Bad DM'ing night

[Arrgh! Mark!]

I think this was not a case of bad DMing, though thats a table thing.

What a lovely scene - the PC's friend dead on on the cross being held in the air on a standard as the orcs chant insults to the PC's.

Thats what they get for not rescuing the other PC. I don't let PC's get away with absolute stupidity. It's silly and makes them not respect the rules, basically.

What they did? Stupid bravado followed by craven cowardice.

What you missed were the roving packs of wolf-riding barbarian5 orcs who were sent up to clean up any others.

Play a orc warhorde like a warhorde. Chaotic, unorganised, savage, ruthless. And not unintelligent.

 

[Kris]

Thanks for the comments.

Obviously you are only hearing my side of things... and no doubt the players may tell a slightly different story.

To say they had no plan at all is perhaps being a bit harsh. In their defence they did intend on just riding close and letting off a few spells and then galloping away.

Luckily (for them) they missed a random encounter with a worg-rider patrol on the way there, but they also failed to spot a hidden outer sentry (though they took a brief detour around the felled tree lying across the road near to where he was lurking). So they spot the camp perhaps a little before the camp guards spot them... but the sudden horn call from the hidden sentry (now behind them) is warning enough.

PC's get an uninterrupted combat round while the orcs organise ...and then the madness begins (including a foe who can unfortunately outpace the two PC's mounted on one encumbered light horse).

That's all fine (well I may have called for a ride check one round too early to control the horse... which I responded to by letting them re-roll a failed ride check later on in the combat)... it's just the whole having the PC sit and watch (and be totally helpless to do anything) as his character is executed. It's realistic maybe (the shaman/executioner guy was a spell caster himself... so the PC is likely to be gagged)... but not much fun. It's a game and games are supposed to be fun.

I see now (after the event) ways in which I could have helped (instigating a rescue for example)... but that's usually the way of things :S

i think it was about half the dms fault

I'd agree with that.

Anyway... if nothing else I suppose I've now portrayed the orcs in the way I would like them to be seen in this campaign (it leans heavily toward Tolkien) ... they are depraved/twisted/ruined creatures that will show you little mercy. Better to fall or flee than be taken alive.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I think you did fine.

 

[Thad Enouf]

I just see some unfortunate rolls, as opposed to anyone really screwing up. Next time, if you can't beat the dice and are concerned about losing the "fun factor," fudge it (as someone said above).

On the "bright" side, be glad it wasn't a TPK. Those are pretty disheartening to everyone at the table, PC and DM both.

We learn more when we make mistakes than when we succeed at the first attempt.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

was a spell caster himself... so the PC is likely to be gagged)... but not much fun. It's a game and games are supposed to be fun.

Sure, it's supposed to be fun, but knowing that you're going to win all the time makes it less fun. Well, unless you're a Yankees fan.

The next time this party faces overwhelming odds and beats them, they'll know it was because they were clever and tactical, not because they're the main characters and they're supposed to win. And that will make it more fun.

But 2 characters on a light horse, when the wizard could fly? And letting off the fireball (range 680' at 7th level) close enough that orcs could close in a round or two?

 

[billd91]

To say they had no plan at all is perhaps being a bit harsh. In their defence they did intend on just riding close and letting off a few spells and then galloping away.

Luckily (for them) they missed a random encounter with a worg-rider patrol on the way there, but they also failed to spot a hidden outer sentry (though they took a brief detour around the felled tree lying across the road near to where he was lurking). So they spot the camp perhaps a little before the camp guards spot them... but the sudden horn call from the hidden sentry (now behind them) is warning enough.

PC's get an uninterrupted combat round while the orcs organise ...and then the madness begins (including a foe who can unfortunately outpace the two PC's mounted on one encumbered light horse).

Honestly, that's still a bad plan. Their ambush gets disrupted and they don't take that round to run like heck, while on a single horse. They were not thinking things through and they paid the price.

I had players do something similarly rash on Sunday. They were 4th level, hadn't had much time to heal everyone, and after knocking the weak vampire down to mist, they then pursued him to get to his coffin. They headed right to an area they hadn't explored yet. It looked like there might be parallel ways to go to head him off so one of the PCs split off and got herself into a lot of trouble with a pair of shocker lizards. Her rash actions led to her own death and the death of the party's druid, who eventually followed to try to back her up.

And the saddest thing about the druid's death was it was quite avoidable. She was at -8 and the sorcerer was right with her and now out of the range of the lizards. The sorcerer, who was at 0, elected to drink her own and only potion of cure light wounds. She could have fed it to the druid and, even though she would then have been the one dying, she could have lasted a lot longer. The paladin with the curing wand was only a couple move actions away.

I felt a little bad about the two deaths, but they managed to get together enough money for a couple raise deads (they had the option of reincarnate which is a LOT cheaper but risky as far as what you come back as) and it really was through lack of sensibility that they died so I absolve myself of too much blame. You should do so as well.

 

[Mallus]

Sounds like a fine night of DM'ing to me...

Of course, I use a liberal Action Point system cribbed from shilsen that can stave off PC death through outrageous circumstance...

Now if the crucified PC had actually gotten up sometime later after 'dying', that would have been fantastic.

 

[BlackMoria]

You think your a bad DM because your players sent only half the party on a half baked plan to assault the orc war band, that went awry due to it being...well, a half baked plan and one of the party gets captured by brutal, vicious orcs and then dies a slow death because the party failed to act in a timely fashion?

Hmmm. Yep, your a bad DM. You let one get away. A good DM would have bagged both.

Seriously, don't beat yourself up over this. The players have the majority blame in this.

The party was split up, half the party gets illusions of grandeur that somehow, two of them can attack a orc war band of 100+ orcs and make it work. The plan is non-existant, they got in over their head and one gets captured. The rest of the party doesn't react in a timely fashion and a PC dies slowly as a result. Just where in all this sub-optimal decision making by your players did you as the DM make mistakes?

You played it out fairly, let them make their choices and handled them the consequences their actions earned. Don't see what the problem is, except players who need to be more thoughtful than view all problems as nails and themselves as hammers.

 

[Darklone]

I'm with Blackmoria on this one. A bard and a wizard might be easily able to wreck havoc on such a horde of orcs plus a giant... but not if they act like that.

I'm surprised one got captured, I would have expected both to die pretty quick. Level 7, come on. One hill giant might have killed them.

 

[Sunglar]

Not a bad DM at all! I obviously run far deadlier games than you do. If you feel down, don’t beat yourself up over it. Learn from what made you feel bad and go back at it with renewed vigor. If the PC did not mind it’s ok! Sure sounds dramatic and appropriate.