RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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We'd a moment last night I had to share. It was one of those moments where impending doom became impending victory. And funny too :)
It was the Ghost Lord's Lion Fortress in the Red Hand of Doom. The party had lost a rogue already. He was in the bag of holding. The remaining four crept down the staircase from the mouth entrance after a hard fight with some hobgoblin monks with freaky constriction weapons. A duskblade (me), a ranger/ sorcerer, a paladin and a bow fighter.
The room at the bottom of the staircase was full of mist - obviously from a spell. Sticking close together we found a door and opened it. Four more monks were waiting, with spellcasters behind them! We closed the door and hammered a piton under it, then got ready while trying to choose whether to stand and fight or get caught on the stairs. The door exploded open a few seconds later and monks tumbled into the room. Suddenly we were fighting for our lives!
The bow fighter grabbed her sword - she can't see anyone to shoot. I was almost out of spells and started fighting too. The sorcerer chick got in the middle of the monks, taunting them and going full defense with Shield up, while the paladin unloaded a smite at the closest one.
They must have heard us from a ways off, half of them were hasted and they were all buffed up and ninja.
Cut to a few rounds later. The two remaining monks are being healed by invisible clerics, while spiritual weapons are eating away at our health. Flurrys and constriction flails from strength-boosted monks have reduced both the paladin and fighter to near unconsciousness, not one enemy combatant is down. Retreat is looking impossible, and TPK is looming. Then the boss arrives. A hobgoblin 'babe' no-idea-what class, with a lightning whip and an AC over 30! She takes down the sorcerer rogue in her first round of attacking.
The paladin senses a cleric moving through the mist and one-shots him with a max-damage crit! I take out a monk in one-shot with another critical. The second invisible cleric nails the paladin and there are only two of us left. We back into the mist and the hobgoblin witch-sorceress-whatever gets rid of it.
Facing the enemy across the room, the fighter grabs his bow and I ready my sword. Surrender might be an excellent idea with two bleeding comrades. Sensing the TPK potential, the DM gives us that chance. The cleric steps up to the fighter and readies his mace. "Surrender now, or you all die here!"
"Never!" she says, and goes to unload a rapid volley in his face. His readied attack ... misses. His attack of opportunity ... misses. The first shot hits, as does the second, and the third! The cleric's last thought is how stupid he was to give us a chance. The hobgoblin bosswoman ... misses ... repeatedly! I take out the last monk with two vicious blows and the fighter tries another volley at the bossgirl. First shot misses. The second shot is another critical! For 43 points! Her expression is one of shock as her victory slips through her fingers and she runs for it.
I so thought we were done for, and we spent the whole ride home going "Surrender or URGH!!!"
Now it's your turn!
(I didn't find a thread like this but probably overlooked it. If someone points it out I'll repost there and let this thread disappear.)
We had a very poignant moment in a game I ran a few years ago. There was a large cast of NPC’s involved in the game, but one in particular really wormed his way into the party’s hearts. Mok Trollsplitter (Dwarf Fighter/Thief) had a personality I patterned off of Betelgeuse (the Michael Keaton movie). He was abrasive and wholly untrustworthy for the most part, but showed occasional flashes of integrity at the oddest moments. Near the end of the campaign, the party was beset be a cursed sword that had all kinds of nasty properties. They were trying to destroy it (shades of Frodo’s journey). It was revealed that one PC was the only child of one of Mok’s former adventure companions and Mok had been elected as the kid’s godfather. In order to save the kid from the sword’s influence, Mok volunteered to take the whole of the curse from the blade onto himself. The NPC’s death was slow, painful and very heartrending. When he finally kicked the bucket, my daughter cried out “Daddy killed Mok!” and then busted out in tears…along with my wife and another female player at the table. It was all sniffles, boohooing and name-calling at me for about 15-20 minutes before things settled down enough for the game to continue…It was a very touching moment. It has been rare over the years that I’ve managed to get that level of play from my players. I love it when it happens.