raitalin
2009-04-25, 05:28 AM
"I always thought that all those magic staffs that you can bend and they EXPLODE were kind of odd, considering a player would never do that, nor would any self-respecting villain. Just sounds like an excuse to give an enemy a powerful item and not have the players get it."
Someone made the above comment in the "ridiculous contrivances" thread and my first thought was "Am I the only one that has used that function of a Staff of Power?"
I've never been one to fear PC death, in fact I find most of the games I play entirely too soft on PCs, so I often throw myself in to ludicrously dangerous situations simply for the cool factor. I've always been a believer in the idea that the best heroes die accomplishing their goals. The specific event I'm about to describe stands as my best example of heroic sacrifice (or non-sacrifice, as it turned out).
So we're playing a dwarf campaign, retaking the northern dwarven lands of Faerun after they have been overrun by orcs (a previous evil campaign we played). We've retaken Citadel Feldbarr and eventually learn that a massive orc army is headed in for the counter-attack. These aren't your father's orcs. The goblins among them have discovered long-lost lore on constructing high-tech engines of war, though at the time we don't know everything they're capable of.
My Bard 4/Fighter 2/Warchanter 10/Exemplar 10 takes it upon himself to organize the defenses. I follow the philosophy of not giving your opponent the battle they want to fight, but forcing them to fight on your terms. The opposition outnumbers us 10-1, so I abandon the outer wall and set up a series of trenches in the yard in which crossbowmen will execute a fighting retreat. The object is simply to cause maximum damage with minimum casualties until the enemies reach the tunnels within the mountain, where their advantage of numbers is negated. I think I ticked off the DM a little, so he pulled out the colossal+ guns.
Well before too long the enemy rolls up what is essentially a colossal artillery piece, and starts firing shells at the mountain that contains the Citadel. The uber-craftsman wizard in the group estimates that the citadel won't last more than 2 more shells, which are coming 1/3 rounds.
I think: "Scroll of Greater Teleport? check. Staff of Power with 48 charges? check. Grease known? check. I've got this." I proceed to teleport to the end of the barrel of the gun, cast grease on it's interior and slide down until I'm standing on the shell that has just been loaded, and will fire the next turn. I crack the Staff.
The barrel explodes like Elmer's shotgun when Bugs sticks his finger in the barrel. The ammunition contained deeper in the gun heats up and explodes the next round, completely obliterating a third of the orc army, including most of its command (and crisping another party member that wasn't in on my insane plan).
Now comes the time to rolls the 50% to see if I'm caught in the blast. I fully plan to retire the character if he dies, despite the prevalence of True Resurrection. Being a Bard he has too much respect for high drama to ruin it by simply coming back to life. "Alright" I say, "Low I'm dead, high I'm shifted." 52%: shifted to Bytopia. I proceed to walk back to Faerun (long lull in game time here, I've got time) where I am being hailed as the great Martyr to the Cause. Sweet.
So anyone else have a story about their character going out like a champ instead of retiring like a chump?
Someone made the above comment in the "ridiculous contrivances" thread and my first thought was "Am I the only one that has used that function of a Staff of Power?"
I've never been one to fear PC death, in fact I find most of the games I play entirely too soft on PCs, so I often throw myself in to ludicrously dangerous situations simply for the cool factor. I've always been a believer in the idea that the best heroes die accomplishing their goals. The specific event I'm about to describe stands as my best example of heroic sacrifice (or non-sacrifice, as it turned out).
So we're playing a dwarf campaign, retaking the northern dwarven lands of Faerun after they have been overrun by orcs (a previous evil campaign we played). We've retaken Citadel Feldbarr and eventually learn that a massive orc army is headed in for the counter-attack. These aren't your father's orcs. The goblins among them have discovered long-lost lore on constructing high-tech engines of war, though at the time we don't know everything they're capable of.
My Bard 4/Fighter 2/Warchanter 10/Exemplar 10 takes it upon himself to organize the defenses. I follow the philosophy of not giving your opponent the battle they want to fight, but forcing them to fight on your terms. The opposition outnumbers us 10-1, so I abandon the outer wall and set up a series of trenches in the yard in which crossbowmen will execute a fighting retreat. The object is simply to cause maximum damage with minimum casualties until the enemies reach the tunnels within the mountain, where their advantage of numbers is negated. I think I ticked off the DM a little, so he pulled out the colossal+ guns.
Well before too long the enemy rolls up what is essentially a colossal artillery piece, and starts firing shells at the mountain that contains the Citadel. The uber-craftsman wizard in the group estimates that the citadel won't last more than 2 more shells, which are coming 1/3 rounds.
I think: "Scroll of Greater Teleport? check. Staff of Power with 48 charges? check. Grease known? check. I've got this." I proceed to teleport to the end of the barrel of the gun, cast grease on it's interior and slide down until I'm standing on the shell that has just been loaded, and will fire the next turn. I crack the Staff.
The barrel explodes like Elmer's shotgun when Bugs sticks his finger in the barrel. The ammunition contained deeper in the gun heats up and explodes the next round, completely obliterating a third of the orc army, including most of its command (and crisping another party member that wasn't in on my insane plan).
Now comes the time to rolls the 50% to see if I'm caught in the blast. I fully plan to retire the character if he dies, despite the prevalence of True Resurrection. Being a Bard he has too much respect for high drama to ruin it by simply coming back to life. "Alright" I say, "Low I'm dead, high I'm shifted." 52%: shifted to Bytopia. I proceed to walk back to Faerun (long lull in game time here, I've got time) where I am being hailed as the great Martyr to the Cause. Sweet.
So anyone else have a story about their character going out like a champ instead of retiring like a chump?