TSR Periodicals' Second International Dungeon Design Competition (IDDC II) was divided into Basic (specifically Holmes Basic) and Advanced Divisions. (Advanced Division entries will be covered, tomorrow).
Ad for the "Second International Dungeon Design Competition" appearing in The Dragon #38 (June, 1980) - #40 (August, 1980). Deadline was September 1, 1980.
The IDDC II - Basic Division winners were announced in Dragon #50 (June, 1981). The top two Basic Division entries were published in Dragon magazine.
First Place:
Mollie Plants (Morgantown, W. Va.) "The Chapel of Silence"
"The Chapel of Silence" (8 pages) by Mollie Plants was published in Dragon #50 (June, 1981). Title page and interior illustrations by Roger Raupp.
"The Chapel of Silence" is a gem of a little adventure. I've run it twice, and both times were tremendous fun. (It's also well suited for convention play, which I plan to capitalize on, some day.)
Author Mollie Plants had previously won first place (along with Ned and Bert Plants) in the "Mini-Dungeon" category of the second Judges Guild dungeon creation contest, for "The Treasure of Barlawn", published in Judges Guild Journal #16 (Aug/Sept 1979).*
*a pair of NPC thieves, "Primo" and "Gundo" appear in both adventures
For more on "The Chapel of Silence" see the review on Dragonsfoot, here, along with my play report, here.
Second Place:
Kevin Knuth (Fond du Lac, Wis.) "The Creature of Rhyl"
"The Creature of Rhyl" (8 pages) by Kevin Knuth was published in Dragon #55 (November, 1981). Title page and interior illustrations by Harry Quinn.
"The Creature of Rhyl" bears many stylistic similarities to module B1 "In Search of the Unknown" (including the need to more fully stock the adventure, prior to play).
The scenario has been adapted for the Eamon computer-based role-playing game, as well as Neverwinter Nights.
See my review and play report on Dragonsfoot, from back in 2009. (I ran it again in 2014, with a few upgrades.)
Third Place:
Susan K. Topa (Utica, N.Y.) "Ziggurat of the Adepts"
This adventure was never published, and attempts to contact the author have been unsuccessful.*
Fourth Place:
Paul Haase (Bellevue, Wash.) "Adventures in the Far Isles"
I corresponded briefly with Paul Haase, several years ago. Although he didn't keep a copy of his adventure, he recalled that it involved "a shipwreck as a small dungeon where the tide alternately exposed and blocked access".
Fifth Place:
T. Scott Kennedy (Tinton Falls, N.J.) "Harrowhouse"
This adventure was never published, and attempts to contact the author have been unsuccessful.*
*for more on attempts to track down the Third, Fourth, and Fifth place entries, see "Holmes - the "lost" adventures", on Dragonsfoot
It's easily been 30 years since I last looked at that issue of Dragon. While I remember the distinctive, star-shaped promontory from Raupp's illustration, this adventure never made enough of an impression that I wanted to run it at the time. I flipped through it again after reading your review and gameplay report, and it seems a lot more fun to me now (different sensibilities and all). Definitely some interesting bits in it that I might steal for my own game. "Wrestling trolls," indeed! :D
ReplyDeleteIt's really a great adventure. I find that play reports do a better job of conveying the feel, even moreso than a review.
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