# Holiday Iron DM!!!! {Final Judgment Posted!}



## el-remmen

Call me crazy, but I don't have many plans for these upcoming holidays and will be spending the slow days between x-mas and new year's as one of the few people in my office - So why not get a game of Iron DM started and judge it?

So, that is just what I plan to do. . . 

We need eight players, 3 alternates - and if you are going to be away for the holidays for more than a day please DO NOT SIGN UP - I hope to get it all done by New Year's Eve!

For those of you who don't know what Iron DM is - check out this thread

So, who is down for a little competition and the classic _nemmerlesque_ judgeing style?


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## arwink

I'll give it a go.


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## alsih2o

well, last time was terrible, my worst idea came on my turn, but this time i am gonna be recuperating from some surgery, so i have an excellent excuse to not perticipate.

 i will however be reading them all. 

 i will be righthand-less for almost 2 weeks people, you folks must keep me entertained!


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## seasong

Can you specify what days this would be on?

Depending on the specific days, I might be able to participate.


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## el-remmen

Well, starting ASAP - and then as convenient from now until New Year's Eve - I am not sure how long it will take - but I wll try my best to arrange things coveniently. . . 

Basically, if you are going to be away from your computer longer than 48 hours don't sign up - we can "black out" the dates of x-mas and x-mas eve to make things easier for people.


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## seasong

I'm out then. I probably won't have Internet access from Dec 22-25 (4 days, right on the holiday). I'll watch though, and jeer from the stands .


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## Wicht

Count me in  - for every day at least but the 24th and 25th itself.


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## KDLadage

Count me in.


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## el-remmen

Wicht is a glutton for punishment it seems 

So we have, wicht, KDLadage and arwink so far - we need five more and 3 alternates


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## d20Dwarf

I'm in, putting my professional reputation on the line. 

In fact, just to up the ante since this is a special holiday edition, I'll send a d20 book to anyone that beats me! There's a bounty on my head, and I dare ya to try an' collect it!

Assuming that's ok with Nemmerle, of course.


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## el-remmen

d20Dwarf said:
			
		

> *I'm in, putting my professional reputation on the line.
> 
> In fact, just to up the ante since this is a special holiday edition, I'll send a d20 book to anyone that beats me! There's a bounty on my head, and I dare ya to try an' collect it!
> 
> Assuming that's ok with Nemmerle, of course.  *




Ok with me

Of course, you'd be a lot more successful if you sent _me_ that d20 book {wink, wink, nudge, nudge}


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## Quickbeam

I'm game.  But be gentle nem, it's my first time .


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## Zappo

I'm in!


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## Drawmack

by my count you have six and I'll make seven.


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## el-remmen

Just one more and we can start setting up the bouts.

I have the ingredients all ready. . . .


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## Drawmack

Wicht, KDLadage, d20Dwarf (Is going to give me a book), Quickbeam, Zappo, Drawmack

That's only six, I miscounted the first time.


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## arwink

Ahem.  

-points descretely to second post in thread-


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## Wulf Ratbane

EDIT: Whups, sorry arwink. Count me out then!


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## arwink

Wulf Ratbane said:
			
		

> *EDIT: Whups, sorry arwink. Count me out then! *




Hmm.  Not sure what the original post was, but by my count there's only seven even with me included 

Of course, I'm in dire need of sleep right now and I could be wrong...


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## Rune

Damn!  Does that make me an alternate?


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## el-remmen

Wulf, we got room for one more. . .

Come on!

Let's go - I'm anxious!


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## Mirth

*NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!* 

Please tell me I'm not too late for this again!

Please Please Please Please Please!

I'm in if you'll have me


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## el-remmen

Ok, I didn't see Rune's post before


So we OFFICIALLY have

Arwink, Wicht, KDLadage, d20Dwarf, Quickbeam, Zappo, Drawmack and Rune.

Mirthcard is first alternate. . . 

Who is around and is ready for round 1?


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## el-remmen

Just to let you know contestants will be getting 24 hours to post their entries.


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## Wicht

I can do round 1


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## el-remmen

Ok, who will take Wicht - who is a heavy hitter 'round these parts (though he can never seem to take the gold )


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## el-remmen

Well, I am leaving work now. . .

I will be back on later tonight - please post whenever you are ready to go and maybe we can get this going.


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## Quickbeam

I'm pretty booked tomorrow with family events, but I'd be free on Sunday or Monday.  Much like nemmerle, I'm leaving work now and will log on one more time tonight to see if any pairings have been established.  I'd rather not face the mighty Wicht in my inaugural battle...but I'm not gonna run from anyone .

Regardless of my opponent, please do not start my Round #1 contest before tomorrow evening -- there'd be no way for me to post a worthwhile entry given my schedule.  Anytime thereafter is fine by me.


Edit: Maybe we can have a random draw for pairings...it looks like this competition is set to run through the holidays (Xmas excluded) so there's plenty of time to arrange the battles.


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## d20Dwarf

What the heck, gotta start sometime. Count me in!


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## Wicht

d20Dwarf said:
			
		

> *What the heck, gotta start sometime. Count me in! *




Oh Good 

Nemm, when you check back in, just assume I am here - I will make sure to keep checking here throughout the evening for the ingredients.


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## KDLadage

Whenever you want me to go -- just let me know... 

(and good luck Wicht)


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## Rune

Well, I certainly didn't mean to bump Wulf off the list, but if Nemm wants to do concurrent rounds, I'm ready to go tonight, too.


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## arwink

I'll be here on and off all day, so I'm ready to go whenever.


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## LostSoul

I don't want to compete (and you're full anyways), but starting up a Home Game would be cool.  Once somebody posts the items (how do you generate those, anyways?).


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## Wicht

Its close to midnight so I guess no ingredients tonight then 

I will be available all day tomorrow starting about 9 a.m. eastern


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## el-remmen

Just past midnight and i am around - am more than happy to start a little something if two players are around. . .


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## Rune

I'm still here, but I might not be for _too_ much longer, so if anyone's still out there and wants to go, let's go!


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## Mirth

I'm here! 

But I'm the alternate...  

*Drums fingers, whistles*

Anyone want to drop out?


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## el-remmen

Well, crap - mirthcard you are an alternate and I'd feel bad putting you in in place of someone else at such a late hour. . . 

However, if I am a person short during "normal" hours during the first round I will use you.

Anyone else around to challenge Rune?


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## Mirth

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Well, crap - mirthcard*




My thoughts, exactly.  



			
				nemmerle said:
			
		

> *However, if I am a person short during "normal" hours during the first round I will use you.*




That, my friend, is the best news I've had all day.  

Since it doesn't look like there is any need for me to stick around now, I'm going to bed. I'll check back first thing in the morning.


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## arwink

I'm here and ready to go


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## Rune

_Eh_-xcellent.


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## el-remmen

Okay. . . 

Ya ready. . . . each of you post one more time as I prepare the INGREDIENTS. . .


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## Rune

Here.


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## arwink

Me too. and the butterflies in my stomach are a-flutterin in anticipation


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## el-remmen

Some Tips & Guidelines. . .

1)	If you want to have a chance of winning don’t bore me.  I snooze, you lose.

2)	Try to limit it to 500 words (see rule #1)

3)	Stat Blocks and such are unnecessary and I will likely ignore them – don’t waste your time.  An indication of level for NPCs or info on a new magical item of monster that would help in its re-creation for DM’s in the audience will be considered however.

4)	Please indicate the ingredients in the body of your entry by making them *bold*

5)	Honor System.  You have 24 hours from right now to post – but DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR OPPONENT’S POST UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE WRITTEN AND POSTED YOUR OWN!!!!!


---------------------------

*ROUND ONE OF ROUND ONE*

Rune vs. Arwink 


Your first list of ingredients:


*
Wedding gift
Evil grandmother
River Spirit
Lonely Treant
Clock Tower
Ring of Sustenance
*


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## d20Dwarf

Anyone else around?


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## el-remmen

Okay, time for bed - I'll be around tomorrow afternoon - for anyone else who may want to play and of course to see if I can get a jump on judging Rune and Arwink.


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## Zappo

I'm ready.


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## Wicht

I'm back, mostly rested and will be available throughout the rest of the the day as far as I know.


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## Mirth

Of course, I'm here too 

Always an alternate, never a competitor ... mirthcard


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## Quickbeam

I'm leaving the house in a few minutes and will be back around dinner-time...but then heading out again for the evening.  I'm happy to be entered into a Round #1 battle that kicks off later today (anytime after 3:00 p.m. Eastern).  That way I'll have a fair amount of time tomorrow to compose my entry before the 24 hours expires.

With that said, consider me ready and please don't sub for me.

One last question nemmerle:
In both of the last two Iron DM events you've mentioned keeping the entries relatively short.  Yet IMO, some of the best submissions were _much_ longer than 500 words or a page and a half.  Are you enforcing the length rule more stringently this time, or are you just trying to limit the potential for boredom?


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## Quickbeam

mirthcard said:
			
		

> *Of course, I'm here too
> 
> Always an alternate, never a competitor ... mirthcard *




I believe that I was #9 or #10 to sign up last time, so I undertsand your frustration.  Too bad you just missed again, mirthcard.


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## Drawmack

Well sunday is my game day but I can do a round that starts anytime between now and tomorrow morning. Although could you email me (tomender@ptd.net) when my round starts. I'd hate to loose a couple hours cause I was working on something else.


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## seasong

In the tradition of _mmadsen_, I'm starting up a Home Game for those of us who don't get to play in the official tournament.

The home game is more informal, with no official time limits, no ladder of elimination, etc. - just entries and critiques. However, you can impose any of the formal limitations on yourself that you wish, and if any two people want to pair off, I'll pick a winner between the two (along with my usual critiquing).

Mirthcard, get over there and show us what you've got .


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## Mirth

Quickbeam said:
			
		

> *
> 
> I believe that I was #9 or #10 to sign up last time, so I undertsand your frustration.  Too bad you just missed again, mirthcard. *




Oh yeah, that helps  

HHJK  

Somebody's gotta fall though, what with the holidays & all. And who's gonna be there when they do? That's right. I'm breathing down all your necks. Smell the fetid stink of desperation?


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## Mirth

seasong said:
			
		

> *IMirthcard, get over there and show us what you've got . *




I will if I don't make it into the actual competition. Which means I'll probably be over there as soon as the first round battles are over. 

Damn you, 56k connection! If I could afford cable or dsl, you would all be at my mercy now


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## el-remmen

Okay, who is ready to rumble?

I'm around?  Who's around?  Wicht?


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## Wicht

I'm here - about to eat lunch but otherwise ready to go


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## Mirth

Do you have to ask? 

Persistance is my first, middle, last and nickname ...


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## Wicht

Lunch has been duly consumed and I await my first (but hopefully not last) round in this festive Holiday Iron DM contest.


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## Quickbeam

I'm back earlier than expected, and willing to receive my theme ingredients/elements whenever.  In fact, it looks like all of us are ready to go any time now, based on the previous posts.

We await the details and pairings at your leisure, nem.


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## el-remmen

Wict and Quikbeam (or any of the other players) if you are still around post right now and I will post your ingredients. . . (for the first two tp post)


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## Wicht

*Here*


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## el-remmen

Bueller? Bueller?



Oh, and by my count Arwink and Rune have a little over 11 hours left to post their entries.


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## Drawmack

hERE


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## Quickbeam

_Ready and waiting!_


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## el-remmen

Ok, so we have Drawmack vs. Wicht. . .  

Please both of you confirm one last time as I prepare your ingredients.


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## el-remmen

Quickbeam, I private messaged Zappo since I saw him browsing the boards - so hopefull he will be able to swing by and you can take him on!


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## Drawmack

Here


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## Quickbeam

Great.  I'll be home until 6:00 or 6:30 our time, so if you hear from Zappo (or one of the others) before then, I can begin formulating while I'm out and not feel as though I'm losing precious time .


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## Wicht

Still here


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## el-remmen

Ooops Forget that  - 


*Wicht vs. Drawmack it is!*


Ingredients in two minutes time. . .


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## el-remmen

Okay, you guys know the rules. . .

No looking at each others posts until they are both up - 

No editing of your post after it is up (so double check BEFORE you post)

You have 24 hours.

By my computer clock it is 4:25 pm - so you until 4:25 pm tomorrow.

Your Ingredients
--------------------
*Awakened Rabbit
Rod of Wonder
Briar Patch
Half-Fiend Children
Ankhegs
Barrel of Mead*


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## el-remmen

Okay, so far we have

*Arwink vs, Rune*

and 

*Wicht vs. Drawmack*



That leaves: _KDLadage, d20Dwarf, Quickbeam,_ and _Zappo_.

As winners are announced I will be editing the very first post to reflect the standings.


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## Zappo

I'm here!


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## arwink

Seems We Only Get Together for Weddings and Funerals…
An Adventure for levels 10-12

Ingredients  

A Wedding Gift and Ring of Sustenance: The Trapped Ring of Sustenance
Evil Grandmother:  Gelanis
River Spirit:  Enana
Lonely Treant: Silver Bough
Clock Tower:  In the midst of the lake.  A mechanism for opening planar gates.

Cast
Gelanis: Marid Wizard 7
Enana: Half water-elemental/half-nymph
Katellar: Druid 9
Silverbough: Treant

Setting

The adventure revolves around a wedding held on the edge of a small like in the midst of the forest.  Protruding from the center of the lake is the top half of a clock tower, once the home of a wizard of some power.

History

Gelanis is a Marid trapped on the prime plane.  Originally she was summoned by the wizard Bartoss using an enchanted clock-face that opened planar portals.  Bartoss had a taste for the exotic, and bound Gelanis to his will as a concubine, and later used her to bear him a son and heir.  Eventually, over her years of captivity, Gelanis learned enough magic art to break free of her bonds and wreck her revenge – flooding the river near her captor’s clock tower and destroying him along with the village his tower occupied.   When she attempted to enter the flooded tower and research a way home, Gelanis was frustrated to learn that Bartoss had effectively warded it against planar presence after her escape, and access to the portal that would return her home is gone.

Bartoss heir was similarly blocked from the tower due to his half-elemental nature, and quickly found himself a home among the local fey spirits who embraced him as kindred.  For several years he lived in ruins beneath the lake his mother created, until he married and bore a daughter to his nymph wife.  Gelanis made numerous attempts to break into the tower over the years, but her son’s presence gradually became a deterrent as he used his own training and the powers of his fey companions to drive her off before she could properly research the ward.  

Eventually Gelanis son was slain, and the protection of the lake and tower fell to his daughter Enana.  Referred to by the fey and forest-folk as *spirit of the river*, Enana used her powers to defend both the river and the forest from invaders.  As time wore on, she became friends and allies with two of the forests other protectors – a youthful druid named Katellar and a treant named Silverbough.  Over the decades the three became firm friends, but recently Katellar and Enana have become more than that, and it is when their wedding is announced that the adventure starts.

PC’s can find themselves heading to the wedding for all sorts of reasons.  If they have adventured in the forest where the adventure is set before, it is possible they have met and befriended the three forest guardians.  If they have connections with the local lords, they may be sent as representatives of the local court that’s thankful to the three for keeping the woods free of orcs.  If they’re mercenaries, it’s possible a legitimate guest hires them as bodyguards for the trip.

The Plot

This adventure is intended to work on two levels.  

Firstly, it provides the opportunity for PC’s to engage in a social situation (a wedding) that highlights their existence both as unusual individuals and inhabitants of a fantasy world.  They get to engage with old friends and make new allies, as well as deal with the emotions of a confused, lonely and lovesick Silverbough.

Secondly, it revolves around Gelanis attempt to break into the tower and return home.  Gelanis is sure that either her son or granddaughter has found a way past the wards of Bartoss’ Clock tower, but knows they will never willingly share these secrets with her.  Upon receiving news of the wedding, she instantly put a plan in motion – by attempting to capture Katellar Gelanis hopes to force Enana to reveal anything she knows about breaking the clock tower’s ward against planar creatures.

Events

The following are a list of events necessary for the adventure.  The DM is encouraged to add encounters with NPC’s appropriate to his campaign to further enhance the social nature of the wedding.

The Wedding Present

It is likely the PC’s are carrying a *wedding present* that is actually a part of Gelarais plan.  If they are traveling as representatives of anyone else, then this is the gift they have been given by their employer or lord.  If they’re traveling as guests in their own right, then they are approached by a charmed local lord who says he is unable to attend and wonders if the party would deliver his gift for him.  

The gift is a small ring, made of beaten silver and set with a small crystal.  If the PC’s are in a position to ask, it is a *ring of sustenance *– a gift of some appeal to Katellar given his wife-to-be barely needs to eat or sleep herself.  Anyone with skill as a jeweler may notice that the crystal setting has been added on later and isn’t part of its initial forging, and anyone who detects magic on the ring notices two different types of auras – one from the ring and one from the crystal.  The crystal carries the spell-trap Gelaris has purchased that will teleport the first person to wear the ring to her lair.

Arrival

It’s customary, for weddings such as these, for guests to arrive a day or two early and leave a day or two late.  Given the nature of the bride and groom, the wedding guests are an unusual mix.  Several adventuring groups, a scattering of mages, druids, bards and rangers, fey of all kinds, and some woodsmen and farmers that have befriended the betrothed couple.  The PC’s should have more than a few days to catch up with old friends, meet some new allies and general engage with a crowd that stands far outside the norm.

Silverbough’s Unexplained Emptiness *Lonely Treant*
The upcoming marriage between Katellar and Enana has awakened a strange and unfamiliar feeling in Silverbough, and the aging treant is in desperate need of some guidance to explain it – so he picks the characters (either because they are friends, or because he’s too embarrassed to ask someone he knows and trusts them as honorable strangers who won’t tell his friends).  

He appears at the borders of the characters camp in the midst of the night a before the ceremony, asking for their help.  He goes on to explain his problems – an aching feeling of emptiness, an unreasoning desire to talk Katellar out of the marriage or somehow distract the druid from the ceremony, a certain protectiveness for Enana and her feelings.  

As the conversation goes on, it should become increasingly apparent to all but the most insensitive characters that Silverbough is feeling lonely, worried about being shunned with his friend’s newfound closeness, and possibly even has a crush on Enana himself.  What they wish to do about it is entirely up to them, although the concept of explaining love and loneliness or trying to give relationship advice to a thousand year old treant should be a unique experience for even the most jaded adventurer.

Exploring Bartoss *Clock Tower*

PC’s with the ability to breath underwater may take it upon themselves to explore the village at the bottom of the lake, or to break into the clock tower.  The tower is warded against outsiders, and secured with numerous arcane traps.  The contents that have remained below water have long since deteriorated, although there are still a few minor magic items to be found.  Of more interest is the unmoving interior of the clock, which is actually an elaborate mechanism for opening a gate to other planes.  By positioning the hands of the clock outside to various positions, the dormant gate can be made to open.  PC’s can make Spellcraft checks to fluke the machines operation (DC 25), although the end result may not be what they expected.  This mechanism is badly corroded, however, and likely to jam (20% chance) or break (50% chance) after repeated use.

The Trapped Ring
The Ring of Sustenance given as a wedding gift to Katellar has been bound with a spell that teleports the first being putting it on into a specially prepared cell in Gelanis lair.  Although Gelanis has taken care to ensure that the cell will keep Katellar’s head above water until high tide, but little else.  If a shorter PC puts the ring on before Katellar and fails the Will save on the teleport effect (DC 19) they are likely in a great deal more trouble.  

This event may happen at various times, and possibly not at all if PC’s have grown suspicious of the Wedding Gift they’ve carried and warned the druid against wearing it.  More likely, if nothing is said about the ring, is that it will occur during the wedding ceremony when the Ring of Sustenance is exchanged during the vows.

Gelanis Attacks *Evil Grandmother*
Gelanis has been keeping a close eye on Katellar with her crystal ball not far from the camp.  The moment the ring teleports him away, she will rush to the camp to deal with her Granddaughter.  If the ring teleports someone else, she will improvise and had the task of getting the information she wants over to her captors companions.  If no-one falls for the trap, she will endeavor to kidnap a weaker wedding guest and hold them to ransom for the information she needs.

Gelanis is eager, but not stupid.  She doesn’t crash the ceremony, but instead waits until Enana is around a relatively small group.  Once she makes herself known, she demands that Enana or someone else show her how to break through the planar barrier and work the machine.  Unfortunately, Enana has never learned what Gelanis wants to know.  Unless the PC’s somehow intervene (and if they have explored the submerged clock tower, then Enana will certainly want to collect them for negotiation on the off chance they know something she doesn’t), it is likely that Gelanis and Enana will end up fighting and Katellar will drown.

Gelanis Lair

Gelanis Lair is a submerged sequence of caves, hard to navigate without water-breathing spells or potions.  It is roughly three miles upstream from the lake, and difficult to spot unless you know what to look for.  Gelanis has trapped her lair, and keeps one chamber dry to hold her spell book and magical equipment.


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## el-remmen

Zappo said:
			
		

> *I'm here! *




Quickbeam, you still around?


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## arwink

Now that it's done, let me just say that was an eeeevil experience.  I don't think I've ever tried to batter than many elements together in a concept before, and it definately doesn't help going back and reading your openents entries in previous competitions before you start writing your own.

Talk about intimidating 

Edit:  Ack.  Note to self:  learn to proofread properly the first time when you can't go back and edit the post.


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## Quickbeam

Yep...let 'er rip!!


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## el-remmen

Zappo, gimme one more "i'm here" and I'll post the ingredients for you guys


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## Zappo

I'm here!


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## el-remmen

You know the drill guys. .. 

It is 5 pm (eastern time).


*Zappo vs. Quickbeam Ingredients*
-------------------------------------------------
*
Angry Halflings
Kazoos
Cavalry
Wishing Well
Hat of Disguise
Hydra
*


good luck!


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## Vaxalon

*Former Iron DM*

Well, it seems a little too soon from the last one, but I'm not going to complain.

I gladly relinquish my title, and retire from further competition.


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## seasong

Those be some evil ingredients .


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## arwink

seasong said:
			
		

> *Those be some evil ingredients . *




Strange, I was just thinking how much I would have prefered those


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## el-remmen

*Re: Former Iron DM*



			
				Vaxalon said:
			
		

> *Well, it seems a little too soon from the last one, but I'm not going to complain.
> 
> I gladly relinquish my title, and retire from further competition. *




I don't know. . .  does that third win count if _I_ was not judge?


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## Drawmack

Good post Arwink. I hope we meet on the battle field of the mind.

Also, I forgot before. To all the contestants may the best DM win. Good luck all. My entry is almost complete just one more proof before posting it.


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## el-remmen

Drawmack, to eliminate confusion, would you mind waiting to post yours until after Rune posts his?

Since you have until tomorrow afternoon - there should be plenty of time to post it later and still be on time 

But to be sure, you could always email it to me now and post it later (as long as you don't do anymore work to it)


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## Drawmack

Nem,
  As tomorrow morning is church and tomorrow afternoon is game I could easily forget so I will mail it to you now. If I do not post by deadline could you post for me as it will be monday morning until I can post if I don't post it by tomorrow at noon. I will try to remember to post if before I leave for the game though.


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## Zappo

Zappo vs. Quickbeam

*Ingredients:* _Angry Halflings, Kazoos, Cavalry, Wishing Well, Hat of Disguise, Hydra_

--------------------------------------------------------

_The Ride of the Halflings_
An adventure for characters of level 6-8

An orcish warlord has hired a large goblin/hobgoblin mercenary force and is using it to attack the peaceful Meyridia (or any suitable small to medium kingdom in your campaign). The local army, taken by surprise by the combined attacks of orcs and goblinoids, has already suffered a major defeat and the hope for victory is slim. The King of Meyridia has only one hope: the fabled Seven *Kazoos* of Cumbradol. These mystical artefacts, created millennia ago by a powerful halfling wizard, are reputed to hold the power to call forth, when played together, entire armies for their owner! Six of these Kazoos are already in the King's possession, having been a treasure of Meyridia's crown for centuries, but the seventh and most important has been lost two thousands years ago when the halfling wizard died, and was never recovered. A wandering bard, however, has recently approached the King's court, and he claims to know the location of the last Kazoo...

*Part One*
The PCs are summoned by the King of Meyridia. The town, the castle, and the court itself are all shrouded in gloom. It will be a matter of days before the humanoid armies knock on the capital's doors, and everyone knows it will be a hard and uncertain battle. At the King's presence, the PCs are introduced to Riker Seltman, wandering bard and expert of antiquities. The bard wears somber clothes and is a fairly serious guy. After the King has explained the land's situation, Riker tells the PCs about the Seven Kazoos. After extensive research, he has located the Seventh Kazoo, the one which controls the magic of the summoning. It is in a cave, in Meyridian border territory, and the PCs are being paid well to go there and recover it. Then, Riker and six other skilled players will use the Kazoos to summon an army to defeat the orcs and goblins.

The travel to the border regions is uneventful. As they near the mountains which comprise Meyridia's northern border, however, the PCs are attacked with increasing frequency by advance bands of orcs and goblinoids. Eventually, they reach the place Riker marked on their maps: a dark and ancient cave, far from any known path.

*Part Two*
A large subterranean complex awaits the PCs. It seems that it used to be a big halfling house - a very long time ago. Shards of pottery, some rusted tool, broken glass, and some still recognizable stone work on the walls. This was, in fact, the home of the wizard who created the Kazoos. Now, however, it is mostly an empty cave. The most important rooms are described; the DM can leave the rest empty or add more encounters. Some ideas include exploring orcs, trapped areas, or a few old and still-active golems.

- One of the outer rooms is the lair of a pack of dire wolves. There are five of them (for higher level parties, the DM can use wolves with more HD).

- As the PCs explore the house, they enter a square room, with a stone well in the middle of it. The well has some writing in Halfling, which simply says "*Wishing Well*". It is magical, and the wizard used it for his hosts and friends. When someone is going to embark in a task - a travel, a quest, whatever - he could toss a coin into the well, and say "I wish you well on your task". This would grant the target a +1 competence bonus on any skill check made to complete his task, until the task was completed or until the bonus had been used twenty times. The magic is still there and odd enough, now that the wizard is dead, the powers of the well can be activated by anyone, for anyone. The sentence itself need not be precise ("I hope everything goes the right way" would still work as long as the PC is talking about a definite task), and it can be in any language.

- The room where the Kazoo itself is stored is occupied by a powerful nine-headed *Hydra*. The monster is so huge that it can barely slither in and out of the cave, and it is hungry. It will attack the PCs if they come close. If the PCs defeat it or escape its attention somehow (invisibility won't cut it, since the beast has Scent), they will find an old bag in a niche in the wall. It is a bag of holding, and it contains the Kazoo as well as a few potions and scrolls. It is a beautifully crafted instrument, built in wood, gold and silver, and it radiates a powerful magical aura.

*Part Three*
Meanwhile, something is going wrong at the capital city. An orc rogue has managed to infiltrate the court using a *hat of disguise* and has heard of the PCs' mission. Being too late to stop them, or even to inform his superiors, he waits for a good opportunity...

When the PCs return to the capital city, possibly having to defeat some more humanoid explorers, they meet the King's army halfway. The ruler has decided that he doesn't stand a chance in a prolonged siege, and he is going to try to defeat the orcs on the open field, hoping for the Kazoo to be delivered in time. When he sees the PCs, he is overjoyed. He gives orders to a lieutenant to give the Kazoo to Riker and get him and the six kazoo players ready on a nearby hill.

But instead, the orcish spy poses as Riker and obtains the Kazoo. He reaches the hill with the other players and begins a horrible kazoo performance. The puzzled rest of the orchestra try to play along, and the distorted notes fill the air and seem to coalesce in a huge dark mass of goblins riding wolves, which immediately attack the King's encampment! The orcish horde, seeing this, attacks just moments later. 

In the general chaos, the real Riker meets the PCs, and the trick is revealed. The PC must now climb the hill, while fighting skilled goblin warriors on wolfback, bring Riker with them, wrest the kazoo from the false bard and try to get the situation under control.

When the orc is killed, the goblins around the hill vanish. Riker begins to play. Seeing the need for a quick *cavalry* unit, he chooses Wagner, and the other players (assuming noone killed them - otherwise, the PCs will have to do!) play along...

After seconds, the air ripples around the hill and dozens, hundreds, thousands of blonde, armed and *angry Halfling* women, wearing chainmail bikinis and mounted on war ponies, ride on the battlefield. All of them have Barbarian levels, and they immediately activate Rage and charge the orcs and goblins. As the _Ride of the Valkyries_ for kazoo plays in the background, the horde is taken by surprise by this ferocious attack combined with the King's own forces and is quickly forced to retreat. After the battle, Riker (short on breath by now) stops playing and the halfling Vaklyries vanish, riding away on sunbeams.

Later, the King rewards the PCs (and the real Riker), and declares a national fest, effective immediately.


----------



## el-remmen

Received - consider your entry posted. . .


----------



## el-remmen

Yikes, I guess, Zappo hadn't read the last few posts. . .

This going to get confusing quick. . but I have a solution - Zappo I will be ediitng your entry to add the ingredients and your opponent's name at the top.

I ask in the future that all entries start with a header including the list off ingredients and who the constestants are for this round.

See Zappo's entry for a sample. . .


----------



## Drawmack

good entry Zappo, this competition is going to be a tight one. I just hope that I can make it to round too. *Is hoping word count actually matters*


----------



## KDLadage

I am here and will be for a while.


----------



## el-remmen

If we are lucky d20 Dwarf will apear in the next 20 minutes (b/c I am going out) and then we can probably get all of the first rounds done over this weekend!

I'll post again when I won't be around for the night.. .


----------



## Mirth

If you want to give me an early Xmas present, I'm still here 

I'm just saying ...  

This is my last ditch effort to be a contestant in case I was being too obtuse.


----------



## el-remmen

Someone is cutting it close!


*Rune has 1 hour and 14 minutes remaining*


----------



## Mirth

_Begging post deleted. _


----------



## Rune

*Arwink vs. Rune

Ingredients:
Wedding gift
Evil grandmother
River Spirit
Lonely Treant
Clock Tower
Ring of Sustenance

The Wedding Gift

This is designed to be a very short (side-trek short) scenario for four high-level characters, level 15-20, and with few encounters in it, but potentially lethal ones.

Our story begins a long time ago, in happier times.   In fact, it was nearly twenty-five years ago, the River Spirit was to wed the daughter of an influential Wizardess.  However, despite the obvious intensity of the love shared between her daughter and the River Spirit, the Wizardess plotted continually to impede the marriage, all the while presenting a front of approval.  The Wizardess had higher aims for her daughter; she hoped to present the daughter as a potential bride for the Prince of the Realm.  With a typical mother’s irrationality, she just knew that the Prince would fall in love with the girl at first sight.  Nevermind the girl’s silly crush on the River Spirit.

Then things began to go terribly wrong with her machinations.  The River Spirit knew well the animosity that the Wizardess bore toward him and decided to call in a favor owed him from ages in the past.  He knew an ancient treant, now grown to gargantuan size, who had, as a sapling, been caught in a forest fire.  He had sheltered the young treant and had watched after him in the many centuries as he grew.  The two had formed a friendship and the treant never suspect that the River Spirit’s intentions could be anything but good.  Now, he asked the treant to be present at the wedding, but to be wary of an attack from the Wizardess, who, he explained, had no great love for nature and an excessive number of fire-based spells in her arsenal.

The wedding, itself, naturally, was held in a wooded glade, through which the River Spirit’s river ran.  Predictably, the Wizardess did show up for the daughter’s wedding, as all of her schemes had failed to deter her daughter from marrying the spirit.  Her last desperate plan would have to do.  She brought great spells of flame down upon the woods, in order to disrupt the wedding.  Then the treant made itself known.  She was really no match for it, nor for the trees that it animated.  She would have died that day, save for the intercession of the River Spirit, who wished to be thought of as benevolent.  In actuality, his plans were far more cruel.

He asked for the treant to imprison the woman within his branches, but he also gave to her a ring of sustenance, so that her days would not be short.  Furthermore, the River Spirit, in order to emphasize the enormity of time that the woman would lose, fashioned a massive clock into the branches of his treant friend, so that for the rest of her life, the woman could listen to the loud grinding of gears and the slow ticking of life passing her by.  To complete the task, the Wizardess’ spellbook was taken and destroyed; the treant would easily be able to withstand the onslaught of whatever spells remained in her memory.

A lesser woman would have taken the ring off and starved to death.  Instead, the Wizardess plotted her revenge.

The wedding came to pass, but the River Spirit was cheated of his bride when she died in childbirth.  In a primal rage, the River Spirit’s river swelled and he cast the newborn baby far away from him.  The baby was rescued and raised by nearby villagers, but a slight bluish tint to her skin always hindered attempts by her adopted parents from hiding her origin.

To become involved in this adventure, the PCs must be traveling, for some reason or another, through a wooded wilderness.  They may either run across the granddaughter of the Wizardess, who has heard a cryptic message on the wind, or may hear that message for themselves.  The message is a rasping whispering wind spell, the last spell in the memory of the evil grandmother trapped in the treant.  The message says: “I have been wrongfully imprisoned in the clock tower up the hill for twenty-five years.  Please rescue me.  The guardian is strong.  Be wary.”  The message is delivered at the base of the hill, upon which a lonely treant stands.

The reason for this is simply a matter of logistics.  The Wizardess can see the spot through gaps in the woven limbs of her prison.  This is the first time she has ever seen people come out of the woods since her imprisonment.  Whether or not the PCs actually hear the message, the granddaughter has heard it and is heading to its source.  She has never heard of her grandmother, nor of her story, so she will be completely impressionable to the version told her by the Wizardess.

What the PCs and the granddaughter will see at the top of the hill is an oddity: a clock tower has been fashioned out of an immense tree.  When they approach, the treant will feign sleep, so that the intruders will continue, even upon close examination, to believe that it is a tree.  If it looks like the PCs are about to harm the tree, the evil grandmother will warn the PCs not to, telling them that it “lives.”  Upon seeing her granddaughter, the Wizardess will immediately recognize her; she looks exactly as her mother did at that age, save for the bluish skin tone.

The girl has, however, no knowledge of her past.  Her mother died in childbirth and, in a rage, the River Spirit cast her out, sending her away on the current of his river.  She was found and raised in a nearby village, but has always been inexplicably drawn to these woods.  She has never before met her grandmother.

The treant has, over two and a half decades of solitude away from his trees, with only the evil, plotting Wizardess for company, begun to go a bit insane.  He is still neutral good, but he has is even worse at distinguishing right from wrong than he has ever been.  He has also begun to sense that his old friend, the River Spirit, is not as good as he has always believed: not once in the past quarter century has he come to visit the treant.  Furthermore, as the woman inside his branches ages (now somewhere around 75 years old), the treant slowly learns the extent of the punishment upon her is  The punishment has been harsh on him as well, though; the River Spirit told the treant that she must be held far from any other trees, as she might still be able to wreak havoc upon them with any fire spells that she still had memorized.  Because has never forgiven, nor forgotten, the Wizardess for her reckless assault on the trees, he is always careful not to stray from his barren spot at the top of the hill, where he can watch his trees, but may never speak with them.  The treant is advanced to 21 HD and gargantuan size.

The River Spirit is identical to a Spirit of the Land (Water Manifestation) from the MM II in every way, except that this one is neutral evil and extraordinarily selfish.  He does not particularly remember casting out the infant of his ill-fated bride; it is simply not something he’s thought about for the quarter-century since it happened.  Upon seeing the daughter wandering by his woods, he has been struck by the similarities and has pursued her hand in marriage.  The daughter is flattered, but not in love with the spirit.  Nevertheless, she is contemplating the marriage.

The treant will stay silent during this exchange; he is no longer sure that the events that transpired were very different from the evil woman’s telling.  She is sure to tell about her use of the fire spells at the wedding, with speech that is as repentant as possible.

Upon learning that the granddaughter’s suitor is the cruel punisher of this poor old woman, the granddaughter will swear to free her, asking the PCs for aid.  If any plans made in the presence of the grandmother (and, hence, the treant) involve violence to the tower, the treant will make itself known at that time.  It is possible for the PCs to destroy the treant, but ideally, they will come to a better solution, as the treant is not the villain; he merely holds to his oath.

It may well be possible for the treant to be convinced to let the Wizardess go, but only if the River Spirit can be tricked into granting her freedom.  He is less likely to come to this conclusion if plans spoken before him involve causing harm to the River Spirit, which is, of course, the Wizardess’ ultimate aim.  If the PCs will help her to escape, the granddaughter will be willing to go through a wedding with the River Spirit, provided that he set her grandmother free as a wedding gift to the bride.

If this plan comes to fruition, the River Spirit will yield to his incendiary desire to wed this spitting image of his lost wife.  When (if) the PCs aid the daughter to escape, they may well need to fight the River Spirit; he will fight to the death in this particular battle, but he will not necessarily fight toe-to-toe.  He knows his strengths and he uses them.  If the PCs end up killing the River Spirit, the Wizardess will be most pleased.  If they do not, the Wizardess will ever after seek a means of doing so, or convincing others to do so for her.

The treant may become an ally of the PCs against the River Spirit at some point, if he continues to become more bitter toward him, but if he ever sees any one of them, or the Wizardess, casting fire-based spells in his trees again, he will kill, if at all possible.

The Wizardess is a level five evocation specialist.  The granddaughter may have a PC class, but no more than five levels in whatever class she is given.

Possible rewards in this scenario are the ring of sustenance and friendships or alliances between potentially powerful characters (the treant, the Wizardess, or the granddaughter).*


----------



## arwink

Rune - Wow.  I think I'll be using your version when I go to run this as an adventure


----------



## el-remmen

Um, I hate to say this but, Rune - you posted exactly _one minute_ late. . .  

But I don't care if Arwink doesn't care - but he is well within his rights to ask that you get disqualified right off the bat. . . 

I will hold off on judging untilI get his answer.


----------



## Rune

Yeah, my computer freaked out on me _right_ at the end there.  Almost had a heart-attack.

So, Arwink...


Pleeeeeease have mercy upon me!


----------



## arwink

I feel his pain.  My computer crapped out a few times myself.

Judge away, Nemmerle.  I'd hate to see Rune miss out for a minute and computer trouble.


----------



## Rune

Thank you, most graciously, O Benevolent Competitor!

I'll be sure to buy ya a beer if we ever meet.  Assuming you drink beer, or course.


----------



## arwink

Rune said:
			
		

> *Thank you, most graciously, O Benevolent Competitor!
> 
> I'll be sure to buy ya a beer if we ever meet.  Assuming you drink beer, or course. *




Your most welcome, and should I find myself in your neck of the woods a beer would be most graciously accepted


----------



## el-remmen

You guys are so nice to each other the next thing ya know you'll be making out. . .  (I know how Rune can be once he has a few beers in him )

Anyway, in all seriousness - expect a judgement sometime tomorrow afternoon. . . 

it ain't gonna be pretty. . .


----------



## arwink

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Anyway, in all seriousness - expect a judgement sometime tomorrow afternoon. . .
> 
> it ain't gonna be pretty. . .   *




Cool.  I wasn't expecting pretty.  I know how messy my concept is 

This looks so easy when your lurking in the homegame threads...


----------



## alsih2o

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Um, I hate to say this but, Rune - you posted exactly one minute late. . .
> 
> *




 not that i would ever question an iron d.m. judge....but according ot the timestamps from your "1 hour 14 minutes" post to his was 1 hour and 8 minutes, giving him 6 minutes to polish his keyboard and gloat a little


----------



## Rune

alsih2o said:
			
		

> *
> 
> not that i would ever question an iron d.m. judge....but according ot the timestamps from your "1 hour 14 minutes" post to his was 1 hour and 8 minutes, giving him 6 minutes to polish his keyboard and gloat a little  *




It's a moot point, now, but thanks for the support, anyway!


----------



## Zappo

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Yikes, I guess, Zappo hadn't read the last few posts. . .*



I've kinda lost that bit in the swarm, sorry. BTW, those were some _mean_ ingredients. I'm really curious to see Quickbeam's entry!


----------



## Drawmack

Drawmack cs. Wicht

Ingredients: Awakened Rabbit, Rod of Wonder, Half-Fiend Children, Barrel of Mead, Briar Patch, 

--------------------------------------------
*Dark Hart’s Reprise*
_a d20 System adventure for 4 adventurers of level 12 – 15_
By: J. Thomas Enders

*Adventure Background*
Many years ago an elven druid, Anriel, was communing with nature and Drizzle, his rabbit companion, when he came upon nearly dead adventurers. Anriel healed them; after which they asked him to join them. Anriel agreed.

The adventurers, Scarlet Fury, were retrieving a *Rod of Wonder* from Dark Hart, an evil cleric, in Darkoneous Heights, an abandoned dwarven city nearby. The local wizard’s college hired Scarlet Fury for this quest. The adventurers found the city inhabited by kobolds worshiping Dark Hart for the wonders he worked. After almost dying and nearly being enslaved Scarlet Fury reached Dark Hart.  Unable to kill him, they banished Dark Hart to another plane. They found the rod of wonder, a ring of three wishes and lesser items in the hold. Scarlet Fury gave Anriel the ring for saving their lives in the forest. 

Anriel wished he not die of natural causes; stop aging and remain human. He then wished he could talk to Drizzle, awakening him. Last he wished Drizzle not die of natural causes, cease aging and stay a rabbit. 

200 years later…

*Adventure Synopsis*
Dark Hart’s back or his ghost is anyway. He retrieved the rod of wonder. For a couple months the kobolds have been raiding Evandale. Anriel [Drd, 17] and Drizzle [*Awakened Rabbit* Mnk 12] heard that Dark Hart [Ghost Clr 13, AL NE] is back; on their way to confront him; Dark Hart killed Anriel with Blasphemy. Drizzle escaped vowing to avenge Anriel. 

The wizard’s college seeks adventurers stupid, err courageous, enough to take the job. The PCs meet Drizzle hiding in a *briar patch*. Drizzle joins the PCs. Inside Darkoneous Heights the PCs outwit crafty kobold traps, Dark Hart’s even craftier magic and battle kobold hordes. Orcs live in mines below hunting kobolds and anything else that comes close enough. The orcs let people pass for a *Barrel of Mead*. A nearby *Ankheg* settlement hunts enjoyable kobold meat here. Slimes, molds, cubes and other underground nasties inhabit abandoned and seldom used areas. Much hunting and tribulation leads the PCs to Dark Hart’s sanctum in the center of the city. The PCs discover Dark Hart’s army of *Half-Field Children* protecting him. His 100’ diameter sanctum, inhabited by his children, was a dwarven city council chamber. The 20’ square Inner Sanctum where Dark Hart resides, is an old office off the back.

*Adventure Hooks*
The wizard’s college hires the PCs to retrieve the Rod of Wonder for gold.
The PCs hear rumors of Dark Hart and go searching for treasure or to vanquish evil.
The PCs encounter Drizzle passing a briar patch; he tells them his plight and mission.

*Adventure Goals*
Find Darkoneuos Heights: After meeting Drizzle, he tells them where the city is and provides Anriel’s map. 

Find Dark Hart: The PCs are stumbling around in an unfamiliar dwarven city hounded by orcs, kobolds, traps, ankhegs, slimes, molds and gelatinous cubes.

Get Dark Hart: Half-fiend children protect Dark Hart who is on his turf and uses that wisely. His room’s arrangement benefits him and hinders intruders.

Get out alive: Returning to Evaldale after vanquishing Dark Hart involves battling orcs, ankhegs, traps, slimes, molds, gelatinous cubes and kobolds bent on revenge.

Raise Anriel: The PCs, if noble, may wish to raise Anriel so Drizzle has his companion back.


----------



## KDLadage

I will be leaving for church in about 25 minutes; thus I will be gone for an hour or so. After that, I will be checking to see if my opponant and my ingredients are ready...


----------



## Mirth

_I know this is getting annoying, but it's my only chance to get in the game._

I'm here too, in case you need me.


----------



## Wicht

*The Haunting of Briarwood Valley*

_This short adventure is intended for PCs of approximately 5th to 7th level._ 

*Introduction*
Everyone has avoided Briarwood Valley for years.  Even though it has some of the most fertile soil in the region its reputation has kept people from using it and so only trees and briars flourish in what could be prime farmland.  Years ago a powerful and privacy loving druid named Transim kept the locals away.  And even though he died almost fifteen years ago, it seems some spirit still wishes for the valley to remain unused.  Old Beggins Trufflegrubber can tell you of the time he wandered into the valley hunting rabbits.  A rainbow of colors assaulted him from the briars and he wandered for some time blind.  Sergeant Taffins can recall the time he once took soldiers there to try and drive away the spirits and ended up being chased from the valley by a huge grey beast with a powerful horn which vanished as quickly as it appeared.  And no one likes to really talk of the wandering soul found turned to stone at the edge of Briarwood Valley but those who know of it can point to the fountain in the square where the statue still stands.  

Everyone has avoided Briarwood Valley for years but now the spirits haunting the valley have gone too far.  Each night for the past week a malicious spirit has stolen the best spirits from the local tavern.  Each night witnesses have seen a *Barrel of Mead* fly from the tavern and head north towards the valley.  At last the town will do what it should have done years ago and hire some adventurers to clear the valley of the spirits that haunt it.

*Plot Hooks*
There are a few ways for DMs to draw their PCs into investigating the haunting of Briarwood Valley.  Heroic PCs who are native to the local area have doubtlessly gained a reputation by this point and can be urged to perform this community service as a way of building an even greater reputation.  Less then heroic PCs probably also have a reputation but the town can promise large cash rewards for finding the evil spirits responsible for taking the best mead in town.  If the PCs are more of the wandering sort, it is advised that the DM make the village the location of something important to a larger quest.  The villagers will gladly turn the item over to the PCs in exchange for the small matter of investigating the ‘haunting.’

*Whats Really Happening*
Transim was indeed a powerful druid.  As such he made some powerful enemies.  One enemy in particular, a demon who Transim had crossed plotted an insidious revenge.  He personally fertilized some *Ankheg* eggs and secretly planted them in the soil of Transim’s land.  He knew that his *half-fiend children* would wreak havoc with Transim’s beloved home.  However Transim died before the demon’s offspring were mature enough to carry out his plan.  Indeed the egg-cycle of the ankhegs, like that of the locust, can often last many years.  

In the interim, two ‘disciples’ of Transim’s, a mated pair of *awakened rabbit*s, Thornpaw and Thistlenose, continued to inhabit Briarwood Valley.  There they raised their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren until the whole valley was a regular warren of rabbits.  Thornpaw used a _ring of telekinesis_ and a *rod of wonder* to defend the valley from the nearby humans.  It was the workings of the _rod of wonder_ which gave the valley the reputation of being haunted.  

Life was good for the rabbits until the ankhegs hatched and started burrowing and hunting.  The easiest prey for the young monsters was rabbit.  Thornpaw could scarcely fight the savage creatures and before a week was finished he was the only rabbit left in the valley.  Even the love of his life, Thistlenose was dead.  Wanting revenge but knowing he needed someone to fight the horrible beasts, Thornpaw used his ring to steal mead from the villagers in the hopes they would send capable fighters into the valley.

*Briarwood Valley and the Half-fiend Ankhegs* 
PCs who enter Briarwood valley will first notice the briars.  Large *briar patches* grow between scattered trees and make movement slow and sometimes painful.  Observant PCs will also notice the many rabbit holes in the midst of the briars.  They may also find one or two ankheg tunnels.  If they hunt the whole valley they will also find the mostly devoured and partially burnt remains of several deer and two bears.  As well, Transim’s old hut is in the valley, but the rabbits long ago carried off anything of value and buried it in the valley.

There are two ways for the PCs to encounter the half-fiend ankhegs.  The first is for them to traverse one of the tunnels they find at the end of which will be an ankheg, grown to maturity on a diet of rabbit meat (and some deer and bear as well.)  The ankheg’s also come to the surface at night, hunting anything moving on the surface.  The half-fiend ankhegs all have bat wings (50% of them can fly with them) and flaming red eyes that glow in the dark.  They are just smart enough that a few of them might even coordinate an attack.  Their favorite attack for larger prey is to first use their darkness ability and then rush in and attack while the prey is disoriented.  DMs are encouraged to play up the attacks by the ankhegs, making them truly memorable and perhaps a little frightening.  The ankhegs have hunted all the other prey in the immediate vicinity and the PCs will not escape attack at night.  The ankhegs will even attack through the dirt floor of Transim’s hut should the PCs spend the night there.  In total, there are two clutches of half-fiend ankhegs with three to each clutch.  

*Conclusion*
The PCs may never piece together the whole story, but if they kill the ankhegs, they will have a story to tell.  Furthermore the mead will stop disappearing with the death of the ankhegs and the villagers will subsequently honor any bargain they made with the PC’s.  And finally, the PCs will awaken the next morning to find a bag of gold (2000 gp) and a _Staff of Swarming Insects_ by their beds, courtesy of a grateful and avenged rabbit and a dead druid.


----------



## Wicht

Sorry - trying not to cheat I had not read the last few posts before posting and did not see that Nemm wanted the submissions labeled but the above post of mine should be labeled

*Drawmack vs. Wicht*

Awakened Rabbit
Rod of Wonder
Briar Patch
Half-fiend Children
Ankhegs
Barrel of Mead.



And now I am off to church


----------



## seasong

> _Originally posted by mirthcard:_
> Would you mind posting this over in the game thread?



No one deserves the pain of Waiting List twice in a row!

So, this is directed mainly at mirthcard, but I'll do any pair of people in the Home Game who want to get together: I'll put up a set of new ingredients, 24 hour time limit, critique smackdown, the whole nine yards, for two people.

I *will not* be running a full tournament. My choices of winner will have no official sanction. It'll be more like a duel and less like a tournament .

Mirthcard, you've got first dibs - persuade someone to get over in the Home Game, and take you on, and I'll hook the two of you up.


----------



## KDLadage

*Looks around...*

...still looking


----------



## Mirth

*Re: Looks around...*



			
				KDLadage said:
			
		

> *...still looking  *




I'm staring right at ya pal  Unfortunately, my powers of invisibility apparently work all too well.


----------



## Mirth

seasong said:
			
		

> *No one deserves the pain of Waiting List twice in a row!
> 
> So, this is directed mainly at mirthcard, but I'll do any pair of people in the Home Game who want to get together: I'll put up a set of new ingredients, 24 hour time limit, critique smackdown, the whole nine yards, for two people.
> 
> I will not be running a full tournament. My choices of winner will have no official sanction. It'll be more like a duel and less like a tournament .
> 
> Mirthcard, you've got first dibs - persuade someone to get over in the Home Game, and take you on, and I'll hook the two of you up. *




Thanks, seasong  If I don't make it into this last battle, then I'll see you over there shortly afterwards.


----------



## el-remmen

mirthcard, if you and kdladage are still aroun I will present you with ingredients and you can be d20 Dwarf' alternate as I have not seen him around for the last 2 days.


----------



## Mirth

I'm here  But if d20 Dwarf shows up soon I'll (somewhat) gladly defer to him.

Thanks nemmerle.


----------



## KDLadage

*Here, ready and willing.*

Shoot...


----------



## el-remmen

My apologies to d20 Dwarf . . . but mirthcard you are in. . . 

I will be away most of Monday and all of Tuesday - so I would like to get all of the round one's done before the more difficult ot arrange round 2 begins on Thursday or Friday.

Anyway,

The time is 1:48 pm (by my clock) - you guys know the rules

KDladage vs. Mirthcard (alternate) Ingredients
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
Dwarven Bandits
Women’s Clothing
Scroll of Miracle
Simulacrum
Naga
Ancient Monk
*


Good luck!


----------



## Mirth

Woo Hoo! I'm a contender! 

Sorry Wil / d20 Dwarf. Good luck KD. Big fan of Umbragia, so I'm more than a bit intimidated by this pairing. Hope I can provide the goods after all my annoying begging. 

Between this and giving Asgard 8 a final edit, I've got a busy night & day ahead of me. See youse guys tomorrow.


----------



## KDLadage

mirthcard said:
			
		

> *Woo Hoo! I'm a contender!
> 
> Sorry Wil / d20 Dwarf. Good luck KD. Big fan of Umbragia, so I'm more than a bit intimidated by this pairing. Hope I can provide the goods after all my annoying begging.
> 
> Between this and giving Asgard 8 a final edit, I've got a busy night & day ahead of me. See youse guys tomorrow. *




Good luck to you.

And thanks for the competition, Nem!


----------



## el-remmen

Arwink vs. Rune - Round 1 - Judgement

Okay, I’ll jump right into it. . . 

The use of the wedding as the adventure hook while probably the most obvious way of getting the PCs involved is still most likely the best, and so right off the bat I had to give Arwink the advantage over Rune.

The “just happening upon” a person (which is what Rune uses) is the typical contrived scenario that can make an adventure seem lackluster and well, too much like an “adventure” instead of a seamless inclusion in a campaign, while a wedding can be a follow up of a different adventure or seem to be a side-part of a greater adventure the party has been recently involved in.  However, the means by which the party gets the *wedding gift* (the ring of sustenance) in Arwink’s entry also seems a bit contrived if one uses the “charmed local lord” as the means to have the party deliver the gift.  It seems to me that the key here is to get the party to deliver the gift without it seeming suspicious or out of the ordinary.

Of course, another hook that Arwink did not think of is if the party were hired to _steal_ the item secretly or some other of the wedding gift.  

To take a step back, I found the set-up for both entries to be kind of weak.  Arwink’s scenario is a bit unclear – what exactly _is_ Enana (the grand-daughter), a one-quarter elemental?  What is her class and maybe some of her powers?  I know I said stat-blocks were not required, but some indication of what important NPCs can do can be essential to allowing whomever develops this adventure to explore the various possibilities in the scenario.  I have to ask myself the question as to why Gelanis stuck around all this time.  Seems to me she’d be pretty powerful and have sufficient power to go off and find some other means of returning to her home plane – or if she is the sequestered type (preferring to live alone out in the wilderness) how would she arrange for the ring to be made or delivered?

Rune’s adventure set-up has that fairy-tale feel that I have come to expect from such a creative mind.  However, I can’t help but wonder if the *evil grandmother* knew the *river spirit* was evil as well – or why she wanted to prevent the wedding (as opposed to try to gain an ally)?  Having her be captured within the branches of the gargantuan treant is a neat idea – but I have a hard time understanding exactly how it would work.  Is the treant constantly moving his limbs and branches to keep her locked in?  How was a clock built in the treant?   Was the tower just placed within the branches? Or was it actually made from the treant? ( I honestly don’t see how the treant would allow that). 

Arwink’s use of the clock tower, sticking up out of the lake that covers a now-flooded village, while less purely creative than Rune’s treant clock, creates more of a mystery for the characters to explore, as opposed to just being quirky scenery in the adventure like Rune’s is.

Where Arwink’s entry really shines and surpasses Rune’s, however, is in his exploration of the social aspects of the wedding, along with setting up situations for exploration and adventure.  One can only imagine the types of folks that might be found at such a wedding, while the *lonely treant*’s use in the that role-playing encounter is sweet.  _ “the concept of explaining love and loneliness or trying to give relationship advice to a thousand year old treant should be a unique experience for even the most jaded adventurer.” _ – is right on the money and the unique flavor that makes an adventure memorable.

I found I really liked how the evil river spirit in Rune’s scenario fell in love with his own daughter –the spitting image of his bride – again this is the kind of fairty-tale element that I like in an adventurer of this ort – but I don’t think it should matter if he knows it is his daughter – he is evil and a river spirit – what does he care about incest taboos – however, the treant _may_ care and maybe _that_ should have been the fulcrum upon which the treant’s view of his old friend pivots.

The kidnapping and the bargaining for the information should set up an excellent scenario in arwink’s entry – though if the party has the proper magical items or spells – the discovery of where the kidnap victim is might be too easy – allowing them to defeat Gelanis and then free captive – the marid should have some other   trick up her sleeve as well to make this work.

So, in the end – I have to give this round to *Arwink* – Unfortunately, Rune’s entry suffered because it was merely a sidetrek - not because a sidetrek cannot beat a long adventurer – but because the elements seemed crammed together into a scenario which would either be a straight up fight – or a careful negotiation with an NPC he did not take much time to develop or give any motivation to (the river spirit).  Now Arwink’s NPCs did not seem to leap out at me either (except maybe the treant), but the potential for interesting scenes and locales – gave his entry the bit it needed to be superior.

Better luck next time Rune. . . 

Congrats *Arwink* – you advance to the next round.


----------



## Wicht

Congragulations Arwink.


----------



## arwink

Um...Okay.  Wasn't expecting that.  Thanks.


----------



## Rune

Congratulations, Arwink!  A well-deserved win.  Good luck in round 2!


----------



## Quickbeam

Here's the scoop:
I tried to log on at roughly 4:40 this afternoon to post my first round entry...but due to problems on the site could not do so.  I tried in vain for the next two hours, but couldn't get past the Main Reviews page.  I left for a Little League Board Meeting at 6:40 and just returned home.

I have NOT looked to see if I've been disqualified.  I have NOT looked to see if Zappo managed to avoid the site server problems.  I am hoping that you will all consider my entry as valid since we use the honor system, and I imagine others had similar access problems today.  I've tried to explain the situation without excuses, and will accept the judge's ruling without argument.  Regardless of the outcome (which may already be determined), I hope you all believe that I _would_ have made the 24 hour deadline _if_ the site had not gone kaput.


----------



## Quickbeam

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE
For 4-6 characters of levels 7-8

Ingredients:
angry halflings
kazoos
wishing well
cavalry
hat of disguise
hydra

Background:

Our story begins some four hundred years ago.  An adventuring halfling cleric, named Rudyard Thorngage, recovered a powerful magical item from a very nasty crypt.  This item, actually a rod of absorption, quenched the cleric’s wanderlust, and he decided to return home to establish a temple to Yondalla.  On his arrival, Rudyard was dismayed to find that an order of priests devoted to Olidammara, through trickery and deception, had gained substantial influence within the city of Gladwin.  Rudyard spent a short time gathering the necessary resources to vanquish the chaotic clerics, eventually leading an assault on the rogue priests.  Yondalla’s disciples were victorious, not in any small part thanks to the rod of absorption.  Only one cleric of Olidammara managed to escape with her life, Janna Winterbough, a young elvish Initiate, who fled into the surrounding wilderness seeking refuge and swearing revenge.

Janna bided her time, as only elves can, and eventually Rudyard and his contemporaries died.  The temple of Yondalla largely forgot about the battle that established its foothold.  Janna found a wayward soul, a young disfigured human boy, who had been abandoned due to his grotesque visage.   Janna took the boy, Zentras Grace, under her tutelage, and taught him that her order had been terribly wronged by Rudyard and his fellow clergy.  She explained to Zentras that the ill-gained victory was solely the result of a powerful item wielded by the halfling high priest.  But her years of careful observation revealed that those in the temple of Yondalla were unaware of the item’s power, and cared for it only as a significant reminder of their temple’s founder.  Zentras enthusiastically immersed himself in the divine study of Olidammara with Janna’s warped guidance, and began to display a special affinity for animating objects.  Upon her deathbed, Zentras swears to Janna that he will fulfill her quest to obtain the rod, and thoroughly undermine the church of Yondalla in the eyes of all.

…Flash forward another 15 years…

Grace has honed his craft as an animator, and has begun to ply his skills as a toy maker of some renown.  He has set up shops in different towns and villages around Gladwin, never staying in one place long enough to attract any serious attention.  What he really wants is to serve his deity through the mischief his toys propogate…and to exact some small measure of revenge for all of the unpleasant stares his disfigurement has caused him to endure.  Wanting to be certain that every child can take home one of his toys, Grace offers children his toys in exchange for any item that has a personal value to them.  A drawing, a marble, a piece of yarn, whatever the child holds close to heart makes the perfect payment for one of Grace’s creations. The toy maker uses the personal items that the children trade him to make his scrying attempts easier, and looks for items of value or interest in the kids’ homes.    Grace has enchanted his toys to animate a week after leaving his shop, and these dolls, figures, and puppets dutifully serve their master by providing some means of entry into the child’s home.  Once that is done, the way has been paved for Grace’s prized possessions, his *cavalry*, a set of one dozen exquisite miniature figures (toy soldiers on horseback), which he has animated to infiltrate the homes and retrieve the items of interest therein.

But Grace and his toy minions are discovered by and elvish wizard named Malandoc D’Lanashae, whose keen eyesight spots the cavalry infiltrating the home of a neighbor and follows the soldiers back to the toy maker’s shop.  Malandoc begins to formulate his own plan, a plan which will allow him to effectively control the *five-headed hydra* that he’s polymorhped into a toad.  Malandoc threatens to reveal Grace’s activities to the local authorities unless the toy maker agrees to design a vessel for the hydra which would function like a Figurine of Wondrous Power.   To facilitate cooperation from Grace, the wizard offers something in return.  Undrestanding that Grace will be more successful in luring children into his store if he appeared as a kindly old man, the wizard offers to create a *Hat of Disguise* for the toy maker thereby hiding his facial deformities.  Malandoc assumes the role of an apprentice toy maker (like Santa’s elves...had to make a holiday reference) and the two soon set up shop in Gladwin.

Grace and Malandoc have been in town for almost three months, during which time Grace reveals to Malandoc his plans to steal a rod of absorption kept within the church of Yondalla.  He figures it will take another month or two to effectively infiltrate the temple with his toys, but the mage has no intention of waiting that long.  Without informing Grace, the elf adopts gaseous form and steals the rod from within a sealed chamber in the halfling temple.  He then uses the rod as a means of establishing greater influence over Grace, who immediately recognizes that his divine spells will no longer be of use against Malandoc now that he possesses the rod.  Grace’s toy shop is strategically located along a merchant’s row which looks out on a city plaza, at the center of which is a *wishing well*.  In describing Gladwin to Zentras, Janna indicated that the priests of her Order knew the well to be a central hub positioned above old mining tunnels.  The toy maker has been sending his cavalry down the well at night, where they access the abandoned old coal tunnels.  Most of the buildings in town have coal chutes in their cellars, which allow the toys to enter and pillage under cover of night.

Grace has been casting the shadow of guilt upon the halfing portion of Gladwin’s population.  He knows that the access doors, and the well itself are not large enough for access by anything larger than a halfling.  Therefore, the halflings have been brought under suspicion by stolen items Grace’s cavalry have intentionally left placed near the well, and coal chute doors.  While this limits their ability to operate going forward, Grace is more concerned with discrediting worshippers of Yondalla, and figuring out a way to get the rod away from his “apprentice.”

Needless to say, the *halfling priests and population (approximately 35% of Gladwin) are very angry* at the aspersions being cast their way.  And they're even more incensed by the disappearance of Rudyard’s scepter, which they attribute to human retaliation for the burglaries.   Relations with the humans have become very tense, and certain proprietors have taken to only serving their own race to avoid open conflict.
The humans are also concerned by the mounting tensions, and the city mayor, Gregor Scrote, sent his chief investigator, a paladin named Devon Nordfal, to uncover the truth surrounding recent events.  During his investigations, Devon finds several broken toy parts including a small saddle and a spear.  He pays a visit to Grace and Malandoc, whereupon he’s ambushed and made captive.  Devon is placed under the effects of a bestow curse spell that causes dysphasia, which makes everything he says come out jumbled and nonsensical.  His thoughts and memories are totally clear – he’s just unable to communicate.  He’s being held in a cage within a small room underneath the toy store.

PC Hooks:
1)  The mayor is seeking to hire adventurers to track down his missing esteemed investigator and hopefully determine the root of Gladwin’s recent problems.
2)  The halfling clerics are offering a reward to anyone who helps recover their lost artifact, and clear their name as a race with respect to the recent burglaries.
3)  PCs may pass through Gladwin on their way to other adventures, and any time spent in town is likely to reveal the mounting tensions and discourse involving recent strange events.  Curious characters will have no trouble gathering information, and accumulating stories.

Encounters:

1)  Nat Bundungle, a first level gnome bard specializing in the entertainment of young children…and annoying just about everyone over the age of eight or nine, whose instrument of choice is the *kazoo*.  In fact, he wears a vibrantly dyed linen vest that bears seven velvet kazoo pockets holding seven kazoos.   These instruments were sold to the bard by Grace, who convinced him that each one is tuned to a different key.  Bundungle entered the toy shop seeking minor "tuning adjustments" for his 'F' kazoo, just as the paladin was being subdued.  Grace took the time to cast bestow curse on the gnome, but did not harm him otherwise, because local children had seen the loud and annoying gnome entering the store.  Bundungle will seek out PCs attention and aid.  He will attempt to explain what he witnessed, but is suffering from dysphasia, and the PCs will need to either magically remove his curse or otherwise decipher Bundungle’s gibberish and gestures (fun for the DM).
2)  A minor Xorn lives in the tunnels at the base of the wishing well.  He feeds upon the precious metals tossed down.  If PCs are capable of entering the tunnels (if a character is or can become halfling-size or smaller), they will encounter the Xorn.  If the PC offers him precious metals and can speak with it in Terran (it’s common is kinda rusty), the creature will tell the character that it has sensed many small feet traveling through the tunnels at night.
3)  A secret door in the toy shop leads to a stairway down to a cavernous room.  In the center of the room is a table, upon which sits a jar containing a toad (the polymorphed hydra).  Some parchment containing arcane writing sits next to the jar.  A knowledge arcana check (DC 15) will let the PCs know that the writing has something to do with an alchemical means of turning toads into gold.  An alchemy check (DC 15) will reveal that the writing is nonsense.  There are some shelves with toy parts, and some books.  Beyond this room is an alcove which now serves as the cell in which the paladin investigator is caged.  Grace has cast a glyph of warding on the doorway, so that if the paladin crosses the threshold, dispel magic will be cast upon the polymorphed hydra in the next room.  The paladin knows about the glyph, but he cannot speak clearly due to the curse upon him.

Conclusion:
Opportunites abound for investigative roleplaying, but limited combat encounters.  Grace (11th level cleric of Olidammara; Domains -- Trickery and Chaos) has no real wish to fight, but may be cornered since many clues point to him as the primary evil-doer in Gladwin.  In the characters manage to flesh out Malandoc’s insidious plans, they’re in for quite a battle.  He’s an 8th level wizard, but wielding the rod of absorption makes him difficult to effectively assail in combat for the party’s spellcasters.  Malandoc is very likely to release the hydra from its polymorphed state (if that hasn’t already happened from the glyph noted above) if things start going badly for him, then escaping via gaseous form or other spells.  He presents a lovely recurring nemesis (assuming he escapes), and it’s possible Malandoc may haunt the party in future adventures.


Edit note: I corrected a botched *BOLD* highlighting one of the story elements.


----------



## el-remmen

Quickbeam said:
			
		

> *Here's the scoop:
> I tried to log on at roughly 4:40 this afternoon to post my first round entry...but due to problems on the site could not do so.  I tried in vain for the next two hours, but couldn't get past the Main Reviews page.  I left for a Little League Board Meeting at 6:40 and just returned home.
> 
> I have NOT looked to see if I've been disqualified.  I have NOT looked to see if Zappo managed to avoid the site server problems.  I am hoping that you will all consider my entry as valid since we use the honor system, and I imagine others had similar access problems today.  I've tried to explain the situation without excuses, and will accept the judge's ruling without argument.  Regardless of the outcome (which may already be determined), I hope you all believe that I would have made the 24 hour deadline if the site had not gone kaput. *




Quickbeam, go ahead and post it - I was going to announce a six hour extention for you and zappo anyway. . . 

So you are still within the time limit if you do it right now


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## el-remmen

Just under the wire


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## Quickbeam

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Just under the wire  *




Yep.  The time does fly, and the site problems made for a _LOT_ of extra anxiety today.  Hopefully the story does this tournament justice !!

And FWIW, please feel free to insert whatever deities correspond to those supplied, as would befit your individual campaign worlds...


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## el-remmen

Drawmack vs. Wicht – Round 1 – Judgment

Right off the bat, Drawmack, I have to say it seems like you had a hard time incorporating the elements of the adventure.  The fact that you had to work such bizarre wishes into the background of your scenario made me wary.  But then again to even get to the wishes part of the background we need to accept that a party of adventurers were seeking to retrieve a _rod of wonder_ (of all things from an evil cleric powerful enough to have access to some wishes (why didn’t he use it to save himself?)

The problem with this adventure is that it sets the _rod of wonder_ as the item the action pivots on – but fails to give any uniqueness or special purpose to warrant this desire for its retrieval – not to mention that it plays against character to have some evil cleric named “darkhart” to want a _rod of wonder_ of all things, and to see it as his great weapon (because a great weapon it isn’t).

Now, the cool thing about Drawmack’s scenario is that what he describes as “Darkoneuos Heights” reminds me of some old school Gygaxian mega-dungeon – I like his inclusion of other elements that give the place a sense of depth – this is an old school “dungeon complex” with vying factions and different monsters – Darkhart and his kobolds are just part of it.  I like the orcs with the toll of mead – makes me think it wasn’t the first time they met up with adventurers 

However, the use of the actual Iron DM ingredients seemed uninspired. . . Where did these half-fiend children come from?  What is their _story_? 

The awakened rabbit as a guide was a good idea – but the coincidence of the revenge plot and the PCs wanting to go after Darkhart anyway seems too thin.  A better idea might have been a humorous turn when the party realizes that the shadowy figure that wants to hire them is really a cute little bunny!

Now wicht’s entry on the other hand, while having a weak hook (or at least no concrete examples to run with), integrates the ingredients much better in his entry.

The use of a briarwood to incorporate the briar patch, and his clever fusion of the half-fiend children and the ankhegs and tying that in with the “nature-focus” of the adventure’s protagonist, the rabbit – Though how a rabbit can use a wand is a mystery to me.

The stealing of the mead seemed like a weak plot element, but the idea that a party may go chasing “simple beer thieves” and end up fighting giant fiendish insects has a certain charm to it.

In this case I have to say the winner is clearly, *Wicht* – our old “iron horse”.

Drawmack, I don’t think your adventure was bad, and I particularly liked the “old school flavor” – but in the end the game is about the use of the ingredients, which was your weak point.


----------



## KDLadage

*Round 1: KDLadage*

*============================================================*
*KDladage* vs. *Mirthcard*
*Ingredients*: _Dwarven Bandits, Women’s Clothing, Scroll of Miracle, Simulacrum, Naga, Ancient Monk_
*============================================================*
*Another day in the life...*
_This is an adventure that is designed to not happen all at once. In fact, it should be (ideally) handled as two brief interludes between other, non-related adventures (Acts I and II) followed a complete adventure in and of itself (Act III). Act I should take place early in the character's careers (levels 1-3). The events should happen in such a way that they almost forget about it by the time Act II comes along. Act II should take place when the characters have reached some respectable skill (levels 7-9). The connection between the events of Acts I and II may or may not be revealed in time for them to prepare for what awaits them in Act III. Act III is designed to be an adventure in and of itself and should take place when the party has reached the higher levels (levels 15-20). The adventure sequence will also run best if the PCs are either Elven or allied with a local group of elves (otherwise, the races will need to be shifted in the descriptions below)._

ACT I: The Odd Bandit
The adventurers are tasked with escorting a Elven dignitary from the PC's home, back to the Elven Woods (if the PCs are themselves Elves, they could be escorting the dignitary back from a visit in foreign lands). The dignitary should be a low-ranking noble with one or two personal servants (Dignitary: Aristocrat-3/Expert-2, Servants: Expert-3/Warrior-2). Ideally, this should be a rather long trip -- through rough terrain and outside of normal patrol zones. As they pass into a rather remote area, tensions are high. In the last village they passed had reports of *Dwarven Bandits*. Sure enough, as they pass rather close to Dwarven Lands, they are assaulted by several groups of Dwarven Bandits. Each encounter should be rather plain -- simple combats. Each should be fairly easy to dispatch (1d6 Dwarves, each a Warrior of level 1-3 should do well). The Dwarves should be lightly armed and armored and have obvious signs of malnutrition and poverty -- these are not so much criminals as they are desperate. The Dignitary should find them all to be disgusting and dirty (play it up -- he should be a bit of a foppish sort). In one encounter, however, once the PCs have dispatched the bandits, the DM should have one of them drop a half-dozen skins from several unknown species of snake. Before he dies (yes: the DM should give this guy a dying speech if possible) he will speak with fear of the one with "_eyes of deadly yellow that beckon and call_" as his life fades away. The Dignitary should show no signs of interest in the skins at all. Although it is not required that the PCs keep the skins, the third act will work best if they have. See below for ideas on how to make sure that they keep them!

INTERMISSION 1: The Dignitary
Once delivered safely home, the dignitary should reward the party -- but tightly. The pay should be less than was originally agreed to, or perhaps just low based upon standard expectations. Still, it should be obvious that the Dignitary is arrogant and unkind. Over the next little while, should the PCs inquire as to the status of the dignitary, they will find that he is moving up the social ladder rather quickly. He is granted titles, lands and increased responsibility. By the time Act II comes along, the man has reached an advancement of (about) Aristocrat-5/Expert-5 or so. Also, within the land, things have been tough. It has been a rather harsh winter... and the city where the PCs have their homes has been victim to a rash of petty thefts. One of the PCs should even be a victim of these thefts... 

ACT II: The Old Man
It has been some time since the PCs did such mundane things as escort a dignitary across an uncontrolled region, and as to be expected, they have had their reputations grow. So, it is not surprising that one night, in a tavern (in the typical D&D style) they are approached by an old man who inquires as to their willingness to do him a favor. He is, of course, willing to pay handsomely. If the PCs are apt to look for such things, they might notice the snake-skin boots the man wears, and how they appear similar to several of the skins they found on the dwarf those long nights ago. However, if asked about such things, he will not say much. Anyway, the Old Man would like the party to retrieve something for him -- an article of *Women's Clothing* that was stolen from him. It is a rather expensive silken veil that is the old man's only remaining memento os his late wife. It was stolen about a month ago, and he recently discovered its whereabouts -- in the Keep of the local lord. It would appear it was sold on the black market. He has taken his case up with the local lord, but the local lord is an unkind and unsympathetic sort that refuses to listen to reason.

Once the PCs agree to recover the item (see below for how to deal with PCs that will not take the bait) they find the Keep a tough nut to crack. Once they reach the chamber where the veil is kept, they will find a veritable stockroom of personal effects that have been stolen from various people about the city. In other words, the recent rash of petty thefts is being organized from this very Keep. Within the room, however, are two things they were not expecting to find: a large metallic table with a human-sized (medium-creature) and shaped indentation, sort of like a mold; a chamber that is enchanted in such a way as to create snow and ice; and a very, very old man sitting lotus style in the center of the room as they enter. He is an <b>Ancient Monk</b> (Aged Human, Monk-12/Rogue-4 -- unarmed).

At this point, there are two possibilities: either the party defeats the monk, or they flee (the monk will not kill them outright, and no matter what the party attempts, they should fail in outright killing the monk -- he should escape with his life). Should the party defeat the monk, reinforcements will arrive shortly after to drive them from the Keep. Should the party flee, they should have a tough time of it, but get out safely. Regardless of how the party is driven from the room, three things should happen: first, they should get the veil somehow; second: they should have at least one item of theirs left behind (this can be dropped, knocked or stolen by the monk); last: they should get a distinct smell of carrion at some point.

Once they get back out into the city -- they should be unable to locate the old man... again, if the PCs are astute, and apt to notice such things, they might have noticed that the monk and the old man were wearing the same snake-skinned boots... Regardless, they are about to be arrested for breaking and entering (and theft) from the Keep. And the Veil is the piece of evidence that will get them locked up.

INTERMISSION 2: Trial and Tribulation
It is possible that one could run the trial. It should be a relatively short affair; lop sided, an obviously purchased judge -- that sort of thing. Have the party get a relatively stiff sentence (say -- a year of imprisonment at hard labor).

At some point in their imprisonment, one of the party members (the one that had an item stolen from them back in the keep) will get approached by one of the guards and told to watch out -- something is afoot. That is when the events of Act III will come into play... 

Act III: A Change of Power
There will be a murder of a powerful Lord -- perhaps the King, perhaps another powerful official such as a Baron or Duke. But the murder will be blamed on the Party member that had an item stolen. Eye witnesses know that it was them -- describe them to a "T." And so, they are pulled from their normal duties as indentured laborers and called in for questioning... and who should be investigating this murder -- but their old friend the Elvish Dignitary from the old days... Oddly, he does not recall or recognize them in any way. In actuality, he is a *Simulacrum* of the Lord -- having been replaced long ago.

Anyway, the investigation shows that the party was never anywhere but in the camp (however, see below for notes on how to handle escaped parties...). Over the next few days, the entire party is sentenced to death. The party (at this point, if they have not done so already) will be almost forced to escape from captivity. Make it tough on them.

Have the party follow a trail of clues that leads them to the Lord of the Keep they raided. There they should find the old room where they found the veil -- eventually, they should be able to discern the following: the old man that hired them was the monk they fought; he has captured a pair of powerful *Naga* (Spirit Naga, huge, casts spells as a 16th level Sorcerer) that he has been using to create Simulacrum of various nobles. There are many ways (through magical items) that this could be done, but the DM is free to have the monk use other hirelings and henchmen to aid in the controlling of these beasts. He had originally intended upon capturing the party and creating Simulacrum of them to aid in his conquests back then but was unable to do so (Act II). He has a large contingent of Dwarven Bandits that he uses to steal objects from noblemen/noblewomen in his efforts to create these duplicates. In the Keep, this time, he is ready for them and so has the place well guarded -- primarily by snakes. In his last ditch efforts, should the party get too close, he does have a *Scroll of Miracle* he may use in his defense.

Oh... the snake-skins that have been seen about are the skins of the Naga offspring that the old man has been slaying for his own amusement... if the Naga are freed and see the skins on the party members in any way, they will attack that party member to the exclusion of all else. If they do not see the skins, they will concentrate their attentions on the old man and leave the party alone...

Notes
*Skins*: When the party members first gain the skins, they may not want them -- make these seem valuable. Have them make boots, or belts or what have you -- you could even make these minor magical items of a sort (natural items of magic that provide something like +1 to a physical stat, or +5 ft. movement -- anything). They might even provide protection from snakes.

*Won't take the bait...*: the party may not want to raid the Keep. If you feel that this party would be averse to this -- it might be easier if you have a party member lose something in the rash of thefts as well. Have their investigations turn up nothing -- then have the old man give them the clues they need to know (before they go in) that the thefts are originating from the Keep.

*Escaped Party*: If the party escapes before they are accused of the crime of killing the major noble, this can make things easier for you! This way, while they are on the run, with the law a few steps behind them as they try to prove their innocence -- they then get word that the major noble was slain, and that they are to blame -- and they have no alibi! This way, the law catches up with them on the run and further adventure possibilities are opened for you!

Conclusions
The way this whole sequence concludes depends upon the party and the world you are playing in. This can be used as an over-arcing adventure to open and end a campaign with!


----------



## Wicht

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Though how a rabbit can use a wand is a mystery to me.*




I pondered this myself - as the rabbits lack the hands to carry a rod or wand and I wanted the rod to be the property of the rabbit.  Telekinesis was my answer.  The rabbit carries the rod mentally and then carefully positions it before triggering the effects.  The DMG clearly says that Rods are useable by anyone (DMG 195) - thus IMO as long as the rabbit could manage to aim the thing it can trigger the magic.  

I agree that the beer stealing was sort of a weak point but I found the idea humorous in that this was the one thing that would trigger the the villagers into actions.  In my mind this scenario should start of funny and then turn into a horror flick situation.  

As for hooks, I was already more than double the 500 words and I had already deleted over 400 words from the scenario this morning.  It was a matter of brevity vs. substance and I tried my hardest to be brief.


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## KDLadage

*bump*

Just keeping this on the front page.


----------



## Drawmack

Congradulations Wicht.


----------



## KDLadage

Drawmack said:
			
		

> *Congradulations Wicht. *



Ditto -- and good job Drawmack. Wicht is a tough draw in round one...


----------



## Wicht

Drawmack said:
			
		

> *Congradulations Wicht. *




Thank you and better luck to you next time


----------



## Quickbeam

-- Congrats to Arwink and Wicht...great job both of you!!

-- Zappo: How is it that we *BOTH* had seven kazoos in our stories?!?  That's just plain freaky!!  Right off the bat, the kazoo ingredient screamed gnome bard to me.  And I thought it would be funny to have this chap believe each one played in a different pitch (A-G) instead of it being the changes in his own voice bringing about the altered tones.  I really liked your entry, and tip my cap regardless of what happens.

-- BTW, thanks again nemmerle for understanding and believing my sincere attempts to post on time.  I would have accepted a disqualification (despite my frustrations) if that had been the ruling.

...now we wait...


----------



## el-remmen

*The second round*

*Arwink* will be facing the winner of the _Quickbeam vs. Zappo_ match.

*Wicht* will be facing the winner of the _KDladage vs. mirthcard_ match.


----------



## el-remmen

*Zappo vs. Quickbeam Results*

Zappo vs. Quickbeam

*Zappo's Entry*: While I like the idea of artifact kazoos, the fact that they summon armies sets off my alarms right off the bat.  It just doesn't seem to fit thematically - but that is just a minor detail - but sometimes a minor detail can give you an impression that the rest of the adventure reinforces.

As in the last round I judged, here we have an entry with an "old shool flavor".  The party is retrieving a magical item from a larger "dungeon" complex - though I really like the fact that it is a giant halfling house - I can imagine a labyrinth of rooms - like Bag End as a mansion.   But a bit more cohesion as to what could be found there and making it a more specific threat would have been a better choice than the vagueness of encounters like _"One of the outer rooms is the lair of a pack of dire wolves"_
The use of the wishing well ingredient - also had the old school adventure pool - like those pools with a variety of effects in the old those old B1-B3 adventures (if I remember correctly) - but what is it and what does it have to do with the plot of the adventure?  And if it is just "dungeon-dressing" what does it have to do with the halfling that created this place?
And how does the hydra survive in there?
The final part of the adventure seems to want to shoehorn some court intrigue in there - or at least it seems like it has the opportunity to do this and fails - It seems like the action of the final part is too scripted - it assumes the orc will be killed - but if all these goblins on wolves suddenly appear - who is to say this will happen?  And where has the real Riker been while he was being imitated?  Would not the orc rogue made sure to get rid of him?
The halfling valkyries also seemed shoe-horned in.
*Quickbeam's Entry*:  While Quickbeam's entry has some weaknesses - It is very creative in his use of magical toys to be the primary means the "villian" of the scenario takes action.  While the idea of toys used to commit crimes can be found in several sources (including an episode of _Batman: The Animated Series_) there are a lot of good details in this entry to save it from the realm of the cliche - including the use of the "wishing well" ingredient as a means to leading to the passages used in the crimes and the assumption on the part of the townspeople that halflings must be behind the spree.
Also, the hydra being polymorphed into a toad is a neat idea - but would it not have been neater if there were some word that if spoken aloud would turn it back into a hydra!  It could have been written among the notes -giving the PCs a chance to accidentall set the thing free (perhaps Grace wanted to trick the wizard into falling victim to his own hydra).
The best thing about this entry is the investigative nature of it - leaving lots of room for role-playing - but this is also its weakness - the addition of at least one combat encounter, even if it were tangental to the plot of the adventure might have been a better way to make it more rounded.
*Quickbeam*'s incorporation of the ingredients give him the clear advantage in this round - and so, I have to give it to him.

Quickbeam vs. Zappo.  Winner = *Quickbeam*

He will go on to face *Arwink*

Good effort, Zappo - I hope to see you compete again in the future.


----------



## el-remmen

Mirthcard's Countdown Begins: 2 hours & 44 minutes (at 1:57 pm EST).


----------



## Quickbeam

Wow...I won!!  I can't believe it!!  I really liked Zappo's entry, and especially the old school flavor mentioned in the judgment.  Thank you very much for the fair and insightful critique, nemmerle.  It didn't even occur to me, that inserting the command word for releasing the hydra into the nonsense papers would be very wicked and nasty!!


Question:
Am I playing Wicht or Arwink next?  In your earlier post you indicated it would be Arwink, now it's Wicht.  Just curious.


----------



## el-remmen

Quickbeam said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Question:
> Am I playing Wicht or Arwink next?  In your earlier post you indicated it would be Arwink, now it's Wicht.  Just curious. *




Arwink.


----------



## Wicht

Congrats Quickbeam.

Good luck to both you and Arwink in the next round.


----------



## Quickbeam

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Arwink. *




Great.

And let me wish Arwink good luck in advance!!  I'm ready to begin Round #2 anytime after 1:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.


----------



## Quickbeam

Wicht said:
			
		

> *Congrats Quickbeam.
> 
> Good luck to both you and Arwink in the next round. *




Thanks, and to you as well!!  Maybe we'll meet in the Finals .


----------



## Wulf Ratbane

I can't help but notice the unusually high number of church-going folks in this thread.

Being the cynical and irreligious lout I am, I  chalk this up to a blatant attempt to curry His favor. 

You know what they say: There are no atheists when it comes to war, final exams, and _nemmerlesque_-judging.


Wulf


----------



## Zappo

Congrats Quickbeam; you definitely deserved to win.  Without any less merit to you, I myself am not at all satisfied with my entry. The idea of having the "cavalry" be toys is very neat!

Now, good luck for the next match!


----------



## KDLadage

Wulf Ratbane said:
			
		

> *I can't help but notice the unusually high number of church-going folks in this thread.
> 
> Being the cynical and irreligious lout I am, I  chalk this up to a blatant attempt to curry His favor.
> 
> You know what they say: There are no atheists when it comes to war, final exams, and nemmerlesque-judging.
> 
> 
> Wulf *



Funny... I chalked it all up to good character...


----------



## Mirth

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Mirthcard's Countdown Begins: 2 hours & 44 minutes (at 1:57 pm EST). *




Giving it the final read-through. Should be up within 5 mins. 1:14 EST here now.


----------



## Mirth

*mirthcard vs. KDLadage*

*Ingredients:*
Dwarven Bandits
Women's Clothing
Scroll Of Miracle
Simulacrum
Naga
Ancient Monk

*The Scales Of Justice*
An Oriental Adventure for 4-6 characters of levels 9-12

*The Set-Up:*
This adventure begins as most great adventures do - in a bar - where the party is relaxing after a long, hard ride into town. The group is approached by a weary and tired young woman of warm beauty who identifies herself as Jingquan and offers to buy them a round of expensive & exquisite sake if they will allow her to explain her plight, in hopes that they can help, for which she is willing to pay them well.

As her story unfolds, the group learns that Jingquan was traveling on a diplomatic mission with her mentor Qufen, an *ancient monk,* when he was abducted by a group of magically armed and armored korobokuru (i.e. *dwarven*) *bandits* from the nearby Jungle Lands to the south. She overheard the korobokuru say that they are working for Xiangkou, an infamous Yuan-Ti sorceress from the Jungle Lands. The bandits did not see Jingquan when they attacked, and she was able to escape and travel here by foot, where she began searching this evening for a group of heroes who could rescue Qufen.

When the inevitable questions pour forth from the party, Jingquan will be as patient and as truthful as possible (see below), but will only reveal that their mission was one of peace and diplomacy and that she knows that Qufen is still alive, but she cannot say how she knows. Once the party is agreeable, she will secure rooms for them all (she desperately needs to get some rest), but asks that they be ready to leave at dawn to search the Jungle for Xiangkou's hideout.

*What's really going on:*
The story that Jingquan tells of the sorceress and her korobokuru minions abducting her mentor is all too real. However, that is only half of the problem. Xiangkou is not only Yuan-Ti, but actually half-dragon as well - to be specific, she is a Chaotic Evil 14th level Half-Yuan-Ti Abomination / Half-Chiang Lung Dragon Sorceror.

It seems that Xiangkou's father Yushun, an ancient Chiang Lung Dragon, and her mother Nantou, a pureblood Yuan-ti, were more fond of the human form and human society than either one of them wanted to admit to themselves. Yushun and Nantou never truly knew each other, but their preference for passing and living as human resulted in a liaison of mistaken identities one horrible yet truly exotic night, of which Xiangkou was the offspring. Of course, neither the Dragon (Yushun) nor the Yuan-Ti (Nantou) wanted anything to do with the child (or each other, for that matter). Yushun was embarrased and disgusted at the thought of what he had done, and Nantou was simply uninterested in having any responsibility, especially over a child so ... unpure. Abandoned by both of her parents, the outcast Xiangkou vowed revenge against both of them and then sought refuge in the Jungle Lands, where she has now grown to be a great and powerful master of dark sorcery.

Recently, Xiangkou's father, Yushun the Chiang Lung Dragon, died in combat in a remote part of the Far East. The Dragon's greatest ally in the battle, an ancient Constrictor *Naga* monk named Qufen, was able to salvage and escape with Yushun's blue brain pearl (which gave the Dragon the ability to fly), so that he could take the gem back to the Celestial Bureaucracy. 

Qufen and his companion, a young Greensnake Naga rogue named Jingquan, were traveling to the Great Temple with the blue brain pearl when they were ambushed by Xiangkou's korobokuru. Jingquan escaped with the blue brain pearl unseen, but has only been able to keep tenuous contact with Qufen through their Akasha (the Naga's inherent telepathic link) since, mostly because he is being tortured. Hence, she only knows the sketchiest details of Qufen's situation.

Xiangkou found out about her father's death and Qufen's transportation of his blue brain pearl some weeks ago. In the time since, she has been crafting a *simulacrum* of her father in a magical igloo she has created at her compound and maintains with frost spells. The missing piece that she needs to give life to the simulacrum is the blue brain pearl that Qufen and Jingquan are carrying. With the completed simulacrum, Xiangkou will have control of a mighty Chiang Lung Dragon with the added bonus of getting her revenge by ordering her father around.

The only caveat to this whole plan of Xiangkou's is that she has grabbed the wrong person. Qufen doesn't have the blue brain pearl, and in torturing him she has only just found out that someone was traveling with him. Her korobokuru are searching the town for Jiangquan while the party are sleeping. It is when they find her that the action begins.

*The Main Event:*
The party is awakened (or alerted) by piercing screams coming from Jingquan's room. As they rush the door to investigate, the first thing they see on the floor of the darkened room is a pile of bloody *women's clothing*. After some quick inspection, a noise from outside draws their attention just in time to glimpse a giant snake and a bunch of shorter beings racing through the darkness down below, headed out of town. Unbeknownst to the party however, this is not Xiangkou (as they would assume), but instead Jingquan in her true Naga form persuing the korobokuru who now have possession of the blue brain pearl.

What happens now is all up to the party. Several things are possible and/or probable:
---They could persue and attack Jingquan thinking her to be Xiangkou, which would cost valuable time and could weaken all of them (Jingquan included) right before the battle to come. The korobokuru will continue running away into the jungle, regardless.

---Once the party enters the Jungle, it may be no easy task finding their way to Xiangkou's retreat. Jingquan will help, if she's able, by providing what scattered and confusing information she knows from Qufen about the location, and, if pressed, everything else that she knows about what is going on. However, Jingquan feels that Qufen will be in greater danger of death once Xiangkou has the blue brain pearl, so the stress of that will color her reactions to any needless waste of time that extensive questioning from the party could cause.

---Xiangkou is already in the middle of casting the simulacrum spell (it takes twelve hours) when the korobokuru arrive with the blue brain pearl. She learns that her servants are being pursued, but rather than kill Qufen now, she wants to relish the sight of he and his companion dying at the hands of the Dragon that was once his greatest ally. She may or may not know about the party, depending on how they interacted with the korobokuru back in town.

---This is not the first simulacrum that Xiangkou has created either - her first one was a duplicate of herself, of course. When the party arrives, they will be met by the simulacrum of Xiangkou and many of the korobokuru. If the party happens to defeat them, they may think that they have won. Too bad for them. Again, Jingquan will help the party with what info she can. Once she gets within 30 feet of Qufen, she will have instant access through the Akasha to everything Qufen has seen and heard. If they can release Qufen and heal him he will join them in the battle as best he can.

---The primary focus of the battle is to stop Xiangkou from completing the simulacrum of Yushun. However, nobody knows that that is what she is doing. Of course, the party will probably be drawn to the odd sight of a igloo in the middle of the jungle, but Xiangkou hasn't shared anything of what her trues plans are with Qufen, so there is no way for the party to know what they will find as they approach the igloo (other than a few more korobokuru waiting outside).

---If the party can stop Xiangkou's spell, they will still have to deal with her - and she will be angry, very angry. Not a pretty picture. She will try to escape with the blue brain pearl if at all possible, so that she can try to make the simulacrum again later. Of course, if they don't stop her spell ... better not to think about that.

*The End?:*
---Qufen and Jingquan both know that a *Scroll of Miracle* is in amongst Qufen's belongings. If they can find it in time, they will use it, but only to do something truly heroic (it is one of the great artifacts of their monastery which was given directly to them by their God and has been handed down from Head Vedic to Head Vedic). If there is no other way to defeat the Dragon, if one or the other of them has died, if one or more party members have perished - all of these would be suitable reasons for using the Scroll. Lastly, if the party (or one individual) has proved themselves exceedingly worthy and honorable (through good roleplaying) at the adventure's end, they will offer the Scroll to them. Because this can be an overpowering item, DMs are advised to use it sparingly or not use it at all, if they deem it so.

---What will become of the party now? If they've left Xiangkou and/or her Dragon alive, then they have made an extremely powerful enemy that could plague them for a long time to come. Of course, if they've saved Qufen and/or Jingquan, then they've made some powerful allies as well. The Celestial Bureaucracy will be pleased if the party is helpful is avoiding this disastrous situation, as well. And the surrounding countryside will be grateful to be rid of the menace.

---Xiangkou's hideout should have a fairly sizeable cache of magic. Of course, if she's alive, she'll be wanting it back.

---Regardless, it should be interesting to see how the PCs handle it the next time they have an innocent drink at a bar


----------



## Mirth

KD,

I just read yours. Nice work! I don't want to say any more before nem posts, but may the best man win. Good Luck!


----------



## Quickbeam

Zappo said:
			
		

> *Congrats Quickbeam; you definitely deserved to win.  Without any less merit to you, I myself am not at all satisfied with my entry. The idea of having the "cavalry" be toys is very neat!
> 
> Now, good luck for the next match!  *




Thank you very much!!  I'd have to say that my kids get some of the credit, since my wife and I have just finished all of the holiday shopping and I've still got toys on the brain .  I was very surprised to discover how difficult it was to articulate my story ideas in anything that resembled a brief synopsis, while still making it seem interesting and coherent.

Good luck to you for next time.  I know you'll be back!!


----------



## el-remmen

I am going to try to get this last match judged by tonight some time - but I have a company x-mas party to go to and well, honestly, I plan to party like Andrew W.K.  

Anyway, I will be away Tuesday/Wednesday, so in any event, round 2 will not begin until Thursday at the earliest (maybe Wednesday night if people are around).

I think I already know who won in this last match - it is just a matter of double-checking and writing it up.

It's not gonna be pretty. ..


----------



## KDLadage

Mirthcard: Thanks -- yours is quite good as well!

Nem: be brutal -- it would not be Iron DM unless it were not pretty!


----------



## Mirth

KDLadage said:
			
		

> *Mirthcard: Thanks -- yours is quite good as well!*




Thanks. If we keep going like this, then we're gonna be necking like arwink and Rune 



			
				KDLadage said:
			
		

> *Nem: be brutal -- it would not be Iron DM unless it were not pretty! *




I think you're pretty, nem. 

If that helps. If not, well ... let's be ugly together


----------



## incognito

*On Nem's judgements so far (FYI only)*

*Winner:*Arwink 

agree 

*Winner:* Wicht

agree 

*Winner:* Quickbeam

agree 

It's nice to see judge consistency, anyway...




> _originally posted by nemmerle_
> I don't know. . . does that third win count if _I_ was not judge?




Just to confirm, do you no longer want me running the IRON DM competition?  I strongly value your opinion, and don't want to step on any toes.  And it kinda makes it more official, if I have your blessing.


----------



## el-remmen

*Re: On Nem's judgements so far (FYI only)*



			
				incognito said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Just to confirm, do you no longer want me running the IRON DM competition?  I strongly value your opinion, and don't want to step on any toes.  And it kinda makes it more official, if I have your blessing. *




I was just trying to goad Vaxalon into continuing to play - I mean, it is easy to call your champion when you only had to step in and beat one person - not have to win all the way from the beginning and make it to the final round every time. . .   

No toes stepped on. . .


----------



## seasong

Top Five Reasons To Play In The Home Game

5. I'm amusing myself there, _why aren't you?_
4. Remember, there are no losers in the Home Game, just people who wish they were in Iron DM.
3. Nemmerle's only going to critique 14 scenarios by 8 people, and you're probably not one of them.
2. You don't want to see me beg. It's less pretty than a _nemmerlesque_ critique gone horribly wrong.
1. What, you scared or sumthin?


----------



## Mirth

That is some kinda funny, seasong


----------



## incognito

*exposition*

something I asked for in the last round of IRON DM, and a great way to get into the thoughts of the competitors is asking the wirters for _exposition_ from both the winner and the loser of a round.

So, although I am simply an observer of this IROM DM competition:

I still demand exposition!

ahem.


----------



## Zappo

Exposition?


----------



## Quickbeam

seasong:
If I weren't a competitor in this forum, your comments would have me posting in the Home Game thread .

incognito:
Gimme an idea of what types of remarks and reflective commentary you're seeking, and I'll be happy to oblige.


----------



## seasong

In _incognito_'s IronDM back in October, after each judgement was rendered from on high, the competitors (winner and loser) would explain their reasoning for why they included certain things, or didn't, and otherwise give some insight into why they went the way they did.


----------



## Mirth

I'd be glad to offer some exposition guys, but nem's not done with our battle yet


----------



## incognito

> Exposition?




Zappo: ->What seasong said 


Mirthcard: Muahahah!  Don't worry, win or lose, you'll get your chance!


----------



## Zappo

I looked at Cavalry, Angry Halfling and Kazoos, and I immediately got a mental pictures of a horde of mounted Raging halfling barbarians, with some sort of epic music being played in the background. The fact that it was being played on the kazoo added a silly element that I found kinda funny. When the wild idea evolved into halfling valkyries being called by Wagner's music, I just couldn't get it out of my head - the look on the face of the kazoo player!

This implied some sort of large-scale battle, which in turn implied nation-scale resources, so I had the PCs being hired by a King to retrieve the magical kazoo. A classical go-and-take-the-item-in-the-dungeon quest, with a comedic low tone (a powerful halfling archmage?), a last-minute surprise, and a large scale final battle. No particular roleplaying ambitions, just fun.

The first big problem was designing an interesting dungeon. The ancient halfling house was a no brainer, but then I met the barrier: can't make a big dungeon in a short adventure. Can't even make a medium dungeon, not without going way too far from the ingredients. So I just figured what kind of creatures would make their lair in a cave and placed a den of wolves, and then went on to the big encounter. The hydra is fairly suitable as a "guardian of the artefact" creature. It is stupid and immediately hostile, and fairly predictable. So I had it be the stage boss, and specified that it could squeeze through the tunnels, though barely (fairly big snakes can crawl through fairly small tunnels, after all *cough*harrypotteranddachambaofsecrets*cough*). This also enabled the PCs to devise some tactics to help them against the high CR monster. Originally, it had a paragraph saying that it occasionally crawled away to get something to eat, and the wolves would cower in the bottom of their den, but I edited it out for brevity (is there anyone at all who actually respected the 500 words limit btw?).

At this point, while I already had an idea forming for the hat, I was completely stumped with the wishing well. The thought of a non-magical wishing well, which just sits in the middle of a village, and gets tossed some coins every now and then, never crossed my mind (besides, I wouldn't have known where to place it). But a well of wishes? You could make an entire adventure around a well of wishes. In fact, for all of five minutes I wanted to make the armies of two nations clash for the control of a real well of wishes. Nah, too powerful, better have it do something wishy but not too wishy. It had to be in a separate encounter, or in the dungeon. Again for brevity, I went for the dungeon. A wishing well in a halfling house, what could it do? I thought about The Hobbit and LOTR's big hobbit parties, and figured that a well which did something good for the wizard's guests would be appropriate. Plus, it was a pun on "wishing well", ya know, like, wishing well on someone, that sort. Hah. But yeah, in the end, it was hammered in.

On to the final bit. It wasn't trying to insert intrigue; the battle is imminent, no time for that. This _is_ a mostly hack'n'slash adventure, make no mistake. What it was trying to do, is to set up a final surprise when everything seems to be going well. With a hat of disguise, the choice was between having an orcish spy, and having _Riker_ be an orcish spy (I started out with Riker having a flamboyant hat, and refusing to take it away even in presence of the king, then decided against it). The unsurpassable problem here was: the hat only gives +10 to disguise. It isn't automatic. What if a PC notices it? Yeah, I could plan for it, but that would have made the whole thing a bunch longer. So, instead, I arranged things so that the orcish spy only had to fool NPCs. I rewrote three or four times the final bit, first having Riker kidnapped to come back later, then realizing that any orc would just kill him, then toying with the idea of having him resurrected, then having the king deliver the kazoo himself, then using a lieutenant, until I decided that the orc would not have even tried attacking the bard, and would just rely on speed instead. He would simply meet the lieutenant carrying the kazoo before Riker. This of course only gave him a few minutes before being discovered, which was just what I needed. The finale was easy then.

Odd enough, I don't see some of the flaws nemmerle pointed as big issues, but I dislike this scenario for other reasons. For example, the orc is standing on a hill, surrounded by mounted goblins, but the whole scene is near the King's encampment. No way he can escape, and the PCs aren't alone; any number of soldiers from the army can come to their help. The orc _will_ die, provided that the PCs use their superior fighting ability to get to him quickly (before the horde arrives). Riker as I said was a problem, but I just needed him missing for a few minutes.

I completely agree on the dungeon, though. Being the meat of the adventure, it badly needed more encounters. As it stands, it looks like a D&D-the-movie dungeon. The well, intended to give a ooh-this-is-a-hobbit-home-full-of-friendliness feeling, fails miserably due to its lack of an explanation.

That, and that the aim of a funny/silly undertone was vastly missed. The final scene with the halfling valkyries and the music was completely non-interactive; if the adventure was a videogame, it would have been the ending full-screen video.


----------



## Quickbeam

Post-Battle Exposition, Round #1
GRACE UNDER PRESSURE

First Impressions & Impulses:
** Immediately upon seeing the ingredients list, the mischievous toy maker and his animated cavalry of soldier/burglars sprang to mind...probably because of all the holiday shopping we've done of late.  The other item that jumped off the page was the kazoo.  It practically screamed annoying gnome bard, and was an easy tie in with the deceitful toy maker...someone who would reap great pleasure from convincing the naive, childlike bard that one kazoo was not nearly enough to properly render fitting performances.  This may have been a sidelight as my story was eventually posted, but Nat Bundungle was there from the start.  He was the comic relief for players and DM in the scenario.
** Dysphasia entered the picture early on also, mainly in tribute to a friend of mine who always includes some bizarre pschological or physiological trait for his PC's.  I saw this as another opportunity for DM fun, and creative character investigation while piecing the puzzle together.
** The angry halflings were initially going to be a family with the great misfortune of living near Bundungle, constantly subjected to the noise of his poor kazoo playing and children's song festivals.
** The hydra was initially going to be a polymorphed creature that Grace himself was designing a Figurine to house permanently...but how does a cleric get such a beast in the first place?  That stumped me for a while.
** The Wishing Well was originally gonna house Grace's stolen goods, but I didn't know how or why, and the Hat of Disguise was the wild card for me early on.  What to do, what to do?

Development:
The more I fleshed out Grace (who seemed to be the focal character), the more his background and history evolved.  I clearly saw a disfigured man who'd endured years of teasing and torment as a child, and desperately wanted to USE children as a means of furthering his own ends thereafter.  This man was primarily raised by someone with their own axe to grind in life, someone who could offer him power and safe haven from the outside world in exchange for his blind devotion to faith.  A little more thinking, and Grace's mentor became a rogue cleric who'd been made a refugee at the hands of halfling clerics wielding a powerful item.  Something she would always remember, and teach her pupil to covet.
So Grace creates animated toys to satisfy his chaotic and mishievous bent, and much like the proprietor in _Needful Things_, makes certain that everyone (especially children) can afford his wares...to his ultimate benefit.  The more I thought about these toys marching about, the more it made sense to have them move secretly, and cover of night was not enough.  Thus were born the coal tunnels, and the hub above them covered by Gladwin's wishing well.  That just left the polymorphed hydra and Hat of Disguise.  I liked the idea of Grace not really being evil, just chaotic and a bit warped, and an evil wizard as the _real_ villain took form.  This wizard would form a pact (forced or voluntary) with Grace to help solve my ingredient dilemma, and present him with the means of hiding his grim visage.

The rest is just details .

*EDIT:* Other notes...
I didn't like using dysphasia more than once -- it seemed forced at that point, and might have compromised an otherwise neat concept.  Also, I agree with nemmerle that the story so totally revolves around roleplaying, that combat is essentially ignored.  Sure the party _might_ end up fighting the hydra or Malandoc, or both at the same time, but those events aren't guaranteed.  The Xorn and Grace are designed to avoid conflict, leaving us with a lovely tale that doesn't pack much punch.  And like my opponent Zappo, I was already so far past 500 words that squeezing anything else in would have been silly.  Heck, as things stood I felt as though I were scimping on the background set up, not to mention specific combat encounters.  And finally, look at my avatar -- I just *HAD* to include some kind of malevolent toys!!


----------



## arwink

Exposition - Seems we only get together at weddings and funerals.

To be honest, it all came together out of lack of sleep and desperation.  The only really strong ideas I had and liked was the love-sick treant and the image of a ruined clock tower rising out of a lake, and I think that shows in the submission.  Everything else was just built around that somehow, and the natural progression of things was to have the river spirit as the object of his affection and the evil granmother lurking in her background.  I looked back on my submission after I'd gotten some sleep, and immediately thought of a dozen or so ways I could make it clearer or better, but it just wasn't that kind of day...

The hardest thing to fit in was the Ring of Sustenance.  I've decided that I hate that magic item with a passion, and plan to very nasty things to the next person who wants one in my games.  I decided early on that I wanted to avoid fairy-tailisms as much as possible, and for a couple of hours I really resisted the idea of including a wedding in the scenario at all.  

I did have another idea half-written that integrated the various ingredients in a different way, but it meant I had to let go of the treant encounter and I liked it too much for that.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to clock up some sleep before the next round so I'm actually coherant when I put things together.


----------



## Quickbeam

arwink said:
			
		

> *
> Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to clock up some sleep before the next round so I'm actually coherant when I put things together. *




Now let's not be hasty (says Quickbeam...how ironic), I'm told that sleep can be highly overrated.  Lots of caffeine and strenuous physical activity would be much better, don't you think?


----------



## Mirth

*BUMP*


----------



## KDLadage

*BUMP*


----------



## Mirth

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *I am going to try to get this last match judged by tonight some time - but I have a company x-mas party to go to and well, honestly, I plan to party like Andrew W.K.
> 
> Anyway, I will be away Tuesday/Wednesday, so in any event, round 2 will not begin until Thursday at the earliest (maybe Wednesday night if people are around).
> 
> I think I already know who won in this last match - it is just a matter of double-checking and writing it up.
> 
> It's not gonna be pretty. ..    *




So KD, do you think this means we have to wait until Thursday? 

AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!


----------



## Wicht

mirthcard said:
			
		

> *
> 
> So KD, do you think this means we have to wait until Thursday?
> 
> AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!
> 
> *




I feel for you two.


----------



## seasong

That means you both should have time to post something in the Home Game.

Nudge.

Nudge.


----------



## KDLadage

Wait....til....Thursday... 

I hope not...


(then again, there is the home game...)


----------



## incognito

> _originally posted by arwink_
> The hardest thing to fit in was the Ring of Sustenance. I've decided that I hate that magic item with a passion, and plan to very nasty things to the next person who wants one in my games. I decided early on that I wanted to avoid fairy-tailisms as much as possible, and for a couple of hours I really resisted the idea of including a wedding in the scenario at all.




Hey arwink: this is THE BEST reason for designing a trap around a magic item - detesting those who love the munchy item in question...and now, off to punish my players with with a wide variety of cursed, but useful magic items...like _Boots of Speed_ that literally inject you with methaphetamine


----------



## KDLadage

*BUMP*

At this point I am just hoping all is well...


----------



## Quickbeam

I want to know which of you two (KDLadage & mirthcard) has advanced, almost as bad as you must!!  The anxiety and nagging doubt has got to be killing you both .

And BTW...bump.


----------



## incognito

c'mon - the anticipation was 1/2 the fun!

You think my critiques took _that_ long to write?

 

(actually they did...)


----------



## Mirth

AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!

huff ... huff ... huff ...

AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!


----------



## KDLadage

*Bump*

I am beginning to get a bit worried... has anyone seen Nem online at all?

Of course, it could be that it was just one heck of a party...


----------



## Mirth

KD,

He did say in that post that he would be away on Tues & Wed, so I have a feeling we're not going to find out whose kung fu is the best until Thursday 

But here's a little ditty to hold us over til then:

If I could save time in a bottle,
I'd break it over my head,
So I could pass out
While we wait for this bout
To be judged inside of Nem's Head


----------



## KDLadage

True...

Well... her goes a bump for good measure, anyway.


----------



## incognito

Whew!  Just had to put in a quick "how you like me now!?" over at the home game.

One of the reasons Your's Truly does not write IRON DM submissios it that I am too wordy.  My last word count was ~10,000 - just a tad over Nemm's recommened 500 



The submissions over there are worth a read if you have the time (yeah yeah, patting myself on the back).


----------



## KDLadage

The one I submitted here was about 2500 words... I just hope I kept his attention. 

But we'll see.


----------



## incognito

KD: C'mon - 500 is like, unreasonably short. I'm sure, sure, sure that 2,500 well written words will keep anyone's attention (it kept mine)...

Now go read my story, dammit!


----------



## seasong

Hey incognito, I just critiqued your Home Game submission. Pretty good, overall, but I was a bit hard on some things .

As for the 500 word thing... I'd be interested to see how a 500 page summary & outline did against a magazine article length scenario. If nemmerle is serious about wanting the summary & outline, it's a good guideline, and a winning strategy!


----------



## el-remmen

Since 3 pm Monday, I have been roaring drunk at a company x-mas party, drunkenly singing karaoke with co-workers at 2 am, driven up to Albany with the mother of all hangovers, saw Dave Matthews band, drove back, slept a few hours and then saw the Two Towers and then x-mas shopping. . .

I am back, but exhausted. . .  

Sorry, but the judgement will have to wait ofr late tonight or by mid-day tomorrow. . . 



But aside from that, all is well - thanks for the concern


----------



## KDLadage

If you are going to be MIA -- Dave Mathews is as good an excuse as any, I suppose! Merry Christmas, Nem!


----------



## Mirth

KDLadage said:
			
		

> *If you are going to be MIA -- Dave Mathews is as good an excuse as any, I suppose! Merry Christmas, Nem! *




Sucking up to the judge is strictly verboten, KD  Isn't that right, oh wise and merciful, bright and wonderful, fair and impartial, all-knowing Nemmerle? 

oh, and ***BUMP***


----------



## Wicht

I am all ready for the second round to begin... 

at least as soon as I have an opponent


----------



## Mirth

Wicht said:
			
		

> *I am all ready for the second round to begin...
> 
> at least as soon as I have an opponent  *




Well I can't speak for KD, but I have to say that my confidence is pretty shaky right now. This wait is killin' me


----------



## Wicht

mirthcard said:
			
		

> *Well I can't speak for KD, but I have to say that my confidence is pretty shaky right now. *




Waiting does that to a person.  You go in full of optimism and then you start overanalyzing your own work.


----------



## el-remmen

*KDladage vs. mirthcard - judgment*

KDLadage vs. mirthcard – Round One – Judgment

Man, I am still recovering for three pretty crazy days. . .   

Whew!

Anyway, I just have to begin by saying that Kdladage’s entry caused me some consternation. . .  “Should I just immediately disqualify the entry because it kind of violates the spirit of the rules?”  I mean, it isn’t really one adventure – but a series of encounters meant to be played out over the course of a larger campaign – which kind of circumvents the idea of making the ingredients work together by spreading them out over many levels.

But, in the end, I decided not to disqualify the entry right off the back – but in my mind I knew Kdladage would be working from a deficit –and entry would have to work hard to win.

Mirthcard’s entry begins weakly – I mean, the whole “someone approaches you in a tavern” thing has been done to death, came back as the cool “retro” thing to do and then died again – or at least it should have.

However, from there mirthcard’s entry really takes off and is quite impressive.  The “need”  for  Jingquan to hide her true form from the party, and the likely confusion resulting from the nighttime korobokuru attack and her assuming her naga form should make for a great encounter in and of itself – but the unknown race again time to defeat the evil naga before she can create a simulacrum of the dragon was a excellent touch and works the ingredients together really well.

Kdladage’s entry, despite being sprawled out over a great period of time has a “rail-roading” feeling that I chafe against – while it is good to include suggestions as to how to handle “uncooperative” parties – it seems to me that the series of events are so far apart and heavy-handed as to be contrived – I think most players would go along “because it seems that is where the DM wants us to go.”  In addition, the naga seems completely shoe-horned into the scenario – esp. after the effort to include the snake-skin clues throughout – that they are the skins of the naga offspring (why would they keep having offspring?) that he kills for his own amusement seems like a pretty thin motivation.

Finally, mirthcard’s explanation of the _scroll of miracle_ – is better than Kdladage’s.  Such a powerful object even though it is “only” a scroll – either needs a strong connection to the rest of the adventure – or a backstory in and of itself.

In the end, I have to give this round to *mirthcard*.

Kdladage, I admire you attempt to do something a little “different” – but in the end it really fell short of being a neatly tied together adventure.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now we move on to the semi-final round:

It will be _Arwink vs. Quickbeam_

And _Wicht vs. mirthcard_

Let me know when you are around.


----------



## Wicht

Congragulations Mirthcard!

Are you ready to go?


----------



## KDLadage

*Re: KDladage vs. mirthcard - judgment*



> *KDLadage vs. mirthcard – Round One – Judgment
> 
> Anyway, I just have to begin by saying that Kdladage’s entry caused me some consternation. . .  “Should I just immediately disqualify the entry because it kind of violates the spirit of the rules?”  I mean, it isn’t really one adventure – but a series of encounters meant to be played out over the course of a larger campaign – which kind of circumvents the idea of making the ingredients work together by spreading them out over many levels.
> 
> But, in the end, I decided not to disqualify the entry right off the back – but in my mind I knew Kdladage would be working from a deficit –and entry would have to work hard to win.
> 
> .
> .
> .
> 
> Kdladage’s entry, despite being sprawled out over a great period of time has a “rail-roading” feeling that I chafe against – while it is good to include suggestions as to how to handle “uncooperative” parties – it seems to me that the series of events are so far apart and heavy-handed as to be contrived – I think most players would go along “because it seems that is where the DM wants us to go.”  In addition, the naga seems completely shoe-horned into the scenario – esp. after the effort to include the snake-skin clues throughout – that they are the skins of the naga offspring (why would they keep having offspring?) that he kills for his own amusement seems like a pretty thin motivation.
> 
> Finally, mirthcard’s explanation of the scroll of miracle – is better than Kdladage’s.  Such a powerful object even though it is “only” a scroll – either needs a strong connection to the rest of the adventure – or a backstory in and of itself.
> 
> In the end, I have to give this round to mirthcard.
> 
> Kdladage, I admire you attempt to do something a little “different” – but in the end it really fell short of being a neatly tied together adventure.*



*An honest and fair judgement. I bow to you, sir!

Go get 'em Mirthcard! *


----------



## incognito

KD: FWIW, I though that the concept of having the ingredients disperesed over time, to become a cohesive story thread later was inventive!  It can be difficult to expres in a tight knit adventur epackage though.

Now that the round is over: Can I get a critique on my attempt at this set of ingredients over in the home game...pretty please?

maybe one from mirthcard as well.

Since both of you have USED the ingredients, your opinions are pretty relavent, in my mind.


----------



## Mirth

*Re: KDladage vs. mirthcard - judgment*

I can't believe I won. Finally in a Iron DM and I actually made it to the second round over a KD who is a creative powerhouse (Umbragia rocks  ). Thanks Nem & thanks KD (see more comments in my reply to your post).

On to some constructive replies:



			
				nemmerle said:
			
		

> *KDLadage vs. mirthcard – Round One – Judgment
> Mirthcard’s entry begins weakly – I mean, the whole “someone approaches you in a tavern” thing has been done to death, came back as the cool “retro” thing to do and then died again – or at least it should have.*




Ok, ok. Guilty as charged. I'm an ol skooler when it comes to D&D (started playing in 1979 in 5th grade). I can understand it's not your taste, but I'm a sucker for the old tried and true cliches. Point taken and it won't come up in following rounds (at least not on purpose).



			
				nemmerle said:
			
		

> *However, from there mirthcard’s entry really takes off and is quite impressive.  The “need”  for  Jingquan to hide her true form from the party, and the likely confusion resulting from the nighttime korobokuru attack and her assuming her naga form should make for a great encounter in and of itself – but the unknown race again time to defeat the evil naga before she can create a simulacrum of the dragon was a excellent touch and works the ingredients together really well.*




Thanks. When I first went into this scenario, I was going to do a _Time Bandits_ thing with it, because of the first ingredient. It was called "Luck Be A Lady Tonight" and revolved around the PCs running across and then being stuck in an otherworldly bar where they contested against a group of dwarves to track down a bunch of items and win a chance at spinning the wheel of fortune and getting great (or not so great) stuff at the end. Let's say an ol skool return to the first time you might have encountered a deck of many things in 1st ed, but with a bit more plot involved. 

Because of the naga and the monk, I knew that I wanted to have an asian spin to it. I conceived of the bar as a place for the Celestial Bureaucracy to blow off steam and relax, since they were usually so organized and lawful, but the element of luck always played a big part in their pantheon. The bartender would be a Naga. The monk would be a god in disguise and so on. The bar would appear on the prime material plane every 100 years or so, the gods would know of it and arrive there to party, some mortals (like the dwarves) would be invited as entertainment, and some mortals (the PCs) would just stumble across it. But something didn't feel right. It kept feeling more like a location description, rather than a plot-driven adventure. I tried to brainstorm...

I began researching the other ingredients that were spells and found that _simulacrum_ was a 7th level Wiz/Sorc spell. Knowing that Wizzes weren't in OA, I looked up Sorc in OA and saw the mention of sorcerors being descended from dragons. I had also read that female Shinomen Nagas can appear as human. At that point, my concept of Xiangkou and Jingquan came together, along with their mistaken identity problem, forcing a rewrite of the whole scenario (also why I was so close to the deadline).

From there, everything just sort of fell together -the korobokuru, the blue brain pearl (just love saying that), the evil Xiangkou, the igloo in the jungle, etc. Typing it out was what took the longest. I probably kept the bar in the beginning just because of the first scenario idea.



			
				nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Finally, mirthcard’s explanation of the scroll of miracle – is better than Kdladage’s.  Such a powerful object even though it is “only” a scroll – either needs a strong connection to the rest of the adventure – or a backstory in and of itself.*




I thought that was my weakest use of an ingredient, actually. I couldn't figure out how to shoehorn it in there and not overpower everything else, so I left it as a DM choice.



			
				nemmerle said:
			
		

> *In the end, I have to give this round to mirthcard.*




Thanks nemmerle  It was a tortuous few days waiting for that verdict, let me tell you. But I'm ecstatic now!


----------



## Mirth

*Re: Re: KDladage vs. mirthcard - judgment*



			
				KDLadage said:
			
		

> *An honest and fair judgement. I bow to you, sir!
> 
> Go get 'em Mirthcard!  *




WOW! Thanks KD ... I think you did a great job and I humbly accept this win. It's really hard to bring together all of the elements and make them ALL work. Some of yours definitely stood out better than mine, so I consider it a tough win overall. Thanks again. On to round two


----------



## Mirth

Wicht said:
			
		

> *Congragulations Mirthcard!
> 
> Are you ready to go?  *




Holy Crap! Now I have to face Wicht  

I guess I'm ready when you are, big guy. 

Still a little dizzy, though.


----------



## el-remmen

Wicht? Mirthcard? Still around?

Quickbeam? Arwink?


----------



## Wicht

I am here and should be for the rest of the day.


----------



## Mirth

I'm here (just wet myself, thinking about facing Wicht)


----------



## incognito

REALLY looking forward to *Wicht* vs. *Mirthcard*

Mirthcard - excellent job, I have to say!  Including good exposition.


----------



## Mirth

incognito said:
			
		

> *REALLY looking forward to Wicht vs. Mirthcard
> 
> Mirthcard - excellent job, I have to say!  Including good exposition. *




Thanks. I'll try to get to yours in the home game when this is all over. I've read it, and it looked good, but I'm trying to be very zen about this.


----------



## Wicht

mirthcard said:
			
		

> *I'm here (just wet myself, thinking about facing Wicht)  *




 

I'm not that fearsome an opponent surely.  I mean, I have yet to actually win.


----------



## el-remmen

If both of you post me another "I'm here!" I will post your ingredients. . .


----------



## Mirth

I'm here


----------



## Quickbeam

Things have taken a horrible turn at work.  This will be the only time I'm online all day.  I respectfully request that my round not commence until sometime tomorrow or Saturday.

Thanks much...and congrats to mirthcard after the long wait.


----------



## Mirth

Quickbeam said:
			
		

> *and congrats to mirthcard after the long wait. *




Thanks QB. Seems so short now that it's over ... NOT!


----------



## Wicht

I'm here - post the ingredients


----------



## Mirth

I'm here too, just so you don't have to ask again.


----------



## el-remmen

Semi-Final Round: Wicht vs. mirthcard

You guys know the rules. . .

*Ingredients*
-----------------------
Secret Journey
Message in a Bottle
Ghost
Female Halfling Wizard
Doubtful Vampire
One Night Show

--------------------------

Time is 4:58 EST


----------



## el-remmen

Hey did you guys get those ingredients or what?


----------



## Wicht

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Hey did you guys get those ingredients or what?   *




I got em and already have my adventure outlined in my head - working at the moment to start putting it down to paper (or an electronical facsimile thereof)


----------



## Wicht

_and noe ladies and gentlemen, ghost and ghouls, give a hand to..._
*Trixie Twisted and her Terrible Trio of Terror*

_This is an adventure for characters of at least eighth level.  Groups of up to eleventh or twelfth level may still find the final scene of the adventure quite challenging if the DM plays the NPCs well.  _

*PC Introduction*
The PCs, have for some reason, been recommended to the authorities as a group that can get a difficult job done.  Someone even thinks that the PCs can be discreet.  The PCs are offered a whole lot of money if they can *journey* in *secret* and meet with a foreign diplomat in an obscure village and retrieve a series of documents, including a *message* of friendship from a semi-powerful city-state.  The whole thing is very important politically but must also be kept strictly secret until the treaties in question is finalized. (DMs should feel free to alter this to best suit their campaign – the vital thing is that it’s important and it’s secret.)  If the PCs are less than reputable, DMs should alter the hook a bit to include a promise that the powers that be will agree to ‘forget’ certain past troubles if the PCs will do the job for them.

The diplomat they are to meet is an unknown to those hiring the PCs, but arrangements have been made for the PCs to locate him.  They are first to travel to the village of Hamsburg where the local blacksmith will give them a password that they will deliver to a certain barmaid in the village of Trangor.  The barmaid in Trangor will then give a description to the PCs of the diplomat.  They will then meet the diplomat in the village of Rumsdale in a tavern called *“The Bottle.*”

The PCs are cautioned to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble.  No one must know of their mission and they are to avoid being conspicuous in any way.  Payment will be made in full when the PCs return with the documents.

*The Problems*
The PCs encounter three specific problems on their journey to Rumsdale.

First of all, they are attacked by a group of “bandits” before they reach Hamsburg.  These attackers first warn the PCs to turn around and keep out of business that does not concern them.  The bandits know nothing however.  They were given a description of the PCs and told to keep them from getting far.

Secondly, the PCs begin to notice they are being followed after leaving Trangor.  Small clues give it away, but the duo following them, an evil ranger and an evil rogue, are very professional and are hard to hunt down.  The PCs may be able to smoke them out, if they devote about a week to it, but that will keep them from finishing their mission.

The main problem however is that everyone in both Hamsburg and Trangor is dead.  Flesh eating zombies are everywhere and if the PCs spend a night in either town they are attacked by vampire spawn.  Investigating will reveal that in the main taverns in both towns there are flyers for “The Terrible Trio of Terror (featuring Trixie Twisted).”  The flyer is apparently for a band, but it is rather a strange advertisement.  The illustration is of a trio of skeletons playing instruments.  A speak with dead spell will reveal that the last thing anyone remembers is going to the concert at the Tavern and listening to the band.  They each died during the final song (except for those who did not attend the concert and were instead killed and partially consumed by the zombies).  The vampire spawn might be able to reveal that they were created by a vampire named Hershwine, a musician in the band, but gaining such information will be difficult as they are not inclined to share this information due to a prohibition from Hershwine.

The upswing of this is that the PCs will not be able to find out who the diplomat is or what he looks like.  Their only recourse is to head to Rumsdale and hope for the best.

*Trixie Twisted and her band*
The Terrible Trio of Terror actually has nothing to do with the PCs mission, but if the PCs try to complete their mission, the two groups (the Trio and the PCs) will run smack dab into each other.

Trixie Twisted is a *female halfling wizard*, a necromancer (9th level) to be exact.  Her father was slightly insane and raised his daughter with the sole goal of making her an arch villain.  He was determined that it would be she who conquered the world.  His plans were set back by two things.  First, he was killed before fully filling her in on his plan for her path to world domination (a group of do-good adventurers burst into his lair one day and cut him down – after which they stole the family fortune).  And secondly what Trixie really wanted to do with her life was sing in a band.  She had a good voice and could write halfway decent music but her father would not hear of it.  After her father was killed she tried her best to be an evil villain.  However she kept being chased out of town before accomplishing anything especially sinister and no-one seemed to take a halfling necromancer that seriously anyway, especially not a female one. 

All that changed when she met Hershwine and Lilly.  She met Hershwine first.  Hershwine was a *vampire* bard (6th level) but he had no real talent for it.  His name was against him for one thing, no-one would take him seriously with a name like Hershwine.  On top of that, he was constantly being beaten by adventuring types.  He had yet to be permanently killed but he *doubted* his ability to be a fearsome member of the undead community.  He could however, play his instruments better than ever and was in top musical form.  He and Trixie hit it off at once.  And then they met Lilly.  Lilly was a *ghost* motivated by two things: a tragic love affair and a life-long musical career.  This meant that as a ghost she hated all living men on principle, and she longed to make music.  The three of them quickly saw their way to forming both a band and a plan.  

Trixie studied long and hard (harder then she had ever studied anything before) and succeeded in devising a ritualistic spell-song which harnessed the powers of all three performers.  The spell required a willing audience, but any willing audience listening to the song-spell would be struck by a powerful death spell.  Those killed would rise within a few hours as zombies driven by the desire to kill the living.   The Trio began traveling to remote villages where they habitually invite the whole village to a spectacular *one night* only *show*.  Illusions and props hide the true nature of the two undead performers and the three are good enough that they can hold a crowd.  Trixie sings, Lilly plays the harp and Hershwine plays the other instruments.  In addition to the music Trixie adds illusional affects and some very real undead (which the crowd habitually mistakes for other illusions).  Then the final song is played and the arcane spell-song strikes the crowd dead.  The band then robs the town blind and moves on, leaving a town filled with flesh-eating zombies.  Trixie is in heaven (in her mind anyway), she is becoming the villain her father longed for her to be and she gets to play in a band at the same time.

*Rumsdale and the Festival of the Dead* 
The PCs arrive in Rumsdale in time to find that the whole town is celebrating a festival of the dead.  Everyone is in costume, dressed as skeletons, vampires, zombies, ghosts and ghouls.  Drink is everywhere, especially in “The Bottle,” the most popular tavern in town.  As well, the Terrible Trio of Terror (featuring Trixie Twisted) will be playing as soon as the sun goes down.  

The PCs should have little time to do anything in town before nightfall but observe there is a festival and be attacked.  The evil rogue and ranger following them finally move in and try to attack the PCs one by one.  Regardless of how the PCs deal with their pursuers, when the sun goes down everyone in town heads to “The Bottle” and the concert starts.  The diplomat, a female elf actually, is also at “The Bottle”, waiting for the PCs.  She is dressed as a rather *doubtful* looking *vampire* and is looking cautiously for the ones supposed to meet her.  She has no idea who her contacts are to be and will be very, very hesitant before actually admitting to being who she is.  The PCs should not have an easy time spotting her.  

In the meantime the show is going on.  Illusions fill the stage and skeletons at time dance to the music.  During one song a vampire spawn actually spider climbs the wall behind the band and dances to the music.  The audience, believing it all to be illusion and magic, think it is only spooky fun.  Lilly plays her harp behind a fluttering white sheet, unseen except as a ghostly outline.  DMs should play up the descriptions of each number.  Whether the PCs do anything about the band is up to them, but if the band is not stopped they will eventually play their final song, called aptly enough “Curtain Call.”  At the climax of the song the death spell is released (doing 9d4 points of negative energy damage to all who hear the song and fail a Fortitude save).  Any left alive are immediately attacked by the three members of the band.  

*Conclusion* 
There are any number of ways the adventure can go.  The PCs may turn around before reaching Rumsdale, concluding their mission to be impossible.  If so they later hear of the tragedy that befalls the town and may encounter the Terrible Trio of Terror later.  The band may flee if the PCs attack before their final number and become a thorn in the side of the PCs and the whole region for that matter.  The PCs may intervene too late and defeat the Trio only after the townsfolks of Rumsdale are slain (the elvish ambassador with them).  Or they may, by extraordinary skill and luck save the town, identify the ambassador and return the papers to their employers.  Regardless, as long as they return home with the documents they will be paid, though it is likely the events in question will be hard to hush up for very long.  Bards will doubtlessly sing the tale of the Terrible Trio of Terror for many years.


----------



## Wicht

aargh - the second word in that post should be now - not noe -


----------



## Wicht

A good morning bump


----------



## arwink

Nemmerle, Quickbeam.  

If it's not to late, can I organise a beginning of my round two match against Quickbeam on Saturday?  I have a x-mas lunch that day, but with the time-zone difference I should be on-line around the same time as Quickbeam when I get home, so we could start the round then.


----------



## Quickbeam

arwink & nemmerle:

I'm ready any time today or tomorrow for our Round #2 battle.  If the match is to commence tomorrow (Saturday), I'd like to agree to a rough starting time beforehand...then I can check for the ingredients at my leisure thereafter.  We have folks arriving in town for the holidays, so I'll only be at the computer intermittently.  My hope would be to just check this thread after the designated "start" time, and work from there.  If it costs me a few hours that's my problem, but it will avoid trying to get all three of us online at the same time during a busy weekend.

Let me know what you both think, and good luck to Wicht, mirthcard, and of course yourself arwink .


----------



## howandwhy99

Great job Wicht!

Just wondering if we should rename the band, though to:

Dixie's Midnight Plunders

Performing "Got some Benzene?"




[Dexie's Midnight Runners...    anyways...   ]


----------



## el-remmen

Arwink and Quickbeam - I would be happy to SET a time as tomorrow 11 am EST for me to post the ingredients and be the agreed to START TIME.

Let me know.


----------



## Quickbeam

That's fine by me, nem.  Unless you and arwink come to agree upon a different time, I'm setting my sights on tomorrow morning at 11:00 EST.

Thanks!


----------



## Wicht

Mirthcard, I observe, likes to push it to the wire as far as the time limit...


----------



## Mirth

*mirthcard vs. Wicht*

*Ingredients:*
Secret Journey
Message In A Bottle
Ghost
Female Halfling Wizard
Doubtful Vampire
One Night Show

*Da Plane, Da Plane, It's Da Plane*
A desperate rescue for 4-6 characters of levels 6-9
_This scenario works best if the party is of good alignment (or at least the majority)._

[bThe Set-Up:[/b]
A rash of child abductions have occured over the last few weeks in an area where the party is staying / adventuring / passing through. The PCs, who have gained a reputation for their good deeds, are contacted by a representative of the local community council, who are willing to pay for help in solving the mystery of the abductions. When the party meets with the council, they are informed that the leaders sent a youthful-looking *female halfling wizard* named Mollia Willowwind to pose as a child and see if she could get abducted, hoping to thereby bring the culprits to justice. Their plan worked only too well, for Mollia has now also disappeared, leaving only a few clues behind, which they have not been able to make sense of. The council appeals to the party's good natures (and pocketbooks, if need be), in hopes of making headway in this disastrous case.

*What's really going on:*
The children are being abducted by a *ghost* and his vampire sidekick and ported through a gate to a demi-plane that they have access to. Mollia is now stuck on the demi-plane with the children and has no way of returning, unless the party can figure out how to rescue her and the kids. 

The ghost, a (former) wizard's apprentice named Sheldrum, has been stealing the children and sending them to the demi-plane to try and appease his master, an evil Wizard / Planeshifter named Menegorn, who resides there in his tower. Or at least he did. What Sheldrum doesn't know is that Menegorn is dead, just like him. Well, not exactly like him, because Menegorn is just plain dead, not undead. Perhaps a bit of background would help.

Menegorn, when he was alive, had a taste for children. What he did with them should not be discussed, but suffice it to say that Eric's grandma definitely wouldn't want to know about it. When he tired of the selection on his home planet, Menegorn learned to roam the planes looking for innocents of all species and varieties. Through bloody sacrifices and other unmentionable means, Menegorn grew and grew in power, until he finally reached a level at which he could create his own demi-plane. There he built his tower on an open, grassy plain ringed with rolling hills and tall pines, lots of edible plants and a stream running down the middle (he loved the peacefulness and quiet of it), where he commenced his bloody reign of terror, undisturbed and unknown.

It was relatively recently that Menegorn captured Sheldrum, a easily dominated, dimwitted young man who barely had the wherewithall to follow the evil Planeshifter's instructions ... but he was pretty. Sheldrum never questioned Menegorn's instructions, never balked at any command, helped with every dirty deed that Menegorn needed done, and kept his mouth shut. 

Menegorn soon felt that he could entrust Sheldrum with The Bottle, a nondescript, ordinary looking piece of glasswork that actually is the gate to Menegorn's demi-plane. Of course, Menegorn only let Sheldrum watch over The Bottle when Menegorn himself wanted to be inside it. Otherwise, Menegorn kept The Bottle on his person at all times. Sheldrum never went into The Bottle himself, unless he was invited, for no one could exit the demi-plane without Menegorn's password, which only Menegorn himself knew. 

At one point within the last few months, Menegorn made a deal with a vampire to give him a child named Jaekkal that he had recently turned into a bloodsucker. Menegorn then assigned Jaekal to Sheldrum and they set off to hunt for more children. The vampire also gave them a map to an old goblin lair in this area that they could use as a base, which has secret tunnels leading to many spots right in the midsts of the local villages. And so the child abductions here began.

The last instruction that Menegorn gave Sheldrum and Jaekkal was to put all the children they could abduct through the gate in The Bottle until he told them to stop, at which point he went off to set up an experiment of great import. Unbeknownst to all three of the villains, the vampire that they had dealt with earlier, didn't care for Menegorn at all. He had given Menegorn an alchemical substance called ScreamCream to play around with, which he claimed would allow the evil Planeshifter to capture the terror of the children he abducted and turn it into a paste that he could cover himself in to increase his powers. 

In actuality, the substance was highly poisonous and highly volatile (except to vampires). All three villains handled the substance and the poison in it has killed Sheldrum. Menegorn was not only poisoned, but incinerated himself and his tower during the experiment he was conducting with the ScreamCream on the demi-plane. 

Sheldrum, as a ghost, still carries out his tasks now with Jaekkal, collecting the children and sending them through The Bottle. However, neither of them know that Menegorn is dead, although Jaekkal is beginning to suspect something. Even though he is a vampire, Jaekkal  is still a young boy and he doesn't quite understand what has become of him or how he got into the position he's in now. He is quite a bit brighter than Sheldrum, however, and is starting to piece things together.

As for Mollia (you remember Mollia?), she found out that the town's children were being approached at night by a young boy named Jaekkal, who promised them all the toys and candy they could ever imagine, if they would attend a *one night show* that he and his friend were staging in their magic cave underground. Jaekkal said that if any of the boys and girls told their parents, he would know, so they would have to keep their little party a secret (it was only for one night, after all, that wouldn't be so hard, would it?). All the special children were to come to Jaekkal's special meeting place on the outskirts of town, so that they could go on their *secret journey* to the magic cave. 

Mollia made quick notes of this in a small notebook that she had tucked under her dress and set off after the village children. When they got to the meeting place - an overgrown, dried up well just outside of town - the children were quickly put under by Sheldrum, who cast sleep on them all and told Jaekkal "to start putting them in The Bottle." Mollia resisted the spell and tried to protect the children, but the Jaekkal overcame her so fast that she was only had enough time to cast _Magic Mouth_ on the side of the well and leave the *message, "In a bottle,"*, purposefully dropping her notebook in the process. The ghost and the vampire then took The Bottle, with the victims inside, back through the hidden tunnel under the well, to their hideout. 

*The Main Event:*
The council was able to find the notebook and trigger the _Magic Mouth_, but they can't make sense of the jotted notes or the gasped "bottle" message (and they weren't able to locate the tunnel under the well). This is where the PCs come in. They have their work cut out for them. The mystery could unravel in a number of ways:

---If the party includes a halfling, they could try the same ruse as Mollia again. It has a chance of working, but after the short fight with Mollia, Jaekkal is now aware that someone is looking for them and is desperately trying to convince Sheldrum of it. They will only hunt once more, tonight, in a neighboring village. 

---There may be some children who know more than they want to reveal about locations and such. The party could try to persuade them to talk. 

---Through other magical means of divination, the party may be able to garner more clues. These should be vague, but true. Essentially, the clues given should be pieces of the puzzle but not the whole picture.

*The End?:*
The key to solving the whole problem is Jaekkal. Once the party can find them, Jaekkal may be willing to work with them, but they will have to convince him. He is sorely tired of working with Sheldrum. He knows where Sheldrum's remains are, so that the party can bury him and end his ghostwalk. He knows where and what The Bottle is. He knows that the password to get out of The Bottle is "Sheldrum," he overheard the evil Planeshifter use it, but Sheldrum could never figure it out. If they can't convince him all the children will die. 

Make no mistake, the child vampire is evil and will go on to kill and kill again, even if he is convinced to help the party. The party will be caught in a conundrum of allying themselves with him and they should be *full of doubt about this vampire*

If the party is successful, the children and Mollia will be freed, they will have their own demi-plane (for a home base maybe?), but what will they do about their ally Jaekkal?

computer died today, got it back and it is now 4:57 by my clock.... sorry


----------



## Mirth

don't know if i made it under the wire or not. sorry everyone. hell of a day for that to happen. really, really sorry. no chance to spellcheck or edit down or anything cuz i had to type in the last part of the scenario so fast to meet the deadline.


----------



## el-remmen

*mirthcard:*

Well, as I edited the title of this thread I noted that my clock was ahead of the board cloak by 4 minutes - meaning you had 54 minutes to post your entry 

I edited my post at 4:21

You posted your entry at 5:12

The 54 minutes would have ended at 5:15.

You just squeaked by. . .  

I'll try to do the judging tonight.  . .

Good luck to you both


----------



## Wicht

I am glad you posted your entry Mirthcard - sorry to hear about your computer problems...


----------



## Mirth

Thanks Nem & Thanks Wicht  My teeth are skint. Now that I can breathe again, I'm gonna go throw up 

Wicht, read your scenario and it is really good, as usual. Good luck!


----------



## Jemal

Hi.  hope nobody minds me posting here.  I just found the General discussion board, I'm usually hanging out over In Character.  I'm really sorry I missed getting into this, it looks like a blast, and I've been getting lots of compliments on my DMing lately (Probly just pcs tryin to butter me up *L*).  But oh well, gives me some time to check out the competition before the next one.

BTW - Whoever's holding the next one, count me in. 

Oh, and Congrats to mirthcard - I liked both your entries for round 1 and round 2.  (No slight to anyone else intended, I just found Mirth's particularily interesting.)


----------



## Dragongirl

Bah, wrong thread sorry.


----------



## arwink

11 EST sounds okay to me as well.  Of course, I have no idea how far away that is at the moment, but I'm not doing much else but scribbling and checking the boards for the rest of the weekend, so it should be fine


----------



## Mirth

Jemal: Thanks for the compliment, but it's considered bad form to praise one or the other contestant before the judge renders his verdict. I'm not trying to be harsh here, just informative  If you want to check out more Iron DM goodness from the past, then see seasong's Home Game of Iron DM, where he has all of the links to the past Iron DMs laid out and beautifully organized.

arwink: It's 7:48am EST by my clock when I post this, if that helps


----------



## arwink

Thanks mirthcard.  Will definately still be awake by then, but only just  

Nemmerle, if Quickbeams here at 11 and I'm not around, just post the ingredients and I'll have them done in time.


----------



## Wicht

mirthcard said:
			
		

> *Wicht, read your scenario and it is really good, as usual. Good luck! *




Thank you and same to you 



> _Originally posted by Jemal_
> *BTW - Whoever's holding the next one, count me in. *




Getting into an Iron DM contest is mostly about timing.  You have to be scanning the boards at just the right moment and sign up for the current contest before anyone else.  There is no waiting list.  It is on a first come - first play basis.

[aside]_I am dreading the contest where I eventually fail to see it before others and am reduced to an observer and not a contestant._[/aside]  

*And now we pause for this brief message...*
Do you get anxious?  Nervous?  Do you need something to do while waiting for Nemm's verdict?  Try checking out The Servants of the Swift Sword storyhour and maybe even the adventure's written for that story hour.    

This month only (at the moment) we are including a free solo adventure for a 6th level wizard in our Plot's and Places Thread (New Magic Item included)!!!  Be sure to check it out!

Just follow the links...


----------



## Quickbeam

Two hours until our ingredients are posted arwink...


----------



## Mirth

Quickbeam said:
			
		

> *Two hours until our ingredients are posted arwink... *




That means we should have our verdict by then, right Wicht?


----------



## Wicht

mirthcard said:
			
		

> *That means we should have our verdict by then, right Wicht?  *



That is my hope   Actually its my new hope.  My old hope was that I would awake this morning and be able to read the verdict already posted but...


----------



## Mirth

10:45am **whistle, whistle** trying not to be nervous... **drumming fingers** la, la, la, la, la ...


----------



## Wicht

That blows that theory 
.
.
.
I bet Nemm, who as we know is both wise and good, is only late because he is conscientously checking over the entries and writing one of his brilliant critiques.


----------



## Quickbeam

Wicht said:
			
		

> *That blows that theory
> .
> .
> .
> I bet Nemm, who as we know is both wise and good, is only late because he is conscientously checking over the entries and writing one of his brilliant critiques.   *




I hope that's the situation, instead of coming to find out that he was creating a truly insidious list of theme elements for arwink and I .


----------



## Mirth

I don't know about nem, but here in Western NC, all of the long distance lines are down. Luckily, my ISP is a local call, so I'm online. However, I have a retail business and I am right now on hold for over 2 hours trying to resolve the problem so that I can run credit card authorizations on the Saturday before Xmas. Very frustrating, let me tell you. It might be nem's problem, I don't know. I guess wait and see is all we can do.


----------



## Wicht

Nemm is in Brooklyn I think.

Why is the long distance down?


----------



## el-remmen

Uh, I overslept and just woke up (that's what happens when you stay up half the night recording music). . . 

I don't want to post the ingredients until I hear from both contestants. . . 

As for the judgement for Wicht vs. mirthcard. . . uh, sometime this afternoon/evening, I promise.


----------



## Wicht

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *I don't want to post the ingredients until I hear from both contestants. . . *




I don't think you will hear from Arwink for a while - he was just expecting you to post at 11 a.m. without him - Actually he will probably be pleasantly surprised he has more time than necessary


----------



## Mirth

Wicht said:
			
		

> *Why is the long distance down? *




That's what I'd like to know. From what I can understand, it's just AT&T, which you can circumvent by dialing 00 and then the number that you want. Eventually, I got my credit card company to walk me through a workaround for my credit card machine, so that it dials using 00 (which is working), but the lines are still down. I lost a few sales already this morning because of the problem, and I'll be switching to a different provider than AT&T on Monday because of their lousy service and my 3hr wait, but I can take credit cards again, so it all worked out I suppose. Not a great Xmas present for me though. Not that you needed to know any of this....


----------



## Quickbeam

I'm ready whenever, nem.  The challenge will be a welcome distraction from all the chaos these past few days...a bit of focused thought and energy if you will.

_edit:_ I just read Wicht's recent post, and I believe he's correct regarding arwink.  However, do what you think is best and most fair with respect to starting our match.  I wouldn't have a problem if arwink was given additional time based on when he checks back in.  I await your orders .


----------



## Mirth

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *As for the judgement for Wicht vs. mirthcard. . . uh, sometime this afternoon/evening, I promise.  *




Ah nem, don't worry about it. Take your time. My day'd been so frustrating so far, that I'm gonna try to to let anything else stress me out. May the better contestant win, and if that's not me, so be it. Wicht is always impressive, and I knew going in that it was going to be a tough match


----------



## el-remmen

Well, this should "calm" you guys (mirthcard & wicht) - having read them over - it is so close _I_ am getting stressed about it


----------



## Wicht

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Well, this should "calm" you guys (mirthcard & wicht) - having read them over - it is so close I am getting stressed about it  *




That does help so much - thanks


----------



## Mirth

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Well, this should "calm" you guys (mirthcard & wicht) - having read them over - it is so close I am getting stressed about it  *




Oh gawd! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!?


----------



## Quickbeam

Good luck to both of you...and once again, I'm ready!!


----------



## el-remmen

The problem with this game is that as the rounds go on the judgements take longer and longer to write and are longer and longer in their dissection and explanation. . . 

I am on page two of my judgment currently and need to take a break. . . 

But I know who is going to win. . .

In the meantime, the ingredients in this particular list are all joined by a common theme - if anyone can guess it - well, uh. . I can't offer a prize - but you'll get mad props from me


----------



## Wicht

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *In the meantime, the ingredients in this particular list are all joined by a common theme - if anyone can guess it - well, uh. . I can't offer a prize - but you'll get mad props from me  *




If you mean the list we did I would guess they were all inspired by your recent 3 day binge - at least the one night show and secret journey seem to fit.  Anyway that could be wrong but it would be my guess. (either that or they are all movie titles  - except of course for the female halfling wizard)


----------



## Mirth

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *In the meantime, the ingredients in this particular list are all joined by a common theme - if anyone can guess it - well, uh. . I can't offer a prize - but you'll get mad props from me  *




The Police / Sting? 

Secret Journey (song from GITM)
Message In A Bottle (song from RDB)
Ghost In The Machine (album)
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (song from GITM)
Moon Over Bourbon Street (song from DOTBT)
Bring On The Night ?? (song / album)

I'm at an unfair disadvantage though. I own a book & music store, I've worked in music & book retail for over 20 years and The Police are my absolute favorite band. Actually, that list caused writer's block for me for a while, cuz I couldn't get the songs out of my mind 

I'm going to listen to them right now as a matter of fact.


----------



## el-remmen

Wicht vs. mirthcard – Semi-final round – Judgment

Let me begin by saying I was a little disappointed in the incorporation of some of the ingredients – they seemed a little stretched to fit – but since both contestants seemed to do this – this “weakness” in the entries cancelled each other out.

I cringed at *Wicht’s* use of a “band” – which seemed anachronistic to me – but if I simply thought of them as a band of traveling performers and ignored the modern connotation of “band” – it was okay.

I wasn’t too sure about the series of events in Wicht’s entry at first and the coincidence of the band having visited (and decimated) the towns the PCs will pass through), while having nothing to do with the actual diplomatic mission – but then I starting considering how _players_ tend to think – _nothing_ is a coincidence in the eyes of a player – so sometimes a coincidence is the best way to confound them.

I could just imagine how creepy it would be for the PCs as they arrive in Rumsdale to find the festival of the dead going strong – after just having encountered villages full of dead people – if played right, this scenario would have a growing eeriness – the PCs would know _something_ is going to happen – but not what – and would be desperate to find their contact “in the Bottle” and get their message and perhaps get out of there – of course, the moral dilemma might also arise where they might have to decide between getting what they came for and going – or sticking around to try to save this town.  Moral dilemmas make for good adventures.

However, Wicht does suffer from some weaknesses in his entry – the flyers left in the destroyed towns are too obvious a clue – and to build more dramatic tension – the party should have to figure out that the band is behind the death – the band should tear down all their flyers before they leave a town – but maybe one or two could have been torn in such a way to have the pieces of some words left – or a great prop could be different pieces of different flyers that are incomplete or redundant and having to piece them together.  Also, the diplomat’s costume making her the ‘doubtful vampire” is especially weak – I would think that everyone dressed up as undead in this town would be “doubtful” to pull off the guise – there is nothing special about it.

I think *mirthcard’s* entry suffers from too much convolution in the backstory. . .  But that is easily ignored. – Perhaps if he had not been rushed in the end he could have presented it with more clarity – but my place is not to ask “what might have been” 

The use of the bottle ingredient for access to the demi-plane was a clever variation on the “City in a Bottle” archetype – but mirthcard failed to incorporate the “message” portion.  Sure, there is the magic mouth that croaks out “bottle” – but that is a _bottle in a message_ not vice-versa – clever reversal – but still not _quite_ the right ingredient. 

The use of the female halfling wizard in an earlier attempt to get to the bottom of the disappearances lends the scenario some verisimilitude –as it does not make the place(s) seem static until the party arrives (a problem with many adventures – most (when fleshed out) SHOULD have timelines of events that will occur if the party does not interfere).  Also, while the goblin tunnels that connect the villages was not in the ingredient list – it again lends mirthcard’s entry (like his last one) an old school flavor – a huge series of tunnels that would take a long time to explore and would make the tracking of the villains difficult – the inclusion of some side-encounters for those tunnels might have been nice, though –or a red herring, if there are still some goblins around who might be held accountable for the disappearance, but might actually make good witnesses to what is really happening.  In fact, if there are secret tunnels in the goblin lair that the villains use – then it would be doubly the _secret journey_/

Personally, I would have gone for a more evil ending – if the young servant became a ghost – I would have had Menegorn rise as a wraith or a wight – so that all those children being put in the bottle when released would become a plague of undead spawn threatening to overrun the villages – but then again, I am a Rat Bastard. 

While, I like the idea of the party might having to ally itself with the boy-vampire – I don’t think the “doubtful” portion of this ingredient was used very well -  in mirthcard’s scenario it is the party that seems doubtful, not the vamp.

In the end, I have to give this round to *Wicht* – It seems he is the man  to beat.

Mirthcard, it was a solid try and from your two entries I can see you are getting better at this so better luck next time. . . 

As for the source of the ingredients, I am impressed that MC figured it out – esp. “Bring on the Night” which is the source of the “doubtful vampire” ingredient – _”the future is but a question mark, hangs above my head there in the dark.”_ and “Every _Little_ Thing She Does Is Magic” 

As for “ghost” – I was thinking “Spirits in a Material World”

And “one night show” is from “So Lonely” (off of Outlandos d’ Amour).  The Police are definitely one of the best bands of all time – though I can take or leave Sting (mostly leave) on his own.

Now, if only Arwink would show up!


----------



## Wicht

> *Also, the diplomat’s costume making her the ‘doubtful vampire” is especially weak – I would think that everyone dressed up as undead in this town would be “doubtful” to pull off the guise – there is nothing special about it.*




Actually that was only a secondary ingredient thrown in at the last moment.  My primary and original use of the doubtful vampire was supposed to be Hershwine who was filled with self-doubt as a vampire.  Of course, I thought that was rather weak myself so I decided to incoporate a second use of the ingredient.

Didn't Shakespeare use "band" to describe a band of musicians?  How anachronistic is the usage actually?  I will have to look that up now.  I know that band of travelers and band of musicians as phrases have been used for many years...

In writing the adventure I actually started off with the idea of a musical group doing a deadly show and then tried to figure out how the PCs could get involved.  I decided having the PCs on the secret journey and by sheer coincidence running into the other group would work well.  Like Nemm did, I could see the PCs second guessing how the events in the first two towns tied in with their mission and worrying themselves to death over it.

Good contest Mirthcard and thanks Nemm.


----------



## Quickbeam

Come on, nemmerle...let us have the ingredients, old buddy old pal !!

Seriously, I'm going out for the night in another 30-45 minutes and I'd really like my Round #2 battle to commence tonight.  I'm more than willing to use 24 hours from your post time for my entry, while providing arwink a delayed start time beginning with his next post.  I trust him to let us know when he's gotten the story elements.  He and I both agreed to let our match start today whether or not we were online, and I'd like to begin instead of letting things slide into tomorrow if possible.

And BTW -- congrats Wicht!!  I hope to be seeing you in the Finals !!


----------



## Mirth

Well done, Wicht! Congratulations and I'm pulling for you to actually win one this time... (nothing against arwink or QB though).

I'll write more exposition and such later, when I'm in a better mood (from the day I had today, not (just) from my loss).

As for The Police connection, I thought you were pulling the vampire from Moon Over Bourbon Street, which is based on Anne Rice's work (Lestat?). And I thought that you were using Bring on the Night, since that CD was a live one-night show (and also the name of a documentary about the making of Dream of the Blue Turtles). It would be hard to guess Spirits in the Material World from the ghost clue though, so I don't begrudge myself that one. I knew that one night show reference after you said it, but I just couldn't pull the song from my memory. Outlandos D'Amour is my favorite record. And I agree with your assessment of Sting's solo career. I think his early solo albums are good, but they go fast downhill afterwards. Mercury Rising and Brand New Day are unlistenable. Of course, I'm not a Dave Matthews fan either, so to each their own I suppose 

p.s. Just thought you should know that the message was "In A Bottle"


----------



## Gizzard

> As for the source of the ingredients...




Ah ha, at last the secret is revealed.  ;-)  I asked how you generate these lists during the last Iron DM, but you didnt want to tip anyone off and give away a potential competetive advantage.

Wicht's exposition: I'm curious if Wicht has read "King Rat"; for some reason the mix of music, monsters and a climactic concert reminded me of that book.  Perhaps he can address this question in his exposition.


----------



## Quickbeam

I'm leaving a bit later than originally planned this evening, sooooo here's my last plea (ploy? ) to have nemmerle post the elements for my semi-final contest.  I really will need the "think" time tonight for this round, and much of my day tomorrow is already accounted for.  Please let's have 'em.


----------



## Wicht

I have never read king rat.  Sorry.  I was more influenced by 80's rock than anything else I think.  I pictured black shirts of skeletons holding roses and swords and the rest just fell into place.  (I was just sorry I could not think of some play on Twisted Sister for Trixie Twisted's musical group.)  Actually the idea of an evil female halfling necromancer acting as lead singer for a group of musically inclined undead sort of just tickled me and I went with it.  Like I said, the musical element came first and the PCs role came second in my brainstorming endeavors.


----------



## el-remmen

Okay. . 

I'll post the ingredients and trust Quickbeam and Arwink to time themselves from when they first see them (please post as soon as you do).

Arwink vs. Quickbeam - Semi-Final Round

*Ingredrients*
-----------------------
Brontosaurus
Magical Mud
Flying Carpet
Skeletons
Frozen Waterfall
Foppish Foreigner


----------



## Quickbeam

nemmerle:
It's 7:58 p.m. EST by my clock, and I've got the list.  Thanks much for posting the ingredients...and I'll try real hard to get _King of Pain_ and _Englishman in New York_ out of my head now .


----------



## arwink

No problem.  Got the ingredients and what was a lazy sunday ahead of me


----------



## KDLadage

Quickbeam said:
			
		

> *nemmerle:
> It's 7:58 p.m. EST by my clock, and I've got the list.  Thanks much for posting the ingredients...and I'll try real hard to get King of Pain and Englishman in New York out of my head now . *



 OK... this accounts for the Skeleton and the Frozen Waterfall (_King of Pain_) and the Foppish Foreigner (_Englishman in New York_) ... but you missed _Walking in your footsteps_ for the Brontosaurus...


----------



## el-remmen

You know, I could probably take all my elements from songs. . . . hmmmmm. . . .


----------



## arwink

*Iron Dm – Round 2
Arwin vs Quickbeam

Brontosaurus
Magical Mud
Flying Carpet
Skeletons
Frozen Waterfall
Foppish Foreigner

Kelkat’s Carpet*
For a Party of 4 8th level adventurers

*Set Up* 

Kelkat’s Carpet is designed as a short side-trek, to be dropped into a forest or jungle as the party is traveling through.  DM’s wishing to expand it to a full fledged adventure should be able to do so with little trouble – simply have the party meat Kalitar before he sets off to the forest, then generate some encounters that lead up to the finding of Kelkat’s Tomb.

The Lost Traveller:  The encounter starts when the PC’s hear something large moving through the forest undergrowth.  A successful listen check (DC 15) is needed to determine animal like grunts and an unfamiliar human tongue being spoken over the sound of snapping trees, and a successful Wilderness Lore check (DC 20) is needed to know that creatures of a size equivalent to the one that’s approaching aren’t known to be native to this forest.

If the party does nothing, it will take five minutes before the source of the noise reaches them.  Depending on the PC’s actions, they may choose to track the source of the noise, try to ambush it, or even run from it, but it is nearly impossible not to notice the noise source eventually.  A huge *brontosaurus* is crashing through the undergrowth.  The bronto bears a small, ornate howdah on it’s back, and both beast and howdah show signs of recent battle.

Inside the howdah is Kalitar Ometiron, a *foppish foreigner* from the distant land of Gaunt.  Kalitar is tall, dark haired and lean, wearing a long purple-robe over his armor, a scimitar at his waist, and a permanently eager smile.  Given a chance, Katilar will explain his origins and tell the PC’s he’s trudging through the forest in search of his ancestor Kelkat’s resting place.  For years it has been a mystery to his family, but only a year ago he found an ancient diary belonging to his great grandfather that detailed Kelkat’s last journey through the forest.  Katilar dutifully gathered together a small company of mercenaries to help him find the tomb but, er, they were all wiped out by a recent orc attack that only Katilar and his loyal Bronto mount Osmodio survived.  He’s now lost, but offers the PC’s a small fortune in gold and jewelry if they’ll help him find his way once more and recover the treasure in Kelkat’s tomb.

_Notes

Katilar:  Katilar is exactly what he appears, an inept, foppish nobleman with more money than sense and a grand dream.  He’ll flirt outrageously with female PC’s, throw his weight around constantly and complain about the conditions of the forest from time to time.  He’s almost a caricature of a foppish noble, and suspiciously so.  Once things start getting suspicious later, Katilar will probably seem suspicious in his obviousness.  Feel free to throw in small encounters that encourage this.

Osmodio:  Osmodio is Katilar’s faithful steed, a creature that has served the Ometiron family for generations.  Unfortunately, the real osmodio is long dead.  The current creature is actually a polymorphed pit-fiend seeking to use Katilar and his hirelings to free a comrade trapped in Kelkat’s tomb.  Osmodio does his best to hide his presence as much as possible, subtly manipulating the course of events through the Diary that Katilar carries.

The Diary:  The diary is actually a fake, put together by the pit-fiend who has taken Osmodio’s form.  Any PC reading the book will immediately find it full of local landmarks, and will find it strangely more detailed the closer they get to the waterfall.  Such changes to detail are never obvious, instead relying on subtle additions to illustrations or one or two extra words in a line to achieve their goal.  The net effect is akin to suddenly finding something that was missed on the initial reading, although the repetitive nature of such discoveries may become quickly suspicious. _

*The Frozen Waterfall: *Following the instructions in the Diary, the party finds themselves at a small clearing at the base of a short cliff.  A waterfall spilling over the edge of the cliff has been frozen in place, creating a giant wall of ice.  The river instead flows around the frozen waterfall, creating a wide, muddy pool at the base of the cliff where the changed water flow has eroded the riverbanks.  

The *frozen waterfall* is the result of a strong spell, cast by Kelkat’s chaplain after his lord perished in the journey.  The Chaplain knew of the danger bound in some of Kelkat’s treasure, and chose to create a magical barrier to prevent anyone from accessing his lord’s tomb and setting it free.  The frozen waterfall blocks all access to the caves behind it that make up the tomb.

Mudmen (EL 6):  The mud-pools around the waterfall have slowly seeped some of the enchantment from the waterfall.  This *magical mud*has resulted in the creation of a small horde of mudmen [http://www.enworld.org/cc/converted/elemental/mudman.htm].  These creatures will swarm to attack anyone who approaches the mud pool or the waterfall.

The mud also grants anyone smothered in it fire resistance 5 for 1d4 hours.  This too is the result of the enchantment seeping off the waterfall.

The Tomb:  Getting into the tomb requires breaking through the frozen waterfall.  The waterfall, and much of the tomb, is under the effect of a Hallow spell that prevents outsiders from entering.  Although Katilar will attempt to use Osmodio to break through, this fails.  The task then falls to the PC’s.   The easiest way to break through the ice is to use fire magic.  If this isn’t an option, it will require work with a pick.  

The frozen waterfall is some three feet thick, and impossible to see through.  It may take PC’s digging their way through several attempts to find an entrance to the tomb.  There are a number of *skeletons* frozen within the waterfall that will be released by the PC’s attempts to break through the ice.  Originally these were a band of bandits seeking to plunder the tomb, caught in the spell the Chaplain used to freeze the waterfall.  Roughly a dozen medium skeletons and three ogre-sized skeletons can be found within.

The interior of the tomb is guarded by a few traps, and contains the wealth Kelkat had gathered in his travels.  Among the treasure is a *flying carpet* hidden behind the deepest pit-trap in the tomb.  This carpet is mentioned prominantly in the diary, along with commands for it's various uses.  

Kelkat and his chaplain once used the carpet to bind a devil, a pit-fiend ally of the Gelugon that has taken Osmodio’s form.  The carpet is treated as a possessed object (as per the book of Vile Darkness) except that the Pit Fiend cannot release itself from the carpet.  The command word needed must be spoken by another to free the pit fiend.  Despite this, the fiend can talk to anyone holding the carpet, and will attempt to charm anyone who holds it for a long period of time.  PC’s who discover something within the carpet may decide they’ve been had, blaming Katilar for luring them into a mission to free an ancient evil, but the Foreigner remains confused and disturbed by the revelation.  

Returning to the surface:  When the PC’s and Katilar emerge from the tomb, they will find themselves confronted by animated versions of the skeletons they dug free from the waterfall (animated by the gelugon).  

The Gelugon will try to remain in Osmodio’s form as long as possible, using spell-like abilities to try and recover the carpet from whichever character is carrying it.  If they don’t bring the carpet out, it will use its charm monster power to force someone to go in and get it.  If they do bring the carpet out and try to use it, they discover the command word for up listed in the diary is actually the phrase needed to free the pit fiend.  

Ultimately, however, the gelugon doesn’t believe the skeletons will be anything more than a distraction and realises that no-one but Katilar is quite foolish enough to try and use a magic item without magically testing it.  As a last resort, the gelugon will return to his own form and attack the carpet-bearer once they are far enough away from the crypt to ensure that a quick retreat cannot carry the PC beyond his reach.


----------



## Quickbeam

Round #2 Battle: Quickbeam vs. arwink

Blood Sanctuary -- An adventure for characters level 9-12

_Ingredients:
Foppish Foreigner
Flying Carpet
Skeletons
Brontosaurus
Frozen Waterfall
Magical Mud_

BACKGROUND:
The town of Shanalea rests in a valley at the base of the Hargin Hills, a chain of foothills that surround Mount Ferrwaln.  Three hundred years ago, a minor earthquake caused a shift in the Hargin Hills, which could have wiped out Shanalea forever.  A mountain stream from Ferrwaln feeds into Lake Dassir, which sits placid within the arms of the foothills.  The earthquake caused the lake to begin flowing through the hills, and streaming down towards the town below.
As the water began to flood Shanalea, Heldis Sorak, a devout priest of Obad-Hai, uttered what he thought was his final prayer.  Sorak praised his god and plead for the town’s salvation.  He recounted how the town lived in harmony with nature, and how the local church had on many occasions taken in and cared for injured animals, which would not have survived the harsh winters on their own.  Sorak pledged the town’s unending loyalty to Obad-Hai, and promised that the town would always seek balance with its natural surroundings.  When he finished his prayer, Sorak stood riveted to the ground as he watched the water that rushed through the hills crystallize into a *frozen waterfall*.
Sorak called the awe-struck townsfolk together, and explained that it was the hand of Obad-Hai that spared them.  He instructed the town that it needed to remember the day, and forever strive to maintain the favor of the nature god.  The people of Shanalea agreed to construct a sanctuary and animal refuge in the Hargin Hills, overlooking the town.
Since its construction the Dassir Falls Sanctuary has been maintained as a tribute to Obad-Hai.  The temple of Obad-Hai in Grendamere, a place of considerably more note than the simple Shanalea town church, appoints one cleric from its ranks to be the keeper of the sanctuary.  Grendamere lies roughly fifteen miles north-east of Shanalea, as the crow flies, and has little contact with the town outside of maintaining the sanctuary.

PC HOOKS:
The party is approached by one Herdwick Cupp, a representative of the townsfolk of Shanalea.  Cupp is a *foppish foreigner*, raised in the far south, which gives him a bizarre accent (to be played like the art gallery assistant from Beverly Hills Cop who offers Axel a little espresso, or perhaps Martin Short’s assistant in Father of the Bride - at the DM’s discretion of course).  Cupp has very high ranks in Knowledge: Apparel, and will comment on how fabulous a particular PC is dressed, or how one of the PCs must be from a certain region based on the way he or she is dressed.  Cupp has traveled to find the party, whose feats have been heard of in Shanalea, because the town needs help.  The townsfolk have witnessed a few attacks on the Dassir Falls Sanctuary recently by an array of strange creatures and beasts, and believe that the current keeper of the sanctuary, Oseera Wilcott, needs protection.  Even worse, some locals claim to have seen the Falls "sweating" or "crying" as though the powers which hold it at bay are weakening, and the ice thawing.  He explains to the PCs that the town maintains a sacred pledge to maintain the sanctuary, and that the town would likely face destruction (by flood) if the sanctuary were destroyed.  He explains that Oseera has been able to hold the sanctuary so far, but that there is nobody in town experienced in battle to aid her.  Cupp will offer a reward to the PCs if they can find out who is behind the assaults on the sanctuary, and if they can protect Oseera and any animals she currently cares for.
* The PCs will be offered their choice of animals ranging from exemplary mounts; to superb animal companions; and even some creatures that might serve as wonderful and unique familiars, in return for their assistance.  A Knowledge: Local or Geography check (DC 15) will permit the PCs to know that Shanalea’s relationship with nature has resulted in the breeding of wonderful animals. 
* If the PC party has a druid, the druid will undoubtedly be motivated to assist in the protection of the animal sanctuary.
* If the PC party has a cleric or devotee of Obad-Hai or any other deity focused on nature, that person will have heard of the god’s feat in sparing the town, and will feel compelled to protect the sanctuary.
* Clearly, the party may simply feel motivated to help protect the town of Shanalea from probable destruction as a matter of heroic principle.

THE LOW DOWN:
Oseera Wilcott is the current keeper of the sanctuary.  She is a human cleric who was an acolyte in the temple of Obad-Hai, but during her many years in the foothills, she strayed from her teachings.  Oseera has renounced Obad-Hai, and has for many years been “reborn” as a devotee of Nerull.  She is neutral evil in alignment, and uses undetectable alignment to prevent any skilled visitors to the sanctuary from having misgivings about her.  Oseera has become a Blood Witch (as the prestige class), and has used the blood of the animals “in her care” to power her dark spells.
When the PCs meet Oseera, she will offer her sincerest gratitude for their protection.  She will acknowledge recent attacks on the sanctuary, and point to numerous animal *skeletons* and carcasses strewn about the sanctuary grounds, as innocent victims of those attacks.  In truth, these animal remains are the result of Oseera’s persistent bleeding of the creatures.
There is a small sanctuary building, in which Oseera resides.  About 200 feet in front of this structure, the PCs will notice a *brontosaurus* feasting on lush vegetation.  Oseera will draw the PCs’ attention to scars on the dinosaur’s legs, and explain that this rare and beautiful creature was brought to the sanctuary after barely surviving an attack in the wild, and she is overseeing the animal’s recovery from these injuries.  The creature is relatively tame, and will not be aggressive towards the party.  It is not in an enclosure, but instead is surrounded by a border of *magical mud*, which has been enchanted to promote the growth of incredibly lush vegetation within its boundaries.  The mud is arranged in a rectangular pattern around the brontosaurus, and on each side of the rectangle a glyph of warding has been placed that will cast inflict moderate wounds on the creature if it touches the glyph. This has created a sort of invisible fence for the animal, and it has been conditioned not to leave its area.  The truth, of course, is that Oseera sought this huge beast out specifically for its size and generally docile disposition, and is using the animal as a blood factory.  The numerous scars on its legs are from incisions she has made, but only Heal or Wilderness Lore Check (DC 25) would reveal that the wounds are too symmetrical to have occurred in the wild.
There are other animals around the sanctuary, tethered here and there.  Occasionally, Oseera will take an animal into Shanalea, and ask the townsfolk to care for it.  She explains that there are too many for her to care for at the time.  The townsfolk love to assist the sanctuary, and these visits keep them from suspecting that anything is wrong.
The sanctuary compound contains a few animal pens and avian coops, designed to be used as homes for animals on the mend…almost all of which are currently empty.  There are several buildings including a medical hut, a quaint shrine to Obad-Hai, a horse stable, and the main sanctuary building itself, which is rather small.  Oseera’s quarters are located within this main building, which also houses a guest/visitor greeting room, a personal prayer altar, a bed chamber, a modest kitchen, and a cellar.  Being curious by nature (pun intended) PC’s will just have to explore the cellar at some point...especially after Oseera’s lies begin falling apart.  Located therein are various books, bowls, daggers, and herbs.  A *flying carpet* is spread on the floor at the far end of the cellar.  At first glance, PCs will notice numerous moths and butterflies flying over the carpet.  A spot check (DC 15) will result in the realization that some of the moths and butterflies are hovering completely motionless.  The carpet has been in disuse, and has fallen prey to moths and butterflies, which have been dining upon its enchanted fibers.  Many of the insects are dead, but are levitating over the carpet, suspended by the magic they ingested.  A cloud of dust hovers over the carpet.  The dust is the levitating remains of decayed moths and butterflies.  Any PC standing on the carpet will inhale this dust, and must make a Fortitude Save (DC 18) or levitate (as the spell) for 1d4 minutes.  
The flying carpet has been at the sanctuary for many years, and was intended to be used by the keeper to make pilgrimages to the temple in Grendamere.  Oseera has not been making such journeys, and has left the carpet to rot in her cellar.  Oseera’s failure to appear at the temple of Obad-Hai was the reason that the clerics there first became concerned about the sanctuary.

ENCOUNTERS:
Shortly after arriving at the sanctuary (within the first few hours) an assault is staged by roughly 6-8 Mephits.  The Mephits are a combination of Earth, Air and Magma outsiders (DM’s discretion) and focus all of their collective efforts on Oseera.  In fact, clever PC’s will notice that none of the Mephit attacks occur in such a way as to even remotely threaten any of the sanctuary animals.  This is in direct opposition to Oseera’s lies about how the skeletons and carcasses came to be strewn about the area, and a major clue that their hostess is not who she appears to be.  For her part Oseera will help defeat the Mephits, but only with low level spells and intentionally poor ranged/melee attacks.  After the encounter, Oseera will tell the party that this was the most forceful attack directed at her and the sanctuary.  She will attempt to blame some rogue group of elementalists or warped worshippers of nature, who wish to wield their druidic power purely for its destructive force.

Despite any suppositions the party may have about Oseera, her skill as an artful liar and magically hidden alignment, will keep her safe until the next day.  The party may sleep in Shanalea at The Frozen Falls Lodge, or accept space offered by Oseera in the loft above the sanctuary’s small stable building.  At dawn the next morning (either while the PC’s are waking up or making their way back to the sanctuary, depending on where they’ve spent the night) the clerics of Obad-Hai’s temple in Grendamere launch another assault on Oseera.  This attack force includes two priests, an elven fighter and one Large Elemental for each of the four subtypes.  As the party rushes to her defense, the priests will repeatedly beg them to stop defending Oseera – and hopefully at some point during the encounter they’ll listen!!  If not, well, then they recognize their mistake too late and some serious acts of atonement will be in order!!  However, if the group decides to listen – even briefly – one of the priests explains that Oseera has become very evil, and recounts the unspeakable acts (bleeding and slaughtering the animals) one of their emissaries witnessed almost a month ago.  At this point, Oseera uses her dark powers to animate several of the larger animal skeletons lying about, and a fierce battle is certain to ensue.

CONCLUSIONS:
* The PC’s help the temple of Obad-Hai restore order at the Dassir Falls Sanctuary, and someone more fitting is appointed as its keeper.  Disaster is averted, The party reaps their animal rewards is they so desire, and the town of Shanalea moves forward into the next age.  
* The PC’s continue assisting Oseera, and likely defeat the contingency from Grendamere.  Without a fitting keeper in place, the shrine to Obad-Hai continues to be defouled, and the deity unleashes his fury by releasing the frozen falls to cleanse Shanalea.


----------



## Quickbeam

Note for my adventure:
As with last time, please feel free to substitute deities more suitable to your own (non-Greyhawk) campaign.  Not trying to force a particular setting down ayone's throat...I just like being specific within the story itself .

arwink:
I just read your entry, and it was great!  A very vivid, believable tale, and I especially liked the diary.  Good luck to you!!


----------



## Wicht

Just read both entries.  Good job both of you.


----------



## el-remmen

Expect a judgment within the next 24 hours. . . .

And then the announcment of THE FINAL ROUND. . . 

with bonus ingredients in the case of a tie-breaker and what are guaranteed to be ABSOLUTELY THE HARDEST REQUIRED INGREDIENTS TO USE TOGETHER IN THE HISTORY OF *IRON DM!!!!!*

not for the feint of heart. . .


----------



## alsih2o

anyone interested: we need a standin for a dropout in the "ceramic dm" a slightly backwards version of the iron dm...


----------



## Quickbeam

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Expect a judgment within the next 24 hours. . . .
> 
> And then the announcment of THE FINAL ROUND. . .
> 
> with bonus ingredients in the case of a tie-breaker and what are guaranteed to be ABSOLUTELY THE HARDEST REQUIRED INGREDIENTS TO USE TOGETHER IN THE HISTORY OF IRON DM!!!!!
> 
> not for the feint of heart. . .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *




I hope to be "fortunate" enough to find myself in the position to those extremely difficult ingredients .  And FWIW, I thought the brontosaurus was pretty darn tough...but I'm not accustomed to using dinosaurs in my campaigns!!

And thanks for the compliment Wicht.  Both arwink and I know we'll be facing the tourney favorite if we advance.


----------



## arwink

Quickbeam said:
			
		

> *
> And FWIW, I thought the brontosaurus was pretty darn tough...but I'm not accustomed to using dinosaurs in my campaigns!! *




I got lucky.  The last campaign I ran had a lot of dinosaurs working as beasts of burden 

Quietly waiting for a judging now.  Good luck QB.


----------



## Quickbeam

arwink said:
			
		

> *
> 
> I got lucky.  The last campaign I ran had a lot of dinosaurs working as beasts of burden
> 
> Quietly waiting for a judging now.  Good luck QB. *




I sorta know what you mean about getting lucky with the ingredients.  I much preferred the list provided for my battle with Zappo, over any of the other three sets of theme elements in the Round #1 matches.  Just the luck of the draw sometimes.

Anyway, good luck to you as well.  And now we wait.


----------



## el-remmen

Dag, you guys don't want to make it easy for me, do ya?

Another close one. . .


----------



## arwink

Hmm.  Does that mean "I am considering as you type and will post results soon" or "I'm considering, go to bed and check back tomorrow"?


----------



## Quickbeam

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Dag, you guys don't want to make it easy for m, do ya?
> 
> Another close one. . . *




You like watching us squirm, don't you?  Well it's not gonna work this time!  Really, I mean it.  No worries here whatsoever.  Um, OK, maybe a few (he says while nervously drumming his fingers and twitching).


----------



## incognito

The real killer is, I would *really* like to congradulate one of the contestants for an ingenious use of an ingredient (which i have ALREADY ripped off!)

However, as Mirthcard poitned out - it is better form to wait until after the judgement.  And I must say - I'm not sure which way I would rule on this one...



Good luck to you both.


----------



## el-remmen

In the midst of judging. . .

Cripes, it ain't gonna be pretty - you guys are gonna hate me


----------



## Quickbeam

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *In the midst of judging. . .
> 
> Cripes, it ain't gonna be pretty - you guys are gonna hate me  *




As long as your judgment and ruling are fair, I sincerely doubt it.  Now I really can't wait to see the results...


----------



## el-remmen

*Quickbeam vs. Arwink - Judgment*

Arwink vs. Quickbeam – Semi-Final Round – Judgment

First of all, Quickbeam, in the future, please use breaks between paragraphs – it makes it a lot easier to read.

Second of all, I think both entries were flawed – or at least they seriously lacked something to make them leap off the page and draw me in and say, “Cool! I’d love to run a version of this in my game!”

Let me take this moment to say that I think coming up with a good side trek is as difficult as writing a good short story – and writing a good short story is often more difficult than writing a novel – because every word counts – and in a side trek D&D adventure every encounter, every ingredient, every NPC REALLY counts.

*Arwink:* Let me start with you – The brontosaurus as a steed is pretty ambitious idea – but I would think such a man as your Katilar would travel with a retinue of servants and perhaps local guides – such a detail may not matter so much in the overall determination of how good an entry is – but does lend some more confirmation on the NPC’s character.  

Also, how can the pit-fiend (or is it a Gelugon? You contradict yourself) take on the brontosaurus form?  Wouldn’t a brontosaurus be gargantuan?  I could be wrong as no stats exist for it in the Monster Manual. . .   So, let’s put that aside, however, doubtful it is. 

I was expecting both entries to use mudmen – and while not an altogether original idea – it was better than the nutrient mud of Quickbeam’s entry. . .  I could envision the scene much better than where the action takes place in the other entry as well – a tomb hidden behind a frozen waterfall is a cool idea – and the skeletons in the ice were a nice (in not wholly unexpected touch) – the fact that they are NOT animated at first will do much to lower the PC’s guard –as they will not expect them to attack as they emerge.

However, the tomb itself could have done with a bit more elaboration than “has a few traps” – even if using the flying carpet as a means of trapping a demon is clever.

One suggestion I would make is perhaps playing up on the dinosaur theme and perhaps have the pit-fiend (or is it a Gelugon?) summon some fiendish dinosaurs for the climatic fight.

In the end, the conclusion of this entry left me flat – and I do not see why the Gelugon (or is it pit-fiend) would not just attack the party as they emerged – since it is probably powerful enough to defeat the party (as he will be well-prepped for them) and in an isolated place where no one is likely to witness the melee.

*Quickbeam:* – What can I say?  Your entry was hard to judge as well (I’ve gone back and forth in my opinion a few times).

Despite being a bit beyond my usual taste for “high magic” the image of a flood permanently frozen above a town as a constant sign of favor from a god and the town’s dedication to that god, is damn cool (no pun intended).  But the _foppish foreigner_ seems shoe-horned in and awfully cliché. . . What purpose does his being a foreigner serve?  What is the point of him fulfilling some kind of gay stereotype?

I do like the idea/image of the frozen waterfall “crying” and “sweating” – it helps set up the environment and can even be seen as creepy – regardless – it shows that the destruction of the town could be imminent and something is definitely wrong.

As I have already mentioned, Quickbeam’s _Magical Mud_ seems a weak use of the ingredient – and while the idea of using a huge beast for a source of blood is clever– the brontosaurus still seems shoe-horned in – how did they get such a beast up into the hills?  There was no mention of the climate of the area.  However, allowing PCs a chance to use skills or class abilities to notice the truth about the wounds

Also, the flying carpet also seems “just dropped in” serving no purpose or function in the entry (though the floating moths clue is a nice touch). . .   

_This is getting difficult – I can see problems with both adventures that make me want to declare the other the winner – but I flip and then I flop. _

I am always in favor of adventures with difficult choices, subterfuge and things not being what they appear to be  - so the assault on the sanctuary by clerics of Obad-Hai should be an interesting encounter – but these clerics (like the mephitis) were not ingredients – so while I like their effect on the adventure, how much can I really weigh them?

Also, Quickbeam does not offer us some lies Oseera can use to state her case. . . Why does she not offer any explanation on the source of the attacks?

Going back to *Arwink’s* entry – what we basically have is a coincidental meeting _hopefully_ leading to tomb (with lack of detail) leading to a fight with a demon.

Quickbeam’s has the good old stand-by of “the heroes are sought out” leading to a journey to a sanctuary where things are not as they seem (but not much advice on how to cover it up is given) which leads to a big fight with people who are really good guys.

Arwink did a better job of incorporating the ingredients than Quickbeam – but just marginally – while Quickbeam has an entry with more room for role-playing and challenging encounters.

Feh!

I give this round to *Quickbeam* – But Arwink it was damn close – and if we had a wild card spot I’d place you in that round to fight for 3rd place 

So I guess it will be _Quickbeam vs. Wicht_ in the final. . . I look forward to it.


----------



## arwink

Congrat's quickbeam.  Look forward to watching you in the final.


----------



## Quickbeam

arwink said:
			
		

> *Congrat's quickbeam.  Look forward to watching you in the final. *




Thank you very much.  To be honest, I expected that you'd win our round on the basis of your very clever use of the flying carpet alone.  I'd have never thought of using it as a means for binding a devil...excellent!!

I feel truly fortunate to have advanced -- you did a fantastic job arwink .  In my exposition, I'll respond to some of nemmerle's comments and criticisms.

Now, when do we battle Wicht?!?


----------



## incognito

Wow...Nem: You're right! This was a tough one to judge.  No Question.

Arwink: whether it is a Pit Fiend or Gelugon, I don't really care.  the brilliance of having a highly suspicious PC being exactly as useless as he seems, and having his MOUNT be the doppelganger - that's the part I was referring to.

Could the ingredients have been better integrated?  Yes.
Could the resolution have been better?  Yes.
Could the motivations of the devil have been more fleshed out? Yes.

Quickbeam: Congrats on the Win.  Switching From Obad-Hai to Nerull is a big step, but other than that your adventure did have that element of cohesiveness than Nem allude's to.

I look forward to Mirthcard and Arwink in my round of IronDM in Jnuary - keep those pencils sharp in the Home game...

And Arwink - aren't I owed a critique over in the home game?


----------



## Quickbeam

Incognito:
I'd agree with you and Nem, that Arwink did a better job overall of incorporating the entire theme ingredient list than I did.  I'm just glad that the "cohesiveness" and "continuity" of my story managed to earn the victory.

The primary reason that so many details (like climate, etc.) were left out of my adventure, is that I was trying to create something a bit closer to the 500 word limit.  Next time, I'll be more thorough (like my entry from Round #1) and risk boring our fearless judge .


----------



## arwink

I figured I'd just post a quick exposition and reflection before I nip of for a good mornings sleep.

For starters, I'm inclined to agree 100% with Nem's judging and the comments on the round.  As I discovered after the first round, cohesiveness is not my strong point in this sort of thing.  My own games tend to be largely reactive affairs, where one or two stronger ideas and characters are set up to interact with the players, and everything else depends on the characters response.  Works for me, but it's hell trying to convey the idea for adventures to others before hand.  If you'd handed be both submissions out of the blue and said "here, run one of these" I'd have been going for Quickbeams too  

My other problem is that I tend to come up with one integration of the ingredients I like, and build the rest fo them in a slip-shod method around them.  In the first round, the images where the lonely treant and the clocktower in a flooded lake.  This time round, I really wanted a evil, intelligent dinosaur and his unassuming owner and a flying carpet that was dangerous to use.  Everything else was just an attempt to bridge those two things together, and it didn't work.  To make matters worse, I started changing the idea and level of the adventure half way through, and obviously I missed a few elements.  

It occured to me, while reading Nem's criticisms, that polymorph was the wrong choice there too.  Book of Vile Darkness's possesion rules would have worked slightly better, as well as enabled a slightly lower class of devil get involved (and incorporating the devil as dinosaur and keeping the adventure at a level where it'd still be a challenge was a problem for me).

It's been fun, though, and I'll be poking my head into the homegame thread in the near future after sleep and the christmas season is done (so it may be a few days til I get around to offering incognito a critique, but it's coming).  What's going to annoy me is that at least two of my players have read the thread, so I'm never going to be able to pull the stealth-dino on them.


Congratulations again to Quickbeam, and I'm looking forward to watching the finals (without the stress and cursing at the ingredients) .


----------



## Wicht

Congragulations Quickbeam.  I have to say, I thought the Brontosaurus made the list quite a bit tougher than normal.

I can do the final round today or I can do it on Thursday, whichever is better for both my opponent and the good judge.


----------



## el-remmen

If Quickbeam is ready, I am ready.


----------



## Wicht

I will keep checking back then about once an hour.  If Quickbeam speaks up you can just assume I am here.


----------



## Quickbeam

Wicht said:
			
		

> *Congragulations Quickbeam.  I have to say, I thought the Brontosaurus made the list quite a bit tougher than normal.
> *




Thanks!!  I silently cheered when I saw my first round ingredients, but shuddered at those posted for the semi-finals.  Good luck in the upcoming battle !

Nemmerle:
I'm also ready to begin the Finals.


----------



## el-remmen

Okay . . . Since Wicht said he'd be checking in each hour - I will post the ingredients at 5 pm EST.


----------



## Quickbeam

Perfect.


----------



## Wicht

I am here and ready to go


----------



## el-remmen

Wicht vs. Quickbeam - Final Round

As usual, you will be given a list of six ingredients - in addition, you will be given 10 secondary ingredients - these ingredients will ONLY be counted in the case of a tie-breaker - so don't spend too much time on them and you are not required to use them all.


*Main Ingredients*
--------------------------------
Dwarven Logging Team
Beached Whale
Storm Giant
Magic Tea Cup
Bulette
Ju-Ju Zombies

*Secondary Ingredients*
------------------------------------------
Broom
Pixies
Mind-Flayer
Bath House
Awakened Dire Cricket
Diamond Ear-rings
Tone Deaf Bard
Scroll of Dispel Magic
A Guy Named Ralph
Yellow Brick Road


----------



## Wicht

That is quite a list


----------



## Quickbeam

Two words -- have mercy!!


----------



## el-remmen

I can't wait to see what this inspires. . . .

hoepfully it will be MADNESS!!!!!!


----------



## el-remmen

*From the announcer's booth:*

{announcer's Hushed Voice}: Well, it has now been seven hours and two minutes and no signs from our competitors - except for the initial exclamation of awe and wonder when the ingredients, for this, the final round of the ENboards Holiday '02 IRON DM Tournament.  And now, for a brief overview of our two DMs, we turn to uh. . . well, we turn to me. . .

First, we have *Quickbeam*. This new-comer has an old school flavor that just cannot stop.  He made quick work of Zappo in the first round using his toy cavalry, but just barely squeaked past a clever Arwink in the second.  Will he have what it takes to beat, Wicht, who is heavily favored by book-makers all across the gaming world.  

*Wicht* is a long time veteran of the Iron DM tourney circuit, and has won countless lower rounds easily, but always loses it in the final?  Will the "Iron Horse" of Iron DM coke again? Or will he turn out another of his appropriately detailed cohesive entries that make the crowds cheer?

We'll check back in in a few hours. . .


----------



## Wicht

_Getting some of these ingredients to mesh was a little like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole - it required some hammering.  I can only hope Quickbeam has an even worse time of brainstorming then I did   Nevertheless let me present a little ditty I choose to call..._

*The Logging Fair Blues*

The following is an adventure for approximately 9th level adventurers though doubtlessly, with only minor adjustments it could easily be made more difficult and dangerous.  Both the Town of Brindy Creek and Whilton County can easily be altered to reflect any settlement built near both to the ocean and a great forest.

*Introduction*
The town of Brindy Creek lies between the shores of the ocean and the eaves of a great forest.  It is a prosperous logging community and the site of this years Whilton County Logging Fair, an annual and generally festive event.  This years logging fair is even more special than normal.  The national logging championship will be held at the fair between two very capable teams.  The pot for the competition is 10,000 golden coins.  The first team is a *Dwarven Logging Team* comprised of twenty dwarves, the most allowed on one team.  Despite their small stature, these hardy loggers have yet to fail at a competition and are in fact the current champions.  The competition this year however is fierce.  Rushdarl Cloudstrider is a *Storm  Giant* in his first year of competition.  He works with only one team-mate, a trained *Bulette* named Blue whom he uses to pull the logs.  Despite their inexperience in competitive logging, the giant is also, like the dwarves, undefeated.  His huge size and great strength (as well of that of his companion) allows him to work as hard as twenty men.  

The easiest way for the PCs to be drawn into the events of the competition is for them to be hired as guards.  If they accept such duty, their responsibility is two-fold.  One, they are responsible for the safe-keeping of the 10,000 golden coins.  The coins will not be in their possession but they will need to make sure they are not stolen.  This assumes of course that the PCs are honest and upright.  As guards they will also be partially responsible for maintaining the peace during the fair.

Crooked and dishonest PCs might easily be lured into town by the promise of a large sum of coins, easily stolen.  In this case the events of the three day competition provide a backdrop for the PCs activities and the DM should devise suitable security for the coins, preferably a group of NPCs of an equivalent level to the PCs.

Or perhaps the PCs are merely in town at the same time as the fair.  In which case they are bystanders that are confronted with the troubles that will soon plague the logging fair.

*A Whale in Need*
On the first day of the competition, morning light reveals a *beached blue whale* just outside of town.  The huge creature is in distress.  DMs should appeal to any druid or nature loving PC with descriptions of the distressed animal.  Townsfolks will let the PCs know that if the animal cannot be returned to the water, they will most likely kill it and harvest it.

The obvious solution is found in the two logging teams.  If the PCs do not suggest it, one of the competition judges will suggest that the two teams work to move the whale back into the water.  DMs should allow the PCs to make any suggestions or provide any assistance they wish.  In this case, regardless of how the PCs help or do not help, the two teams, working together, will eventually manage to get the whale on rollers and then back into the water.  This starts the competition off on a positive note of goodwill between both teams.  The bulette, of whom many in town are naturally nervous, is also demonstrably tame and helpful, following the giant’s orders exactly.  Any PCs nervous about such a ravenous creature near them should have their fears allayed by its behavior.

The rest of the first day goes off without a hitch, with little serious trouble as far as violence or security issues.  However, that night, a bard by the name of Ralphinious Warsterhammer, Ralph to his friends, arrives in town bringing trouble with him.

*An invasion of the Little People*
DMs should somehow introduce this *guy named Ralph* to the PCs on the first night of the competition, just after he gets into town.  Ralph has a problem and if he notices a magic-user amongst the PCs he will relay his problem and ask for help.  Ralph should initially be played as a funny faced man with a long nose, little beady eyes and huge ears who feels he must shout to be heard.  If allowed he will explain that due to a trifle misunderstanding with some *Pixies* he is suffering from a curse.  They struck him with the hideous face the PCs see and gave him a ringing in his ears which greatly affects his hearing.  Not only does he have problems hearing but he also cannot perform his songs correctly as he has become a *Tone-Deaf Bard* due to the ringing in his ears.  PCs whom he convinces to put their ears next to his will indeed notice a faint ringing sound.  Actually what the bard is suffering from is not a curse but only a permanent illusion the pixies attached to his face as he was fleeing from them.  The illusion contains a small audible component, very soft but focused right in the bard’s ear in such a way as to be loud to him.  Ralph has with him a *Scroll of Dispel Magic* which he will ask any available magic-user to use on him.  He would try it himself, but due to the ringing he has been getting only about half of his spells to work right and is afraid of ruining the scroll for no gain.  The Dispel Magic will return his face to normal and stop the ringing.  If the PCs help him he will be grateful and depart, letting them know he plans on being in town for a few days.

The next day Pixies will invade the fair and the town.  Numbering in the hundreds, they will cause mischief and plant illusions everywhere, including turning almost everything a uniform shade of sky blue through the use of illusion.  They will do all they can to disrupt things as they hunt for the bard.  It seems that the reason the Pixies are chasing Ralph is that he stole from their queen.  He not only stole a *Magic Tea Cup*, one which will instantly fill with any desired brewed beverage (it was a favorite toy of the pixie queen), but he also stole a pair of very valuable *diamond earrings*, also enchanted.  The pixies will reduce both the fair and the town to chaos until they recover their property.  The Pixies will not fight the PC’s in melee, but if the PCs manage to question them, they will reveal what they are after.  The PCs will have to hunt down Ralph (who is hiding in a *Bath House*) and force him to turn over what he has stolen.  If the Pixies are given the stolen items, they will return things back to normal, all except for Ralph, which they will curse again with the face and the ringing noise.  

*A daring attempt at Robbery*
On the third day of the competition, things get even worse.  A *mind-flayer* master-thief has decided the gold is too tempting a target to pass up.  But instead of just stealing the gold, he first provides some distractions so that the theft will be easier.  

First of all he will set some *Ju-Ju zombies* lose in town.  He releases them in such a way that he will not be around when they first start attacking people.  Then, whilst the PCs and the town are focused on the Ju-Ju Zombies, he uses his mental powers to charm the Storm Giant’s Bulette and cause it to go on a rampage through the fair and the town.  The Storm Giant will be unable to control Blue the bulette but as he chases it around the town (causing damage of his own in the process) and tries to stop it from burrowing into buildings and wrecking property he will also plead with any who are trying to stop it not to actually hurt it.  Blue is well fed and will not actually try and eat anybody but it will be a chore to stop it.  If Blue attacked it will defend itself and violence will only confuse it worse.  

In the meantime the Mindflayer will be working to steal the gold.  If the PCs have set up no protection for the gold other than what it already had, the mindflayer will likely quickly succeed and make off with the gold.  If the PCs have set up any clever traps or protections then, depending on how good their tricks are, the Mindflayer might still be in the midst of stealing the gold when Blue is finally stopped.  And if the PCs are smart enough, or dumb enough, to ignore the rampaging bulette, they may be able to catch the mindflayer in the act in which case the thief will flee rather than fight. 

*Conclusion*
Whether there is still a prize to be won or not, the competition will continue and be finished.  The winner will likely depend on whether or not the storm giant still has his beast of burden to help him through the final stages of the contest or not.  If the PCs have been hired as guards, they will only have been considered successful by their employers if they managed to handle both the pixies and the attempted burglary.


----------



## Wicht

Good Morning All.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Quickbeam has done with the ingredients.


----------



## incognito

Good Morning Wicht.

Have you given thought to what should happen if VAX chooses not to compete for the Champion Round of IronDM?

Becasue, by my count, you won the last IronDM, which could make you VAXs second...


----------



## el-remmen

As far as I am concerned to hold on to his "title" Vax needs to re-enter an Iron DM competition from the very beginning and make it to the end - no more free rides


----------



## Wicht

incognito said:
			
		

> *Have you given thought to what should happen if VAX chooses not to compete for the Champion Round of IronDM?*




I haven't really given it any thought.  Just taking each round as they come (and spending the rest of the time getting ready for tomorrow).  Though it would be nice to win one against him.  Maybe he will enter a future Iron DM competition.  But anyways, I don't have this one won yet.  Quickbeam may turn in a flawless entry and put mine to shame.


----------



## incognito

> Quickbeam may turn in a flawless entry and put mine to shame.




Oh yes, I am not saying Quickbeam is out of it by any means...


----------



## el-remmen

Less than 5 hours left and still no sign from Quickbeam. . . 

Could it be that these ingredients defeated him?


----------



## Quickbeam

IRON DM FINALS

_Ingredients:
Dwarven Logging Team
Beached Whale
Storm Giant
Magic Tea Cup
Bulette
Ju-Ju Zombies

Optional/Secondary Ingredients Utilized:
Mind Flayer
Awakened Dire Cricket
Tone Deaf Bard
A Guy Named Ralph_

*A Home By The Sea*
An adventure for 4-6 characters 8th-12th level

Background:  The Bukkar peninsula juts into the Falagasson Sea approximately 18 miles southwest of the dwarven city of Nomak-Tar, and 12 miles southeast of the human village of Kendall.  The Erskine River runs parallel to the eastern coast of the peninsula, about 2 miles in from the sea.  An impressive castle of white stone and marble sits along the southern coast of the peninsula overlooking the waters below.  The castle is the home of a young adult *STORM GIANT*, known to residents of the area as MacLeod.  For years the dwarves, the humans, and the giant have managed to peacefully co-exist, primarily by keeping to themselves.

MacLeod has built his castle close to the sea so that he is able to more easily visit his clan, who happen to reside beneath the dark waters of the Falagasson.  The dwarves find this area suitable for its small chain of mountains, and for the Bukkar Trees, which burn hotter and longer than any other in the region – and are therefore very useful in keeping their forges producing at maximum effeiciency.  And the humans…well…humans tend to settle anywhere.

Recently, there has been unrest in the area bordering the sea. . .

Ylarrg T’Nadoth, a *mind flayer* mage with a necromantic bent, has been banished from the Illithid’s subterranean city of C’Naughloh.  Ylarrg offended his kindred by experimenting on any number of the humanoid slaves, and turning them into undead; thereby, destroying a source of labor and food for the city.  Ylarrg was forced to the surface with only his spellbook beneath one arm and *MAGIC JEWELED TEA CUP* hanging from the belt around his robes.  The tea cup is a clever device the flayer wizard created to hold all his spell components (similar to a much smaller bag of holding), and for use in various spells as an activation/completion mechanism.  Ylarrg has set out to prove his worthiness by claiming a keep for his own, and raising a powerful army.  

In his excursions, Ylarrg discovered MacLeod’s castle, and knows that it would serve his purposes quite well.  The castle is surrounded on three sides by water, and the access by land is arduous and easily defended.  Ylarrg believes that he will be able to claim and defend the castle, because his minions are well equipped for the task.  Over time, the mind-flayer has realized that he excels at creating *JU-JU ZOMBIES*, by draining the life energy out of living humanoids using _enervation_.  These undead can travel easily under and through water, and therefore, could attack or defend the castle’s perimeter.  Moreover, the ju-ju zombies are immune to electrical attacks, which renders the storm giant’s most devastating form of attack essentially useless.

Ongoing Details: The dwarves on Nomak-Tar established a logging camp several years ago, about five miles upstream from their city, to facilitate transport of the Bukkar Trees used to fuel their forges.  In recent weeks, several members of the *DWARVEN LOGGING TEAM* have turned up missing…and even worse, on a few occasions only partial remains have been found.  The loggers have heard noises and fled, and one of the dwarves, Franim Oakenfist, heard a voice telling him to take a nap.  He did not sleep, but the voice confirmed the dwarves suspicions. . . The legendary Khaba-Pruul, an *awakened dire cricket* of dwarven myth had found their camp.  Legend says that Khaba-Pruul lures dwarves who stray from beneath the mountains to their doom, just as sirens so with sailors.

In actuality, the dwarven logging activity has drawn the attention of a *BULETTE*.  The bulette does not favor dwarven meat, but has exhausted most of its food options within its territory.  Still, it often leaves dwarf-flesh behind.  The voice that Franim heard was actually a telepathic suggestion eminating from Ylarrg, who has been luring dwarves away, and adding them to his frowing army of ju-ju zombies.

MacLeod, the storm giant, has experienced several nuisances of late, apparently staged by a combination of dwarves and humans.  These medium-sized humanoids have been trespassing on his grounds, and killed one of his four large brown bear guardians.  MacLeod found some bodies by the remains of his late bear…human and dwarf bodies, although strangely there was very little blood at the scene.  Infuriated at this offense, the giant has unleashed several small lightning storms on the logging camp and the human village, as a warning against further meddling. 

In actuality, Ylarrg has just begun to breach the castle’s defenses.  Primarily in an attempt to lure MacLeod out, so that that the mind flayer could attempt to psionically attack him.  The remains the giant found were ju-ju zombie remains.

For their part, the townsfolk of Kendall are very frightened and confused by MacLeod’s brief display of power and fury, and have absolutely no idea why they’re being threatened.  They fear that he’s gone insane, and are arming themselves for a possible confrontation with the giant.  Likewise the dwarven loggers have sent word to Nomak-Tar that a war with MacLeod may be imminent subsequent to the recent attacks, and preparations are being made.

Ylarrg:  The mind-flayer has been busy on many fronts.  Occasionally luring dwarves and townsfolk alike through his psionic powers, and using enervation to drain their life force and create ju-ju zombies for his army.  He has fed upon a local trapper, *a guy named Ralph*, and now uses his cabin, which lies somewhere in between the dwarven city and the village of Kendall, due north of MacLeod’s castle.  Ylarrg has polymorphed himself into Trapper Ralph to avoid detection and suspicion.

After the failed attempts to lure the giant out of his castle with his zombies, Ylarrg sought his second chance when MacLeod left his castle to visit his clan under the sea (to seek reinforcements from his people, in case the dwarves and humans decided to attack in larger numbers).  The mind flayer attempted to possess MacLeod as follows:
-  He had a ju-ju zombie carry his magical tea cup into the sea near the castle’s southern-most point.  Ylarrg intended upon using the jeweled chalice as a storage vessel for a _magic jar_ spell.  When Ylarrg sensed a very large life force, he took possession of the body.  To his dismay, he had entered a blue whale instead of the storm giant.  Ylarrg decided to beach the whale for three reasons: 1) out of intense frustration 2) to get the whale out of his way in the event that he tried to possess MacLeod again and 3) he saw it as an opportunity to lure the bulette out of the forested area (through the vibrations of the whale’s thrashing), so that the bulette would stop feasting on his potential undead army.

PC Hooks:
* One of the characters might originally be from this area (either a human or dwarf), and news of the unrest and potential war with MacLeod might bring them home to help avoid further conflagration.
* The dwarven loggers have sent someone from their camp to hire a party of adventurers capable of dealing with the unseen threat posed by Khaba-Pruul.  The clan leaders at Nomak-Tar know that something foul is afoot, but they’re not buying tales of mythical beasts and instead blame the giant and his bears for the attacks.  The dwarven messenger is actually a *tone deaf bard* named Grem Ironear.  Grem’s not much good at inspiring courage among the clan warriors during battle with his renditions of their glorious war songs, but he’s great with oratory and legendary tales around the fire at the logging camp…and that’s where he serves his people.  He tells the party about the recent attacks; random bits of equipment and body parts; and Franim’s story about hearing a voice.  He implores the party to help locate and dispose of Khaba-Pruul.
* While passing through the area (on their way to other adventures) the party may witness the storm giant’s minor siege on either Kendall or the logging camp from afar.  The DM might describe a highly intense and unusual electrical storm, focused over a very small area some miles in the distance.  Curiousity alone might draw the party in from this point.
* As the party passes through Kendall in their travels, they overhear excited discussions about a huge *BEACHED WHALE*.  Any nature lover in the party will want to help rescue the beast, which offers two possibilities: 1) Someone in the group can communicate with the whale via a _speak with animals_ spell, and thereby learn that someone or something drove it onto the beach.  2) Grem or one of the townsfolk can approach the party and explain some of the other strange events drawing the PC’s into the region’s mounting tensions.

Running the Adventure:
This side trek provides a wide array of opportunities for both the DM and players to integrate the party into the activity around the Bakkur Peninsula.  This adventure can provide more than a few combat encounters, or it can be focused primarily around exploration and detective work.

* If the party is drawn into the mix by Grem, or visits the dwarven logging camp at any point, they will learn of Franim’s encounter and hear about the missing/dismembered team members.  It is doubtful that anyone in the group (even a dwarf) will believe the stories about an Awakened Dire Cricket of Doom, and a thorough search of the surrounding forest will reveal the bulette’s cave less than a mile from the camp.  A Knowledge Monsters or Wilderness Lore Check (DC 20) reveals that bulette’s do not care for dwarf flesh, which is why they aren’t being entirely consumed.  While this explains the dismembered dwarves, it does nothing to shed any light on Franim’s tale of hearing a voice.  If questioned rigorously, the logger will reluctantly admit that the voice came from within his head, providing a valuable clue that someone or something else is at work.

* Should the party choose to assist in saving the dying beached whale, the DM can add to the encounters and information listed above by having the bulette attack.  It is not unreasonable to assume that Ylarrg’s plan to attract the creature may work, given all the people and activity certain to surround the poor beast.  At this point, clever players (or even dwarven NPC’s on the scene) can piece together the attacks on the dwarven logging team.  Also, by communicating with the whale, characters can gain a huge leg up on learning that someone quite powerful and evil is at work along the Bakkur Peninsula.  This should lead to further exploration of the area and conversations with just about everyone else involved.

* Your group may wish to head straight for MacLeod’s castle.  Unless they intend to reach his castle by means of flight, both water and land approaches present problems.  By water, PC’s will have to navigate the rocks and crashing waves to find a safe landing area for their boats.  This will require a lot of luck and a skilled sailor to accomplish.  By land, PC’s face a narrow path over rough terrain, requiring Balance Checks (DC 10) to keep their footing.  As they draw near the castle itself (from either approach), MacLeod will appear from within and warn the party to stay away.  It is clear by his words and actions that the giant is simply protecting his home, and he will only attack if provoked.  Any battle with MacLeod will also include his three remaining Large Brown Bears, making for quite a tussle.  If the characters engage the giant in a little Q&A, he will reveal the suspicious activity around his castle; the peculiar bodies he found after the last petty assault; and that he felt someone was “trying to pry around in his head on occasion.”  Fortunately, MacLeod has been able to make his saving throws thus far, thereby staving off two separate attempts by Ylarrg to overtake the giant’s mind when he found himself within psionic attack range.  Hopefully this info will allow the PC’s to quell fears in all those living near the Bakkur Peninsula, and divert the threat of three army warfare in the region.

* Any of this may result in characters making an extensive search of the forests between Kendall, MacLeod’s castle, the logging camp and Nomak-Tar, thus revealing the trapper’s cabin.  A Gather Information Check (DC 15) when talking to the dwarves or townsfolk of Kendall will also reveal that the only permanent resident of the forested area is Trapper Ralph, and the rough location of his cabin.  A quick search of the area will uncover many sets of footprints (both human and dwarven), and what remains of Ralph’s body poorly hidden near the cabin’s woodpile.  A Spot Check (DC 10) should allow PC’s to spot the telltale signs of brain extraction through the nose/mouth.  DM’s note: By the time the PC’s discover this information, Ylarrg has moved his little army to a cave along the beach from which he plans to launch a final land and sea assault on MacLeod’s castle. 

Encounters: The party may find itself fighting any/all of the following during this adventure depending on their choices and actions.
MacLeod – Storm Giant CR 13; 188 hit points; see MM page 98-102
Ylarrg – Mind Flayer Wizard 9, CR 16; 75 hit points; see MM page 136
Ju-Ju Zombies (24-36 at DM discretion) – Variable CR; MM2 for details
Large Brown Bears (3) – CR 10; hit points 53, 49, 56; see MM page 193-194
Bulette --  CR 7; hit points 99; see MM page 28

Conclusions:
At some point, Ylarrg and his small contingent of Ju-Ju Zombies lay siege to MacLeod’s castle.  Regardless of what’s transpired up to that point in the adventure, the party should feel motivated to defeat such an unholy group of monsters…then the rest is up to you!!


----------



## Quickbeam

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Less than 5 hours left and still no sign from Quickbeam. . .
> 
> Could it be that these ingredients defeated him? *




Nope .

It was tough, but I think I was up to the challenge.  At least I hope that proves to be the case.  I guess the judgment will tell me .

_edit:_
I won't be able to read Wicht's entry or any comments from the judge until later tonight.  Good luck to my opponent, and thanks Nemmerle for including me in this contest!!


----------



## Wicht

Very Good job Quickbeam.  I like your set-up.


----------



## Quickbeam

I managed to steal away for a few minutes...

Wicht, your entry was great!  It looks like the tourney favorite did not disappoint his legions of ardent fans .


----------



## Quickbeam

One other thought...

I believed myself to be clever using an optional ingredient as the primary "villain" only to find Wicht had done the same.  It's also amusing that we both chose blue whales -- I guess something that size sticks in your mind more prominently than an orca or humpback .


----------



## incognito

> legendary Khaba-Pruul, an awakened dire cricket (OF DOOM)




Yeah - this is SO getting ripped off.  No one wil belive there is really a dire cricket threat.

untill there hear his eeeerily powerful hind legs playing thier sedcutive bardic song...

Muahahahaha!


----------



## Wicht

I thought about using the dire crickets as mounts for the pixies but had no idea how big a dire cricket would be


----------



## el-remmen

Um, about half-done judging - and uh, well. . . 

I may have to leap off the building before I am done. . .


----------



## Wicht

That bad huh?


----------



## el-remmen

Oh snap!

I gotta, uh. . .do some last minute X-mas shopping - I'll uh, finishing judging later   *wipes brow*




Wow.


----------



## Quickbeam

incognito said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Yeah - this is SO getting ripped off.  No one wil belive there is really a dire cricket threat.
> 
> untill there hear his eeeerily powerful hind legs playing thier sedcutive bardic song...
> 
> Muahahahaha! *




Thanks Incognito!!  I just _*had*_ to use this ingredient because it's so darn funny...and irresistible.  Dwarves afraid of a cricket.  Perfect, just perfect .


----------



## Quickbeam

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Oh snap!
> 
> I gotta, uh. . .do some last minute X-mas shopping - I'll uh, finishing judging later   *wipes brow*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wow. *




Does that mean I'm in the running...or are you delicately trying to spare our feelings...or do you really _hate_ Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox ?!?


----------



## Wicht

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *I gotta, uh. . .do some last minute X-mas shopping - I'll uh, finishing judging later   *wipes brow* *




Are we heading towards the first tie breaking Iron DM overtime game?


----------



## Wicht

Quickbeam said:
			
		

> *...or do you really hate Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox ?!? *



If he does I am really glad I resisted the temptation to name my giant Bun Paulyan. 

I did consider it.  For at least a second or two anyway.


----------



## Quickbeam

Wicht said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Are we heading towards the first tie breaking Iron DM overtime game? *




That would be most excellent, indeed !!  Tiring and emotionally exhausting to be sure, but very cool nonetheless.


----------



## Quickbeam

Wicht said:
			
		

> *
> If he does I am really glad I resisted the temptation to name my giant Bun Paulyan.
> 
> I did consider it.  For at least a second or two anyway. *




LOL.  A move like that would have been bold enough to make or break the entire round for you .


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## el-remmen

Okay, I am back on the job. ..  

Whew.








*I can just imagine you guys getting your hopes up for a judgment every time you see I've posted.  I almost feel sorry for you - but what you have done here is to not make this easy for me.  Bastards!


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## el-remmen

Wicht vs. Quickbeam - IRON DM FINAL - Judgment


I’m sorry, Wicht.

I’m really, really sorry.  I thought to myself, “This has to be the time Wicht wins.  He can’t _not_ win.” I mean, no offense to Quickbeam, but both of Wicht’s entries were better than both of Quickbeam’s –and Wicht had made it to the finals so many others times and wrote consistently the best entries I read.

Okay, so the ingredients were tough.   I read Wicht’s entry and thought, “Hmmph, not his best, but still damn good and most likely good enough to _finally_ win the title of ‘Iron DM’”

I’m sorry, Wicht.  I was wrong.

Let’s look at Wicht’s entry, shall we?

Right off the bat, Wicht sets up a great atmosphere – a festival and logging contest! -  with dwarves and giants and tamed blue bullettes (and allusions to Paul Bunyon) and just great fun.  I liked it immediately.

And while I was not sure what giant wanted with 10,000 gold coins, I could excuse that because the curious nature of such a character makes it worth it to have him there.

I also liked the format of the adventure – simply just events that might occur while the party was at this fair whether they be there for hire or for recreation – open-ended things like this usually do well in Iron DM because they do not make the mistake of pigeon-holing PCs.  Bravo, Wicht!

The whale encounter sets up a cooperative atmosphere not common to adventures – where players have been conditioned to be suspicious of everyone and try to “figure out” what is “going on”.

The next encounter has a nice non-combative aspect to it as well – with a potential for a good deed or a robbery and the consequences of said good deed.   And here there *Magic Tea Cup* is used so sweetly, I mean. . . what else would pixies want?  It fits the atmosphere that was set up from the beginning.

Now, if there is one weakness to this encounter it is right here: the mind-flayer.   It is unfortunate that the desire to fit in a secondary ingredient made him try to slip a mind-flayer (a quasi-cthulhuoid creature) into an adventure that could take place in folktale.  The ju-ju zombies could have been given any other origin than the said mind-flayer and they might have worked better – but by making them the mind-flayer’s servants  they become an extension of this “sore thumb” aspect.   However, the idea behind this encounter (a magical thief that plays upon the natural fear of the bulette) is excellent –and allows for a combat encounter (the bulette) by includes the dilemma of how to handle such a dangerous beast.  But still, I have to ask the question: what does a mind-flayer want with 10,000 gold coins?

In the end, Wicht’s entry is worthy of more than a handful of Iron DM final round entries.  I am _really, really_ impressed.

So, that is why I am so, so sorry.

You see, *Quickbeam* wins.

QB starts out in a similar mode as Wicht – her sets up a place where the action is to take place – but with only a few words he has set up this peninsula as not only the place where the action will take place – but a place that could be the launching point for many adventures – and usually I would tell people to shy away from presenting too specific a place in an Iron DM entry because of the difficulty of placing into any given campaign – but on the other hand, a good adventure can create a place you _want_ to stick in your setting and this one does it (consider this place _yoinked!_)

Unlike Wicht’s scenario the mind-flayer (you guys love them secondary ingredients, don’t ya?) works a lot better because the inclusion of the nearby mountains and the fact that this adventure happens in a huge area makes the presence of the illithid much more acceptable – and his motivations are much clearer.

Now, no matter what ju-ju zombies were going to be difficult to fit in here (though I have some crazy ideas of my own) – so I could sense QB’s entry strain here – but only here – But Qucikbeam does a great job of making them work from a _practical_ point of view –making the villain seem all the more clever and unique in his approach – if you really wanted to you could even create a backstory (and fodder for future adventures) where illithid society shuns a voo-doo-like it considers “primitive” – giving mind-flayers a “dark sorcery” side that goes along with their usual psionic abilities (but that is neither here nor there) in order to make it all fit together and link to some future thing.

Oh, but the logging team and the “Bukkar Trees” were excellently used in combination with the bulette – but that is the beauty of this scenario – is how the ingredients were used to check each other – the dwarves are endangered by the bulette (“_ The legendary Khaba-Pruul, an *awakened dire cricket* of dwarven myth_ – friggin’ brilliant! – connecting the telepathic suggestion that way, just so good), and the bulette could harm the illithid’s plans which has the giant angry which he takes out on the humans _and_ the dwarves.   It all fits together so nicely.  But still there is more – we are simply setting up the stage. . .  to use the classic “villain’s plan gone wrong” scenario to bring in the beached whale and HAVE THE ILLITHID’S ESSENCE TRAPPED IN THERE is  just great!    

Okay, I lied when I said there was only one weakness to QB’s entry – No, there is another (but really he explains the first so well it shouldn’t even count – there, I took it back, it doesn’t count anymore – I am not a liar – there is only one and this is it): *The Tea Cup* – what the heck is a mind-flayer doing with a tea cup?  So weird.  _Too weird_.  Plus the fact that it serves as both a magical dispenser of components AND as the vessel for magic jar spell is definitely too much – choose one or the other – no villain is going to put all his eggs on one basket (so to speak) – I would have made the tea cup be simple a magical vessel and skipped the components part.

Anyway, Quickbeam includes some excellent options for how to get the party involved that were broader than those provided by Wicht and thus more readily accessible to a wider variety of situations – and since I found both entries to be so good, I did give some small consideration to how secondary ingredients were used. You both used “a guy named Ralph, which I somehow knew you would – but even in his use of such a lame thing as “a guy named Ralph” – QB used him to help provide a clue as to the adventure’s true villain – thus also making this a “fair” adventure. . . . 

But I still haven’t mention how the setting and set-up of Quickbeam’s entry allows for a DM to drop in his own encounters and has the potential for a lot of role-playing, but Wicht’s does as well – and that is why this is so hard for me.

I’m sorry, Wicht

In the end, I give the Iron DM final to *Quickbeam*

You did great, great work – you both did.

Now the question is do _arwink_ and _Mirthcard_ want to fight it out for third place?


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## el-remmen

*Final Comments:* 

Thanks everyone for participating and lurking and commenting and to Seasong for starting up the "Home Thread"

I was thinking of perhaps collecting all these Iron DM examples and staring up a web page with just the list of ingredients and the entries - perhaps an update on who the "current champion" is - and perhaps some examples from the home game and the like.

I think it is a great resource - and when I look them all over I think of how many great adventures we have cooked up in these threads - too bad we couldn't all flesh them out and draw some maps and make some full-fledged modules from these things.


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## Wicht

Curses, foiled again.  The iron crown shall be mine one day!!! 



Congragulations Quickbeam and good job.

Though Nemmerle, I just have to ask, why wouldn't giants and mindflayers want 10,000 gp.


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## Quickbeam

I'm too stunned and giddy to say anything clever.  I can't believe I won!!  Thanks Nemmerle, and thanks to you also Wicht, for the kind congratulatory words.

I promise to post expositions on both of my last two entries later tonight and/or tomorrow.  As a prelude, let me say the following:

* I'm honored that you (or anyone on these Boards) would want to "yoink" any of my ideas for their own use.  Enjoy the Bukkar Peninsula, Kendall, Nomak-Tar and the rest!!
* In the adventure's initial draft, the *Magic Tea Cup* was simply a vessel for the _magic jar_ spell.  Then I overthought things and got concerned our noble judge might deem the ingredient shoe-horned into the scenario and made it much more important to Ylarrg.  And I agree...it was just too much at that point.  I should have left well enough alone.  Thankfully it didn't cost me the battle.  *phew*

See you all soon, and Happy Holidays .


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## arwink

Wow, congratulations Quickbeam.  Tough luck Wicht.  That was close game to be sure 



			
				nemmerle said:
			
		

> *w the question is do arwink and Mirthcard want to fight it out for third place?  *




I'm game if Mirthcard is.  It's only luck and insomnia that meant I was around to sign up for the comp, and who knows how long it'll be before that combo means I can compete again.  I'll happily play til i can't play no more


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## Mirth

Wicht?!?! WTF!?!? Man, I feel your pain  

This takes nothing away from Quickbeam, to whom I say CONGRATULATIONS, Iron DM! 

As always, nem is tough but fair. His is a seasoned pallette and if you use too much salt, he's gonna spit that stuff right back in your face 



			
				arwink said:
			
		

> *I'm game if Mirthcard is.  It's only luck and insomnia that meant I was around to sign up for the comp, and who knows how long it'll be before that combo means I can compete again.  I'll happily play til i can't play no more  *




I'd be up for this too, but today and tomorrow I'm pretty busy. If you still want to have a go starting on Friday (or preferably Saturday), then I'll make a run for the bronze with ya. I'll just check back here to see what you and nem say.




Damn Wicht, damn damn damn


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## arwink

mirthcard said:
			
		

> *I'd be up for this too, but today and tomorrow I'm pretty busy. If you still want to have a go starting on Friday (or preferably Saturday), then I'll make a run for the bronze with ya. I'll just check back here to see what you and nem say.
> *




I'm happy to wait that long if Nem is.


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## incognito

Congrats to both contestants.

*Wicht* consistently puts out a good submisisons.  Which means having him as your DM is going to be a thing of beauty. I hope you DM Wicht!

*Quickbeam* showed some flashes of brilliance, which is really what I look for in an IronDM competition.  Take my crappy ingredients, and give me a scenario that sez" "Whoa, I didn't even _think_ of that."

As a Nod to Wicht's consistent performance, however, I am going to break with IronDM tradition, and guaranate him a spot in the January IronDM that I will run.

See everyone can have a Merry Christmas!

..and let's all take a special Christmas moment to thumb our noses at Vax, who is apparently too good to compete in IronDM anymore. (wink).


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## Wulf Ratbane

incognito said:
			
		

> *..and let's all take a special Christmas moment to thumb our noses at Vax, who is apparently too good to compete in IronDM anymore. (wink).
> 
> *




Yah! He took his ball and went home!


Wulf


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## Quickbeam

The day got away from me...so I'll be here tomorrow with the promised expositions and various other remarks.  Hope you all had a Merry Xmas and a Happy Holiday Season!!


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## el-remmen

Arwink, mirthcard - Friday is fine with me - I'll be around and post a reminder in the A.M. EST - for those of you in AUS - that is much much later friday evening (I think)


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## Mirth

Actually nem, I found out that Friday's gonna be quite the bear for me. Any way we could go on Sat, if that's okay with everybody?

BTW, did you know that you defaulted on the first round of the Ceramic DM?


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## Wicht

Thanks everyone for the consolations   One of these days, just you wait.  

As to my entry... this was a tough round.  Normally the ingredients suggest one or two storylines to me and I work the two together.  The problem with this list is it suggested at least three seperate storylines to me and I had a hideous time trying to figure out how to get them to flow into each other.  First and fore-most I hit on the idea of the dwarves competing in some way against the giant.  I think I thought of Paul Bunyan almost immediately and thought of using the Bulette in place of the huge blue ox.  Originally I had thought of a bet between the two forces, with the dwarves hiring the PCs to investigate as to whether the giant was cheating but I could not get the other story lines in my mind to work.

The rest of the ingredients did not seem to fit in with each other.  The beached whale suggested a whole different story arc and the magic-tea cup did not seem to fit in with either the whale or the loggers.  Finally I decided to make an event oriented adventure instead of plot in order to more easily bring the different threads together.  The whale and the loggers dictated the scenery.  Had to have forest and beach both.  The pixies suggested themselves as being connected to the tea-cup and soon I had connected Ralph to the tone deaf bard.  A read through the Pixie description gave me a way to curse the poor guy and account for his hearing problems.  The whale was originally going to be a rock formation by the town but then I thought of making it an encounter where the characters are introduced to the teams and where the character of the bulette becomes a sympathetic element.  

The mind flayer was in my mind, supposed to be a cultural abberation.  A loner who profited only himself, more interested in pure materialism than he is in political power. (Why are mindflayers always deemed to be political manipulators?)  As for the gold being attractive to him, like I asked Nemm, why wouldn't it be?  Even neferaious schemes cost money.  And if a giant wants to build a fancy castle sometime he has to pay for it somehow.  There has to be a source for all that treasure piled up in the villains lair, a reason they have it (except of course for dragons who just like sleeping in the stuff).  Anyway, I think a mindflayer with levels of Rogue could be a good thief, he has the intelligence to pull of the crimes and the powers to defend himself if need be.  I am always interested in using monsters outside of their cliched roles in order to keep things fresh. If I expounded on the adventure, I would not make the mindflayer the first thief, I would have just made him the best.


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## Wulf Ratbane

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *I think it is a great resource - and when I look them all over I think of how many great adventures we have cooked up in these threads - too bad we couldn't all flesh them out and draw some maps and make some full-fledged modules from these things. *




[stares blankly]

Wulf


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## el-remmen

Wulf Ratbane said:
			
		

> *
> 
> [stares blankly]
> 
> Wulf *




Yeah, yeah. . . . I know. . .  But I don't have the time. . .


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## incognito

As a nod to Wulf, I have given his _amnesia, cursed back-biting spear, hangman's tree_ scenario to no less than 3 DMs (not including me!).

On of the best IRONDM submissions...ever.

Which gives me an idea!  Once we have enough, how about a "Classic" IronDM tournament.  To compete, you must have submitted at least 3 adventures for an IronDM contest.  

You are paired up at random, and both of you choose 1 of the scenario's you've submitted in the past. your opponent does the same.  You can only re-submit each entry once though, so do you give your best submission first?  Tn the middle?  Last? 


anyone care to poke holes in this idea?


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## Wicht

I had given thought at various times to writing up some of the entries I have submitted into full adventures.  Likely if someone else gave me an actual incentive to do it I would, but other things constantly seem to be more important at the time.


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## Quickbeam

I'm back on the Boards, so here's my Round #2 Exposition for _Blood Sanctuary_, albeit a bit later than intended.

To be quite truthful, I actually had more trouble getting these six ingredients to fit together nicely than I did in the Finals...and it showed .  I spent most of Saturday night kicking around various story ideas, none of which were very good.  The plot I almost went with, involved getting the PC's to help save a baby brontosaur trapped in a magical mud pit created by a dissolving waterfall, which had been magically frozen years earlier.  The PC's would be provided with a large flying carpet to help transport the beast to safety after he'd been extracted from the mud.  Alas, this scenario felt like a variety of bad children's movies including _Free Willy_, so I (thankfully) went back to drawing board !!

Eventually, the idea of using divine favor to freeze the waterfall (a raging flood coming down from the mountains) took seed, and I could envision the nature preserve and/or sanctuary built in homage to the responsible deity.  I'd been wanting to incorporate one of the Prestige Classes I recently read about, and finally I stumbled onto the right one while paging through the Complete d20 PrC Book -- the Blood Witch.  This foul villain could have an imprisoned bronto at the animal refuge; hers to bleed ad infinitum thereby empowering her metamagic spells.  The rest of the plot flowed through Oseera, and the impending doom for Shanalea if things were not set right at the sanctuary.

Let me respond briefly to Nemmerle's comments:
1) The _foppish foreigner_ and _flying carpet_ were definitely shoe-horned into my adventure, and I freely admit that Arwink made better use of both ingredients than I did.  Still, I liked Herdwick Cupp, and could see his mission to hire the party as a lot of fun to roleplay.  I enjoy a bit of humor in all of my stories, and he seemed like the perfect vehicle for humor in this mini-adventure.  The carpet is another story.  All of my use concepts with respect to this item were poor IMO, and I finally went with one that seemed interesting if nothing else.
2) I respectfully disagree with our noble judge when it comes to the _magical mud_, though.  Mudmen -- or at least physically animated mud -- did seem to be the obvious use here, and that's precisely why I went in another direction.  Furthermore, you have a plausible use for the item given the NPC employing this ingredient and how it ties in to the nature theme.  Just my two  cents, but I liked the invisible fence for the bronto which served the dual purpose of keeping his food supply plentiful.
3) I'm please that Nem saw a cohesive storyline with some elements of subterfuge and mystery, despite its weaknesses in other areas.  I don't know who deserved to win our round, or whose story was better suited to the Iron DM format.  I'm very happy to have prevailed, but I certainly would have understood this battle going to Arwink.


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## seasong

nemmerle said:
			
		

> I was thinking of perhaps collecting all these Iron DM examples and staring up a web page with just the list of ingredients and the entries - perhaps an update on who the "current champion" is - and perhaps some examples from the home game and the like.



I've got a pretty thorough list of ingredients (minus this one) in the first post of the Home Game. If you have a particular format in mind, I could probably go through and pull out these ingredients and all of the entries for the various games as well.


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## Quickbeam

Exposition for *A Home by the Sea*
Iron DM Finals

After reading the ingredients list for the Final Round, cursing quietly under my breath for a few moments, and then re-reading the list several more times, I decided that the _mind flayer_ was going to be my adventure's primary villain...even though he represented a secondary contest element.  I wanted this adventure to possess two things evident in my Round #1 entry, which were somewhat missing in the Round #2 submission.  Namely, a story which integrated the required elements well AND which also offered a realistic setting where extensive roleplaying and exploration might occur.  If I was going to lose (likely -- considering the opposition), then I wanted to go down having created a solid story in the process.

To that end, I began working on the Bukkar Peninsula.  A place which could reasonably provide homes to storm giants and dwarven loggers; humans and beached whales; bulettes and perhaps even room for a small contingent of hidden ju-ju zombies.  First I developed MacLeod's castle along the southern shoreline of the peninsula, beside the sea so that he felt close to his kin beneath its waters.  Next came Nomak-Tar, the Bukkar trees and the logging camp several miles upstream.  Finally Kendall and Trapper Ralph with his cabin out in the woods.

Then I began fleshing out Ylarrg and his desire to have an undead army, instead of just lots of eaten brains and a few feebleminded slaves.  In my mind, flayers (like drow) have little tolerance for those who do not conform to expectations in their subterranean cities.  It made sense that a necromantic flayer like Ylarrg would be banished to the surface world (if he wasn't just killed), and that also provided his motivation to stay put and succeed in his nefarious plans.

Here's where eveything turned beautiful for me.  I called a buddy that owned the MM2, and got my hands on the ju-ju zombie information that began connecting all the puzzle pieces.  You see, ju-ju zombies are effective underwater AND are immune to electrical attacks.  That makes them _perfect_ soldiers for laying siege to a storm giant castle surrounded by water on three sides!!  If I could tie those ingredients together seamlessly, then surely there were ways to interconnect them all.  So, Ylarrg attempts to possess MacLeod, who he's lured out of the castle  with nuisance zombie attacks, but gets a whale instead.  The aformentioned assaults are blamed on the humans and dwarves (cuz that's what the zombie bodies are) creating tension and distrust amongst the peninsula residents.  Meanwhile, a hungry bulette is unknowingly terrorizing the dwarven logging camp (and stealing potential zombies from Ylarrg), but this is blamed on a mythical creature of legend.  It all just sorta fit...except the magical tea cup.  I only saw this item as a vessel for the _magic jar_ spell, and that didn't seem good enough.  So I stretched things a bit and expanded its uses in my final edit.  In retrospect, I agree that this went too far.  C'est la vie and all that jazz.

In reviewing the Finals, I really liked the elegant simplicity of Wicht's story.  His use of the ingredients seemed almost effortless IMO, and his entry was a perfect side adventure for any campaign.  My own entry was much more involved, and took a lot more backstory to set up.  I wasn't sure of how this would play with Nemmerle, but I felt pretty iffy about my chances even though I really liked my story.

Obviously, I'm glad that the victory was to me.  But just about anyone who's ever stopped into one of the Iron DM threads will acknowledge that Wicht's body of work in these competitions is unmatched when viewed as a whole.  I was honored to battle him (and Zappo & Arwink as well), and to have been a part of this contest.  Thanks Nemmerle !!


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## el-remmen

Arwink, Mirthcard. . .

What if I post the ingredients tonight at midnight and you guys have until noon sunday (EST) to post your entry?


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## arwink

It'll be hectic, but I should be able to get it done.


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## Mirth

I just got home. Was out of town and then out on the town for my 7th wedding anniversary. I guess that would work for me nem. My schedule just got unexpectedly swamped though, so I'm not sure I'd be at my best.


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