Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Scheduling Thread for the IRON DM 2020 Tournament!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 8146399" data-attributes="member: 50987"><p>I've been doing this competition for a number of years....always as a contestant, and never successfully. So in my long history of losing this contest, I've had ample opportunity to notice some patterns that others might find useful. </p><p></p><p>More often than not:</p><p></p><p>Adventures written for non-D&D games will score better than those specifically written for D&D. I'm not sure why...perhaps it makes the author look more versatile and experienced? Maybe non-D&D adventures are easier to write, or just more refreshing to read? I dunno. In any case, don't let the "DM" in the title fool you into thinking this is a D&D challenge. Branch out.</p><p></p><p>The word count and deadline are important, but they seldom determine the winner. Far more contests are decided by how the ingredients are used than any other judging criteria. So if you're going to stress out over anything, stress over the ingredients. Make sure that the given ingredients have been well-integrated into the story, not just casually mentioned. (I've lost several matches because of this.) Use the same ingredient in several ways: "bow" can be something you shoot, something you wear, a part of a ship, or a part of a greeting...so use them all.</p><p></p><p>Judges may have a favorite ingredient or two that they will scrutinize more than the others, or that they are expecting to see used in a certain way. The more specific the ingredient, the more likely this is the case. If an ingredient is giving you trouble, push through and resist the urge to drop it in the background...it's likely the judge's darling.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CleverNickName, post: 8146399, member: 50987"] I've been doing this competition for a number of years....always as a contestant, and never successfully. So in my long history of losing this contest, I've had ample opportunity to notice some patterns that others might find useful. More often than not: Adventures written for non-D&D games will score better than those specifically written for D&D. I'm not sure why...perhaps it makes the author look more versatile and experienced? Maybe non-D&D adventures are easier to write, or just more refreshing to read? I dunno. In any case, don't let the "DM" in the title fool you into thinking this is a D&D challenge. Branch out. The word count and deadline are important, but they seldom determine the winner. Far more contests are decided by how the ingredients are used than any other judging criteria. So if you're going to stress out over anything, stress over the ingredients. Make sure that the given ingredients have been well-integrated into the story, not just casually mentioned. (I've lost several matches because of this.) Use the same ingredient in several ways: "bow" can be something you shoot, something you wear, a part of a ship, or a part of a greeting...so use them all. Judges may have a favorite ingredient or two that they will scrutinize more than the others, or that they are expecting to see used in a certain way. The more specific the ingredient, the more likely this is the case. If an ingredient is giving you trouble, push through and resist the urge to drop it in the background...it's likely the judge's darling. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Scheduling Thread for the IRON DM 2020 Tournament!
Top