Mini Encounter Contest: Heat Three
- Thread starter Morrus
- Start date
roversaurus
First Post
Bump and comments
This one was hard. There was no clear winner.
I voted for Culinary delights,
but I'm not certain that was my favorite. I just voted
for number two because I wanted a race.
(I vote Libertarian, I guess I just don't like voting
for the guy that wins
I liked Valkyries. But I think I would need to change a few things
about it. The clues were cool. I might have her attack random
places in town.
I liked the Culinary delights, but I'm not sure it would
fit in my campaign.
Bibliotech was good. I like Treants. I wanted something more
from it. Maybe a reason the PC's went there.
And *I* liked Pond Scum. It was small and quick with a
twist (even if it was obvious). I would
have voted for it if it had been second.
Narvesh the Seer was interesting. I like crazy loners. And you could introduce obscure prophetic adventure hooks with him.
A Hunter In The Darkness, This was pretty cool too. I liked the
twists. What would the party do?
My campaign site:
http://home.indy.rr.com/ahwmrklas/dnd/summary.htm
This one was hard. There was no clear winner.
I voted for Culinary delights,
but I'm not certain that was my favorite. I just voted
for number two because I wanted a race.
(I vote Libertarian, I guess I just don't like voting
for the guy that wins
I liked Valkyries. But I think I would need to change a few things
about it. The clues were cool. I might have her attack random
places in town.
I liked the Culinary delights, but I'm not sure it would
fit in my campaign.
Bibliotech was good. I like Treants. I wanted something more
from it. Maybe a reason the PC's went there.
And *I* liked Pond Scum. It was small and quick with a
twist (even if it was obvious). I would
have voted for it if it had been second.
Narvesh the Seer was interesting. I like crazy loners. And you could introduce obscure prophetic adventure hooks with him.
A Hunter In The Darkness, This was pretty cool too. I liked the
twists. What would the party do?
My campaign site:
http://home.indy.rr.com/ahwmrklas/dnd/summary.htm
BiggusGeekus
That's Latin for "cool"
*bump*
(this really should be a sticky if at all possible)
(this really should be a sticky if at all possible)
Corporate Dog
Explorer
Mistwell said:
Glub, glub. Nope. Looks like it sinks.
How exactly do you propose something fishy going on when all the votes are tied to individual accounts, and only accounts which were established before the polls were initiated are allowed to vote?
Maybe the author has a lot of friends here, and he encouraged them to vote for his entry. While I think campaigning is a real cheesy way of turning this into a popularity contest (and I would hope that the people who vote give all entries a fair chance) you're going to be real hard pressed to prove that anyone was doing something underhanded here.
Regards,
Corporate Dog
MavrickWeirdo
First Post
While I admit the current leader is not my favorite, it has been consistantly in the lead (not a lot of votes for it all at once).
Also winners of the previous 2 heats wern't my favorite either, so I'm just accepting that my tastes are different than the norm.
and if something fishy does float, that means the fish is dead.
Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
Okay, Okay, wasn't suggesting anyone was cheating. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Perhaps I'm just paranoid. I just don't expect the spread on any of these votes to be over 50% within one day. Statistically, that's a bit odd (unless that entry is simply far and away superior, a possibility I am open to, since I thought Valkyrie was a good entry.)
Elder-Basilisk
First Post
I voted for Valkyrie
Since we're discussing this, I'll put my 2 cents in.
I was one of the votes for Dark Valkyrie. It struck me as something I could take and use in my campaign almost without any changes (except, naturally adding spells memorized to the half-fiend's spellbook and substituting deity names).
Culinary Delights seemed like the thing that some of my friends would love to run but it didn't really interest me.
The Downed skyship cannibal one was interesting but it just didn't have enough of a hook. Had it been a magically disguised ghoul druid/wizard cursed to haunt the vicinity of the ship where she consumed the bodies of her companions 1000 years ago, it would have probably caught my fancy a bit more. As it was, the villain's motivation didn't seem sufficiently developed. ("She's a cannibal"--yep, that's it.)
Bibliothek: it didn't catch my imagination. A quirky, semi-interesting NPC who'd fit some of my aforementioned friends' tastes very well the situation (and the treant) don't fit mine.
Pond Scum: It seemed like an interesting idea but the sealed portal on the underground stream bothered me--where does all the water go? I got the impression that it used to bubble up to the ground (in the pool) and continue downhill from there. I don't see how sealing it up eliminates the flow of water. I guess I'm too into details. . . .
Narvesh the Seer: Didn't interest me. If someone gets prophetic visions, I'd rather put them in the Delphi and make characters really think whether or not they want to know their future--and if they know it, can they change it? Either that or have a prophet in Elijah/John the Baptist mode who doesn't just give information but demands a declaration of allegiance (a prophet who changes things in the world).
Hunter in the Darkness: I rather liked this one too. It made good use of the rules and how people might react to knowing the way some of the rules worked (trying to find a weak vampire they could kill). However, it didn't catch my imagination like the silent cathedral and surrounding graveyard in Dark Valkyrie.
Since we're discussing this, I'll put my 2 cents in.
I was one of the votes for Dark Valkyrie. It struck me as something I could take and use in my campaign almost without any changes (except, naturally adding spells memorized to the half-fiend's spellbook and substituting deity names).
Culinary Delights seemed like the thing that some of my friends would love to run but it didn't really interest me.
The Downed skyship cannibal one was interesting but it just didn't have enough of a hook. Had it been a magically disguised ghoul druid/wizard cursed to haunt the vicinity of the ship where she consumed the bodies of her companions 1000 years ago, it would have probably caught my fancy a bit more. As it was, the villain's motivation didn't seem sufficiently developed. ("She's a cannibal"--yep, that's it.)
Bibliothek: it didn't catch my imagination. A quirky, semi-interesting NPC who'd fit some of my aforementioned friends' tastes very well the situation (and the treant) don't fit mine.
Pond Scum: It seemed like an interesting idea but the sealed portal on the underground stream bothered me--where does all the water go? I got the impression that it used to bubble up to the ground (in the pool) and continue downhill from there. I don't see how sealing it up eliminates the flow of water. I guess I'm too into details. . . .
Narvesh the Seer: Didn't interest me. If someone gets prophetic visions, I'd rather put them in the Delphi and make characters really think whether or not they want to know their future--and if they know it, can they change it? Either that or have a prophet in Elijah/John the Baptist mode who doesn't just give information but demands a declaration of allegiance (a prophet who changes things in the world).
Hunter in the Darkness: I rather liked this one too. It made good use of the rules and how people might react to knowing the way some of the rules worked (trying to find a weak vampire they could kill). However, it didn't catch my imagination like the silent cathedral and surrounding graveyard in Dark Valkyrie.
Corporate Dog
Explorer
Are you looking at my bump? Bump-lookers. Cheeky monkeys.
Regards,
Corporate Dog
Regards,
Corporate Dog
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
I had to vote for Narvesh the Seer. The punchline of having a crypic, important-sounding prophesy turn out to be something really mundane was just too good. I could use and reuse that in my campaign... and maybe I will. Have the seer produce some prophesies that are spot on and verifyable by the PCs, and then throw in some really important ones that take a long time to come to fruition. Hmmmmm....
The location for Dark Valkyrie was nice, but the encountered creature herself just didn't do much for me. I think I could get much more mileage out of Narvesh in my campaign.
The location for Dark Valkyrie was nice, but the encountered creature herself just didn't do much for me. I think I could get much more mileage out of Narvesh in my campaign.
Seule
Explorer
Any opinions are my own, any criticisms are meant constructively. I didn't bother to comment on good points of most modules, other people have done that, so the following may seem harsh.
Culinary Delights: Another version of the Travelling Building. This has been done to death. Maybe in a Planescape campaign, but even so, the building is at least a minor artifact, if not major, particularly being sentient. I've seen this way too many times.
Down By the Sea: Solidly done, but nothing I couldn't whip up in 5 minutes with the Mastertools Demo. Another grumpy dwarf who wants to be left alone... who is also a grumpy druid who wants to be left alone. Not very original, except for the combination.
Multhana Veloor at the Ship on the Mountain: Almost the only one where location and NPC can be used completely independantly... unfortunately they are too independant, with not enough given on each one. Trying to make two separate components leaves the whole feeling a little disjointed. Quite imaginative though.
Pond Scum: Yeah? And? Is there supposed to be an interesting location or NPC here? I don't see any. The encounter is fine, but the other two parts are lacking.
Dark Valkyrie: As others have said, not enough background. What does she actually want? However, the best use of atmosphere, and pretty good all round. One of the best, but why hasn't the Church done something about her? Any city with 8 watchtowers should be able to deal with her, given warning.
Kole Blak and the Seven Dirty Dwarves: I find that enough humour comes into my games without me trying this hard to add it in. Plus the spelling errors really put me off. It's basically a joke encounter, where the players get the joke but the characters don't... unless they don't find out the names. Then it's not funny for anyone.
Narvesh the Seer: Oh look, another crazy old man who is really the bearer of ungodly power. Sure this one is no Fizban, but still, this is also way overdone. Plus, his name is spelled at least 2 ways.
Bibliotheque: A really nice set piece, and a possible shock for someone trying to rob a library, but I think it's much better as a PC ally, and then it's not really much of an encounter. Plus, Rogue levels? Why not Expert or Wizard?
A Hunter in the Darkness: Basically, the PCs stumble on a conflict between two evil types, but one is more evil than the other. Real possibility for moral conflict, and the Wizard can easily be scaled up or down. This is the only one I'm likely to use in my game, and its the one I voted for. Sure, the location doesn't exist outside the NPCs, but it's a great encounter.
--Seule
Culinary Delights: Another version of the Travelling Building. This has been done to death. Maybe in a Planescape campaign, but even so, the building is at least a minor artifact, if not major, particularly being sentient. I've seen this way too many times.
Down By the Sea: Solidly done, but nothing I couldn't whip up in 5 minutes with the Mastertools Demo. Another grumpy dwarf who wants to be left alone... who is also a grumpy druid who wants to be left alone. Not very original, except for the combination.
Multhana Veloor at the Ship on the Mountain: Almost the only one where location and NPC can be used completely independantly... unfortunately they are too independant, with not enough given on each one. Trying to make two separate components leaves the whole feeling a little disjointed. Quite imaginative though.
Pond Scum: Yeah? And? Is there supposed to be an interesting location or NPC here? I don't see any. The encounter is fine, but the other two parts are lacking.
Dark Valkyrie: As others have said, not enough background. What does she actually want? However, the best use of atmosphere, and pretty good all round. One of the best, but why hasn't the Church done something about her? Any city with 8 watchtowers should be able to deal with her, given warning.
Kole Blak and the Seven Dirty Dwarves: I find that enough humour comes into my games without me trying this hard to add it in. Plus the spelling errors really put me off. It's basically a joke encounter, where the players get the joke but the characters don't... unless they don't find out the names. Then it's not funny for anyone.
Narvesh the Seer: Oh look, another crazy old man who is really the bearer of ungodly power. Sure this one is no Fizban, but still, this is also way overdone. Plus, his name is spelled at least 2 ways.
Bibliotheque: A really nice set piece, and a possible shock for someone trying to rob a library, but I think it's much better as a PC ally, and then it's not really much of an encounter. Plus, Rogue levels? Why not Expert or Wizard?
A Hunter in the Darkness: Basically, the PCs stumble on a conflict between two evil types, but one is more evil than the other. Real possibility for moral conflict, and the Wizard can easily be scaled up or down. This is the only one I'm likely to use in my game, and its the one I voted for. Sure, the location doesn't exist outside the NPCs, but it's a great encounter.
--Seule
Berandor
lunatic
Seule said:
You're not the first to say this...
Might be me not buying published adventures, but the only thing in D&D that comes close is the tavern in Arabel (FR) where you can travel to other worlds... "Serpent Inn" or something.
Could somebody point me out where it has been used in D&D that often that it bears mention ( compared to a crazy prohet, a Dark Angel in a cathedral, a polymorphed witch, and an isolated druid
)...Berandor
