16th level party TPKd by a goblin?!!

[Dark Eternal]

I really shouldn't say; this isn't a secure connection.

lol-

BUT, I'll take the chance. I don't think any of them frequent the boards, and if they do, I don't think they know my id here.


Basically, here's the deal.

There have been an increasing number of unusual occurances of late; the party hadn't really looked into this seriously yet, but it's a set up for the next leg of the campaign - the one that I had intended to take them the rest of the way up to 20th level.

So - here's the deal. Due to the incredible amount of magical energies that have been used in that specific place in the past few days, magic has become highly unstable in that immediate vicinity.

As per Lord Pendragon's suggestion, Ragu (who has one wish left, and doesn't know it) will inadvertantly trigger that wish to revive the pc's. However - two factors will warp this beyond anything that anyone would have expected.

1) Arcane magic isn't naturally prone to restoring life. Only spells that are powerful enough to emulate divine magic (wish and limited wish) can even attempt it - and then they emulate divine magic. But arcane magic has a much easier route that it can take to revive the dead...

2) Due to the unstable nature of the magic in that particular area, the wish will ricochet wildly and begin a wild magic resonance. This resonance will feed off of the magic left on the pc's and in the dragon hoard (thus disjoining all magic items in the area) and will culminate in the revival of every dead creature in the affected region. Which includes the pc's. And it also includes...

*insert maniacal laughter here*

 

[Lord Pendragon]

...the dragon.

Ouch. Double ouch, even.

I'm imagining your gaming group. First, you begin with the story of Ragu. The players are somewhat interested, wondering what's going on. Then the wish goes awry and their PCs are resurrected. High-fives all around the gaming table. Then the dawning horror as you explain...

No, make that triple-ouch.

And I'm glad your players don't read here. They'd wind up lynching everyone in this thread.

 

[electric-ant]

Just some advice as a player:

Don't let them know what's going on. Nothing ruins the suspension of disbelief more for me than when a GM starts off a game session with something like, "Well, your death caused some weird fluxing in the magic auras nearby. That resulted in a combination with the...uh...luck blade that...uh....resurrected all your characters. So, you're not dead!"

That's tantamount to saying, "Oh...hmmm...oops. Rewind! - makes rewinding tape noise with mouth- OK....you're entering the dragon's lair...."

Just grin mysteriously, hand them characters sheets sans gear plus other alterations (but don't tell them; wait for them to figure out what they're missing), and start out "You wake up. You feel oddly stiff this morning, as if you had fallen asleep atop an usually hard rock."

Not that I'm trying to tell you how to run your game, of course.

 

[Dark Eternal]

Just some advice as a player:

Don't let them know what's going on. Nothing ruins the suspension of disbelief more for me than when a GM starts off a game session with something like, "Well, your death caused some weird fluxing in the magic auras nearby. That resulted in a combination with the...uh...luck blade that...uh....resurrected all your characters. So, you're not dead!"

That's tantamount to saying, "Oh...hmmm...oops. Rewind! - makes rewinding tape noise with mouth- OK....you're entering the dragon's lair...."

Just grin mysteriously, hand them characters sheets sans gear plus other alterations (but don't tell them; wait for them to figure out what they're missing), and start out "You wake up. You feel oddly stiff this morning, as if you had fallen asleep atop an usually hard rock."

Not that I'm trying to tell you how to run your game, of course.

If your advice is always this good, go ahead and tell me how to run my game! lol

Seriously - great suggestion. I appreciate it - much more than my players will, I'm sure...

Then again, they do enjoy a good, suspensful game where you never have quite enough pieces to know what's happening... so maybe they'll be grateful for your advice, as well.

...

...

...

nah. But that's ok - I still appreciate you.

 

[Celtavian]

Re

That is cruel. I hope you don't TPK them again, but the idea sounds cool. Let us know how it goes off.

 

[Dark Eternal]

Re: Re

That is cruel. I hope you don't TPK them again, but the idea sounds cool. Let us know how it goes off.

I'm sure they'll hope that I don't TPK them again, too. For that matter, so do I. If I never have another total party kill in my DMing career, I'll be happy.

It's just such an anticlimax for the players, and my job is to make sure the players have fun.

Thanks, and I will!

 

[Felix]

As far as thinking that goblins are not serious threats, this myth has long been dismissed from my character's mind.

When he was a 2nd level barbarian, he was doing a little scouting for the party. He came upon 3 goblins laying in ambush waiting for my buddies to walk down the road. I think "ok, 3 goblins, no problem. I'll just intimidate them and they'll run away because they're weak little goblins." So I do this: "gggggGGGGGAAAARRRR!" And menace them with my greatsword. The goblins are unfazed. All three goblins then do this: "ggggggGGGGAAAARRRR!" And incite barbarian rage. And attack me. They all had at least two levels of barbarian, if not more.

Fortunately, they had orders to carry my unconscious self to their leader where I was revived, and after some role play, was set free.

Needless to say, I am ALWAYS wary of goblins, since those I run into usually have levels of barbarian.


Anyway,
I was fortunate enough to learn my lesson early in my carrear - your players were not. That the lesson was taught is enough. As for bringing them back, they are high level and by now must have gotten the notice of extraplanars. Perhaps have one of those outsiders raise them but place a big ol geas or quest on them. They have to do the bidding of someone they might not necessarily like, or whose motives they don't agree with.... Demon Princes, perhaps? heh

Have fun with it.

 

[Angcuru]

Dracoliches are always fun.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Dracoliches are always fun.

Even more fun is when the PCs have heard rumor after rumor that the local necromancer crew has discovered the secrets of dracolichdom. At 3rd level, they enter the necro. catacombs beneath the city and run into a dragon zombie.

Oh whee, fun-time reactions all around. That's why I like being DM...messing with their heads.

 

[Dark Eternal]

Dracoliches are always fun.

Heh heh... my players are gonna lynch me.

But it's going to be SO worth it.

*Cue evil laughter; rise; fade out to end*