Best one-shot character
- Thread starter Krug
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Marius Delphus
Adventurer
A 2E Conjuration specialist. It was at a con (don't recall where or when) where a couple buddies and I got into a "high-level" game alluringly titled "Hunt for the Tarrasque" or some such. The characters were all 13th-16th level (my conjurer was 14th) and we never did face the tarrasque... that wasn't the point.
The reason I found this the best one-shot character I've ever played was that I got the opportunity (read: was forced) to break out of my "usual" wizard mode. Bereft of all the "gotta have 'em" Evocation spells like magic missile, fireball, and lightning bolt, I found myself racking my brains for the best uses of each of the spells I had. Three important lessons came out of this game:
* Summoned monsters make good (read: expendable) scouts.
* Power words wake the party from sleep
* Mid- to high-level assassins tend to have few enough hit points to make them vulnerable to power word, stun.
The fight with the NPC party at the adventure's climax was the most memorable con experience I've had. (sigh) The comment the DM made (that the use of spells was "perfect") simply added to the day. All that, and my character died in relatively noble sacrifice circumstances. (The cleric had a rod of resurrection... and made heavy use of it. "No, bring back the paladin... he's the only one of us with a chance against that pit fiend!")
Other fun stuff: silence grenades... the anti-magic shell over the enemy wizard: "the best gift he could possibly give us"... the enemy 1E monk that basically tore through one PC per round!... "perfect" paladin play... multi-wizard collaboration... bypassing red herrings by intentionally ignoring them...
Ahem. Well, having that much fun with the adventure certainly puts additional "shine" on the character I was playing. More fun than the dead gnome.... Looking forward to more character stories...!
The reason I found this the best one-shot character I've ever played was that I got the opportunity (read: was forced) to break out of my "usual" wizard mode. Bereft of all the "gotta have 'em" Evocation spells like magic missile, fireball, and lightning bolt, I found myself racking my brains for the best uses of each of the spells I had. Three important lessons came out of this game:
* Summoned monsters make good (read: expendable) scouts.
* Power words wake the party from sleep
* Mid- to high-level assassins tend to have few enough hit points to make them vulnerable to power word, stun.
The fight with the NPC party at the adventure's climax was the most memorable con experience I've had. (sigh) The comment the DM made (that the use of spells was "perfect") simply added to the day. All that, and my character died in relatively noble sacrifice circumstances. (The cleric had a rod of resurrection... and made heavy use of it. "No, bring back the paladin... he's the only one of us with a chance against that pit fiend!")
Other fun stuff: silence grenades... the anti-magic shell over the enemy wizard: "the best gift he could possibly give us"... the enemy 1E monk that basically tore through one PC per round!... "perfect" paladin play... multi-wizard collaboration... bypassing red herrings by intentionally ignoring them...
Ahem. Well, having that much fun with the adventure certainly puts additional "shine" on the character I was playing. More fun than the dead gnome.... Looking forward to more character stories...!
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My favorite was a high-level evil game that we only played for one night. There was a human fighter/blackguard, a barbarian Troll, and I was a sorceror. I had vampiric touch and a ring of wizardry III.... Hehe. The troll was my lifeforce sap before battles with my 12 or 13 3rd level spells per day.
"Sit still Igor! This won't hurt you for long." Then you add 8d6 hp and wait around 30 seconds for the Troll to heal. It was fun being Evil. We all were with Hextor and had to destroy another evil temple. Kind of nice. It was memorable because we all made fun characters we'd never want to play for more then a night or two.
"Sit still Igor! This won't hurt you for long." Then you add 8d6 hp and wait around 30 seconds for the Troll to heal. It was fun being Evil. We all were with Hextor and had to destroy another evil temple. Kind of nice. It was memorable because we all made fun characters we'd never want to play for more then a night or two.
Frostmarrow
First Post
Corbeau
A gangrel vampire with no empathy whatsoever. Every time a gangrel loses his self-control and enter a frenzy they become more and more like a certain animal. Corbeau was no exception. (Some of you might have guessed what animal already, yes corbeau is French for raven.)
Black feathers grew from the neck and back of his head instead of his usual jet black hair. He was very attracted to shiny objects. His pockets were often filled with them as he picked them up unbeknownst of his own actions. This saved the party at a time when he just happened to find a zippo-lighter on him. The most striking part of Corbeau, however, was his utter lack of empathy. He could pick apart a man or a bird piece by piece without flinching or even think twice about it. If anything it bored him. Trying to have a meaningful conversation with him was like trying to communicate with a computer with mood swings. The character was so utterly alien I got scared when people played him at a convention. I only wrote him down.
A gangrel vampire with no empathy whatsoever. Every time a gangrel loses his self-control and enter a frenzy they become more and more like a certain animal. Corbeau was no exception. (Some of you might have guessed what animal already, yes corbeau is French for raven.)
Black feathers grew from the neck and back of his head instead of his usual jet black hair. He was very attracted to shiny objects. His pockets were often filled with them as he picked them up unbeknownst of his own actions. This saved the party at a time when he just happened to find a zippo-lighter on him. The most striking part of Corbeau, however, was his utter lack of empathy. He could pick apart a man or a bird piece by piece without flinching or even think twice about it. If anything it bored him. Trying to have a meaningful conversation with him was like trying to communicate with a computer with mood swings. The character was so utterly alien I got scared when people played him at a convention. I only wrote him down.
The Dungeon Nazi
First Post
In one night, everyone but the priest of Mystra was slain by a high-level drow lich, so this surviving dweomerkeeper was given a party pulled from the farthest reaches of the Realms (by a mysterious benefactor!) to aid him in retrieving the original (we were all subsequently killed 
).
I rolled up one of the AD&D bard kits, the Blade. In keeping with the theme of the kit, I named the guy Evisceral -- The Soul Burner (he was some performer from Calimshan). He dressed like that badass assassin prestige class pic in the new DMG, and his studded leather was +2. He also had a +1 longsword, but the kicker was the +3 vorpal dagger, Soul Burner, which the DM had come up with based on the name. It slew and drained all remaining HP on a critical, and I actually got to down a drow fighter and steal his chainmail that night. But damn did that feel good, shoving that dagger up under his ribcage and watching his eyes turn to smoke and his body wither away into a wretched shell!
).I rolled up one of the AD&D bard kits, the Blade. In keeping with the theme of the kit, I named the guy Evisceral -- The Soul Burner (he was some performer from Calimshan). He dressed like that badass assassin prestige class pic in the new DMG, and his studded leather was +2. He also had a +1 longsword, but the kicker was the +3 vorpal dagger, Soul Burner, which the DM had come up with based on the name. It slew and drained all remaining HP on a critical, and I actually got to down a drow fighter and steal his chainmail that night. But damn did that feel good, shoving that dagger up under his ribcage and watching his eyes turn to smoke and his body wither away into a wretched shell!
