TPKs I've known and loved

[Rel]

Unbelievable - a use for the tree token.

Our party found one early on (I think it was in the sunless citadel, but might be wrong) and carried it round for months. We thought the DM had invented it up as a joke when he told us what it did.

Are you kidding me? The Tree Token is one of the "must have" items that goes into almost every one of my PC's bags of tricks as soon as I have the spare cash and can find a place to buy one. I had them save the party bacon twice in the same campaign.

Once we doing battle in the top of a huge lighthouse. We had accomplished our mission (steal the crystal that powered the light) but we were about to be overwhelmed by bad guys. My Halfling Rogue throws a QFT-Tree to the ground and we grab on (using a series of Str checks) as it grew to full height. This put us close enough to the windows in the top of the lighthouse that we could smash our way out and escape.

Later in that campaign we wound up getting surprised by some Scrag (sea Trolls) as we camped on the beach. My Halfling again throws down his QFT-Tree and quickly climbs it. From atop the tree he rained a hail of crossbow bolts down on the Scrags long enough to drive them back into the sea (they only Regenerate in the water) and buy us time to escape into the jungle.

Quall's Feather Token: Tree - Don't leave home without it.

As to the TPK article, my experience has been the same as the author. It wasn't the big crit or huge spell effect that caused my one and only TPK as GM. It was the accumulated misses, failed saves and failure to retreat when they still had the chance.

 

[Rel]

My favorite is the one that happens a few years ago. THe party is leaving the house that the adventure took plae in as the house is changing into something evil. THey have fought a lot of things and no had more then 10hp, no one had any healing left, and they all confirm this to each other talking about it (they are about 7th level). So, out of the house walks a demon, more powerful then they've ever faced and they knew this to. They talk about what resources they have, they have very little but choose to go fight the demon anyway. They did a lot of damage and actually killed the beast, but it exploded killing them.

That is one rat-bastard DM right there. My hat is off!

 

[Henrix]

It wasn't the big crit or huge spell effect that caused my one and only TPK as GM. It was the accumulated misses, failed saves and failure to retreat when they still had the chance.

Yes, the failure to retreat while still having a chance is a serious party killer. My first experience of D&D3 ended thus, when we retreated forwards, into another room filled with zombies, instead of out.

(That I had insisted upon playing a half-orc cleric didn't help things. I had no inkling of the rules, and a -2 Cha modifier didn't help when I tried to turn them! )

 

[Quasqueton]

It should be an standard adventurer understanding and agreement that if a PC falls in combat, everyone should immediately begin pullout (taking the fallen comrade if reasonably possible).

Quasqueton

 

[Delemental]

Are you kidding me? The Tree Token is one of the "must have" items that goes into almost every one of my PC's bags of tricks as soon as I have the spare cash and can find a place to buy one. I had them save the party bacon twice in the same campaign.

Here, here! The tree token is one of the best of the lot, by far. I've had DM's quadruple their cost to keep us from getting too many.

It's a story I've told here before, but we once won a combat through tree token use. We were on a riverbank, chasing down a Red Wizard who was on a ship pulling away. His Thayan KNight bodyguard stayed on shore to engage us. He was several levels above our group average, plus we're having spells and arrows from the ship raining down on us; the DM was intending it to be a "Knight holds party off long enough for Wizard to escape, then leaves" scenario.

Our group's illusionist gets off a lucky Tasha's Laughter spell on the Knight, and he goes down laughing. Then my druid casts Soften Earth under him. We're on a riverbank, he's in plate armor, so he sinks about three feet into the mud, still laughing.

Next round, I throw my tree token on top of him.

With the Knight out of the way, we were able to get to the ship and kill the Red Wizard. We just dug the body of the Knight out of the roots later.

We also used one to kill a pesky roper, by throwing the token down its throat.

 

[Angel of Adventure]

Never DM'd a TPK, or played in one. However, the ones we nearly had or that happened while I wasn't playing happened due to player hubris/stupidity. Unfortunately, it happens, but it must if the PCs are to truly fear death at higher levels.

-AoA

 

[babomb]

We also used one to kill a pesky roper, by throwing the token down its throat.

This is illegal (in third edition, at least; I make no claim as to previous editions). The Quall's Feather Tokens are conjuration effects. See the description of the conjuration school:

A creature or object brought into being or transported to your location by a conjuration spell cannot appear inside another creature or object, nor can it appear floating in empty space. It must arrive in an open location on a surface capable of supporting it.

Technically, it would also be illegal for the tree to appear under someone, though I'd be inclined to allow it anyway.

 

[the Jester]

The last tpk I dmed involved the ol' "splitting the party and failing to retreat" combo.

Bummer, man. That was an epic-level group, too.

On the other hand, the cleric's cohort (who wasn't there) managed to bring back the cleric via an elixir of true resurrection that the cleric had left in his care just in case of such an eventuality...