The Head of Vecna, revisited ...

[SunRaven01]

I love my players, I really really do. We are playing through Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, and my players are still exploring the Moathouse. They decided to find their way through the maze-like area (fortunately they have a Cleric of Shar in tow -- stonecunning for the win!).

[SPOILERS BELOW!!!]

They find the evil amythest altar, and the large carven pillar. The Shar cleric debates internally for a few moments, and decides to touch the altar. He gets paralyzed. The rest of the party decides to search the room, finds the ceremonial items, and then drags the cleric-totem out of the room and into the maze.

When he comes to again, they admit being lost, and his first words are, "Oh, no problem! The altar is back that way!"

This should have been their first clue.

Back into the altar room they go, wherein they beat the drum, ring the chimes, and light the brazier. The fighter is struck with insanity, and everyone else gets temporary stat loss.

This should have been their second clue. But it wasn't.

After some brilliant roleplay from the fighter, they decide that they need to do it ... again. So out comes the drum, the chimes, and the incense, and then the rogue is also insane, and more temp stat loss is handed out.

Fortunately, the rogue is more manageably insane than the fighter, so they manage to tie the fighter up before she PKs everyone else. Then the mage and the cleric begin discussing the merits of human sacrifice, and debating whether to off the rogue or the fighter!

Yes, that's right, they were going to make a THIRD go at it, but this time they were going to add the bonus of killing a party member, just to "be on the safe side."

[END SPOILERS]

This is where I lost it ... I had to start laughing at this point, I just couldn't hold it in any longer. And that's how I spent my Thanksgiving holiday!

 

[theredrobedwizard]

People are friggin' dumb. My party did basically that same thing almost 4 years ago.

They did it 8 times. 8.

-TRRW

 

[SunRaven01]

They did it 8 times. 8.

-TRRW

That's ... that's just pure magic right there.

 

[BOZ]

if we do not learn from history...

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I find that a lot of the time people will just follow someone else's dumb decisions blindly. In my game the rest of the group happily went along with the partially crazy Chaotic Neutral Rogue/Barbarian's plan which ended with them kidnapping an acolyte of the church that they were trying to help!

No-one was killed thankfully and they did let the acolyte go after holding him captive and questioning him through the night. The head priest of the church wasn't exactly happy with them to say the least.

Never underestimate the power a dominant person's opinion or will can have over a group.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Aeric]

When I played in that adventure, the party was convinced that the items of power needed to become the chosen of Tharizdun (or something...it's been two years) were hidden inside that strange floating black ball in one of the rooms. So we talked the half-orc into reaching into the ball and grabbing the items for us. Needless to say, he was annihilated.

For some strange reason, it didn't dawn on me, one of two veteran D&D players in the group (the player of the half-orc was the other one), that the ball was a Sphere of Annihilation. Our poor hapless half-orc had been plane shifted to the grell dimension earlier in the game, and so I figured that the ball must have done something similar. I wanted to go rescue him. So I touched it too.

After the third person touched the ball and was disintegrated, the party decided that maybe it was a Bad Idea to do so.

 

[Cheiromancer]

I like the idea of a grell dimension- how did he get back?

After the third person touched the ball and was disintegrated, the party decided that maybe it was a Bad Idea to do so.

I take it the players had to roll up new characters? Or did your DM allow a "take-back"?

 

[Imagicka]

Greetings...

Well, they always say the third time is the charm!

 

[BlackMoria]

I love it when characters 'hoise themselves on their own petard'. Pure entertainment for the DM. **evil DM laugh**

 

[Olaf the Stout]

When I played in that adventure, the party was convinced that the items of power needed to become the chosen of Tharizdun (or something...it's been two years) were hidden inside that strange floating black ball in one of the rooms. So we talked the half-orc into reaching into the ball and grabbing the items for us. Needless to say, he was annihilated.

For some strange reason, it didn't dawn on me, one of two veteran D&D players in the group (the player of the half-orc was the other one), that the ball was a Sphere of Annihilation. Our poor hapless half-orc had been plane shifted to the grell dimension earlier in the game, and so I figured that the ball must have done something similar. I wanted to go rescue him. So I touched it too.

After the third person touched the ball and was disintegrated, the party decided that maybe it was a Bad Idea to do so.

We're you shocked and surprised when PC#2 and PC#3 followed PC#1 into the afterlife?

Olaf the Stout