An Iron DM tournament is a contest in which writers show their ability to turn a collection of random ingredients into a cohesive adventure over a short period of time.
Created by Nemmerle (a regular of the EN Boards and co-creator of the Rat Bastard DM Forum), the tournament was inspired by the tongue-in-cheek cooking show Iron Chef. Whereas the show’s contestants fashion several dishes out of a single random ingredient, however, Iron DM contestants fashion a single adventure out of several random ingredients. These ingredients may include locations (Millhouse, sinking island, filthy nursery), creatures (goblin prince, wyvern, guttersnipe), objects (limes, broken teeth, rod of wonder), or more abstract elements (betrayal, typhoon, vengeance).
A single round in the tournament consists of two contestants pairing off against one another. The tournament judge gives both contestants the same set of ingredients (usually six) and a set length of time in which to create the adventure (usually between four and twenty-four hours). Once both entries are in, the judge reads them and evaluates both their qualities as an adventure and their creative and appropriate use of ingredients. The judge then issues a ruling, usually accompanied by a detailed critique of each adventure. The winner of a round advances, until the tournament’s final round produces the Iron DM. Most tournaments are single-elimination and have eight contestants, although double-elimination tournaments with up to sixteen contestants have occurred.
The tournament helps DMs hone several important skills, including the ability to fashion interesting stories out of the unpredictable actions of PCs (mimicked in the tournament by the judge’s ingredient list), the ability to create memorable spectacles and characters, the flexibility to accommodate multiple paths into and through an adventure, and an exploration of the consequences and aftermaths of an adventure. In addition, several DMs have used Iron DM tournament entries in whole or in part in their own games.
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