[Story] Round 4; The Grand Finale! Bade vs Aeternis

[hvg3akaek]

Round 4; The Grand Finale! Bade vs Aeternis

Originally Posted by Chairman Haga

Where sixteen once stood (and two more lurked to the side), now there are but two!

The battlefield has been cleared, the stains from Bade's last victories removed, and the matches simply memories. Continuing ahead, the Stained Challenger is pulled forward by his desire for yet another success - for it only requires one more to grasp that coveted title!

But as last year's Iron DM retreated into the shadows, there was one who stepped in to take his place. Aeternis found himself to be self-propelled, and obtained smooth progress as he slid onwards to his goal. Though the Melted Challenger was once merely a hopeful, he has come far in the competition, and now stands with but one opponent between him and the glory of winning.

Only one thing is for sure: there will be but one challenger remaining after this match!

As has happened many times before, and must happen again, you will now face off against each other. Only by using the following ingredients, and crafting an encounter or adventure with your own talents can you hope to survive! One of you can finally rest, but for the other, you must spend the next year wearing the heavy burden of being titled: Iron DM 2013!!

The judges for this round are:

• Everyone!!!

The ingredients for this round are:

• a Ragewalker!!
• Mortuary Employees!!
• the Home of an Old Friend!!
• an Ancient Text!!
• Gratefulness!!
• and a Catastrophe!!

If you so dare, you can also pick from the following optional ingredients. Bonus marks are awarded for their use, but take care not to over-season your dish!

• a Metallic Crustacean!!
• Furious Fanatics
• a Missing Puzzle Piece!!
• and Alphabetic Messages!!

Let the Dungeon Mastering....BEGIN!!

Rules You are to write an encounter or general short-adventure arc using the items / concepts above. All rules found here are to be followed. The entry is to be no longer than 3,000 words, which includes *everything* you put into the post. Judges are instructed to stop reading at that time, or to deduct points if you go over. The use of a spell check and word count is highly recommended. You have 72 hours from the time this post is made. It is not expected that you use all this time - the extra time has been given to ensure that, no matter what your timezone, you should be able to have a 24-hour block within it to compete. You should post your entry into this thread within that time, and ensure it is secreted (to hvg3akaek) and spoilerbuttoned. Feel free to also PM your entry to the judges at the same time if you wish. If your post is not made within the 72 hours, you will be automatically disqualified. If you have issues, be sure to PM or hvg3akaek at gmail dot comemail hvg3akaek *before* your round is closed. Once posted, do not edit your entry. The use of the "preview" function is thus also highly recommended.

[Bade]

 

Seasons of Rage

An adventure for 5 Level 15 adventurers

Ascension   The world of Pangrasa is perpetually under the sway of a being known as an Ascendant. The Ascendants are living gods; mortal men and women who underwent apotheosis to become deities. After their ascension, they live for a century before dying once more to ascend to the celestial pantheon, and a new Ascendant takes their place. The Ascendants are beings of emotions, and the world reflects this. When an ascendant of a positive trait ascends, such as kindness, it is a century of peace and happiness. When an ascendant of a negative trait ascends, such as rage, it is a century of turmoil and darkness. The reign of Ascendant Agate the Kind was one of peace, plenty, and co-operation, but as an Ascendant’s time draws to a close the powers gather that one may rise above the rest and become the next Ascendant. In the 99th year of Agate’s reign, from the hellish Neraka desert at the head of an army, the Crucian warlord Megedagik the Iron Claw emerged, and his rage rocked the peaceful world. Agate, in a weakened state due to the late hour of his reign, could not stop Megedagik as his army tore a bloody swathe across the land. In his wake came the Ragewalkers; spirits spawned by war itself and seeking only to perpetuate the violence. Under their sway, the entire world was soon embroiled in conflict. This war lasted for a year, tearing apart the kingdoms of the world, leaving a fractured mess of city-states, until the death of Agate, and the Ascension of Megedagik as the Ascendant of Rage. With his newfound powers, Megedagik crushed the remaining combatants. The Ragewalkers, drawn in by his power, became his lieutenants, instigating wars between his foes for his amusement. The world became clouded with rage; the beasts of the world became aggressive, and people became suspicious and hostile. It has been 5 years since then. The adventurers all have their own reasons for joining forces, but they are all united by a single purpose: they will not endure 95 more years under Megedagik. They are going to break the cycle. They are going to kill a God.

Mortuary   World-wide effect: Rage The Rage Ascendant’s nascence has made rage an all-pervasive force. Animals and people are hostile and quick to fight. NPCs should be treated as Unfriendly for Diplomacy purposes. The party has come to the village of Tajem chasing an impossible rumour: within the forest lies a way to kill an Ascendant. There is a place, known as the Mortuary of the Gods, where the Dark Brothers live. Little is known about these black-robed figures, but every time an ascendant dies they appear and take the body back to be prepared for whatever rituals the gods observe. Few have ever been to the Mortuary, for it lies at the center of the cursed Drugar Forest. Gather Information DC 10: The forest is cursed, those who enter do not return (false). DC 15: The forest presents visions of lost friends and loved ones who beckon to you. DC 20:The Mortuary is at the heart of the forest, but cannot be reached by magic, teleportation spells fail and a heavy fog that bewilders travelers covers it from the air. A DC 30 Information check, Knowledge local, or Bardic Knowledge gives an obscure tale about a way to make it through the forest: blindfolded and with stopped up ears, allowing your feet to follow the path to its destination. All roads, it says, lead to the Mortuary. Navigating blindfolded is a DC 15 Survival Check. Any unprotected party member in the forest soon finds themselves taunted by the denizens of the forests: the creatures the locals call the Old Friends. They live in the shadows, and seek to tempt travellers off the path by appearing in the guise of friends and loved ones, beckoning or pleading for the person to leave the path (which is under protection by the Dark Brothers). The target of their temptation must make a DC 22 Will save or become charmed and leave the path. Once off the path the face of the person being impersonated suddenly changes to a shrieking, horrific visage before melting into a shadowy monster. In combat they are Greater Shadows with the ability to cast Black Tentacles at will. They will swarm the target, in a group of 1d4+1, using the Black Tentacles to pull them deeper into the forest. Their numbers are limitless, and if driven off or killed, another attack will follow every 30 minutes. It is a two hour trek to the Mortuary. At the Mortuary, the party is greeted by the Abbot of the Dark Brothers. If asked of the method of killing the Ascendant he will be uncooperative: an Ascendant rules for 100 years, to change that is blasphemy. He pleads with them to abandon the quest and accept things as they are, enduring for the next hundred years. The Mortuary is staffed by the Dark Brothers, grey-skinned men and women who have “given up life to attend to death”, living a twilight existence, as well as Shadesteel Golems who perform tasks for the Brothers. The Mortuary has two wings: the library and the mortuary itself. In the library, the walls are lined with books; the life stories of previous Ascendants. The second wing of the building is the mortuary section which features a single slab in an enormous room, surrounded by arcane tools. Behind the building, an enormous graveyard sits. Rather than graves, each is a tomb with the name of the Ascendant and their aspect engraved upon it. At the very back of the library is a staircase which the Abbott will insist they not go down, if asked. At some point in their visit, one of the Brothers will surreptitiously hand off a piece of paper. The paper reads: “The book you are looking for is the Book of Deicide. I have read the histories; the last Ascendant of Rage nearly destroyed the world. It cannot be repeated. Knock at the tomb of Mirrikh.” Upon knocking on Mirrikh’s tomb, it will open and a Dark Brother, named Rafa, will hurry them inside. He relates a story as he leads them: the Book of Deicide is an ancient text that details methods to render the Ascendants mortal once more, enabling them to be slain. It was written by a man named Donovan, later known as the Godslayer. He believed that the Ascendants robbed mankind of their free will, and that they needed to be destroyed. He compiled this book through unknown means and began to kill Ascendants as they arose. However, another would always arise, and the rapid change was damaging the world. The Dark Brothers finally caught and killed him , and worked to eliminate him from history, but they could not bear to destroy knowledge, and kept the book hidden away. Rafa adds that killing a single ascendant should not damage the world; it was only the rapid Ascendants changes that were dangerous. But the Dark Brothers are committed to allowing things to happen naturally. Rafa feels this is wrong; that they should work to… prune undesirable Ascendants. Mirrikh had been the last Rage Ascendant and was a horrible monster, that was why Rafa chose his tomb, it was the only one he’d felt comfortable desecrating. The tomb contains an enormous upright coffin emblazoned with the image of Mirrikh. Rafa reveals, as he moves aside the coffin, that he has turned the tomb into a tunnel: an alternate entrance into the lower library, unknown to the Abbot. Entering the lower library, Rafa quickly locates the book. On its cover a hand holds a glowing orb, and figures below shy away from it as they are pierced with knives and swords. Rafa will not let them take the book; it is too dangerous to allow into the world, but he will let them see what they need to kill Megedagik. He flips through then calls out in shock. The page needed is torn out! Rafa informs the party that they are not the first to make it through the forest. A few months ago a group of Rage Worshippers, people who worship a particular Ascendant and pray for their return, visited, asking to research their founder, Mirrikh. Their motives were suspect and they were turned away, but it is possible they found the tunnel and stole the page. At that moment the Abbot comes down; suspecting they might try and steal the book, he has come to check on it. He is accompanied by three Shadesteel Golems. He informs them that the information they have is too dangerous, and he must kill them. Even if informed the page is missing, he will tell them that he knows they intend to seek it out, and that cannot be allowed. The Dark Brothers will reclaim the page. The abbot is a Level 13 Deathless Human cleric who will work to support the Shadesteel golems. Rafa is a level 6 Deathless Human Cleric who will support the party. If he survives, he will accompany the party for the rest of the adventure, unable to return to the Mortuary. Once the Abbot is defeated, the party will need to head back to civilization to find the thief of the missing page. Once they’ve exited the forest (undergoing the same dangers on their exit trip), they may ask around in town. Gather information DC 15: reveals that a group did pass into the forest a few months ago, but was assumed dead. DC 25: or simply asking the innkeeper reveals that while they were never seen exiting, some of the things they’d left in the inn vanished. All he found was a single scrap of paper with gibberish on it, some kind of code he thinks, he kept it mainly out of curiosity. If persuaded, he will part with it. It reads DMKLZXAADRQBORGXFEZOADQVMIV. Above the letters DMK, MIR is written, by a different hand. If alive, Rafa recognizes it as an Alphabetic cipher: it requires a code word to decipher. DC 30: One of the men mentioned being from Vaztek, a city on the east coast. The code word is Mirrikh. If the party figures this out, the message translates to “Return to Vaztek upon retrieval”. If the party struggles, an Int check could be given to solve it, or other hints given to get them on track.

Deicide   The party’s actions have been noticed by the rage worshippers. They will be waylaid upon the road to Vaztek (if they choose to teleport or bypass the road somehow they will be attacked on their first night in the city). Rage Worshipper Ambush 20 Worshippers, average level 5, varying races and classes. All capable of raging as a 5th level barbarian. 1 Level 8 Sorcerer/6 Rage Mage The worshippers do not excel in tactics, but make up for it in ferocity, attacking in a frenzied mob, while the leader attacks from range with spells. . They will use fire as well, burning trees or buildings to cut off escapes and add to the confusion of the assault. Searching the bodies turns up another coded sheet: QFVTCDPAVKFVSNTBRZVOTACEKISU. The key word is the same, and the message translates to: EXECUTION TONIGHT AINE’S MOUNTAIN. Even without decoding the message, they may see the fires on Aine’s Mountain, a dormant volcano, plainly from town. The townsfolk avoid the mountain when the fires are going, as the worshippers do not take kindly to intruders. Arriving there, they see a priest standing in front of a bound man in a cage hung over the open caldera. The priest holds aloft a page, declaring it the only threat to their God, before casting it into the magma. Furthermore, the operative who retrieved it is to die to safeguard the secret. The man in the cage is not content with being a sacrifice and yells curses at the priest. Whether they decide to rescue the man, intervene to stop the destruction of the page, or are simply caught spying, they will end up fighting the worshippers. The worshippers are the same in number and power to the earlier ambush, but the priest will not intervene, content to observe. Once the worshippers are dead he reveals his true nature: a Ragewalker, enthralled to Megedagik. He summons two Living Spells (Living Blasphemy) to his side and engages the party. If the captive is rescued, he admits that he has been with the worshippers a very long time, but upon seeing an actual Rage Ascendant take over, he had began to doubt their cause. He performed the infiltration and stole the paper, but the priest knew his doubts and used it as an excuse to execute him. However, he read the paper and knows what is needed to slay the Ascendant. Out of gratitude for his salvation, he turns against the worshippers and decides to help the party slay the Ascendant. His name is Zadkiel and is a level 9 Rogue, specializing in stealth. He retains his Rage ability. While the page does detail a method for the creation of the item, Zadkiel tells them that they may not have to hunt for pieces: the worshippers have located Donovan’s Armory, the place the Godslayer stowed his legendary repertoire. The worshippers were planning on seizing it and using it to slay all non-Rage ascendants to bring about their “Age of Rage”. The armory is in the Godslayer’s Edge, a mountain chain of treacherous peaks and steep precipices. Climb checks and balance checks should be liberally interspersed throughout. The armory is immense, and trap-laden. Zadkiel can disarm many traps if the party is unable, but not all. Traps should be CR 12 and up. Distributed throughout are Iron Golems, which will attack on sight. The final doorway to the armory itself is guarded by a Slaughterstone Behemoth and two Eviscerators. Inside the armory, weapons and strange devices line the walls; most are major artifacts of varying abilities, designed to kill specific Ascendants. In the center, a suit of armor rests on a throne. As they enter, a ghost steps out of it and introduces itself as Donovan, the Godslayer. He will relate his story: he sought to liberate mankind from the sway of the Ascendants, but each he struck down brought about another. The repeated shifts culminated in something unexpected: the Chaos Ascendant. It nearly destroyed the world, and Donovan only barely managed to stop it, before being killed by the Dark Brothers for his actions. He made no attempt at stopping them. He has sympathy for the party, but tries to persuade them to call off their quest. It is possible, but difficult to persuade him to co-operate and part with the Orb of Tranquility. He will not permit anything else to be removed. If they fail to persuade him, and do not abandon their quest, he will attack them by possessing his armor. He fights as a Level 6 Sorcerer (battle variant)/9 Spellsword with the Archlich template. Defeating him gives the party the run of the armory, if they wish to take more. If Rafa is alive, he will ask them not to take anything but the Orb. The effect of the Orb is apparent quickly. When held it projects an aura over a 40 foot radius; creatures entering the aura cannot take hostile action without passing a DC 35 will save (this includes the party) each round. Firing into the area subjects one to the same effect. Additionally, as beings of rage and violence, Ragewalkers flee when exposed to the aura as if turned. Due to its effect, approaching the fortress of Megedagik is unchallenging. If they so desire, they may literally walk through the army to confront the Rage Ascendant (though they may opt for stealth instead). Megedagik can be found in the throne room, flanked by two Ragewalkers and his generals and guards. He glows with a flickering red light, his carapace spiked and colored red and black; the aura in the room is oppressive, the Crucians within looking only seconds from unrestrained violence, until the aura passes over them. Megedagik is unintimidated; so far as the world knows, Ascendants are invulnerable. He will dismiss the troops, and decides to deal with the party personally. However, when he comes to face them, the instant he steps into the aura there is a flash of light. The orb shatters instantly, but the glow surrounding Megedagik vanishes, and he becomes mortal once more. However, the party still must deal with the now thoroughly enraged powerful warlord with two Ragewalker helpers. Megedagik is a level 6 Barbarian/10 Frenzied Berseker. He lost his hands years ago, and had them replaced with metal claws, fitting his Crucian appearance. One is made of adamantine and used for crushing and he will sunder with it, the other is for cutting and is his chief attacking tool. Both are heavily enchanted, and he prefers to fight using them over any other weapon. He wears platemail that leaves only his shell exposed. The Ragewalkers will fight according to their standard tactics. At 25%, if he has not done so involuntarily, he will Frenzy, seeking to tear the party apart. When Megedagik is finally dead, the party exits to find his army tearing itself apart. It appears he only retained control of the two Ragewalkers in the throne room, the others, no longer bound to him, have acted according to their nature and begun instigating war, scattering to the winds after throwing the army into chaos. There are many of them and they will need to be stopped eventually, but that is another adventure for another day.

Ingredients a Ragewalker!!: Ragewalkers spawned by Megedagik's wars that caused a global war, and also used as his lieutenants, and the leader of the Rage Worshippers. Mortuary Employees!!: The Dark Brothers, who work in the Mortuary of the Gods. the Home of an Old Friend!! The Drugar forest, home to the beings known as Old Friends due to their hunting method: impersonating friends of the victim to lure them off the path. an Ancient Text!!: The Book of Deicide, thousands of years old and written by the Godslayer himself. Gratefulness!!: Zadkiel's gratefulness for being rescued is enough to make him join the party's quest to kill a God, not exactly an easy task, accompanying them to the end. and a Catastrophe!!: Two, the global war that Megedagik caused, and the Chaos Ascendant in the past that prompted Donovan to cease his Godslaying. Optional: a Metallic Crustacean!!: Megedagik, a Crucian (crab-person) warlord who fights in heavy armor with metal claws. Furious Fanatics: The Rage Worshippers, very literally furious, and very fanatical. a Missing Puzzle Piece!!: The Book of Deicide, the solution to the problem of how to kill an ascendant, is missing the crucial page that they must retrieve. and Alphabetic Messages!!: The Rage Worshippers use an Alphabet Cipher, a code popularized by Lewis Carrol that uses multiple substitution ciphers in sequence, requiring a code word to decode.

[Aeternis]

 

The War’s Child
A Pathfinder adventure for 12th level characters

Setting: Agartha, The World-City Agartha is an advanced society built on technomagic - the fusion of magic and machinery. The whole world is covered by cityscape, housing tens of billions of human beings in conditions ranging from squalid subterranean slums to palatial towers of glass, stone, and steel. Even the oceans have largely been covered over, and the very weather has been tamed. This city is rarely at peace. Dozens of factions vie for control over the world-city. Armed with the best in technomagical weaponry, from firearms to walking combat vehicles to great dreadnought airships, the factions wage long wars of conquest to expand their territory. The factions only ceased fighting once, when the fiends of the Plane of Inferno invaded Agartha, seeking to enslave human ingenuity for their own ends. The city, faced with a seemingly endless horde of powerful immortal foes, created the Agarthan Directorate, an alliance tasked with driving the fiends from the city. After almost a year of nonstop fighting, the Directorate managed to close the fiends’ portals, ending what has since become known as the Invasion War. But that was five years ago. The uneasy truce of the war has long since ended, and the factions of the city once again squabble amongst themselves. The Directorate’s power has waned, leaving the old factions to their own devices. The largest battlefield of the war has become the Scar, a blasted wasteland populated only by the most stubborn folk bent on reclaiming their lost homes and rebuilding the region.

Immortals Nonhuman beings, such as fiends, celestials, and the spirits of nature, are classified as Immortals - they cannot be permanently killed. Some forms of immortal creatures suffer severe memory loss when killed, but all are reborn not too long after their bodies are destroyed. Not all are necessarily hostile, but most can fight competently if threatened.

The Memorial The PCs, upon their return from a previous adventure, are met by a messenger, who informs them that an old friend and former employer, General Padel Maceran, has died. They are, the messenger says, invited to a small memorial event at his home. Faction Loyalty This document assumes that the PCs have a good relationship with the Kingdom of Corgona, an arbitrarily selected faction, but the DM should feel free to use a different faction if desired. When the PCs arrive at Maceran’s home, a spacious dwelling in Corgonan home territory, Helena Maceran meets them at the airship berth on the roof, flanked by servants. They are led inside, and find that there are perhaps two dozen or so other attendees, mostly military men, but a few others as well. Off to one side, an urn containing Maceran’s ashes sits under a relatively recent portrait of the man. Helena thanks everyone for coming, and gives a brief speech about her husband’s life. She is clearly grieving, but manages to keep composure. She tells several stories about her husband, then holds up a resonance crystal, a device used to record sound such as spoken messages. She mentions that Padel Maceran recorded a message on it shortly before he died, and that after hearing it herself, she would like for everyone in the room listen to it. A playback machine is wheeled in, and the and Helena inserts the crystal. Maceran’s gravelly voice speaks from the tinny machine’s trumpet. Maceran’s Last Message “...take it from here, thank you.” There’s a sound of footsteps gradually fading into the distance. “ Helena, I assume you’ll be the first person to hear this. I want you to play it for others. People who can possibly right the wrongs of the past. I think I’m the last person who knows this story, and it shouldn’t die with me.” Maceran, after a wheezing cough and a few deep breaths, goes on. “Back when I was a Colonel, on ground duty in the War, my unit was working with some Darkling scouts. We were… supposed to try to get close enough to one of the portals to try to close it.” Maceran pauses again for breath. “It wasn’t a fiend we ran into when we left the caves. But one of my boys didn’t know any better. He’d never seen a Dryad before.” “By the time the scouts got him to stop, the poor thing was already dead. He’d hacked it to bits with his blade. It hadn’t even tried to stop him. He’d found it kneeling there in a blast crater, with a vacant stare. We didn’t know what to do besides move on. I’ll never forget that poor dryad’s dead face, vacant look of horror and all. We didn’t want to be there when it came back to life.” After a chain of coughs, the ailing general continues. “That night, while we were camped, it came back. We could all see it was the same creature, it had the same face, but it was changed. Angry. Beyond angry. We woke up to screaming. The Darklings, they knew something, they told us not to fight it, but to run. When we did, one of them tripped the boy that had done the deed. It stopped to… deal with him. It took its time. But it chased after us too. We eventually trapped it, collapsed a cave entrance and sealed it in.” “When the war ended, I asked a friend at Prime Institute about it, and he did some research. Found a translation of an ancient Druidic text in the library. Apparently when a Dryad is reborn it takes the form of its environment - in this case, we rebirthed it on a blasted field of war, and gave it the form of slaughter.” ”I’ve marked the place on one of my old war maps. Helena, get someone to put the creature to peace. It’s probably still sealed in that cave, and such a creature deserves better. It never meant us any harm, and we did worse than just kill it. Maybe if someone kills it and moves it to a more peaceful place...” He descends into another coughing fit, and the recording ends.

The Scar The widow gestures to a servant, who unrolls a map. Sure enough, there’s a silver X on it, near the middle of the Scar. Helena asks the assembled to look into her late husband’s request. As most are military men who can’t go on personal missions with the Kingdom’s war material, the PCs are the most likely candidates. She offers payment - specifically, she offers to gift them her husband’s old racer, a tiny two-seater airship capable of great speed and maneuverability. Maceran’s Racer This quick, agile aircraft started life as a decommissioned “Harrier” combat striker, but its weapon mounts have been removed and its performance has been tweaked. The PCs could easily have it rearmed, race it themselves, or simply sell it for its considerable cash value. The edge of the Scar is not far from Corgonan territory, perhaps twenty-four hours of airship flight. It should be no trouble for the PCs to locate the area from the map, and to make landfall near a large Remnant outpost there. If their transportation is a chartered airship, it won’t stay there long, preferring not to make itself a target for Remnant snipers. The Remnant This faction of fiercely independent refugees is trying to rebuild the homes they once had in the Scar, before the war. They live in camps for the most part, and though their lives are generally fairly poor, they refuse aid from other factions, rightly understanding that taking that aid would give those factions control over them. Remnant camps are fairly hostile towards outsiders. Almost as soon as they’re on the ground, the PCs are approached by a Remnant patrol, armed with dirty rifles and accusing glares. They ask the PCs’ business in the area. If the PCs are forthcoming about their goal, the leader of the patrol will lead them inside the encampment, and take them to a ramshackle structure bearing the smell of death. Inside, three pale-looking men are sewing a corpse together. It looks like the poor woman was cut into a hundred pieces. The patrol leader points to the corpse and says that she was found an hour’s walk from the outpost, cut to pieces. The morticians, having examined the body, detail what they can, and say that this was the third such body they’ve had to dress for burial in the last four days - the other two were found cut to pieces near each other, with rage-filled expressions on their dead faces. They will be happy to tell the PCs where the bodies were found, which will narrow the search area considerably, and they express hope that the PCs will deal with the entity that did it. If the PCs don’t give the patrol enough information to recognize that what they’re after is what has been killing locals, the patrol will herd them a short distance away from the encampment and suggest that they go about their business quickly and then depart. They won’t be willing to allow the PCs into the outpost short of sufficient Diplomacy to raise their mood to at least indifferent, but unless the PCs attack the patrol, the locals will leave them alone.

The Competition As the PCs begin their search, an airship passes low over their heads. It’s obviously heavily armed, and it bears Corgonan insignias. Remnant sharpshooters open fire on it from a nearby ruin, but their bullets are not effective against the armored warship’s hull. The PCs can easily guess its presence is not a coincidence. Captain Heldan Raules Captain Raules wasn’t at the Maceran home that night, but he’s taking orders from someone who was. The ship was dispatched to try to capture the “combat dryad” and learn its secrets, as such a creature could become a weapon wielded by the Corgonans against their enemies, replacing their use of lightning elementals as front-line shock troops. His ship, the Regent’s Gaze, is heavily armed, and carrying dozens of marines. Each marine is an 8th level Fighter, though various archetypes may be employed. Raules himself is a Magus of 12th level. The PCs, searching the area, will come across another pair of bodies, mutilated like the ones from the Remnant mortuary. A single set of bloody footprints leads away from the scene, and eventually peters out, but a skilled tracker can continue to follow the trail from that point. Whether following this trail or covering the entire area, the PCs will discover a cave mouth, surrounded by bits of rock. The cave looks to have been blasted open by explosives. Inside, the PCs will find two more mutilated bodies, and a single live person, a burly scavenger armed with a two-handed blade and a shotgun. He’ll attack the PCs on sight. Jorn Gadell This scavenger is a 12th level Gunslinger who has been permanently enraged by the Ragewalker. Treat him as under the effect of a Barbarian’s Greater Rage. He will fire his shotgun until it’s empty, then attack the closest PC with his blade. Calm Emotions will temporarily render him sensible, at which point he’ll describe how he and his compatriots opened the cave thinking it was a cache of valuables, but had been attacked by the Ragewalker inside and turned against each other. After the spell expires, though, he’ll go back to blind rage. As the PCs are searching the cave, a squad of marines from the Regent’s Gaze will also stumble on the place. They’ll be gruff with the PCs, and urge them to back off, but won’t attack them outright. They’ll stay there to “secure the site” after the PCs have left, but the PCs won’t get far away before they hear screams and the sounds of fighting behind them. When they return, they’ll find the squad fighting each other, generally with their blades or bayonets rather than their rifles. At the center of the melee, a tall, female armored figure stands in a cloud of whirling blades, seeming to bask in the bloodshed. The Ragewalker Dryad The creature has the same stats as the Ragewalker from the 3.5e Monster Manuals, save that it has +2 Constitution and +2 Charisma. Its projectile reflection works on gunfire only 50% of the time. Within moments, the Corgonan airship is circling low over the scene, angling its cannon at the ragewalker. Before the ship fires its first shot, though, the creature goes on the offensive, making an extraordinary leap to the ship’s hull and climbing up to the deck. The PCs will probably follow, either with grappling hooks or flight, and when they do Captain Raules and his officers will hold them back, trying to keep the PCs from attacking the Ragewalker. The marines try to keep it busy while the ship turns and heads for home. The PCs can simply watch the creature slaughter two dozen more marines, or they can defy the captain and attack the Ragewalker anyway, at which point the marines will fight to stop them, trying to keep the PCs from killing their prize.

The Crash Once the airship leaves the Scar, the Ragewalker’s tactics change. It seems to realize it is being moved away from its wasteland home, and smashes through the deck below its feet and cuts a path toward the airship’s engines. While it’s possible the PCs can kill it before it gets there, most likely it will reach the engines and attack the mechanism. The airship’s speedy cruise will turn into a tumbling plummet towards the cityscape below. As these are Agarthan PCs, they will likely have items or spells prepared to deal with a fall from a great height. If they do not, they can always ride the Gaze to the ground, but this will be fairly painful - they will take 14d6 damage on impact, with the chance to make a reflex save for half damage (Evasion does not apply). The Ragewalker will take this damage as well. The Gaze crashes into a city tower and plummets to the crowded streets below. The engines catch fire on impact for added chaos. Immediately, the Ragewalker (if it still lives) steps out of the wreckage and into the city. The PCs can make Perception checks to see where it went, and follow. Captain Raules and as many of the Marines as survive will also pursue, still intent on capturing the creature. The trail of senseless combat leads into a temple to Wend, the god of war, a few blocks from the crash site. The militaristic minds of its inhabitants have drawn the Ragewalker to that place. Soon after the PCs get there, Raules and his men will catch up. If the PCs defied the captain earlier, this will lead to a fight between the marines and the PCs. This fight will be interrupted by the sounds of screams from deeper in the temple, at which point Raules will propose a truce, realizing that stopping the Ragewalker should take precedence. In any case, the climactic battle will pit the PCs, Raules, and surviving Marines against the Ragewalker and around a dozen rage-tainted Wend worshippers (Clerics and Barbarians of levels 3-5) who fight whatever’s closest to them. As the battle goes on, the Ragewalker will attempt to enrage its foes, or simply isolate and kill them if they resist. If the Wend worshippers are dealt with, the Ragewalker will move farther into the building in order to enrage more people and spread the carnage. If Raules has his way, the creature will be immobilized (among his spells are Hold Monster and other immobilizing debuffs) and dragged off for study by the Corgonan military, but the PCs can always defy him, kill it, and take the body to attempt to fulfill General Maceran’s wishes. If they do this, there will probably be another fight between the PCs and the marines.

The Aftermath If the Ragewalker is slain, the PCs have about three hours to find a suitable environment for it to be reborn into - a garden is ideal, but almost any place with healthy plant life will do. The creature, reborn in a relatively verdant place, will return to a standard Dryad appearance and mannerisms, and though Agarthan dryads rarely speak, it will make plain in a nonverbal manner that it is grateful they did what they did. It will grant each PC a boon (equivalent to a Limited Wish, but with the Dryad choosing the boon) to express its gratitude. This outcome will generally decrease the PCs’ reputation with the Corgonans, of course. If the PCs killed Raules, they will likely have a bounty placed on their heads as well. If a proper setting is not found in time, the Dryad will be reborn as a weakened (-2 STR, -2 CON) Ragewalker and attack the PCs once more. Repeat as necessary, stacking the penalties. If the PCs report back to Helena Maceran, she will give then the promised reward even if Raules hauls the dryad off for study and weaponization. She says she’ll pull what strings she still has to get the creature restored, but that as a loyal Corgonan herself she understands that the PCs didn’t want to defy the Corgonan military.

Ingredients a Ragewalker - The battlefield Dryad, reborn only to war and destruction Mortuary Employees - The Remnant morticians, stitching the Ragewalker’s victims together for burial the Home of an Old Friend - Maceran’s home, and the brief rememberance event held there an Ancient Text - The old druidic text that explained the creation of the Ragewalker Dryad Gratefulness - The Dryad’s reaction, should the PCs reach the “best” ending of the adventure a Catastrophe - The crash of the Regent’s Gaze Furious Fanatics - The followers of Wend, god of war, driven to blind rage

[Sakure]

 

 

You guys really did well. These are some great works! To be fair I'd be okay with either of these adventures to be dropped into a campaign my characters are involved in. *Steps off her broom for a moment to take these adventure tomes she pilfered from Sed's castle for a spin.*

Seasons of Rage by Bade
Apothesis, did anyone else google that? I liked the idea of the world-wide effect, and the notion it could change from one ascendant to the next. Home of an old friend was a little weak but the rest of your ingredients blended well and the souffle didn't collapse. It was well written and the best entry I've seen from you so far. It's a great setting with a big divine thing going on that actually involves mortals directly and not on a global scale.

I think you should have put more effort to hook my character in. Level 15? I think at that point the GM would need to convince me his quest is worth my time. The code word needs some work, I don't like that there's not really a failure option.

The War's child by Aeternis
What!? An airship? Amazing! I'll just gush briefly over that and how awesome it is to add airships to a setting and move on. I suppose I should look at the rest of the entry too after all. The ingredients were all okay. Not too mild, not too spicy, mostly neutral but no bad uses. I liked the resurrecting dryad too. I wish more campaigns had such a direct NPC to interact with as a foe (that's not made of shadow and darkness innately!)

Of course nothing's perfect. There's a lot of assumptions the PCs will follow a certain series of events. If they don't the GM might have to think fast and rework later parts. It took me a little while to put my finger on it, but another thing that bothered me was that while things were centralized, it did get a little repetitive. Especially in a play by post setting it would be hard to make much of a varied adventure and over time it may become bland to some.

(Not really wanting to choose, but I neglected to flip a coin and did make a conscious decision!) so without further adieu...

 

Okay a little more adieu...

 

Seasons of Rage by Bade

[EngrInAZ]

 

Judge EngrInAZ smiles as the two competitors present their final creations, "So, you have made it to the finals. Now, let’s see what you have come up with."

EngrInAZ pulls the first over, looking over the constancy and texture. "Nice form, solid and well composed." He breaths in deep through his nostrils, allowing the aroma of the creation prepare his taste buds, "There are a lot of scents involved in this offering, I’m getting a bit of just about everything." He smiles and nods at Bade, "Seems to tried to go all out with this one, let’s see if it worked out for you." Cutting into the dish, EngrInAZ picks through the portions, looking closely at the ingredients incorporation. He then takes a bite, allowing the morsel to linger as his taste buds, "Mortuary, Old Friend, Ancient Text, Catastrophe…whoa, there’s even the extras, Fanatics, Puzzle and Message." He nods, "That is impressive, including…well trying to include all the ingredients. You got most of them, could use more of Ragewalker, and Gratefulness, but they are at least there." He holds up his hand, "I’m getting a slight aftertaste that I’m not sure about. Can’t say it is bad, just unexpected…like I’m missing something."

EngrInAZ takes a few more moments to savor the dish, "All in all, nice consistency and fairly balanced. Good usage of the ingedients, though missing a little. Also, I’m getting a slight aftertaste that I’m not sure about. Can’t say it is bad, just unexpected…like I’m missing something."

The judge pulls over the second entry, examining the dish closely. "Another well done entry, holds its form and had substance." He takes a deep breath, pulling in the aroma from the offering, "Ah, the ingredients are there, though not as strong as I had hoped." He quickly shakes his head, "Oh, the Ancient text, way too light."

He pulls apart the dish, digging through the creation before taking a bite, "As I got from the aroma, fine usage of Ragewalker, Old Friend and Catastrophe and Fanatic." His nose curls slightly as he shakes his head, "Clearly not enough Ancient text and Mortuary could have used a dash more." EngrInAZ chews some more, "Overall it is a nice dish, well thought out and put together. Interesting and flavorful." He shakes his head, "Just light with the required ingredients and very little of the extras. If you had figured out a better way to utilize Ancient Text and Mortuary, along with some extras, this would be grand."

Judge EngrInAZ pushes the two plates away, "Well, my decision comes down to the usage of the ingredients. As I stated at the start of the competition, the ingredients and how they integrate with the story is crucial. So, my judgement is for Bade and his tying of the ingredients to his story. He managed to include the extras without them being overpowering."

 

I am using a 1 – 5 point scale with Bonus points from 0-2.

Seasons of Rage - Bade

Category	Score	Comments
Ingredients
Ragewalker	3	There are creatures called Ragewalkers, spawn from war, but I’m not sure how.
Mortuary Employees	5	Like the idea of a mortuary of the gods
Home of an Old Friend	5	Original idea, forest beings called Old Friends.
Ancient Text	5	Central to the story and fits well.
Gratefulness	3	This is a stretch, he was grateful but already pre-disposed.
Catastrophe	5	The plot hook is that the players want to kill a god to stop the war, that’s catastrophic.
Metallic Crustacean	1	Crucian in plate armor, not sure why he is Crucian though.
Furious Fanatics	2	Yes, the ragewalkers are fanatic and furious
Missing Puzzle Piece	2	Yep, missing page that is very important.
Alphabetic Message	2	Like the Alphabet Cipher.
Game Play
Story Concept	3	It’s an interesting concept, but there were several holes: If only the Ascendant has effect on the world, what do the gods do, If the society is reflective of the Ascendant, how does the opposite trait gain enough power to be dominant, With a tomb for every Ascendant the mortuary must be massive but it is still hidden.
Technical Details	5	I like the plot hook, there are monster tactics and skill check information.
Writing
Grammar/Spelling	5	No spelling or grammatical errors.
Cohesion/Structure	5	The information is well laid out and flows nicely.
Total Points	51/50	102% A+

The War’s Child - Aeternis

Category	Score	Comments
Ingredients
Ragewalker	5	Original concept for the ragewalker’s existence.
Mortuary Employees	3	There are guys prepping bodies for burial but no importance to the adventure.
Home of an Old Friend	5	There is an old friend’s home and it provides the impetus for the adventure.
Ancient Text	2	There is the mention of an ancient text but no involvement with the PCs
Gratefulness	4	The dryad is grateful but it is more of an add-on than important to the story.
Catastrophe	5	Yes, being in a crashed airship is a Catastrophe.
Metallic Crustacean	0	N/A
Furious Fanatics	2	The followers are furious and fanatical.
Missing Puzzle Piece	0	N/A
Alphabetic Message	0	N/A
Game Play
Story Concept	5	Creative idea, very descriptive and would be an interesting adventure.
Technical Details	4	There are tactics and creature information but no DCs for skill checks.
Writing
Grammar/Spelling	4	Minor grammatical issues.
Cohesion/Structure	5	The adventure is laid out nicely and it is easy to retrieve information.
Total Points	44/50	88% B+

[Squeak]

 

The judge walks back into the courtroom, judgement in his hand. But before he can submit his verdict, he turns to address the contestants.

"There are many here who will say how difficult it is to judge between your two submissions. I have no such problem." he says haughtily down the point of his nose.

"You are both in my courtroom today because you are the best this site has to offer." he says. He looks as if he is going to say more, but instead just shakes his head, mutters to himself and submits his verdict to Chairman Hugga.

 

Writing: Badass. Just badass. I wanna play in this game. Score: 10/10

Playability: I wish there were more options here -- like what happens if you can't figure out the cypher. Still, I would enjoy playing it. Score: 8.5/10

Ingredients:
Ragewalker: Awesome. 2/2
Mortuary Employees: Meh. They are there, but that's it. 1/2
the Home of an Old Friend: Meh. Just like the one above. 1/2
an Ancient Text: Cool, 2/2
Gratefulness: Coulda done better here. Way forced 0.5/2
and a Catastrophe!!: Yep. 2/2

Total Score: 8.5/12

Optional Ingredients

a Metallic Crustacean!!: I am unimpressed. No credit.
Furious Fanatics: Yep - they were cool. +1
a Missing Puzzle Piece!!: Nope - not enough for me to grant bonus points.
and Alphabetic Messages!!: I liked it. +1

Total Bonus Points +2

Total Score 29 / 32

 

I'm going out of my way to be accepting of the genre, even though I'm not personally a fan. Airships, gunslingers, etc is not for me personally.

Writing: It was good, but not I wanted a bit more. I may be over compensating here because of the genre, but I don't want to seem too biased. Score 8.5/10

Playability: It was very playable. While there was some railroading, there were options. Score: 9/10

Ingredients:
a Ragewalker - Yep, I'll give you this one. 2/2
Mortuary Employees - There, not integral. 1/2
the Home of an Old Friend - Yep. 2/2
an Ancient Text - Not too important in the scheme of things. 0.5/2
Gratefulness - This was decent, but not perfect. Wanted something more. 1.5/2
a Catastrophe - Yep. 2/2
Score: 9/12

Furious Fanatics - Yep +1

Total Bonus Points +1

Total Score: 27.5 / 32

 

BADE

[Embrodak]

 

To start I had a problem with mode entries. I was looking toward a module that could be adopted in any world. Both of you have unique worlds that would be hard to start with this module.
Bade you start with killing a god. Though I would love to see the PC's adventuring in this world getting to level 15. Perhaps they were trying to be the next ascendant.
Aeternis, your entry seems a bit more adaptable. Take out the City Scape, put it in a land where there a various factions. I can see an easier adaption for yours.
Both were good entries and it comes to the incorporation of the ingredients. Speaking of which let's examine them.

RagewalkerBade - The Lts growing out of the coming rage and war, a good opening start.
Aeteris - The Ragewalking Druid was core to your story and a cool idea to adapt to other adventures. I can see taking that idea and transplanting it to the Pathfinder setting.
Nod to Aeternis.

Mortuary EmployeesBade - Really that was a mortuary? I didn't see it as a mortuary, more a temple or library.
Aeternis - I didn't really see it as a Mortuary. I saw them taking care of the undead. I guess they were employees of one.
Nod to Aeternis, but barely as I felt it was used lightly by both.

The Home of an Old FriendBade - Interesting idea of the "old Friends". It kind of reminds me of the Hunger Hunger Games and the Mocking Jay's. Not sure why they turned to shadows..
Aeternis - Core to the story, coming to the reading of a will from an old friend. Kinda cliche.
Nod to Bade

Ancient Text Bade - Core to the story having to find a way to kill the god, only to find it and have to locate the missing page.
Aeternis - I'm sorry. I missed the ancient text describing it. I caught something about immortals coming back to life in this land, but don't recall anything specific about a text describing the dryads doing it.
Nod to Bade

Gratefulness Bade - Essential as the paper was destroyed. They rescued him.. Kinda railroady and forced, but I see what you did there.
Aeternis - I would be grateful too if the PC's saved me. A limit wish.. Good job.
Nod to Bade on a close one.

CatastropheBade - Your whole adventure was about preventing one by allowing the Rage Ascendant to become a god.
Aeternis - I did not see it anywhere and it was not until your breakdown did I see that the crash was one.
Nod to Bade

BONUS
Metallic CrustaceanBade - The Crab Person.. Excellent job
Aeternis - Not Included
Nod to Bade

Furious FanaticsBade - Went well with the whole rage ascendant thing you had going.
Aeternis - I dead your breakdown. I'm afraid I missed the Followers of Wend. Now I did read this last night and am trying to recall this 12 hours later, but If you did write this in, It did not stand out and I don't recall it.
Nod to Bade

Missing Puzzle Piece Bade - the one page missing. Good job.
Aeternis - Not Included
Nod to Bade

Alphabetic MessagesBade - Interesting concept of a group using coded messages.
Aeternis - Not Included
Nod to Bade

Overall both were great entries. I have to give my vote to Bade as I think his use of the ingredients was better and he used all the bonus one's with out making them feel tacked on.
I think Aeternis's entry would be easier to adopt in any campaign, but Bade's seem's like a campaign world to be created.

[Arucard]

 

IN THE RPGX IRON DM ARENA
FOR THE FINAL ROUND OF IRON DM

BADE

v.

AETERNIS

--------------------
OPINION
--------------------

Arucard, Iron DM Judge, hereby enters this judgment in regards to the case of Bade v. Aeternis for the title of Iron DM 2013. In reaching verdicts in such disputes, the Court weighs the following three categories, further sub-divided into various factors:

i) Ingredients
ii) Story
iii) Technical

Given the nature of additional and optional ingredients in the final round, the Court is faced with an issue of first impression: how does it resolve the better use of optional ingredients if one party does not opt to make use of them. To judge them in the same manner as a standard ingredient weighs in favor of a competitor using optional ingredients terribly, as it will allow them to, by default, outrank a competitor who opts not to use them at all. In resolving this issue, the Court has opted for a method that renders optional ingredients potentially a risk and potentially a reward.

Unlike other ingredients, optional ingredients will be judged on their own merit as either impressive or unimpressive usage. Impressive usage will gain a factor in their favor; unimpressive will gain a factor against their favor, effectively lowering their total score in Ingredients by one. Note that "unimpressive" does not imply "poor" - the Court feels that at the final round of competition, mediocrity should be penalized rather than rewarded.

 

i.a) Ingredients

a) "A Ragewalker"

Bade's entry featured Ragewalkers, spirits of destruction summoned by an age of war and enthralled to serve as lieutenants. Aeternis' entry featured a Ragewalker reborn from a Dryad under similar conditions, serving as the main antagonist of the story. Both entries made exceptional use of the ingredient, and despite great lengths, the Court was unable to find a flaw to give either an edge over the other. As a result, this factor is declared a tie.

b) "Mortuary Employees"

Bade's entry featured the Dark Brothers, an organization that proves central to the story and plot development. Aeternis' entry featured an optional visit with some morticians stitching together bodies. This factor weighs in favor of Bade.

c) "The Home of an Old Friend"

Bade's entry featured a haunted forest, dwelt in by shadows and shades pretending to be the departed loved ones of the PCs. Aeternis' entry used the home of an old friend and prior employer as the plot hook, and his last wishes as the giving of the quest. Ultimately, the Court must weigh more plot-centric uses as heavier than less plot-centric uses. As a result, this factor weighs in favor of Bade.

d) "An Ancient Text"

Bade's entry featured an ancient and forbidden text on how to commit deicide, which served as the MacGuffin for the adventure. Aeternis' entry featured one sentence in a backstory by a recording of a dead NPC. Seriously, this use should be penalized more than just not gaining a factor in his favor at the Finals level of competition. As that is not codified in my proceedings, this factor simply weighs in favor of Bade.

e) "Gratefulness"

Bade's entry featured the gratefulness of an NPC that the party may or may not choose to save. Aeternis' entry featured much the same dynamic, except the NPC in this case is the main antagonist - the ragewalker dryad. Bade's NPC grants them the benefit of a rogue 6 levels lower than any party member. Aeternis' NPC grants the PCs a limited wish, at the dryads own discretion. Both in terms of the risk and the reward, this factor weighs in favor of Aeternis.

f) "A Catastrophe"

Bade's entry featured a historical catastrophe in the reign of a Rage Ascendant, and the repetition of it in the present successor, as the motivation for the adventure. Aeternis' entry featured a bitchin' airship fight over a city, followed by a crash and "28 Days Later" style rage-infection in the populace. Both entries made exceptional use of the ingredient, but Aeternis' makes me want to see it in a big budget film. This factor weighs in favor of Aeternis.

i.b) Optional Ingredients

a) "A Metallic Crustacean"

Bade's use of this was impressive, setting a deformed metallic claw-man as the main antagonist and god in the making. This factor weighs in favor of Bade.

b) "Furious Fanatics"

Bade's use of this was impressive, casting literally enraged fanatics as the stock villain of the adventure. This factor weighs in favor of Bade.

Aeternis' use of this was also impressive, setting the scene for the climactic final battle with enraged war worshipers in addition to the ragewalker. This factor weighs in favor of Aeternis.

c) "A Missing Puzzle Piece"

Bade's use of this was impressive, continuing the MacGuffin status of the book and leading to the next leg of the adventure. This factor weighs in favor of Bade.

d) "Alphabetic Messages"

Bade's use of this was impressive, containing actual alphabet ciphers for the party to solve. This factor weighs in favor of Bade.

Conclusion: With a final score of 6-3 (albeit only 3-2 before counting optional ingredients), Bade is the winner of the Ingredients category.

 

ii) Story

a) Originality

Bade's entry featured at its core a quest to stop an evil deity from ascending and destroying the world. Aeternis' entry featured at its core a quest to either recover or slay a corrupted druid. While mundane in its core elements, Bade's entry particularly shined in the back story of the quest; the setting of the world and history of other ascendants clearly affected the worldview and attitude of the NPCs and PCs alike. The woodland encounter was also an unusual and interesting inclusion.

Aeternis' entry, slightly more original in its core concept, suffers from lack of similarly compelling backstory. It makes up for this, however, in excellent use of environment and setting information; a sort of magical steampunk theme pervades the adventure, culminating in an airship battle.

Ultimately unable to find a flaw in either entry's presentation, this factor is declared a tie.

b) Entertainment

Bade's entry was extremely interesting to read from beginning to finish. Aeternis' entry lulled for the most part, but made up for it with an explosive last act. Past judgments have ruled de facto in favor of the more consistent adventure, however this has been due to the singular nature of the entertaining portion of the less consistent adventure. Aeternis' entry featured several highly entertaining elements at the conclusion of the adventure - seriously, airships and zombie rage plagues. As such, this factor weighs marginally in favor of Aeternis.

c) Coherence

Both entries flowed relatively well for the most part, then suffered from a major, game-threatening flaw. Both of these were in the "Playability" category more than the "Story" category, however, and will be judged as such. Regarding the coherence of the story itself, I really have nothing negative to say about either. Historically this has been my most brutal area of judging; that I have nothing to say about either entry is quite the statement. Well done on both parts. This factor is declared a tie.

Conclusion:

With an unusual score of 1-0 in a 3-field category, Aeternis is the winner of the Story category.

 

iii) Technical

a) Formatting

Bade's entry made tactful use of fieldsets and skill check tables, albeit inconsistently; the Ragewalker Ambush was separated, for example, but the Old Friends forest encounter was not. I generally felt the adventure could have benefited from more distinction between elements in the text.

Aeternis' entry suffered from the opposite problem, throwing out fieldsets within fieldsets like some kind of Xzhibit meme. While it could have benefited from some alternate forms of
formatting - some text size or color changes, breaks other than fieldsets, etc. - I found this the more easy entry to navigate for information a DM would require. As such, this factor weighs in favor of Aeternis.

b) Completeness

Both entries were relatively well done; I could find no errors to complain about in Bade's entry. Aeternis' suffered slightly for the lack of statistical information about all the new technology that's assumed to be a banality in this world (guns, ships, etc.). I also wondered why the Ragewalker had blades surrounding it when the weapon of the day is guns; where'd they come from? Though honestly, that's probably just my desire to see a Ragewalker with a "blade barrier" full of pistols and shotguns flying around it. Man, that'd be awesome.

Anyway, this factor weighs marginally in favor of Bade.

c) Playability

And so it comes down to this. Both entries were exceptional to the point of a tie, and then massively fumbled the plot. For Bade, this came in the form of the volcano encounter. What happens if the party doesn't stop the page from being immediately thrown into the volcano, and fails to save the prisoner? Both are treated as entirely optional, and yet if they do neither, the entire adventure is at a stand-still. The adventure even implies that as of that moment, there exists no-one in the world with the knowledge to make up for this issue. They've literally lost the campaign at this point.

Another - albeit more minor - issue comes in the case of if the NPCs do accompany the party. By the "best case scenario," the party will have two NPCs following them around at this point; a level 6 Deathless cleric, and a level 9 Rage rogue. While an interesting party dynamic, this would be quite annoying to run for the DM. Of course, that is mitigated by the fact that both NPCs will be dead within minutes. As a level 15 party, taking on a level 6 cleric is more of a babysitting mission than anything else; the very next encounter involves no less than 20 enraged minions charging the group, all of them level 5. One level lower than the cleric. He might have started Deathless, but that'll be fixed right up, I assure you. Zadkiel suffers from similar squishiness, given that as a CR 9 rogue he's expected to disable several traps that are CR 12 "and up."

Aeternis' critical failure comes in the airship battle - the star of the adventure, given that the adventure as a whole consists of just relatively few encounters in rapid succession. Really, it feels like something that would be run in a night or two. But I digress. In the adventure, the Ragewalker makes a superman leap onto the hull of the ship attacking it. At this point, the adventurers "probably" have a means of following, and "probably" do so. That's a heck of a lot of "probably" when dealing with PCs that often forget to pack torches and water. And what happens if they don't follow probability? Well, the ship flies off with the dryad, crashes into the town without them, and the city pretty much falls at that point. So, again; campaign lost.

I find this a rather challenging issue to judge, given that both have some central and major issues - a single encounter can unmake the entire campaign and result in an auto-failure, and both entries managed not to include a fail-safe. Ultimately, I guess Bade edges slightly ahead on this; at least there are two chances to avert a campaign-blowing failure, with the page and the prisoner, as opposed to just one in the case of Aeternis' adventure. I feel kind of grimy ending Iron DM - and settling a tie for my vote - on this kind of note, but what can you do. When life gives you lemons, take them, because lemons are like, what, a dollar a bag now? That's basically a free dollar. Also, this factor weighs - in the most extreme of narrow margins - in favor of Bade.

Conclusion: Bade is the winner of the Technical category.

 

Having carefully weighed the evidence presented by each party, it is the conclusion of this Court that Bade presented the better entry and wins the judge's vote for Iron DM 2013.

Signed,

The Honorable Judge Arucard

[hvg3akaek]

Originally Posted by Chairman Haga

The dust settles, the crowds peer downwards, and a collective breath is held. Which of the two great DMs will be crowned the Iron DM? Both have travelled far, coming from opposite sides and bringing many servings of great stories for us to feast upon, but as we all know only too well, only one can stand victorious at the end!

Each of the judges residing over this match have had a difficult time determining their vote, a statement in itself to the fine calibre of DM we have before us! But each has given their decision, and they stand unanimous, if only barely: with a score of 5-0, Bade defeats Aeternis, and claims the title of Iron DM for 2013!! Congratulations!

Well done to Aeternis, too, who put together a strong and contestable final entry, to match the calibre of his previous rounds. And well done to each and every other participant, in each of the other rounds. Thank you to the judges who scrutinised and weighed up each match in every round, who's critique and feedback will hopefully help to raise the standard of not only the participants, but the crowds watching! And thank you to the masses who watched and read each entry! practise those skills, and come back next year to challenge Bade for your own chance of becoming....the Iron DM!!