D&D General Random Magic Bites Back

[Zardnaar]

We all know wild magic from 2E and the Sorcerer in 5E.

There's also been wild magic zones in 2E & 3E.

This thread is to share your story.

Mine is tonight we had a 5th level wizard tap a leyline in the Midgard setting. Leylines are kind of like metamagic and are weak, strong or titanic. Not guaranteed to tap though.

Spellcaster ability check DC 10 plus level of spell fail by 5 or more get backlash.

Wizard makes an intelligence check, flubs it rolls a d10 to see the random backlash effect and rolls a ten.

We knew it was gonna be bad. Titanic leyline as well.

All spell slots drained, knocked unconscious for an hour, and no one can tap the leyline for 24 hours.

The leyline was the Nuria river think Nile. A leyline running through the whole kingdom. It's not just the PC who can tap it but every spellcaster in the nation......

Oops. Better than my anvil dropped on head wild magic story from a 2E wildmage circa 2012/13.

So that's my D&D moment. Much laughter ensued. Anyone else have a similar story from wild magic, wand of wonder or something similar?

 

[Coroc]

My 5e greyhawk campaign had a quasi wildmagic event.
One of the players reading a "rain of the colorless fire" (houseruled this would be a 10th level spell)
scroll while having 1/3rd of the ashen staff as a focus and the other PCs powering the spell with their life energy.

They pulverized the attacking horde of two hundred orcs, thereby making spell dc checks (the caster) and constitution saving throws (the party) each round
One of them managed to off himself in the last round of the casting. So he met Farhlang the Wanderer (the faith he converted to recently) who gave him the choice to wander along with him or return to the prime oerth. The PC did perfect RP so it was a deserved deus ex machina resurrection.