Hjorimir
Adventurer
Setting the mood…
So last session (this past Sunday) right before we started I told everybody to take a moment and reflect in our friendship and all the good times we’ve had in the campaign up to this point. I pointed out how recent events have really escalated the tempo and dangers within the campaign and they were all now 9th-level (pretty powerful as far as I’m concerned).
I tried to take a picture of their smiling faces, but the batteries in the camera needed to be recharged.
They laughed and called me a wimp DM, which I know was said in jest as among the three in my group that DM I have, by far, had the most PC deaths in my games (note I didn’t say I killed the PCs, I just run a tough game and consequences play out as they may). So we all laughed and one of my players said, “Bring it!”
Five minutes later…my wife’s character lay in a pool of blood. Quite dead. Assassinated. She normally has the protection of her barbarian cousin. But he had been slyly pulled him away by the lure of a buxom, young lass who seemed surprisingly interested in getting him in the sack. Accomplice for the win!
To the player’s credit, warning bells were going off as his barbarian usually cannot get the time of day from human women who don’t lay with those of ‘elven’ blood. But his character is hopelessly horny and he stayed true to his personality. “Just wait here Tríona, you’ll be okay. Don’t worry, it is a public place!”
Now you have to understand that my wife has never had a character die in any of my games and only once in somebody else’s, which she wasn’t too happy about. At the time, she was quite upset about this turn of events (she rolled the 1 on her save vs. the Death Attack) and I was pretty sure she was getting ready to throw things at me.
I didn’t actually plan on the character death and there had been many warnings that somebody was in the city stalking her, but I think the message was clear. “You know if her character is vulnerable, yours are too!” There was a lot of laughter in the room… it was nervous laughter.
I also started rolling my dice in the open. My players found that scary too.
We left off in an undead-ridden dungeon. The mark of Orcus is all over the place and as they entered the area a foul wind with the smell of death rushed over them and whispered, “The return of the wand is nigh.”
I’ve already had one TPK here…in the first room. The new group has managed to clear the first room, but the last comment from the wizard’s player was, “I’m pretty sure I’m going to die in here.” The sorcerer thinks his odds are not much better.
Still, my players seem eager for the next session.
Sometimes I love this game.
So last session (this past Sunday) right before we started I told everybody to take a moment and reflect in our friendship and all the good times we’ve had in the campaign up to this point. I pointed out how recent events have really escalated the tempo and dangers within the campaign and they were all now 9th-level (pretty powerful as far as I’m concerned).
I tried to take a picture of their smiling faces, but the batteries in the camera needed to be recharged.
They laughed and called me a wimp DM, which I know was said in jest as among the three in my group that DM I have, by far, had the most PC deaths in my games (note I didn’t say I killed the PCs, I just run a tough game and consequences play out as they may). So we all laughed and one of my players said, “Bring it!”
Five minutes later…my wife’s character lay in a pool of blood. Quite dead. Assassinated. She normally has the protection of her barbarian cousin. But he had been slyly pulled him away by the lure of a buxom, young lass who seemed surprisingly interested in getting him in the sack. Accomplice for the win!
To the player’s credit, warning bells were going off as his barbarian usually cannot get the time of day from human women who don’t lay with those of ‘elven’ blood. But his character is hopelessly horny and he stayed true to his personality. “Just wait here Tríona, you’ll be okay. Don’t worry, it is a public place!”
Now you have to understand that my wife has never had a character die in any of my games and only once in somebody else’s, which she wasn’t too happy about. At the time, she was quite upset about this turn of events (she rolled the 1 on her save vs. the Death Attack) and I was pretty sure she was getting ready to throw things at me.
I didn’t actually plan on the character death and there had been many warnings that somebody was in the city stalking her, but I think the message was clear. “You know if her character is vulnerable, yours are too!” There was a lot of laughter in the room… it was nervous laughter.
I also started rolling my dice in the open. My players found that scary too.
We left off in an undead-ridden dungeon. The mark of Orcus is all over the place and as they entered the area a foul wind with the smell of death rushed over them and whispered, “The return of the wand is nigh.”
I’ve already had one TPK here…in the first room. The new group has managed to clear the first room, but the last comment from the wizard’s player was, “I’m pretty sure I’m going to die in here.” The sorcerer thinks his odds are not much better.
Still, my players seem eager for the next session.
Sometimes I love this game.
