TheCountAlucard
2009-05-30, 03:59 AM
So, I DMed a rather awesome D&D session earlier.
I had actually been dreading it; I hadn't prepared anything in particular for that session (didn't think we'd be playing, you see), and worse yet, one of my players was bringing along two friends who were new to D&D but wanted to play (and thought that "D&D for Dummies" was too complicated! :smalleek:).
However, once everyone had gotten there, we had a few sodas and started on character creation for the two newbies; the process probably took an hour or two. Eventually, we had a half-elf sorceress and her travelling companion, a halfling rogue, both second-level. The other players already had their characters, a third-level human healer, a third-level elven scout, and a fourth-level human warlock. The two groups eventually met and began travelling together.
The party was heading along a rarely-traveled road in their wagon, when they came to a spot in which nature had retaken the road for about 300 yards or so. The group decides to do some work, the warlock using his Eldritch Blast to break up obstructions, the (16 STR :smalleek:) halfling and sorcerer clearing away the rubble, while the scout led the horses to graze and the healer looked around for dropped possessions (found five rocks "that look perfect for slinging" and a rusty-but-still-useable bullseye lantern). After that, the party went ahead a little farther, and then decided to make camp.
The scout would take the first watch, while there was still enough light for her to see by, followed by the warlock (who can see perfectly well in darkness thanks to Devil's Sight).
In the middle of the night, the healer decided to go for a walk in the lightly-forested area nearby. :smallamused:
He takes a rock, casts light on it, and loads it into the bullseye lantern, and begins walking around, "looking for stuff." I decide, eventually, he comes to a tree with a piece of parchment on it. The parchment has something written on it in Druidic (which he can't read), and when he casts detect magic, there's something behind the parchment that pings Conjuration. He decides to leave it alone and keeps looking around. He comes to a pool in which the water is pristine and crystal-clear. He again casts detect magic on the pool, and gets overwhelming transmutation.
I tell the player that his character would probably have heard rumors about magic pools such as these, and that their effects are very random, based on the type of magic inherent to the pool. The healer doesn't have any other bottles on him, so he quaffs one of his vials of antitoxin, and fills the empty vial with the magic water. He then chugs it, and I tell him that his armor and clothing have turned to solid gold. His powers as a healer fizzle, and he has to thrash his way out of his metallic prison (which he then puts in his backpack), but the player wants to give it another try. He fills another vial and gulps it down, and immediately grows massive butterfly wings.
After some OOC-joking involving the phrases, "You guys will never believe THIS!" and "Please don't fly," the healer decides to make some makeshift clothing out of nearby plants (we jokingly called it a "vine Speedo"), fill up the vial again, and go back to the camp. After some discussion with the warlock (and the half-elf hastily giving the healer her cloak), the healer and warlock head back to the pool, armed with the warlock's ten or so flasks. The warlock decides to experiment a little, and pours a few drops from one flask onto a pinch of some fiendish tobacco (don't ask). I tell him that after a few seconds, the tobacco stops smelling of brimstone and misery, and starts smelling like happiness and flowers; i.e., it's celestial now. After they're done filling up the flasks, the healer's beautiful (and not at all manly) butterfly wings crumble into dust.
So, tl;dr, the low-level party has eleven flasks of magic water that will produce a random transmutation effect on the imbiber.
Any suggestions? :smallbiggrin:
I had actually been dreading it; I hadn't prepared anything in particular for that session (didn't think we'd be playing, you see), and worse yet, one of my players was bringing along two friends who were new to D&D but wanted to play (and thought that "D&D for Dummies" was too complicated! :smalleek:).
However, once everyone had gotten there, we had a few sodas and started on character creation for the two newbies; the process probably took an hour or two. Eventually, we had a half-elf sorceress and her travelling companion, a halfling rogue, both second-level. The other players already had their characters, a third-level human healer, a third-level elven scout, and a fourth-level human warlock. The two groups eventually met and began travelling together.
The party was heading along a rarely-traveled road in their wagon, when they came to a spot in which nature had retaken the road for about 300 yards or so. The group decides to do some work, the warlock using his Eldritch Blast to break up obstructions, the (16 STR :smalleek:) halfling and sorcerer clearing away the rubble, while the scout led the horses to graze and the healer looked around for dropped possessions (found five rocks "that look perfect for slinging" and a rusty-but-still-useable bullseye lantern). After that, the party went ahead a little farther, and then decided to make camp.
The scout would take the first watch, while there was still enough light for her to see by, followed by the warlock (who can see perfectly well in darkness thanks to Devil's Sight).
In the middle of the night, the healer decided to go for a walk in the lightly-forested area nearby. :smallamused:
He takes a rock, casts light on it, and loads it into the bullseye lantern, and begins walking around, "looking for stuff." I decide, eventually, he comes to a tree with a piece of parchment on it. The parchment has something written on it in Druidic (which he can't read), and when he casts detect magic, there's something behind the parchment that pings Conjuration. He decides to leave it alone and keeps looking around. He comes to a pool in which the water is pristine and crystal-clear. He again casts detect magic on the pool, and gets overwhelming transmutation.
I tell the player that his character would probably have heard rumors about magic pools such as these, and that their effects are very random, based on the type of magic inherent to the pool. The healer doesn't have any other bottles on him, so he quaffs one of his vials of antitoxin, and fills the empty vial with the magic water. He then chugs it, and I tell him that his armor and clothing have turned to solid gold. His powers as a healer fizzle, and he has to thrash his way out of his metallic prison (which he then puts in his backpack), but the player wants to give it another try. He fills another vial and gulps it down, and immediately grows massive butterfly wings.
After some OOC-joking involving the phrases, "You guys will never believe THIS!" and "Please don't fly," the healer decides to make some makeshift clothing out of nearby plants (we jokingly called it a "vine Speedo"), fill up the vial again, and go back to the camp. After some discussion with the warlock (and the half-elf hastily giving the healer her cloak), the healer and warlock head back to the pool, armed with the warlock's ten or so flasks. The warlock decides to experiment a little, and pours a few drops from one flask onto a pinch of some fiendish tobacco (don't ask). I tell him that after a few seconds, the tobacco stops smelling of brimstone and misery, and starts smelling like happiness and flowers; i.e., it's celestial now. After they're done filling up the flasks, the healer's beautiful (and not at all manly) butterfly wings crumble into dust.
So, tl;dr, the low-level party has eleven flasks of magic water that will produce a random transmutation effect on the imbiber.
Any suggestions? :smallbiggrin: