Hello everyone!
I was reflecting on many years of gameplay with a friend the other day, and realized how many great memorable moments we have shared in-game.
I know there are other threads that touch on this, but they are a bit older and not active.
Here is a place to share some of your favorite moments in (or out of, if you like) combat.
These can be funny, sad, heroic, etc.
I look forward to reading these!
Here is one of my own:
Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, City of the Spider Queen -
The party enters a subterranean commerce chamber to find a small caravan of poorly-armed kobolds.
They immediately flee the scene, leaving the party to search the carts left behind.
As they do so, the true threat in the room becomes evident.
A mindflayer sorcerer casts a quickened darkness on the party on continues to mindblast half of them inside the darkness.
His drow servants appear from the corridor outside and advance on the party with their rapiers, while two others on a ledge fire arrows at the wizard.
After a few close calls and much frustration in and out of the globe of darkness, the party manages to severely hurt the mindflayer.
The rogue uses her ring of invisibility to move down another hallway leading out of the chamber, and waits.
The ranger has been filling the drow cronies with arrows all the while, and turns his attention at last to the mindflayer, preparing to fire his rapid shot, many shot, speed combo into this slithering creep.
The mindflayer, having been hacked nearly to death by the barbarian and fighter proceeds to flee down the hall, casting a Wall of Iron over the doorway to his rear.
Thinking that he is safe, he begins to run down the hallway away from the players.
Little does he know, the rogue is invisible just outside the exit to the tunnel, and as he passes by, the rogue leaps from the shadows and sticks a longsword in his back for a critical hit and some heavy sneak attack damage on top of that.
We all got a good laugh out of it. Poor guy must have been so surprised after thinking he had outsmarted us!
A second story:
The group is fighting a cult who seeks to restore an ancient lich to power.
Having discovered a stronghold being used by this cult, a tower deep in a dark forest, the group advances to the edge of the clearing and begins to plan their next move.
The wizard, rogue, barbarian, monk, and cleric begin to discuss their options, noting that they have some captured cloaks that the cultists wear, and could potentially infiltrate the base.
The keen wizard, however, notes that the cultist is entirely made up of humans, and no other races exist amongst its ranks.
This debates goes on for some time, when all of the sudden, the dwarf fighter, who has been fidgeting impatiently this whole while, snatches up a cloak, dons it and proceeds across the field to the tower, where two guards stand watch.
The party watches in shock, fear, and disbelief, holding their breath.
On his approach, the guards call out, "Halt, who goes there? State thy name?"
The dwarf pauses in his tracks, totally frozen and stupefied.
"Uhhh... Um..."
"Speak!" call the guards again, raising their swords. "Who are you!?"
"Me? Well... I'm a... I'm a midget!" replies the dwarf.
The two guards recognize the deception and stupidity of this dwarf and call out for their masters in the tower above.
Within moments, the entire garrison in the tower has been called to arms and comes rushing out to slay this imposter.
The party, loyal and courageous, races across the field to save their foolish friend.
After a total bloodbath, the wizard firing fireballs into the midst of combat, slaying friend and foe alike, most of the party lies dead, as well as a great number of cultists.
The wizard and rogue flee, thanks to stealth, and flight, ultimately to return and finish the campaign after filling their ranks.
Y U No use paragraphs?
Recently my party was storming Ft. Rannick in the Hook Mountain Massacre for the ROTRL adventure path.
We had 4 rangers in the party. Myself, and 3 NPC's (Shalelu Andasonah, Vale Temros, and Jakardros Sovark). We initially snuck up to the walls, and positioned ourselves on the walls and towers, while the rest of the party assaulted one of the gates. The plan was to get the ogres bunched up, and then we'd attack them, catching them in a pincer.
Turns out there was about 3 times the ogres we thought there would be, and that plan went right out the window. All 4 of us were seperated and fighting for our lives. I was in a tower, and had multiple ogres climbing up trying to get to me. I'm an archer, I don't belong in close combat and they would have made very short work of me. So two of the ogres climb over the top, and I have a choice to make. My back is at the edge of the tower, it's about a 30' drop. I can fire 3 arrows that round with a full attack action. So I take a 5' step and "throw" myself over the wall, while I make my attack action. 2 arrows drop the first ogre, and the third crits dropping him as well. It felt like a very cinematic scene. Enough so that we had it commemorated in art, thoug the artist didn't quite capture all of the elements I was hoping for.
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/175/9/f/ogre_scene_by_stefanomarinet ti-d7nr5tt.jpg
I can picture it! Did everyone survive as well?
In a RotRL game I'm in, a barghest came out of invisibility and seriously smacked my inquisitor. So, there I am, at negative hit points but still upright (Thank you Ferocious Resolve feat!). As the rest of the party debated fleeing, I looked over my options. I reviewed my options (cure potion, etc.), and most of them ended with "barghest gets an attack of opportunity and kills the inquisitor." I said, "Well, I will die no matter what. So ... I'm going to turn on a judgment and attack. I'm an inquisitor of Abadar. This is what I do."
Roll o' the die: Natural 19 with a longsword. Second roll: Confirm the crit. And ... draw from the crit deck. Bleed 8!!
At this point, the rest of the party decided they'd have to come and save my inquisitorial ass, and they charged into combat while I nursed my wounds. Several rounds (and a lot of bleed damage) later, the barghest fell.
Haha those are always tough spots to be in. I have grown fond of the withdraw action over time, even if it's not as heroic. :D
Nice Inquisitorial clutch!
From a game I'm GMing:
The party encountered a wandering group of giant spiders. The ranger's wolf animal companion got cut off from the rest of the group; the ranger ran off to a distance to do his archery thing, and the rest of the group had their own spiders to contend with (including some very inconvenient webbing).
So ... the poor wolf bore the brunt of the spiders' attack. The PCs managed to knock out two of the spiders (in negative HP territory), but the spiders knocked the wolf to negative HP. So, the cleric channeled.
I asked him, "Do you have Selective Channel?"
Player: "Nope."
So I went, "Alright ... " And the KO'ed spiders got back up again ... and started attacking the wolf. Meanwhile, a spider in back (previously KO'ed by the paladin) got up again and went after the paladin.
Two rounds later, when the paladin KO'ed the spider (again). He added. "Next round, I am going to coup de grace him!!"
Sometimes learning the hard way is the best way. :D
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The enemy sorcerer really should have been using See Invisibility.
We were attacking a party in a cave, and our wizard had cast Invisibility on me, the rogue. I saw the sorcerer cast a spell, so I double moved to get next to him. He cast a spell, and suddenly a tall chick with pointy ears was stuffing a rapier into his gall bladder. I love sneak attack. I didn't manage to "one-shot" him, but I did finish him off on my next turn.
#2
I am not certain that this was strictly RAW, but the GM allowed it under "Rule of Cool". Our party had never (to that point, anyway) had an NPC party member die on combat. We had an NPC down, one HP from dying. The party ranger, the only party member who could get to the NPC before the NPC's next turn, charged the NPC and "attacked" with a wand of CLW. He hit the unconscious NPC's touch AC and saved his life.
That same ranger ("toothy" half-oec) once killed a shark by biting it.
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From a game I'm GMing:
The party encountered a wandering group of giant spiders. The ranger's wolf animal companion got cut off from the rest of the group; the ranger ran off to a distance to do his archery thing, and the rest of the group had their own spiders to contend with (including some very inconvenient webbing).
So ... the poor wolf bore the brunt of the spiders' attack. The PCs managed to knock out two of the spiders (in negative HP territory), but the spiders knocked the wolf to negative HP. So, the cleric channeled.
I asked him, "Do you have Selective Channel?"
Player: "Nope."
So I went, "Alright ... " And the KO'ed spiders got back up again ... and started attacking the wolf. Meanwhile, a spider in back (previously KO'ed by the paladin) got up again and went after the paladin.
Two rounds later, when the paladin KO'ed the spider (again). He added. "Next round, I am going to coup de grace him!!"
We had the exact same thing happen - giant spiders and all!
The enemy sorcerer really should have been using See Invisibility.
We were attacking a party in a cave, and our wizard had cast Invisibility on me, the rogue. I saw the sorcerer cast a spell, so I double moved to get next to him. He cast a spell, and suddenly a tall chick with pointy ears was stuffing a rapier into his gall bladder. I love sneak attack. I didn't manage to "one-shot" him, but I did finish him off on my next turn.
#2
I am not certain that this was strictly RAW, but the GM allowed it under "Rule of Cool". Our party had never (to that point, anyway) had an NPC party member die on combat. We had an NPC down, one HP from dying. The party ranger, the only party member who could get to the NPC before the NPC's next turn, charged the NPC and "attacked" with a wand of CLW. He hit the unconscious NPC's touch AC and saved his life.That same ranger ("toothy" half-oec) once killed a shark by biting it.
I remember playing my old rogue character. There is something very satisfying about dealing extra sneak attack damage... especially to casters... >:D
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Back in 3.5, my blind pious templar (yes blind - I had the Combat Focus feats so I had blindsight 5 feet and Keen Listener etc.) got a blue dragon really mad at him with his tower shield. The blue dragon's plan was to circle us where we were on a plateau and use his breath weapon. I shut him down entirely with readied actions/full cover. (not old enough for much spellcasting)
Eventually he came down and disarmed my shield (using unarmed so that he'd actually take it with him), though I was able to nail him with the provoked AOO. My character got frustrated (he'd no longer be able to help the group since he couldn't use ranged attacks... being blind) as the blue dragon dumped my shield over the edge of the plateau.
Since I knew that next turn the dragon would rise high in the air again, I jumped at him, two-handing/smiting my sword to stab into his wing and tried to hold on. I actually critted, but failed the massive climb check the DM gave me to hang on, falling off the plateau, the falling damage dropping me into negative HP.
Fortuately, the crit smite made the dragon easy pickings for the rest of the group, and they were able to finish off the dragon and climb down the plateau before I bled out.
We had three big moments :
The first one was in Rise of the Runelord. In one of the adventure, my players decided to just walk in the corridor to the last room, where the boss of some stone giants is standing with his bodyguard.
The boss just shout ‘’Alarm! You band of incredible stone head! You let the enemies going straight to me?!’’ Begining the longest fight ever done….144 rounds.
Approximately every 5-8 round, the guards from nearest room would barge in, trying to save their master. I don’t know how, but my players didn’t die.
The second one had me playing a Polearm master. Every monsters had the tendancy to knock me down. Taking the -4 for fighting prone and the -4 for shortening the grips, I managed to kill some small mob.
Then, we had the boss fight (we are level 3). Again, I was prone. The boss just ignore me and pass over me, so I ask for an AOO. He GM look at me, confuse and check the book.
GM : ‘’Sure, why not? Don’t forget the -8 to hit.’’
Me : ‘’ So, I got an overall +2 to hit? Sure’’
*roll* Nat 20
Me : Yes, possibility of crit
*roll again* 20
Me : ‘’ 22, do I confirm the crit?’’
GM : ’’ Euh…yeah?’’
*roll* 10, 10, 10
Me : ‘’48 damages?!’’
GM : ‘’He is dead, I don’t even know how to describe that?!’’
Me : ‘’ As the monster is moving over you, you reach your weapon, rise it, and he impale himself on your ranseur?’’
GM : ‘’….Sure.’’
The last moment was just me annoying the paladin. An evil djinn monk is using guerrilla tactic again us. The paladin being slow as hell (I’m playing an halfling monk), I decide to jump down one level and to follow the evil monk. I scream :
‘’ Enough with your frighten kitten tactic, if you call yourself a true monk, this is a duel to death! You and me!’’
The evil monk look at me and with a sign approve (he never talked). The paladin run down the hall, weapon risen, charging. Again, I scream :
‘’ If you dare interfer in our duel, I’m going to throw you down this castle with his help!’’
The paladin stop his charge, sheathe is weapon and wait.
‘’ Since it’s a duel of honor, I shall respect it, be sure to win.’’
Sorry, I did my best, but english isn’t my first language.
Back in 3.5, my blind pious templar (yes blind - I had the Combat Focus feats so I had blindsight 5 feet and Keen Listener etc.) got a blue dragon really mad at him with his tower shield. The blue dragon's plan was to circle us where we were on a plateau and use his breath weapon. I shut him down entirely with readied actions/full cover. (not old enough for much spellcasting)
Eventually he came down and disarmed my shield (using unarmed so that he'd actually take it with him), though I was able to nail him with the provoked AOO. My character got frustrated (he'd no longer be able to help the group since he couldn't use ranged attacks... being blind) as the blue dragon dumped my shield over the edge of the plateau.
Since I knew that next turn the dragon would rise high in the air again, I jumped at him, two-handing/smiting my sword to stab into his wing and tried to hold on. I actually critted, but failed the massive climb check the DM gave me to hang on, falling off the plateau, the falling damage dropping me into negative HP.
Fortuately, the crit smite made the dragon easy pickings for the rest of the group, and they were able to finish off the dragon and climb down the plateau before I bled out.
A most notable and heroic sacrifice. :D
We had three big moments :
The first one was in Rise of the Runelord. In one of the adventure, my players decided to just walk in the corridor to the last room, where the boss of some stone giants is standing with his bodyguard.
The boss just shout ‘’Alarm! You band of incredible stone head! You let the enemies going straight to me?!’’ Begining the longest fight ever done….144 rounds.
Approximately every 5-8 round, the guards from nearest room would barge in, trying to save their master. I don’t know how, but my players didn’t die.The second one had me playing a Polearm master. Every monsters had the tendancy to knock me down. Taking the -4 for fighting prone and the -4 for shortening the grips, I managed to kill some small mob.
Then, we had the boss fight (we are level 3). Again, I was prone. The boss just ignore me and pass over me, so I ask for an AOO. He GM look at me, confuse and check the book.GM : ‘’Sure, why not? Don’t forget the -8 to hit.’’
Me : ‘’ So, I got an overall +2 to hit? Sure’’
*roll* Nat 20
Me : Yes, possibility of crit
*roll again* 20
Me : ‘’ 22, do I confirm the crit?’’
GM : ’’ Euh…yeah?’’
*roll* 10, 10, 10
Me : ‘’48 damages?!’’
GM : ‘’He is dead, I don’t even know how to describe that?!’’
Me : ‘’ As the monster is moving over you, you reach your weapon, rise it, and he impale himself on your ranseur?’’
GM : ‘’….Sure.’’The last moment was just me annoying the paladin. An evil djinn monk is using guerrilla tactic again us. The paladin being slow as hell (I’m playing an halfling monk), I decide to jump down one level and to follow the evil monk. I scream :
‘’ Enough with your frighten kitten tactic, if you call yourself a true monk, this is a duel to death! You and me!’’
The evil monk look at me and with a sign approve (he never talked). The paladin run down the hall, weapon risen, charging. Again, I scream :
‘’ If you dare interfer in our duel, I’m going to throw you down this castle with his help!’’
The paladin stop his charge, sheathe is weapon and...
Wow! 144 rounds!? That is quite the marathon... what took so long? I don't think most groups could survive an extended combat like that.
I remember playing my old rogue character. There is something very satisfying about dealing extra sneak attack damage... especially to casters... >:D
Oh, yeah. I once played a bard/rogue/arcane trickster under a haste spell ... and managed to flank a giant AND get my full attack. Three attacks hit, all of them with sneak attack damage. I tried to picture how that would look. The best I could come up with was something like one of those lightning-fast video-game fatalities ...
That sounds quite painful. I think I may actually feel sorry for the giant bloke!
My lv.5 wizard is riding through an area of the forest that the party has already explored (Kingmaker) by himself, when my DM rolls the custom random encounter. I get an encounter, which is just my luck since the percentile of getting an encounter in an already explored area is lowered.
Anyways, out from the trees comes lumbering a troll. He notices me on my horse and begins demanding that I take him to my settlement or he'll eat me (yay for speaking Giant), all the while approaching me in a non-subtle manner. After a brief chat that goes no where and him getting a little too close for comfort, I cast fly and get myself out of arms reach. He swipes and misses.
I blast him with a few spells (mainly snowballs and a burning hands) then create pit. He falls in. After doing so, he chucks my horse who died when the troll fell onto him into the pit at me. Misses luckily. Spell slinging and the fight goes on. I start to run out of spells and he gets a claw in on my shoulder. Ow.
I'm able to knock him out, but I'm informed that I see him beginning to regenerate. Out of offensive spells, I quickly tear the sleeve off of my robe, use prestidigitation to dry a nearby log (DM ok'd of course) and then use spark to set it on fire. I end up killing the troll by bashing him over the head with a flaming log. I then make sure he's set completely on fire, just to make sure.
Afterwards I rest and smile as I begin to eat cooked troll jerky. Not bad for a wizard that wasn't even prepared for a 1 on 1 battle with a troll. At least for me. :D