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2018-04-20, 01:36 AM (ISO 8601)
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Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Kitchen Crashers. Like in many others Iron Chef challenges, contestants will compete against each other to make the most out of the presented Secret Ingredient, but unlike all others here at Kitchen Crashers they won't cook no dish... they'll build the kitchen! Fancy characters and treacherous creatures bear no reason to exist in a vacuum, so let's be sure to give them a proper stage.
Contestants: You will need to present a one-shot adventure taking for your entry, for an expected duration of 4 to 6 hours. Your entry should include the following elements: a working title, an original and compelling plot, a detailed description of five scenes or encounters of your own choice that take part during the adventure (hereinafter referred to as "snapshots"), including full stats for one "kingpin encounter" of your choice, a summary of any other foe, levels and types of characters for which the adventure is meant, and any significant reward they are expected to acquire over the course of the adventure.
The purpose of the snapshots is to showcase the adventure as PCs go through it and to help setting its tone, whereas the kingpin encounter is intended as the encounter players will most likely remember and look back after completing the adventure. While in many cases the kingpin encounter will probably be a boss of sort, this is not a necessity. You are only required to provide complete stats for the kingpin encounter. Should you include full stats for other foes or NPCs, please specify which is the kingpin encounter. In the summary, specify name, race, and classes of each creature (i.e. four half-orcs Rogue 3; Ur'Gul the hill giant; a half-fiend dire boar).
Secret Ingredient: The "Secret Ingredient" is a prompt randomly generated through the TV Tropes Story Generator. Each prompt consists of seven random tropes which are to be used by each contestant as source of inspiration in writing his or her adventure. Remember that tropes are very flexible.
All seven tropes must be featured in each entry, in one way or another.Type Description Setting The time, place and/or circumstances of the narrative. It doesn't have to be the only place the adventure takes place in, but it has to be a location of some significance to the plot. Plot A series of events that have some connection. It can be the spark that starts your adventure, an event in the middle of it, or even what happens in the grand finale. Your choice. Narrative Device Something that moves the story forward or organizes a scene or sequence. Hero Strictly speaking, the PCs should be the focus of your adventure, whatever their alignment may be. As such, you could draw inspiration from this trope to create an important NPC in your adventure: the quest giver, a henchman, a rival, or anything else really. Alternatively, it could be part of a plot hook and the reason the PCs are having this specific adventure. Villain The bad guy(s). Character As Device In service to the plot, characters (heroes, villains, and passersby alike) are often given roles, sometimes making them just plot devices with lines. This is one of those roles. Characterization Device Not too different from the previous one, this is another set of traits you can use to flesh out one or more NPCs in your adventure.
Sources: Any official 3.5e rulebook is fair game. Unupdated 3.0 materials, as well as web-exclusives by WotC, are expressely allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere, as this could penalize your Mechanics score at the judges' discretion. Dragon Magazine is disallowed, but Dragon Compendium is fine. Unearthed Arcana is allowed, but alternate rule systems from it such as gestalt or generic classes are not. Item familiars, taint and Leadership are also disallowed.
Deadlines: Contestants will have until07:59 GMT on Friday, May 18th, 201807:59 GMT on Sunday, May 20th, 2018 to create their adventures and PM them to the Chairman, Uncle Pine. The adventures will be then posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until07:59 GMT on Friday, June 1st, 201807:59 GMT on Sunday, June 3rd, 2018 to judge the adventures and submit their scores.
Judging: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each adventure rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetic, Use of the Secret Ingredient. As most of them could bear a little elaboration, please stick with me for a few more paragraphs:
Mechanics measures how skillfully you put your adventure together from a mechanical point of view. Are the encounters balanced for the expected amount of characters at the given level? Is there a good mixture and variety of encounters, both in terms of their nature and difficulty? Is the flow of the action mantained? Is the pacing of the adventure coherent with the allotted runtime? In a way, Mechanics encompasses concepts that in other Iron Chef competitions would fall under "Elegance", but applied to the adventure as a whole. A legal source's relative obscurity should not be considered as penalizing Mechanics.
Dynamics values the quality of your story, as well as its originality (or lack thereof). A good story should be memorable and void of plot holes.
Aesthetics could be summarized as "how much of a pain would be for another DM to pick up your adventure?". It covers the ease of adapting the adventure to a campaign world, for example by making use of the plot hooks provided by the contestant, as well as the adventure's resilience to PCs doing PC things by means other than extreme railroading. Finally, Aesthetics values basics such as good layout, organization, and readability of the entry. A high score in this category means a DM would have little to no problems making use of the adventure. Including more fully statted encounters than the amount required shouldn't warrant an increase in the Aesthetics score, but failure to include an appropriate summary (as detailed under Contestants) could cause a deduction at the judges' discretion.
Use of the Secret Ingredient is self-explanatory.
Presentation: Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build, as I'm likely to miss it when reviewing the entries!
Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible takes on the given SI until the "reveal," in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing an adventure along those lines. Browse TV Tropes instead.
Without further ado... HERE BE YOUR SECRET INGREDIENT!
Type Description Setting Another Dimension Plot The Evils of Free Will Narrative Device Unseen Audience Hero Lord Error-Prone Villain The Corruption Character As Device Temporary Scrappy Characterization Device Backstory Index
The contest is open to any number of participants. Alternatively, if you want to be a judge just say so. Have fun everyone!
List of entries:
Protocol for Peace, by Tonymitsu - [1] [2]Last edited by Uncle Pine; 2018-05-21 at 08:02 AM.
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Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-04-20, 01:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
FAQs:
Q: One of the tropes in the Secret Ingredient is actually an Index! What do I do?
A: Jackpot! You can choose any of the tropes listed in that particular index and use that in your adventure. Sometime a client doesn't care if you put a blue cupboard, blue appliances, or blue cutlery in a kitchen: he just really wants to have something blue in his kitchen. Remember to specify which trope you picked from the index.
(If you have any question or suggestions for future rounds feel free to PM me, or write in the thread as long as it doesn't violate the guidelines under Speculation)Last edited by Uncle Pine; 2018-04-20 at 01:54 PM.
Extended signature here. Contains: 2 avatars, 3 quotes, a doggo and his friends.
Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-04-20, 01:56 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2017
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
I'll probably cook. I do want to point out that you might want to change the last trope though, as it links to a trope index :P
Jasnah avatar by Zea Mays
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2018-04-20, 02:08 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
That's intended. Sometime a client doesn't care if you put a blue cupboard, blue appliances, or blue cutlery in a kitchen: he just really wants to have something blue in his kitchen. You'll be fine as long as someone's backstory is featured in a relevant way in your adventure.
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Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-04-20, 02:25 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2014
Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Came here to post that this is a fascinating - and ambitious - contest. And also to point out that the last Trope is more a collection of all backstory tropes.
Currently Running WW/Mafia: flat_footed's Fallout 3: Forecast--Rapidly Changing Conditions
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My Homebrew
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2018-04-20, 02:50 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2017
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Jasnah avatar by Zea Mays
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2018-04-20, 08:50 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
An ambitious project for sure. I won't be participating (at least anytime soon) but I await the results with great interest.
Gotta get inspiration wherever I can ;DCurrently Playing: Aire Romaris Chaotic Good Male Half Celestial Gray Elf Duskblade 13 / Swiftblade 7 /// Elven Generallist Wizard 20
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2018-04-20, 12:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2012
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
This seems like a super ambitious build contest for only a two week timeframe. I have a hard enough time getting a build together for Iron Chef sometimes, let alone an entire adventure. I won't be participating, but will be watching with keen interest.
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2018-04-20, 12:53 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2016
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- Colorado, USA
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Originally Posted by Peelee
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2018-04-20, 01:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2017
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- Karrnath
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2018-04-20, 01:17 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2016
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- Up in la Belle province
Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
I have to say, well done with the title and the categories.
I don't think I will have time to cook. With spring finally around the corner, the call of the outdoors will be strong in the coming week. But I may be up to judge if there aren't too many complex entries and if I'm not too cuaght up with real life.
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2018-04-20, 02:07 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2014
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Wow. That's a lot of secret ingredients.
If there are people interested in playing and I can figure out the streaming software, I'd be willing to DM the adventures live on stream to showcase them.Rhymes with "Protracted."
Handbooks: The Warlockopedia | The Warmagepedia (WIP) | Tier List (2019 Update)
Spreadsheets: Spellcasting classes | Deities | Useful items
Homebrew: Gestalt Theurge | Fighter and Monk fixes | Warlock stuff
Original Fiction: The Wizard's Familiar
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2018-04-20, 02:15 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Since a couple people already wondered about what to do with Backstory Index as part of the SI, I've decided to address it in the FAQs*.
*Which are considered RAW this time, so be sure to check them!
As jdizzlean correctly pointed out the deadline is actually a month, so if you think you could make it with two extra weeks we'd be glad to have you aboard.
It wasn't easy to decide on the time for the contest. In the end, I decided I'd rather avoid to drag it for an eternity and cut down the scope of the competition from "any adventure" down to "one-shot" to drastically reduce the amount of work each contestant would have to go through. The nature itself of a one-shot means that it's more of a self-contained microcosm rather than an entire world, which makes it far faster to generate.
Good luck!
Thank you and don't worry too much about deciding immediately whether to be a judge, there's time for that.Extended signature here. Contains: 2 avatars, 3 quotes, a doggo and his friends.
Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-04-20, 02:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2015
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
I'm gonna start working on mine later tonight! Thanks Uncle, I think this is gonna be a lot of fun
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2018-04-20, 08:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
There’s basically zero chance that I’ll have the time/energy to participate in this, but I approve of it and I want it to succeed.
In the Beginning Was the Word, and the Word Was Suck: A Guide to Truenamers
My compiled Iron Chef stuff!
~ Gay all day, queer all year ~
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2018-04-21, 04:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2017
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
1) How long should a typical one-shot be, such as how many planned encounters before the boss, etc?
2) No level restriction?
3) How should it be presented? (Sample format appreciated!)
I'm itching to create some flavor of a planar adventure, so this is a good place to do it.
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2018-04-21, 04:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
1) The rules state:
You will need to present a one-shot adventure taking for your entry, for an expected duration of 4 to 6 hours. Your entry should include the following elements: a working title, an original and compelling plot, a detailed description of five scenes or encounters of your own choice that take part during the adventure (hereinafter referred to as "snapshots"), including full stats for one "kingpin encounter" of your choice, a summary of any other foe, levels and types of characters for which the adventure is meant, and any significant reward they are expected to acquire over the course of the adventure.Last edited by DeTess; 2018-04-21 at 04:42 PM.
Jasnah avatar by Zea Mays
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2018-04-21, 05:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2012
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
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2018-04-21, 10:56 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2017
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
I guess I'll do this then
One last question: Where do I submit it when it's done?
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2018-04-22, 02:13 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
The ideal runtime is considered 4-6 hours, as that's what most d&d session tend to last for. Of course in practice a typical one-shot will sometime turn into a two-shot for any number of reason either unrelated to the one-shot (players arriving slightly late, distractions, pizza, etc.) or due to players having a particularly good time and taking interest in the one-shot to the point they decide to explore it meticulously in every tiny detail, but you should still aim for 4-6 hours.
There is no hard cap on the number of encounters (both combat, social, puzzle, and so on) your adventure can have, although you're only required 5 snapshots in your entry so I expect many of the entries to have exactly 5.
Nope. As long as your entry is internally consistent and appropriate for a level of your choice, it's all good.
You're required to name your adventure and present the plot, five snapshots, one kingpin encounter, what is basically a bestiary of every other opponent in the adventure, as well as info on the kind of group(s) you expect to go through the adventure and rewards, so at least one section for each of these make sense. If the kingpin encounter is encountered as part of one of the snapshot you can put it there to avoid having to go back and forth between different sections.
I expect the average adventure will also have a section dedicated to character hooks, maybe split the plot section in "Adventure Background" and "Adventure Synopsis" or something similar and if for example the adventure is set in a dungeon with many different rooms a brief rundown of each of them would be nice. Imagine visiting a brand new house because you want to move and to find out it's huge with lots of corridors and features you didn't even think about, wouldn't you expect your estate agent to give you a walkthrough of the house's nooks and crannies?
Maps are never expressely required, but if you have a specific idea for an encounter involving taking advantage of terrain features and the like it might be a good idea to include a map of where the encounter takes part. Map Maker is rather spartan but extremely handy for this sort of things.
Submissions are to be sent to the Chairman, aka me.
EDIT: For more info about formatting, you can take inspiration from published pre-written modules or have a look at the back of any Dungeon Magazine issue, which has a rather in-depth guide about the qualities of a good module. I started writing the opening post for this contest with the idea of including a Format section with lots of guidelines, but then decided it would've been better to hammer down just a few key requirements and then see the length to which contestants are willing to go to rather than make a much bigger and comprehensive list that would've scared potential participants. We'll see how this first round go and then I'll decide whether to compile a Format section for the next one and what to include in it.
Of course, if any contestant has any kind of question about formatting I'll be eager to provide an answer.Last edited by Uncle Pine; 2018-04-22 at 02:19 AM.
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Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-04-27, 09:15 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
A little bump to remind everyone that the contest is due in three weeks, which is still plenty of time for anyone who Missed the Call to jump in and make something. Have fun!
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Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-05-11, 12:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Last call for the contestants: Kitchen Crashers is due next week. I know there were a bunch of eager people who PMed me with a few questions when this all started, so remember to actually turn your submission in. Good luck with the last sprint.
Extended signature here. Contains: 2 avatars, 3 quotes, a doggo and his friends.
Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-05-12, 09:30 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2014
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Creator of the LA-assignment thread.
A new Junkyard Wars round is up! Come join Weapon Bond + Weapon Specialization - Fighter!
Interested in judging a build competition on the 3.5 forums but not sure where to begin? Check out the judging handbook!
Extended signature!
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2018-05-13, 01:48 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Interested, though not sure I'll be ready for the deadline. I'll give it a go though!
WINNER! Villainous Competition XXXII: Selene, Bride of Ruin
Silver Medallist Villainous Competition XXVI: Faras Alnahr, Dark Scion of the Hippo God
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2018-05-17, 09:11 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
I've been asked about a two day extension for the deadline by Tonymitsu (whose name I only mention because I believe these requests should have a name publicly attached to them). I'm personally not against this, because it's only two days and it's the first Kitchen Crashers so I'd like to be as inclusive as possible, but feel free to voice your opinion.
If a 48 hour extension doesn't particularly bother anyone, I'll edit this message and the OP tomorrow morning to reflect the changes to the schedule in order to avoid additional spamming.
EDIT: The deadline has been postponed to 07:59 GMT on Sunday, May 20th, 2018.Last edited by Uncle Pine; 2018-05-18 at 01:12 AM.
Extended signature here. Contains: 2 avatars, 3 quotes, a doggo and his friends.
Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-05-17, 06:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2016
Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
Rats. This is what I get for not looking in on the forums properly for a while
I look forward to the finished products! This is set to be a lot of fun
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2018-05-17, 07:27 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2014
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
I'll reiterate my offer to run and stream the adventures online if there is interest.
Rhymes with "Protracted."
Handbooks: The Warlockopedia | The Warmagepedia (WIP) | Tier List (2019 Update)
Spreadsheets: Spellcasting classes | Deities | Useful items
Homebrew: Gestalt Theurge | Fighter and Monk fixes | Warlock stuff
Original Fiction: The Wizard's Familiar
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2018-05-17, 07:43 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
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2018-05-21, 07:42 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2012
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
I ended up getting only a single submission even after waiting a whole extra day after the extended deadline, but worry not! We can still have fun looking at this piece of work and comment on it, or even playtest it if you so choose (ask Troacctid about that).
I'd skim over the usual demand of avoid posting until all the reveals are posted since there's only one, but I'm actually not sure if it can fit in a single post so please wait until I'm finished.Extended signature here. Contains: 2 avatars, 3 quotes, a doggo and his friends.
Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.
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2018-05-21, 07:50 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... a modron!
Originally Posted by Protocol for PeaceExtended signature here. Contains: 2 avatars, 3 quotes, a doggo and his friends.
Kitchen Crashers: an adventure building Iron Chef - First edition running 20/04/18-18/05/18.