Does anyone even use a morale check in RPG games anymore ?
My new space game does and I'm wondering if I should just strip it out and let the players decide their gate instead of a crew they command putting pressure on the commander.
What's on your equipment list for a outdoor sandbox adventure ?
(Exclude regular armor and weapons)
Let's get into that backpack.
I've made a 140 page + Grimoire that's filled with curses, poisons, evil spells, wicked magic items and nasty creatures.
What else does a Grimoire need ? I'm about to go on Kickstarter and have a couple days to do some more editing.
I never realized as a DM the true power of a Druid until on of my player J got her character to 7th level and obtained the transformation aspect.
Scenario : narrow mountain pass held by the enemy with 8 prisoners.
Enemy: Wizard with 5 guards
Character : 1- 7th level druid
Druid flys up to the pass observes the scenario and waits as falcon for the right moment. Evil wizard comes out of fort and starts whipping the prisoners for answers to a question.
Druid is having none of it, she glides in like a fighter plane, transforms into a grizzly bear .5 seconds before hitting the wizard.
So 400 lbs grizzly bear at 40 mph hits wizard, she gets mouth and double claw hits resulting in hug damage. Instant death to 6th level wizard then turns to fight the 5 guards.
It doesn't take long for 2 guards to go down and the rest flee in fear. Which she chases after individually and devastates them all.
Don't F with the Druids
Long time player j and his trusty cavalier are traveling up the side of a mountain to go over a pass.
Group loses initiative and miss the three fire giants hiding in a prepared ambush. First part of group slogs past the ambush and waits for the easy picking.
When the cavalier is in the dead center of the ambush the 3 giants throw boulders at the group.
Fire giants roll a 20, 15 and a 8 if I'm not mistaken. The 20 roll is randomly determined to hit the cavalier.
J is a super good player doesn't forget much but this day, I don't know what he was thinking. He says I'm going to catch the boulder with my gauntlets of ogre power.
Now J knows the rules but this time he forgets and I remind him of the gauntlets powers. All he does is says CRAP and takes the full brunt of the boulder into the chest, the falls off the horse and partway down the mountain. Which takes his character perfectly health to -3.
His cavalier survived but his horse didn't and 2 of the 3 fire giants escaped.
( In our game -10 is death, if your riding a horse and you get hit by a lance or something heavy you need to make a dexterity check to see if you stay on your horse )
In a game with a well known DM at a convention.
DM says you enter a room with a clear glass pool 3 foot pathway all the way around and door on the other side.
Me: I step out of the room.
DM: anyone else ?
Idiot player: I go into room (along with the rest of the party )
Me: did anyone test the "Water" with a dagger to see if it is water ?
Idiot player: continue around pool
Me: I shut the door
DM: idiot player you step on a trap and the pool lights on fire.
Me: thinking "I knew it"
Idiot player and rest of party DEAD
DM to me: what do you want to do. GTFOH
End of what was supposed to be a 4 hour session ends in 1.5
More takes to come ......
In a TSR dungeon with a vestibule at the top of the stairs and orcs are firing arrows down on the party.
Wizard pulls out a Wand of Wonder and aims and fires.
Fireball lands true and kills Orcs but wizard didn't know the space was only 10x10. So the fireball immediately back blasts kills the Magic User and half the party.
More stories from 40+ years of gaming to come ..... Even some of my crazy ideas that went wrong.
Had a brand new player join my bi weekly wilderness campaign.
E rolled up a new character and was gungho into exploring this new world. First encounter the party sees a Woolly Rhino 🦏 off the side of the trail they are on. E being new and a thief character decides to test his abilities and asks "Can I pet the rhino 🦏 ?". Being I have a table where I let players explore their environment I tell him to roll a percentage die to see if he can move up silently to pet said Rhino 🦏. Player successfully makes his roll and pets the Rhino 🦏. The Rhino 🦏 isn't having it and proceeds to gore the brand new player.
E survived the encounter because the rest of the group has prepared for this eventuality and killed the innocent Rhino 🦏, but not without going from full hit points to 0.
Players always do crazy things and at our table we now call it a players Petting the Woolly Rhino moment.