Please submit your strangest things from playing D&D here! I'm interested...
*Oh S#$% Spoon: Glows when danger is nearby...
*Ladel of DOOM!!!
*When asked where/when he is...
"...somewhere sourth-weest-ish, and it's fair day..."
two years ago when an NPC dwarf was running into some basic goblins he cleaved several and was so frustrated at how easy it was that he dropped his axe and tackled the last one all the while screaming, "you're not worth my axe!". Great moment well remembered to this day.
Then there was hanging from a rope on a grappling hook attached to a flying chimera who had another party member in it's mouth...but that story must be for another time.
I played a priest of Ralishaz in a 2nd Ed. incarnation of Against the Giants. After gearing up my 10th-level cleric to fight giants my character was pretty disgusted that our first encounter was against a bunch of wandering orcs.
On my turn I proceeded to weave my way through the whole pile of them letting them all take their free swing, taking a hit or two along the way, until I stood before the last one in line whom I procedded to smash with my footman's mace.
The rest of the group was dismayed at my action until I pointed out "they are just orcs". The nice thing is that I cut off their only path to retreat too.
Considering an orc is no longer "just an orc" in 3rd Ed. I don't think I desire to repeat this action.
As an aside this charactr's most used magic item was his boat of folding and anyone who has played Against the Giants knows how often you are near any body of water.
It's probably not a completely original concept, but:
Dagger of Healing
This masterwork alchemical silver dagger will, on a successful attack, cast cure light wounds (1d8+1 hp) on the target in addition to dealing normal weapon damage.
Use activated; market price 2,322gp
|
A matter-antimatter powered stereo system with anti-gravity propulsion (really). This was fine up until it failed a saving throw when hit by a damage spell (of some sort, this was almost 30 years ago) and blew up. The explosion caused a dimensional rift that transported my character to post-holocaust St. Louis.
once when rolling intiative in a magic game, me and my friends all rolled natural '20'
like 4 20's at the exact same time!
The strangest things to me as when we are playing along and we run into something that the rules just can't handle; its like the game falls into a black hole; we all just stop and stare at each other kinda blank like n go hmm? I dont remember one off hand as it has only happened a couple times, but it sure is odd.
The only bizarre item I can recall is an intelligent magical pendant that had no special powers, but had a young female voice and cried out lustily when polished.
back when I was a teen...we're talking back in the mid 80's, I was about the only one of the group to play a female character, a cleric. I remember being allowed by my DM for her to have little oil lamps on her breast-plate, right about were her nipples would be underneath....amazingly this WASN'T considered a stupid/impractical/immature idea...go figure...
I remember getting an intelligent sword that was an outspoken coward - and it was always talking in a whiny voice. I tried to get rid of it once, but it turned out that it could walk also, so it just returned to me. Don´t ask me how a sword could walk, however. It was interred for a time in a vault of magic items of a priesthood who collected magic items. Afterwards, the sword complained about having only snobbish wizards staves to talk to...
Stefan
A strange thing happened once to me as DM: My PCs were attacked by a big red dragon (2nd Ed), tried to paralyze him - and succeeded! I failed the MR roll and rolled a "1" on the save. As the dragon was in mid-flight, he had a rather hard landing...
Stefan
|
|
- A group of PCs (a warlock, a ranger, and a paladin) once tried to shrink a dragon with a scroll of Reduce Monster.
*spoiler warning*
-In the AoW adventure 'Encounte at Blackwall Keep' in the lizardfolk lair, a PC fighting a harpy jumped, grabbed its legs, and dragged it down, rather than using ranged attacks to defeat it.
I once rolled fourteen 1's in a single combat against an orc; the battle between me and this orc took over two hours real time and the rest of the pc sat in a circle around our fight and watched as they had finished off the rest of the horde and I kept yelling this one is mine dammit stay out of my fight this sucker is going down. well, they laughed, jeezed, cheered each side as we two bumbling combatants slipped, fell, threw our weapons away and finnaly ended up going at it tooth and claw to my monks elbow strikes and knee gouges; fifteen years laters I am STILL heckled and reminded about that fight by some of my players and the mythic stories have grown it into great proportions; I have reputedly done all kinds of nasty rituals to that die that failed me in infamy for instance.
One of my friends is notorious for trying to do something ridiculous that would be really cool if he made is role. And then he fails.
For example, in the Shackled City, Walter (the character)wanted to jump on the erinyes devil we were fighting and drag her to the ground. He climbs the statue of the deity, which is something like 50 feet tall, and then attempts to jump on the erinyes. Yeeeeeah. Not to mention the time the same character was almost killed by a swarm of rats becuase he broke the ladder.
|
|
One of my friends is notorious for trying to do something ridiculous that would be really cool if he made is role. And then he fails.
For example, in the Shackled City, Walter (the character)wanted to jump on the erinyes devil we were fighting and drag her to the ground. He climbs the statue of the deity, which is something like 50 feet tall, and then attempts to jump on the erinyes. Yeeeeeah. Not to mention the time the same character was almost killed by a swarm of rats becuase he broke the ladder.
That reminds me...
Our group has had strange luck with flying creatures.
One PC, a rogue, was caught in the talons of a griffon that was fleeing a battle at 9 HP. The rogue then got a critical with her short sword, downing the griffin...
...at one hundred feet in the air.
Also, the leap-onto-the-harpy inspired this:
PCs (Psion, paladin, barbarian, and ranger) vs. Vrock and 4 Dretches:
Step 1: the stakeout: ranger and barbarian use block-and-tackle to hoist paladin into the air from an overhanging statue. (this is in an underground temple complex with a 200' vaulted ceiling, by the way.)
Step 2: wait for Vrock to fly underneath and pray that the demon fails its listen and spot checks (which it did)
Step 3: drop paladin and all 86 pounds of combat gear onto Vrock (note: paladin + gear = somewhere around 270 pounds)
Step 4: while Vrock is flat-footed, paladin charces his matchlock pistol with holy smiting energy and Holy Pistol-whips the demon
Step 5: Vrock falls out of the air onto the ranger's dancing rapier.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
PCs (Psion, paladin, barbarian, and ranger) vs. Vrock and 4 Dretches
...wow.
The coolest thing that happened to me was when I was playing a gestalt ranger/cleric who had gotten snagged by a giant eagle being ridden by a goblin. The eagle, at the rider's command, snatched me off the ground and proceeded to rise to suicidal heights. Knowing that simply freeing myself would probably mean death, I opted to, instead, reverse the eagle's grapple, CLIMB the legs of said bird, position myself behind the goblin rider, and forcefully evict him from the saddle at 500 feet. Then I succeeded on my animal empathy and Handle Animal checks, took the reins, and began raining arrows on the other goblin eagle-riders, shooting them out of their saddles and setting the eagles free.
Wierdest thing ever...
We were playing a board game and I rolled a d6 on the kitchen table. The die made two bounces and landed in perfect balance on one of it's corners!!! Ok, the table had a tablecloth on it with some finely stitched designs but still, we all looked at that die with jaw-dropped blank expressions on our faces when it happened.
It was so incredible that I would not of believed it if I wasn't there to have seen it.
Ultradan
I once saw a munchkin take a feat for the roleplay value!!!
Beat that, bit-ches!
;P
FH
Lol!!
Ultradan
One of my first games, my wizard was eaten by a Roc (I joined a higher level group)
As I waited for my turn, and had myself on auto 'try to freem myself' I went over my spell-list seeing if I had anything useful. The Roc meanwhile flew around, attacking the other players who had a hard time taking on the flyer.
And then my eye fell on one the spells at my disposal which I had overlooked in the beginning as 'not very useful'
One round later the Roc came crashing to the ground; the Earth Elemental I summoned into its stomach put it way over its max load. The stomach also broke my fall and the crippled Roc was easily dispatched, as it crept over the ground, unable to stand.
An intelligent artifact great club named Arthur Fonzarelli.
yeah, I once marvelled when a 4 sided die with flat corners landed straight up on its corners so no value was represented; we all laughed and called it a 5.
It's probably not a completely original concept, but:
Dagger of Healing
This masterwork alchemical silver dagger will, on a successful attack, cast cure light wounds (1d8+1 hp) on the target in addition to dealing normal weapon damage.
Use activated; market price 2,322gp
What a visual!
"HEAL ME!"
STAB!
"MORE!"
STAB STAB!
"MORE!"
STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB!
About ten years ago, I played in an all-warrior AD&D campaign. In the middle of the dungeon, we find a +3 greataxe. The only problem: none of us had WP: Axes. So we continue on and come across three chests. We'd encountered a similar setup before and, by sheer luck, avoided their traps, so we're worried about these new ones. It then occurs to me, "Hey, that axe was 5 or 6 feet long. We'll use it to smash the locks. So what if we're not proficient." Well, it worked and on we went. A little later we came to a door with no key. We all tried to simply break it down, but we all failed. I said, "I pull out the +3 lockpick and try again." Nailed it on the first try and thus was born the Fighter's +3 Lockpick.
|
|
Well, let's see. Back in my first ever real campaign, the two characters involved won an epic level disruption mace at 9th level by completing a quest that Asmodeus and whoever the real highup nice god person in Greyhawk is (if they have one) cooked up as a bet during a drinking game. (If you can't tell already, our Greyhawk is rather farcical at times). Feeling that we didn't deserve the prize, we attempted to barter it to a local church, only to have them all explode when we showed it to them. Apparently, they were all vampire spawn bent on subjugating the town. We thus proceeded to gain 5 levels at one time, accidentally. Not too bad if I say so myself.
It's probably not a completely original concept, but:
Dagger of Healing
This masterwork alchemical silver dagger will, on a successful attack, cast cure light wounds (1d8+1 hp) on the target in addition to dealing normal weapon damage.
Use activated; market price 2,322gp
Must be awesome against undead...
2 weeks ago we started a Greyhawk campaign. During the first session, as the group settles in at the Inn of the Welcoming Wench, one of my players starts pumping me for info about the room:
How big is it?
Bed?
Furnished?
Does it have a desk? A nightstand?
Are there any drawers anywhere?
I was totally confused as to why he wanted all this detail. Afterward he explained, "I was looking for the book."
The book?
OH.
For you see, in previous campaigns across the multiverse, one tome has followed adventurers who play under me mercilessly. It may be an illuminated text, or roughly scrawled text on cheap paper, or pictograms, but one thing remains the same.
OK, two things.
Two gentlemen.
And some silk knickers.
I have no idea how or why I came up with this, save for the fact that I might have been addled on cold meds many years ago, but the tome took on a life of its own. And even now, in a metagame sense, players and their characters look for the book everywhere in my games.
About ten years ago, I played in an all-warrior AD&D campaign. In the middle of the dungeon, we find a +3 greataxe. The only problem: none of us had WP: Axes. So we continue on and come across three chests. We'd encountered a similar setup before and, by sheer luck, avoided their traps, so we're worried about these new ones. It then occurs to me, "Hey, that axe was 5 or 6 feet long. We'll use it to smash the locks. So what if we're not proficient." Well, it worked and on we went. A little later we came to a door with no key. We all tried to simply break it down, but we all failed. I said, "I pull out the +3 lockpick and try again." Nailed it on the first try and thus was born the Fighter's +3 Lockpick.
i like that i think ill use it
|
Not my oddest thing ever, but I thought it was worth sharing.
My gaming group generally gives me respect for being an 'innovative problem-solver'. Once, when my halfling rogue was on a huge steep hillside covered with loose rocks, the group was suddenly attacked by large vampiric silver dragons. (Our DM was being moody). Well, my poor rogue had little chance against the beasts, considering damage reduction and undead traits, so a retreat seemed in order. Alas, the group was surrounded, so my halfling did the only thing he could think of. He pulled the rowboat patch out of his Cloak of Useful Items and slid hundreds of feet down the bumpy hillside to safety.
Wow my party all got along; no arguements; really got together as a group and pushed forward in the adventure and we all had a really great time; fantastic ---- and completely untrue; but I keep hoping and it sure would be odd :)
Nice; effective and fun; the perfect halfling; well done.
Not my oddest thing ever, but I thought it was worth sharing.
My gaming group generally gives me respect for being an 'innovative problem-solver'. Once, when my halfling rogue was on a huge steep hillside covered with loose rocks, the group was suddenly attacked by large vampiric silver dragons. (Our DM was being moody). Well, my poor rogue had little chance against the beasts, considering damage reduction and undead traits, so a retreat seemed in order. Alas, the group was surrounded, so my halfling did the only thing he could think of. He pulled the rowboat patch out of his Cloak of Useful Items and slid hundreds of feet down the bumpy hillside to safety.
i had a half orc once who was best friends with a half elf, ad the two of them constantly compete over who could score with the most b&%%~es, well one night the half or got drunk an ended up sleeping with a man and getting herpes...
|
Once i played a ranger who had a huge sized Roc as an animal companion. in the middle of a huge battle there is a stage coach trying to get out of the battle... so. i cast animal growth on the roc making him gargantuan. i then proceded to pick up the stage coach and begin to fly away with it intending on dropping it and hurting people. next an epic level Bard blasts the side of the coach out and flys out of the destroyed stage coach and away from me on a magic carpet while playing his electric, I mean magic guitar and a magic amplifier to double his range for bardic music. while he is flying away I procede to run backwards off of the tail of my Roc and shooting the amp with my bow while in mid-jump/dive towards the magic carpet and finally tackling the bard off of the carpet and falling with him about 80ft. he never died. his soul was eternally trapped in a crystal, which my character personnaly guarded.
also, one of our party members killed 350 orcs in two rounds and nearly killed us and himself in the process.
|
|
One of my best friends from high school, who is now one of the most amazing DMs I have ever known, was running his first adventure. He was quite proud of the castle he had created, but it had a lot of long halls with 45 degree angles and the like. After we got a large part of it mapped, we figured out that it pretty much had the layout of a shopping mall. He still hasn't lived that one down to this day.
|
|
A friend of mine ran a game where he introduced some homemade critical success and failure rolls. The introduction was more surprising than he expected, however.
While walking beside a lake towards a castle, the party was surprised by a great demon springing out of the water at them! The DM rolled his attack... a 1. Followed by another 1, which on the table meant he had a chance to hurt himself. The DM rolled again, to see if the demon hit his own armor class, and came up with a natural 20. Followed by two more natural 20's! From the character's perspective, it was quite confusing as to why a demon would leap out of the water, cut off its own head and fall back into the lake.
I once ran a blue pudding (a 2nd Ed. Monster) against my group and they were terrified of it because they thought it was only small and yet it was still eating through all the metal doors to get to them. As soon as they discovered it was actually much larger in size their fear evaporated and they killed it in 2 combat rounds.
Way back in 2nd ed. we tried a critical hit chart from Dragon magazine. So, our party treks out for adventure and treasure. And we then run across a dragon. We break out our moves and split up to attack.
Our Wizard (magic user) pulls out a dagger of sharpness and decides he's going to throw it. Her rolls a 20. He rolls again and gets another 20 which a definate critical hit witht he new chart. Now it's percentile dice time. Double zeros. Automatic death.
So the large dragon was killed by a magic user throwing a dagger.
We stoppped using that chart after that. And that DM.
|
|
Way back in 2nd ed. we tried a critical hit chart from Dragon magazine. So, our party treks out for adventure and treasure. And we then run across a dragon. We break out our moves and split up to attack.
Our Wizard (magic user) pulls out a dagger of sharpness and decides he's going to throw it. Her rolls a 20. He rolls again and gets another 20 which a definate critical hit witht he new chart. Now it's percentile dice time. Double zeros. Automatic death.
So the large dragon was killed by a magic user throwing a dagger.
We stoppped using that chart after that. And that DM.
I know a guy who was playing in an Epic FR campaign, plaing as a 20th-level fighter with a Vorpal katana. The group finally was up against the final 'boss monster': the Great Red Wyrm of the North.
The fighter crits the dragon and severs its head in the first round.
The DM decides to ignore this, and runs the encounter again.
THe fighter crits the dragon again.
Also, in our main DM's (Dirk Gently's) campaign, there are the recurring inside jokes of:
a.) the Storm Giant ninja (CREEP! -STOMP- CREEP! -STOMP- CREEP! -STOMP-), and
b.) the advanced Colossal pixie (FROLIC! -BOOM- FROLIC! -BOOM- FROLIC! -BOOM-).
- A group of PCs (a warlock, a ranger, and a paladin) once tried to shrink a dragon with a scroll of Reduce Monster.
*spoiler warning*
-In the AoW adventure 'Encounte at Blackwall Keep' in the lizardfolk lair, a PC fighting a harpy jumped, grabbed its legs, and dragged it down, rather than using ranged attacks to defeat it.
That also happened with a barbarian/wisard with just a dagger and a ranger, but the ranger left because the game was boring to him beacuse we were fighting a dragon.
in a campaign a few years ago, i was playing a wizard/druid/mystic theurge. my character was pretty weak, and when we found a blue dragon, i didn't have much that could affect it. so i took a chance and cast summon monster ii, summoning a celestial giant bee :-)
in just a few rounds, the bee rolled 2 natural 20's, hitting the dragon twice! he didn't do any damage (because of damage reduction), but he hit the dragon!
from then on, people would say "where's the bee?" or "time to summon the bee!" :-)
messy
Way back in the days of AD&D, when the three core books were out but no others yet, our party found a bag of devouring. We immediately proceeded to tie it to our 10-foot pole, resulting in the dreaded Butterfly Net of Devouring. We romped through the dungeon, happily thwocking the bag over the head of every monster we encountered. Eventually the frustrated GM declared that we were stuffing the bag so full it was getting indigestion, and it started barfing up random monsters at inconvenient times. Ah, those were the days.. :)
In 2nd ed. The PCs are a quickling and an atomie. They get stranded on the plane of elemental air through a series of unfortunate events. When the food runs out, one has a ring of regeneration and he proceeds to chop bits out of his leg to feed them. After the third day of this, they figure out they can move around at will and are not stranded at one particular place,and the player gets so upset that he throws a d20 in rage. It bounces and hits him on the throat. We are all laughing at him by now, the heartless teens that we are. This is a bittersweet memory because the player is a missing person now. He disappeared in 1992.
At 15th level, we found an elder brain-led mindflayer colony under an active volcano. We knew we couldn't take it on, so after about 30 min of discussing, the druid thought to cast transmute rock to mud on the side of the lava-filled crater, making a channel to the steps that led down to the elder brain. For an int of 28, there pretty stupid.
Also, when the same character from the lava story (Black Mage, a fighter), was at lvl 7 or so, he ran into a dire wolf. He got tripped, stood up, the attack of oppturnity tripped him again, so he pulled out his falchion and got a double critical. Killed wolfie in one hit.
In one of the campagains I DM, theres a drunken master with an exteadimensional sack of random items. I roll d% to see how useful the item is he pulls out. The party was fighting wearbears, and he pulled out a halfling skull. With a silver grill. (I rolled a 98)
|
|
I'm posting these before Dirk Gently can get to them:
- In our latest game, I rolled 4d6 (for a greatsword critical), and had two of the six-siders stack on top of each other.
- Also in our latest game, a player would roll poorly unless she rolled her 20-sider against an aluminum can. However, if the die hit the can, the die never failed to roll above a 14.