The story takes place in the tower of the famous archmage Sinder Luzon.
Gameplay Length
The module is designed for 10-15 minutes of play.
Number Players
1 player and 3 npcs.
Language
English
Level Range
Any.
Races
Any.
Tricks & Traps
Non-existent
Roleplay
Heavy
Hack & Slash
Non-existent
Classes
Any.
Scope
Small
DMNeeded
No DM Required
Single or Multiplayer
Single Player
Max Character Level
Any
Max # Players
Any
Min # Players
Any
Min Character Level
Any
Content Rating
Everyone
Alignments
Any.
Gameplay Hours
<1
Description
"The Badger the Cat and the Book."
Many wondrous tales surround the archmage Sinder Luzon and the strange experiments that are worked at her tower. In recent times no one has heard from or seen Sinder and word has spread that she has gone missing.
If these tales be true then there may yet be great treasure left behind in the tower, for any adventurer brave enough to travel there. You are one such adventurer. You find yourself now at the entrance to the tower.
(This module contains three (3) various endings which will be displayed in the dialogue.)
I'm sorry. When I read "I picked the three endings which I felt best represented the module." I thought that meant that there were other endings that would have been present if it were not for the word count, and that made me think the module was incomplete. For misinterpreting your statements, I aplogozise. (PS I'm intrigued that you equate "nice dialog flow" with "logical dialog flow" when I consider the two concepts realted, but distinct.)
Posted by emperorzog at 22:44:36 Voted10.00
Dnl. While it was never my goal to cause you to reword anything, I do appreciate your consideration of what I said. After reading back through your updated remarks, I must say that I agree with your wording much more. It conveys your same point, but does so at what appears to me to be a more realistic and appropriate level. As I am sure you are aware already, my concern was never that you did not have a valid argument about my work, simply that you were using scud missiles to swat flies, or so to speak. Either way, I am very grateful for not only the time it took you to play my module and vote, but also the time you have taken in your discussion here with me. Again, all the best.
Posted by Dnl_Jms_Frwrd at on03/13/06
Okay, Zog, I?ve been mulling over your words and I?ll admit you have a point. Consequently, I?ve changed some of the wording on my vote slightly; I hope we can both be happier with the new draft.
Posted by Dnl_Jms_Frwrd at on03/13/06
I?ve been scratching my head about how to rate this module for three days now. As I write this, I?m still a little undecided as to what score to give it, but I?ll press on with the review and see if I can make my mind up by the end. The first thing I noticed when playing (actually, it was from the description before I even loaded it) was that the writing has rather a lot of technical flaws, and I?m not talking about the instances where non-standard punctuation was used as part of the author?s creative arsenal (such as the huge number of ellipses), but definite, rather basic errors. Here are a couple of examples (as the author requested them): ?in recent times no one has heard from or seen Sinder and word has spread that she has gone missing?. (?in? isn?t capitalised and there?s no full stop at that end.) ?Yes ... well, at least you're pretty right??. (The question mark makes no sense, unless Sinder is calling the PC pretty and asking if they agree, which I doubt.) There are quite a few such minor errors scattered throughout, but there were two that really got on my nerves, mainly because they?re both very rudimentary and they?re both repeated quite a few times. First, there?s an absence of commas to denote the vocative case. Examples include: ?Where is your mistress beast?? and ?Enough of your life story whiskers!?. Second, the wrong ?it?s? is sometimes used, such as in ?The badger hangs it's fuzzy little head in shame.? and ?The book demands a spirit be bound to it for it's power to function.?. This is almost made more annoying as the right ?its? is used a couple of times as well. While I?m focusing on the negatives, I?ll also add that there are a few spelling mistakes (such as ?denamd? and ?wizadress?) and that the clarity of some of the sentences could be improved by inserting a comma or two (particularly in preference to an ellipsis, which are really quite irritating when overused). Neither of those factors are large enough problems to reflect in my mark. The thing is, and this is why I?ve been procrastinating over giving this review, I loved the module despite its numerous errors. The characters are excellent, if a little one dimensional, the plot is imaginative and flows nicely, and I always had the opportunity to choose the PC?s responses. I particularly liked the relationship between the accident-prone archmage and her slightly idiotic, besotted familiar. What really made it enjoyable, though, were the little comedic touches in the dialogues, such as being able to shake Felix?s hand and the way Sinder?s embarrassment at the whole situation was so expertly expressed. The fact that the author obviously paid attention to the contest?s rules and didn?t try to stretch or manipulate them in any way is also a big plus point for me. In conclusion, although the writing is technically imperfect, the story itself is very good and remarkably entertaining. Hmmm. I suppose, given all the typos I spotted and that it?s a writing contest, I can?t in good conscience give a score any higher than 8.5. I would?ve liked to though -- if it?d been error free, I?d probably have gone up to 9.5.
Posted by emperorzog at 10:00:48 Voted10.00
Dnl. Hmmm... Perhaps it is simply the way you use words. I personally attempt to pick words that not only express my view, but express it at the appropriate level. I feel this to be very important when conveying a point. However, maybe you actually do feel that strongly about the subject. If this is the case then I am sorry for that, though I can't possibly agree with it. Still, I thank you for taking the time to play my module and for expressing your own opinion on the subject. Best of luck to you and your own work in the contest.
Posted by Dnl_Jms_Frwrd at on03/13/06
Zog, You?ll doubtless have spotted that I used emotive words at both ends of the spectrum, and I do stand by all of them. The whole module was a very intense and bipolar experience for me, as I alluded to in my review, and I needed to express all my opinions on it before I gave myself an aneurysm. As an aside to your aside, I think you?re correct, but Lance didn?t comment on any spelling mistakes and I?m pretty sure he would?ve if he?d spotted any.
Posted by emperorzog at 21:16:00 Voted10.00
As an aside about your comments towards your use of UK spelling, I do believe that Lance is from the UK. Though I am not sure.
Posted by emperorzog at 20:12:29 Voted10.00
Dnl You didn't "offend" me really. I think sometimes I come off as a little defensive of my own work to others. Let me state why that might be. When I go to play a module at this point in the contest, I do look at its score. If it has an average of 3 at 15 votes I am not going to try it. I also then do look at what others have had to say about a given module. My concern with your comments (and those of a few others) was that you use some very potent words. For example "vast," "complete absence," "hideous." If I were to read your review and not know the work I imagine that I would think that it was an utter atrocity that was written by a person who spoke english as a fourth language. It would imply to me that it was hardly even readable. I do not refute that I made some mistakes, but I don't think they were so many as to warrant words like "hideous." I felt that while your concerns were valid, you threw words around as people often do like "hate" or "love" without giving consideration to how strong a word you are using. If you did in fact feel THAT strongly about it then I suppose I can say nothing more to you on the subject. I simply felt that you were a little liberal with your criticism. I do appreciate your compliments and I am very pleased that you enjoyed the core of the work itself. I did not in my statement about your module that I have not actually played it. I cannot account for any comments about your errors. Perhaps I jumped the gun on you but please do note that I have seen MANY people fault modules in this contest for mistakes that they have made. This goes far beyond my own work.
Posted by Dnl_Jms_Frwrd at on03/13/06
First off, I?ll say that I?m sorry if my comments came across as aggressive -- they certainly weren?t intended to be. What I?d hoped was that the criticism would be perceived as concise and factual, especially with the quotes I provided, and then you?d move on to the more positive and complimentary parts of my review. If you feel that was an attack, then I?ll say it again, I?m sorry. Secondly, concerning the voting on my own module, if you think one comment each for spelling and punctuation is ?many?, then perhaps you should try being a bit less flamboyant and melodramatic yourself. I think I received the spelling comment as it?s written in British/International English and therefore spellings such as ?sulphurous? and ?realisation? might be seen as incorrect by an American. As far as Lance?s punctuation comment goes, I think (especially from reading his reviews of other modules) that he has a very strict view on how it should be applied -- which he is, of course, entitled to. I, however, believe that there is a certain amount of leeway when punctuating creative writing as it is quite a big part of the author?s expressive medium, though there are some definite rules. If I didn?t feel this way then I?d have marked your module down even more as there were some instances where it became non-standard but was still right within the context. Getting back to the comments on my module, did you also note that one reviewer actually complimented the punctuation? Finally, I?ll apologise again if I?ve offended you at all and reiterate that I would?ve genuinely liked to have given your module a higher score, but that would?ve both partially invalidated the thirty-odd votes I?ve cast thus far and set a dangerous precedent for any that I make in the future.
Posted by emperorzog at 10:41:39 Voted10.00
In addition to my previous comments, I will state this one again... I can't help but find it odd when people who are guilty of a flaw accuse me of the same. I should think they would be more understanding of it. For example the fellow claiming that my spelling mistakes "spoilt" the module for him... That is not a word... Also, while I have not actually played your module yet Dnl, I do find it odd that many of the reviewers accuse you of a great number of spelling and grammatical errors. Some of those reviewers are pretty reliable sources as well. I should HOPE that I wouldn't be attacked for making the same basic mistakes as you...
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