Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Deuce Traveler" data-source="post: 8775062" data-attributes="member: 34958">Judgement of the Final Round: FitzTheRuke's "Rumble in the Jungle" vs. Kobold Stew's "Azimuth Aflame"Judged by Deuce TravelerFitzTheRuke's (FR) entry is a fun romp through tropical jungles and space.  Strangely enough, the combination works pretty well. Kobold Stew's (KS) entry uses the Classic Traveller RPG, which was a joy to me since I've always been a fan. I also like the location names in this one.This match was a joy to judge.  Both entries were entertaining and wonderful to read.  Alas, there can only be one winner.I am going to grade each entry on whether or not they made the time and word count limit, each entry's readability, use of each ingredient, and finally the potential for a potential Dungeon Master.  Each section has a possibility of 2 points to be awarded.[spoiler]Accordance to the RulesBoth entries were posted within the allotted amount of time and under the word count limit.  Good job!FR-  2 pointsKS-  2 pointsGrammar and ReadabilityBoth of these read very well, but I'm going to have to deduct a point for "Azimuth Aflame."  In the second section we have a formatting issue with the comms officer section and the following grammar issues which should have been easily caught and fixed:- "Captain Ferris is has stolen the airship"- "he is also fleeing a disfunctional relationship with the System Manager for Terragon, Alice Tomoe-Laka, whose heart she Dana stolen, using the environmental disaster as a cover."FR-  4 pointsKS-  3 pointsFirst Ingredient:  Salt-Water CrocodileI absolutely loved the idea of a tamed giant crocodile being launched into space in "Rumble in the Jungle".  This was pure gold.  However, the crocodile is more cool than integral to the plot as it really doesn't do many crocodile sorts of things except possibly swim the characters back to the island at the end of the adventure. Only one point here.However, in "Azimuth Aflame", the party is trying to collect at least one salt-water crocodile for the reward provided. The adventure has several crocodile-related issues to consider, such as how to capture one, environmental concerns such as proper heating, and a reason why these creatures are endangered which connects to the larger plot.  All good stuff and I give two points.  FR-  5 pointsKS-  5 pointsSecond Ingredient:   Stolen AirshipIn "Rumble in the Jungle" the party has to steal an airship because they are running out of time and the owner of the craft is reluctant to make a final decision on whether or not they can have it.  This leads to a moral quandry and mini-quest that has potential repercussions.In "Azimuth Aflame", an NPC wants to steal a space ship to get off world due to the dangerous situation.  The NPC is not necessarily evil, but she is selfish and her actions and interplay with the characters will drive how the adventure unfolds.Full points for both entries.  Nice job.FR-  7 pointsKS-  7 pointsThird Ingredient:   Impending AsteroidIn "Rumble in the Jungle", the impending asteroid is the driving problem that needs to be solved and is integral to the adventure.  2 points here.In "Azimuth Aflame", the impending asteroid doesn't seem as integral.  In fact you could take this ingredient away and it wouldn't do much to harm the adventure.  I feel like there was also a lost opportunity where it could have had debris falling ahead of the asteroid, causing fires on the planet, instead of volcanos and geysers of natural gas. Only 1 point given.FR-  9 pointsKS-  8 pointsFourth Ingredient:   Burning RiverIts weird, but both entries use hot geysers and volcanoes even though they weren't an ingredient.In "Rumble in the Jungle" the burning river is connected to an island volcano.  In the last half of the adventure the volcano becomes active and endangers the town.  This develops into a quest to save the village, but otherwise isn't integral to the plot.  I'll award one point.In "Azimuth Aflame", the burning river drives much of the adventure and it is much more integral to the story.  This is what has kept ships from leaving and what is causing the need to rescue the crocodiles.  Full points here.FR-  10 pointsKS-  10 pointsFifth Ingredient:   Alarming TotemThis was a disappointingly weak ingredient for both entries.In "Rumble in the Jungle" a giant frog totem warns of impending doom and explains the adventure's main crisis.  This fits well with the jungle theme, but doesn't seem too integral.  A seer or some other prophet could have served just as well. I'll award a point.In "Azimuth Aflame", the totem seems even less integral to the plot, but it does at least give a larger clue on what has happened before on the planet. This possible sin can be a plot point at the end of this adventure or on a follow-on adventure. I'll award a point here too.FR-  11 pointsKS-  11 pointsSixth Ingredient:   Reticent OverlordNeither the chief in "Rumble in the Jungle" or the officer in "Azimuth Aflame" did much for me.  Both of them are indecisive for different reasons (different constituents giving conflicting advice in the first and an officer who begins to doubt her mission in the second). Both NPCs are willing to hear the characters out but do little to help.  They are both minor obstacles that could potentially become outright enemies if not treated with respect.  I'll give one point for each.FR-  12 pointsKS-  12 pointsSeventh Ingredient:   Foolish MachinationsIn "Rumble in the Jungle", a sect of crazed, but influential islanders try to stop the party from saving the lives of all the islanders, including that of the fanatics.  This is because they believe the asteroid is the will of the Gods.  The party will likely have several encounters with these sabotaging cultists and because of them I give a full two points.In "Azimuth Aflame", a comms officer is trying to profit from the crises happening at the outpost, and he can be bribed easily by the party members or by several other groups with more nefarious plans.  The ingredient use here isn't very integral, although I like how this NPC can be used by the game master in different ways.  Still, I can only award one point.FR-  14 pointsKS-  13 pointsEighth Ingredient:    Stolen HeartIn "Rumble in the Jungle", the characters must defeat an earth elemental and steal its heart for use in the building of an airship.  I agree this is a good use of the heart ingredient, but its questionable whether or not the stolen adjective is used properly here.  Maybe if we think of this as fantasy mugging.  Anyway, this is bothering me as a player who likes to play rogues and sees a missed opportunity.  So I'll only give a point here.In "Azimuth Aflame", the stolen heart is of the romantic variety, where one NPC has strong influence over a second one. That first NPC might also attempt to romantically steal the heart of one of the player characters if she thinks that character can be manipulated into breaking the law for her.  It's a fine use of the ingredient, but it will only come into play under certain conditions and only in a portion of the adventure.  I'll give a point though.FR-  15 pointsKS-  14 pointsPotential for the DM"Rumble in the Jungle" is a work of beauty for a dungeon master.  You have an island adventure with jungle themes, elementals, rituals, mad cultists, and a space airship composed of a space crocodile.  Coolness oozes out of this gem of an adventure and it would take no time at all to load up some stats and get this game rolling,"Azimuth Aflame" goes in a different direction, but is no less awesome for it.  There are no outright bad guys, but NPCs with different goals and motivations trapped in a desperate situation.  The PCs are plopped down into this mess and depending on what they decide to do they could help salvage the crisis or exploit it and profit.Full points to both entries.FR-  17 pointsKS-  16 points[/spoiler]Judgement[spoiler]I wish every final round of Iron DM could be as good as this one.  Both of these entries deserve to win and I won't be surprised if this comes down to a split decision.  I certainly wasn't sure how this would go until I finished the tally.If Kobold Stew had noticed the grammar mistakes before publishing, the two entries would have been tied on points and I would have had to make the uncomfortable decision to defer to the other judges, flip a coin, or go with my gut.  Luckily for me, "Rumble in the Jungle" just ekes out the win on points.  Kobold Stew, I just want to say great job on a great entry and it could have easily won on any other year.  "Rumble in the Jungle' was the better entry. I vote for FitzTheRuke to be this year's Iron DM.[/spoiler]</blockquote>

Verification