As the icosahedron turns.....

[Wolfspider]

The lesson to be learned - it was your own dumb fault. Any pure spellcaster who gets into melee range as anything other than a last resort is asking to die. Just as players who are stupid get what they deserve, same goes for the DM.

I agree wholeheartedly. Unless the druid in question has focused her powers on being a melee baddass, the party should have never even seen her, much less had a chance to melee with her. She should have just trampled them with a treant and been done with them.

I don't have my DMG with me, but does this instant kill effect allow a saving throw to avoid? It certainly should if it doesn't. If it does have a saving throw, I as DM would have simply fudged it from behind the screen and smiled wickedly at the party. There's no use spoiling their fun--or mine--with one lucky blow.

 

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

Just say no to instakill

My players have started to ask me to roll behind the screen so I can fudge rolls in their favor. The way I've been rolling, they get scared when I start tossing d20s. In the long run, all those rules work against the players, rather than the DM, so I tend not to use them.

 

[Wolfspider]

In the long run, all those rules work against the players, rather than the DM, so I tend not to use them.

This is a very good point! More randomness favors the monsters--where was that said? I can't remember.

 

[The Halfling]

This is a very good point! More randomness favors the monsters--where was that said? I can't remember.

In the "Instant Death" variant rule...next to last sentence in the paragraph.

 

[Kannik]

Posessed Dice

-chuckles- Know all to well the beauty and pain of the all-mighty d20.

Normally, my dice work wonders for me, enough to have the DM on occasion pass me THEIR dice, only to find me still rolling well. And then when they roll, for backstab attempts on 3 separate occasions against my characters a 1, 3, 5 and 1, well.... }

But I pay for it sometimes, and its usually all on one night. Picture, if you will, rolling with a dual-weapon for 2 attacks per round (one each end, rolling two dice) for 2 consecutive rounds, 1/1, 1/1, with two more 1s later in the night. I went out and bought a lotto ticket (and rolled a 1 and didn't match a single number )

My best dice roll ever still has to be the StarWars (WEG version) for damage with a 'borrowed' lightsabre. 8d6+1: 6 6 6 6 6 5 4 4.

Power armour on the target didn't help him survive that }:>

Kannik

 

[DM with a vengence]

I was playing D&D with a friend and joking around, and the 4th level party, (all played by me) enters a large cavern with a Great Wyrm Red Dragon. Knowing that we can't win with standard tactics or diplomacy (the DM didn't go in for that sort of thing), I had all the characters charge the dragon with their melee weapons.

Everybody had gone except for out sorcerer, who charged the dragon, and rolled 3 20s and a 18 with his shortspear.

I spent the rest of the eving rolling up a CR 25 treasure.

 

[Ferox4]

DMs make mistakes, too

I agree wholeheartedly. Unless the druid in question has focused her powers on being a melee baddass, the party should have never even seen her, much less had a chance to melee with her. She should have just trampled them with a treant and been done with them.

I don't have my DMG with me, but does this instant kill effect allow a saving throw to avoid? It certainly should if it doesn't. If it does have a saving throw, I as DM would have simply fudged it from behind the screen and smiled wickedly at the party. There's no use spoiling their fun--or mine--with one lucky blow.

Yes, but the circumstances were definitely in my favor: 5 foot wide corridors, complex catacombs with many turns, two other sets of creatures attacking the party on two different fronts (Minotaurs & Hell Hounds), it was no picnic.... Basically the only PCs that could threaten her were an 8th level Dwarf Fighter (now with 3HP) and a Rogue/Fighter. She was battle ready, too: she had a 32 AC, a +4 weapon and over 100 HP and lots of ways to escape. I agree that I may have been a bit bold to get in close (I only did it so I could use the Harm spell and give the PCs a glimpse at what they were getting into). Regardless, lesson learned. When the PCs make blunders I'm the first one to make them pay for it. Paybacks are a bitch.

I don't think the InstaKill allows a save, but certainly it could be implemented....Fort save DC20?

I can live with the 8000:1 odds of the InstaKill variant. Look at the color. Yesterday will be a day we will all remember and talk about endlessly, much to our wives' collective dismay.......

Thanks for sharing, everyone. I just had to tell someone and figured it probably wouldn't fly too well around the water cooler this morning.
F4

edited for content