Back during 2E I was playing in a low level Birthright game. Our DM let a guy he knew from school play a Vos fighter. We had tracked down a group of bandits to a ruined guard post and had entered combat in the courtyard. One of the bandits had a trained war dog and the Vos decided that it would make a good pet. He proceeded to try and grapple it, of course the dog tried to bite him and in the wrestling managed to score a critical against his posterior, biting off his left butt cheek. The Vos got mad and turned aroud and bent over to pick up his dropped sword, providing the dog with an attack of opportunity. It scored another crit and bit off the other cheek. The character lived but due to lack of healing spells was forever know as the buttless Vos.
dumbest thing a character has survived
- Thread starter Taneel BrightBlade
- Start date
Taneel BrightBlade
First Post
hehehehe
Hypersmurf
Moderatarrrrh...
First level party, assaulting a keep full of hobgoblins, atop a plateau, with a watchtower overlooking the trail up the cliff.
We decided to avoid the trail, sending our best climbers up the cliff on the opposite side of the watchtower, who lowered a rope for the others.
DC 10, it was decided, to climb the rope... which meant everyone could Take 10 and climb safely, with the exception of the dwarf wizard - Str 8, no ranks in climb. He elected to wait until we were near the top of the rope, then head up the trail (with the watchtower hopefully distracted).
The ranger, rogue, and bowman reached the top first, and unfortunately were spotted from the watchtower (really unlucky Move Silently check). Trading missile fire proved an unfortunate plan - some lucky rolls on the part of the hobgoblins did a lot of damage in the first couple of rounds, and the three PCs fled behind the keep, out of view of the tower guards.
(The wizard walked around to the foot of the trail.)
The tanks, therefore, reached the top of the rope to find, not a beachhead, but a bunch of hobbos with crossbows pointed at them...
(The wizard started to climb the trail.)
The bowman was providing some covering fire from behind the keep; the ranger and rogue went in the back door, and immediately got into trouble taking on a bunch of hobbos by themselves. Once the tanks seemed to have their melee in hand, the bowman climbed through a window, intending to surprise the ranger and rogue's opponents from behind... but ran into another lot of guards by himself.
(The wizard continued to climb the trail.)
The tanks finished up the tower guards, and headed for the front door... running past half a dozen arrow slits in the process and getting pelted with crossbow bolts. They decided the main door was probably barred... but the wall beside it looked to have crumbled at some point, and had been replaced with packed rubble. So they elected to try and shoulder-charge their way through.
(The wizard continued to climb the trail.)
Of course, this took them more than a few rounds, and they were being shot at the whole time.
The bowman got hit with an unlucky crit, and went down; the ranger went to his rescue, and ended up on 1 hit point, trying to hold a door closed against several hobgoblins while the bowman gradually bled deeper into the negatives.
The wizard finally made it to the top of the trail... and stepped into the line of fire of all the arrowslits, got shot, and dropped unconscious. (The player's relief at finally getting to do something... was short-lived
)
The rogue was running away from the ogre who'd come storming out... but eventually ran out of places to run, and actually managed to solo it.
We all survived. I'm pretty sure there was some fudging (okay, a lot of fudging!) on the DM's part going on. As he commented to me later "I thought you'd pick one entrance. I didn't think you'd pick all of them at once! You pretty much activated every single encounter on the top level simultaneously..."
Heh. We're slightly more tactically savvy now. But we thought we played 1st level PCs pretty close to character!
-Hyp.
We decided to avoid the trail, sending our best climbers up the cliff on the opposite side of the watchtower, who lowered a rope for the others.
DC 10, it was decided, to climb the rope... which meant everyone could Take 10 and climb safely, with the exception of the dwarf wizard - Str 8, no ranks in climb. He elected to wait until we were near the top of the rope, then head up the trail (with the watchtower hopefully distracted).
The ranger, rogue, and bowman reached the top first, and unfortunately were spotted from the watchtower (really unlucky Move Silently check). Trading missile fire proved an unfortunate plan - some lucky rolls on the part of the hobgoblins did a lot of damage in the first couple of rounds, and the three PCs fled behind the keep, out of view of the tower guards.
(The wizard walked around to the foot of the trail.)
The tanks, therefore, reached the top of the rope to find, not a beachhead, but a bunch of hobbos with crossbows pointed at them...
(The wizard started to climb the trail.)
The bowman was providing some covering fire from behind the keep; the ranger and rogue went in the back door, and immediately got into trouble taking on a bunch of hobbos by themselves. Once the tanks seemed to have their melee in hand, the bowman climbed through a window, intending to surprise the ranger and rogue's opponents from behind... but ran into another lot of guards by himself.
(The wizard continued to climb the trail.)
The tanks finished up the tower guards, and headed for the front door... running past half a dozen arrow slits in the process and getting pelted with crossbow bolts. They decided the main door was probably barred... but the wall beside it looked to have crumbled at some point, and had been replaced with packed rubble. So they elected to try and shoulder-charge their way through.
(The wizard continued to climb the trail.)
Of course, this took them more than a few rounds, and they were being shot at the whole time.
The bowman got hit with an unlucky crit, and went down; the ranger went to his rescue, and ended up on 1 hit point, trying to hold a door closed against several hobgoblins while the bowman gradually bled deeper into the negatives.
The wizard finally made it to the top of the trail... and stepped into the line of fire of all the arrowslits, got shot, and dropped unconscious. (The player's relief at finally getting to do something... was short-lived
)The rogue was running away from the ogre who'd come storming out... but eventually ran out of places to run, and actually managed to solo it.
We all survived. I'm pretty sure there was some fudging (okay, a lot of fudging!) on the DM's part going on. As he commented to me later "I thought you'd pick one entrance. I didn't think you'd pick all of them at once! You pretty much activated every single encounter on the top level simultaneously..."
Heh. We're slightly more tactically savvy now. But we thought we played 1st level PCs pretty close to character!
-Hyp.
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Philip
Explorer
In one campaign the characters had just fought and barely killed a Great Wyrm Black dragon. They searched through its treasure and one of the things they foound was a rod that radiated powerful magic.
One of the more greedy party members wanted to claim it immediately, but he didn't yet know what it was. He looked around for something to test it on, and decided the dead body of the Black Dragon was a good target.
It was a rod of resurrection.
The party told him he was on his own, and they turned their back as the Black Dragon rose from the dead and attacked him.
One of the more greedy party members wanted to claim it immediately, but he didn't yet know what it was. He looked around for something to test it on, and decided the dead body of the Black Dragon was a good target.
It was a rod of resurrection.
The party told him he was on his own, and they turned their back as the Black Dragon rose from the dead and attacked him.
Barendd Nobeard
Explorer
Faced down a charging rhino. It was an elven cleric, and he lived. 
Laurel
First Post
Something that occurred last game:
Our resident martyr, ranger, and rogue decided to bull rush the big bad off a tower. Leaving the rest of us to fight little puny people. In the middle of battle we here screams below and through rings of telepathy ask him if he is okay. He says 'I am fine,' so we keep fighting.
Few rounds pass and once someone gets down to him we find he has been impaled by a great sword, and the big bad has a few scratches. Apparently our companion only actually had 11 hit points when we asked if he was okay, but though he could still take the evil on his own. Somehow he manages to live (house rules on hero points), but the group is still angry for the lack of honesty there.
I just have to add- These stories are great! I love the knowledge that others out there have similar or worse cases
Our resident martyr, ranger, and rogue decided to bull rush the big bad off a tower. Leaving the rest of us to fight little puny people. In the middle of battle we here screams below and through rings of telepathy ask him if he is okay. He says 'I am fine,' so we keep fighting.
Few rounds pass and once someone gets down to him we find he has been impaled by a great sword, and the big bad has a few scratches. Apparently our companion only actually had 11 hit points when we asked if he was okay, but though he could still take the evil on his own. Somehow he manages to live (house rules on hero points), but the group is still angry for the lack of honesty there.
I just have to add- These stories are great! I love the knowledge that others out there have similar or worse cases
Remathilis
Legend
<= 1st level elven thief charged Lord Soth, and lived to tell the tale. This, of course, was the first think this player did after beginning play with this DM, so maybe the DM let me live on this one...
Character retired 10 years and 15 levels later.
Character retired 10 years and 15 levels later.
Grishnak
First Post
Ive had 4 flashes of insanity and my chars managed to survive somehow.
The 1st time I ever played D&D (2E) I was a minotaur fighter pirate and found 3 chests attempting to open the 1st 1 I set a trap off and managed my saving throw and then went on and opened the other 2 chests and making my saves all 3 required an 18+ on the dice. I also set light to a nest of giant spiders after being turned back to human with no weapon to fight with the spiders duly poisoned me and that time he did die.
My 3rd was my fighter/cleric jumped into the courtyard of an orkish army alone and proceeded to run directly to an altar in the centre to save a peasant woman where a skeletal creature was about to take her head with a sword.
My latest one was with my master of chains, the party and I were fighting an adult black dragon and I used a magical chain with a superb quality lock and promptly strapped its mouth closed with the chain and proceeded to attack with either a magical dagger or magical shortsword (Cant remember which now) and lived even in hand to hand combat with the rest of the group
The 1st time I ever played D&D (2E) I was a minotaur fighter pirate and found 3 chests attempting to open the 1st 1 I set a trap off and managed my saving throw and then went on and opened the other 2 chests and making my saves all 3 required an 18+ on the dice. I also set light to a nest of giant spiders after being turned back to human with no weapon to fight with the spiders duly poisoned me and that time he did die.
My 3rd was my fighter/cleric jumped into the courtyard of an orkish army alone and proceeded to run directly to an altar in the centre to save a peasant woman where a skeletal creature was about to take her head with a sword.
My latest one was with my master of chains, the party and I were fighting an adult black dragon and I used a magical chain with a superb quality lock and promptly strapped its mouth closed with the chain and proceeded to attack with either a magical dagger or magical shortsword (Cant remember which now) and lived even in hand to hand combat with the rest of the group
DarkSoldier
First Post
One of my Star Wars characters survived (partially) having a frat house dropped on him.
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megamania
Hero
If you know/play Darksun you can really appreciate this one-
The party (consisting of 3rd shift co-workers whom had only been playing for about three months now) have just successfully survived their first true dungeon crawl and the 1/2 Giant in the party is very greedy. Anything- I stress anything of value is grabbed up and by using the sail of a Silt Runner, makes a bag to hold his goodies.
They make it to the nearest city. He plans on selling his goods within the city to just anyone.
The player is annoyed as he finds himself attacked one encounter after another by thieves, templars and homeless when he parades down main street with several hundred in gold of clinking and clanging goodies.
Then to further things, after he sells the stuff, goes right on to the secret meeting place to begin Arcane Shadows where a goody two shoes that the ruler wants dead is. The bumbling 1/2 Giant brought the entire thieves guild and templar force with him.
It was only because of the insueing confusion of good mages battling templars bettleing thieves that he and the party escaped with a seriously injured Korgunard.
Funniest thing- it worked well with the storyline and plot.
This same character later settled down and started a gambling house to retire.
The party (consisting of 3rd shift co-workers whom had only been playing for about three months now) have just successfully survived their first true dungeon crawl and the 1/2 Giant in the party is very greedy. Anything- I stress anything of value is grabbed up and by using the sail of a Silt Runner, makes a bag to hold his goodies.
They make it to the nearest city. He plans on selling his goods within the city to just anyone.
The player is annoyed as he finds himself attacked one encounter after another by thieves, templars and homeless when he parades down main street with several hundred in gold of clinking and clanging goodies.
Then to further things, after he sells the stuff, goes right on to the secret meeting place to begin Arcane Shadows where a goody two shoes that the ruler wants dead is. The bumbling 1/2 Giant brought the entire thieves guild and templar force with him.
It was only because of the insueing confusion of good mages battling templars bettleing thieves that he and the party escaped with a seriously injured Korgunard.
Funniest thing- it worked well with the storyline and plot.
This same character later settled down and started a gambling house to retire.
