With all the reviewing done, my whittling down of my votes to just 4, and having read all the other forum posts, I began to wonder what the fortunate 16 would be facing next...
So I wondered, if I were setting the next round, what deviousness could I come up with to intellectually challenge and stimulate the creative juices of these clever contestants.
Then I thought, why not create a thread and see what sort of things other clever like minded people would suggest too.
So here goes...
What would you have the contestants do if you were setting the next secret round? And Why?
Secret round suggestion: Describe in 400 words or less the initial kick off event for an adventure that does not use a tavern meeting place, or the old you are enroute to mechanic.
The description must include the plot hook, location description and likely turn of events. It should not stat out the individuals or monsters encountered in this kick off event, just set the scene to the point where you would look up from the screen and wait patiently for the players actions.
This challenge not only requires avoiding the tried and tested rumor tavern, or whilst travelling to xyz you meet abc that is seen in so many adventures.
I have found the hardest start to any new adventures is that initial gathering of heroes, why they are together, how they stumble upon the first thread and so on - the hard part keeping it fresh and different.
To this day, my favourite one was the party having a picnic to celebrate following the success of their last venture. The pseudo-dragon hook crashed out of the sky, right smack in the middle of their picnic basket, wings aflame, unconscious and dying...
Your turn :)
I would probably stage something which allowed one to bring new skills to bare while still developing previous ideas.
For instance, "Choose a monster from round to, and design an NPC who would work with/serve/be served by a specimen of that monster".
Or "Pitch a city/region/dungeon/adventuresite where adventurers would encounter your creature".
A similar thread is already rockinhere. Gotta keep things organized =D
Yes, but that thread is only wishful thinking in practice. This one is wishful thinking in theory too. :p
You're right though, what I just posted would have been a natural progression of the conversation there.
Yeah, I saw the other thread too, but that seemed to be more a what do you think round 3 will be whereas this was more what would you set if you had free rein?
Maybe my evil dm subtleness was too subtle :P
I'd like to see a challenge where the contestants must design a major non-combat (social/skill challenge) encounter that goes deeper than a simple conversation/diplomacy check.
Combat encounters are ridiculously easy to design and implement. Non-combat encounters, however, are much more subjective and harder to pull off. Anyone that could make me look forward to running such an encounter would have my vote for sure.
I'm also a fan of npc organizations. A challenge to design an npc organization or secret society - and perhaps a prc, or couple of new feat options that coinside with that organization - would showcase how creative the contestant can be while thinking outside the normal box of villian/monster/encounter creation.
Draw a gamemastery card and create that magic item.
Create a location, include stats for a unique environmental aspect of that location.
Three thematically linked monsters (I thought that tying them together was a very creative exercise. :) (someone else can stat them later).
Cabal or secret organization, including motivations, origins, leaders and MO.
Create an artifact.*
Create a list of 100 memorable attributes found in a magic shop, tavern, or other place player characters spend a lot of time.
Minions. (someone suggested this already).*
Create a random encounter table, including two new monsters, two new traps, and two new landscapes (not sure of the right word for that).
I like villains, monsters, and wondrous items. They are great at showing the design-fu of candidates. The * are what I would add to expand on them.
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Design an encounter using someone elses monster from the previous round. In doing so, stat up the monster, obviously. (Bonus points for imaginative use of the other person's creature.)
Design a Prestige Class tied to Golarion flavor. The PrC can be anywhere from three to ten levels long and at least two classes must be able to effectively meet the requirements and benefit from taking levels in the class. (Bonus points for good flavor, and abilities matching flavor, and clean design.)
Design a new spell. The spell can be anywhere from 0 to 9th level, and must appear on the spell-list of at least one core class (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer/Wizard, Adept). (Bonus points for useful and imaginative lower level spells, and spells that appear on unusual lists (Bard, Paladin, Ranger, Adept) or on multiple lists. Possible bonus points for a Golarion tie, such as a Gebbite necromancy or an Ustalavan abjuration, unless the tie is clumsy or doesn't 'flow' with existing canon and themes, in which points, bonus point *dockage!*)
Briefly describe a smallish town, suitable as a starting point for a new adventuring group, set somewhere within Golarion. (Bonus points for making hooks for multiple races and class options, as well as for picking places that few would expect, such as Geb or Ustalav or Ilzmagorti, instead of the 'usual suspects' of Cheliax, Andoran, Taldor, Qadira and Osirion. Double secret bonus points for the town not being restrictively tied into one overarching theme that limits its general utility.)