What's the most mangled you've been at the end of an adventure

[Cainus]

I just recently finished the 5-6 lvl Rebel's Ransome and

Spoiler:

After taking rought 180 points of damage through the entire adventure, I ended with:
- only my rage HP's keeping me standing,
- Evil Eye'd by a hag (staggered for 3 days)
- and suffering from mummy rot.

It took days of suffering the mummy rot before the combination of remove curse and remove disease could cure the rot, and then I could be healed.

This got me wondering how badly mangled other people have been though/at the end of a Society adventure.

Without actually dying, of course. Unless it was a really mangled death, I've seen a guy killed and then animated as a zombie in a society fight. That was pretty mean.

[Timothy McNeil]

Cainus wrote:

I just recently finished the 5-6 lvl Rebel's Ransome and

** spoiler omitted **

This got me wondering how badly mangled other people have been though/at the end of a Society adventure.

Without actually dying, of course. Unless it was a really mangled death, I've seen a guy killed and then animated as a zombie in a society fight. That was pretty mean.

Heresy of Man -- Part II: Where Dark Things Sleep

Two PCs were killed, my PC was reduced from full HP to -7 in one round, and was dragged away from the baddie to keep from being torn to pieces (which did happen to the dead PCs). It took the Dragon Disciple/Paladin to kill the baddie and keep hope alive (only two PCs were standing when the mod was over, and I think they had less than 20 HP between them).

Very tough experience. And somehow worse than being repeatedly fireballed while stunned.

[Feral]

I saw a ranger piledrived 30 feet and then torn apart by giant amorous demon apes.

Fortunately, the tearing apart came before being violated.

Nope, not making this up. If you've played the scenario, you'll know what I'm talking about.

[Cainus]

Feral wrote:

I saw a ranger piledrived 30 feet and then torn apart by giant amorous demon apes.

Fortunately, the tearing apart came before being violated.

Nope, not making this up. If you've played the scenario, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Wow. You know it's mean when after it's over you can honestly say, "at least he died."

[Hu5tru]

I have seen our party fighter get flanked by two trolls and take 95% of his hitpoints in damage in a single round with two Rakes and still stand because I was playing the cleric and I had selective channeling.

My Cleric has been been brought down to single digit hit points, and had her skull staved in and lost an eye when a troll took a lucky critical (I hate the critical decks). Next round when she was hit AGAIN, she died, then was breath of life'd from a scroll, skull still staved in and missing an eye. Luckily the helpful half fiend satyr thought she was instrumental to his magnum opus, found her eye for her and her paladin cohort popped that sucker back in before curing her with a lay on hands.

[Tigersage]

I've not had too many memorable close calls in society games that I can recall, but I've also started running more games since we're trying to build up our PFS player base at my LGS.

On that note, one of the more memorable games I've ran was a session of Decline of Glory. At the end, the fighter moved back to the top of some stairs and started chucking every thrown weapon he had after getting knocked to zero hit points. The barbarian was not only at negative hit points but also paralyzed. The sorceror had to step in and save the barbarian (in melee no less) and got rewarded by getting knocked to 2 hit points. The zen archer monk was the only one not to take damage in that combat. Granted the monk had to burn the party's few healing potions because he bled out to -9 in the very first combat of the adventure... That was the first time I ever saw a barbarian stop bleeding by choking it (he got a nat 20 on the heal check. Not sure why the barbarian had heal, but the monk wasn't complaining).

[Jiggy]

Hu5tru wrote:

I hate the critical decks

Was this a PFS scenario? Because those are not legal for PFS play (and you found out why).

[cblome59]

I haven't had a memorable near-death experience as my character has remained the stalwart defending battle oracle. I have seen people in the group fall, but never truly been in real danger myself. Kind of sad as there truly are memorable experiences.

[Jiggy]

I remember when my now level 6 fighter was just starting out, he was at level 1 or 2 and got trampled nearly to death (from full HP) by an aurochs stampede.

I might have escaped if not for Burlap the Halfling jumping onto my back.

And as I recall, that was the final adventure of Burlap's mount, Crispy the Hairless Dog.

Hope Crispy's enjoying his retirement in whatever little old lady's house he's in now.

[Jason S]

Near TPK, 4 PCs and two of them are down. The halfling rogue gets bullrushed off the deck of the ship, full geared, and starts sinking (no swim skill and it's a storm).

The only thing that saved him was the last PC standing (Sorceror) used Charm Person on an aquatic elf, rolled well in Diplomacy, and got him to rescue his drowning friend. At the end the Sorceror had an AC of 10 and was down to 2 HP. I'd call that close.

[harte035]

I once had three heavy picks enter my 1st level monk's head in one round, one of which was a crit. I took 26 damage, which more or less instantly destroyed me. I didn't live, but I thought that was pretty properly mangled.

[Jiggy]

harte035 wrote:

I once had three heavy picks enter my 1st level monk's head in one round, one of which was a crit. I took 26 damage, which more or less instantly destroyed me. I didn't live, but I thought that was pretty properly mangled.

Wait, was that at Source Comics and Games in Falcon Heights, MN? If so, I remember that - I was at the other table that day.

[Sarta]

At level 5, I was critted by an advanced ghost for 20d6. It was one of several times I was brought down to within 1 hp of dying.

[Alexander_Damocles]

Electrified rump slap from an invisible magus nearly took me out. Most beat up our party has gotten in a *long* time, however, involved an air elemental, a cathedral, and a GM who regularly ran a character who wildshaped into an air elemental. Pick em up, drop em down, pick em up, drop em down. Crushed two party members, punched another into a red smear (when a GM rolls 3 nat 20s in one attack chain, bad things happen), and thumped on the rest of us. It ended with dragging my character (now dirt napping) into a stairwell, where I healed up, started healing others, and then spent 6 rounds burning spells to go kill it. Mangled? Ahh, yeah.

[Cainus]

Alexander_Damocles wrote:

Electrified rump slap from an invisible magus nearly took me out. Most beat up our party has gotten in a *long* time, however, involved an air elemental, a cathedral, and a GM who regularly ran a character who wildshaped into an air elemental. Pick em up, drop em down, pick em up, drop em down. Crushed two party members, punched another into a red smear (when a GM rolls 3 nat 20s in one attack chain, bad things happen), and thumped on the rest of us. It ended with dragging my character (now dirt napping) into a stairwell, where I healed up, started healing others, and then spent 6 rounds burning spells to go kill it. Mangled? Ahh, yeah.

I've run that adventure with the air elemental, that was a lot of fun (and I did pretty much what your GM did to you).

Ahhh, good times.

[Katharan al-Zawree]

Cainus wrote:

Without actually dying, of course. Unless it was a really mangled death, I've seen a guy killed and then animated as a zombie in a society fight. That was pretty mean.

He agreed to be turned to a Zombie. You can't blame me for it.

JP

[harte035]

Jiggy wrote:

harte035 wrote:

I once had three heavy picks enter my 1st level monk's head in one round, one of which was a crit. I took 26 damage, which more or less instantly destroyed me. I didn't live, but I thought that was pretty properly mangled.

Wait, was that at Source Comics and Games in Falcon Heights, MN? If so, I remember that - I was at the other table that day.

Yeah, that was pretty bad. Then my next character gets wanted for arson, and banned from an entire country. I was basically just happy to get out of that one alive.

[Jiggy]

harte035 wrote:

Then my next character gets wanted for arson, and banned from an entire country.

...What?

[harte035]

Our ninja burned down a spice factory, in spite of the protests of the entire party (in his defense that was his faction mission). Everybody rolls some disguise checks to be less suspicious and I roll a clutch 3. Then we go into what was called "the secure markets" where the ninja decides to steal the priceless idol that I am examining. Plainclothes guards who were following me around rush in and arrest all of us (except the ninja, who dashed). I get accused of arson and murder, sentence for which is death, but in the end we get to testify in a zone of truth, which clears my name provided we agree not to come back. So technically I am "banned from Qadira" which is a more or less unenforceable sentence. I figured it wasn't too unfair, since I was just happy not to have been killed. We'll just say it was an interesting session.

[Arnim Thayer]

In the GenCon Special, Year of the Shadow Lodge...

spoiler:

my Barbarian/Ranger/Rogue charged into a room he thought was infested with wraiths (failed a Knowledge: Religion check)... but at the level of play my table was in, they were spectres. Took 10 points of Strength damage and put him out of combat for the last encounter. Total GP reward for the scenario (after Restoration) was -563 GP.

Please remember to use spoilers when describing your losses... some of these could be potentially recognized by reading the scenario blurbs.

[Lady Gabrielle d'Apcher]

I happen to recall a rather memorable encounter with a certain countryman gone astray. I emerged from the duel relatively unscathed, of course, but several of my companions did lose consciousness.

It was the struggle that I so vividly recall, as this particular foe proved to be an excellent challenge to my fencing ability. In the end, I am naturally happy to say, that my fighting talents and tactical knowledge proved superior to his arcane-fueled ones.

-Lady Gabrielle d'Apcher, Taldan Aristocrat

P.S. It is my understanding that at the PaizoCon Grand Melee, Team Taldor experienced quite a suspenseful experience. I believe there were dragons involved! They must have been talented indeed to overcome such impossible odds!

[Dessio]

harte035 wrote:

Our ninja burned down a spice factory, in spite of the protests of the entire party (in his defense that was his faction mission)...

I know exactly what you're talking about. I had a faction-mate pick some innocent merchant at random and clumsily attempt to burn down his tent & wares. I was able to convince the city guards that my fellow adventurer was 'touched' and managed to get us all extricated from legal trouble at cost of that character's wounded pride.

When I saw the production facility (in the course of following a target crucial to the success of the overall pathfinder mission) I had the same thought as the ninja.. one vial of alchemist's fire and I'd have a mission complete. My downfall was bothering to try to clear the facility beforehand.. the party wanted no part of it, and my so called faction teammate was eager to see me fail. I was able to intimidate the lowly laborers out, but the guards were another story. I retreated outside to make a stand, still wrongly assuming that if the party won't back me up, at least my faction-mate would.

They were happy to watch all the guards surround and gang up on me.. but I was able to toss the alchemist's fire once the guards came outside, and was able to escape with my hide intact after the ensuing explosions. I was able to truthfully say about the breach of peace that I was giving full diligence to convince everyone to evacuate the facility.. because I knew there was going to be a fire! :D

With regards to the original question.. I've been lucky thus far in finishing adventures hale & healthy. Quite unlike my very first encounter in my first chronicle.. A certain air elemental was bobbing in and out of view of a catwalk in a certain cathedral, annoying the heck out of our melee heavy party.

A rogue threw a rope over the edge, down to the marble floor 40' below. Party members begain going over the edge, and when it came to my turn I voiced my preference of finding the stairs. The party threw the 'don't split the party' rule, and the GM attempted to assuage my fears by promising that with rope, the climb DC is going to be low. In the end I unwisely caved in and took my chances.. between a hefty armor check penalty & a bad roll, I did indeed plummet down to a violent and sudden stop on the marble floor. My very first time taking damage put me in negative HP, 1 measly HP away from instant death. Luckily, it's been uphill since then :D

[loimprevisto]

I was playing a druid in a low-level, low magic game where the GM delighted in throwing inappropriately high CRs at us. In the second adventure of the campaign, the three 3rd level characters were fighting a critter that was at least CR 6. I got carelessly close when trying to distract its attention from an injured party member, and ended up having an arm ripped off.

This is the only d20 character I have ever had maimed. For the rest of the campaign, he was one-armed. After a while he did learn to fire a bow while laying down by using his feet to brace it, and if we'd kept the campaign going for longer there were hints that it might regenerate during the next great ritual to welcome the coming of spring.

I've had Shadowrun characters torn up in pretty much every way imaginable, but that system lends itself to injuries much better than the d20 HP system.

[Corben Senjak]

It's always the damned lightning bolts.

The only times I've ever been dropped to negative hit points has been with a lightning bolt.

The only time I've ever needed to spend the resources of Taldor on a "Raise Dead" spell has been from a lighting bolt - where I was dropped from 1 HP to dead by failing a saving throw. Twice. Had I made the throw, I'd've been 1 HP away from instant death, but had two people with heal spells coming up before my action in the initiative order standing next to me.

But no, I blew that saving throw. Twice.

Wanted: One Ring of Greater Energy Resistance: electricity. Please contact the Taldan Diplomatic Corps care of C. Senjak.

[Karrek]

Let's see...

There was the troll who hit me (claw/claw/rend) for 40 points of damage, enough to drop me to -CON. I had to buy new scale mail after that one. Little bits of armor were scattered all over the room!

[Fake Healer]

Feral wrote:

I saw a ranger piledrived 30 feet and then torn apart by giant amorous demon apes.

Fortunately, the tearing apart came before being violated.

Nope, not making this up. If you've played the scenario, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Oooo what scenario is this? I have a Player that loves losing PCs to amorous simians!!!

[Eragar]

There was the time I went negative three times in a fight with a troll...

The other time I really got beat up was when I got sneak attacked six times in a row. We ended that scenario with only our fighter conscious, and only at 3 HP (+2 plate FTW!).

[lastblacknight]

Dead two time PC's in the last three weeks - the first was a Diviner/Rogue, no spells left an injured child to be saved and she had one of her companions one-shotted trying to give her the flank.. She was found later, she barely responds to stimuli and has had tongue removed and body broken before almost being sacrificed by and agent of Droksar, months of rehabilitation are needed.

The second was my Summoner in Kingmaker

Kingmaker:

Not sure what this guy was, but something like an Awakened Dire Owlbear that was raging - it came at night so no Eidilon protector, my guy was torn limb from limb.

ouch, but he's better now...

[JDavis1761]

-23 HP after being repeatedly dropped by an air elemental

Good thing my character was a Psychonaut with lingering spirit and a healthy constitution. Otherwise he would have been dead.

[jjaamm]

Just had a fighter at -6, life oracle -7, wizard npc -1, and the ranger knocked to -4. Thought it was a TPK untill ranger remembered he had diehard. So he is bleeding out and needing a 15 to hit. BBEG needed a 15 to hit. Ranger rolls a 20. BBEG goes down. clw potion to wizard who, in turns clw potion ranger. NPC wizard than drags out 3 players. Close.

[AZhobbit]

Feral wrote:

I saw a ranger piledrived 30 feet and then torn apart by giant amorous demon apes.

Fortunately, the tearing apart came before being violated.

Nope, not making this up. If you've played the scenario, you'll know what I'm talking about.

This may have been one of the most creative deaths ever..freaking hilarious.

Mine came in the retired Hands of the Muted God, were doing great until the final fight. In the canyon we lost our primary monk who died saving our cleric(we buried him before continuing. We then we proceded to open the gates..probably a mistake. We realized we were all going to die when the Drider cast web in front of it, to keep the melee fighter from it, then the Vrocks cast mirror image(which really sucked). When our cleric fell I knew we were lost and the Vrocks were much faster than I, making fleeing not an option. I told the low levle Monk to run and I wold hold them off, just come back and get our bodies if they are still there. Luckily our GM decided they had no use for our corpses and was kind enough to say a group of Pathfinders were able to come and recover the three of us. Offly considerate since we were all 8th level. We had to pay since PA didn't cover this yet.

[nosig]

My dwarf cleric steps into a room, triggering attacks from 4 spell casters in the room - 4 flaming spheres. I ask the silly question "Ah, can they all fit? I mean I'm less than 4' tall! Oh, and I have SR so roll the Spell Resistance." The DM decided to switch fo the Spells to Stone calls instead - that plastered back into the party (Tier 3-4). The Barbarian and I rush the casters (Travel domain) to draw fire away from the rest of the party (1 down and 2 on thier last HPs). The Bard starts Wanding everyone back there and the Barbie & my cleric rush from caster to caster. Barbie puts them down and I keep him up with Shield Other and I used every spell I had, and all of my channels (carefully placed to get just myself and the Barb.) and almost resorted to my potions (the only way to heal my cleric - wands need to get thru his SR). End of the fight everyone is still up, but the Barbarian commented that he took MORE than 2 times his raging HP total, and I know my Cleric was down to 3 HP in the end (I cut off the Shield Other at that point).
I think we used something like 20 charges on CLW wands, with the procedure: Bard wands self, hands wand to witch, who wands self and hands it to Sorcerer who trys UMD and hands it back to bard. All that outside of the sight of the BBGs... while the Barb and my cleric were getting pounded (and the Barb was dishing it out)

[1970Zombie]

As a player, I have always finished in fairly good shape.

As a GM, the worse shape I have seen a PFS group in at the end of an adventure was 1 positive HP for a group. It was a group of 4 playing sub-tier 1-2 on The Infernal Vault. It came down to a Slumber Hex, a failed Will save, a Coup De Gras and a failed Fort Save to kill the BBEG. Otherwise it would have been a TPK.

[TwilightKnight]

Ive had two mangled encounters, but to protect the innocent, I will spoiler them...

Heresy of Man part III:

I think everyone is familiar with the now infamous Half-Fiend Div as the BBEG. Well, we had the worst-case scenario. A party playing in the 8-9 tier with a level 5 fighter in our group. That means the save or die effect of the Blasphemy was in play. Sure enough, she failed her save. Now me being the paladin (and having Paladin's Sacrifice) did the honorable thing and took the "death" for her. No big deal. As a pally, I expect to take one for the team now and then.

The mangled part of the story is that she died two rounds later anyway and, this is the bad part, decided not to raise her character and let it die. WHAT?!? the pally needlessly threw away his life for a character that meant nothing?!? And on top of it, my pally was unrecoverable so I had to spring for a Resurrection not just a Raise Dead. **Sigh**

The Sarkorian Prophesy:

Again, with my paladin. Seems he just attracts the mangled condition.

Anyway, we were investigating a building while in the World Wound. A nasty place that attracts a lot of demons. Sure enough we were ambushed by a Glabrezu. Everyone ran in fear. But not the paladin. No, I decided that it was a vile eager creature and needed to be destroyed. Well, that is what pally's do after all.

So, I charged the fell beast after activating my Smite Evil power, with Channeled Smite, Bonded Weapon, and Grace to neutralize any AoO from reach just in case. And to my amazement, a CRITICAL HIT. Awesome!! Could not have planned it better.

lots of dice rolls later 150+ points of damage. Woo-Who!!

Unfortunately, with more than 180 hit points, it was his turn. Claw/Claw/Pincher/Pincher/Rend/Bite with a crit on the pinchers and I was a greasy spot.

Meanwhile, the rest of my companions were observing this massacre from the safety of the nearby building. The last words my pally head before taking a dirt nap was from the cleric..."What?!? Are you crazy? I'm not going to run out there and heal the paladin. Did you see what that demon did to him?"
**Sigh**

[Mike Schneider]

My characters typically are not mangled; usually they are slowly dissolved by digestive acids.

[Elyza]

Heresy of Man III: I was there. I just cringed when she did that to you. It was the most nonchalant knife in the back I had ever seen between players. She just didn't get it or care.

[Eragar]

nosig wrote:

potions (the only way to heal my cleric - wands need to get thru his SR).

You can turn off Spell Resistance.

[nosig]

Eragar wrote:

nosig wrote:

potions (the only way to heal my cleric - wands need to get thru his SR).

You can turn off Spell Resistance.

takes an action, so I can't do it if I'm neg HP and bleeding out. Which is why I carry a potion of Cure Mod Wounds and smelling salts and tell the other players where to find them on my body. And I was very busy keeping to Barbarian alive - to busy to drop my SR even if someone could have healed me (the rest of the party was still getting thru the stone field...)

[Mash]

Me Mash! Me big barbarian! Me NEVER knocked out or dying in battle!!!

But me did get very sick in last adventure. Stupid stirges drained blood, and big bad guy curse Mash. Me end up missing 5 constitution points, 1 charisma point, and having bubonic plague.

When Mash look for healer, guards not let me in city!!! If Mash not sick, me woulda killed them!!! Mash not know what quarantine is, but Mash not like it. Only big word Mash like is decapitate. That good word. Decapitate. Mash like saying that. Mash like doing that. Decapitate. That only big word Mash like.

Mash glad friends find priestess. She nice. She leave city and heal Mash. Mash better now. Mash thank priestess. Priestess say Mash should thank Desna, but Mash not know who that is. Mash give priestess money for Desna.

Mash take vacation now. Venture Captain say Taldor nice this time of year. Also say something about mission, but Mash not listen. Just want free trip. Friends come too. Mash help beat stuff up, if friends ask.

[xJx]

Couple days ago my half-orc fighter1/rogue1 ended a scenario at 1 con. I had to roll a 16 on the last fort save to finally get rid of the disease. I think one of the other party members was cured at 2 or 3 con as well.

[Theconiel]

The swarm killed poor Theconiel and skeletonized her body. Num num num. The swarm liked the tasty elf.

But I have no stories to compete with the amorous apes. And I lack the eloquence and poetry of Mash.

[caubocalypse]

I don't get mangled as much as do the mangling, and that's mainly because I GM a lot more than I play. With that said, I do have some nice horror stories under my belt.

Spoiler:

In Tide of Twilight (@ 4-5), my druids win initiative. Two of them stone call, the other two start buffing up and use their growth domain abilities. I knock out a PC, and now that entire area is difficult terrain. The party is stuck in the side hallway. They don't have the movement to get out of that area easily and so it takes them 2 rounds to come up. Flaming spheres come out and the large druids wait with their attacks. Rolling randomly to see who gets sphered, the party cleric goes down (even though he's a negative channeling cleric of Asmodeus, he's still the cleric). Pain ensues. The PC druid and his AC come up, get some attacks of. The enemy druids go, one gets a critical hit on his enlarged shillelagh'ed weapon. Bye bye.

It was almost a party wipe except for the level 2 sorc who went invisible after surviving the stone call. And it really sucks because they would have had a good chance at survival if the high level wizard didn't die from the twigjacks. All in all, that scenario was just painful for everyone.

[lastblacknight]

Ohh I remembered one from the Tin Solider (Sydney, Australia). A husband and wife team on their second adventure ever. Good vibe going the BBEG at the last part of an adventure and two explosions later we had lost half the part a couple had just stabilised from the first of the explosions went off when the second blast occurred we lost them both and the party cleric outright.

Stunned silence from the table and GM....

Two members of the party were upright; one was unable to fufull his faction mission due to the death of the cleric.

It was simply down to luck that my wizard was outside the room at the time.

It was an awesome moment! (Don't worry, they weren't too invested in the characters and are still playing).

[Mike Schneider]

Remember the scene in the remake where the girl dances for Kong?

....well, this time it didn't work: poor cleric of Shelyn gets ripped into itsy-bitsy pieces by giant ape.