Announcing the Winners of Adventure Sites II

  The judges have rested from their labors. Thirty entries were weighed and measured, their virtues and flaws accessed. We agonized, we sweated, and we sighed. But all five judges have given their rankings, and after a surprisingly tight fight, we have the eight finalists all selected for inclusion in Adventure Sites II, soon out free for the community to delight in. In no particular order, our finalists are:
  Sausages of the Devil Swine, by John Nash. A classic B/X dungeon for levels 4-5, Sausages delighted and intrigued with its Porcs, undead sausage links, and of course Porcus the Demon Prince of Gluttony. Strap on your curly tails and don't look too closely at the meat grinder, we have pigs to slaughter.
  The Cleft in the Crag, by  J. "Graveslug" Allen. A fully-committed OD&D romp for levels 4-6, Cleft takes all the raw enthusiasm of the LBBs and turns them up to eleven, offering an artifact hidden by incredibly powerful bear-pegasus, lizardmen caves, giant slugs hidden by illusions, tricks, traps, and of course PILLARS OF LAW THAT EXPLODE CHAOTIC'S EYES. It's a huge site and one I've actually since run in my game, with great success and only minor PC blinding.
​  The Calid Cryo-Caves, by Jeff Simpson. A way to freeze and toast level 3-5 characters in 7VoZ, the caves are volcanic but inside a glacier, populated by strange fossil undead and a multistage endboss that's as memorable as it is adorably illustrated. The scale of this one is just about perfect, sometimes you just need some caves for tonight's adventure and these will hit the spot.
 The Pit of the Red Wyrm, by Jakob McFarland. FINALLY. It took us two years, but at last we got ourselves a proper dragon lair. Written for S&W levels 4-6, Pit embraces the weird and the wild with pepper-eating berserker cultists and morlocks serving in the steaming confines of a geyser-carved temple. Probably the best map of the whole contest, it's a three-level multi-step triumph of exploration and discovery, loaded with heavy statues in loot. And, once again, IT HAS A DRAGON.
  Troll Market, by Rob S.  Don't focus on the the title's "troll", what this low-level AD&D adventure actually is is an elf-infested fairy mound, complete with a kidnapped witch's son, an illusionist hanging in a cage on a tree, an evil debauched elf noble, and weird fey merchants in a somewhat plane-shifted location only reachable under a waning moon. This thing drips so much flavor that the undead brothers Grimm are soliciting Rob S for more stories. 
  Barbican of Blood, by Mitch Hyde. Baby's first Tomb of Horrors, this 6-8 AD&D adventure takes the concept of a vampire lair and decides to get mean about it. The titular barbican, a keep garrisoned by a Renfield knight, is probably the highlight, but the linear gauntlet of pain beneath is loaded with good idea after good idea, perhaps to the point of being overstuffed, but "too many good ideas" is the most forgivable of sins.
  ...and now we come to the winners, who each get a Merciless Merchants adventure and a huge heaping helping of glory. First, silver-medalist and Penultimate Champion is...
  The Copper Circle, by A. M. Jackson. Tenser's Floating Disk is one of the two first-level spells that magic users have to quest for, right? Well Mr. Jackson supplies us an entire floating dungeon to quest for it, complete with pygmies (greys), floating disk traps, and a polymorphed dragon of all things, all with a nice set of treasure and enough XP to make the whole party happy. Wildly imaginative, gonzo as heck, and there's a small chance that it winds up giving your level 1 party a functional UFO. That is D&D, baby.
  ---
  Finally, ultimately, we come down to the top, and this time around it's not just first place, it's far and above first place. All us judges had some disagreements at times, but this one was in first, second, or third in every single judge's list. It is...
  The Tower in the Lake, by Matthew Lake. Not just a thing of skill, but a thing of beauty. Starting with one of the most common tropes in the world, "wizard's tower", B/X level 3-5, Mr. Lake takes the concept and turns it into a fresh, interesting, and dynamic environment by sinking the tower into a lake with magic keeping the water out. Monsters are used in interesting ways, with cute new custom monsters and old standbys both keeping everything active. At twenty-two rooms this is just about maxed out in terms of adventure site scale but your players won't care, it's brilliant. 
  So, Matthew Lake, claim your prize and get yourself to Burger King for a crown, because you are this year's King of the Adventure Sites. Bask in the glory and fame good sir, and make sure your artist gets gigs from this too.
  Thanks again, everyone, for submitting. It has been an absolute delight to run this contest, and I'm already looking forward to next year's. Thanks to all the commenters, and an especial thanks to all the judges once more, you were all machines. Watch this space for my announcement when the compilation hits DriveThruRPG, once again it's scot free for everyone in the community to download and enjoy.
  ALL HAIL MATTHEW LAKE, KING OF THE ADVENTURE SITES