XDMC 29: Design a Haunt!

Welcome to the twenty-ninth 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 Haunt.  Fear and terror are staples of the fantasy genre, but it is not easy to create a locale that can terrify the larger-than-life heroes your players control.  Creating a truly terrifying location requires the work of an Expert DM!  This competition asks you to create an encounter location designed to strike fear into the hearts of heroes.

Required Elements

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

• Name: Name your haunt.
• Lore: Describe what is commonly known about the haunt.  The haunt's reputation must be such that even heroes may believe themselves to be in mortal danger within.
• Lure: Describe one or more ways an adventuring party may be lured to the haunt.
• Lair: Describe what the heroes will find in the haunt.  You may, but need not, include stat blocks for any NPCs, items, terrain, or other objects or effects in the haunt.

If you do not include a required element, you will receive a score of zero in Themes.  Please note that a significant portion of your score in Creativity and Themes will be based on how scary you make the haunt's reputation and/or location.

Optional Elements

Your story must include at least three of the following optional elements:

1. Can Nothing Stop It?:  The haunt threatens the world outside its walls (i.e., it begins expanding uncontrollably) unless the heroes accomplish a task described in the entry.
2. The Curse is Broken!: The haunt can become a haven to the heroes, or a resident of the haunt can become a companion to the party, if a task described in the entry is completed.
3. Guys? Where Are You?: One feature of the haunt is designed to split the party.
4. It's Alive!: The haunt's interior physically changes at least twice while the heroes are within it.
5. It's Not Human!: The haunt has one or more residents, but none are of the humanoid type.
6. It All Started When...: Surpassing one or more obstacles becomes easier if the heroes learn the haunt's history, as described in the entry.
7. Looks Fine to Me: To the outside world, the haunt appears completely mundane.
8. What Have You Done?!: The haunt rewards characters who interfere with or harm one another.
9. We're Trapped!:  Once inside the haunt, the characters cannot leave until accomplishing a difficult task described in the entry, and which does not require combat.
10. What's That Doing Here?:  The haunt has one or more residents, but none are of the aberrant or shadow origin, or of the undead or shapechanger subtype.
11. You Startled Me!: The players are asked to roll initiative checks against something that intends their characters no harm.
12. You Were Dead... I Saw the Body!: The heroes must defeat some aspect or resident of the haunt twice or more.

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.

General Rules

Following are some general rules of the Expert DM Competition. The complete list of rules is in the Expert Dungeon Master Competition Group Wiki.

• Code of Conduct. All entries must comply with the forum's Code of Conduct.
• Contest Duration. Contests usually run for two weeks, beginning with the post announcing the competition. The Coordinator may extend the duration of the contest at his discretion after consulting the other judges for that competition. However, such extensions should be done very rarely.
• Edits Made at Entrants' Own Risk. A judge may download your entry any time after it is submitted. So any edits you make might not be considered by a judge. For this reason, you should submit your entry in as complete a form as possible. Use the preview function liberally. Once winners have been announced, entrants may edit their entries.
• Images Allowed. If you want to use an image in your entry, you must first post it to your profile gallery.
• Multiple Entries Prohibited. Each applicant may only submit one entry during the period in which entries may be submitted. Submitting multiple entries disqualifies all entries. Additional entries may be submitted after the competition closes, but they will not be judged.
• Multi-Post Entries Prohibited. Each entry must be contained within a single post. The judges must ignore any subsequent posts.
• Outside Links Prohibited. Entries may not include material hosted on a website other than the post on which the entry appears.
• Plagiarism and Peer Reviewing Prohibited. All entries must be the original, exclusive work of the applicant. Entries found to be copying the work of another, or that have been posted for review prior to the close of the competition, will be disqualified.

Judges and Schedule

The contest will run from today through Friday, July 22, 2011. All entries must be submitted no later than 12:00 midnight at the end of that day (Eastern Standard Time). The judges of this contest are Nyarlathotep, Shaadow, and wrecan, and the coordinator of this contest is wrecan. Good luck and have fun!!

Entry List

1. Khorne37's Eastermen Homestead
2. ToeSama's Darkest Pit
3. ClanBattlerage's Haunted Mansion
4. Johnathan_Vagabond's Dancing Hall
5. Pluisjen's Mirror Mirror
6. SpacyRichochet's Hunter's Wood
7. Veok's Throne of the Shackled King
8. Ankiyavon's City of Tendril
9. Jzadek's Dead God's Dream
10. dulsi's Primordial Maw

Supplemental Entry:

• Johnathan_Vagabond's Minotaur's Labyrinth

My only regret is that I can't both judge and participate.