| Author |
Message
|
| Napftor |
 Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:15 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
Patron
Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Posts: 44
Location: Hamburg, PA
|
I was DMing during a near TPK and it was one of the best sessions we ever had. You can read my rather dry account of that game HERE
Fortunately, one of my players posted a more exciting description of the encounter HERE so do have a look!
_________________
Bret Boyd
President
Tricky Owlbear Publishing, Inc.
-----------------
Freelance Writer
Freelancer's Rest |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
| Ask a Shoanti |
| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:18 am Post subject: |
|
|
Patron
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 13
|
Cool beans!
OK last one I promise:
--------------------------
So the party is getting the boots taken to them - again.
Raiding a castle, the PCs find themselves traversing a dungeon level where the floor is actually a metallic grating suspended above a level of water filled with horrid aquatic swarms. The dungeon walls are a maze composed of the same grating.
Several minutes later, the PCs are besieged by armored crossbowmen. Worse, the enemy soldiers have special tools that enable them to yank up sections of the walls and floor to act as barriers. Using the tools, they create instant pits and doors as needed.
The PCs are outmaneuvered into a crossfire and the party hit point meter drops to redline. The wizard goes down. Rather than taking much needed cover, the halfling fighter/thief responds by digging out the party’s last healing potion to make a desperate play to save the wizard’s life.
But no sooner does he have the potion out, than the DM rolls a 20 and fires a bolt right through the flask.
Crash!
The liquid of life spills all over the halfling’s clothes and drains through the grate on the floor.
The player gives me a look of loathing that I’ve come to be familiar with. And here I thought I was being kind by not putting the crossbow bolt through his PC’s throat.
(Always buy extra empty steel flasks kids! Those glass-bottled potions you find in the dungeon are no good. No good!)
Anyways, more misery ensues. Until the party manages to steal one of the devices that lets them control the layout of the dungeon floor and walls it’s only going to continue to deteriorate. But suddenly the halfling’s turn comes back up.
The player takes off his shirt.
“Some of that potion had to have spilt all over me right? I wring out my shirt! There’s gotta be a hit point in there somewhere!”
The player is giving me a vivid demo as he wrings his shirt over the table and overtop the wizard’s player. (In his defense, he had another shirt underneath – we’re a hygienic table.)
Obviously, for such pathetically desperate creativity, I had to let him roll a 1d4 for healing. With the wizard back in the field, she lands a game-changing spell and the next thing I know the players have their hands on a couple of those floor-moving bars.
Suddenly it’s a whole new game.
To this day, I can’t wring out a rag without remembering that moment. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Amy Carrier |
| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:11 am Post subject: Not one TPK, near or otherwise |
|
|
Patron
Joined: 31 May 2008
Posts: 588
|
Gee, I've been gaming for over thirty years, but I can't recall even once being in danger of killing off everyone. My players are just too good at quoting Monty Python: "Run away! Run away!"
Not that there haven't been some memorable deaths and accidental self-mutilations:
One character lept to attack a group of Ogre Mages with a vorpal sword and rolled a critical miss (fumble). He had complete surprise; the unsuspecting Ogres were sitting at their table having dinner. They were completely shocked when a strange dwarf burst out of their pantry, screamed at them, then instantly decapitated himself.
Another character smeared herself with delayed-action napalm, thinking it was healing ointment.
Yet another player accidentally sacrificed himself to Hastur (evil elder god) after the battle in the temple was over.
The list just goes on and on... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| tiger_tim_gamer |
| Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:56 am Post subject: |
|
|
Patron
Joined: 02 Jul 2008
Posts: 23
|
Ask A shoanti, your 2nd story is good, but I still like your first one better. At any rate, both show that you have some great people to game with.
I can't prove it to you, but my thought is that for the most part to have great battles requires great players. The really good groups I have gamed with would have (like yours) looked for some way to get out with their skins. Other player groups would have started to discuss their 'next' PC as soon as the bottle of healing potion broke. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
