IRON DM 2025 Tournament Thread
- Thread starter Gradine
- Start date
Rune
Once A Fool
I expect you’ll get an @-summons when the time comes.Dude, you're messing hard with my ability to check on posts without clicking on the specific thread.
Gradine
🏳️⚧️ (she/her) 🇵🇸
And that looks like three votes for @AustinHolm, who is our new Iron DM for 2025! Congratulations are in order! I don't know how often we've had any rookie champions, but it's a rare feat regardless. But will you be able to defend your crown next year? We'll have to wait and see...
@Fenris-77, you've put up some of my favorite entries in this competition so far. You clearly know what it takes to make it this far and win. In reading the judgments of my co-judges, one theme I see repeated is "missed opportunity". I wonder if maybe you found these particular ingredients difficult to work with. They appeared, in several instances, to be obstacles to be wrangled into shape. That's going to happen in the best entries, but I think in this case it happened too often, and it led to you missing opportunities to tie those ingredients together in a way that would have made each of them, and the entry as a whole, much stronger.
Unanimous results are rare in these later rounds; to have two out of three matches unanimous is rarer still. I don't want anyone to take away that these matches were not close. All of our competitors have put out incredible entries this year, and it has been the toughest for me personally to judge, by far. I think, in future years, we will look back on this year's tournament as one filled with incredible exemplars; a year to point to for any new contestants looking for a crash course on How To Iron DM.
I can't wait to see what the future holds...
@Fenris-77, you've put up some of my favorite entries in this competition so far. You clearly know what it takes to make it this far and win. In reading the judgments of my co-judges, one theme I see repeated is "missed opportunity". I wonder if maybe you found these particular ingredients difficult to work with. They appeared, in several instances, to be obstacles to be wrangled into shape. That's going to happen in the best entries, but I think in this case it happened too often, and it led to you missing opportunities to tie those ingredients together in a way that would have made each of them, and the entry as a whole, much stronger.
Unanimous results are rare in these later rounds; to have two out of three matches unanimous is rarer still. I don't want anyone to take away that these matches were not close. All of our competitors have put out incredible entries this year, and it has been the toughest for me personally to judge, by far. I think, in future years, we will look back on this year's tournament as one filled with incredible exemplars; a year to point to for any new contestants looking for a crash course on How To Iron DM.
I can't wait to see what the future holds...
I posted a design journal of sorts. That's my mea culpa.
Rune
Once A Fool
Congratulations to IRON DM 2025 @AustinHolm!
AustinHolm
Explorer
Thank you, I'm honoured!
Thanks to @Gradine, @FitzTheRuke, and @Rune for judging. @Rune, I did do some research into the judges, but mostly in the first round when @Gradine was my sole judge. I had no idea German names and dream-stuff would target you specifically. Is it, as you say, an extraordinary coincidence, or do we just share uncommonly good taste?
Thanks also to @humble minion and @Whizbang Dustyboots. I was very lucky to face two former winners in the early rounds. It definitely forced me to learn the game quickly. @Fenris-77, thanks for a memorable final. I'm sure we'll battle again! It's been a real pleasure, and I'm glad it was two Knave Jam alumni in the last match. TTRPGs can seem like both a very large and very small community at the same time, so I'm always happy to see a familiar name.
Finally, a special thanks to @WatcherDM for suggesting I enter the competition. I could never put myself out there in front of critically-minded strangers without the support of a good friend. If you've enjoyed anything I've written for Iron DM, please check out the stuff we've made together at watcherdm.com. We've got a whole bunch of modules and blog posts and such, most of which is just as weird as the stuff I've written here.
I know a lot of people were saying the Troika adventures this year intrigued them. If you do check out the game, keep an eye out for Megamidden, coming sometime next year from Melsonian Arts Council. It's a hexcrawl I wrote, set in a vast junkyard ruled by cruel landfill lords and junker aristos. I'm pretty stoked on it.
Anyways, thank you for reading. I look forward to competing next year. I'm sure I'm not the only one who hopes to someday break @Deuce Traveler 's record, so I hope to see you folks here again!
Thanks to @Gradine, @FitzTheRuke, and @Rune for judging. @Rune, I did do some research into the judges, but mostly in the first round when @Gradine was my sole judge. I had no idea German names and dream-stuff would target you specifically. Is it, as you say, an extraordinary coincidence, or do we just share uncommonly good taste?
Thanks also to @humble minion and @Whizbang Dustyboots. I was very lucky to face two former winners in the early rounds. It definitely forced me to learn the game quickly. @Fenris-77, thanks for a memorable final. I'm sure we'll battle again! It's been a real pleasure, and I'm glad it was two Knave Jam alumni in the last match. TTRPGs can seem like both a very large and very small community at the same time, so I'm always happy to see a familiar name.
Finally, a special thanks to @WatcherDM for suggesting I enter the competition. I could never put myself out there in front of critically-minded strangers without the support of a good friend. If you've enjoyed anything I've written for Iron DM, please check out the stuff we've made together at watcherdm.com. We've got a whole bunch of modules and blog posts and such, most of which is just as weird as the stuff I've written here.
I know a lot of people were saying the Troika adventures this year intrigued them. If you do check out the game, keep an eye out for Megamidden, coming sometime next year from Melsonian Arts Council. It's a hexcrawl I wrote, set in a vast junkyard ruled by cruel landfill lords and junker aristos. I'm pretty stoked on it.
Anyways, thank you for reading. I look forward to competing next year. I'm sure I'm not the only one who hopes to someday break @Deuce Traveler 's record, so I hope to see you folks here again!
