|
My players and I aren't always well-matched: I love intrigue and backstories, they love stealing everything that isn't nailed down, then breaking everything else. Luckily, we all have a lot of fun every time we get together, but we have some pretty different favorite experiences. My favorite encounter happened while my characters were traveling through a forest, and I had them encounter a big black stag that would follow them at distance, staring at them but never approaching. It was a monster I'd pulled from some third party supplement and altered for my own campaign -- it was some magical creature with a fear aura and a gaze attack to invade dreams. I'd originally envisioned this as a mind-control-one-of-the-players scenario (usually I secretly write notes and sneak them under the table to whoever lost their will save. My players love that poo poo, as they know from experience that party infighting can ruin the game, but still want license to do it every now and then) but unexpectedly, the wizard was the one to lose the save. I realized the encounter would go down in one of two ways -- the others would immediately knock out the wizard, and then the stag would go down probably two rounds later, or the wizard would get off a fireball and the party would be toasted. Also the wizard was a newer player, and I don't know if he would have enjoyed the experience. Whatever the case, I scrapped my notes and started making poo poo up. I told the wizard that the forest was looking really dark, and he was feeling faint. The party made camp, but when it came time for the wizard to take watch, they couldn't wake him up. I placed his mini on a separate map from the other players, and told him that it looked just like the campsite, but the other characters weren't there and a black stag was charging through the forest at him. When he hit the wizard, it spawned a black stag in the real world -- crashing directly into the ranger, who was attempting a heal check at the same time. The wizard was built for buffing the other party members, so he's out of damage spells in just a few rounds. However, he was carrying an enchanted falchion he'd taken off of some undead, and as a backup plan had a spell that gave him proficiency with one weapon for 1 min/class level. He takes a couple of rounds to cast that, and true strike -- getting clubbed around by the stag pretty badly, but passing his concentration checks. At this point, perhaps five or six phantom black stags are rushing around the campsite and fighting the rest of the party. As the stag rushes at him, the wizard swings and hits, killing the stag and waking up. The rest of the party sees the phantom stags disappear, and then sees the wizard standing and holding his sword out, his hand bleeding from a stag-shaped wound on his hand. It left a scar, and he gained the ability to cast fear once a day from it. This he used at least a few times, but if I remember correctly I don't think he ever used the sword again. My players' favorite encounter? That was in the dungeon from 3 or 4 sessions before that one. The players were attacked by a horde of skeletons, and spent maybe ten rounds bull rushing them off a balcony, one by one. They still talk about that one the most.
|
#
¿
Feb 22, 2012 01:33
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 22, 2024 02:58 |
|