The EN World IRON DM 2019 Tournament Scheduling Thread

[Rune]

Okay, here we go in ten twenty minutes...

Spoiler: The Mummy in the Subway

The Egyptian Museum in Los Angeles, California is very excited about its latest exhibit, the mummy of Queen Bektamun, the "Masked Queen." But just days before the mummy is to go on display, the sarcophagus goes missing...apparently stolen by the infamous master thief, Walter Good! Their only clues are a soft serve yogurt container left behind at the scene of the crime from a popular dessert shop near the subway, and a tailor's sales receipt for a tan jacket in size 44L...and if the party puts those clues together, they learn that Good's hideout is in the old subway, at Platform 44. The party of detectives must navigate the twisty little passages of the abandoned subway tunnels beneath LA to get Good and recover the stolen mummy.​

​

A City of Mist adventure for 3-5 characters.​

Now, had this been a real Iron DM round, I would have been given a word count to stay under, and 48 hours to work on it. So I would have worked these ingredients a lot harder: maybe try to use each ingredient more than once, somehow make the color of the jacket important, that sort of thing. But as it is, I think it's pretty solid for only 20 minutes and 135 words.

Looks fun. Do note, though, that you’ll only have 24 hours in the first round.

 

[Rune]

Ah nuts. I’m already seeing some glaring typos.

 

[Gradine]

Someone's been playing Hollow Knight

 

[Rune]

Er, no. But I suspect they took inspiration from the same sources I did: real life insect-zombifying fungi (and sometimes other insects).

Except the troll: I’ve been looking for an excuse to use a brown mold/troll symbiote for quite some time. Adding the yellow mold was a twist inspired by the “tan jacket” ingredient, of course.

 

[Gradine]

Er, no. But I suspect they took inspiration from the same sources I did: real life insect-zombifying fungi (and sometimes other insects with the aid of fungi).

Except the troll: I’ve been looking for an excuse to use a brown mold/troll symbiote for quite some time. Adding the yellow mold was a twist inspired by the “tan jacket” ingredient, of course.

I posit that it's wholly probable that the "someone" in my previous statement is "me"

Cordyceps has been a go-to for zombification for a while, I guess (The Girl With All The Gifts, The Last of Us, etc.)

That said, very interesting scenario! I'm already mulling over how I'd judge the ingredient usage

 

[Gradine]

We're looking for just two more contestants! Who's ready to join up?

 

[Rune]

So close. So very close.

C’mon, folk! It’s not easy, but it is an immensely rewarding experience.

If you’re on the fence because you’re not sure if you can commit the time, let me point out that part’s actually not so bad. There is a briefly intense burst of time while you are competing in a match, but the matches themselves are scheduled around player availability. And, if you make it past round 1, the time-pressure gets easier, not harder. (Other challenges, not so much).

If you’re on the fence, take the chance. It’s worth it. It really is! Win or lose, you will be better for it!

 

[Deuce Traveler]

What Rune said... It's good for writing practice and just to have a social writing session.

 

[Wisdom Seeker]

Hm.
I've never participated in one of these before, and I usually don't visit this site. But on a recommendation by some of my online friends, I will throw my hat in the ring.

 

[Gradine]

Hm.
I've never participated in one of these before, and I usually don't visit this site. But on a recommendation by some of my online friends, I will throw my hat in the ring.

Excellent! Welcome aboard!

That leaves us with only space left. How about it @lowkey13 ready to commit?

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Gradine]

I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world because they'd never expect it.


.....meh. Fine.

And Jack Handey makes 8! We are just about ready to get started!

 

[Gradine]

@MortalPlague @Rune @CleverNickName @Iron Sky @ajanders @Psykick @Wisdom Seeker @lowkey13

The 2019 Iron DM competition is now underway! Do we have two competitors who are ready to get started with a match later today?

 

[Gradine]

Note: If you're interested in joining we are still recruiting alternates! Life happens and things come up, so we're always on the look for one or two (or three!) alternates who are willing and ready to step up in need be!

 

[Rune]

Quick question for the judges:

I may have missed it somewhere in the rules, but will the judges all be using a standardized online word-counter and, if so, which one? As I recall, there were some inconsistencies that came up last year.

 

[Gradine]

Ah yes, I forgot to add this!

This year we will be exclusively using: WordCounter - Count Words & Correct Writing for all of our word counting needs. You'd think something like "word count" would be pretty objective and universal, but I've had "1500 word" entries clock anywhere from 1496 to 1504 depending on whether I was using a Google Doc plugin or one of a hundred similar websites and to this day I've yet to fully grasp the source of the discrepancies.

That's right, Wordcounter.net, the official free online word counter of EN World's Iron DM Competition!

 

[Rune]

* WordCounter.net is not affiliated with EN World or the EN World 2019 IRON DM Tournament. Terms and conditions may apply. See your doctor if you run an entry that lasts longer than four hours.

 

[Gradine]

See your doctor if you run an entry that lasts longer than four hours.

Didn't that happen to @Iron Sky once?

 

[Iron Sky]

I like to believe I'm personally responsible for the word count limits. I think one of my first entries was something like 13 pages long and I've had judges essentially say "you lose because tl;dr".

I am not available immediately as the beginning of each month swamps me with work. I'll probably be good to go by this weekend.

 

[Psykick]

Likewise I'd prefer not to start mid-week, but can dedicate time after 12 on Friday through Sunday night.