Frequently Asked Questions

Where did Iron Player come from?

Iron Player was the brainchild of Dreads after conversations with other Iron DMs.  Dreads had heard many stories of people disappointed in the D&D open (including 3 disappointing forays himself),  and wished that there was a tournament that was a lot less metagaming and a lot more fun.   It was actually standing in line to get into True Dungeon, that MD put the bug in Dreads head.  MD had a horrible Open experience, another bad DM, a poorly crafted adventure and a lack of focus on fun.  Other D&D tournaments focused too much on how much loot and treasure was gathered as opposed to how well the person actually played.    Dreads had spoken to judges of several con tournaments only to be dismayed at how unfair the judging system was. One seamed to have a system only determined by the gm of your game, the other had a rigid set of items that needed to be completed in very linear fashion.  In 2006, famed D&D author and game lord Nicholas Logue invented the Hellfire Challenge, where teams competed to become gods.  Dreads had the chance to DM in the tournament.  After DMing in,  Dreads got an idea of combining some of the features of that tournament (such as its many paths to victory, team focused objectives and player driven adventures) and adding a flexible scoring system that would combine the best concepts from the tournaments he participated in. An initial collaboration with another DM failed, so  Dreads went to  DM Barista, DM Nikroesis and his good friend MD.    One was an amazing RPG writer who had developed several game systems and board games, MR. MD; the other was a DM Dreads had the privileged of gaming with  for years. Now each year it grows with more and more DMs participating in the volunteer project.

What are the PRizes?

In 2008s, we gave away over $600 worth of prizes provided by our sponsors.  In 2009 we gave away $700 worth of prizes from Paizo, Alea Tools and OneBookShelf RPG.  This included an a half dozen custom artwork passages, limited sets of dice and several publishers entire catalogs of work on PDF.  We plan to have great prizes for this year as well, and will be working with the some of the same sponsors and some additional ones.

How do I build a character before the event?

Easy... you can't. We've visited this issue.  Part of being an Iron Player is to build a character quickly and accurately enough to run.  This is Iron Player, not Iron let me munchkin up as much as I can. That said, the higher we go with character levels, the longer it can take.  We also want to reward those who go the extra mile of visiting the site, signing up and preparing for the tourney.  We'll be allowing players to build "partial" characters based on specific criteria we will release closer to the tournament.  This means that players will still have to finish building their characters at the con, but they'll get a slight head start ahead of other players.  For the 2009 tournament, you may bring a Level 10 character with you, but do expect to level it up to the appropriate level at the con.

What sources can I use?

Next year's tournament will use Paizo's Pathfinder system.  All supplements related to that will be allowed. We may use other sources form our sponsors.

Will we be ruled on how well we know the Pathfinder rule system?

Pathfinder is pretty much 3.5 with some fixes.  Most of the rule changes are self explanatory (skills combined into one skill). For those that require further explaing we will have a cheat sheet.  That said, Pathfinder is available as a free beta download at www.paizo.com.  DMs will not be rigidly grading rules assement.  However, those who try to break the rules or make absurd rules moves (IE trying to roll a d20 for damage or not knowing how to use old staples like power attack) will be docked.  It will be important for players who pick optional things (such as feats) to thoroughly know how that feat works since they had the opportunity of choosing it.

Can I play with our friends?

All players start off with their friends, but there is no guarantee that every player may end up with them throughout the adventure.  To be a little more uncryptic, there is a good chance players will remain with their team the whole time, however, there are hazards throughout the tournament that could move a player to another table.

How is the event Judged?

1/3rds of the event is based on objectives determined by the adventure and the organization you choose. These objectives are broad and allow players to play the game and achieve them how they wish.  The example we like ot use is, if the players are suppose to get the wand from the town leader, he can very well burn the town down or go about it diplomatically.  The only thing they get points for is gaining the wand.  The other 1/3rd is determined by a DM scale score in several catagories including Not metagaming, Rules coolness, role playing and pizazz.   Each team will be judged by three judges. The final 1/3 is judged by team members. This year, players will also get to vote for teammates they felt were MVPs of their table.

What is the Secret Item?

If I told you it wouldn't be a secret. The secret item will be determined the day of the event. It could be an item, like in 2008, or it could be a prestige class, a feat, a set of skills, a familiar or even an NPC.

How do I win?

You win by being a good role player.   Killing the most beasts won't net you any prize, but killing the most beasts in the smartest way will.  In other words using your sword to hack an orc is good but using your sword to slice through the net releasing the crates on the whole tribe is even better. Burning the ship while you and your team members escape on a skiff is Iron.