Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Nail" data-source="post: 223201" data-attributes="member: 224">Wow....has it been a long time...........I sure hope so, Morrus!&nbsp;&nbsp; :^)This set was one of the hardest 't judge: not only has it been a long time since I last thought about how to judge this contest, but also this entire batch of entries had problems addressing the unique location requirement of the rules.In other words: Hey, great NPC ideas; but lousey location ideas, guys......and y'all did want criticism, right?&nbsp; :^)Le'see......&nbsp; In order of amazingness (weakest first):<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">*************************</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Arms.doc" target="_blank">Interrupt the Arms (EL 10)</a>&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; Probably the weakest of the bunch in terms of NPC and location.&nbsp; It's a caravan, on a road......an addin' a cleric of St. Cuthbert doesn't make it any more interestin'.&nbsp;&nbsp; On top of that: the format is too long.&nbsp; Poor Mistwell's gonna have a seizure over here, guys, if ya keep this up....... 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Snow.doc" target="_blank">Harmonies in the Snow (EL 8)</a> 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Haven't we voted on this one before?&nbsp; I'm pretty sure..... 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Kommag.doc" target="_blank">Kommag's Box (EL 5)</a> 
&nbsp;&nbsp; Alright, this box idea is interestin'...but the NPC and location are both rather un-memorable.&nbsp; A dwarf in a .......&lt;wait fer it&gt;.....forge.&nbsp; Yup.&nbsp; Gotcha.&nbsp; Pretty sure I've heard o' that one. 
&nbsp; &nbsp; 
The location is well detailed, as is the NPC.&nbsp; Good stuff....just not very interestin'. 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/WANDERERS.rtf" target="_blank">Wanderers of the Forest (EL 6-7)</a> 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; This one lost me completely: how is the community supposed to be an NPC?&nbsp; If that's the intent, why isn't the &quot;NPC&quot; (village)given a separate page, with all the relevant &quot;stats&quot;?&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Moreover, there's some definite &quot;fudging&quot; going on here: there are actually 2 locations given, not one, as per the rules.&nbsp; We've got th' spot fer the griffin combat, and then the village.&nbsp; If the village is the NPC, and not a location, then why doesn't it figure into the griffin attack?&nbsp; Not good, kiddo. 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Hound.doc" target="_blank">Hunt of the Black Hound (EL 3)</a> 
&nbsp; &nbsp; I like the gnoll hunter idea.....too many times we see these guys as howling, slobbering idiots closing in on th' PCs en masse.&nbsp; ...But the gnoll druid seemed like an after thought, rather than a rivetting NPC around which the encounter was based.&nbsp; Sorta like: &quot;Oh shoot, I gotta stick a cool NPC in here too, ta satisfy th' rules!&quot;&nbsp; And his motivation for approaching the party (&quot;Me need silver&quot;) seems pretty weak. 
&nbsp; &nbsp; 
The location is really not at all present here: could be the PCs camp, could be the Yeth Hound's cave....but it's not clear which the author meant ta be &quot;the location, separatable from the PCs&quot;.&nbsp; This one is a good encounter...it's just not following the guidelines of this contest. 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/TheBlackOrb.rtf" target="_blank">The Black Orb (EL 17)</a>&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; Hmmmm.&nbsp; &quot;No saving throw to resist the sleep&quot;?&nbsp; Ya lost me right there.&nbsp; And...what about elves, wise guy? 
 
 </li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Kezra.rtf" target="_blank">In Rage And Still Waters (El 6)</a> 
&nbsp; &nbsp; An interesting NPC, and a decent location.&nbsp; The history of the location doesn't seem to quite explain the pool's magical properties, but I can let that go.&nbsp; The real stumbling block for me was the wolverine: Why isn't he still with his companions?&nbsp; That's a huge, monster question, that needs to be answered. 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/revenge(EL9).zip" target="_blank">Revenge (EL 9) (.zip file)</a>&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; ...Alright: I finally downloaded an Unzip utility, just to read this one.&nbsp; Now my boss will find it on th' work-computer, and kill me.&nbsp; I hope you appreciate this huge sacrifice!!&nbsp; :^) 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The location is.....grrrr...another road.&nbsp; Awww, come on!&nbsp; Surely there are cooler mage-ambush-places out there!&nbsp; Come on, buddy, give me something ta work with here! 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The NPC is a human evoker.&nbsp; &nbsp; ...Okay.&nbsp; And he's got a great, PC-killer spell list.&nbsp;&nbsp; .....Alright.&nbsp;&nbsp; And then what? 
 
******************** 
The next three were the best of this bunch, IMHO. 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/MAB.doc" target="_blank">Man Against Beast (EL 7)</a> 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The location here is the magic item/monolith.&nbsp; How we get th' PCs there is....left up to th' DM.&nbsp; It is a very interesting way of curing lycanthropy....but more needs to be done with th' location to make it truely unique.&nbsp; &quot;On a barren plain..&quot; just doesn't quite have th' right punch to it. 
 
The NPC (the weretiger) can't really be separated from the location, without making him rather run-o-the-mill. 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Stairway.doc" target="_blank">The Stairwell (EL 12)</a>&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; I'll just open up an' say it: I'd hate to be a non-min/maxed PC in this guy's campaign.&nbsp; It'd hurt.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 
This is a dangerous, complicated trap, but one that might very well fit in a wizard's abode.&nbsp; I'm pretty confident the spider climb tile is not made correctly; according to core rules &quot;spell completion' can only be done by someone with that spell on his/her class list.&nbsp; Golems have no spell lists!&nbsp; There are better ways to give the golem spider climb -- just give it to him as a spell-like ability! 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; There is really no NPC for this entry, which is why I didn't vote fer it.&nbsp; The gollum ain't no NPC, bub.&nbsp; Water elemental, neither. 
</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/kdladage.doc" target="_blank">Old Jamiben the Hermit (EL 13)</a>&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; This one gets my nod, but only barely.&nbsp; The &quot;reality shift&quot; mumbo jumbo just smacks of DM heavy-handedness.&nbsp; The cabin is far from unique or interesting.&nbsp; But the NPC saves th' day.&nbsp; Original, interesting, and plausible.&nbsp; The SR and such is too powerful, etc, but that's easy enough to fix.&nbsp;&nbsp; I guess what I'm sayin' here is that by smoothing out the NPC, and enlivining that location a bit more, we'd have a hands-down winner.&nbsp; Needs work, but good job, nonetheless. 
**********************************</li>
</ul>So, now on t' th' finals.&nbsp; By G'rr-ieck's beard, I think we just might finish this contest!&nbsp; How about that.-Nail</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Nail, post: 223201, member: 224"] [b]Wow....has it been a long time........[/b] ...I sure hope so, Morrus! :^) This set was one of the hardest 't judge: not only has it been a long time since I last thought about how to judge this contest, but also this entire batch of entries had problems addressing the [i]unique location[/i] requirement of the rules. In other words: Hey, great NPC ideas; but lousey location ideas, guys......and y'all [i]did[/i] want [u]criticism[/u], right? :^) Le'see...... In order of amazingness (weakest first): [list]************************* [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Arms.doc]Interrupt the Arms (EL 10)[/URL] Probably the weakest of the bunch in terms of NPC and location. It's a caravan, on a road......an addin' a cleric of St. Cuthbert doesn't make it any more interestin'. On top of that: the format is too long. Poor Mistwell's gonna have a seizure over here, guys, if ya keep this up....... [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Snow.doc]Harmonies in the Snow (EL 8)[/URL] Haven't we voted on this one before? I'm pretty sure..... [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Kommag.doc]Kommag's Box (EL 5)[/URL] Alright, this box idea is interestin'...but the NPC and location are both rather un-memorable. A dwarf in a .......<wait fer it>.....forge. Yup. Gotcha. Pretty sure I've heard o' that one. The location is well detailed, as is the NPC. Good stuff....just not very interestin'. [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/WANDERERS.rtf]Wanderers of the Forest (EL 6-7)[/URL] This one lost me completely: how is the community supposed to be an NPC? If that's the intent, why isn't the "NPC" (village)given a separate page, with all the relevant "stats"? Moreover, there's some definite "fudging" going on here: there are actually 2 locations given, not one, as per the rules. We've got th' spot fer the griffin combat, and then the village. If the village is the NPC, and not a location, then why doesn't it figure into the griffin attack? Not good, kiddo. [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Hound.doc]Hunt of the Black Hound (EL 3)[/URL] I like the gnoll hunter idea.....too many times we see these guys as howling, slobbering idiots closing in on th' PCs [i]en masse[/i]. ...But the gnoll druid seemed like an after thought, rather than a rivetting NPC around which the encounter was based. Sorta like: "Oh shoot, I gotta stick a cool NPC in here too, ta satisfy th' rules!" And his motivation for approaching the party ("Me need silver") seems pretty weak. The location is really not at all present here: could be the PCs camp, could be the Yeth Hound's cave....but it's not clear which the author meant ta be "the location, separatable from the PCs". This one is a good encounter...it's just not following the guidelines of this contest. [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/TheBlackOrb.rtf]The Black Orb (EL 17)[/URL] Hmmmm. "No saving throw to resist the sleep"? Ya lost me right there. And...what about elves, wise guy? [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Kezra.rtf]In Rage And Still Waters (El 6)[/URL] An interesting NPC, and a decent location. The history of the location doesn't seem to [i]quite[/i] explain the pool's magical properties, but I can let that go. The real stumbling block for me was the wolverine: Why isn't he [u]still[/u] with his companions? That's a huge, monster question, that needs to be answered. [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/revenge(EL9).zip]Revenge (EL 9) (.zip file)[/URL] ...Alright: I finally downloaded an Unzip utility, just to read this one. Now my boss will find it on th' work-computer, and kill me. I hope you appreciate this huge sacrifice!! :^) The location is.....grrrr...another road. Awww, come on! Surely there are cooler mage-ambush-places out there! Come on, buddy, give me something ta work with here! The NPC is a human evoker. ...Okay. And he's got a great, PC-killer spell list. .....Alright. And then what? ******************** The next three were the best of this bunch, IMHO. [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/MAB.doc]Man Against Beast (EL 7)[/URL] The location here is the magic item/monolith. How we get th' PCs there is....left up to th' DM. It is a very interesting way of curing lycanthropy....but more needs to be done with th' location to make it truely unique. "On a barren plain.." just doesn't quite have th' right punch to it. The NPC (the weretiger) can't really be separated from the location, without making him rather run-o-the-mill. [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/Stairway.doc]The Stairwell (EL 12)[/URL] I'll just open up an' say it: I'd [b]hate[/b] to be a non-min/maxed PC in this guy's campaign. It'd [u]hurt[/u]. This is a dangerous, complicated trap, but one that might very well fit in a wizard's abode. I'm pretty confident the [i]spider climb[/i] tile is not made correctly; according to core rules "spell completion' can only be done by someone with that spell on his/her class list. Golems have no spell lists! There are better ways to give the golem [i]spider climb[/i] -- just give it to him as a spell-like ability! There is really no NPC for this entry, which is why I didn't vote fer it. The gollum ain't no NPC, bub. Water elemental, neither. [*][URL=http://www.d20reviews.com/contest/kdladage.doc]Old Jamiben the Hermit (EL 13)[/URL] This one gets my nod, but only barely. The "reality shift" mumbo jumbo just smacks of DM heavy-handedness. The cabin is far from unique or interesting. But the NPC saves th' day. Original, interesting, and plausible. The SR and such is too powerful, etc, but that's easy enough to fix. I guess what I'm sayin' here is that by smoothing out the NPC, and enlivining that location a bit more, we'd have a hands-down winner. Needs work, but good job, nonetheless. **********************************[/list] So, now on t' th' finals. By G'rr-ieck's beard, I think we just might finish this contest! How about that. [COLOR=crimson]-[b]Nail[/b][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]

Verification