[No-Artpunk] Announcing the Winners of the No-Artpunk III Competition

It took a while but the entries are in, the dust is settled. Victory belongs only to the chosen few.

The objective of this competition was to illustrate by example that the game of D&D is far richer then the narrow brackets of level 1-3 that predominate the fallen and co-opted OSR. In order to do so, we needed men not just of a bold creativity, but with a willingness to immerse themselves in the systems of their choice. Idea had to be welded to execution. Both young men, spurred on by the fires of youth, and old veterans, wily in the ways of DnD, rose to the challenge. Not simply knowledge, but innovation and experimentation was required. Let it be the deathknell of pretentious nogames adventures. Let us usher in a bold new era of Yesgames.

What surprised me was both the breadth and the depth of the entries. Domain play was attempted with opportunities for mass combat, ventures in planar travel, realms touched by the supernal, complicated fortresses, tournaments of god-kings. Once again we were brought face to face with the divine, but this time their place was merited. The shift to AD&D is understandable given the range but I was pleased to find entries for all the major systems. I had feared that the increased scope of the competition would turn people off (which to a degree has happened, we had more people bowing out midway this year), but we still managed to get 20 contest worthy entries. Most contestants only pushed a few feet into the expanded level range, leaving space for many more ambitious entries to come.

Judging this competition was harder than ever before, to the point that I considered publishing ALL entries. There was so much effort, inspiration and earnest joy put into the entries we have received that to do so would not have shamed me. In the end, and I know there will be much lamenting and rending of the flesh, I have decided to pick the 13 best entries. I looked at both quality and alignment with the spirit and theme of the competition. I have no doubt the others will see the light of day, be it in the NAP compendium volume or published seperately. I cannot re-state this enough: Each of these entries is a worthwhile effort. I might offer, if I have some time, and if this is appreciated, to do some editing to get them in fully operational shape.

Let us begin.

#13 – Into the Elder Worm (B/X) by Jeff Simpson. Level 14. For all the teeth-grinding and finger pointing we like to do at this blog oldschool D&D is a joyous thing and few creators exemplify the simple joy of playing DnD as Jeff Simpson of Buddscott Entertainment Group Ltd. Beating out the more ambitious but less complete Refuse of the Gods by a hairsbreadth, Into the Elder Worm is a short, straightforward and fun romp into the belly of a giant cosmic monstrosity with a few nasty surprises lying in wait, including the fearsome Beholder Dragon! Jeffe has been and continues to be a perpetual source of joy, laughter, support and inspiration and we hope that his stint with the Canadian armed forces will not mean the end of his succesfull tenure as the CEO of Buddyscott Entertainment Group.

#12 – Descent into the Cairn of Night (ACKS) by Commodore. Level 9-12. An entry of incredible power and amibition plagued with myriad issues, both in terms of contest stipulations and organization. However, I could not in good conscience omit it from the roster. Reading like the cthonic elder cousin of Death Frost Doom, Cairn of Night foregoes the usual higher magic power of AD&D in favor of a greater emphasis on retainers and mass combat, very appropriate for ACKs. Might take some work to get it running.

#11 – Temple of the Beggar King (OSE) by Jesse Geroir. Level 9. With a strong Oriental theme, Temple of the Beggar King pits the characters against a long forgotten cult dedicated to a hideous form of anti-buddihsm. Presentation and innovation are the name of the game, with the slow uncovering of the true nature of the threat being presented through environmental detail. Although in places the difficulty might be a bit swingy (the middle is quite brutal while the final boss is likely to go down pretty quickly against larger parties), this is altogether a very fine and original entry, worthy of inclusion.

#10 – Chateau Montgrise (AD&D) by Dick Sprinkles. Level 9. Sometimes dungeon crawling can seem a bit blas’e. Sometimes you want an adventure with taste and sophistication and a certain je ne sais quois. Hovering somewhere between a farce and a tech demo of AD&D’s six factor rock-paper-scissors combat system, Montgrise combines the challenge of exploring a demon-haunted wine-cellar with the challenge of navigating the complex mores and taboos of being employed by high society patrons. Complex combats, memes and weird antics.

#9 – Dragonwrack (AD&D) by Jonathan Becker. 9-12. *Sigh.* I’m kidding ;). Blackrazor is a guy with strong opinions on D&D, and those opinions are 100% backed up by playing the game for a long time. Essentially an apologia for both Dragonlance and H4, Dragonwrack pits the characters against Tiamat, and uses both expanded chainmail, a timeline and powerful antagonists to make it work. Whats even more impressive is that he did it in a month. The edges are a bit frayed, but the solid noughaty core of this adventure is absolutely delicious. Pure AD&D and the chainmail supplement is sick.

#8 The Taking of Icewyrm Hold (ACKS) by Shocktohp. Level 9+. Someone redid CM1 for a system that is more suitable to domain play. Nice, ambitious strategic scenario, requiring both mass combat and mastery of conventional adventuring to succeed. Would work well as an introduction to domain level adventuring.

#7 The Garden of Prosimyia (AD&D 1e) by Nick Alexander. Level 9 – 15. Nick embraced the spirit of the competition and just went to town with it and the result is this hugely ambitious, very lethal adventure set in a corrupted garden of Eden, tended by a mad angelic caretaker. Somewhere between a shoutout to Fabled City of Brass and a reverse Inferno, this thing unquestionably fucks.

#6 Shangri-La by Zoranu (AD&D). Level 8-12. One of the most credible attempts at a high level adventure out there, featuring a complete wilderness area of the most remote mountain peaks, leading to a grand monastary, transfigured by the arrival of ultramontane visitors. The forces of Tiamat have invaded a celestial monastary and turned it into a battleground of the supernal. This was a serious candidate for contest winner but I ultimately found it needed more work before it would be fully operational.

#5 The Well of Night (OSE) by Jason Blasso. Level 7 – 14. The former NAP winner makes a triumphant return with a planar sanctum and distant worlds that can be conquered by enterprising PCs of boldness and daring. The biggest complaint that can be levelled is that there is not more of it. In its final form, unquestionably terrifying.

#4 Xantal of Dreams (S&W) by Chomy. Level 9-13. Terrific S&S entry from Former NAP champion Chomy of the Hungarian Contingent, featuring a complex hexcrawl with multiple factions, dinosaurs, hazards from distant aeons, savage tribesmen and necromancers. Already on the level of greater deities and former NAP winners, its incomplete nature and slight violation of contest stipulations prevented it from climbing just a tad higher, but I have no doubt once completed it will become another legendary entry in the ranks of Magyar D&D.

#3 Death-Maze of the Sorceror Kings (Advanced OSE) by Edgewise. 12-14. The most powerful OSE module that ever saw the light of day. If you had asked me at the start I would have answered ‘ok there is no way anyone is going to do better’ and yet, here we are. Death-Maze has a great premise that is executed with verve and vigour. I believe a more advanced version is already under development. A fantastic entry, defeated only by the godlike opposition this year.

#2 House of Pestilence (AD&D) by Nick Roman a.k.a the Byzantian. Level 10-14. Highly ambitious follow up to D3, and praise the lord because after the botched Q1 this was neccessary. A fully functional drow stronghold, complete with hazardous outer defences, hidden infiltrators, night hag embassies and a daemoniac patron, this thing is a powder keg waiting to go off and can be tackled in many different ways. I believe some recent playtest sessions have inspired a revision of the hook, which should prove enlightening.

Nick Roman, you have earned yourself not only the second pick of the peerless DMR Books, but also a copy of the rare Buddyscott Entertainment Module L2 The Cadaver in the Cauldron.

#1 The Ivory Islet (AD&D) by C.Dantes. Level 10. This sort of lordly spec-ops AD&D entry is exactly what the doctor ordered. Lethal, well organized, an original premise without a clear derivative, populated with Rich NPCs and making full use of the alloted content, including extra credits from entries like White Dwarf Magazine, the whole thing radiates a kind of obsessive craftsmanship. Advanced in every sense of the word, I suspect it shall prove both very challenging and highly entertaining.

Mr. Dantes, you are hereby declared the well deserved peerless champion of NAP III, which shall stand as the greatest NAP thus far and may take your pick from the two DMR Books volumes showcased below, as well as a signed 1954 copy of The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson.

This was a fantastic contest. Congratulations to all contestants. I will start putting together NAP III. As is my wont, I plan to include several short articles centered around high level gaming. If you wish to contribute to NAP III in some other way, Art or a short (3 pages max) article about high level gaming is welcome.

For I say unto thee, these ruleslite artpunk days have passed like snow under a morning sun, and D&D shall soar on mighty pinions once again.