[Iron] IronNPC -- RAY SILVER WINS!

[Nifft]

LIGHTNING ROUND -- Judgement!

IronNPC LIGHTNING ROUND!

This was a very close round. Both entries were above average.

Drunken Master

What was Good:

Personality: I like Anya. "Hell hath no fury" indeed.

Urban Decay and Pipes of Pain: What a great setting! I'm imagining the way such a location would look during its use -- the pipes and echos twisting the already-horrid screams of torture victims. Still, there's nothing decay-specific about it.

"Snake People": I suppose this could apply to The Viper as well as her ssserpant-massstersss. The psionic yuan-ti angle on the crystal blade is well done.

Misread Prophecy & Conflict of Interest: Very nice, and very unexpected.

What was Okay:

Usefulness: She's got a very limited interaction with society, particularly good society. A group of PCs could meet her when she's sending out feelers for the "snake people", but what would they do besides fight?

Crystal Blade: I would have liked more detail, more personality added to this item. However, it features in the excellent prophecy, thereby gaining a "synergy bonus".



Stalker0

What was Good:

Crystal Blade: This is a blade with personality! IMO it's the most interesting part of this entry. Very good.

"Snake People": They figure heavily and deviously.

Pipes of Pain: Interesting way to get him deaf.

Personality & Usefulness: This is someone a DM could drop into many kinds of encounters. Of course, an encounter with him is likely to change his "future history" -- but that's probably better all around, given how grim his future looks. Giving his Atonement as a Paladin of Heironious' special quest would make for a very interesting non-combat encounter.


What was Okay:

Misread Prophecy: "Best friend"? I wouldn't say that Alkarai was Soranex's friend at all!


What was Bad:

Urban Decay: Urban Destruction perhaps ... where was the decay?

Conflict of Interest: Deception isn't conflict.



Drunken Master

Ingredients:
- Urban Decay: 5
- Crystal Blade: 7
- "Snake People": 7
- Misread Prophecy: 10
- Pipes of Pain: 9
- Conflict of Interest: 9

Personality: 13
Usefulness: 8

Total: 67


Stalker0

Ingredients:
- Urban Decay: 3
- Crystal Blade: 10
- "Snake People": 7
- Misread Prophecy: 7
- Pipes of Pain: 8
- Conflict of Interest: 2

Personality: 14
Usefulness: 13

Total: 64


Congradulations, Drunken Master!

-- Nifft

 

[Nifft]

Round 2, Match 2 -- Drunken Master vs. Greybar!

Whenever you're ready, ping in and I'll post the goods.

-- Nifft

 

[Greybar]

Ping!

John

 

[Drunken Master]

yee-ha!
ping!

 

[Nifft]

Round 2, Match 2!

Greybar vs. Drunken Master

Constraints:
NPC Levels: 7, 11, 14, 17
NPC Race: Dwarf

Ingredients:
- Elephant Rider(s)
- Fragmented Forge
- Growth Formula
- Honor of the Princess
- Icebound Cutter
- Jade Wyrm

Official Time is 9:30 AM US Eastern Time. You have 48 hours. Good luck!

-- Nifft

PS: theRuinedOne and Ray Silver -- your match is hard to decide, as both are high quality in the same areas, and have similar faults as well. I'll post the results as soon as they're determined. Sorry for the long delay, but it's really your own faults

 

[mythago]

Nifft, I wanted to sincerely apologize for defaulting. I'm no longer spending 12+ hours a day sleeping off this sinus infection and am capable of putting two words together!

Congrats to all the winners and good luck to all the contestants.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*Fingernails long since gone, begins to bite fingers*

 

[Nifft]

Ray Silver vs. theRuinedOne

This was a very hard round to judge, especially since I was sick with a mind-numbing fever -- perhaps a yellow one. In the end, I had to rank each entry on a different day, to be sure I was judging each on its merits and not in comparison to the other.

FIrst off: I guess aboleths are stupid monsters. How can something that's trapped in a pool in a cave be a threat to anyone? Mobility is the key to modern (and 3e) combat. So, it's no surprise that neither entry had a particularly plausible aboleth. Ray's aboleth was better, as it's basically an Enchanter stuck in a cave. theRuinedOne's aboleth, though -- how is it delivering this yellow fever? How is it controlling those who fall victim to the disease -- especially if they're prone to die, like the wife? Bleah, bad aboleths.

Brewer's Guilds: these both felt tacked on, no further comment except to say that it was a nice (but still tacked on) touch to have theRuinedOne's Crest of Curses hidden in the Brewer's Guildhouse.

Zombie Cities: Both former home towns. Poignant and good on both sides.

Yellow Fever: Ray, I love the idea of yellow fever turning into the yellowed flesh of the undead. Ruin: Delivery mechanism? Specifics on why it's "unnatural"? I guess it could do Wisdom damage, which would make it easier for the aboleth to control people -- but the aboleth Enslave power only works within 30 feet! What good is a distant outbreak?

Crest of Curses: Both very good. Ray, I wish you'd put something in about how the Crest made you want to posess it (like the One Ring) -- that would both explain the replicas and the heroine's otherwise baffling decision to steal it when she ran away. Honestly, I don't see why you needed the city of the dwarves at all -- the elven city would have served just as well as a zombi-opolis.

Dereliction of Duty: Both kinda eh. What in the 42 planes of Heck is Anastrianna supposed to have done? To whom was her duty -- the festering yellowed corpses of her people? Or was her dereliction the fact that she never got around to making her frail self an Amulet of Health +4? theRuinedOne, your dereliction is at least to an actual duty, and it has a big effect on poor Marus.

Now, the important parts: how useful are these characters going to be when I steal them for my own wicked use?

The Frail is someone I want to use in my campaign -- but with a 6 Con, she's almost comically unhealthy as it is -- couldn't she at least take Toughness once?! Marus is less useful -- he seems to be less interested in interaction. Still, as a brooding Aragorn-looking warden of a far-off wilderness place, he'll be handy.


Ray Silver

Ingredients:
- Yellow Fever: 8
- Zombie City: 8
- Aboleth: 6
- Brewer's Guild: 3
- Crest of Curses: 9
- Dereliction of Duty: 1

Personality: 14
Usefulness: 17



theRuinedOne

Ingredients:
- Yellow Fever: 3
- Zombie City: 7
- Aboleth: 5
- Brewer's Guild: 4
- Crest of Curses: 9
- Dereliction of Duty: 7

Personality: 12
Usefulness: 15

Congradulations Ray Silver!

 

[Nifft]

Nifft, I wanted to sincerely apologize for defaulting. I'm no longer spending 12+ hours a day sleeping off this sinus infection and am capable of putting two words together!

I sympathize fully, and hope you're recovered by now.

-- Nifft

 

[Nifft]

Greybar vs. Drunken Master -- WHERE ARE THE ENTRIES?!

-- Nifft