold obtained, they must return, enter Stortlykt, and add the Møtehall Norn's names to the gilt runes to allow members of the Wyrd Thing entry and control of Stortlykt.

Rail perils: railways sabotaged by the other Things or worn by age, confusing tangles of rail junctures, attacks by airships/chariots(see below), coal spillage/depletion, overheated locomotives, hungry railway-bridge trolls, rebellious Dvergr/Jotun engineers/servants.


Those working for the “Enlightened Thing” materialize aboard a rugged airship, its single long car snugged tight against the balloon frame while many wing-mounted propellers jut from each side. They must fly to Stålholder, moor their ship, obtain a rare radioactive ore that glows far brighter than any bonfire, somehow contain it, navigate to Yggdrasil, enter through the Lantern's broken windows, place the ore inside the mirrored chamber, and hold until the fleet arrives.

Air perils: ever-changing hurricane-force wind currents, thick mist banks crawling with nightmare creatures and beguiling illusions, sabotage/infiltration by rival Thing agents, balloon punctures, broken rigging, falls.


Those aiding the “Freedom Thing” form on a remote worldlet, there given chariots like those used by the Norn before the Møtehall built the railways. Train tracks cover the tops every root strong enough to support them, forcing adaptation. Yggdrasil's wood contains dense quantities of iron for strength so the chariots now utilize strongly magnetic ores for horseshoes and chariot-wheel rims, allowing them to ride any side of the highly-ferric roots. Magnetic hobnails keep riders stuck to the chariot cars' iron floors.

Their team must race to the Stålholder, obtain rare rivestål ore whose metal – seversteel – is capable of cutting anything, forge an ax, then push on to Yggdrasil to sever the branch supporting Stortlykt. When it falls, it should also crush the Møtehall and break the Wyrd Thing.

Charioteering perils: weak/narrow roots, misleading shortcuts, exhausted horses, lost wheels/horseshoes/hobnails (especially while riding upside-down), attacks by airships, Jotun soldiers, armored tank-trains.

Mechanics​

Each Thing's team needs 20 progress to travel from Start→Stålholder then 20 more for Stålholder→Yggdrasil/Stortlykt.

Each roll, players may select a speed from d4(slow/careful) to d12(fast/reckless). On even rolls, they make that much progress. On odds, they instead face a peril with higher numbers being more dangerous/depleting.

Whenever the PCs roll, the GM makes a roll for both other Things' teams. Instead of facing an encounter/difficulty on odd numbers, rival teams add odd roll results to their strain. When strain passes 20, that team must recuperate, skipping the next roll to recover 10 strain.

Leaked glimpses and rumors of other teams' progress will increase tension and urgency.

Stålholder​

The Stålholder's worldlet hangs tangled in the Yggdrasil's roots. Rich in strange, valuable ores, it forms a critical component of the World Space's economy. When PCs arrive, they find entire clans of Jotun worked half-to-death by the oppressive Møtehall gathered from all across the World Space to occupy Stålholder in protest, convincing the Dvergr miners to strike and join them. They swear they won't leave until Møtehall listens to their demands for wealth redistribution, fairer economic and political policies, and accountability for Wyrd abuses. To enter/exit/navigate Stålholder's works, PCs must negotiate with, fight, sneak past, enlisted the help of, or otherwise bypass them.

Once inside, what they search for depends on their Thing.

Wyrd Thing: extract golden ore then mold it to threads. Optionally, also procure red coal to boost their train's speed.

“Radioactive Thing”: find the radioactive ore, extract and contain it safely. An occupying Dvergr miner suggests they rig it into the airship's turbine for a faster, if far more volatile, means of propulsion.

“Seversteel Thing”: obtain rivestål ore, forge a seversteel ax. Optionally, also collect a more-highly magnetized ore to reshoe horses and re-rim the worn chariot metals to speed future progress.

Stålholder perils: gas pockets, angry Jotun vandals/looters/saboteurs/rioters, hostile Dvergr miners, cave trolls, draugar, crumbling tunnels, agents from both other Thing's teams racing through the mine on their own missions and/or sabotaging PC efforts.

Once they've obtained what they came for, the race is on to Stortlykt. Teams taking one roll's-worth of time to upgrade their transportation (red coal/nuclear turbine/re-shoeing and -rimming) may roll d20(faster/crazy) on the leg to Yggdrasil.

Stortlykt​

Statistically, the PCs will likely arrive with the other teams a few race rolls behind, giving them a short span to work at their goals before the others arrive.

If rival teams arrive first, roll d10 per PC race roll and, on evens, complete one task (below). PCs splitting up to interfere with other team(s) plans might halt or delay them, giving the PCs an opportunity to complete their own tasks.

Whenever PCs invest significant time in a task while at Yggdrasil, make a race roll for the other teams. Upon arrival, rival teams split between hindering PCs and completing their own tasks.

Wyrd Thing Tasks
• ascend Yggdrasill via cramped tunnels, malfunctioning elevators, rickety, windblown, exposed stairways
• descend the massive chain supporting Stortlykt
• ritually inlay golden runes into the lantern chamber

“Airship Thing” Tasks
• evade defensive flak from Yggdrasil
• enter a broken window in extreme wind
• install the radioactive stone and hold until the fleet arrives

“Chariot Thing” Tasks
• breakneck ride up Yggdrasill amid fire from platforms/branches
• reach Stortlykt's branch, find the weakest point, begin chopping
• hold position until it's severed

On success, PCs are returned to several minutes before their TPK.

If another team succeeds first, the PC's Thing demands another task...

 

[Gradine]

Judgement for Round 2, Match 1: humble minion vs. el-remmen

Due to the nature of my convalescence I've had a lot of time to reflect on these two entries. Both are quite good adventures, which make extremely different takes on these very tough ingredients. I will say that, on initial read, one of these adventures stood out a little more to me, and repeated readings have not shaken me from that initial judgment. However, this is a contest primarily about the ingredients. So let's break down each ingredient, and how it's utilized in @humble minion's "The Playwright and the Praecipua" (hereafter "Playwright", because I am not typing that other word dozens of times) and @el-remmen's "The Fate of the Firebird" (hereafter "Firebird").

Redundant Ogre
Right away we see that this was going to be a tough ingredient to use. How to make a Redundant Ogre, rather than a Redundant Orc or Redundant Elf? "Firebird", sadly, doesn't answer these questions. In truth, we could do a quick Find+Replace of Ogre with Elf and have to change little; using Orc would require no change at all. "Playwright" wisely veers from D&D/folklore to use the workplace definition of Ogre (and one that seems especially prevalent in academia, though that may just be my own experience), and it works great. There's a problem here too though. Ffoulkes may have an ogrish personality in the background, but by the time the players interact with him, he's not the put-upon academic chair he once was. Whatever twisted creature he's become, it's certainly not an Ogre in any definition I'm familiar with. Virxorex could very well have been any race in contrast to Alerut, but at least the PCs have to deal with him in some way while still, ostensibly, being an ogre. And he does present an interesting challenge/opportunity to the PCs, which adds a great wrinkle to the adventure. Still, this ingredient in "Playwright" does tie into Ffoulkes' motivations and actions, which the players do need to deal with, so it's not too bad here.

Bardic College
Both authors here went the term in the academic sense, and wisely connected it to the "redundant" aspect of the previous ingredient. That's a good weaving of ingredients together. That said, do the colleges in nature need to be particularly bardic? And I think that both authors do an okay job of selling that. The clever twist of Bardic = Shakespearean in "Playright" is appreciated, and while some knowledge of the Bard's works can help the investigators out here, I had hoped for some of the later challenges to be more related to that Bard. "Firebird" gives us many interesting musically themed set-pieces, but the connection is a bit more tenuous here. I'll come back to this later.

Dark Paragon
This one is close, but ultimately it goes to "Playwright". The clever use of darkness as recurring aspect of the antagonistic being, as well as how it ties in to the Binary Suns puzzle in how the investigators need to cross the Praepicuasidoai (I got called to task a few years back for adhering to Eberron naming conventions in an Iron DM entry, no I'm not still bitter about that why do you ask?). "Firebird" similarly ties its Dark Paragon to (one of) the Binary Suns, but again the connections are more tenuous.

Binary Suns
I've mostly covered how I feel about these in the above entry. The suns are obviously a bit more present in "Firebird" and contributing to the ticking clock that lends the stakes and urgency of the adventure, so that does make it a stronger use overall.

Cursed Sword
This reminds of the "Divine Pestilence" ingredient I had in the previous match I adjudicated. In the case of one of the uses of that ingredient, it was more accurate to call what was there a "curse" than a "pestilence". Similarly, the sword in "Playwright", while providing clever investigators some measure of knowledge, is less central to the story, and more importantly not really cursed in the way I understand that to be. Infected might be a better fit? Meanwhile, "Firebird's" sword is definitely cursed and constantly present as the main antagonist of the adventure. It even asks of the PCs a difficult sacrifice, which leads to the probably the best moment of "Firebird". I have a lot of questions about this sword, things I'd like to know but that the adventure doesn't see fit to answer, but I'll get back to that too.

Stuck Elevator
I went back and forth on this. The elevator in "Playwright" that takes the investigators where they need to go and essentially traps them there is a staple of the genre, but doesn't offer much in the way of actual interaction. On the other hand, I went back and forth a lot on whether an "elevator" controlling a ship's "altitude" makes much sense in, you know, space. But ultimately, Spelljammer's gonna Spelljammer, and I could wrap my head around it. The way this ties into the sword and suns above (and the choice/sacrifice one of the PCs must make) makes this a pretty solid ingredient use. But again, there are questions unanswered that leaves these connections fraught.

Name Level
Perhaps the strongest ingredient in "Playwright" and the weakest in "Firebird". Valiant effort, but as I've pointed out in my previous judgment, if you have to change the ingredient to make it work (in this case, changing "Name Level" to "Named Level") it changes from the ingredient we gave you into something else. Meanwhile, the power of names and shapes in Cthulhu mythos are very prevalent, and "Playwright" puts it to get effect here.

All told, we're fairly close on ingredients, with maybe the slightest of edges to "Firebird" here. It's interesting, because while I've read and re-read these entries multiple times, and even gone over each of these ingredients over and over in mind, it took the writing of this to change my initial impressions of these two adventures. I had originally sold "Firebird" short here, but really writing this out and seeing the ways the ingredients play together, and the variety of interesting choices and puzzles, makes this a very strong adventure indeed. Perhaps even more interesting than the fantastic but fairly linear "Playwright".

One would think that, given these past two paragraphs, my choice for winner is going to be pretty obvious. But I keep coming back to those tenuous connections, and all of those questions I had. In "Playwright" every element serves the piece thematically. Nothing seems out of place. It's like a well-put together jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle in "Firebird" on the other hand, seems like it was completed by Winston. Some oddness and out-of-place-itude is to expected given Spelljammer, but apart from the Bardic Ogres, and maybe some of the musical undead, there's nothing here that wouldn't be out of place in a more traditional fantasy adventure. No... where these elements most seem out of place is with each other. Part of this is a structural thing; the Deva appearing to exposit at the PCs about the phoenix egg is also the first time we, as the reader, learn about this egg, which doesn't even get explained to us, the reader, until the end of the adventure. Some of it is some very confused world-building. Why would a sword, forged in a sun of pure negative energy, be ultra-destructive to constructs, of all things? Shouldn't it particularly dangerous to beings of positive energy like... life? But it feels necessary here in the way its used to gum up the works. Why does Alerut need to sword to lead him to the Symposium? Is that an unlisted power of the sword? Does Alerut already know, considering he's set up all of this from the start? Does the sword know it, and only tells Alerut? And let's go back to the egg. Where did it come from? Why is it what powers the Symposium's Helm? Why doesn't the Helm just work on its own, like with other Spelljammers? Why does it have such specific reactions when introduced to these specific suns? If there's a connection between the phoenix egg and these suns (and perhaps both tying to the sword) it would begin to clear up a lot of these loose connections. But try as I might, I cannot find it within the text. Which is a shame, because these three items form the linchpin of the story the adventure is trying to tell. These connections could have provided context clues to how to solve the final conflict. Instead, a literal deus ex machina (at the beginning of the story even!) to essentially spell out what's going to happen. It's a disappointing wrapping up of what is otherwise a very strong adventure.

But is it enough to sway my ultimate judgment?

Spoiler: Final Judgment

Let's take another look at the ingredients.

On the surface, as individual elements, "Firebird" has, perhaps a slight edge. But really, only in quantity. If I were attaching more specific numerical quality, I would guess that would tilt the balance back towards "Playwright". That's because all of the puzzle pieces fit so nicely together, thematically. "Firebird" does a nice job tying its ingredients together to, but the connections are not natural. The pieces don't really fit together, thematically. And while some of that can be chalked up to the gonzo nature of the setting, many of these ingredients relate to the thematically and tonally confused climax that, is in all ways, deadly serious.

And sadly, that makes the difference for me.

@el-remmen, you've probably judged more of these contests than I've even been a part of. I have no doubt that you'll grace us with your presence again, if this is in fact your last round here (there's still two other judgments to go, and I haven't even read the other!). We'll have to see how the other judges feel. In either case, I'm in no position to give you advice here. Instead, I'll wish you the best of luck.

This judgment, then, goes in favor of @humble minion and "The Playwright and the Praecilum" What you've done is weave together a difficult set of ingredients into an incredibly cohesive, interesting, and fun adventure. Other than your missteps with Cursed Sword and Redundant Ogre (which was clever, but buried in backstory not particularly relevant to the players), you did a lot of things right here. Even the other ingredients you lost on, you only lost because @el-remmen used them better than you. And you're never going to win them all. This was a definite step up from your previous entry, which was pretty good in its own right!

In either case, I'm excited to see what either of you bring to the final round!

 

[el-remmen]

Congratulations to @humbleminion.

As soon as I read his I knew I was in for a tough match, but I thought I could pull it off because I thought my adventure gave more opportunity for the PCs to interact with the ingredients, while HM's seemed more about the theme and setting. Oh well, each judge weighs what they think is most important.

As for all the questions, after the first round I figured answering questions was not that important given the word count limit - it is just impossible to answer or even suggest an answer in many cases (esp. as something as complicated and immediately irrelevant like "how does one make a sword from negative energy?"

But I can answer one question, about the elevator right now: In space or not, a ship moves up and down relative to other things and itself - and also spelljamming ships land (or at least some of them do) as opposed to the controls that point it left or right.

Funny that all the things I thought were cleverest or coolest about my entry were either not mentioned by the judges or judged against me. Oh well.