One Page Dungeon Contest 2011 Ends. Winners Announced!

As much as I would have liked to be among the chosen few, considering it was my first attempt, I didn't really think it would happen.  This is my way of leading into the fact that the 2011 One Page Dungeon Contest Results Have been posted.  I was unfortunately not chosen to be among the top few.  However, among the winners, Dyson Logos (a friend of the blog) picked up the Best Old-School Dungeon Award! Congrats.

If you want to check out the full list of all the winners, or download the complete list for yourself, head over to the One Page Dungeon Contest website and give all the entries a look.  Might want to just give mine a look see while you are there as well.  ;)

One Page Dungeon Contest - My Attempt: Abandoned Prison for the Mystically Insane

Yay! I finally finished my entry for the 2011 One Page Dungeon Contest!

Download my One Page Dungeon Contest Entry Here! Click!!

This was my first attempt at doing something like this.  You can see the map over there to the right.  I tried to make it pretty big, but ended up shrinking the size down to fit the smallish one page format.

The idea for the dungeon was a seemingly normal set of caves, set in a small hill, but within the cave, secret passage lead to a heavily fortified prison, encased in rune-inscribed Iron, which is used to hold some of the worst mystical criminals in the kingdom.  Something about crazy, serial killer, Hannibal-inspired Wizards gives me a very pleasant chill.  It sounds like a really creepy place to make a side-trip on an adventure.

I went a bit old-school with the creation of the dungeon itself.  I've been really enjoying all the OSR PDF's and free content out there for old-school games lately, especially all the wonderful random tables.  I used two random encounter / wandering monster tables in the Dungeon.  One of them is used for the upper levels, where various people/creatures from the area around have come to use the caverns for their own purposes.  The lower, secret levels, are swarming with zombies, mad wizards, starving vampires, and other fowl creatures of darkness, magic, and insanity.  I did my best on it, but I admit, it's really hard to get all that info onto one page.  My eyes may have been too big for my word processor on this one.  Regardless, It was a hell of a lot of fun to put together and I hope you enjoy my entry!

One Page Dungeon Contest 2011 Begins, Ends April 1st

Well, If you weren't aware, the One Page Dungeon Contest 2011 has begun.  The Contest starts now and will go until April 1st.  If you haven't seen any of the entries for the last couple of years, you're missing out.  I almost tried to put together one for the contest in 2009, but getting married kind of rained on my One Page Dungeon parade.  Then, in 2010, having my son squashed any chance of trying for that one too.  But, this time around, I will not be defeated.  I am determined to give this one a try. These One Page Dungeons fill the role of something I've been looking for in RPG's for a long time - the cool random places that you find in an open world.  I could totally see myself filling a sandbox world with many of these locations.  Would you do the same?  Have you run one of the past dungeons?  What was your experience?  How did you do it??

If you actually need to be incentivized by prizes rather than by just the joy of entering and having fun in a contest like this, you might want to take a look at the loot list.  It's pretty crazy long.

This is My Game - Birthday Presents Galore

You all know how much of a sucker I am for random contests right? Every so often, somebody will be having one and I usually throw in an entry. This time around, Thadeous Cooper from This is My Game, was having a special birthday competition to mark the one year anniversary of his site.

I read This is My Game pretty frequently. I follow Thadeous on Twitter and even listen to the DM’s round table every once in a while (I’m dying to get on that show eventually, but time changes being what they are, it’s always getting recorded when I’m right dead smack in the middle of teaching some English… bummer).

If you haven’t gotten a chance to read his blog, you really should make the time. It’s worth having in your RSS feed for sure. It’s one of those many blogs that I read and just have not had the time to add into my blogroll (construction sucks… yea yea).

But, onto the winnings. I’m really pumped about this. The giveaway for this one was a Dragon Chow Dice Bag. I have been salivating over one of these for a long time; given the review that Stargazer’s Michael Wolf did recently on his blog about them, this urge to purchase has only gotten stronger and stronger. I’m a dice collector, so the more dice bags the merrier. This will be an awesome new piece and I will be getting one hell of a lot of use out of it (sorry for the adult words but it is really hard to hold back the joy).

I’ll write more about this dice bag once I get it, but the one that I will hopefully be getting sometime in the next couple months (my rerouting service is sloooowwww) is the Cherry Blossom Spring and Cyan Dice Bag which retails for a incredibly cheap $12.00 (shown above). Awesome.  You should go pick up one of these babies for yourself. After I get this one, I’ll probably be shopping for these when I hit my next big gaming con.
You should go take a peek at This is My Game and at Dragon Chow as well. They both deserve the visit and the patronage.

XDMC 25 - Create a Mount!

OOOH this one is going to be so much fun.  There are two entries up already and I will be working on mine tonight or tomorrow.  You should definitely go check out this month's competition on the WotC Forums - XDMC 25 - Create a Mount!

Here is the overview for this month's competition.

XDMC 25: Create a Mount!


Welcome to the twenty-fifth Expert Dungeon Master Competition! The primary purpose of the Expert Dungeon Master Competitions is threefold:

• To create a resource for new Dungeon Masters drawing on the vast talent pool of the experienced Dungeon Masters of this forum.

• To create a fun and vibrant competition that is sportsmanlike and friendly.

• To showcase the creativity and talent of Dungeon Masters like you.

The best way to keep informed about the competition is to join the Expert Dungeon Master Competition group. There you can review the rules, archives, and future contest ideas, and get broadcasts telling you when new competitions begin and when results are released!

The topic for this competition is Mount. You are challenged to come up with a novel and usable mount that non-player and player characters alike might use. Rules for mounts can be found in Dungeon Master's Guide, p. 46, and in the online Dungeons & Dragons Compendium. Sample mounts can be found in the Monster Manuals, Monster Vault, Adventurer's Vault, and the online Dungeons & Dragons Compendium.

Required Elements

In order to enter this competition, your entry must fulfill the following required elements:

• Block: Provide a complete stat block for your mount. The mount must have the mount keyword and at least one power with the mount keyword.

• Description: Describe the mount's appearance and typical behavior.

• Lore: Set forth the Lore that heroes would know of the mount with a Skill check.

• Riders: Describe those who typically ride this mount.

If you do not meet each of these required elements, you will receive a score of zero in Themes.

Optional Elements

You must meet at least three of the following optional elements:

1. Companion: The mount has a stat block that lets it serve as a companion, using the companion rules in Dungeon Masters Guide 2.
2. Diet: The mount has an unusual diet that requires its owner to make a special effort to satisfy.
3. Headstrong: The mount has an agenda that it might pursue against the rider's wishes.
4. Key: The rider must be enchanted with a ritual, have completed a quest, or possess an item, feat, or power, in order to ride the mount safely.
5. Lumbering: The mount has no method of moving more than 5 squares with a single action, but is still valuable as a mount.
6. Odious: Possession of the mount has adverse social consequences for its owner.
7. Passive: The mount has no attack powers of its own, but enhances a rider's capabilities.
8. Rare: The mount is unique, or there are fewer than a dozen of its kind.
9. Speed: If the mount does not move at least 5 squares in any turn in which it is ridden, it explodes.
10. Topsy-Turvy: Humanoids must ride the mount in an awkward position (such as upside-down).
11. Unnatural: The mount is an animate, elemental, ooze, invertebrate, or undead.
12. Wayward: The mount is subject to "out of control" rules like a vehicle when its rider is incapacitated or fails a Skill Check described in the entry.

List the optional elements you intend to include. If you do not, the judges will credit you only for the optional elements they happen to notice.

 Sounds pretty awesome to me!  I'll be having a lot of fun with this topic over the week, though I have to admit, I'm really rather fond of one individuals Gelatinous Cube Mount that has already been entered.  It is going to be a very high bar to meet.  Good times.

Stuffer Shack NPC Creation Contest Winners Announced...

And Yours Truly was among the top brass. My NPC, Drig'Drall, the Station Master, picked up the Silver Medal. Too cool. I am really glad that somebody liked him. After he made an appearance in my campaign this year, I have grown rather attached to that character as well.

Jonathan Baldwin had this to say about Drig'Drall:

“Drig’Drall gets my vote in part because of the world he implies. I’ve always had a soft spot for trains and fantasy, so any point where they intersect gets my attention. Drig’Drall has personality and an interesting role in his world, and the descriptive details are very striking – all important for a good NPC.”

The NPC that picked up 1st place was really awesome! I will be stealing that NPC for sure. If you aren't familiar with what the contest is all about - it is part of the Steal This series on the Stuffer Shack. All the NPC's entered, even the winners, are available for your use in any game.

So, why not go give them all a look see. You never know which one might spark your interest ;)

http://stuffershack.com/and-the-winners-are/

Thanks to all the judges!

Stuffer Shack NPC Creation Contest

This month, the Stuffer Shack is holding a contest to create an NPC. I have submitted my entry. Have you? It would be really cool to have a ton of NPC's uploaded for this contest. You should go check it out. They have some really cool prizes up for grabs. Good luck and good hunting. Follow this link to see their contest and the rules - http://stuffershack.com/contest-3-best-npc/comment-page-1/#comment-1553.