100 reasons to be fiendish with players [Archive] - Wizards Community

100 reasons to be fiendish with players [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
White_Wizard
10-13-05, 11:30 AM The first D&D movie was clearly based on a truly played campaign, during which the DM showed too much mercy for his players.

Example 1: the beginning.

DM: :) "You 1st level rogues are just arrived in town. You know that the dock ward should provide a lot of easy work offerings for two beginners like you. There is also the terrifying flame-spitting Tower of Magic which is full of treasures but is also the most dangerous place in the town even..."
PC: :fight!: "Go plunder the Tower!!!"
DM: :ahem: "... even more experieced thieves than you have died horribly in foul attempts to violate the tower's defenses"
PC: :fight!: "Go plunder the Tower!!!"
DM: :bored: "[sigh] Ok, then, go to the tower. You have to climb it's 300 feet high walls and you must do it silently: if only the guards catch you..."
PC: :fight!: "We shout loudly all over the climb, just to make sure that we hear each other's chatting!"
DM: [rolls dies] "You make it (somehow) to the inside. You find a whole lot of gold items. Do you want to check for trap..."
PC: :fight!: "Let's take the big shiny one!!!"
DM: :surrender: "...s?"

Example 2: the forbidden cave

DM: "there is obviously some alignment-based spell that holds off all of you party member save one"
PC: "I will go there all alone!"
DM: [offering generous advice] "But maybe there is some other way in, you should check: after all they've told you that it's full of deadly traps down the..."
PC: "I'm in the cave. What do I see?"
DM: "...re."
PC: "C'mon! I start touching everything that vaguely looks like a trigger for some trap."
DM: :weep:

So, the question is: why didn't that DM kill all of the party members? Why show that much mercy?

Avereage DM's reaction to PCs manifest dumbness:
DM "Ok, make it clear to me: you just found that suspicious reeking hole with a pile of burned off bones in front of it, right?"
PC "Yup!"
DM "And you want to put your head in the hole to see what it is, right?"
PC "Yup!"
DM "I would say 10d6 fire damage"
(That was me DMing an ancient dwarven dungeon - shortly after this unfortunate episode the party took 1h20' of real time to even find a way to open a sealed door -it was simply a 'touch the brick' mechanism).

So, finally, this is a DM oriented thread: post here the silliest moments of your campaigns? Did you PCs wanted at all costs to put their hands into the lava pit? Then post here! Did they take fun of the balor's horns? Post here! And post in numbers!
DragonDeadite
10-13-05, 02:25 PM One of the supidest moments I ever DMed...

The players were all on the run in a city and were holed up in a run down little warehouse. They had paid the owner a good sized purse to stay there for a few nights and finaly decided to just purchase the warehouse and stay there. They sent the Ranger with no personality to talk to the owner. He said 2,000 GP for the warehouse and to make sure he didn't tell anyone. The Ranger went back, told the other ranger. RangerB went to the store owner and started threatening him in the middle of a public market with guards just about everywhere. The owner just started laughing and raising the price, but he kept threatening, even grabbing the guy by the shirt... it was at about that time that he realised the guards were headed his way with drawn swords. Very idiotic.

My favorite moment of idiocy actualy had me as the player. Two of them really... in one I was a Druid that ended up with an inteligent bow. A troll popped up out of the water (We were level 2 at the most at that point) and my bow wen "Oh! Kill it!" So I didn't bother trying to go against the bow and fired...

My next character was a dwarven cleric, very brash and very outlandish. I loved him!! Let's see... his favorite moment was when he jumped into the sewage to retreive a strange glowing item that he believed his party needed. He then went through the street, stinking of raw sewage, and screaming out the name of his party he was looking for, who happened to be on the run as well!!! They beat him when he got to them... it hurt. His crowning moment was when they entered into a cave and surprised a bear into waking up. I got surprised myself and ended up smacking it with a hammer... I made another cleric after that. :D
Psychoticpsymon
10-13-05, 03:01 PM In a Yuan-Ti -like race's dungeon, where they had already encountered this similair trap...

DM: "You walk into the room and see a large bust of a snake with an open mouth in the back. It has two jeweled eyes, both rubies. The body of the first snake you encountered is on the ground before you."
Wizard: "I try to remove the ruby." (New)
DM: "Reflex save" (They usually don't ask anymore. I'm that kind of DM)
Wizard: *fail*
DM: "4d6 fire damage."
He survives, the ranger approaches the bust.
Wizard: "Uhh Ranger, (bad roleplayer) last time we were here and I stuck my arm in there, it clamped down..."
Ranger: "I stick my sword in there"
I immediately throw him a mechanical pen.
DM: "Flip your character sheet over."
Ranger: "Uhh" (does it)
DM: "In your items slot, write in 'Hilt'"
Ranger: :eek:

*OP, this could be 1000 fiendish :D
Gray stranger
10-13-05, 03:29 PM I as a DM made a room

In this room was a blackboard with some chalk

the room is shut

the only way out is by solving a riddle, and writing the answer on the black board

monsters appear, everytime you defeat one, the chalk writes a clue on the blackboard
the piece of chalk also made something like: ANSWER:....... that's the spot where tthe correct answer should be written

my players ended up doing 40 minutes of guesswork and why?

they had the answer after 15 minutes, but they didn't write it down on the board, they just shouted ''PEARLS''
White_Wizard
10-14-05, 01:43 PM As a player I did one of the stupidest things ever.

Some evil wizard's alchemical lab. There are shelves full of strange bubbling vials and a lot of webs.
A spider jumps on me (Human barbarian) and bites me off some skin (ew!). I manage to kill him, but now I'm eager for vengeance and, looking to avoid further attacks by other spiders, I say loudly: "I take my flaming torch and I set fire to the webs hanging around!"
Did I mentioned that we were in an alchemical lab?
KABOOOM

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
White_Wizard 10-13-05, 11:30 AM	The first D&D movie was clearly based on a truly played campaign, during which the DM showed too much mercy for his players. Example 1: the beginning. DM: :) "You 1st level rogues are just arrived in town. You know that the dock ward should provide a lot of easy work offerings for two beginners like you. There is also the terrifying flame-spitting Tower of Magic which is full of treasures but is also the most dangerous place in the town even..." PC: :fight!: "Go plunder the Tower!!!" DM: :ahem: "... even more experieced thieves than you have died horribly in foul attempts to violate the tower's defenses" PC: :fight!: "Go plunder the Tower!!!" DM: :bored: "[sigh] Ok, then, go to the tower. You have to climb it's 300 feet high walls and you must do it silently: if only the guards catch you..." PC: :fight!: "We shout loudly all over the climb, just to make sure that we hear each other's chatting!" DM: [rolls dies] "You make it (somehow) to the inside. You find a whole lot of gold items. Do you want to check for trap..." PC: :fight!: "Let's take the big shiny one!!!" DM: :surrender: "...s?" Example 2: the forbidden cave DM: "there is obviously some alignment-based spell that holds off all of you party member save one" PC: "I will go there all alone!" DM: [offering generous advice] "But maybe there is some other way in, you should check: after all they've told you that it's full of deadly traps down the..." PC: "I'm in the cave. What do I see?" DM: "...re." PC: "C'mon! I start touching everything that vaguely looks like a trigger for some trap." DM: :weep: So, the question is: why didn't that DM kill all of the party members? Why show that much mercy? Avereage DM's reaction to PCs manifest dumbness: DM "Ok, make it clear to me: you just found that suspicious reeking hole with a pile of burned off bones in front of it, right?" PC "Yup!" DM "And you want to put your head in the hole to see what it is, right?" PC "Yup!" DM "I would say 10d6 fire damage" (That was me DMing an ancient dwarven dungeon - shortly after this unfortunate episode the party took 1h20' of real time to even find a way to open a sealed door -it was simply a 'touch the brick' mechanism). So, finally, this is a DM oriented thread: post here the silliest moments of your campaigns? Did you PCs wanted at all costs to put their hands into the lava pit? Then post here! Did they take fun of the balor's horns? Post here! And post in numbers!
DragonDeadite 10-13-05, 02:25 PM	One of the supidest moments I ever DMed... The players were all on the run in a city and were holed up in a run down little warehouse. They had paid the owner a good sized purse to stay there for a few nights and finaly decided to just purchase the warehouse and stay there. They sent the Ranger with no personality to talk to the owner. He said 2,000 GP for the warehouse and to make sure he didn't tell anyone. The Ranger went back, told the other ranger. RangerB went to the store owner and started threatening him in the middle of a public market with guards just about everywhere. The owner just started laughing and raising the price, but he kept threatening, even grabbing the guy by the shirt... it was at about that time that he realised the guards were headed his way with drawn swords. Very idiotic. My favorite moment of idiocy actualy had me as the player. Two of them really... in one I was a Druid that ended up with an inteligent bow. A troll popped up out of the water (We were level 2 at the most at that point) and my bow wen "Oh! Kill it!" So I didn't bother trying to go against the bow and fired... My next character was a dwarven cleric, very brash and very outlandish. I loved him!! Let's see... his favorite moment was when he jumped into the sewage to retreive a strange glowing item that he believed his party needed. He then went through the street, stinking of raw sewage, and screaming out the name of his party he was looking for, who happened to be on the run as well!!! They beat him when he got to them... it hurt. His crowning moment was when they entered into a cave and surprised a bear into waking up. I got surprised myself and ended up smacking it with a hammer... I made another cleric after that. :D
Psychoticpsymon 10-13-05, 03:01 PM	In a Yuan-Ti -like race's dungeon, where they had already encountered this similair trap... DM: "You walk into the room and see a large bust of a snake with an open mouth in the back. It has two jeweled eyes, both rubies. The body of the first snake you encountered is on the ground before you." Wizard: "I try to remove the ruby." (New) DM: "Reflex save" (They usually don't ask anymore. I'm that kind of DM) Wizard: fail DM: "4d6 fire damage." He survives, the ranger approaches the bust. Wizard: "Uhh Ranger, (bad roleplayer) last time we were here and I stuck my arm in there, it clamped down..." Ranger: "I stick my sword in there" I immediately throw him a mechanical pen. DM: "Flip your character sheet over." Ranger: "Uhh" (does it) DM: "In your items slot, write in 'Hilt'" Ranger: :eek: *OP, this could be 1000 fiendish :D
Gray stranger 10-13-05, 03:29 PM	I as a DM made a room In this room was a blackboard with some chalk the room is shut the only way out is by solving a riddle, and writing the answer on the black board monsters appear, everytime you defeat one, the chalk writes a clue on the blackboard the piece of chalk also made something like: ANSWER:....... that's the spot where tthe correct answer should be written my players ended up doing 40 minutes of guesswork and why? they had the answer after 15 minutes, but they didn't write it down on the board, they just shouted ''PEARLS''
White_Wizard 10-14-05, 01:43 PM	As a player I did one of the stupidest things ever. Some evil wizard's alchemical lab. There are shelves full of strange bubbling vials and a lot of webs. A spider jumps on me (Human barbarian) and bites me off some skin (ew!). I manage to kill him, but now I'm eager for vengeance and, looking to avoid further attacks by other spiders, I say loudly: "I take my flaming torch and I set fire to the webs hanging around!" Did I mentioned that we were in an alchemical lab? KABOOOM