# Mini Encounter Contest: Heat One



## Morrus (Mar 5, 2002)

Mini Encounter Competition: Heat One 

This is the first round of voting to find out who will win the mini-encounter competition. I have randomly selected 9 entries for this heat. Please read them carefully and vote on the best. The winner of this heat will go through to the final. Each heat will last approximately two days.

When considering these entries, please take into account the following factors:

_Did the author follow the competition rules? 
[*]Are the location and the NPC useful independently of each other and of the encounter itself?
[*]Is the encounter one that can be easily inserted into most campaigns?
[*]Is the encounter clear and easy to run?
_


*Here are the entries for Heat One:*


Put to the Sword 
Catch as Catch Can 
The Centaur's Very Bad Day 
L'amour de Erinyes 
Harmonies in the Snow 
Bad Cats Day 
The Portal 
*Cough*, I Feel *Cough* Great! 
An Unexpected Visitor Drops In 

Please vote for your choice of winner.  Feel free to review or comment on the entries in this thread.


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## Mistwell (Mar 5, 2002)

*Repost - Comments on Heat One Entries*

Reposted from earlier:

Well, I'm gonna take the plunge, and comment on all the specific entries in this first batch. I'm not doing this to be critical of people, or judge them or their entry, or influence votes in any way. I'm only doing this because I know that I like honest feedback on my work, and I assume others want that as well. That said, I'm not looking for a debate on my opinions (they are just my opinions, which means they are only worth whatever value you put on them, which is probably none  .) I also won't mention who I voted for in each batch. 

To make sure I don't influence people's votes in any way in favor of my entry (I just entered the contest for fun, to get my feet wet on writing adventures in preparation for other contests that have more serious prizes at stake), I've asked a friend of mine to write their own opinion of my entry, and I have/will insert that opinion in the appropriate place instead of my own. That friend is fairly critical of stuff, so it probably won't help my chances (as if anyone really cares). Maybe my entry is in this first batch, and maybe not  . 

A brief word on this discussion about the rules. Pretend for a moment you are writing an adventure for Dragon Magazine and/or Dungeon. They have editorial (and time constraint) rules that you MUST MUST MUST obey. There is no spirit of the rules, there is no sorta-follows-the-rules. You follow them, or you get rejected. Period. This contest is, in a way, a test for people who want to write adventures for various d20 publishers in the future. In that sense, following the rules may be more important than the content of your entry. So, I am personally placing a lot of emphasis on your ability to follow the rules when voting. But then, I am a lawyer by trade, so I am probably way more anal about that sort of stuff than others. 

Enough ranting, on to the entries: 

Put to the Sword (EL 2) Nice encounter, and I really like the fresh background provided for the Feast of the Kindred and the Quest of Draahl. However, each element (encounter, setting, and NPC) is directly linked to the other elements. It’s fine to link the encounter itself to the NPC and location (expected even). It isn’t okay to have, under this set of rules, the location (labeled specifically for Therva and the alligator), and the NPC (who’s description is directly linked to the encounter and location) linked to the others. 

Catch As Catch Can (EL 3) I really liked this encounter, and found it very sweet in some ways. Perhaps it’s because I have a friend who likes fishing, and who I can see getting in trouble in the same was as the old halfling did here. However, the “location” lacks a bit on the details (as in, it has NO details, other than it’s just calm water). I can’t really reuse that “location”. Would have been nice to have more substance here to use (like something in the water making fish grow big, or some reason why nobody else is fishing this location, or a halfling village to go with the river, or a dock, an island, anything.) Also, the font used is Verdana, not Times New Roman. However, Verdana doesn’t save space for the author (in fact, I think it is even a slightly larger font than Times New Roman), so I wouldn’t ding the author much for use of the wrong font in this case. 

The Centaur's Very Bad Day (EL 6) I like the NPC, Vhellk, and I like how easily this encounter can be adapted to almost any level of PC’s for a short encounter. However, he is linked to the encounter in the description, and the location is labeled for the encounter, and not for independent use (there is no independent legend for A, B, and C on the encounter, and Vhellk is basically listed as an icon on the map, though a cool icon at that). 

L'amour de Erinyes (EL 7) I liked the background on the Erinyes and her curse. However the location is linked to the NPC. Though the author attempts to avoid this link, without the NPC, a DM would just have to make up one virtually identical to the one offered. The NPC is also linked to the encounter. Without the encounter, we have no idea who Delzegorx or what the references to her background mean. 

Harmonies in the Snow (EL 8) Very interesting. I particularly like the singing crystals that produce spells in the Singing Valley, and may adapt them for use in my campaign. Only flaw is the bard faerie dragon is directly linked to the location in his description, though this could be fixed without too much hassle. 

Bad Cats Day (EL 8-16) I like Kaihus, and thought it was particularly unique to combine Lycanthropy with a Psion class. The Location references Kaihus pretty heavily, however, and it seems the author, almost as an afterthought, tried to separate the valley location from Kaihus at the last minute (though it doesn’t work as well without him, since you now need a justification for such a diverse pack of felines living together near the carving). Kaihus’ description also references the location a bit (in mentioning the cats becoming lazy because of his tactics in attracting people to the valley), though is easily removed. 

The Portal (EL 12) I liked the tower challenges, and it reminded me a bit of a deadlier version of the Xanth castle challenges from Piers Anthony (at least, those I read before Piers became a formula hack in this series). However, Angrax, the tower’s NPC guardian, is directly linked to both the encounter and the location. Pretty much his whole being is wrapped up in the location at this point, and I don’t see how useful he would be outside of the context of the location (though I suppose with some work you could change what he is guarding). 

*Cough*, I Feel *Cough* Great! (EL 14) My first impression of this encounter is that the author felt the need to seriously mess with the margins of the document in order to fit it all in three pages, and that isn’t in the spirit of the rules (in fact, I believe some printers would have trouble printing this document without readjusting the margins and pushing it to a fourth page). Despite the margin issue, there’s a lot to like about this encounter. The goddess is an interesting NPC, and her ploy to bilk peasants out of their possessions is well thought out, as is her background. Unfortunately, the location has no meaning outside of the NPC, and is tailored specifically to the encounter. 

An Unexpected Visitor Drops In (EL 18) In my opinion, this is the only entry of this first batch that actually completely follows the rules. The location makes no mention of the encounter or NPC, and the NPC makes no mention of the encounter or location, and the encounter nicely ties the location and NPC together. That said, this is a fairly interesting entry. Aharon Yediot is a powerful, well thought-out NPC. I can see him being put into a high-level campaign in almost any location (any plane, for that matter). The egg too is very powerful, well-described, and easily located anywhere (except the positive and negative planes). Finally, the map at the end is helpful, while the illustration is rather beautiful. One note: The height of any given level in the Egg is, at most, 6 feet (and probably a bit less, accounting for the thickness of each floor/roof and the shell itself). This probably should have been mentioned, since some PC’s may have to crouch down to fit. Also, the Egg appears to be built to hold one person, and I’m curious how many people the author thinks the Egg could hold comfortably, or uncomfortably. Reader’s should take note of the EL 18 for this encounter. That is an accurate EL I think, and the Egg would be too powerful in the hands of an inexperienced party. 

Mistwell


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## fba827 (Mar 5, 2002)

*poll closing time ?*

Morrus (or someone) could you post the closing date for this poll (ie last day / time GMT) that this poll will be accessible ?

The reason I ask is because I am busy now but I figure through the week I'll read the submissions and then put in my actual vote by week's end.  Of course, if the poll is going to be closed by then my plan would have been foiled!  -- you blasted kids and that dog. 

So, long story short, can you put in a "Poll Closed" date and time GMT -- that will be defined as the time at which the poll will be closed/taken away (no more votes after chosen time).

I'm guessing the plan is for it to be up for about a week? more or less?


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## tenelo (Mar 5, 2002)

*Some musings on the rules*

When I vote, I'm with Mistwell on my first concern being with whether the entry followed the rules. There weren't very many rules, nor were they particularly difficult to follow. Writing to a word or page limit is always a challenge, but I thought that was part of the point in this case.

It may be harsh, but if I'd been administering the contest, I'd have disqualified entries that didn't meet the guidelines. I'd have posted them separately so the authors could receive feedback, but only allowed voting on ones that followed the rules. Obviously it would be a judgement call on the part of the administrator as to what degree of latitude was allowed for things like resizing margins, etc. but blatant errors such as more than 1 page for encounter, NPC or location aren't within the rules and should be disqualified.

The above is my opinion - it is not intended as criticism of the way the contest is being run, or of the people running it.

What I do hope people take into account in their voting is the independant reuseability of encounter, location and NPC, and the ease of dropping any or all of them into any campaign. I tried not to use/reference anything that was not in the core 3 books, unless the new rule/monster/item was explicitly explained in the text of the NPC/location/encounter. Personally, my current campaign doesn't use psionics, so as an example any encounter that used psionics would be more difficult for me to use, unless options for converting it to a non-psionic encounter were presented. Equally, links between location and NPC make them more difficult to reuse separately, something I have seen in the majority of the entries I have read.

I'm guilty of that one myself, but more through lack of space than intent. I hope the links are tenuous enough to be easily ignored, but it's one of the things I'd fix if I were revising my entry. I'd wanted to present two paragraphs on my NPC, one general (background, motivation etc) and one more specific to use in the encounter. As it was, space limitations meant I had to make it one longer paragraph. 

I've been more impressed overall by the ideas in the contest than the execution, and there are plenty I'd consider using, but I wouldn't vote for them if I didn't feel they'd met the challenge and stayed within the rules.

My two coppers, YMMV.


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## Napftor (Mar 5, 2002)

*Re: poll closing time ?*



			
				fba827 said:
			
		

> *Morrus (or someone) could you post the closing date for this poll (ie last day / time GMT) that this poll will be accessible ?
> 
> The reason I ask is because I am busy now but I figure through the week I'll read the submissions and then put in my actual vote by week's end.  Of course, if the poll is going to be closed by then my plan would have been foiled!  -- you blasted kids and that dog.
> 
> ...




Perhaps you missed this..."Each heat will last approximately two days. "  Feel free to read the entire post next time.


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## Corporate Dog (Mar 5, 2002)

*Re: Some musings on the rules*



			
				tenelo said:
			
		

> *... but blatant errors such as more than 1 page for encounter, NPC or location aren't within the rules and should be disqualified.
> *




Of course, some of us DID get special permission from Morrus to interpret the rules in a less strict manner when we were writing our encounters, and I think that should be kept in mind as well.

In my case, I asked if it would be okay for some of my "location text" to spill over onto the fourth page we were allowed for maps. He said 'yes'. If I hadn't received permission to do so, I wouldn't have done it. His permission indicated to me that some of the rules aren't completely black and white.

Regards,
Corporate Dog


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## tenelo (Mar 5, 2002)

Having received permission to do so, of course you could extend your text. However, this does raise a couple of issues.

In a contest, the rules should be the same for everyone, for the sake of fairness. It is my opinion (and only my opinion) that there should not be exceptions made for some people who ask and not for those who chose to abide by the rules as stated. If some entries are submitted against a different standard than others, then there start to be issues of some people having what might be considered an unfair advantage.

Is there a note on your entry stating that you had permission to bend the rules? If there isn't, since one of the voting criteria Morrus posted was "Did the author follow the competition rules?", you may lose out on votes from people who assume that you simply couldn't follow the rules. Of course, if there is a note on your entry, it identifies it, which may change voting patterns all by itself.

As a side note, it is my opinon (usual disclaimers apply) that one of the rules, along with format etc. should have been that entries not have the author's name as part of the file containing the encounter. Annonymous submission would better assist voting on merits. Irrelevant now, but possibly something to think about if/when another contest like this happens.


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## xjp (Mar 5, 2002)

The way the rules are stated and based on the way other contests have been handled, I would not assume the rules to be absolutes.  Stay close enough and you should be ok, stray too far and you are bound to lose some votes.


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## tenelo (Mar 5, 2002)

My first ENWorld contest, no prior experience to draw on. I'm not looking to lecture, criticise or offend, just offering my opinions.


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## Mistwell (Mar 5, 2002)

I think it would have been nice to have seen a sample entry that Morrus felt met the rules prior to the start of the contest.

I've heard some wild interpretations of the rules myself.  For example, someone thought that "using the NPC outside the encounter" meant the PC's could not fight the NPC, because the NPC would die and not be usable again in that campaign.  I think that is confusing the words "outside the encounter" with the words "after the encounter", but that's just a sample of odd rules interpretations that people can come up with without a template to go off of.


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## tenelo (Mar 5, 2002)

I agree that a template entry would have been hugely helpful. I started with the impression that even the encounter should be reuseable without the location or NPC presented with it, and wrote my entry on that premise. (leaving it til a couple of hours before deadline was stupid, I grant you, but I always wrote my best essays at University in late night/early morning sessions before 9am deadlines).

On a completely unrelated point, is anybody else surprised at the relatively low voter turnout compared to when this was an open poll on the main news page?


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## Corporate Dog (Mar 5, 2002)

tenelo said:
			
		

> *Is there a note on your entry stating that you had permission to bend the rules? *




Nope. That would've taken up valuable writing space. 
And in spite of what my last post said, I didn't really take it to be "special permission" as in, "Go ahead, you can break the rules but the others can't." Instead, I was looking for the official interpetation.

The rules DO state that only four pages are allowed, and then they dictate what SHOULD be on each page. I was asking Morrus whether or not the page content rule was a recommendation or something that was set in stone.



> *
> If there isn't, since one of the voting criteria Morrus posted was "Did the author follow the competition rules?", you may lose out on votes from people who assume that you simply couldn't follow the rules. *




Which of course, is why I urge people to use a less strict interpretation of the rules.  I don't mind losing if my entry is of a clearly lesser quality than the winner. I'd hate to lose over vague rules minutia, though.

Regards,
Corporate Dog


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## Corporate Dog (Mar 5, 2002)

tenelo said:
			
		

> *On a completely unrelated point, is anybody else surprised at the relatively low voter turnout compared to when this was an open poll on the main news page? *




Not really. I bet a lot of people come here to read the news off the front page, and never really delve into the forums. I was like that until the contest was announced. 

Since you need a forum account to vote (which takes a little effort on your part), since there's no announcement on the front page yet, and since the participation for message threads in this forum about the contest have had a relatively low amount of interest, the numbers are about what I would expect.

Oh, and nobody seems to be able to stuff the ballot box here either.

Regards,
Corporate Dog


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## EOL (Mar 5, 2002)

Morrus,

A couple of requests, if you could keep this thread open after the voting is over I would appreciate it.  I'd like to comment, but since I have a horse in this race (and no friend to write a review like Mistwell) I don't want to give anything away.  Secondly I would kind of like to see a better turn out on the voting, would it be possible to post a message about it under the home page news.  I know I've gone through phases where I didn't hit the messageboards much (though I had an account) and just kept up with the news.

Thanks.


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## omedon (Mar 6, 2002)

Hmm... 61 votes so far and there were 60 entries if I recall correctly.

Interesting.


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## Berandor (Mar 6, 2002)

I voted without entering 

Sorry


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## omedon (Mar 6, 2002)

Seriously though, with 60 entries each 3 pages long that is 180 pages. A lot of material for a regular joe like myself to sift through to make his vote fair.

I would like to participate in the voting, but I just don't have time to read all of the encounters, and it wouldn't be fair the contestants for me to cast a vote unless I did. It makes sense that only those with a vested interest in the contest would sacrafice the time to make sure it was run fairly.

I will just have to leave it to you guys.


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## tenelo (Mar 6, 2002)

You do only need to read them in batches of about 27 pages over a couple of days, since Morrus is running the voting in heats. You get to vote in each heat, so you're only comparing the entries in each heat at any given time, you don't have to pick one winner out of 70 (or whatever the total was).

The votes seem to be far more evenly distributed this time round than previously, anybody care to hazzard a guess as to why? I'm always fascinated by voting pattens and things like that. I really hope that we can have a couple of feedback threads after the voting is complete, where people can explain why they voted for which encounter.


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## Wicht (Mar 6, 2002)

> *The votes seem to be far more evenly distributed this time round than previously, anybody care to hazzard a guess as to why? I'm always fascinated by voting pattens and things like that. I really hope that we can have a couple of feedback threads after the voting is complete, where people can explain why they voted for which encounter.*




The votes do seem to fall into the pattern of distribution you would expect (as opposed to the ridiculous patterns of the original votes) though it would be nice if a few more voted.  Two days personally seems to short a time but then again I would like to see the end results within my lifetime 

I voted for Bad Cat's day myself just because i like cats for one and two because I thought it followed the rules more or less without being "over the top," or "one dimensional."


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## Corporate Dog (Mar 6, 2002)

Wicht said:
			
		

> *The votes do seem to fall into the pattern of distribution you would expect (as opposed to the ridiculous patterns of the original votes) *




I AM slightly curious, however, as to how many of the votes were made by new users. 

With the voting as neck and neck as it is,  even one fake vote could tip the scales...

Regards,
Corporate Dog


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## MonkeyBoy (Mar 6, 2002)

*time...*

Its a shame, but I just don't have time to read ALL of a batch in time to vote, and I can't really vote having only read one or two...

so, poo...


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## Corporate Dog (Mar 6, 2002)

Corporate Dog said:
			
		

> *I AM slightly curious, however, as to how many of the votes were made by new users.
> *




And I guess the front page answers my question. Morrus my man, you rock!

Regards,
Corporate Dog


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## Quickbeam (Mar 6, 2002)

I have voted in this heat, and intend to do so for each subsequent heat.

*tips his cap*

Kudos to each of the entrants for their efforts.  I liked most of the submissions, and had a hard time deciding between two of the options in particular.  Good luck to you all!


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## Nail (Mar 6, 2002)

*Rules, shmules.....*

Yup, it's true.

I ignored the voting rules.  Just sorta voted fer th' one that was best........NPC, location, encounter separate?  Not tha' important to me.   'S gotta be interestin', useful, .....an' it's gotta have the potential fer using th' boot leather.

"Put to the Sword" all the way, bud.

'Sides, I got a fiver on it....   ;^P

-Nail


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## tenelo (Mar 6, 2002)

> .....an' it's gotta have the potential fer using th' boot leather.




Huh? Is this an obscure way of saying that unless an encounter includes a fight, you don't rate it highly?

I disagree strongly with your attitude that the rules don't matter, on several grounds. Most are personal opinions though, and having no desire to be offensive, I will not offer them. 

One objective point that I will put forward is that if everyone judges on the same set of criteria, then it is far easier to determine a winner on merit, rather than subjective likes or dislikes, such as "I don't like Psionics" or "I don't like non-combat encounters"


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## xjp (Mar 6, 2002)

I think this is supposed to be subjective.


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## Morrus (Mar 7, 2002)

The winning entry from Heat One is *Put to the Sword*.

I'll post Heat Two tomorrow.


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## Corporate Dog (Mar 7, 2002)

Congratulations, oh anonymous author of "Put to the Sword"!

Regards,
Corporate Dog


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## der_kluge (Mar 7, 2002)

*Hey!*

I doth protest!  The poll has been closed 5 hours early.  The first post was posted on 12:05 (my time, I guess) on the 5th, and now it's the 6th, a 7:05 (my time) and the poll is closed. 

That doesn't even include the time that the NEWS was posted on the main page, probably cutting the time that the poll even existed by a much larger margin.

I didn't even get to vote for my own entry!

Not that it would have made any difference, mind you, but it's the principle of the thing.


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## Ysgarran (Mar 7, 2002)

*Re: Hey!*



			
				die_kluge said:
			
		

> *I doth protest!  The poll has been closed 5 hours early.  The first post was posted on 12:05 (my time, I guess) on the 5th, and now it's the 6th, a 7:05 (my time) and the poll is closed.
> *




I have to agree with everything die_kluge just said.   I don't ALWAYS come down to the General Discussion list to see what is going on.  I saw the announcement on the front page and just assumed that I could come in for the next couple of days and vote...

At first I thought that my vote from the previous poll had been counted...but it looks like I just missed seeing the poll.


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## MavrickWeirdo (Mar 7, 2002)

My entry is not in this heat, but I also feel cheated that I couldn't vote because The Front Page didn't say that the vote was taking place till the first heat was over. No offence to the author of "Put to the Sword",  I did like the idea but I didn't think it was the best of that group.


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## CRGreathouse (Mar 7, 2002)

MavrickWeirdo said:
			
		

> *My entry is not in this heat, but I also feel cheated that I couldn't vote because The Front Page didn't say that the vote was taking place till the first heat was over. No offence to the author of "Put to the Sword",  I did like the idea but I didn't think it was the best of that group. *




I feel the same way exactly (though I did vote).


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## EOL (Mar 7, 2002)

The key sticking point as to whether someone followed the rules or not seems to be in the reusability or independence of the three pieces: encounter, location and NPC.  The key phrase in the contest rules is:



> ...the encounter must contain an original location and a unique NPC (of any alignment), both of which should be easy to re-use independently of each other and of the encounter itself.




Some have stated that the encounter needs to be independent, but that's not what it sounds like to me it sounds like it's the location and NPC that ought to be independent and reusable, but it's fine if the encounter (the first page) helps wrap it all together.

Now I had not one, but two encounters in this heat, and when I thought of the term reusable I thought about it in the term like the NPC's in Enemies and allies are reusable.  Take Varro and Khalili for example.  Varro is the urban druid and Khalili is the Master of the thieves guild and even though Khalili is mentioned specifically in Varro's write-up it would still be easy to seperate them.

So let's look at _The Portal_ which was one of the two encounters I had in this heat.  To me it seemed completely reusable and independent.  The encounter has a single line (in the flavor text) which mentions the NPC.  That line could easily be cut.  Now the NPC is a different story his background and role-playing notes mention the tower and it's history extensively.  But who couldn't use a 15th level Orc Monk in their campaign?  Just the humor value of having the first level party run into a single orc, which (if anything like my party) they immediately attack only to find out they're the goons in a martial arts flick.  Of course you don't kill any just keep stunning them till they learn their lesson.  Plus I put in notes on scaling him up and down from 11th level all the way to 20th.  I thought that both the location and the NPC were interesting.

My other encounter in this heat was L'amour de Erinyes.  The story was trite and cliched, the location was merely an inn, completely unremarkable without the presense of the Erinyes.  The Erinyes herself was basically uninteresting except for the over-powered and over-priced magic item I'd given her.  So when the votes were in what was the result?  L'amour did pretty good and The Portal was stuck near the bottom.

So the morale of this story is I have no idea what I'm talking about so you should probably just ignore me....


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## der_kluge (Mar 7, 2002)

*I see your point.*

I agree with you, EOL.

My entry was the last-place one - "*Cough*".  In retrospect, I should have written up another idea I had but didn't, thinking that this entry was the more interesting of the two.  Although the other has a much more interesting location.

There wasn't anything in the rules that said I could stretch out the margins of the page - which I did - extensively.  There also wasn't anything in the rules that said that the location had to be really cool and fascinating and a module within itself - as some have indicated.  Yes, so my location is just a cottage in the forest, nothing fancy about that, BUT it is usable by itself.  So, the rules here were vague, but I did follow them.

And I really liked your "Portal" entry.  Very nice concept.

I'm just amazed that "Catch as Catch Can" beat my entry.  And I'm also surprised that "Put to the Sword" was as popular as it was.  I'd like to hear comments from those that voted for it as to why they thought it was so good?


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## Scupper (Mar 7, 2002)

I was disappointed that the polls were closed so quickly.  My personal favorite was "*Cough*" and I voted for it in the original, aborted poll on the front page.  I'm disappointed to see it only get a handful of votes here, though I don't disparage the winner any, as I liked "Put to the Sword" as well.


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## Nail (Mar 7, 2002)

*Whoa, that was fast.....*



			
				Morrus said:
			
		

> *The winning entry from Heat One is Put to the Sword.
> 
> I'll post Heat Two tomorrow. *




....sure, I had time to vote, but......that was quick.....give the next few a wee bit more time, eh?



> _Originally posted by Nail_
> *.....an' it's gotta have the potential fer using th' boot leather.
> *




tenelo wrote:

> Huh? Is this an obscure way of saying that unless an
> encounter includes a fight, you don't rate it highly? 

> I disagree strongly with your attitude [snip]

> One objective point that I will put forward is that if
> everyone judges on the same set of criteria, then it is far
> easier to determine a winner on merit, rather than
> subjective likes or dislikes...[snip]

Les' jus' say that th' use of boot leather in an encounter's got a lot of "merit" in my book......

'Sides, yer gonna hafta convince me that "merit" and "subjective likes and dislikes" are all that different.  I think if ye look closer, you'll find not.

May the best one win (as long as it nets me that fiver.  :^)

-Nail


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## Fast Learner (Mar 7, 2002)

Morrus, would it be possible for you to post the "heat" groups in advance? That would allow us to read ahead a bit, so that if, say, I had a few hours I could read the whole next heat and part of the following, etc., staying ahead of the vote.


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## EOL (Mar 7, 2002)

*Re: I see your point.*



			
				die_kluge said:
			
		

> *I'm just amazed that "Catch as Catch Can" beat my entry.  And I'm also surprised that "Put to the Sword" was as popular as it was.  I'd like to hear comments from those that voted for it as to why they thought it was so good? *



My own personal theory on why "Put to the Sword" won.  Is that it was first.  This is not to disparage the author or the adventure, it had some really good stuff, but it wasn't clearly better than the others.  Second, third and fourth were very tight and I would expect unless the adventure was just fantastic that first place should have been tight as well.

What I'm thinking is that people started reading from the top, thought this is pretty good, stopped reading and voted.  We'll see if my theory holds true in the subsequent heats.  But as I said above I don't know what I'm talking about so you should probably just ignore me.


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## Berandor (Mar 7, 2002)

O.K., I'm sick, so I've got some time to comment on the entries 

I also regarded not the page count for rules, as some got permits for exception, others didn't.
I did, however, look at NPC and location speerately, at the rules side of it, and how the encounter wrapped these together.

_1. Put to the sword._
The premise of the adventure was interesting, if a bit cliché. I didn't like that some details about the backstory were left out.
What if a wizard got a sleep spell through, then they would heal the lizardfolk and take him into the big city? Would he still try to die, safe from his tribe?
O.K., that's far-fetched, but what if the tribe came around while the PCs were still there? Would they attack? Thank them? Spit on the lizardfolk as he begged for death?
Overall, a safe place in the middle.

_2. Catch as catch can._
I liked that one. A NPC catfish, a fisherman in need, somehow I liked it. But it was too unremarkable on the technical side, so in the end, it was one of the lower rated.
The river and the halfling fisher were too impersonal; sorry.

_3. The Centaur's very bad day_
I also liked that one very much, as it didn't revolve around fighting.
Still, the rules-wise handling of the tree trunk struck me as a little bit odd or difficult, and it was too unsafe that the PCs would even stumble upon the centaur.

_4. L'amour d'Erinyes._
I really liked the premise! I immediately saw this as a role-playing  encounter, at the fallen demon, though a rather often heard tale, was a nice idea.
I would have liked to read something about the feelings of the ranger, though.
Upper half, but not winner.

_5. Harmonies in the snow._
That one almost got my vote!
A bardic pseudodragon, and a singing valley? I really liked both, but I found some of the explanations and bindings to be a bitt abrupt or confusing.
I will use this in my campaign, though, nevertheless.

_6. Bad Cats' Day._
This encounter gave a lot of thought towards tailoring the valley in a different way. Though I don't use psionics too often, I really liked the idea of putting PCs against fearsome animal isntead of the usual NPC or Monster. See why panthers and lions are feared in Real Life!
The deranged keeper of the valley was also quite nice, and both work perfectly well without each other.
That was my vote for the heat.

_7. The Portal._
I somehow felt this was an old idea. Furthermore, the orc was tied very much to the tower, and the encounter lacked a bit of flavor to me. Something specuial about the wizard, perhaps, or some other details, would have benefitted this encounter very much.
Middle half - though I really, really, liked the scaling part of the encounter, it was perhaps a little too much, drawing space from other details.

_8. *Cough*, I feel *cough* great!_
I liked the idea, though how it would work with suggestion was a bit stretchy. Why not invent a new spell capable of doing it? A great "command", perhaps? "One sentence of up to eight words that the subject, failing a will throw, will adhere to." - You feel great.
The premise was cool, but I didn't like the execution. Furthermore, what would happen if the Pcs have one or two healers, that set up shop and heal everyday? They sure have more spells for that purpose.

_9. An unexpected visitor drops in._
I didn't like it at all.
It was well-written, and technically sound, but somehow I just didn't like the NPC, the egg, the visitor from outer space theory - anything.
Technically sound, though.

Berandor


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## xjp (Mar 7, 2002)

I voted for:

 *Cough*, I feel *cough* great! 

I thought this one was pretty clever.   The peasant queue and all the great spells could make for a very interesting encounter.  Lot's of possibilities, I think it would be a lot of fun to use something like this.  This was doing pretty well in the original aborted poll before things started getting way out of wack.  Anyway, I liked it.

The other two I liked:

Put to the sword

I thought this was decent and I thought it might appeal to the sensibilites of many of the posters here.   With some re-writing I could use something like this.  Congratulations to the author.

Catch as catch can

I really liked this one, too.  It was a bit different and fun, that's why I liked it.  It's not going to tie up lots of game time, but it makes for a nice, unexpected diversion.  Definately a fine entry.


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## reuben (Mar 7, 2002)

Wow! I am stunned! Truly gobsmacked.

I have just discovered that my meagre little entry won the heat and I honestly can't believe it.

Thanks to all those who took the time and trouble to read all the entries and to vote.

The other entries were all great but I particularly liked an unexpected visitor, l'amour de erinyes and harmonies in the snow. I am sure that I will find a place for each of them in my campaign at some point in the future.

I only entered cos I figured that it would be nice to be part of placing something creative on the net for people to download instead of just downloading other people's stuff myself all the time. I had not ambitions for my little entry whatsoever.

Like some others that have posted I would be very intrigued to understand why people voted for "put to the sword"!

Thanks again to all

Reuben


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## Mistwell (Mar 7, 2002)

Reuban:

Congrats!

I think most people liked your entry because of the ethical challenge it forces the players to deal with.  It's not about killing evil, but about  grappling with a culture completely foreign to your own.  That's something we should see more of in D&D.  After all, there are literally hundreds of races of intelligent beings in that world, and they will all likely be quite different, culturally, than the others.  It's a challenge players should face.

-Mistwell


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## roversaurus (Mar 8, 2002)

*Why*

I never got the chance to vote. I didn't have an account.
I've read them all. Unfortunately I didn't have the time
to make my own entry.
But the first time I voted for "Put to the sword".

The last poster, Mistwell, said my thoughts better than I could.

I liked it because it was small and easily understood. It gave
the party several interesting things. A small mystery about the
lizard man culture. There was some combat, and you could
make it tougher if you wanted to. There was role playing.
A moral delema.
There was a whole new tribe and culture to learn about.
To become allies or enemies. 

A great little idea that could be changed to fit any campaign.

I liked the Harmonies one.
Catch as catch can was an ok idea. I thought it was
goofy that he got tangle in the line. But I might add
a dedicated fisherman trying to catch the big one.
Erinyes was a good NPC bitter love story.

Can't wait to vote in the next heat.

http://home.indy.rr.com/ahwmrklas/dnd/summary.htm


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## FireLance (Mar 8, 2002)

Congratulations on winning the first heat, Reuben.

I have an entry in the contest myself, and I found that the most challenging part of it (apart from the page limit) was to make all the elements (encounter, location and NPC) interesting, independent and reusable.

I liked the encounter in "Put to the Sword" because it presents a dilemma that challenges the players as well as the characters, and is independent and reusable apart from the location and NPC.  For higher-level parties, the NPC could be a stone giant instead of a lizardman, for example.

However, I thought that allowing the NPC to survive could have increased the interesting and reusability factors.  The "one-armed fighter" concept could have been played up, and there could be many roleplaying opportunities if the PCs heal him and help him overcome his depression.  Terva could become a recurring NPC - he could try to develop a one-handed fighting style, quest for a _regenerate_ spell to heal himself, fall under the influence of the _Hand of Vecna_, etc.


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## MooseHB (Mar 12, 2002)

*Re: Hey!*



			
				die_kluge said:
			
		

> *I doth protest!  The poll has been closed 5 hours early.  The first post was posted on 12:05 (my time, I guess) on the 5th, and now it's the 6th, a 7:05 (my time) and the poll is closed.
> 
> That doesn't even include the time that the NEWS was posted on the main page, probably cutting the time that the poll even existed by a much larger margin.
> 
> ...




Nor did I, unfortunately.   It looks not to matter, but I am disheartened that for two weeks I awaited any word as to the resumption of the contest, and after a two-day hiatus from the boards, I find voting closed on mine and the other heat one entries.  Oh well...


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