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TelemontTanthul
2009-10-11, 10:31 AM
I hereby dedicate this thread to Ruined Plans.

Plans that, despite their careful planning, were made useless. Whether they were your plans or the enemy's. Describe how the plans were foiled, and the outcome.

Rhiannon87
2009-10-11, 11:40 AM
:: sob ::

So, we're going to assassinate my character's father, right? We do some recon, and come up with a plan. A pretty darn good plan, involving potions of power and walls of force and flanking and charging and lots of damage being done quickly. It was going to be wonderful. We make this plan, and then go to sleep in our magical cabin, prepared to put the plan into motion the next morning.

At dawn, our magical cabin is dispelled, and we are abruptly awakened to find that my character's dad and his friends-- a scythe-wielding troll, a minotaur, and a pair of ogres-- are waiting for us. Because we have a traitor in our group. We barely manage to pull off the assassination, and it ends with one party member dead, another two nearly dead, and the assassination actually happening because our wizard flew after him and cast chain lightning.

It was such a good plan... At least we actually achieved the goal.

cZak
2009-10-11, 02:48 PM
In Damarra (Forgotten Realms) as a precursor to a campaign into Vassa:

My character spent two sessions and multiple email exchanges organizing (npc) groups and locals to assault the (orcish) barbarian tribes around the city of Palischuk under the pretense of Palischuk trying to 'genocide' the tribes. The idea was to stir up the tribes to attack the city, and the city to accept outside help in defending...

Worked like a charm up to the point the city became so enamored with its own ability, which was much less than the party's effort, including my characters arraignment for a few companies of cavalry support from Damarra.

A few town elders decided we were there only to conquer/ subjugate Palischuk for Damarra, and became very "unfriendly" if not hostile toward any other efforts of diplomacy. Set us completely back from any future campaign efforts into the region.



Fools are made to suffer, not to be suffered

herrhauptmann
2009-10-11, 06:06 PM
Not quite it, since this is from a DM point of view, and it's about difficult players.

I had strung together a few of WOTC's printed modules. Burning Plague ended with the party gaining the enmity of Gruumsh for killing off an orc clan.
So they did an altered 'Dark and Stormy Knight' while returning to a city, and I worked in a bit of stuff about a curse causing them to rise from the dead unless buried on hallowed ground.

They want to find out how to remove the curse, but expect to get a cleric of Lathander (happy healing god as they knew him) to just cast remove curse for them. I decide, the way to do that is to make a cleric of Gruumsh in his favor submit to them and request a lifting of the curse.

Next game session, they're in a circus which gets attacked, walls of flame split party off from most of circus, with a good sized number of monsters (mostly goblins) to occupy the party. Voice rings out over battle "Face my master, or these shall suffer in your stead" and monsters start taking prisoners. Leaving a trail a blind man could follow back to a portal.
The party beat the monsters facing them, then went back to Waterdeep to request help and rest. I had planned to have them hunt down some monster groups to try and save people and gain XP before I put them into a published adventure.
Instead, they demand to know what the city guards are doing, while the favored soul (who's evil, and believes in An eye for an eye, literally. They took prisoners in the fight, and when he saw that 14 civilians had died in the fight, but only 9 monsters, he went and killed 5 monsters to make it even. Among them the only monster who actually knew the plans and could further the plot, and he did this before doing any questioning. )
So I send out a bunch of 1st level warriors from the city while the party rests. Next morning, the warriors have been staked out, with an arm pointing in direction of the portal.
The party then spends an hour trying to hire adventurers to help them. The party ARE members of an adventuring guild. Further, I'm not going to give them disposable hirelings, nor do I want to run even more creatures in a fight. Afterwards, they go to set up traps around the portal trying to lure the monsters out. And complain when I didn't have my monster group (weaker than the one they fought in the circus) be stupid enough to leave their ambush positions.

The game ended, because this group couldn't play more than 4 hours a day. Thankfully, I didn't resume DMing the next week because of exams. But if they complained further, I was just going to have a few chosen of Mystra fly through the portal and do everything. When 3 epic wizards and sorcerers are killing a few dozen orcs under 10th level, it gets very messy. Especially when one doesn't really care who else get caught in the blast. :smallamused: They'd have deserved getting caught up in that I think.

LOTRfan
2009-10-11, 06:24 PM
*sigh* A Failed Dungeon Master Plan-

My players were holing up inside an abandoned building in an undead infested city. For three sessions, they stayed there, killing Undead with arrows and looting during the day. So, playing as the Mummy Lords, I command my undead army to attack the building and attempt to chase the players out during the fourth session. Of course, during the fourth session, they decide to bring the fight to the five Mummy Lords and leave the building ten rounds before the army would have appeared. So they get to the castle, walk right into the throne room while facing no resistance, and kill the villains. Argh! They walk out in time to see the army return, and the players wonder where they went.

They should come across the now burned down abandoned building on friday's session. I was so upset.

GallóglachMaxim
2009-10-11, 06:29 PM
I, playing a wizard, tried to sneak into the boarding house room of another wizard and steal his spellbook/anything else of value.

Plan was as follows: Get my group ready to leave as soon as I got back to them. Then cast disguise self to look like a messenger, find two guards and tell them they have orders to take the wizard in for questioning. As soon as they've left the building, walk in, find what I need in the room and hurry back to my party to get out of town.

Unfortunately this plan failed to account for two details, that the other wizard was nine levels higher than me, and that he was completely insane.

City guards head up to the room, tell the guy he's going with them, and get blasted, the inn catches fire. I run in (forgetting that I'm still disguised), sneak into the room trying to make the best of the situation, and am then smacked around the place, ending on -5hp. So when the rest of the guard turn up, they find me in a critical condition and two of their friends dead, in the room of a guy who is no longer there. Wildly waving the idiot stick, the guard commander decided that I killed them, and then beat myself up, so he sentances me to be eaten by a giant pig, unless I confess to everything.

I eventually found two guys closer to my level to steal from.

The Mute Bard
2009-10-11, 06:57 PM
My character had made a plan to recover a stolen, magical lantern. The party was outside of the room that the possessor of the lantern lived in. I'm there about to try to pick the lock to try to sneak in and take the lantern back.

....Then there's a crash and a scream from the other side of the door.:smallannoyed:

My character: Ah screw it! *turns to fighter* Just bust it down.:smallmad:

littlequietguy
2009-10-11, 09:31 PM
I threw a pitcher of beer into the fire in the middle of a Orc camp and rolled a 3...

I threw it about 5 feet. *Orcs look around*

Me: Dang...

Paulus
2009-10-11, 11:07 PM
I thought we could roll in with flight, casting solid fog, and darkness above that to confuse the lich who set up his lair like an arena. We would all walk in the main entrance, after destroying all the secret ones, and try to convince the lich they entrances were being guarded by the warrior and that the magic users were the ones trying to flush him out. Then as we, while flying, would enter, walking in the fog ankle deep, as if the fog was only a few inches thick. The fighter types would be crawling under the fog at this point, with cast on them as well.

We would then confront the lich and try to call him out to fight, he would come out on the balcony and we would cast the previously stated darkness above the fog, giving our fighters a chance to fly up and flank the lich in the dark, or force him to fly beneath the darkness to fight us. We would then cast black tentacles below the fog incase he tried to escape, and then remove the darkness as the warriors caught him in the pincer maneuver, as we, the mages would flight about casting healing and damage and status spells and the fighters finished him.

...but apparently my group "doesn't bother with plans".

Thus we all bum rushed the entrance, quickly fell under confusing wards and began to kill each other on the Lich's doorstep. While us mages fail our dispel magic and the warrior bring each other down, we had to end the session for a few months as I - the only cleric- swung at a fighter type while confused (with him the only unaffected member) and so it seems, the type who will give me one last chance to stop swinging, and then simply kill me out right.

Ah well. mice and men eh?

Kol Korran
2009-10-12, 01:14 AM
so, i was the DM in Eberron. long story short, the party was supposed to recover something from an old abandoned garden and small temple of the Undying (to those who don't know Eberron, it's an elven belief that worships the spirit of their ancestors, but also involves good necromancy creating positive energy undead in the process as guardians and so on).

the garden and temple keepers were not to be the problem, but rather a small bunch of despoilers, some of which were still on the ground. i had hoped to give the players some nuances on how things were different in Eberron, along with a simple sort of "quest giver/ simple confrontation" sort of first meeting.

problem was, this was a new group, who was quite unfamiliar with Eberron, and though i tried to give them all kind of relevent background before hand it didn't quite work out.

my second problem was that these guys (3 of them at least, including the very dominanat duskblade) probably had a DM who used to really mess with them, and so they were always suspicious and sure i was trying to put one on them.

but i am making this story long, ain't i? the short story is that they turned the entire thing on it's head- they didn't believe the guardians, and due to the undead motif they thought these were the bad guys (no matter that i tried to explain how this worked in Eberron. they thought i was trying to set them up). and they went on to slaughter the guardian undying, the babboons, torch some of the garden, kill a guardian dryad (who by that point frankly had been trying to kill them in defence, but i did try to talk with them non the less) and actually free the despoilers (who bluffed, and the characters never even tried to asses their truthfullness).

that was one of the most confusing, yet most fun experiences i had actually, i'm just happy i stated most things in advance. the party had fun, and later on, they had the undying after them...:smallwink:

(Undying soldiers: "ou too wish to despoil the temple of the ancestors like the others? the light shall not stand for it!"
Duskblade: "he zombies in Eberron can speak! bunch of lousy liers! kill them! again!")

Kol

gdiddy
2009-10-12, 02:45 AM
To this day, there is a gaming group in New Jersey, that upon hearing the name "Meldir", winces and hisses. It was a political game.

Meldir was a venerable obese level 10 Aristocrat with a 21 Int and 25 Charisma. Aside from a broach of charisma, he also had a Cloak of the Montebank. This is not enough to make most people scared. The DM showed me the sheet. He told me this was the bad guy. I wasn't scared. So what? What can he do to a politically connected war hero like my character?

The bastard was a Diplomancer.

We had no way of telling if what he was saying was the truth. Ever. Our rogue could sometimes tell he was lying, if he rolled a 20. But then more lies would follow and the rogue would never be able to roll the series of twenties necessary to glean what was going on.

He would do things like get one of the characters, who was his daughter (a sorceress) in room alone with him to discuss "vital plans". After they had been served wine and the servants left, he handed her a vial.

Daughter: "What's this for?"

Meldir: "It's a vital necessity."

Daughter's Player: Is there anyway to puzzle out what it is? I roll an Int check...20.

DM: *rolls* You just took 6 damage.

Player: It was trapped?!

DM: No. While you were inspecting it, he hit you in the face. It's a healing potion.

Meldir: "Daughter. I have reason to believe that you were plotting with your less desirable friends to see me come to harm. Oh, by the way, I've had the king killed. You were perhaps the only person who could have stopped this. However, you're here with me, edifying your ego, lording over how soon you'll have me killed. Drink my gift and go before anyone sees you with a split lip."

DM: Do you want to roll for Initiative?

Daughter's Player: No. I am going to drink the potion and then go home and cry myself into a nightmare-fueled sleep.

Meldir was smarter than the party and basically was our foil for months. Never in a situation where we could deal with him, though. Political games are funny like that. It turns out he had addicted a mage to a drug from BoVD and was using this guy to screw with the party. Every damn plan got scryed on. Every contingency came to nothing.

This guy was smarter than everyone. He came to his end when our party stole all the mage's drugs and was told by the same daughter that Meldir was dismissing him. The mage didn't take too kindly to being told his death was imminent and ported suddenly. The DM then described a cutscene that involved the same mage throwing around maximized fireballs. In Meldir's house. These did not do anything good for Meldir's health.

In the end, our last ditch attempt was enough to ruin the layers and layers of planning he had to put his son on the throne. But it was all for naught: We never got XP off Meldir, the cheeky bastard.

gdiddy
2009-10-12, 02:52 AM
Man, it'd be so ironic if this thread got completely railroaded.

Hey, mine is still on topic in the broad sense. An enemy that entirely consisted of planning got owned by the players finding a kink and owning him with his own plan.

Guinea Anubis
2009-10-12, 08:44 AM
Another DM that gets his weeks of plannig turned to nothing because his players do things I could never think of.

The players need to get from port city A ot port city B. They where told that a large group of pirates have been in the area and robbing ships. My idea was to have them fight the pirates and have a new bad guy that could be a little bit of a thorn in there side. But they pulled something I never saw coming. Insted of renting a ship that could fight they rented the most worn out POS they could find. Then the stocked up on theatrical makeup, and last they picked up a case of Sailing flags.

They did them selfs and the whole crew up in the makeup and put the flag up saying that the ship was a plague ship. they even went as far as to TRY to flag the pirates down. Needless to say the pirates left them alone.

littlequietguy
2009-10-12, 12:47 PM
In the end, our last ditch attempt was enough to ruin the layers and layers of planning he had to put his son on the throne. But it was all for naught: We never got XP off Meldir, the cheeky bastard.

What was thy last ditch effort?

gdiddy
2009-10-12, 01:43 PM
Stealing his scry and die mage's drugs. It actually was the only effective thing we had managed all game. Because half of us had fled the country, or were imprisoned by him. My character was hiding out in the woods, even though I had married said daughter and he was my father-in-law. He was trying to get the marriage annulled and have me charged with rape. :smalleek:

I cannot explain the utter horror this NPC still brings up in my heart. Maybe I'm not conveying it correctly. Suffice to say, it was last ditch, because short of that, all 6 players would have gone mad with paranoia.

root9125
2009-10-12, 02:27 PM
The most awful experience I have had was when I was DMing a (small, I thought!) 3.5 world that was at best vaguely defined. I had a great map of 1 city, 1 keep, and 1 dungeon, because that's where they were supposed to go.

But no.

There were nobles. One of them was related to a BBEG who was a dread necromancer 19, about to be 20 and get his lich-dom. They murdered the BBEG on an absurd set of natural 20s and natural 1s on his part. (They found him in a market, and without identifying who or what he was... Stunning Fist from a monk, and he went down on a natural 1 fort save... Now all my BBEGs have resistance to such things, but I didn't expect it at this point)

One of the PCs *became* the BBEG, and it was a horrific thing to watch as he commanded his minions to murder the players. TPK, campaign over.

In the same world, another set of PCs went to the extreme of murdering various peasants and guards (never anyone actually EVIL-aligned, oddly), fled the town, went elsewhere, murdered shopkeepers, and fled the country at the request of the BBEG, starting an international war in the process (by seeming to be agents provocateur) .

THERE WAS A FREAKING DUNGEON. No one who's played has ever expressed the SLIGHTEST INTEREST in going to the dungeon. I made it obvious that it WAS the dungeon, and instead of going, the first group tried to extort the man who told them about it for more information, and the second group decided they could solve the problem without obtaining the plot coupon. They, technically, succeeded, insofar as taking over a LN government and turning it CE is success.

Apparently I don't railroad well. Ah well, the PCs have pretty much asked for whatever I can throw at them now.

Thajocoth
2009-10-12, 03:09 PM
*sigh* A Failed Dungeon Master Plan-

My players were holing up inside an abandoned building in an undead infested city. For three sessions, they stayed there, killing Undead with arrows and looting during the day. So, playing as the Mummy Lords, I command my undead army to attack the building and attempt to chase the players out during the fourth session. Of course, during the fourth session, they decide to bring the fight to the five Mummy Lords and leave the building ten rounds before the army would have appeared. So they get to the castle, walk right into the throne room while facing no resistance, and kill the villains. Argh! They walk out in time to see the army return, and the players wonder where they went.

They should come across the now burned down abandoned building on friday's session. I was so upset.

You know... Anything can be anywhere if the players haven't seen them. Sure, you planned them to attack the building, and in your mind they left the castle, but since the players don't know that, and the players left the building, you could've easily decided they never stopped guarding the castle to begin with, and the players would encounter them.

The New Bruceski
2009-10-12, 03:41 PM
You know... Anything can be anywhere if the players haven't seen them. Sure, you planned them to attack the building, and in your mind they left the castle, but since the players don't know that, and the players left the building, you could've easily decided they never stopped guarding the castle to begin with, and the players would encounter them.

There are two schools of thought to that. One is, as you said, adjust "reality" so that they still encounter the army. The other is that the players outwitted the bad guys, even though it was unintentional, and that should stick. How I lean on that scale usually depends on the situation and my mood.