Master DM Competition 42: Create a Remote Location > What's a DM to Do?

Create a Remote Location

Welcome to the forty second installment of the Master DM Competitions!

Adventurers are known for traveling to the farthest reaches of the multiverse. High mountain peaks, the middle of parching deserts, deep under the sea or the darkest pit of Hell, all exotic locales that make for memorable adventures. A Master DM can take this concept to the next level: creating an utterly original and fantastical location in which to set adventures.

The purpose of this competition is not to create an adventure, but rather to paint a vivid backdrop against which other DMs can paint their own adventures.

To complete a submission to this contest, an entry must include the following:
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Physically describe a contiguous remote location that other DMs might choose as a setting for an encounter or adventure. The location should be no smaller than a square mile in area, but may be as large as entire plane of existence, as long as the physical qualities of the location are consistent throughout the area described in the entry.

Describe generally how a party of adventurers might discover and/or travel to and from the location.

Describe all environmental hazards (if any) associated with that location. If the hazards mimic or are identical to hazards found in the Dungeon Master's Guide, you may reference them by page number.

Describe generally and briefly the sorts of adventures and encounters for which other DMs might use this location as a backdrop. No stat blocks are needed for creatures located in the Monster Manual or Players Handbook.

An entry must also attempt to meet at least 3 of the following 12 thematic elements:
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A common nonmagical inanimate substance (silver, wool, bread, etc.) acquires new properties within the location that can be used to the party's advantage.

A prophecy about the location (described in the entry) is common knowledge to the world at large.

A special material found only at the location can be used to a party’s advantage.

All spells with a common school, subschool, descriptor or origin (i.e., either arcane or divine) are enhanced, impaired or otherwise altered in the location.

An event in the location occurs either faster or slower than normal (e.g., raindrops fall as slowly as feathers, day and night passes every 2 hours, etc.)

An event or activity not involving combat might draw a party to the location.

No living creatures would be encountered in the location, but adventurers would still have a reason to visit or explore there.

No two creatures encountered in the location will have the same type.

The entry contains a table of information a character would gain with a successful Knowledge (geography) or Knowledge (the Planes) check.

The entry contains an homage to E. Gary Gygax.

The location is an entire plane or demiplane.

The region could host an encounter suitable for a party with an Average Party Level (APL) of 5 or lower, as described in the entry.
The complete rules for the Master DM Competition can be found here (along with a lot of fascinating information about the competition’s history, its judges and past competitions and medal winners). All entrants should review these rules before submitting the entry. However there are some rules that seem to ensnare many first-time entrants. Please be cognizant of the following rules:

Applicants are allowed a 15-minute period in which they are allowed to make edits to their entry. Any entry that has been noted as edited after this 15 minute period will be disqualified. This includes editing done by the board moderators, should the entry be in violation of the board’s code of conduct. It is recommended that an applicant use the board’s “preview post” function or write the entry off-line in a text editor to check the entry before posting. Once judging is complete, applicants are allowed to go back and edit their entry if they so choose.
Your entry must fit in a single post. Each applicant may only submit one entry for judging. Submitting multiple entries results in the disqualification of every entry you submit. If you have more than one idea, please wait until after the competition closes to submit it. These subsequent entries will not be judged.
All entries must be the original, exclusive work of the applicant. If an entry is found to be copying the work of another, or has been posted for review prior to the competition, it will be disqualified. However, entries may include a visual picture for the entry that is not the author's original work. Such non-original material will not be considered by the judges.
Failure to include all the required elements results in a score of zero for Thematic Consistency. Contest rules vary from competition to competition. At the beginning of each competition, any special rules for that contest will be detailed. Make sure you understand all of the rules before posting.
Please list the optional thematic elements you intend your entry to meet. This is not a strict rule, though failure to do so may mean your Clarity and Thematic Consistency scores may suffer.

The judges for this competition will be mtbOgre, Sereno, and wrecan, with wrecan coordinating. The competition will run from Friday, March 28 to Friday, April 11, 2008. At that time, one of the judges will declare that the competition has closed (by default 11:59PM EST).

Good luck and enjoy!

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