[Mechanics] The Scoreboard

[Nasrith]

Kalas Kalas stands with the other judges, far removed from other prying eyes. He's less wet than he has been in previous rounds of deliberation, and in a much better mood besides. A tuft of... fur? floats down from his tangle of hair. From his right hand dangles a necklace of ape teeth, freshly (and gleefully) harvested. Despite this new piece of savage fashion, he can't seem to look the others, especially the Druid, in the eye.

Votes Did something a bit different here as I had significantly more time on my hands this week than previous. That coupled with the smaller group of competitors allowed me to give specific feedback on a post by post basis. Sometimes it is true feedback, sometimes it's thoughts about what's going on with your specific characters, and sometimes it's my stream of consciousness after reading an especially good post. Same general scoring guidelienes as I've been using in the past are in place here, but I've personalized everything a bit more.   Post 1: Funny and well written. Looks like you took a note from Oztk's book here, though I'm unsure how I feel about it. +1.5 points Post 2: Entertaining, and the same as with Danshii. The three of you feel like a group, largely because of the banter. +1 point Post 3: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Good thing Ikol is insane, because it worked. Way to make a slew of failed rolls entertaining. Unfortunately, some looooong sentences and editing mistakes detracted from the post. +1 point Post 4: Oh wow, that friends thing got me right in the heart. Otherwise witty as always. +1.5 points Post 5: Laughed all the way through this post. For Narnia! +1.5 points. Post 6: Interesting way to find a number to give, and well written as well. +1.5 points   Post 1: Interesting to see Vordur come down after his power trip in the combat round. Second half felt a bit uninspired. +1 point Post 2: The alliteration! Good writing and character interaction here. You FEEL like a group. +1 point Post 3: Good use of a flashback, where otherwise there's not a whole lot going on. +1 point Post 4: Consistently good posting here, but nothing special. +1 point Post 5: Great post here. Acknowledging the others, adding your own special flavor, delving further into the character's past. +2 points. Post 6: Vordur feels like he's at his best when he's contemplating his relationship with his god. +2 points   Post 1: That was creative, though the scheming is hard to read. Long, but the flashback isn't a bad one in this case. +1 point Post 2: Creativity, and teamwork even though you're literally racing against one another now. Downside, your creative plan is hard to digest in writing. +1.5 points Post 3: Taking some of last week's advice and putting it into effect. Shorter post here which is good, but it needs more oomph. +.5 points Post 4: Leadership and teamwork. Good stuff. +1 point Post 5: A bit tropey, but not in a bad way. Way to have his life and goals flash before his eyes here. 1.5 points Post 6: I feel like now is the time for reflecting, for looking back, for putting all that hexblade angst on display. Where was it?! +1 point   Post 1: Woof, those be fighting words. Enjoyed this post, and I've got nothing wrong with some interparty conflict. Seems like you added a bit more to Oztk's character than intended though. +1 points Post 2: Way to handle the near death experience. +1 points Post 3: Good writing, especially around the polymorph spell and your loss of concentration. + 1.5 points Post 4: Well played, giving the essence of your character. A tad bit choppy at times, but very good overall. + 1.5 points Post 5: Glad we saw some of the effects of that stat loss. +1 points Post 6: Twisty indeed, but you rounded the bend. Well done. +2 points   Post 1: Good post, once again setting the stage for Eugene to be more than he thinks he is. +1 point Post 2: Another good post with Eugene starting to get all fired up. +1 point Post 3: Building on the last post, and good use of a flashback here. +1.5 points Post 4: I feel like I'm getting a little bit more from Eugene each time... But I'm at the point where I want more than a little bit. On the other hand, heals. +1.5 points Post 5: There it is. +2 points. Post 6: And stuck the landing. Bravo. +2 points.   Post 1: Good starting post, managing to make Bertha more than just about cracking jokes. +1.5 points Post 2: No need to get snippy; sometimes it's better to just roll with others assumptions about your character. Made up for it with teamwork and a good post. +1.5 points Post 3: Nothing spectacular this round from Berthe this round, but still a good post. Smart idea using Psiliana's magical shadow for a shadow step. +1 Post 4: That was a lot of feels. Well written. Also... Stonecunning. +2.5 points Post 5: Heh, good post where you're mostly just waiting. +1 point Post 6: Very well done here. It's hard to make a character as spoofy as you did while still being compelling when it counts. +2 points. Party 1 Zinrokh DanshiiWithWulfs MontageManiac AlphaP Cereal Nommer Oztk Points 8 8 6.5 8 9 9.5 Adjusted 24 24 19.5 24 27 28.5

[Squeak]

Archmage Mifflewerf Fettlegrew Archmage Mifflewerf Fettlegrew The diminutive archmage floats towards Tobias, a wistful look on his face. "It turned out you were competing in a one man race. That was disappointing. There was other talent available, and while they might not have been able to catch you, they could have at least given you a challenge." the gnome says with regret. "But it is a testament to your character that you did not let the actions of another affect you. You had the race won, but you chose to finish strong. You should be proud of your performance and I am glad to inform you that you have earned your place in the final round." he explains with a nod. "II have no doubt my judgement will boost your confidence, so let me repeat a bit of advice that my grandmother once gave me. 'Don't be humble. You're not that great.' Quote from Golda Meir*** You have won the round, but not the competition. The character you showed during the last round will need to be amplified as you move into the final test, one that I believe is the most difficult of all. You will be judged against the best of the best and will need to impress all of the Nine if you are to earn a seat at the table." he finishes, slowly floating away to allow the others to speak.   I will be scoring as before, but at the end of the round all scores will be TRIPLED. QIKSILV #1 POST – I can’t say enough about the quality of your writing. It is a bit ‘long’, but I actually don’t mind because the quality is so high. You were definitely prepared with another fly spell, which was extremely useful here. +2.5 points #2 POST – Well written, but not as good as your last post. I honestly think the mechanics of the round – which you HAD to do – made it a less enjoyable read. From an effectiveness standpoint, you had a big miss – green slime will eat through a shield!!! +1.5 points #3 POST – Continuing strong. Concerned about Leize not getting his action in, but it didn’t stop you from your post. I wish you had whipped out burning hands prior to this, but it was pretty effective now. +2 points #4 POST – Not only well written, but an EXCELLENT idea. The idea of giving up your essence in the form of the parasite living inside of you was not anything we had thought of –- and I love it when PC’s can surprise us! +3 points #5 POST – It looks like Antipode has tapped out, but you are still going strong. It’s pretty clear at this point that you are going forward – but it is also clear that you aren’t slowing down. A stellar post – and from what I can tell, one written because you are really enjoying it and getting into your PC. And you KILLED yourself simply so you could have a chance to move forward. Loving it. +3 points #6 POST – It is clear you’ll be advancing since Antipode bailed. But you used the opportunity to write a book, playing out your PC to the hilt and fleshing out everything. +3 points RECAP – I was impressed that you kept things strong all through the competition, even after you knew you would win by default. I’m sure it is because you are enjoying the PC you built – and you should!!! I hate the fact that you'll be advancing by default, but when I compare it to the 5E group I definitely feel that you deserve a spot at the table regardless of the competition (or lack thereof) you faced in the 3rd round. One warning -- You relied on the internal conflict between your selves out of necessity – and it made an interesting read. While there will surely need to be some of that in the final round, I would strongly encourage you to NOT to rely on it. ANTIPODE #1 POST – Strong post, well written. You didn’t have much in the way of options here, but you did everything you could with what you had!!! Jumping was a great idea and was made even better by your roll!!! +2.5 points #2 POST – Another fantastic post. This time you WERE prepared for the encounter and had a brilliant idea to burn your way through the slime. Kudos to you. +2.5 points RECAP: It was disappointing to see you stop posting. The quality of your writing was fantastic and your actions made a real difference against the slime. TOTAL DISCRETIONARY POINTS QikSilv – 15 points * 3 (for 3rd round) = 45 points Antipode – 5 points *3 (for 3rd round) = 15 points.

[wodine]

Kokabiel Strix Kokabiel tapped his mailed finger impatiently against the square table of the nine. Taking their sweet time aren’t they? The deep voice asked to no one in particular. Finally, Rostamoinen went to give the final task to the would-be members. Leaning forward towards the scrying orb Kokabiel watches with interest – the last challenge was always his favorite. People’s responses were always so… unpredictable.

Points Breakdown General Notes: I will use the Squeak system of points because I like consistency. 20 Points, tripled at the end.   Honestly, I’m very disappointed. You quit, without so much as a farewell, even though you had a good chance of continuing. I’m not going to waste my time. +0   Post 1: I was worried when I saw the length of the post – a lot of people tend to go way off topic when they post so much, but you managed to remain mostly poignant and on topic. Mechanically, not your best choice – obviously you weren’t going to fool an archmage with a minor illusion. +2 Post 2: You let Leize take the lead here which considering his ability to clear out the Ooze was a good choice, though the ooze is capable of destroying pretty much everything. Also, the potions were red herrings, and completely useless. Not your best post it seemed like you weren’t sure what to do, so you added some filler. +1 Post 3: You come back into your own with a good post, good internal dialogue, and an effective way to move forward. +2 Post 4:This was my favorite post of the round. I know I’ve given you a hard time but Khelben has started to grow on me. Plus it was a creative idea to try an rid yourself of a powerful, albeit, belligerent part of himself. +4 Post 5: I was worried you’d stop posting quality with Antipode being gone, but I’m glad you kept it up because had you stopped posting well, I would have suggested no one in the bracket moving on. That said – I’m not sure I buy the suicide attempt. I see where you were going with it, but it seems a little out of character for Tobias, which Khelben points out, but he’s put up with the lich this long; why when he’s so close to working with people who do have the power to remove the lich would he give up? +2 Post 6: A few minor grammatical and formatting issues, but nothing too distracting. I like the use of this last post as a face to face conversation with you ghost, but it goes on a little long. There were few points where the steam stopped, but then it picked up again, but then it would hit another lull. It could have used another hard edit, but I understand you were under the wire. All in all a good solid post. My biggest piece of advice going forward is, try to take a break before you post and reread the whole thing, pruning out things that are unnecessary. +2.5 Total = 13.5*3 = 40.5   Antipode - 0 QikSilv – 40.5

[Bhelogan]

Getting close to the end! By this point, The Druid and the contestants had a pretty good knowledge of each other. “We know you are good to have made it this far. What I am looking for now, is who is special. Who has that something extra? Who was truly impressive!”

Discretionary Points for D&D 5E Round 3 oztk playing Berthe First and foremost, I really enjoyed the way Berthe had some interaction with the other PCs here, and even though there was some ‘conflict’, they ultimately helped each other out where it was needed. The solution to the first two challenges ended up being pretty repetitive, with Berthe really being dependent on her items to get through obstacles (flying, ect). We have seen this a lot through the event, and I feel the boots of flying have just become too much of a crutch. But, the last two challenges gave Berthe’s personality a chance to shine. Total +27 AlphaP playing Psyliana There was a lot to work with this round, with Psyliana paying a bit of a price for some of the beating she took during the combat round. In one sense, I really liked how the group almost came together as a party here, on the other, the lack of preparation (healing capabilities), also put a drain on the other’s players resources, and she wouldn’t have made it through without them. Still, I enjoyed her character a lot this round, and again like how the last two obstacles were handled. Total +26 Cereal Nommer playing Eugene What I liked here, was to me, Eugene had the most ‘creative’, and by that I mean not just doing the same things over and over as every other round, solutions that were highly effective. Enjoyed the writing, and his part in the party spat as well as the character reflection and growth. Total +28 Zinrokh playing Ikol At some point, we have to decide if the 4th wall is important or not. So far, I think the pop-culture references, and such have played into Ikol’s character well, but if this went on for too much longer, I think it would start to get tiring. Ikol had the straight forward solutions to the first two puzzles, and apart from some bad rolls, would have gotten through them unscathed. I feel like he might be going insane a bit over the last two puzzles, but they were fun to read. I really enjoyed the interactions with the other PCs, and how their relationship grew this round. Total +28 DanshiiWithWulfs playing Vordur Vordur went to the tried and true boots of flying for the first round here. Again, I feel like this is one of those items that kind of became a crutch, and prevented a lot of potential creativity for those using them all the time. The team work though, and the motivation through the rest of the obstacles was really good, and I felt like Vordur grew quite a bit this round, especially with fleshing out more the relationship he has with his deity. If he makes it through, we need to start seeing some other dimesons to his character too though. Total +24 MontageManiac playing Kayne Through the first couple of obstacles, whether intended or not, Kayne really stepped into a leadership role here, and really helped the other party members get through. Great interaction with the other PCs. He carried this through, and to me Kayne was the PC who grew the most as a character this round. Some of the background reflections, and motivations were perhaps a little less fleshed out than we saw from the other PCs, but to me this didn’t detract from them. Total +28