Game superstitions

[kulosle]

There is the classic rolling the 1s out of your dice. Or using dice that only you have touched/made yourself.

Mine personally is that all my characters have to like animals, and every now and then i have to play a druid or it get really bad luck.

I had a friend who rolled a character and made a fighter, in Palidium (if that is how you spell it), and he had great stats, but he always rolled crappy in game. One time he got caught with his pants down, literally, and then he rolled nothing but crits in that fight, which means it only lasted two rounds. Hallelujah he thought his luck had changed but in the next fight he rolled awful again. The last fight of that session he again didn't have his pants on, that slut, and he rolled really well. For the rest of that campaign he took of his pants at the beginning of every fight and did very well.

Whats yours?

[SilverLeaf167]

Well, my group has two distinct sets of dice of different color. One is typically used by the players, while the other one is reserved for the DM (me) to easily reach. There's an... ANCIENT LEGEND of the DM's dice being evil, and any player rolling them is sure to fail. This is why I like freaking my players out by sometimes using the PC's dice, as if the evil was infectious.

Though it's not how averages work, whenever a player whines about rolling too many 1s or someone else rolling multiple 20s, we remind him that the law of averages dictates that someday he will roll an equal amount of natural 20s/1s as he did the opposite number. One player also tends to complain about other players "hogging all the 20s from the die". Still, we don't specifically roll the 1s out of our dice; it makes no sense anyway, you'll probably end up "rolling out" plenty of natural 20s as well.

It's kind of too bad we don't have any in-game superstitions (IIRC). Yours seems pretty hilarious :smallbiggrin:

[KillianHawkeye]

I keep my DMing dice seperate from the rest of my dice because I don't want them to be mixing karma. It's weird, but so far I still roll much better when I DM, much to my players' chagrin.

[Linkscoolfriend]

On the rare occasion that I play evil, I go VERY evil. I also tend to wreak complete havoc in melee, critting, critting on crits, max damage rolls, things like that.

Now, that being said, I usually gravitate towards a good alignment, neutral good being my favorite. I find that when I do this, my rolls in combat tend to be eh... So-so at best. But my rolls out of combat, while roleplaying, sneaking, picking the lock to a merchant's shop to steal that shiny sword I want to use to hunt down a vampire, thy all tend to go off the charts in my favor.

I use one set of dice, made up of all the dice I have accumulated over my many years of playing, gifts from friends, my first set I bought back when I was 12, that sort of thing. I think the gift dice roll the best for me, something about the good energy I bet.

[navar100]

Players in my group like to have the highest die value on top when not rolling dice.

Though I haven't been doing it lately, I actually prefer having the 1's on top due to false probability. Since the odds of rolling double 1's on 2d20 is 1 in 400, if the die starts at 1 I have 399 chances of not getting another 1 when I actually roll it. I know that's not how it works, but that's why it's a superstition.

Also, my group always sit in the same places around the gaming table. There have been changes between campaigns, but afterwards we all sit at the same spot. It may just be convenience and being used to it.

[gallagher]

all of my characters, fighting builds included, require either a high enough int or wis to be the type that comes up with plans.

all my plans involve poison, shenanigans, forgery, odd disguises, strict adherence to timing, or a combination of several of these

[That_guy_there]

I need to be super prepared, no matter how "dumb" my character is. Almost every one of my recent characters have a "Standard Adventuring Kit" of numerous items. Some of it I have not (as of yet) even used in any campagin... ever. But i need to have them none the less (assuming i can afford them).

In game i usually try to just hand wave it as the dumb guys believe that adventurers NEED these things... because... you know... tradition.

In D20 Modern Games i need to have the absolute highest Wealth Bonus i can generate with that specific character. For the same reasons. I never know what I'm going to need to buy....

(In case you were wondering {which I know you're not} here's the list:
Saddlebags (2 sets), 50ft silk rope, Flint & Steel, Grapple Hook, 10 pitons, hammer, 5 torches, whetstone, 2 sacks, Earplugs, saw, 6 bags chalk powder, Pulley, 2 Waterskins, Donkey (2), drill, compass, Oil (10 flasks), chalk (3pcs), week trail rations, Signal horn, 50 twine, fish hook, magnet, 50' hemp rope, Signet Ring, Bedroll, Cart, 2 days feed, riding saddle )

[Gavinfoxx]

Don't get Donkeys. Get Mules. And train them to be combat effective!

[That_guy_there]

Don't get Donkeys. Get Mules. And train them to be combat effective!

OK, i get combat trained (i sometimes go warbeast template) but why mules?

[RaggedAngel]

OK, i get combat trained (i sometimes go warbeast template) but why mules?

Same or similar price, better stats. It's like the difference between wolves and riding dogs.

[flabort]

In any game I play, regardless of medium or game, when casting a spell, or doing anything in which I would feel "magically powerful", I shake my entire body. To maximize the effect from it.

Which is completely statistically unlikely to affect anything, whether rolling dice, free-form-playing, or playing a video game. Although it is most likely to affect dice. And when not doing anything magical, I don't shake.

[Medic!]

Twice now our table-top group has found itself in a situation where we needed a PC to roll a natural 20 or it was curtains for us. Both of those times the entire table (DM included) joined hands and invoked "The Power of Positive Thinking" and the d20 came up 20.

This gets tried a lot now at the table, but it only seems to work when we REALLY NEED IT as opposed to "Oh man I wanna crit this thing."

When I lay out my dice in bundles according to "This fistful is for attacking, this one for damage" etc I always lay them lowest-result-showing, which seems to me, to be more beneficial than when I layed them out highest-result-showing.

[kulosle]

The removing of the pants wasn't my character but it is a good one. I believe you should never roll your dice unnecessarily, it rolls away the luck. And intentionally killing off your character curses the next one.

[That_guy_there]

Same or similar price, better stats. It's like the difference between wolves and riding dogs.

Duly noted. Will go and change that now. Thanks! :smallsmile:

[Gavinfoxx]

Remember that training them to be combat effective just means training them in attack, attack other, and a few other useful tricks. No need for Warbeast...

[Namfuak]

I'm in the "Highest number on top" camp, though since my d20 has been rolling badly lately I might try putting the ones on top. My d4 is doing well though, and strangely this character has pretty much been rolling just those two die (he's a sorcerer, so mostly other characters have to roll dice in his presence :smallbiggrin:).

Not a superstition I guess, but I roll dice different ways depending on the situation: if I expect the roll won't matter (rolling survival to find food as a ranger, for example), I pick it up and drop it. If I'm rolling to save, I have the dice hit the table near my computer, so it rolls into the side and stops. If I am rolling an attack, I will actually roll it in my hand and toss it so it rolls a bit on the table.

[KillianHawkeye]

Players in my group like to have the highest die value on top when not rolling dice.

I think I'm the only one in my group who does this.

Another thing I do when the dice are rolling consistently bad is to switch which hand I'm rolling them with.

[Acanous]

I avoid neutral alignments. My characters are either Lawful or Chaotic, Good or Evil. Usually I play C/G or L/E.
I also avoid rolling dice whenever possible. I usually create battle plans that require the enemy to roll the dice. If I absolutely must roll, it'll be at a fixed DC that I know I can beat. (Like the DC5 for attacking a square with a splash weapon)
I don't even like rolling damage dice, which had me playing Buffbot bards, area control Clerics and Save-or-suck wizards.
Which just happened to be extremely powerful ways to build your character.
I just stumbled upon them by virtue of not wanting to roll dice.

When I DO roll, I rarely ever roll 20's or 1's. I roll a lot of 4's and 16's.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I don't really go for superstitions, but if I ever decide to get more dice, I'll roll each one a number of times equal to double the faces on the die. If one rolls high more often than low, I'll take it, since dice aren't perfectly made, some of the flat parts of anything larger than... d6? d8? are differently sized on a level too minute to see by the naked eye.

But as for the unexplainable stuff like the one in the OP, I like to think that when the gods get bored, they like to mess with gaming groups that use them in the game but don't think they're real.

[Heatwizard]

I collect dice, I bring a whole load to games. Whenever I can help it, I try to roll dice that sort of match up to the locale I/my dude's in. We're going through the woods, I swap to green & brown dice. We're sailing out to an island to salvage a shipwreck, blue & sand-colored. We're in a cave, black and grey.

I have a d20 on a necklace that I haven't yet rolled; I'm saving it for dramatic/life-and-death situations. Haven't deployed it yet, though, and with my luck it'll probably end up 1 the first time I do.

[Medic!]

I like the dice-appropriate theory. I have 2 full sets of dice, one set's black and purple, the other clear. I always have the best luck using the dark/purple for offense and the clear for healing or for offering to the DM when an enemy's making a save, lol

[Troven]

Superstitions... well I do the max number facing up on a die. And for my group specific, I am cursed, any dice i touch have a 19 in 20 chance of making me succede at a roll while my freinds have 19 in 20 chance of failing. My chances with dice increase when i, the player, am angry, but it decreases my friends chances, giving me 48 in 50 of succeding but the opposit for my freinds.

TL;DR Dont let me touch your dice and dont use mine.

[Wyntonian]

Oh dice gods, I offer to you now the six drops of blood that shall symbolize the sixes, with thy divine favour, I shall roll in the eternal cycle of rebirth and imagination. Amen.


4d6b3

[PhallicWarrior]

To quote some member of my group: "It pisses off your soul when you roll on your character sheet."

As such, we do not do so. However, to null the ridiculous diceluck I have as a GM, I've taken to rolling on my notes. This seems to have a similar effect.

[Chained Birds]

I use my very first d20 (A Magic the Gathering die) when doing all rolls. I call it a "drama queen" because it only rolls well when a scene would make my character look impressive, or aid him/her from certain death. Though it also likes to have its fun by making most all my characters look ridiculous whenever they try a skill check, attack, etc. that would make the character otherwise look good.

It has happened so much, that I can predict whether an action will fail or succeed depending on what is needed.
- Going to have a 1 vs 1 first-strike-first-kill battle with an opponent and I need to roll good on initiative to deal the decisive blow. (17-20! :smallcool:)
- Want to weaken an opponent with 1 of my many debuff spells just to make it easier for the rest of the party. (1-5 :smallannoyed:)
- Have to activate a magical item to save the party but have some time before the enemies reach us. (1-5 :smallannoyed:) Time is running out to activate the magical item and the enemies are quite visible. (1-5 :smalleek:) Last Round, Last Action before everyone dies and we have to roll up new characters. (Nat 20 :smallcool:)

[LibraryOgre]

This thread reminded me that one of my HM players wants a set of wooden dice, because she insists that plastic is unlucky. I have not managed to locate a full set of wooden polyhedrals.

EDIT: Oh, and who can forget the importance of fame rubs?

[Zaq]

Players in my group like to have the highest die value on top when not rolling dice.

See, this is the exact opposite of mine. When you're not rolling them, they can sit on any number 1 through 19, but leaving them on 20 is bad luck.

Also, 95%+ of my minis are fair game, but there are a couple that must only be used when the circumstances are really, really right. One is Vecna, and one is a bear rocking out on a shovel as though it were a guitar. If you want to use one of those two, you'd better justify it. (This isn't a superstition per se, but it's a weird little taboo we have, so whatever.)

[Heatwizard]

one is a bear rocking out on a shovel as though it were a guitar. If you want to use one of those two, you'd better justify it.

I think the justification is that it's a bear rocking out with air guitar oh my god why do I not have one already

[Knaight]

This thread reminded me that one of my HM players wants a set of wooden dice, because she insists that plastic is unlucky. I have not managed to locate a full set of wooden polyhedrals.

EDIT: Oh, and who can forget the importance of fame rubs?
The superstition aside, there is a lot to say in favor of wood. It tends to have a nice texture, and varnished wood looks fantastic.

Regarding superstitions - I am not aware of any game superstitions that I have. Were I to become aware of one, I would attempt to eliminate it.

[TroubleBrewing]

Also, 95%+ of my minis are fair game, but there are a couple that must only be used when the circumstances are really, really right. One is Vecna, and one is a bear rocking out on a shovel as though it were a guitar.


One is Vecna, and one is a bear rocking out on a shovel as though it were a guitar.


one is a bear rocking out on a shovel as though it were a guitar.


a bear rocking out on a shovel as though it were a guitar.

This is the greatest thing ever. Mankind has now peaked.

EDIT: Ninja'd, but only because quote stalactites are time-consuming.

[Zaq]

I think the justification is that it's a bear rocking out with air guitar oh my god why do I not have one already


This is the greatest thing ever. Mankind has now peaked.

EDIT: Ninja'd, but only because quote stalactites are time-consuming.

See, and this is why you're not allowed to use it to represent Zombie #4 or Enemy Shaman #2.

[aza9999]

I place all my dice on the table with the highest number showing at the top, and as soon as i roll, i put them back with the highest number showing again.

This causes all the atoms to fall to the bottom of the dice and make them heavier on the bottom and therefore more likely to roll high. :smallbiggrin:

[absolmorph]

See, and this is why you're not allowed to use it to represent Zombie #4 or Enemy Shaman #2.
What if that enemy is a bear wielding a shovel and rocking out?

Also, though my groups mostly lack superstition, I am thoroughly convinced that dice hate me. Originally it was my dice, but then I tried using another player's dice for a bit, and they didn't roll well in combat, either.
It manifests as rolling poorly in combat (every successful roll gets a small celebration) and being about average outside of combat.
I tend to work the numbers or make characters that don't roll in order to compensate.
Also, this used to extend to number generators, but may not apply any more.

[Tyndmyr]

And lo, the gods of order grew complacent in their victory, as the age of mortals drew unto it's end, for magic was all but dead, and naught but order and mechanology was the state of things the world round. Yea, even the children remembered naught the time of chaos and change, and it seemed unto them as though everything happened for a reason. The old ways do not die easily, however, and in the games of chance, seething chaos lived on. Then, one day, the mortals did err grievously, producing newer, greater and more sinister games of chance, and the foulest of them all dared to put lives to pen and paper.

So dulled to chaos were the minds of men by then, that they did not even see the dangers of ascribing the success of every action to the roll of an accursed die. Not the slightest whiff of brimstone did they detect as the horrid game grew strong, feeding with gleeful abandon upon their souls. Yea, and they did offer promises onto the dice, begging of them favors, and seeking their blessing with sinister rituals. Not satisfied with the arcane chaos of the dice thus far, they sought to make ever more vile polyhedrons for purposes which no man living can now comprehend. The D5, the D17, and stranger dice which I dare not relate to you here, all were made and worse, used. I was but a babe then, and scarce knew what was happening, but even I felt the world crack asunder as the most unholy of these was crafted. The d99, the dice which would end the world, was rolled for the first time, and the heavens and earth did open, and the horrible beasts within did burst forth in a torrent of fire and blood, screaming the dread cacophony of horror which you can hear even now, and shall until the world ends.

[Heatwizard]

See, and this is why you're not allowed to use it to represent Zombie #4 or Enemy Shaman #2.

Ah, of course. The majesty of Grathran, Lord of Ursines and High Priest of Rock must not be wasted on such trivial foes.

[Dusk Eclipse]

This was not mine originally; but I came to accept it with the time, if you buy new die you must tame them before using them in actual gameplay or they will rebel and more likely will kill the character. (the mother of the friend who introduced me to TTRPG was the one who told me this one)... and it works, or at least it appears to me. The first time I used my newest set of die my character died, I just needed to get 25 or more on the die (percentile dies BTW) and I rolled a 24. After that I tamed them by rolling them every time I could, except for games, I was bored? roll the die, another player is taking to long to do his turn? roll the die, you need to make an attack roll in game? Roll the older set. After two or so sessions of doing this, the new set started to roll higher on average, probably observation bias to be honest.

[Curmudgeon]

I disallow most superstitions when I'm DMing. Seriously. As a DM I rarely roll dice. Instead I prepare ahead, using a dice roller program to generate lots of dice totals with all of a creature's bonuses figured in. So I'll print out a single page with 600 dice rolls for a specific type of creature in the game, and just mark off the rolls I use. Players can use any dice they want, but they always roll them in my dice rolling box. I used to have a cylindrical metal candy box that I glued felt to, but that disappeared. So now I'm using a cut-down standard 11"x9" USPS mailer with a scrap of random fabric glued and stapled, with duct tape around the edges. It's not pretty, but it keeps the dice in the center of the table rather than knocking over miniatures or falling onto the floor. And when rolling multiple dice the order is always the same based on color, regardless of individual player preferences.

A little tyranny is good for a DM.

[Siosilvar]

I disallow most superstitions when I'm DMing. Seriously. As a DM I rarely roll dice. Instead I prepare ahead, using a dice roller program to generate lots of dice totals with all of a creature's bonuses figured in. So I'll print out a single page with 600 dice rolls for a specific type of creature in the game, and just mark off the rolls I use. Players can use any dice they want, but they always roll them in my dice rolling box. I used to have a cylindrical metal candy box that I glued felt to, but that disappeared. So now I'm using a cut-down standard 11"x9" USPS mailer with a scrap of random fabric glued and stapled, with duct tape around the edges. It's not pretty, but it keeps the dice in the center of the table rather than knocking over miniatures or falling onto the floor. And when rolling multiple dice the order is always the same based on color, regardless of individual player preferences.

A little tyranny is good for a DM.

I figured something like this from you. :smalltongue:

... the evidence will be here forever

[Necroticplague]

The other players in my group are convinced that any dice I buy are magic, because I get consistently much higher rolls than anyone else. They aren't completely wrong, but I find the superstition funny. I simply roll all dice I buy 400 times, find the average compared to normal, than determine when to use them (Indication that I have too much time on my hands). I have two sets of die:My Gurps die that have unusually low averages, and my dnd die that have unusually high averages (I actually have one defective die that had an average of 16, its in a tiny paper box with "In case of SODs" written on it), and the normal die.

[prufock]

Never trust people wearing hats, especially if they wear them indoors.

[Crasical]

Dice-touchers will be slandered mercilessly. Touching dice carries some of it's juju around, and is the cause of ill fortune and bad hygiene. This goes double for the DM's dice, which carry malevolence and the will of evil back to your dice.

Heaven help you if you actually -roll- someone else's dice after touching them.

[kulosle]

To quote some member of my group: "It pisses off your soul when you roll on your character sheet."

As such, we do not do so. However, to null the ridiculous diceluck I have as a GM, I've taken to rolling on my notes. This seems to have a similar effect.

I believe that your dice don't know who to root for if you don't roll them on your dice. You need to give your dice and your character bonding time. My dice sit on my character sheet when i'm not using them. But only during games. They have different shelves in the closet. Being together all the time and they might get into a fight.

You know i'm really glad my group isn't the only one that had superstitions. I was a little worried that I'd make this thread and everyones comment would be, "who the hell believes in silly superstitions?" I'm glad that's not the case.

I was talking to a friend about this thread and she told me how all of the male characters she plays can't have any ranks in diplomacy but must have charisma be their highest stat. She found this out when her first male character was a sorcerer, no diplomacy, and he was amazing. She thought her luck was originally tied to playing male characters so she played a diplomancer, and he rolled only nat 1s in his first fight and died during it. She swore of men for a while and ended up making a cleric that ended up having a high charisma and it did well again. The pattern has held out ever since.

[Gavinfoxx]

...I just bought some of these...

http://www.gamescience.com/

And some casino dice for D6's. So I stopped worrying about all of that stuff...

[Venger]

...I just bought some of these...

http://www.gamescience.com/

And some casino dice for D6's. So I stopped worrying about all of that stuff...

I love my gamescience. I don't roll with anything else. what did you use to fill in the numbers on yours? I can't find any pens with a small enough point.

[Gavinfoxx]

I tried white out, and I tried some permanent markers, but both rubbed off.... i just keep them blank, these days...

[King Atticus]

I also reside firmly in the 'highest number up' camp. But I take it a step further, I also separate my dice by their type (D4's, D6's, etc) and line them up in rows.

Anybody can use my dice if they want, with one exception. My dice cannot be used against me...in any way (it puts unclean thoughts in their heads).

Also if my dice roll badly I spin them like a top to confuse them and make them forget their nefarious plot against me. :smallwink:

[Dumbledore lives]

We have a gelatinous cube miniature which holds 4 'evil' dice, one which is just poisonous and has like a 90% chance of rolling a 3. The others have just been discarded by are angry player, and thus have become evil because of bad influence or aura.

[Eugene]

This is a great page. Keep it up!

[Gotterdammerung]

I set all my dice on 1's. And I don't let anyone else touch my dice.

I roll love to roll d4's because I always get above average rolls on them.

I try to make characters with elements of risky roleplay, like a hafling with insanely high curiosity (risky because he is likely to pull all levers without thinking about it) or a rude insulting know-it-all (risky because pissing NPCs off usually leads to bad things). I find that the more risky my character, the better my roles will be to back him up.

[Dr_S]

I think touching someone else's dice without permission isn't about superstition but rather courtesy. Perhaps because there is so much superstition associated with dice is the reason it's an important courtesy.

I am also a baseball fan. Superstitions and D&D is similar to superstitions and baseball, I know a lot of people who deep down will swear that they don't really put stock into superstitions, except then you hear them referring to "rally cap" "rolling out the 1s" "packing up before the final out" etc.

So anyway, I think I'm hyper predisposed to superstition.
As I'm new to the game though I haven't learned what brings me luck (good or bad) however I do believe my dice have a personality.

I have 3 sets. and their 20's behave as follows:
1) My original set, rolls FANTASTIC perform and knowledge (non-monster) checks. Rolls average the rest of the time.
2) Voted most likely to critical fumble when used as the first attack. (When I DM I use this dice because I'm a nice DM and I've rolled more critical fumbles on this dice than all other 20's combined) However when I use it on my character who has 4 attacks as attacks 2 and 4 it rolls generally well, so that's what I use it for.
3) Ben's Dice. We don't use Ben's dice for saves. Ben's dice were inherited from someone who died twice in a campaign in which no one else lost their life, both to failed saves. If I use his 20 it's usually for initiative if anything.

We have one player who kisses his dice for luck like a gambler in a movie, I'm pretty sure I am vehemently against this practice. I also haven't started talking to my dice like I do other things which rely on luck. (My PS3 controller for example, or my cap at baseball games) I'm sure that'll develop with time. I've never lost a character yet (remember newish) so I've never had like a "save or die" moment where I needed to ask the dice for help.

[Rhaegar14]

Everyone I play with is convinced that dice have souls, and they either like you or they do not.

[Kalmageddon]

A character with a saving throw high enough to fail only on a natural 1 will roll that natural 1 in the most inconvenient moment. The only way to prevent it is purposefully trying to get a circumstance negative bonus so that you still have a good chance of succeeding but it's not a 95% chance anymore.

I've seen a lot of superstitions regarding dices but I personally never had one... Except I avoid rolling dices when it's not my turn (you know when you play with dices while thinking or stuff like that) because I regularly roll the highest numbers, so I guess what I try to do is "save them" for when I need them.
I once rolled all my dices at once to put them on the table and all 7 of them rolled the highest number. And it happened more then once.
I am a statistical anomaly.

[kulosle]

Oh you poor soul, you haven't experience the overwhelming trauma of save or die, or worse save save and save, or die. There is a monster that ever turn your around him you have to make a save or become nauseated (you will soon be dead), summons swarms that do the same, and has a poison attack that does con damage (and a lot). My GM uses this beast when ever we are miss behaving. I forget what it's called.

Allips in my group are not allowed to be used by anyone, the necromancy lover in our group is the most affected, but it goes for GMs too. They curse who ever uses them, yes even the GMs. But when ever I use chokers as a GM its always a great fight and the chockers nearly kill someone.

[DemonRoach]

One of the people I used to play with a lot banned me from rolling her dice. After I rolled them, normally with average results, the dice would get traumatized and roll botches. Always.

Another mate has it that when a dice performs badly, he takes it home and puts it aside. The "good" dice, as it were, got a little saucer of Guinness, and were placed so they could see the failure die get either melted, cut in half or drilled out.

[kulosle]

Another mate has it that when a dice performs badly, he takes it home and puts it aside. The "good" dice, as it were, got a little saucer of Guinness, and were placed so they could see the failure die get either melted, cut in half or drilled out.

OH WOW! That's brutal. Why would you traumatize your dice like that? I'm sure that can't be good for them. It reminds me of how my friends dad use to breed mice to feed to the snakes he was breeding, but he kept the tanks right next to each other. Eventually the mother wised up and killed all the other mice. I imagine his dice will end up pulling a Toy Story like event on him.

[DemonRoach]

OH WOW! That's brutal. Why would you traumatize your dice like that? I'm sure that can't be good for them. It reminds me of how my friends dad use to breed mice to feed to the snakes he was breeding, but he kept the tanks right next to each other. Eventually the mother wised up and killed all the other mice. I imagine his dice will end up pulling a Toy Story like event on him.

They get Guinness though, its a stick and carrot approach :smalltongue:

[Dr_S]

Oh you poor soul, you haven't experience the overwhelming trauma of save or die, or worse save save and save, or die.

Closest I got was a I had a bard in our current campaign as a cohort. He was standing behind me but invisible (cast vanish in the first round of combat, was going to cast invisibility on me the next so I could get a sneak attack in) and the monster used a breath weapon... First round of the first combat with my first cohort and he was reduced to 4hp. (he succeeded his reflex to halve damage too...)

actually a situation in my other group I have a gnome sorcerer with a strength of 2 and I was fighting a large spider in rough terrain (no 5 foot steps) solo for a couple rounds so I guess if I'd failed my fort save for the poison, unless the str damage was only 1 point I would have been paralyzed for one more round before any of my allies arrived... but the direness of the situation hadn't really dawned on me until after I'd made the save. (note I did not use Ben's d20 obviously) (also first round of the first combat of my first session after joining that campaign)

I'm starting to think my 4's are cursed. with 3 missiles at my level my sorcerer has rolled 2 ones on all but one of my magic missile casts.

[Asheram]

1. When dice are in the field, the top should be the highest possible number.

2. Dice should be rolled on a soft surface, book covers works. (hard surfaces makes them grumpy)

3. When I've got a difficult roll, I always bring out my Magic the Gathering Sliver die. (You never see just one sliver, you see plenty. (twenty!))

[panaikhan]

I tend to put all of my dice 'highest number up', but that is simply because they are Cthulhu sets, and the highest number is represented by an Elder Sign.

Our group came up with the SAS-pack. A list of small or inexpensive adventuring tools that every character could afford. Everyone has one.

One of our players regularly 'sacks' dice that perform badly, returning them to the plastic tub he keeps his dice in.

[DigoDragon]

Your PC is doomed to mediocrity until your character sheet is "broken in" with food stains, eraser marks, and little edge tears. The more stained and weathered your character sheet, the better your character will do in their career.

[Krosta]

We all must listen to and watch the awesome Dungeons & Dragons cartoon intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA5I9Cd_Wq4) before starting the session. Bad and weird things happen when we don't.

Yes, we are idiots. :smallbiggrin:

[Garwain]

I'm the optimizer in our group, yet it has become a recurring joke that my character is uneffective in battle, just because I always roll bad when it's needed the most. I often crit on mooks and fail against bosses. It's hilarious. Makes me want to optimize even more so that I'm above random statistics.

[Lord Il Palazzo]

My group has the Legend of Ranger Rick. When combat breaks out, we use a standard battle mat and either Scrabble or Bananagrams tiles instead of miniatures. On occasion, while the DM's laying down the random lettered tiles for enemies and describing them, the players will start giving them names based on their appearances and using their tiles' letters as initials.

In one fight, an R was placed on the field to represent a human wearing light armor and carrying a longbow. He was quickly named "Ranger Rick". Rick failed to accomplish anything that battle. Every attack he made missed, every skill check failed. He contributed nothing. From then on, any time an R tile is used jokes are immediately made about Ranger Rick and the enemy represented by the R is assumed to be weaker, dumber or otherwise inferior to its comrades. This is sometimes played up by the DM having R do something really stupid (like moving in a way that provokes several attacks of opportunity or jumping in a river to escape the PCs) but when a Rick tries to be effective, he still usually fails, taking a save or lose spell, getting critted or similar. It's almost as though the R tiles really are cursed.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Your PC is doomed to mediocrity until your character sheet is "broken in" with food stains, eraser marks, and little edge tears. The more stained and weathered your character sheet, the better your character will do in their career.

And most importantly it must get it's honour marks through normal use, if you intentionally tear or damage your sheet in any way or form, that character is doomed to suck but not die.

[Gotterdammerung]

One player in my group has an interesting superstition.

He doesn't want me (specifically me) to watch his rolls.

He says when I watch him roll that he rolls low. So I have to periodically, intentionally, and awkwardly look away from the table.

[Dr_S]

in our last session I was asked by a diety to perform a task, however we were about to be sieged and we hadn't figured out when, so I promised to perform his task as soon as we resolved the whole "war" issue... then like an idiot added "you know unless we get completely wiped out or something"

I immediately took it back but the damage was partially done... (perhaps more than partially the session ended before everything was resolved)

We had spies in the enemy encampment and they told us the size and time we were to be attacked.

We sent our own small force to their camp while they attacked so that when they retreated from the battle they'd have no where to turn. We had a fool proof plan where my 200 troops would meet 600 troops loyal to us who wouldn't reveal their allegiance until we arrived on their front door, suddenly giving us the numerical advantage over the 500 troops who remained, while another 1200 roughly marched to our city where they were to be met by a force bigger than theirs that was better equipped and they didn't have any magic while we did...

I took charge of the group that was to raid the encampment, upon reaching the gates,the leader of 500 of the 600 men we expected to join us. Tipped his hand, there was no attack on our city. The entire force of 2200 was waiting for us, out numbering us 10 to 1. Upon this realization I ordered the cavalry and werebears to retreat full speed and the mages to use invisibility sphere to cover as many of the remaining soldiers as possible and retreat. The session ended with our fool proof plan utterly in ruins as my men were scattered, most of them alive thanks to invisibility, but lost.

This is an important life lesson...
You never ever say anything such as "at least ______ isn't going to happen"
or "as long as _____ something"
or "there's no way we'll fail" etc. Just don't do it... Murphy's law.

[kulosle]

I agree heavily with not invoking Murphy's wrath. Never assume anything is fool proof, because fools are so ingenious. And don't think about things going wrong. The best plan is one that is mostly thought out, but you haven't thought about what to do in case the enemy does ______. You don't think its a perfect plan but a good one non the less. Perfect plans never work. EVER!

[Necroticplague]

I agree heavily with not invoking Murphy's wrath. Never assume anything is fool proof, because fools are so ingenious. And don't think about things going wrong. The best plan is one that is mostly thought out, but you haven't thought about what to do in case the enemy does ______. You don't think its a perfect plan but a good one non the less. Perfect plans never work. EVER!

My group has a saying related to this "The harder you try and fool-proof a plan, the more you learn exactly how ingenious a fool can be."

[kulosle]

My GM has a large scroll that he hangs behind him as he GMs that is entitled "Murphy's Law and Other Truths" It's a list of fun things like this. The few I can remember off the top of my head are:
"Any thing that can go wrong will go wrong.
A penny saved is a penny lost.
Nothing is fool proof because fools are so ingenious."
and other such fun nonsense that we adhere to for the most part.

[Novawurmson]

I was in a campaign where we had a Dwarf Barbarian NPC who rolled natural 20's constantly. Whenever we really needed to get something done, we'd have her do it, because she'd roll incredibly well.