Ok looking map reference upon first glance.
There is a compass rose and a scale present on the map.
Average amount of detail both illustrated on the map and in the key
however..
Not the best use of page space, almost half the page taken up by the key.
The location itself does not seem very exciting, been here before.
I do not recommend this map to progress to round 3
Contributor
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The Good
This map is clearly labelled, and I could turn it into a final map without additional information.
It has a scale, a compass, and a key.
The Bad
This is a very small dungeon, barely half a page at best, and doesn't work as a full-page map.
The layout is all rectangles, with dull, repetitive encounter areas.
My Judgement
There's a little story here, but this dungeon is a far cry from superstar material. I strongly do not recommend this entry for advancement to the next round.
Modules Overlord
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Drawing from my blog on maps, and the rules for the round, I’ll judge the maps on a number of questions.
Is It a Full Page Map?
Not really. It's really a half page map that's been badly presented. In fact, I considered disqualifying it, but in the end it's a bad example of how to do a full page, not something entirely different.
Does The Map Have A Compass Rose and Scale? Are They Used Well?
Sure.
Is The Map A Place I Want To Adventure?
Maybe! Here's the biggest loss – there are some neat ideas here. But not nearly enough to justify wasting the page's real estate so badly.
Is the Map Clear?
Yes.
Is the Map Detailed?
Not particularly. The most crucial stuff is given, but there are lots of details that could be added.
Is the Map Imaginative?
It's not imaginative enough to make up for how small and blank it is.
I do not recommend this for advancement to round 3.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8
aka Jrcmarine
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Ohhh, Jacob. I am very disappointed in this map. I really expected to see something special and this isn't your best work. I'm not very good at maps either, so most of the entries get a little slack from me.
This is really a poor execution and I am very surprised.
I think its cool that you tried to do a mini-dungeon. My interpretation is that you need to find all the different runes to break down the barrier by the entrance (but why is it an "earth barrier", I'm thinking it would be magic or something). All the square and rectangular rooms detract from the dungeon (though it does make it easy to put together with my Dwarven Forge stuff). I'd like it if the dungeon had some rooms and flesh out the details of what is in the rooms. I like what you went for but I need more interesting rooms and details.
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It is good that you chose a theme and went with it, but it seems like you have something specific in mind that can't quite be conveyed in the map alone.
Main thing I think to work towards is less straight edged square rooms and hallways. They make it a little boring or if you can handle the pun square.
14th map I have seen, I am sad to say that you let the Jacob's down, your rank is 14th.
Oh, fellow Jacob. Yours was one of the first maps I looked at, because I was really hoping it would be awesome and knock my socks off. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm disappointed.
Moving beyond the rectangular rooms, I'm also just not seeing the logic of this one. The tomb appears to be an elaborate death trap, but most of that is beyond the actual dead elementalist (maybe his madness explains this?). I can't figure out why the PCs would want to try to bypass those acid pits as there doesn't seem to be anything beyond it. I'm afraid they would mostly shrug and say, "Huh, acid. Well, let's not go in there." Maybe the backstory is they need to collect all the individual runes, but the map's not enough to convey that possibility, I'm afraid.
I'm sorry, since I was absolutely pulling for you coming into this round, but I won't be voting for this.
My favorite thing: The name probably
Other things I like: FIRE FIRE FIRE! I laughed out loud when I first saw it. I like that you picked a theme and stuck with it.
My least favorite thing(s): This doesn't seem like it needs to be a full page map, maybe not even half of a page. The ideas you have for this place may very well be cool and innovative, but this map is boring.
Will I vote for it: I will not be voting for this map.
There's an 'Earth Rune' on the far side of the acid. What it does isn't clear from the map, but there is something on the other side...
Yeah, I saw that, and mentioned that maybe they need to collect all the runes, but without knowing more about it, I'm not sure why they really need to go cross that acid.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I get this. I really do. Elemental based traps and obstacles tying the whole together. Multiple routes through which this small dungeon can be dealt. I like all of that.
The problem here is that I have seen very similar ideas before. I have built dungeons and delves like this myself. You kept tight to your theme, but the theme doesn't bring in any new ground that wasn't covered in a more expansive form with the Elemental Nodes of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Thematically this is like that section in miniature.
This one hurts, because I really wanted to vote for the one Jacob who made it in this year to go far. But I will not be voting for this entry.
Challenge: Is this map difficult to execute? Does it in my opinion demonstrate the characteristics of a Superstar designer?
Technique: Did the designer show some skill and consideration in the choices made on the map. Are the words used in the key wise choices that add to the overall utility of the map?
Utility: Can a GM/cartographer make sense of the map and make immediate use of it?
Overall:[b] I'll rate the Map as an A for strong recommends B for weak recommends C on the bubble D for weak rejects F for Do not recommends
Challenge: There's only so many ways you can go with a tomb
Technique: I'm sorry to say this doesn't impress, it looks like something that requires a ruler to pull off.
Utility: Too basic.
Overall: F as this doesn't showcase something I can endorse voting for.
This map does not tell me anything about what I might be doing here. I can very easily and clearly see that it might lead me through some danger and to some treasure, but it seems like it should be a warm up to something bigger. On the other hand, I really like the way this is drawn out. Are you a professional cartographer? Obviously not. But am I squinting my weak eyes at this, trying to figure out what the. He'll I am looking at and checking the key every second? Nope. I feel like this map would facilitate smooth, continuous game play.
Okay, you need to collect all the runes, if I'm not terribly mistaken. And that's a really cool idea, I want to run a game like that. Unfortunately the map itself supports this idea poorly. First of all, I would have liked the goal to be more visible. Perhaps it could have even been the center stage of the whole map, with a magical barrier keeping the players out as John suggested. Now it's behind an earth barrier, making they players think it's just an empty corridor. Savvy players will naturally realize there's a secret door, but it's not very tantalizing.
Plus, the dungeon needs to be more complex with numerous ways it can be gone through. There's some of that here, it's not just a corridor of rooms, but... more. Multiple elemental challenges at the end of which there's a rune.
Though even the elementals are kind of boring. That's the very first idea one thinks about when he's building death traps based around the elements. The suffocation trap sounds interesting, but the rest are just blasts of the element in question. There might be something in the water, but you could have named it chuul swamp or something else more evocative.
Neat idea, but the map itself never evolves beyond blocks and straight edges making it very boring indeed.
Reminds me too much of Final Fantasy I. Too much dungeon scavenger hunt going on. Looks vulnerable to passwall shenanigans.
I can't help but feel that a mad elementalist would have a madder tomb. C.
My previous post on this thread appears to have disappeared.
Whilst my scribe pursues enquiries regarding that, I will comment that from what I have seen thus far this may well be the only map of what I shall style a 'Ruin or Lair' environment submitted in this round which hints that wandering adventurers may well have to do anything other than kill things and repeatedly pilfer (or 'liberate', if you prefer) any valuables not firmly nailed down with vorpal nails and additionally secured with super-sovereign glue. Despite the many criticisms levelled at this map, some serious, some outright comedic, this is the only map of a 'Ruin or Lair' which suggests to me that adventurers entering the environment will be called upon to do anything remotely resembling putting their brains into gear to attempt to complete their looting operations in the area.
Maybe that's not fashionable at present, but as the demilich Acerak demonstrated with his 'Tomb of Horrors', there have certainly been plenty of times when such environments have been both highly fashionable and very popular.
So this Mad Elementalist is quite mad, but also quite logical. Or she's a she and quite the loci gal.
At any rate it appears you need to hit the Earhten Barrier with the Earth Rune, unless you use a certain earth breaker from Round 1.
BUT
The wind corridor pushes you into the fire elemental chamber. Duhn duhn duuuuhn!!!! Which you need to go through to defeat them to get the fire rune to pass the fire.
THEN
There's some water - perhaps the ice rune will help there, if you can overcome the icy trap. Or the air rune might help turn off the wind to help you over the water if you can overcome the air trap. Sorta feels like those two should have each others traps just to mix things up.
SO
If you attain the penultimate chamber you have to brave the acid pits to get the earth rune, leap or walk over the frozen water, ignore the fire and wind with your shiny rooms and present the earth rune to get in.
Mad.
In some ways this screams T1-4's elemental nodes as commented above. But there is something else this screams too - low level characters. And for that I applaud. Unless they carry earthbreakers - but maybe that item is beyond their WBL.
Hello Jacob (Mind if I call you JK? I'm giving all the Jacobs nicknames like that because I haven't deciphered their Jacob numbering system yet).
I really like that the map looks clear and easy to read. I do like the elemental traps even though I don't understand them. However, I agree with many of the others that there simply isn't a lot here. My biggest issue is that there isn't a lot of space for encounters. You got some traps, but the only two rooms viable enough for combat are largely featureless.
My biggest concern is how small the map is. The basic idea is there, and if it had been a bigger dungeon might have a vote from me. I like that I could probably run a low level party through here and that it seems to focus on elemental challenges, but there just isn't enough here.
Hi, Jiggy!
I like that this map is clear. Also, it has a clever logic:
I understand that you need to get the fire rune to pass through the fire to get to the air rune to go up the wind tunnel to get the ice rune to pass through the water (and acid?) to get the earth rune, at which point you can finally return to the entrance and pass through the earthen barrier into your final destination, the tomb.
It seems like this setup might be prone to creative players finding ways to circumvent the challenges and get right into the tomb. (Even lower-level characters can buy shovels! Although, the story connected to this might give us magical reasons why that wouldn't work...)
Also, the setup/layout of this map wouldn't really work to fill an entire page in an Adventure book. I think you need more here.
Final nitpick: I think you should also have the title of the map on the map page itself.
Overall, I don't think it's a superstar map, but it looks like a fun adventure I'd enjoy having you GM for me! :)
So, let's see if I get the gist of this.
The adventurers come in, noting various barriers in their path, get blow around by wind if they try to go one way, have fire ahead, even if they can get past the wind. So their only option is the door. Behind it, they have to defeat three fire elementals, after which they gain the fire rune, which either dispels the wall of fire or allows them through unharmed.
In one direction is a big pit filled with water, with a locked door behind it. Hard to reach the lock when you're in the water...so the other direction, assuming they bypass the nasty-sounding trap, is the air rune, which allows them to walk against the magical wind into the room back a ways and gain the ice rune.
The ice rune freezes the water, allowing them to stand on a solid surface and reach the lock.
Beyond the locked door is a big pit of acid, with a narrow ledge that must be crossed to retrieve the earth rune. With the earth rune in hand, the adventurers can breach the barrier to the mad elementalist's tomb, to find whatever treasures await.
Did I get it all? Probably. And that, unfortunately, is my biggest problem with this map. It's a railroad, and a simplistic one at that. The only thing mad I can see is that the elementalist left anyone a way to get into his tomb at all. There are great (excuse the pun) elements for adventure here, but they're laid out in such a cut-and-dry way that there's no thrill of exploration to be had.
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Modules Overlord
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Official Round 2 Note: On Map Resolution
We’ve had some comments on legibility of smaller type on the maps, and the contestants are (by the rules of the contest), not allowed to clarify anything, so I want to make a general statement about maps and resolution.
When we required all contestants to present maps at a specific dpi and size, we did so because in past years we’ve had some issues with maps (for the encounter round) being sent to us in different sizes, resolutions, and dpi, making it difficult to give them all a high-quality presentation for the contest. We found that asking for a higher dpi than we’ll use in the end allowed us to create a standard of presentation that kept all images crisp and clean. For encounter-round maps, this has worked well.
Unfortunately, since this round requires all text be provided on the maps themselves, many contestants used the dpi and size standards we required as the basis for making sure their text is clear, and otherwise tried to keep words as small as possible so as to not clutter their maps. This was done in the (reasonable) belief that the maps should look good at the size we asked for, rather than in any different size we might present on our website. When resized for smaller, high-quality images, this can result in words that aren’t clearly legible.
We’ve made a change to rescale everything to the higher end of maximum image size for uploaded images for all maps that were entered this round. This should allow for better legibility for voters when selecting their favorite maps to advance in the contest. It is our fault that this process was not properly communicated to our contestants, so consider this when adjusting or finalizing your selections.
Obviously, we’ll explain what is going to happen to the images of maps, and how to allow for it, more clearly in future rounds (and future contests). My apologies to any contestant with a map that has suffered as a result of how we handled scaling in this round.
First off: Congratulations on making Round 2, and the best of luck in the votes!
Coolness: Do I look at this, and want to use it in a game? Does it provoke wonder or amazement? Does it hold potential for interesting encounters, adventures or roleplay? How much mileage does this map have in it?
Usability: How usable is this for me as a GM (being that GMs are actually the primary audience of most maps)? Is the legend clear and in logical order for play? Does it give me enough information to easily visualize the parts and wax poetic about the varied locations? Does it have the necessary details for me to run with it on the fly, or will it involve a lot of improvisation? Does it have any glaring oddities that stop me mid-breath to go "what the hell is that?!"?
Craftsmanship: Is it clear, legible and containing all the necessary bits and bobs? Does it make good use of the space? Is the scale appropriate for the detail (and visa versa)?
(I suppose you could also call them "Creativity, Functionality and Skill", but I like my terms better :P).
Coolness: D
- Positive: It's very clearly a puzzle with an elemental theme, which is a neat concept that can promote thought and require clever solutions on the part of players.
- Negative: It's miniscule, and the end goal is a few seconds walk from the entrance with, I presume, an barrier that is unbreakable because of (insert conceit here), which, given even the stone walls have stats for breaking them, is going to see my players rolling their eyes, because it is literal and figurative stonewalling. This is poor design, in my eyes. I would also expect a lot more dungeon and detail for a map this size.
- Verdict: D. Old school puzzle dungeons can be awesome, but this just doesn't pull it off.
Usability: C-
- Positive: It can make for a fun map as a finale to a short "raid the tomb" style game for 1st or 2nd level characters.
- Negative: Without extreme stonewalling, the dungeon is far too easily trivialized by spellcasters: levitate or spider climb alone will largely negate half the challenges right off the bat. The dungeon is perfectly flat and featureless except for the traps, runes and three monsters, and small. It needs more info, more planning and more dungeon.
- Verdict: C-. It's workable as an introductory puzzle, with some guesswork.
Craftsmanship: D
- Positive: It's easy to read, and has the requisite bits and bobs.
- Negative: It's horrifically inefficient with space; the key is an order of magnitude larger than it needs to be, and the map is a third of what I would expect on a full page. At this scale I would expect a lot more detail rather than empty halls.
- Verdict: D.
Overall: D+ Good idea, but poorly executed.
Here are my ratings for this map:
First Look: D
Doesn't look like much time was spent on this. Small and basic.
Interest Level of Location: C
Elemental themed dungeon with traps. Fun but cliché.
Tactical Depth: C
Assuming the fire elementals are the only combat, it occurs in a very boring room. The rating is improved slightly by the cleverness of some of the traps.
Adventure Potential: B
This would be easy and fun to drop into an adventure. It could also be its own mini adventure.
Clarity: B
What's drawn is clear. I could use more details to figure everything out.
Logic: B
A "mad" elementalist. Someone would have to be crazy to build this. Why are there so many crazy dead wizards?
Overall: C+
I haven't really commented on maps, but I felt like I had to here, since most people didn't seem to understand what was going on with this tomb. I think it's actually really clever, but obviously, too subtle. No, I don't have inside information about this or anything--I don't know the author in any way--I just actually figured out what's going on.
It's a multi-stage elemental puzzle. Your path is blocked by elemental barriers, and you need to trigger the corresponding runes to clear your path. You fight off some fire elementals to turn off the fire, but your path is blocked by water. You must deal with a suffocation trap, then, to turn off the wind, which grants access to an icy prison trap and the rune that removes the water as a threat. Finally, brave the acid pit and you will surely remove the earthen barrier and grant access to the sarcophagus.
I don't know, I really like this map. The squareness is boring, and it is really small, but, it's really clear and there's actually a clear mission here--it's much more usable than the, larger, more detailed maps with no hint at all as to what is going on. I don't care about an empty stronghold--I don't even need a map for a place like that.
That might be because I'm not the right kind of person to vote on this, though--I don't use battlemaps (or really, maps in general, if I can help it), so, if I am to choose a map, I want it to inspire me, not just give me a utilitarian layout or whatever.
I thought this map had a real strong theme and story. And would certainly be an area I would be interested in exploring. The map itself was a bit boring with mostly rectangular areas, hopefully a cartographer would make it better.
I had this one ranked #12, good luck!
It's a multi-stage elemental puzzle. Your path is blocked by elemental barriers, and you need to trigger the corresponding runes to clear your path. You fight off some fire elementals to turn off the fire, but your path is blocked by water. You must deal with a suffocation trap, then, to turn off the wind, which grants access to an icy prison trap and the rune that removes the water as a threat. Finally, brave the acid pit and you will surely remove the earthen barrier and grant access to the sarcophagus.
I would never use the word "must" with players.
It's a great idea, but as a GM it doesn't give me the tools I need to make the challenges meaningful without resorting to "Because of Reasons", and that smacks to me of a poorly thought through design.
Hence my earlier review: Good idea, but missing the mojo that would have really sold it.
Edit: I should clarify, the main point I am actually responding to is this:
I haven't really commented on maps, but I felt like I had to here, since most people didn't seem to understand what was going on with this tomb
I think it's less that most people don't understand what is going on, so much as that we have a different perspective and opinion of what we see. Much as I was attempting to describe above :)
Anyway, coming back to this entry, I suspect that the map suffers, at least from those who only give it a casual glance, from being so 'plain', and frankly legible. Perhaps it's too legible. It can be 'looked' at, casually, without needing to be 'examined'. It can be 'taken in' without necessarily being thought over. It conveys an illusion of simplicity, such that the casual passerby does not stop to examine it for underlying complexity.
All that said, a slightly reduced scale would have permitted the inclusion of cross-sections, which (though potentially risky as to whether or not the contest rules permitted them) could have been used to clarify important information, such as depth of pits/pools, ceiling heights, and the precise location, in the vertical dimension, of doors.
And it can't be helped, but if the entry had been drawn on a piece of devil-hide, (or tea-stained paper, if devil-hide was not locally available) that would have improved the appeal to the eye tremendously without impairing legibility in the least.
I think it's less that most people don't understand what is going on, so much as that we have a different perspective and opinion of what we see. Much as I was attempting to describe above :)
That's fair. I think I just came at this challenge from a different direction, because, well, I'd probably do all those things that you mentioned with the wind over a bridge, etc. if I ran this. I don't actually use maps when I run games, so, I'd just be mining these sorts of things for ideas, not for literal use as a map.
I am critiquing this without having read others' first:
Simple tomb layout, not necessarily a bad thing.
I'm a sucker for traps and such.
This looks like a classic "fetch puzzle pieces to get to the goal" type thing.
Very clear and easy to read...but this is more of a half or even quarter page map.
Without knowing if the PC's are supposed to get to the sarcophagus or not I am curious if they could just use a spell to get through the earthen barrier without getting the runes.
You have Fire Elementals but I have no idea if they are small, medium, etc.
Also, FE is the symbol for iron...I probably wouldn't have labelled the elementals that.
Is that fire hallway ALWAYS on fire?
Overall, I like this map because I like Alchemists and I like traps. But this map is not a full page map, and I think you went for a low level encounter which ultimately made this kind of boring without some context.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8
aka Jiggy
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| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I CAN TALK NOW!!!
Phew.
Okay, so the #1 critique is that there's just not enough here. True dat. I really had no idea what to shoot for, no way to calibrate myself, so to speak. All I could think of was how lame most of those item entries with 280+ words and prices over 250,000gp were, and I went for a "less is more" approach, and apparently majorly overdid it. Er, underdid it. Whatever. Point is, lesson learned: need more content than this. Now I have a baseline. Next time I nail it. ;)
It's interesting that I've got critiques on the content ranging from "I don't really get what's going on" to "This is too linear/straightforward". Kind of reminds me of how you can be stumped by a riddle but then once you hear the answer it sounds obvious. Frankly, the range of opinions in that regard make me feel like I accomplished my goal.
I find Raynulf's comments particularly intriguing. Who said anything about the earthen barrier being unbreakable? Why would taking the time to just hack through 5 feet of solid stone not be an allowed option? (And seriously, would you have the same critique of every stone dungeon that ever has a wall 5ft thick or less?) Why is using spider climb to get the earth rune considered "bypassing" instead of "one of many solutions to overcome the hazard"? Why is levitate + Disable Device on the same character (because levitate is self-only) not considered just as valid a way to access the water door as facing a trap to get access the ice rune?
I guess I just wonder why the possibility of using solutions other than those provided somehow implies I not only didn't deliberately leave room for them but didn't even think of them. Can you elaborate?
And going back to general critiques, the rectangles and squares... Another thing I (erroneously) did on purpose. My experience with maps has always been myself and others getting frustrated with diagonal hallways and weird partial spaces where you're not sure if anyone can stand there and so forth. So I made a table-friendly map. Apparently, I again overdid it. Oops. :/
Hey Jacob. :)
Folks were pretty harsh on you this round. Good on you for taking it like a champ. I actually liked this map, but I just hoped for a little more complexity.
I hope you get through to next round. We need a Jacob!
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8
aka Jiggy
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Hey Jacob. :)
Folks were pretty harsh on you this round. Good on you for taking it like a champ. I actually liked this map, but I just hoped for a little more complexity.
Yeah, aimed too far into "less is more". But now I know. :)
I hope you get through to next round. We need a Jacob!
Exit polls show me hovering around the 16 spot, so who knows?
I find Raynulf's comments particularly intriguing.
Glad to hear :)
Who said anything about the earthen barrier being unbreakable? Why would taking the time to just hack through 5 feet of solid stone not be an allowed option? (And seriously, would you have the same critique of every stone dungeon that ever has a wall 5ft thick or less?)
Playing the "The end goal is right there, but first you must brave the dungeon to get the key!" card is something that is difficult to pull off in a convincing and satisfying fashion. So, yes, I would have the same criticism of any dungeon where the majority of the map could be bypassed with simple brute force and a little patience.
Had that chamber been placed towards the rear of the dungeon, and brute-force only allowed the group to skip the acid pit, the criticism would be significantly lessened, because they're only 'solving' one puzzle in doing so, not all of them.
Why is using spider climb to get the earth rune considered "bypassing" instead of "one of many solutions to overcome the hazard"?
You raise a good point here, and it probably just comes down to GM and player style. From my perspective, spider climb and the other stock mobility spells aren't exactly a creative solution to a challenge, instead they're almost the standard means of safely tackling something that otherwise could pose risk and as such a map that is easily solved by such tactics doesn't come across as very innovative to me.
If I was to raise an objective criticism, it would have to be the simplicity of the puzzle more than anything.
Why is levitate + Disable Device on the same character (because levitate is self-only) not considered just as valid a way to access the water door as facing a trap to get access the ice rune?
FYI: Levitate is not self-only.
Again, this is a matter of personal opinion, but it's not a matter of "is it valid" or "does it work" so much as "Is there something innovative and interesting here?". Maybe I'm just jaded, but seeing the same stock spells used the same way as they have been for decades as a safer and faster means to 'beat' the dungeon is just not that exciting. So when looking at puzzle-style dungeons for inspiration or material for my table, I look for things that pose new challenges to players, and require solutions beyond the usual magical toolbox.
And going back to general critiques, the rectangles and squares... Another thing I (erroneously) did on purpose. My experience with maps has always been myself and others getting frustrated with diagonal hallways and weird partial spaces where you're not sure if anyone can stand there and so forth....
Oh, I am 100% with you on the shapes; Organic shapes and odd angles look fun on the professionally drawn and printed map, but transcribing them to the table? Ugh. Seriously.
I was just looking for more dungeon overall; More rooms, maybe multiple levels. Your chosen scale was easy to read for a hand-drawn map, but when professionally rendered it would be way oversized for the amount of terrain it details.
I can appreciate the caution on going overboard and the "less is more" scenario, but given the rules appeared to be "You have one page. Impress me!" for this round... I think erring on the side of too much rather than too little would have been to your advantage.
That's my 2c anyway :)
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Marathon Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8
aka Jiggy
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Playing the "The end goal is right there, but first you must brave the dungeon to get the key!" card is something that is difficult to pull off in a convincing and satisfying fashion.
How did your PCs find out in advance that the goal was behind the earthen barrier?
Playing the "The end goal is right there, but first you must brave the dungeon to get the key!" card is something that is difficult to pull off in a convincing and satisfying fashion.How did your PCs find out in advance that the goal was behind the earthen barrier?
<mumbles incoherently>
<mumbles incoherently some more>
<wanders off>
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
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Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka mamaursula
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I CAN TALK NOW!!!
...
I find Raynulf's comments particularly intriguing. Who said anything about the earthen barrier being unbreakable? Why would taking the time to just hack through 5 feet of solid stone not be an allowed option? (And seriously, would you have the same critique of every stone dungeon that ever has a wall 5ft thick or less?) Why is using spider climb to get the earth rune considered "bypassing" instead of "one of many solutions to overcome the hazard"? Why is levitate + Disable Device on the same character (because levitate is self-only) not considered just as valid a way to access the water door as facing a trap to get access the ice rune?I guess I just wonder why the possibility of using solutions other than those provided somehow implies I not only didn't deliberately leave room for them but didn't even think of them. Can you elaborate?....
I fear your map suffered from the lack of the benefit of the encounter write up that would accompany it and the professional cartographer who would spruce it up. There are valid critiques on your map, but in the end, this was a map of a pretty curious place that had important clarifying bits missing by the rules of the game. I hope to see you in Round 3, because Monsters!
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 4
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Star Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Snowblossom
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I CAN TALK NOW!!!
Phew.
Okay, so the #1 critique is that there's just not enough here. True dat. I really had no idea what to shoot for, no way to calibrate myself, so to speak. All I could think of was how lame most of those item entries with 280+ words and prices over 250,000gp were, and I went for a "less is more" approach, and apparently majorly overdid it. Er, underdid it. Whatever. Point is, lesson learned: need more content than this. Now I have a baseline. Next time I nail it. ;)
I suspect many of those with sparser maps went with the same approach, which based on the judges' emphasis on being clear and clutter-free certainly made sense. I think this round could possibly have been the hardest in RPGSS history from what I can tell. Much of that because there was no other round like this to really draw from to get an idea of what the judges wanted but also because of how vague the rules and guidelines were. Anyway, good luck! :)
Playing the "The end goal is right there, but first you must brave the dungeon to get the key!" card is something that is difficult to pull off in a convincing and satisfying fashion.How did your PCs find out in advance that the goal was behind the earthen barrier?
I may just have (several groups of) excessively curious and obstinate players, but putting locked doors or magical barriers near them apparently means that they just have to know what's on the other side. Yes, I use this to their detriment at times, but no, it has never shaken any of them of the habit.
Really though, I find when prepping for a game that it is always best to try and think through "Now, what could they get up to?", because putting 3-6 creative people at a table and throwing a challenge at them rarely goes as you might expect, and thus I tend to follow the same philosophy when looking at maps (especially ones designed as intellectual challenges). So it isn't that they will OCD on busting down the earthen barrier and leave me feeling like I wasted my money on the rest of the map, it's that there's a very significant probability they will, and that makes me less inclined to buy it.
And "If this were a professionally rendered map, would I buy it?" was the core of how I was rating things.
At higher levels you start seeing clairvoyance come out (I have a couple of players who love divination spells), as well as spells like burrow and later elemental body and dimension door.
And at any level I'd expect someone at the table to toss the idea out that the prize just might be behind that barrier, and inspire umbrage due to a perceived 'giving them the run around' sufficient to see the barrier beaten down simply on principle.
At least, that's what I would be prepping for if I had this map at the table.
Edit: I should also add that the reason I've had more to say about this map than most of the others is not because I felt it was the most flawed or somehow inferior to the other entries. It was unique and ambitious as the only puzzle/deathtrap dungeon, and the core concept behind the map was laden with potential: It made me want to run an elemental themed deathtrap dungeon, and done differently could have easily gotten my vote.
I've had a fair bit to say on this map because I felt there was a superstar idea behind it (otherwise I wouldn't be thinking about it as much), but excessively cautious execution didn't let it shine, and the disparity between concept and form made it stand out for me. The mojo is there, I think you just need to really swing for the fence next time.