Iron DM 2023 Scheduling Thread

[FitzTheRuke]

Interesting, thanks! The prompts so far have been full of some stuff that I nod and say "sure, sure" and ones that stop me dead in my tracks, which is great.

Thanks for asking it. I've long wondered, but never knew where they came from. And yeah, there's usually AT LEAST one that is a stumper.

 

[Wicht]

So, the judges each contribute a collection of ingredients using our own nefarious methods -- and typically we don't share our methods with each other, just our output.

There is nothing really all that secret or esoteric about my method of devising contributions to the list of ingredients. I just brainstorm a variety of things or creatures, and then try to apply an interesting adjective to each one. The nouns are generally just words that catch my fancy as I am brainstorming (mirror, kitten, triceratops), without much rhyme or reason except what pops into my brain. The adjectives are applied a bit more thoughtfully, but can be chosen for any number of reasons, depending... Sometimes the adjective will be chosen because of tradition (broken mirror), sometimes for whimsy (persistent kitten), and sometimes because it is somewhat incongruous (divine triceratops). I try not to think too hard about how it might be used in any given scenario.

With our list of 100 ingredients put together, I choose the first couple completely randomnly, the next couple semi-randomnly, allowing myself to veto rolls if I think they are too similar to something already chosen, and then less randomly for the last couple as I want to make sure there is a decent variety of types of ingredients (people, places, things, and so forth). For the later rounds, when each judge picks a couple, I will pick the first one randomnly, and may then scan the list to see if there is one that catches my eye so that I would like to see what someone might do with it. For the final round, I might add in one not on the list, if there is something I have thought of since. For this years final round, for instance, I have an ingredient in mind that I think I will toss into the pot when it comes time to put the last list of ingredients together because it tickled my fancy when I read about it somewhere else.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"Divine triceratops" was a great prompt that led, I think, to two very interesting NPCs.

 

[Gradine]

I've got a doc full of ingredient ideas that have mostly come off the dome (Serious String comes to mind) or occasionally workshopped with my partner. Like the rest, I try to keep my ingredient lists semi-random with a bit of curation to ensure a good diversity of ingredient types. For Match 1 I had to sub an NPC type in to my original list; I was incredibly tempted to include Celebrated Bard but I didn't want to have the ingredients influenced at all by the participants

 

[Neurotic]

There was a bard when I competed two (three?) years ago...celebrated...not so much The ingredient was Terrible bard.

 

[humble minion]

There was a bard when I competed two (three?) years ago...celebrated...not so much The ingredient was Terrible bard.

I had Bardic College as an ingredient a few years back.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

The bodacious and barbarous bane of the bards has clearly and conspicuously infiltrated this thread, lending more credence to the need to annihilate, exterminate, and extirpate the alliterative annoyance lest it spread further.

 

[Iron Sky]

I've got a doc full of ingredient ideas that have mostly come off the dome (Serious String comes to mind) or occasionally workshopped with my partner. Like the rest, I try to keep my ingredient lists semi-random with a bit of curation to ensure a good diversity of ingredient types. For Match 1 I had to sub an NPC type in to my original list; I was incredibly tempted to include Celebrated Bard but I didn't want to have the ingredients influenced at all by the participants

I think creating the ingredients lists is one of my favorite parts of judging Iron DM. The best ones are like seeds with branching, layered possibilities sprouting from them in the mind's eye as they're jotted down.

 

[Gradine]

@Iron Sky & @loverdrive

Your ingredients have been posted!

You have 24 hours to post your submission. Happy writing!

 

[loverdrive]

@Iron Sky & @loverdrive

Your ingredients have been posted.

You have 24 hours to post your submission. Happy writing!

I think the link leads to a wrong URL