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Starchild7309
2013-12-06, 12:05 AM
Hey,

So I was talking my my friends and we always relate back to a few different tales of our very first campaign. You know back before even 3.0 came out, back before you know if a troll popped out of the woods you needed fire and acid to make it go away. Back before you started caring too much what tier or how optimized or really how can I get my INT to a 67 so I have bonus epic spells....I am talking about back when you were just discovering D&D (and those of you that came along later i mean you too).

So my question really is what are one or two of the funnier or more memorable things that happened in that first campaign that stuck with you? I will start out.

We were like 3rd or 4th lvl exploring a dungeon and our rogue sneaks up to a door and he starts to listen. (mind you our Dm was very much into "if you wanna say something out of character please specify so") So he is listening and he hears two voices talking about something and then they mention this dragon that has it lair in this dungeon. It was late and we were kinda zoning but he hears this and bolts up right and real loudly goes, "DID YOU SAY A DRAGON?!" My Dm laughs and has and orge and two orcs come barreling through the door to try and kill us.

Another one that stick out to me is our fighter was a coward, he really never wanted to risk anything happening to his character so I was the cleric and this merc is challenging him and calling him names and goading him. He just keeps backing down afraid his character is gonna get killed. So my Cleric of Lathander steps up and full of bravado slaps him with a gauntlet and challenges him to a fight. I ask what the rules are and apparently there are none, this guy is pissed. So the first round of the fight I throw out a heat metal on his armor and my Dm freaks. Telling me its a duel and no magic is allowed. We all point out I did ask the rules and was told there were none so he has to let it go. So for like 3 or 4 rounds I am getting my ass handed to me, then this merc starts ripping off his armor and ends up running away naked threatening to be back. He was, but it was never as satisfying as that time. Oh and our fighter earned the nickname Sir Sissy in the town were were based out of since everyone saw him back down.

So that was longer than I expected, but what are some of your first and either memorable or funny experiences in your first campaigns....any game. Share them with us.

Honest Tiefling
2013-12-06, 12:45 AM
In my very first DnD game, I tried to convince the DM to allow me to play a griffin to be the druid's animal companion. Somewhat glad he didn't agree.

Rakoa
2013-12-06, 12:50 AM
My first character was a Rogue that didn't know how to be a Rogue at all. My first encounter was against a trio of wolves that came sniffing toward my campsite, so I charged them with my dagger and started hacking until I was almost dead. I managed to kill two of them, and then the other one "got scared and ran away", but I'm pretty sure the DM just didn't want to kill the noob.

Starchild7309
2013-12-06, 01:11 AM
Rakoa,

That's ok a later campaign I was a part of I was being introduced and one of my friends was walking down the road near my campsite when he was attacked by a tendriculos. I think my DM forgot I was a rogue cause I was supposed to save my friend. So I run up thinking this must be something strange cause it has regeneration and I use a rapier and I can't sneak attack it so not sure what I am supposed to do but I am fighting it doing like 5 dmg a turn tops. Its ignoring me. In the mean time it ends up picking up my friend and swallowing him, killing him then killing me and my DM was like WTH...Nevermind none of that happened, this guy just shows up at your campsite and invites you for adventure.

Benthesquid
2013-12-06, 01:37 AM
Heh, my first campaign, also the GM's first time GMing. I played an inherited character (my sister had decided that D&D did not suit her temperament, and so bequeathed to me the character) with a Medium Viper companion. Being new to the game, I assumed this meant that it was of average size for the viper, and the GM did not correct me. It spent most of its time hiding in my coat, and occasionally being pulled out and thrown at enemies.

That was also the game were in two or three subsequent encounters, I managed devastating critical hits- on enemies who were already running away.

Haruki-kun
2013-12-06, 01:47 AM
OK, here's mine... mind you, this was like a year ago. I started playing late.

The first campaign I played fully, we came across a Chimera as a random encounter in a mountain pass. The Chimera was able to talk, so the Druid bluffed it into thinking that it shouldn't eat us, because there was a school full of children at the foot of the mountain that was more delicious. The bluff succeeded and the Chimera left, but we knew it would be back because there was no way we could outrun it, and it would likely come back angry at us.

We formulated a plan: The druid stone-shaped part of the path into the shapes of our party members. Then we rubbed ourselves all over some spare clothes we had and put them on the newly-made statues so that they smelled like us. Finally, the witch cast obscuring mist around them while the rest of us went into hiding... all of them away from the path, me closer to survey the events unfold, since I was the rogue.

The Chimera returns angry that we lied to it and starts to shout into the mist, violently swiping the statue of the gnome with its tail. The Chimera notices that the gnome doesn't scream, so the gnome witch casts ventriloquism and makes it scream. Then the Chimera eats all of the statues and flies off.

Chimeras aren't very smart.

BWR
2013-12-06, 04:52 AM
My very first character in a game, in Zanzer Tem's dungeon. We'd spent a couple of hours rolling up characters. In one of the first encounteres we met skeletons. Since everyone was a bit new, the DM gave us all the information about the skeletons, including hp, attacks, THAC0, damage, etc.
Since I only had 2 hp I didn't fancy my chances against a bunch of skeletons that had a better than average chance of killing me with one blow. I hid behind the others with more hp. The DM declared that this was not appropriate behavior for a hero. The skeletons, which had been described as rather sluggish, suddenly jumped past the other players and attacked me. One attack, one hit and exactly enough damage to reduce me to 0 hp.

He looked a bit surprised at that, for some reason.

Morghen
2013-12-06, 09:55 AM
A friend and I had been playing Blue Box D&D when we were introduced to 2nd Edition.

I bought the PHB and we started making characters but we kept having to stop and freak out because "Look at the bastard sword! And you can just buy it at first level?!"

Alejandro
2013-12-06, 10:31 AM
My very first character in a game, in Zanzer Tem's dungeon. We'd spent a couple of hours rolling up characters. In one of the first encounteres we met skeletons. Since everyone was a bit new, the DM gave us all the information about the skeletons, including hp, attacks, THAC0, damage, etc.
Since I only had 2 hp I didn't fancy my chances against a bunch of skeletons that had a better than average chance of killing me with one blow. I hid behind the others with more hp. The DM declared that this was not appropriate behavior for a hero. The skeletons, which had been described as rather sluggish, suddenly jumped past the other players and attacked me. One attack, one hit and exactly enough damage to reduce me to 0 hp.

He looked a bit surprised at that, for some reason.

I cannot convey, in written word, how hard that DM needs to be slapped across the face.

GybeMark
2013-12-06, 11:11 AM
In the first campaign I was DMing (shortly after I watched Raiders of the Lost Arc) there was a 2nd level monk character... The text was something like the following (and yes, I realize the scenario is full of "rookie DM" mistakes)

me: you exit the room and enter the hallway. [roll] you feel a plate beneath your foot give way, and there's a 'click'. At the opposite end of the hall a giant, almost perfectly round, boulder begins rolling towards you. It's getting faster and faster. The only escape that is obvious is to go back into the room you left.

monk: I hold up my hand, and disbelieve that the boulder is there.

me: um... it's getting closer. It's pretty loud. You'll probably be squished if you stay

monk: The last time we saw something like this, it was an illusion. My character firmly believes that the boulder isn't there

me: ok... um... make a will save to see if you can overcome your instinct to jump out of the way

monk: [roll] 19!

me: ok... um... You overcome your fear and firmly disbelieve the boulder. As the granite first makes contact with your hand you realize the boulder is real. Make a reflex check to see if you can do some ninja stuff and jump off the boulder back into the room

monk: [rolls low]

me: well... she's dead

Perseus
2013-12-06, 11:20 AM
Teleported myself and the party's Fighter (who had ALL the loot) into the center of the sun.

My PC got dominated by a BBEG who told me to delay and hinder the group as best as possible... We were level 17 or so..

Me: "Random question, is the sun part of the material plane?"

DM: "Yes"

Me: "Ok my cleric cast greater teleport after grabbing his brother the Fighter and telling him to come along (in character this has happen before).

DM: Where to?"

Me: "Center of the Sun"

Fighter: (while laughing) "I have 300 Million worth of items on me and the quest key to get into the BBEG's lair!"

DM: Looks at me and sighs... "One day you will make an evil:smallconfused: DM, the ways of Gygax is strong with you."

Rest of the party: O_O (they were cool about it, stunned that a newb pulled off something so sinister)

As a new I took the domination to heart and ruined the game since that key was always said to be the only artifact that could lead anyone to the BBEG's lair and the DM didn't want to fiat the game...

I'm not that evil of a DM but I remember the game cause I was the only newb who was playing. That DM never dominated my character again. :D

Spore
2013-12-06, 11:51 AM
In my first adventures I wanted to play an Two Weapon Fighting Ranger. Of course I wanted to be Drizzt! What would be cooler for a 13 year old than a nearly immortal elf from an evil society wanting to be free and good? But as Drow were not possible in Faerun, I settled and made him a bit later. In Eberron, as Human (oddly enough but we hadn't heard of Xen'drik and he wouldn't fit into Sharn anyhow).

I built him very VERY odd. I had low strength and high Dexterity, but no weapon finesse. I took Wisdom because I wanted to have a good perception so badly. I took Orcs and Undead as favored enemies, none of which appeared in the short sessions. I didn't hit anything on Lv 1 because I insisted on using two weapons right from the start. There I was in an environment without any favored enemies, two weapon fighting without the talents lacking ANY animals or an animal companion to use my Wild Empathy or Knowledge checks on.

We killed some city guards in our first session by bullrushing them off so we also had the law against us. That is were I grew tired of him and was really enveloped by werewolf stories. I decided on a shifter druid (we were kids, okay? We haven't even had the money to buy Races of the Wild or similar expensives) which was good but rather mediocre (entangle is not possible on a stone bridge several hundred feet above ground).

ArmoredSandwich
2013-12-06, 12:01 PM
The first night out in the wilderness and the DM asks 'Did you bring food for your camel?'.

The druid says 'Eh' (checks character sheet) 'nope'.

It was all fine in the end but we had quite a scare. The whole first adventure was amazing, scraping together money to buy saddle bags for the camel. Camping outside the city to save money (while the bard and the rogue performed/stole stuff and relaxed at the inn). The DM actually asked us if we kept watch. Then he asked again. And if we were sure. Then at night we slayed a couple of goblins. How sensible to have kept a watch.

Awsome DM. The first check we EVER made was a listen check and if you made it you could not sleep for the night due to loud rat noises.

Brookshw
2013-12-06, 12:13 PM
Geez, that was a long time ago and the only thing I recall was getting a silver dagger and thinking to myself, "cool! I wonder what's special about this thing." For whatever reason back then it seemed like a really exciting thing.

Kaveman26
2013-12-06, 12:45 PM
Our very first game was done from d and d rules encyclopedia. I vaguely remember rolling for random loot and against all odds we got a +five Cestus. We then proceeded to kill each other in an attempt for the magic item. Dm threw his hands up in disgust and we our first game crashed to a halt.

erikun
2013-12-06, 12:59 PM
Back in AD&D, most DMs were more interactive with the players at the table. Running some rather high-level characters, we ran across a hag who, after a brief argument, had the DM glaring at the players at the table. I glared back. It turns out that hags had a paralysis gaze, and staring right at the DM like that was a one-way trip to instafail saves. :smalltongue: I spent most of that session paralyzed with the hag munching on an arm.

Of course, my character was pretty quick to shove a sword into the hag once free of said paralysis. :smallwink:

Ravens_cry
2013-12-06, 01:23 PM
Teleported myself and the party's Fighter (who had ALL the loot) into the center of the sun.

My PC got dominated by a BBEG who told me to delay and hinder the group as best as possible... We were level 17 or so..

Me: "Random question, is the sun part of the material plane?"

DM: "Yes"

Me: "Ok my cleric cast greater teleport after grabbing his brother the Fighter and telling him to come along (in character this has happen before).

DM: Where to?"

Me: "Center of the Sun"

Fighter: (while laughing) "I have 300 Million worth of items on me and the quest key to get into the BBEG's lair!"

DM: Looks at me and sighs... "One day you will make an evil:smallconfused: DM, the ways of Gygax is strong with you."

Rest of the party: O_O (they were cool about it, stunned that a newb pulled off something so sinister)

As a new I took the domination to heart and ruined the game since that key was always said to be the only artifact that could lead anyone to the BBEG's lair and the DM didn't want to fiat the game...

I'm not that evil of a DM but I remember the game cause I was the only newb who was playing. That DM never dominated my character again. :D
What edition was this? If it was 3.X I think your DM was being a newbie themselves on three counts. One, Greater Teleport is willing only. This is doable if the Fighter doesn't realize you are Dominated, but, two, you don't choose your actions when Dominated, the character dominating you does, most likely your DM. Also, obviously self-destructive acts, like teleporting into the sun, are also not carried out.
Hate to break it to you, but there was Newbbery all around by the looks of things.

Subaru Kujo
2013-12-06, 01:33 PM
Got to romancing the group's drunken wizard somewhat indirectly after he failed to flirt with the elven shopkeeper that gave him his phase wasp familiar. I guess he saw it as a show of dominance or something when I dunked his drunken self into the nearest river.

Sorta glad I did it. Until that point I was somewhat distant from the rest of that group.

Perseus
2013-12-06, 01:35 PM
What edition was this? If it was 3.X I think your DM was being a newbie themselves on three counts. One, Greater Teleport is willing only. This is doable if the Fighter doesn't realize you are Dominated, but, two, you don't choose your actions when Dominated, the character dominating you does, most likely your DM. Also, obviously self-destructive acts, like teleporting into the sun, are also not carried out.
Hate to break it to you, but there was Newbbery all around by the looks of things.

Mindrape was the spell that hit my PC, I used the word dominate not as a rules word but as the general idea. The change given to my character. Essentially I was working for the BBEG as a cultist/fanboy.

The way the DM handled most charms/dominates/mind rapes is to let the Player roleplay it. If it is a spell that needs specific commands then he would just pass a note over.

Fighter was willing, I teleported the party a lot (letting me make my own domain was nice of him) and it wasn't rare for me to take one person to town for whatever reason.

Pex
2013-12-06, 01:44 PM
Having just learned D&D in a high school club, I was asked to join in a new campaign for a game called Paranoia. Same thing, right?

The Fury
2013-12-06, 01:46 PM
My first character took a long time to decide on what weapon to use and would try just about any weapon that could be picked up as loot. Because I was still running on video game logic-- the most recent weapon you find must be the best right? One of these was a great axe which I had terrible luck with-- nearly every roll with it was a natural 1. My character decided that the axe was cursed-- it wasn't though, it was just an axe. The great axe met its demise when my character stopped us from being chased by orcs by bracing a door with it. The building we were escaping from was on fire, naturally. This transformed the useless and maligned axe into twisted slag. Good riddance I say!
This game also had someone playing an ambiguously-gendered character. Not a V shout-out, this was before Order of the Stick started. Besides this was a cleric, not a wizard. I thought it was funny that the only person that couldn't properly recall the character's gender was the DM. Of course, the cleric's player corrected the DM whenever he got it wrong, later all the players started correcting him. Then the cleric found a cursed item that swapped his gender whenever he used turn undead because this wasn't crazy enough.


Having just learned D&D in a high school club, I was asked to join in a new campaign for a game called Paranoia. Same thing, right?

Yeah, basically.

Ravens_cry
2013-12-06, 01:47 PM
Mindrape was the spell that hit my PC, I used the word dominate not as a rules word but as the general idea. The change given to my character. Essentially I was working for the BBEG as a cultist/fanboy.

The way the DM handled most charms/dominates/mind rapes is to let the Player roleplay it. If it is a spell that needs specific commands then he would just pass a note over.

Fighter was willing, I teleported the party a lot (letting me make my own domain was nice of him) and it wasn't rare for me to take one person to town for whatever reason.
Ah. In that case, carry on.

Razgriez
2013-12-06, 02:38 PM
My first campaign, which sadly never completed due to real life issues pulling a lot of players away from it, if I recall correctly, was called Rhunaria or something like that. It was a 3.0 homebrew campaign, low magic. The party was hired on as guards to protect a caravan of vital supplies led by several clerics (part "bring vital items and trade between long, dangerous routes, and part pilgrimage.) The caravan was passing through this dark, evil, dreary, constantly rainy, windy, or both bright, cheerful, clear sunny skies with a gentle breeze location, wonderfully known as "The Blood Fields" or "Field of Blood" or something like that (it's been almost 10 years)

Basically, look at the grass in this article, and imagine it's a much deeper, crimson red, and as tall as at least a full grown man. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperata_cylindrica) Congrats, you are now 1/4th of the way to imagining how this place looks, and feels like.

Oh, and did you guess that with such a charming name as the Blood fields, that A. The place may have been the site of a particularly violent, and large scale battle, and B. is possibly haunted and/or have a negative effect on local fauna? Congratulations! You're correct guess wins you an all expenses paid week and a half trip vacation to those fields! Have fun!.

During my parties trip there, we met two particularly nasty encounters. 1, were "blood Oozes" (basically, normal oozes, turned blood red). I... kinda made the situation worse by trying to smash those things due to me not knowing that when you hit certain oozes, they split into 2 oozes.

The other encounter, was with some spectral undead (I think Wraiths or banshees or something). A fear effect from one of them fired off, DM told us to roll Will saves. I, being in my early to mid teens at the time, was a tad bit impatient, and wanting to take my turn, which was next in the initiative count, and the DM was taking just 5 seconds too long for my liking at the time to figure out the results of the Will saves.

Me: "I Shout to the members of the Caravan to Hold the line!"
DM: Uhm.... Razgriez, you sure you want to be shouting that?":smallconfused:
Me: "Of course! Why wouldn't I. I'm trying to rally the guards to stand and fight?" (oh Hollywood, how you've corrupted me)
DM: "Uh yea, but uhm... you aren't exactly setting a great example for them."
Me: "What do you mean?":smallconfused:
DM: "You failed your will save"
Me: "...oh."
DM "And Razgriez's character shouts orders to the guards to do the exact opposite of what he's doing, as he vanishes fleeing in terror into the tall bloodgrass"
And then the table broke out in laughter...... well almost everyone at the table -_-;;

other (not as embarrassing mistakes):
Once spent 2 feats to learn how to wield a Katana, and Shurikens (That's an old shame, though I still occasionally use a feat for katana/bastard swords for certain theme builds)

-Did not use Power Attack for many years until a few years ago (The fact that my groups preferred 3.0, over 3.5 was part of this reason. I also hated "bland" great sword builds/Cloud Strife theme builds.

Vernal
2013-12-06, 03:04 PM
My first DM attempt had me reading the DMG (AD&D) and not understanding the true meaning behind the time units of a round being one minute and a segment being six seconds IN GAME.

So, naturally I sat down to my first game as DM with a minute timer next to me to keep track of the rounds and segments that passed.

Newbs. Le sigh.

Jarawara
2013-12-06, 04:15 PM
I was just told a story of a noob player that I found most heartwarming. Let me relay the story of "The TPK that wasn't a TPK".

OK, first up, apologies for lacking proper detail. I wasn't there, only heard a retelling of it over the phone while at work. Story goes like this: Party is deep inside some old complex of ruins. They have used a teleportation system to get in and out of the place, via a teleporter-stone they carry that will pop them back into their home base (they carried another telestone into a suitable starting point in the ruins so they can pop back in anytime they wish).

They see a group of berzerker warriors up ahead. The savages charge, in groups of swordsmen, axemen, and spearmen, but a couple of really big guys.

Party deals first with the axemen, and then the swordsmen. They're doing good, now working on the two big guys and thinking they've got things in hand. Nobody notices that the spearmen are gone. A moment later the spearmen appear in back (taken the side passage around the party), and plow into the undefended rear.

Squishy wizards start to fall. Clerics and Thieves are fighting through polearms. The two big guys are tougher than they appear. The main fighter falls. People start dropping left and right, and suddenly they're facing a Total Party Kill.

All except one player, the newbie. She's got a ring of invisibility, and she pops it on and says he's going totally still. She watches as the rest of the party is swept aside, total process taking only a round or two more. Berzerkers in their fury never noticed him disappear, so the coast is clear for her to leave.

But she doesn't run. She watches as the berzerkers wildly dance and drink to their victory as the unconscious party bleeds out under their feet. She moves quietly to the fighter, and searches his pockets... and finds the telestone that will carry her to freedom.

And then she taps the telestone not to herself, but to the fighter. Pop, out goes the fighter to the safehouse. Nobody notices. She moves to the next one, waiting for them to be distracted with another round of ale. Pop goes another, she moves on to a third.

Someone notices that there seems to be less bodies than before. She telepops out another one, but now the berzerker shouts out a warning. Someone is stealing their kills. They call in the shaman, who begins to dance and pray. Shaman says the spirits are displeased. Pop goes another one. He tells the berzerkers to bleed themselves to appease the spirits. Berzerkers cut themselves and spray blood around the room. Pop goes another body. Shaman tells the berzerkers the spirits demand flesh - cut up the remaining bodies. Out comes the axes and body parts start flying.

Newbie finally decides on the better part of valor thing, grabs one more body and taps the stone to herself, and out she goes. She appears back at the safehouse surrounded by medics and reinforcements preparing to teleport in a rescue mission. Mission was scrapped, due to nothing remaining to save, but the medics insure all others a full recovery. All in all, over two thirds of the party was saved by her calm actions in the face of total disaster.

Upon resuscitation, the survivors decide that the newbie gets the full pile of treasure of that expedition (and the players at the table voted to grant the newbie their share of the XP, which was a sizeable boost).

TuggyNE
2013-12-06, 09:02 PM
All in all, over two thirds of the party was saved by her calm actions in the face of total disaster.

Upon resuscitation, the survivors decide that the newbie gets the full pile of treasure of that expedition (and the players at the table voted to grant the newbie their share of the XP, which was a sizeable boost).

Dude yes. That was awesome.

AgentofHellfire
2013-12-06, 09:17 PM
Oh, there's definitely some highlights of my first game that I remember.

At the time I was playing a more...radical Chaotic Neutral druid, kind of an ecoterrorist type. And we were all on a mission to protect the forest from harm, by fighting off various creatures, and eventually a monk...

But before we got to him, we were actually fighting off...I think guards. Might've been wolves, though...but anyway, what happened was that my druid wasn't participating in this fight. Not because anything in particular was going on, but because I had a little while earlier used my Wild Empathy to have a conversation with a random ant. We talked for a bit about the day, until it died, and expressed its pain very poignantly. And the whole time, everyone was yelling at me for not helping, which I admittedly should've done, but still. 'Twas hilarious.

And I more than made up for it, too--basically, when we were fighting something a little more challenging, we realized that if it sprayed acid every round, it'd kill us, and we weren't sure what to do. Eventually, the DM spoke up and said that maybe if one of us went behind it, we could force it to split up its attacks.

So my druid did. Everyone in the group praised me for having taken one for the team, and my character certainly felt it--he didn't quite die, but he did come very close to that. My fellow players were only just able to heal me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So yeah, that's it, really. Nothing else of note for my first game.

My later games got a bit better, of course. But this still had its fun points.

Starchild7309
2013-12-06, 09:38 PM
We were doing a campaign in Undermountain and I drew out this extensive map so we could make it back to the exit, knowing it could change at any time. So our DM was kind and didn't change anything. This was a map I offered to let others copy and look at, but the rest of my party was more interested in smashing and killing so no one cared. Then one fateful day my character dies. We are all down in the middle of Undermountain, beat up and on the verge of death. The wizard (me), and our cleric both were killed in random fluke bad rolls. So there is a fighter a rogue and a barbarian left to their own devices. Our Dm ends the session wit our deaths and collects my map. The next session he hand my map to our rogue who is the smartest, but without them knowing he has changed Undermountain, so its completely useless. They all wandered around till they died. It was a TPK that took like 3 weeks to complete. He did leave clues as to how to get out, but because none of them paid any mind to anything he wiped us.

Another time we were in Undermountain, same campaign different previous venture into it. We had the Wizard(me), a Cleric, a fighter, a rogue, and a Blood Magus and one other cohort. All of us except the blood magus are good so our one cohort gets trapped on the other side of a Wall of Force. I am tapped on spells, we were getting ready to shadow walk out when this all happened. So we are watching our companion get spanked and I use Diplomacy to talk our Blood Magus into Blood Walking into the room to help out the other companion. Then we watched as the BBEG just crushes the companion and the Blood Magus, turns to us and tell us we are next....at that point we shadow walk away.

The player who had the blood magus is pissed, keeps asking me why I talked him into doing that and all we could do was laugh. All i could come up with is, "Well you are always bragging how bad ass you are...thought you could handle it" Needless to say my advice was never followed by him again.