[Mechanics] Rules of the Battle (Schedule and Rules)

[savoylen]

What is new in 2023?
Read this spoiler button first if you are familiar with Iron DM and want to find out what is different for the 2023 competition.

 

• No players are eliminated in the first four rounds. Think of these rounds as league play or as a chess-style Swiss-sys. Players compete in assigned pairs for each round, and the four players with the top rankings from the first four rounds will go on to the finals.
• The first four rounds will remain at the 500 - 1,500-word limit depending on the round. Traditional longer-form entries of 3,000 words will appear only in the finals.
• Judges will give Win-Loss-Draw results with short comments for the first four rounds.
• In the final rounds, judges will use the standard +/- breakdown rubric and have a point total to determine their verdict. The winner is determined by judges' preference on a ranked-choice ballot, going to the hosts as tie-breaker if required.
• In addition to the regular OOC chat for questions and discussion about the game itself, there will be a curated GM's Lounge where participants, judges and spectators are encouraged to drop by for conversations about GM techniques and preferences in general.
• An Iron DM point-rank system is being introduced. Think of this as XP points specific to the Iron DM game. These points are awarded based on performance results for this year and carry over from one year to the next. The points can also be used for future bracket seedings.
• Ranked Choice Voting by the Adjudicators (judges) will be used in the final round(3) to determine who will be crowned 20023 Iron DM.

Iron GM: An Overview of the Iron DM Game

1. Qualifiers--Round Zero
   Contestants will be selected from entries made in the initial Round Zero phase of competition. Everyone who puts together a qualifying entry may participate in the tournament.
2. The Chair assigns match-ups for each round.
   Each round will have a different pairing, determined by the Chair.
3. Each round-entry will be given a prompt and a list of ingredients to use.
   Ingredients typically draw from categories of monsters, human NPCs, locations, objects, and abstract concepts. In later rounds, the Chair may include “bonus ingredients” in the list. Contestants may use as few or as many of these bonus ingredients in an attempt to earn bonus points.
4. Ingredients should be highlighted in entries.
   Players should make prominent use of ingredients. This shows creativity and proves an entry is designed specifically for this competition. Players may add any other additional elements to their entries, but the use of too much filler to bring unrelated objects together will likely lead to a judgment against the creation.
5. The length of an entry is of utmost importance.
   In order to keep a level playing field, entries over the word limit will be penalized. Entries that go over a significant amount may be adjudicated a 'forfeit' for that round but not withdrawn from the tournament. The Chair and judges will be relying on this website to count words, so it is recommended that players do the same. Do not worry about supplying stat blocks or other mechanical information, and don't include images, or outside links.
6. Word limits are enforced!
   Word-limit length is 500 words for Round Zero, 500 to 1,500 (scaling up each round) words for Rounds 1-4, and 3,000 words for the final rounds.
7. Take your time, proofread, and start early!
   Contestants have a week to create their works. This means that no matter what time zone, availability throughout the week, or surprise visits / assignments / late shifts, contestants should have plenty of time to complete the adventure. It should not be left to the last day, though--it is advised to work on it early, and have enough time to go over it once or twice before submitting it. If a contestant plans to be out of action for a week or more over the next month or two, they should discuss this with the Chair directly.
8. Secret Text and spoiler button your posts.
   Obviously, one contestant has to post first. Ensure that a submitted post is hidden with a secret tab. Directing the secret text to "Savoylen" is sufficient, as all judges can read secret text.
9. The Chair reserves the right to disqualify any entry due to:
   • Being illegible Poor formatting or atrocious spelling and/or grammar, which makes reading the entry too difficult to be worth it. (An entry has to be pretty bad for this to happen, but still, the warning stands.) In that case, the player will be judged as "forfeit" that particular game but not withdrawn from the competition -- meaning they can compete in the next round.
   • Editing post-deadline Once submission deadline has passed, any editing is grounds for an immediate forfeiture that round - no entry post should be edited, in any way. If something is so terrible that is has to be fixed, PM the chairman about it.
   • Being late An entry posted even one minute past the deadline will forfeit that game without withdrawal, unless the Chair sees a reason for an extension to be called (boards going down, for example).
   • Not posting in a round A player who does not post in a round is both forfeited from the round and withdrawn from the competition unless there is an extreme circumstance. PM the Chair immediately as soon as you are able if you have to miss a round.
10. Do not comment on ingredients.
    Comments and questions are welcome from those watching; however, commenting on ingredients before a match is completed can shade the judgments--or even the entries. So, please leave discussion until after the match is finished.
11. All judgments aim to be constructive, helpful and final.
    Judgments are meant to be constructive and helpful. Judgments in the first four rounds will be Win-Loss-Draw with 2-3 lines of suggestion for improvement. Final-round judges will be made on the rubric system with points and +/- comments on each section of criteria.
12. The first four rounds are a non-elimination, Swiss-sys format
    This is a non-elimination portion of the competition, meaning as long as the participant completes the round, they may continue on to the next round. Starting with Round 1, contestants will play head-to-head against another player using a Sys-swiss pairing system.
13. The participants with the most "win" points after Round 4 move on to the final rounds.
    And then from the final round(s), one winner will be crowned Iron DM 2023.
14. Iron DM ranking points will be rewarded.
    All participants receive Iron DM ranking points. These points will be greater for those who win their rounds, advance to finals, or win the title match. Iron GM ranking points remain with the player and may be used in following years to determine seed rankings.
15. Enjoy!
    Yes, this is a competition. Yes, there will be a winner (and so, by definition, losers as well). But the organizers are hoping to create an arena that brings together players from across the site's sections and threads who might not otherwise meet, and use this gathering as an opportunity to learn from one another, share tips, and applaud skills.

- The Hosts (bananabadger, Ildrahil, savoylen)

[savoylen]

Iron GM Schedule Round 0: 11-SEP thru 1-OCT Public Round 0 Review 2-OCT thru 8-OCT Round 1: 9-OCT thu 15-OCT Round 1 Judging: 16-OCT through 22-OCT Round 2: 23-OCT through 29-OCT Round 2 Judging: 30-OCT through 5-NOV Round 3: 6-NOV thru 12-NOV Round 3 Judging: 13-NOV thru 19-NOV Take a Breath Week: November 20th through November 26th Round 4: 27-NOV thru 3-DEC Round 4 Judging: 4-DEC thru 10-DEC Round 5: Finals: 11-DEC thru 17 Round 5 Judging 17-DEC thru 21-DEC Final Announcement: 22-DEC

[savoylen]

The "Invitational Round" of our event works a bit differently than the previous rounds during the "open" which used Swiss-Sys, non-elimination format.

Invitational Tournament Rounds Judging
Rounds 5+

Only the highest scoring players from the "Open" non-elimination rounds were invited by the host to round 5 by invitation. This could be anywhere from 2 to 4 players normally - this year it was 4. As the host, I decided based on the scores that the cut off was "3 points" or higher.

These were issued invitations. If the invitation is declined, that player has forfeited their spot in the final and it will not be filled, reducing the number of players in the final.

The Invitational round uses a Ranked Choice Vote for deciding the winner. All participants in the final start off on even footing (scores from the "Open" do not carry over to the Finals.).

A more detailed rubric is provided for the judges use in the final round and a bit more feedback will be provided to the finalists at the end of the judging period based on that rubric.

Because our winner will be chosen by the judges' preference in a ranked choice voting system, the actual amount of points awarded by the judge will not affect the final voting outcome. This means you do not have to worry if you are scoring high or low by a particular judge in comparison to other judges.

We will use a RANKED CHOICE VOTING (also known as INSTANT RUNOFF) system to determine the winner of 2023 Iron DM. All this means is that after the Final Round Judgement Criteria on the tables you have been assigned, the judge will use this table (see below) which summarizes your results for that particular judge:

Player	Rank/Place
Player 1 Name	1st
Player 2 Name	2nd
Player 3 Name	3rd
Player 4 Name	4th

The hosts will tally the results and the winner will be selected using Ranked Choice Votes.