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Message: <blockquote data-quote="StupidSmurf" data-source="post: 2554955" data-attributes="member: 35893">INCIDENT #1Chalk this one up to "Winning initiative too far ahead of the rest of the party isn't always a good thing."So in our current campaign the party is exploring a battered old ancestral keep. Now, at the time of this incident, the current party level was about, oh, third. In one section of the keep there are a pair of rooms across the corridor from each  other. Both have an ogre mated couple. One couple has hoarded most of the food supply, the other one has hoarded most of the valuables. The couples bicker constantly between themselves and each other.The way things were designed, the party could very easily deal with one couple first, since the positioning of the rooms was such that combat could occur in one room without the other couple being the wiser.BIG MISTAKE #1The party makes such a ruckus outside the rooms that both couples come out to see what's up. So, rather than dealing with just a pair of ogres, the party is now dealing with FOUR ogres.BIG MISTAKE #2Beradeth, the dwarven cleric of Moridin wins Initiative. The next highest is mine (I rolled extremely well). After that, it's the rest of the party (they all rolled rather badly). So, Beradeth sees the four ogres, bellows his praises to Moridin, and charges up to them, weapon swinging. Here's a tactical to show the final positions after Beradeth's ill-advised charge:                                 X X X                                 X OThe X's are Ogres. The O is the dwarf. It was at this point that Beradeth's player realized that he was ALL BY HIMSELF. The rest of the party was 30' away! And it was my turn...WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM!!! Full attacks! Four ogres! No waiting!Dwarf jelly, anyone?INCIDENT #2Same keep. Next session. I engage in the somewhat controversial DM practice of putting in a high CR monster somewhere in the adventuring area, but give very direct hints as to its presence. It gives the players something to shoot for when their PCs advance levels. For this little ancestral keep, it's a wyvern. The thing nests on the second floor of the keep's manor house, as the second floor is pretty much a wreck and is mostly exposed to the elements. The party has seen the wyvern fly back and forth from its nesting area, so they know it's there.The group is inside the manor and decides to ascent the winding stairway that leads to what's left of the second floor, just to scout things out. Leading the way is one of the party's two rogues. This fellow's PC has less HP than normal, thanks to a low Con (9) and a characteristic from Unearthed Arcana (+10 base speed, -1 hp per hit die). Fittingly, the PC worships Tymora, goddess of luck.So the rogue, Daerwyn, ascends the stairs with the rest of the party about 30' back. Does the Move Silently bit and finds a door on the second level which, by the party's reckoning is actually a way into the wyvern's nest area. Daerwyn does a Listen and sure enough, hears something big shifting around. It's the wyvern. Daerwyn decides he wants to just crack the door open and take a peek. Now, bear in mind, this is an interior door that's exposed to the elements since most of the roof and most of the outer walls are gone. The door's warped and it sticks. Daerwyn puts his back against it and pushes. The wyvern makes a Listen check and hears the rogue.The wyvern lashes out with his tail, crashing it THROUGH the door. Natural 20. Follow-up roll? Nat 20. Tertiary roll? Nat 19. Instant kill. The ruling was this: the wyvern's tail crashes through the door, goes through Daerwyn's back and emerges out from Daerwyn's chest! Then, for further insult, the wyvern pulls its tail back in, dragging (and folding) Daerwyn's body into the lair for a nice snack.It was one of those deaths that you wish you could see depicted in an adventure film.</blockquote>

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