(Win pdf books!) Now closed (except for some book-keeping)

[Wystan]

Second Story:

Setup: D&D 2nd Ed. A party of chaotic and neutral good characters that had just been sort of helped by a bunch of gully dwarves.

Setting: Cave outside of a small town, gully dwarves were the forced labor to clean the streets and such.

We had just gotten information from the gully dwarves and being chaotic decided to see what would happen of we rewarded them strangely. So we tossed a gold coin to the smallest one and told them to share it. This proceeded to end with all but one of the gully dwarves incapacitated. The mage in the group then slept that one and took the gold coin back. We continued to do this every day for a week or so. (Until the GM started to tell us that we were slipping in alignment.)

 

[Alzrius]

My group, which was 10th-level or so, was playing through Hell in Freeport. Freeport had just been teleported in its entirety into Hell, and the PCs were dealing with the devil prince Losknesk (from The Spear of the Loghin). They'd realized he was part of the problem, and decided that he was, in fact, not too powerful to be dealt with permanently.

Knowing he'd come to taunt them, they quickly rounded up every single paladin in the city, which was about thirty of them; none of which were higher than 3rd level, and chartered them all as hirelings for a special mission to save the city.

So, when Losknesk next appeared to taunt the PCs (he was trying to get them to make a deal in exchange for returning Freeport to the Material Plane), they sprung a trap. One dimensional anchor and hold monster later, Losknesk was trapped. As the DM, there was nothing I could do as the PCs then had their paladin army swab him with holy water...one vial each. Losknesk was toast.

Unfortunately, Losknesk's stats in The Spear of the Loghin had him as being a CR 40 (I felt he was more of a CR 14). Worse, the PCs insisted that, since the paladin army were hirelings, they should be factored into the average party level. This meant that the thirty paladins' levels pretty much overrode the PCs', and the average party level was 3...defeating a CR 40 creature. The end result was that so many hundred of millions of experience points were won, that the PCs and their paladin army all gained about 90 levels each! I could have informed them that the DMG said you can only gain one level per adventure, but they were whooping and hollering so much that I didn't have the heart to stop them, and let them take it all.

The campaign ended very shortly after that.

If chosen, I'd like a copy of Gun-Fu: Balletic Ballistics.

 

[DamionW]

We played a one shot where we were all orc/goblinoid in 2ed. The basic premise is that our tribe had been beleagured for awhile and needed a new leader, so one of the PCs had to challenge them in combat. I did and won, so we began a new wave of terror on the local humanoid villages.

The first village we happen upon is asleep at night and we find their livestock in the outskirts of town. We promptly set the sheep on fire and drove them through the streets to generate horror and send the common folk running out into our blades.

The next village had some advance warning so all of the menfolk were garrisoned at the town hall in the center of the village. I split up my warriors and started entering the abandoned homes to look for women and children to slaughter. This dispersed the garrison in shock as they ran back to defend their individual homes, where they quickly were killed as they ran back in the door.

The final village had a holdfast in the center of the town that we stormed and took the roof where there was a ballista. Just as we laid claim to it, the town cleric came out of the temple across the street to see what the commotion was. I impaled him on the steps where he stood with a ballista bolt. Razing my axe in a rage I screamed at the top of my lungs, "WHERE'S YOUR GOD, NOW?!?"

That was one of the collest scenes in any game I've played.

 

[Einan]

One of the most memorable scenes in a game I DM'ed was when I guest-DMed for a group I gamed with in grad school. The usual DM was a rampant anime fan, so his games tended to have a lot of sighing and pining and villains who talked a big game and then bit it when one of the PCs spent a round howling and summoning his mojo and then executed a single attack on it.

I was not having much fun.

So, as I was graduating and moving shortly, I offered to guest DM. The scenario was thus: in a previous game the villainous black dragon who had plagued the party over the course of six months of play was slain. Easily. Too easily. The game started in a campsite. Everyone was snuggling in after a long day of marching. The dragon's ghost visited each one in their dreams and promised it would torment them unto their deaths unless they laid his bones to rest. They conferred, decided to do the deed, since it was in their best interests and they were nice folks anyway. The ghost told them of a secret door in a dormant volcano that lead to a hidden draconic burial ground. All they had to do was go there, and cast his bones into the well there. Sounded easy enough.

They trekked there, found the volcano, descended into its depths. There they found a chapel to some evil demon god, slew the high priest and dispersed his demons. Deeper in the volcano they found the door.

And a very stupid, very large lava dragon. It charged forth from the molten rock screaming about thieves in its lair. The party tried to attack it. It shook off their attacks and chased them into the secret portal. Once they were through and safe from the lava dragon, they did as the ghost bid and cast its bones into the large well inscribed with strange arcane symbols.

And as they did, there was a flash. And the dragon was true ressurrected, as the contingency spell he laid into it was designed to do. And the party looked at each other and almost simultaneously said:

I KNEW that was a bad idea!

Then they proceeded to leave the portal and return to the lava cavern, where they decided the best option was to....(wait for it....)

TAUNT the lava dragon into attacking them.

It did so and they ran like scared rabbits through the man sized hole in the rock wall to the larger tunnels beyond. Until the monk (angry that at 10th level I wouldn't let him leap 150 feet straight up) stuck his head back through the hole and taunted the very stupid, very strong lava dragon that the party would be back for its treasure shortly.

1 Angry Dragon + 1 thin rock wall = Bull Rush

The dragon smashed through the thin wall and took off at a very fast clip after the party. One breath weapon of molten lava and two dead PCs later, the party emerged from the tunnels to scream at the wizard waiting there to teleport them ANYWHERE BUT THERE. They did, as the dragon's jaws closed on the spot where they stood a microsecond before.

I was never asked to DM for them again. But darn, did I have a ball watching them meet a foe that actually fought back without espousing its views of romantic love for five hours first.

Einan, proud member of B.A.D.D.

 

[demiurge1138]

In which I learned what "epic" really means.

So I was running an "epic" game, by which I mean that it was above 20th level. Only problem was, it had the inherent difficulty of the ELH - the same, only all the numbers were bigger. But then, one of the characters, a CE barbarian with a taste for demonology, hired someone to commune with a balor, and he asked what he could do to win Demogorgon's favor. The balor, being CE himself and not caring a whit for the barbarian or Demogorgon, told him to invade Hell and bring back the head of Alastor the Grim, the Executioner of Hell.

He did so.

The scene was magnificent. 10 Halruuan airships flew through the mammoth portal, each loaded with 100 paladins of Helm, recruited to the task by some very clever deceptions. The other 4,000 paladins traveled on huge, flat-bottomed barges pulled by dragon turtles. Thus did they go to the foul swamp of Minauros, hoping to strike Alastor's citadel quickly and devestate his forces.

But Alastor was ready for them.

Under the whips of their barbed supervisors, tens of thousands of brainless lemures surged forward, grabbing huge chains suspended as if from nowhere to pull from the swamp platforms hundreds of feet across, each made of congealed souls, screaming silently. Behind the lemures marched thousands of barbazu, saw-toothed glaives dripping and ready, and as the lemures closed the gap, nightmare-riding cavalry surged forth to meet the paladin's fleet. Boarding parties of dozens of osyluth, each commanded by a cornugon and bearing with them such secret weapons as imp sorcerers and the spawn of the Fernis-wolf, rose through the sodden air to tear at and destroy the airships.

And, due to their amazing prowess and incredible magics, the party actually survived and escaped, even with Alastor's head (being a pit fiend who could regenerate, he left it behind for them as a parting gift should they actually reach his donjon). Although it was very, very close.

Demiurge out.

Edit: oh, right. the PDF thing. The Libram Equitis compilation

 

[Estlor]

This one goes deep back into 2nd Edition days. We were so burnt out with AD&D at that time that we were going fast and loose with the rules, and this kind of a scene was the result. Quick background - this was a very altered take on the future of the Known World. The group was still in Karameikos at the time. Queen Adriana was fighting her brother, Lord Justin, but no one knew his motives. Adriana hired the party to check things out.

---

Healinov - or at least the man that claimed he was Healinov - crept down the hallway until the mottled hide of his leather armor and the painted mask that obscured his face completely faded from the others' sight. They were still uncertain if they could trust this man, but if what he claimed was true, if he WAS Dimitrious Healinov, the great protector, he was far more suited to the task than they. Had they known their faith was placed in the hands of Yuri Slobodivich, Healinov's protege, they might have considered otherwise. But Yuri was determined to do his mentor's name justice. He knew that taking up the name Healinov came at a heavy cost, a cost he would find some way to pay.

Soft voices floated down the hallway, meeting his ears before he could sneak into the conference room. He could distinctly make out two voices. One was a middle-aged man for certainty; Yuri could hear the burden of responsibility and choices made in youth that could never be taken back coloring the tone of the voice. The other was unlike anything he had heard before. It was hollow, empty, like the echo of a voice spoken once long before still rattling about in the rafters even though its source had long ago left this place. He shivered at the sound of it, something deep in his bones telling him whatever it was that spoke, it was no longer human. Yuri signed himself, offering up a prayer to Halav that whatever abberration was on the other side of that doorway would not sieze hold of him and haunt him for the rest of his days.

Clinging to the shadows, Yuri slipped into the conference room. He recognized the first voice immediately. It was Lord Justin Karameikos, his patron's brother and recent adversary. The other man, the hollow-voiced, unnatural one was harder to glimpse. Like Yuri, he hung to the darkness along the edges of the room. As he strained his eyes, Yuri swore he saw a man in dark armor, a knight wrapped in a burial shroud so tightly that only the glowing pinpoints of his eyes shined forth. But what he did know was this knight was not a man of this earth. He belonged more to the grave than the living.

"This wasn't part of the deal," Justin argued, cheeks flush with anger. "You promised me a kingdom if I helped you. You're backing out on our deal."

"I back out on nothing," the death knight retorted, his voice devoid of emotion. "I have masters as well, Karameikos. Our deal was forged under certain circumstances. Those have since changed. I can no longer promise you the things I once did. My masters have a use for this Kingdom after all."

Justin crossed his arms and set his jaw firmly against the death knight. "Then I shan't help you further. You'll have to defeat my sister without the army you had counted on."

"A threat?" The death knight threw back his armored head and laughed. "You should know better than to threaten me, Karameikos. If I intended to, I could level the Queen's estate with my will alone. Test me like this, and I will show you how I can do this... personally."

"You'd do no such thing!" Justin snatched up a sheet of parchment from the desk beside him. "Destroy me and this signed communication goes with me. My men will not answer to the likes of you, and you'll not have my signature otherwise. Either our bargain continues as planned, or you shall find yourself very much alone in Karameikos."

[I need that communication,] Yuri realized. It was the answers they were looking for. He knew Adriana's mole, Susanna, would never support him doing something rash, but fortunately for him she was back with the others. Milo and Tauric would be far more supportive...

Yuri drew his swords from their sheaths and swallowed hard. From a dead stop he launched into a leap across the room, flipping through the air brandishing the pair of swords openly. "It's that fool, Healinov!" Justin shouted, recognizing the armor and weapons of Yuri's mentor. Yuri came to rest on the other side of the desk, one sword pointed at Justin, the other at the death knight. He was thankful his mask hid the expression of fear and uncertainty that his face wore.

"I'll be taking that letter, if you don't mind," he declared firmly.

Unimpressed, the death knight reached for its sword. "You will die, maggot!"

Yuri had no idea what the knight was capable of, but his hunch was he stood no chance in an open fight. Perhaps with Milo's magic and Tauric's telekinesis things would be fair, but alone his two opponents would make short work of him. He needed an alternate plan, and only one presented itself to him. He would have to get creative.

Yuri's swords flashed back into their sheaths as quickly as they had come out. He threw his weight against the desk, slamming it into Justin's chest, driving the wind from him before he could properly react. Without stopping to regard the death knight, Yuri snatched up the letter from the winded Lord and mounted the desk, trusting in its momentum to carry him out the door and down the hallway. Even so, somehow his foe kept close on his heels, moving with an inhuman speed. [Just a moment more,] Yuri thought as the flight of stairs and his allies came into view.

"Milo!" Yuri shouted. "Blast him with everything you've got!"

"What are you..." Milo stopped in his tracks as the death knight came into view. He adjusted the spectacles he relied on to see just to make sure they were not playing tricks on him. Indeed, Yuri was riding the back of a desk with an otherworldly knight racing after him. It required no further explaination. Milo called to the intangible power of magic stored in his very cells and it responded. He shaped it with his hands, forming it into a disc of explosive force. It took but a flick of the wrist to send it hurtling up the staircase toward Yuri and the knight. Yuri timed it, diving over the disc and rolling down the staircase as the energy struck the floor, filling the air with a spray of pebbles and a cloud of dust that blackened the staircase.

Susanna had her crossbow out and loaded before Yuri could rise to his feet. "What is that thing?" she demanded, feeling she had lost control of the situation already. She hated when the others acted without consulting her first.

"That's how Justin is winning all his battles," Yuri said, checking to make sure he hadn't broken anything in the dive.

"Then I must kill it!" she declared, starting up the steps.

Yuri reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Unless you're a priest and we don't know it, you're not going to stand a chance against that thing. It's not playing fair with Justin either. I've got orders for his troops here," he held up the parchment. "We should worry about getting out of here and back to your Queen with them."

"Give me that!" Susanna snatched the letter from his hands.

"I tend to conquer with Healinov," Milo spoke up. "I doubt I have enough energy stored within me to atomize that thing. We should depart in haste."

"I'll get the door," Tauric volunteered.

Though she thought it better to do otherwise, Susanna gave in and waved for the others to follow her out of the estate as if they would not have done so otherwise. Before they could even get clear of the room, the death knight burst free of the smoke, hurtling down into the landing in their midst. Yuri had his swords out again, putting himself between the death knight and his allies. "Run!" he shouted. "I'll hold him off!" Yuri decided to test this undead abberation to see if his arms moved as swiftly as his legs had before. He drove in with both swords flying, pressing his attack against the death knight's defense. The massive zweihander of the death knight moved with unexpected grace, swatting away Yuri's weapons with ease. The death knight battered down Yuri and broke his defense, cutting deep into his shoulder with the black blade it wielded.

"You coming?" Tauric shouted back to Yuri.

Yuri cursed his lack of skill, raising both his blades to block the death knight's attacking, withdrawing until he was near the door. He faked a new attack to draw off the death knight, rolling back out of Tauric's way. The telepath took hold of the door with his mind and slammed it shut. They could hear the death knight wailing against the door, trying to burst its hinges, but, at least for the moment, Tauric's mind held fast.

"I can't do this much longer," Tauric warned them. Beads of sweat had risen up on his forehead, underscoring his words.

"Let's move," Yuri instructed, favoring his wounded arm.

"I was going to say that!" Susanna shouted.

----

Dual-Wielding Ranger? Check.
Sassy Crossbow Fighter? Check.
Hyper Broken Psionicist? Check.
Homemade version of Spellfire user? Check.

You've got to love riding on a desk and big explosions. Heh, later on the death knight followed them back to Adriana's place and torched it with its fireball. They had to go into hiding until they were strong enough to come back and fight it.

Edit: Still fishing for Elements of Magic II.

 

[DonTadow]

The final scene from the game I ran for the Iron Dungeon Masters Competition:

Background: The PCs had adventured for a number of years together with their mentor, Grimlix, an elderly powerful wizard. But, for reasons neither I, the dm, not the players knew, they disbanded over a disagreement over a year ago. They met up in the home town of Grimlix after hearing he died mysteriously. They were then read a last will by his apprentice that Grimlix wanted to be burried in his maosoleum, now being overrun by frost giants and an evil wizard named Damont. The Pcs were told during character creation, that they disliked one another and their characters all knew why (but not the pc). During the adventure, i ran a seperate encounter, in which the PCS were fighting a massive Yuan-ti Anthama, a lich, frost giants, drow and a host of other creatures. Essentially this alterantive encounter was why they hated each other. As the main story(where they battled through the masoleum to bury their comrade) went on, the pcs wwould have these flashbacks of this encounter.

The last scene took place as the heroes battled the evil wizard in a large grand ballroom stacked with covey holes of the buried ancestors of Grimlix. The six party members fought hopelessly to defeat the evil mage as his frost giant servants and dire wolves ripped through the party while his frost rays laid cover fire.

Unexpectantly the rogue (background- the rogue was played by a 14 year old kid whom anyone could tell really liked the hot blond playing the cleric (background- I LOVE CONVENTION GAMES) noticing that a barrage of magic missles were flying towards the already severely wounded and out of mana cleric, lept in front of them (background- using the action cards I provided) taking the full blow of the missles and leaving nothing but the boots he was wearing, now searing leather and mashed flesh.

This triggered a flashback as everyone watched their dead comrade. The flashback was the final flashback that revealed why the party had broken up. They had defeated the evil Anthama but the tribe of frost giants were still attacking. Another comrade (not in any previous flashbacks to this point) came stumbling in. During each of the previous flashbacks, the party had made a series of miscues (attacking comrades "accidently, pulling levers without checking for traps, lifting up preistly robes ect) and the stumbling unseen friend was killed instantly. they all blamed each other for his death and after the fight, broke up never to get back together again.

In the present, this sent the barbarian (background- also using an action card) into a rage. He ripped the limbs off of one of the giants and stabbed them into the chest of the other. A third, and last, frost giant lept to their fallen comrades aid but the mage's domination spell worked at the last minute and the giants spent the remainder of the fight hurting each other. This left a vunerable evil mage whom singled in to the party's mage for a one on one duel. The evil wizard fired a direct, fireball at the party's mage, but he was ready, he counterspelled it sending the fireball back in on the mage and leaving him nothing but charred ashe.

The party then found the space designated for their friend Grimlix, and burried the rogue there as well (naming him and themselves honorary members of their family). the party played convincingly through a eulogy and left for the campaign which ended the session.

This last scene really summed up what I liked about the entire thrill of tournament. I prepared the adventure in an hour and didn't have a clue as to what would have broken up the party. Through this last scene, the players (through their role playing) wrote out the final plot line and made the adventure much more enriching.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It was my first game of D&D ever...

1978

I'm playing a heavily armored Human Fighter with a 2 handed sword, and the only other remaining party member is a Human Wizard with 1 Magic Missile left. We're running low on everything, but we know we're near an exit to the dungeon that has claimed the lives of our allies. We're crossing a huge room filled with chest-high mist, with only our torches for illumination. We're halfway across the room when, rising up out of the mists is a Purple Worm...

The mage retreats a few steps, as does my fighter...but the Worm presses on towards us...then lunges- a miss! The mage launches his last spell, maxes out the damage, and continues retreating, with my guy covering him.

The Worm closes again, and this time, I get in a strike for a moderate hit, and our retreat continues. The mage reaches the door, but its jammed! The only way out is forward- past the Worm. Backs to the wall, we eye our foe. He strikes...wounding my fighter.

The mage starts bashing away with his staff, doing massive amounts of damage as his player gets 3 Natural 20's in a row...good thing too, because I'm rolling sub 10's on my attack rolls each time, hitting only air. I break my dry spell with an 18- nearly maxing out the sword damage, only to get swatted again. My PC is down to 4 HP.

The mage smacks the beast one more time, and is rewarded with the Purple Worm's attention. The DM rolled a nat 20, and the mage dissapears down the Worm's gullet, swallowed whole. Its one-on-one, now...and I get a 1, fumbling my Fighter's weapon into the mists.

He ducks into the mists, looking for his weapon...and comes up with a spear! (No doubt from a previous victim.)

I stab it, getting in several good strikes...whittling it down to 4 hit points. The combatants circle each other in the mist, knowing that the next successful strike wins all...

Simultaneous initiative- a spear thrust mirrored by a stabbing tail: the spear off-target by inches, the venomous stinger punching through the armor in the Fighter's back, killing him.

TPK.

The entire final skirmish took nearly 30 minutes, real time. But after that adventure, I was hooked for life!

 

[Kristivas]

I had a memorable game with some friends of mine in Florida.

The DM at the time HATED the standard.. "you're sitting in a tavern when an old man approaches.." So, he tried something different.

A local Duke was desperate for help with errands around his area. Some raiding kobolds, thieves, 'scarecrows' coming to life and abducting children, ect. To get these problems taken care of without losing his land, he offered to allow successful adventurers to court his three daughters.

My character and another's instantly took the bait. The other party members came along, for gold or morally wanting to be heroes or whatever, but always joked about being put into danger by our two character's loins.

So, we undertake the Duke's quests one right after the next. After each quest, we earn a 'date' with one of the daughters. During these encounters, the DM would point out specific features. For my character's girl, it was her "dazzling blue eyes". For the other guy's, it was her "long, raven-toned locks". These dates happened at different times of the evening. The girls seemed to be perfect for our characters, as they were wealthy, wanted a family, found our adventuring heroic, and didn't mind being at home while we went on the road to fight evil. There was always just "one more task" to complete.

The end came after we'd spent months cleaning out the Duke's lands. We confronted him about the marraiges. The shocking scene came when we (along with everyone else in the land) found out the Duke had only ONE daughter, and she'd been courting our two characters.. along with several others from different adventuring groups! The Duke kept sending everyone on harder and harder tasks, hoping that the "suitors" wouldn't return until there was only one. The people of the town were shocked.

It was down to two of us, me and my comrade... to fight for the love of one very deceptive woman. The duke suggested we duel to the death! Well, we drew our swords, turned to each other......

Then threw them down and beat the living HELL out of the Duke. The guards refused to hear his pleas for aid and after we were done, he lost a good bit of his lands and title for wrongly sending people under his care off to their deaths needlessly. We both were still interested in the girl, but then we find out that she's decided that she doesn't want either of us, and runs off with one of the local tavern bards! A Bard!!!

[I like the adventurer's guild.]

 

[Steverooo]

Yet Another Story:

A Very High-Level AD&D Group. We were sailing on our way to a Gate that would take us somewhere near the territory of Asmodeus. We had been after him for many, many levels, seeking the various pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts, the first piece of which had wielded itself to our Mage's hand... We had recovered six pieces, and he had the seventh.

So we're aboard ship, sailing towards the gate, and encountering Dragon-Turtles, Pleasiosaurs, Kraken, Giant Squids, and the like. At one point, for some odd reason, a Whale attacks us, so we kill it. It has no stuff to take... or so I thought. Then the silly Cleric makes it into a giant Zombie Whale, and tells it to follow our ship, and obey his commands!

The rotting thing follows us for weeks, until we come into a port. At that point, the Cleric tells it to "Wait here, until I return". Due to unforseen events, a Wish gets used, enabling the ship to permanently travel over land and sea... This greatly increases our travelling speed, but the Cleric never returns, and the (Now Skeleton) Whale sits at the bottom of the harbor, waiting!

Later, after entering the Gate, and making their way to Dispater's realm, the PCs encounter a "burning bird" chained in his dungeon, AND KILL IT! My PC shows back up, with a replacement for the lost Spiritwrack scroll for Dispater, and asks "Why'd you kill the Phoenix?"

Having been gone for some time, when my PC returned, he asked the Mage "Are you Cyndrex, the Six-fingered?" The player was a bit stunned, until I reminded her that her PC had been given an extra finger on each hand by one of the Killer-GM's vile machinations during a previous episode... She was like: "Oh! I had forgotten about that!", and we all laughed. Later, we came unpon a "fountain", and she wanted to test it and see if it was water, or acid. She said she would dip her finger in it... I laughed and told her "Use the sixth finger!" She laughed, and told the GM she was... Sure enough, acid, and she lost it! "I always knew your character was good for something!" she told me (glad to be rid of one of her extra fingers)!

And yes, despite crowns that turned our comrades against us, planar swords that cut through anything they hit, Erinyes and Succubi, we kilted Dissy, and Azzy, too!