WMD&Ds

[TeChameleon]

I know that these have come up every so often, but I don't think I remember seeing a unified thread for them; basically, this is a depository for all those weird, wonderful moments when the party figures out how to become a pseudo-nuclear-power in D&D (or other RPGs, whatever), playing with the kind of firepower normally reserved for global superpowers, or even just oddball moments that resulted in otherwise-normal objects becoming complete gamebreakers.

Some that have come up in campaigns I've played in are surprisingly simple, if you have the right tools; my wizard was able to re-create the 'rod from god' kinetic orbital strike weapon with nothing more than two permanent portals positioned directly above one another, a tree-sized tungsten rod (minor creation, I think?), and then once the rod hit terminal velocity, another portal between the two permanent ones with the other end above what the party needed gone. It made a fairly satisfying 'kaboom'

Another that I haven't had a chance to implement yet, but which shouldn't be much more complicated- an arrow with a portable hole on the tip, and a bag of holding on a slide attached to the shaft. It'll throw the balance of the arrow off some, but anything that it hits will be taking an unexpected trip to the Astral Sea (or at least part of it will).

So what are some other stories of fun with rules-compliant weapons of mass destruction?

[Khedrac]

These can be fun, but they are very rarely actually rules compiant...

Some that have come up in campaigns I've played in are surprisingly simple, if you have the right tools; my wizard was able to re-create the 'rod from god' kinetic orbital strike weapon with nothing more than two permanent portals positioned directly above one another, a tree-sized tungsten rod (minor creation, I think?), and then once the rod hit terminal velocity, another portal between the two permanent ones with the other end above what the party needed gone. It made a fairly satisfying 'kaboom'

Except that it doesn't. Iirc in 3rd Ed D&D the damage from a falling object is based on its mass not how far it falls?
And If not, in pretty much all versions of D&D falling damage caps at 20D6

Another that I haven't had a chance to implement yet, but which shouldn't be much more complicated- an arrow with a portable hole on the tip, and a bag of holding on a slide attached to the shaft. It'll throw the balance of the arrow off some, but anything that it hits will be taking an unexpected trip to the Astral Sea (or at least part of it will).

So what are some other stories of fun with rules-compliant weapons of mass destruction?

This one only works with custom items, otherwise the bag of holding is much too big for an arrow. That said, it is the most rules-compliant one usually produced.

[TeChameleon]

These can be fun, but they are very rarely actually rules compiant...

Except that it doesn't. Iirc in 3rd Ed D&D the damage from a falling object is based on its mass not how far it falls?
And If not, in pretty much all versions of D&D falling damage caps at 20D6

Ah... guess there is a certain amount of houseruling on gravity in my group, then- come to think of it, I'm not even sure anyone's bothered to figure out the falling damage rules, as they appear to be a slightly convoluted way of achieving completely nonsensical results.

This one only works with custom items, otherwise the bag of holding is much too big for an arrow. That said, it is the most rules-compliant one usually produced.

A one-pound bag is too big for an arrow..? Admittedly, it's heavier than the average clothyard shaft, but not by that much...

[Anonymouswizard]

Except that it doesn't. Iirc in 3rd Ed D&D the damage from a falling object is based on its mass not how far it falls?
And If not, in pretty much all versions of D&D falling damage caps at 20D6

You're wrong on the first bit, but right on the latter part. It's what allows a high op 20th level fighter (or maybe a mid-op one) fall from geostationary orbit and then fly back up and do it again before they pass out.

Let me think, I once had to discuss with the GM an idea for a device my technologist might have built. It was simply a thing that could be touched to an inanimate object that would fly off at FTL speeds (it was actually fairly cheap). The problems were that not only was there no way you could force an object to actually use the speed rank you've just given it, but RAW it would just stop with no effect if it hit something as it can't take an action to break through it.

Actually, for these thought projects it can sometimes be fun to go through the rules and make something that should work and work out what rules are missing (ignoring the insanity of the commoner railgun).

Of course, in some games it's not particularly hard for WMDs to come into play. I've heard of a game where the villain was planning to use a nuclear bomb to make London uninhabitable (so that he could reap a load of major charges for his Cliomancy in 10 years), and it's not unfeasible for the players to have access to spaceships with nuclear weapons or even stronger stuff in high points Transhuman Space (where normal humans start being people with the money and connections to actually get it).

That's even ignoring the entire grey goo/wight apocalypse class, where you dump it somewhere you can hopefully contain it.

[TheCountAlucard]

A Solar Exalt in the Exalted setting can be her own nuclear option.

For example, an Adamant Circle sorcerer can learn the spell "Rain of Doom," which is sorta like the D&D 3e spell "Apocalypse from the Sky," except it doesn't require the sacrifice of an artifact, and the rain is hate-poison.

Alternatively, he could use "Total Annihilation" or "Death Ray." Or call down a Third Circle demon to wreak havoc.

(Don't think this is limited to just sorcerers, either - a similarly-focused Brawl-based character can flash-step up to grapple your elephant and hurl it hard enough to level a city block.)

[comk59]

Step 1: Find the Tarrasques lair.
Step 2: create a mono-plane Gate spell.
Step 3: Cast said Gate spell, with one end in the lair and one in an especially large bag of holding.
Step 4: Try to get someone to say to "you and what army".

[JNAProductions]

Pun-Pun?
Khepri?