March Challenge Voting - Make a 1 Page Dungeon

[arsheesh]

This month's challenge was to create a "one page dungeon". The precise nature of the dungeon was left up to each contestant. Below you'll find a link to the thumbnails to these entries:

March Challenge Thumbs

Please vote for the map(s) you like best and be sure to be liberal in repping the contestants who participated in the challenge. The voting will last for 4 days and the winner shall receive a golden compass as well as showers of praise and admiration from all.

[eViLe_eAgLe]

It's a shame this part of the month has been so busy for me, nontheless, I will be in the real one page dungeon still.
I personally voted for something lovecraftian and Behold the Cliche.

[ravells]

The graphic design choices on a lot of the entries are at such a high standard. Great work all!

[madcowchef]

Some really good entries. I try to limit myself to two votes always (because otherwise I'd just start voting left and right).

I went with he Ballad of the Bonny Bards Booty for my number one pick. Its use of the map in the background to follow the adventure was clever and very well executed, the story was interesting, and sadly probably because of my pro-pirate bias.

My second was something Lovecraftian, the map was excellent and very clear at scale, the lay out pleasing to the eye and the relentlessness with which it stayed on theme admirable (in both art and the story). Clearly though he hasn't done it in a long time Timallen should immediately take up RPGs again.

Other Amazing entries which I could have just as easily voted for:
Into the Lycans Den- What can you say about Arsheesh's illustrations but wow? Beautiful, simple, and the all black and white is probably in better keeping with the official competition than the parchment backgrounds on many of the others (mine very much included).

In the Vault of the Howling Palace- The writing style Cirias chose really grabbed my attention and made me want to run this adventure as a good narrative can. The illustrations were well chosen and the over all layout good. The map is simple and to the point, if I have one complaint about the entry its the small colored icons used on the map, they seem out of character.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall- Excellent quality over all. Both the writing and graphics where well done. The choice to place the map dead center is a nice attention grabber, though it does make the text a bit fiddly. I really like the mix of puzzle solving and action in this one, would undoubtedly make it fun to play.

[Cunning Cartographer]

I went with Into the Lycans Den. I liked the simplicity of it, both in style and adventure design but it was visual and mechanics enough to work as a nice little adventure hook.

The black on white just works really well and is very clean, in comparison to some of the others that I feel went a little too overboard with the backgrounds and with so much text it can start to detract when you have so much else going on and I think there were font issues that weren't fully resolved.

I will say I did really like the Lovecraft vibe from Timallen and I do really like the hand drawn map style so a notable mention from me.

Good job all.

[EricPoehlsen]

You made voting not easy. Some great entries amongst the contestants. My votes went to the projects of Tim Allen and madcowchef. Both had the cleanest execution.

I would like to let you know, which minimal aspects made my decision ...
@anomiecoalition: The font seems slightly to crisp against the background
@Cirias: Your text, in parts is a little bit too bleached
@Cunning Cartographer: Do not place the handout which has to be cut from the page in the center
@Tad Davis: ... well I don't give more than two votes at this small panel of competitors and I liked the other two better. Sorry.

[arsheesh]

This was a tough one. My own top three were Cunning Cartographer's The Ballad of the Bonny Bards Booty (great title, original idea and lovely picks), timallen's Something Lovecraftian (I just love the tentacled border, the colors and the overall theme) and Madcowchef's Behold the Cliches (great images!). All three deserve plaudits but I decided to limit myself to one vote. Timallen's won out by a small margin for me due to the tentacles. Good luck everyone!

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[kirkspencer]

This was hard, and it turned on little things for me. (I only gave one vote. If I gave more than one I'd have to give a lot of votes.) The bard lost for the cut-out in the middle. Lovecraft had the no-hint total party wipe room (the chapel that locks everyone in once someone reaches the fireplace), but was a beautiful map. I am running an adventure in which I want to insert the howling, but the artistic fading makes it too hard on my aged and worn eyes (not that they were that great when I was younger).

I almost didn't vote. I'm embarrassed to judge, in any way, those who do so much better work than I do. Great job to all.

[Wingshaw]

I only gave one vote (I always try to give only one). My vote went to Cunning Cartographer's Bonny Bard. If I'd voted for a second map, it would have been madcowchef's entry.

THW

[xpian]

Great entries. I fell ill and was unable to finish in time, but I'll post more as I put the map together, and get an earlier start on the next challenge.