From the previous pattern, I see that Challenge of Champions scenarios seem to occur every two years:
Challenge of Champions 1 - Dungeon 58 1996
Challenge of Champions 2I - Dungeon 69 1998
Challenge of Champions 3 - Dungeon 80 2000
Challenge of Champions 4 - Dungeon 91 2002
Challenge of Champions 5 - Dungeon 108 2004
Is that incidental, or purposeful?
Any plans for a Challenge of Champions 6 for 2006 (or sooner, please?)
Thanks.
Tigs
*bump?*
*bump?*
Shhh, You'll wake the little angels. And they work so hard, too.
I think they are still looking though the mountains of submissions from over the holidays. I bet they designate my mountain as 'K2 - the time-for-message-board killer'. ;)
I have no way of backing this up, but I think you're right Tigycho and that we might see one in 2006.
<soft sound of footsteps quietly sneaking away>
ggg
*bump?*Shhh, You'll wake the little angels. And they work so hard, too.
I think they are still looking though the mountains of submissions from over the holidays. I bet they designate my mountain as 'K2 - the time-for-message-board killer'. ;)
I have no way of backing this up, but I think you're right Tigycho and that we might see one in 2006.
(soft sound of footsteps quietly sneaking away)
ggg
(whisper mode='on')
I'd lock Jonathan Richards in a room with a typewriter, sending in a steady supply of his favorite take-out, if it meant there would be a yearly Challenge of Champions. I'd even let his family visit between completed manuscripts!I am a nice guy =-)
I've got every issue of Dungeon since #7, and have run all five Challenges so far, and they are ALWAYS a blast.
I'm hoping they release another soon, while I am in a gaming group as a player, so I can turn the issue over to my DM, sight unseen, and play one, for once =)
(/whisper)
I'd lock Jonathan Richards in a room with a typewriter, sending in a steady supply of his favorite take-out, if it meant there would be a yearly Challenge of Champions. I'd even let his family visit between completed manuscripts!
(Quiet indoor voice engaged)
You know that sounds like something out of a Challenge of Champions. "The test administrator locks your party in a room with a typewriter, the characters' favorite take-out and three randomly selected members from each of their families...."
(creep, creep, creep),
ggg
I'm actually working on "Challenge of Champions VI." I haven't actually written anything down at this stage, just tinkered around with the possible scenarios. However, the new format of the magazine brings with it some pretty stringent word counts, which may cause me some difficulty. (I'm hoping for some leeway if I need it based on the fact that these adventures are suitable for use with ANY level.) Still, my plan is to have "Challenge of Champions VI" written and submitted by the end of the year, which could mean a 2006 printing (if it's accepted).
Before the switch to a monthly format, the early "Challenge of Champions" adventures not only came out every other year, but every 11 issues. That started out as a coincidence, but became a personal goal for me.
Oh, and I'm due to retire from the military in Feb 07. After that, I hope to increase my magazine article/adventure submissions (at both Dragon and Dungeon) significantly. Should I ever end up shackled to a typewriter, my favorite fast-food of late is from Runza's. :)
Johnathan
Mr. Richards,
That you are planning a new Challenge of Champions scenario thrills me no end.
I could only hope that, given the popularity of the series, and the wild portability of the Challenge, Mr. Mona will be prepared to cut you some slack on the word count guidelines.
The Challenges are not only applicable to all levels, as you point out, but also portable to just about any campaign world, with very minimal work:
Your world doesn't have an Adventurer's Guild? Fine, the challenge is a single team event run by a Mad Wizard/God-King/whatever for whatever reason.
You can't fit a 'sporting' event into yoru game world for flavor reasons? Fine, take a Challenge or two from the scenario, and use them as puzzles/traps in another adventure.
For my money, Dungeon Magazine is the best value out there, and Challenge of Champions is the best of the best.
Thanks again, Mr. Richards, for your reply. Hope to see something from Mr. Jacobs or Mr. Mona soon.
Tigycho
Mr Mona? Mr Jacobs?
Any chance Mr Richards would be allowed some editorial leeway on word count for a CoC6?
Thanks
Tigycho
Creative Director
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Since Johnathan hasn't submitted the latest Challenge of Champions, I don't have much to add to this thread yet. They're a lot more difficult to do for 3rd edition than they were for the earlier editions, if only because skills are now an integrated part of the game. It's more difficult to justify a complex rune puzzle that requires the players to sort out if one of their characters has a +30 Decipher Script check, for example. Similar, a puzzle that can be simply defeated by flight isn't going to pose a problem to parties with fllying characters like avariel elves. Simply taking away a character's spells and gear doesn't work as well anymore to "level the playing field" as a result.
As for extending the word count... the 10,000 word limit is a flexible limit, but the longer an adventure grows, the tougher it is to fit into the magazine. At this point, I'm thinking we'd probably treat "Challenge of Champions" as a bonus 4th adventure, similar to the way in which we're handling "Quicksilver Hourglass." This should make it a little easier to fit into the schedule.
In any case... it's about a half-dozen months too early to make any concrete decisions on it, it seems.
Thanks, Mr Jacobs.
Challenge of Champions is my favorite part of Dungeon, which is my favorite gaming product, so it's good to know that you'll be able to flex the rules where necessary to keep this tradition rolling.
Thank you so much for your reply.
Tigycho