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View Full Version : Best Game Ever, a.k.a. Why videogaming will never compare to RP



SolkaTruesilver
2007-07-03, 08:12 AM
Yesterday, we gave ourselves a long-term session (all being fairly busy, we used Canada's holiday as an excuse to make our longest session ever of 10 hours - I know to some of you it's not that long, but for me, it was - )

We are all level 6. I play the wizard, we have a Duskblade, a Fighter, a Cleric (LG) and a Druid/Ranger (4/2).

The whole game is about tracking down a fire cult that threaten the Duchy of Urnst in Greyhawk. The gaming session begins with us fighting a Huge Fire elemental (already hurt). It begins badly, none of our priest remembered to take Resistance against Fire as spell, most of my spells are fire-based. We still manage to beat the big thing, but not without more than a few scratches, and a few good high-level spells.

That was the beggining of the day (in-game).

We got in the dungeon, and go trough it. We eventually find a Bodak, and the priest turns him away. In another chamber, a cultist is trying to make 2 Chain Devil do his bidding. We attack, and the cultist runs away on the solid laval nearby (he seems to be immune to fire), when the Bodak embush him, and begin to kill him.

The group goes at the edge of the cliff on the lava pit, while I stay behind, trying to outtalk the devils into leaving the place if I agree to free them. At first, they agree to "Leave the place if I free them", but I am no fool. I make them agree to "Leave the place immediatly, not harming me nor any member of my group, and not return if I free them". (The DM is a sadist with Outsiders, but he really makes them respect their alignement). So we free the Kythons, and they leave.

The battle against the Bodak was a close one. We sourrounded it, trying not to look at it while striking it. I gave my Cold Iron family heirloom to the fighter so he can bash it. I have no spell left which can injure the creature. The Bodak actively tried to kill our fighters with his killing glance, and the Duskblade succeeded on his 3 saving throw (he had to throw a 15 to succeed, the lucky devil).

But that is just the beggining. In the quest, a powerful frost artifact had been released and would consume the whole Duchy of Ursnt in a frozen wasteland in a few days if we did not destroy it. The item wasn't an artifact, but just a small portal to the plane of frost. We rested for a day, and charged in.

Just BEING in the appropriate dungeon made us suffer 2d6 Cold Damage/round. (Resist against energy to anyone this time!!!). We walked to the chamber of the artifact, and stopped.

Guarding the chamber was an Ice Salamander, and an Ice Devil (geludon).

I remember anyone that we are level 6. So pleace check the CR on this thing.

Anyway, our mission is to destroy the artifact to save the region, so three of us attack from a flank, trying to attract their attention, while the cleric and the fighter, invisible, will walk around them to go destroy the artifact.

It works, the Geludon teleport right in front of me, the druid and the duskblade. We are no match, and the other two flee (I can't since I cast Haste on them). The Geludon casts Wall of Ice right behind me, so I'm stuck. I'm gonna die in a few round...

At my turn, I walk to the Geludon, showing him my family scar (already part of my historic, it was left by the Demon Bamophet). Saying "I sworn to kill Bamophet, the Demon-Lord. Can you help me?"

For 7 rounds, I talked to him, bargaining, asking me to leaving me alive, maybe helping me striking a blow against the Devil. During these 7 rounds, the team managed to find the artifact, and begginning destroying it.

7 rounds the big ending boss, invincible, was distracted. I was so totally ready to loose my character, but I kept on talking, trying to interest him...

I managed to ran away with 1 hit point left (while in Haste.. only 1 attack of opportunity..), the priest (protection domain and portfolio) distracted the Devil, and left us time to flee. But he too managed to run away (the area where we ran was too small for the devil to teleport). He has a few hit point lefts, but not much more than us...

Proof that no video game can beat true role playing. In no VG can you try to attract the bad guys' attention trying to talk to them...

and I feel proud I managed to save the group. Not by mighty spells, but with clever role playing.

Tormsskull
2007-07-03, 08:33 AM
Proof that no video game can beat true role playing.

Agreed. Sounds like a good session you had there.

puppyavenger
2007-07-03, 08:53 AM
Maby you should have tricked the fie cult into attacing the ice dungeon, Then you'd just have to fight steam!:smallsmile:

SolkaTruesilver
2007-07-03, 09:09 AM
Maby you should have tricked the fie cult into attacing the ice dungeon, Then you'd just have to fight steam!

Err.. actually, the ice dungeon was the fire Cult's place..

The Fire cult put their hand on the ice artifact, and planned to blackmail the duchy, threatening to let it loose on the region, but they lost control of it, and the frost area around it kept expanding. When we began in the dungeon, the volcano's lava had been already solidified (but still could burn up anything put on it) because of the artifact.

The more we waited, the more the dungeon turned cold. The whole fire cult had been slaughtered either by us or by the ice creature the artifact spawned. We got out of the cult's place with a portal (fire portal), and have read trough the Cult's Leader journal.. learning about the power of destruction of the artifact. So we decided to turn back, but we had to wait to the following day to cast the spells..

But the quest was created as such: the more the player waited before attacking, the more powerful the monsters will be. That's why we ended up against a Geludon.

Tallis
2007-07-03, 11:25 AM
Sounds like a good game. Nice twist with the fire cult using a frost artifact.

I agree, no video game can compare to a good RP game. My group broke up a couple months ago, so I've been stuck with just video games to give me my gaming fix. It sucks. Hopefully I'll find a new group soon.

Matthew
2007-07-03, 05:45 PM
Heh, sounds like a fun game. One of the many places where CRPGs fall short of Pen and Paper RPGs.