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  1. - Top - End - #31
    Pixie in the Playground
    Join Date
    May 2020

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    D&D 3.5
    - at only Level 2, I got to befriend a lonely Prismatic Dragon, who became my bestfriend forever. I got a Nat-20, and DM threw 2 handful of dices (obviously wants to me lose), and botched. (foiled by one of his own house rules: no do-overs, if a die falls off of the table its considered a 1; most of which fell off, and the rest are really low numbers)

    Vampires The Masquerade
    - I got to make a Lightsaber, and the Technocrats left me alone.
    - Party got gunned down and captured in an ambush after failing a Perception Check (did not see the security camera), I walked away and got through unscathed. (character trait: cast no reflection in mirror/reflective surfaces, does not register in photographs nor live camera)

    Cyberpunk
    - I got to obtain and own a robot companion that looks like a real human (a prototype of a "secret technology").
    "Yes yes, I killed your father! Seriously, what is it with you women and your killed fathers anyway? I mean, I killed my own father and you don't hear me whine about it!" - M.Bison

  2. - Top - End - #32
    Titan in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

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    Dec 2015

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Quote Originally Posted by Raijinken View Post
    D&D 3.5
    - at only Level 2, I got to befriend a lonely Prismatic Dragon, who became my best friend forever. I got a Nat-20, and DM threw 2 handfuls of dices (obviously wants to me lose), and botched. (foiled by one of his own house rules: no do-overs, if a die falls off of the table it's considered a 1; most of which fell off, and the rest are really low numbers)

    Vampires The Masquerade
    - I got to make a Lightsaber, and the Technocrats left me alone.
    - Party got gunned down and captured in an ambush after failing a Perception Check (did not see the security camera), I walked away and got through unscathed. (character trait: cast no reflection in mirror/reflective surfaces, does not register in photographs nor live camera)

    Cyberpunk
    - I got to obtain and own a robot companion that looks like a real human (a prototype of a "secret technology").
    A prismatic dragon on Level 2?! Wow, that just a very rare event. How did you manage to meet this dragon at such a low level? I'm curious.

  3. - Top - End - #33
    Troll in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

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    Jun 2018
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    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Quote Originally Posted by Raijinken View Post
    D&D 3.5

    Vampires The Masquerade
    - I got to make a Lightsaber, and the Technocrats left me alone.
    - Party got gunned down and captured in an ambush after failing a Perception Check (did not see the security camera), I walked away and got through unscathed. (character trait: cast no reflection in mirror/reflective surfaces, does not register in photographs nor live camera)
    I made a lightsaber in Scion at Demi-god level. I had that power that lets you build just about anything. I had plans for a lambda class shuttle (thinking that the GM would give me that where he would refuse an Impstar II).
    Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett

    "Magic can turn a frog into a prince. Science can turn a frog into a Ph.D. and you still have the frog you started with." Terry Pratchett
    "I will not yield to evil, unless she's cute."

  4. - Top - End - #34
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    RedWizardGuy

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    Feb 2014

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    I remember way back in college, my roommate, when playing a game of Epic Space Marine (i.e. the really tiny scale), had an Imperial commissar kill a Reaver Titan in one shot, with his bolt pistol, with a variety of made rolls and failed saves.

  5. - Top - End - #35
    Pixie in the Playground
    Join Date
    May 2020

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Quote Originally Posted by Bartmanhomer View Post
    A prismatic dragon on Level 2?! Wow, that just a very rare event. How did you manage to meet this dragon at such a low level? I'm curious.
    If I remember it right, it went.... My character was adventuring alone, unbeknownst to me (failed roll), I am already being stalked by the dragon disguised as a human. Initially seeing me as its prey, it decided to "play" with its food. I met with the dragon (in the form of a young female human), who then told me about a "monster" that lives in the ruins deep in the forest, and she can take me there. As we travel, she keeps on asking me things about everything (basically wants me to tell her stories), which I then complied much to her enjoyment. I also noticed that she seems to be somewhat limping (like she has a sprained upper leg), I also told her that I someday would like to meet a dragon, not to fight it, but with it as allies (or a pet). When we arrived at the ruins, we entered a rundown building that leads to an underground cavern. As we got in far deeper, we arrived what seems to be a treasure cove. When I looked at her, she was giving me a creepy-grinny look, then reveals her true form, and the ruins is actually her lair. As she charges at me, as I draw my weapon, I noticed that "limp" again. After dodging some of her rather "slowed" attacks, I kind of lost focus because I noticed something sticking out on her upper tail (on the side between her legs). She finally got to grab a hold of me (failed the Grapple Check). As she was about to toss me in her mouth, she asked if I have any last words? I asked why has she been limping all this time? She stopped for a moment and said "what about it?". I then said "I can help you with that.". She decided to trust me for a moment (but one wrong move, I die). When I went "back there", I saw a large arrow that looks like has been there for a while (which she said that has been bothering her for a while as well). I tried to pull it, causing her to scream (roar) in pain. I apologized to her that this will hurt more, but this is the only way. I cut deeper on her to loosen up the arrow, later on allowing me to remove it. I then used my last Cure Potion to close the wound. After that fixed her, she looked at me. I did a "come at me bro" pose and said, "ok, you can eat me now.". As she gets closer, I said "I have no regrets dying today, and in fact, I die happy. For I already achieved one of my goals, to meet a dragon (and briefly) adventure with one.". She transformed back to human, hugged, kissed and thanked me. And later on she decided (insisted) to come with me, but only having her under the condition that she stays in her human form (only turn back to a dragon when really needed).

    My DM scheduled a one-on-one session because I had to catch up (had to leave the country for a while, so my character was on hold for a long while; other players were already CL13 and up). DM offered a free/fast level up and/or a new character altogether (in exchange for a somewhat backstory to cover it), which I refused (where is the fun in that?) and insisted in using my original character. Obviously not wanting to go through that drama, he decided to kill my character (and hopefully making me accept the offer).

    The part where she revealed her true form, DM said "she turned into a dragon.". When I asked what color, he threw a dice (forgot what D#), looked at his book, and looked at me with an evil grin saying "She's a Prism Dragon.". I asked "What do those breath?". DM just simply said "Lasers".

    DM also later on noted that she was taken from Forgotten Realms, whereas Prismatic Dragons are noted to be fond of humanoid company. He also indicated that the part when she was yakking-away and asking for stories, indicated that she was lonely (and somewhat clingy).

    As I do my supposedly last words, that is the part where the DM had me do a Charisma Check (probably just for kicks before he have her chomp down on me), I scored a Nat-20. He then tried to wipe the gleam on my face, by giving me an even evil-er grin as he picks up 2 handfuls of D6 and toss them on the table. The result of which, making me return the evil grin back at him, reminding him about the "house rules".

    In conclusion: I got a new weapon/friend/pet
    "Yes yes, I killed your father! Seriously, what is it with you women and your killed fathers anyway? I mean, I killed my own father and you don't hear me whine about it!" - M.Bison

  6. - Top - End - #36
    Titan in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2015

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Quote Originally Posted by Raijinken View Post
    If I remember it right, it went.... My character was adventuring alone, unbeknownst to me (failed roll), I am already being stalked by the dragon disguised as a human. Initially seeing me as its prey, it decided to "play" with its food. I met with the dragon (in the form of a young female human), who then told me about a "monster" that lives in the ruins deep in the forest, and she can take me there. As we travel, she keeps on asking me things about everything (basically wants me to tell her stories), which I then complied much to her enjoyment. I also noticed that she seems to be somewhat limping (like she has a sprained upper leg), I also told her that I someday would like to meet a dragon, not to fight it, but with it as allies (or a pet). When we arrived at the ruins, we entered a rundown building that leads to an underground cavern. As we got in far deeper, we arrived what seems to be a treasure cove. When I looked at her, she was giving me a creepy-grinny look, then reveals her true form, and the ruins is actually her lair. As she charges at me, as I draw my weapon, I noticed that "limp" again. After dodging some of her rather "slowed" attacks, I kind of lost focus because I noticed something sticking out on her upper tail (on the side between her legs). She finally got to grab a hold of me (failed the Grapple Check). As she was about to toss me in her mouth, she asked if I have any last words? I asked why has she been limping all this time? She stopped for a moment and said "what about it?". I then said "I can help you with that.". She decided to trust me for a moment (but one wrong move, I die). When I went "back there", I saw a large arrow that looks like has been there for a while (which she said that has been bothering her for a while as well). I tried to pull it, causing her to scream (roar) in pain. I apologized to her that this will hurt more, but this is the only way. I cut deeper on her to loosen up the arrow, later on allowing me to remove it. I then used my last Cure Potion to close the wound. After that fixed her, she looked at me. I did a "come at me bro" pose and said, "ok, you can eat me now.". As she gets closer, I said "I have no regrets dying today, and in fact, I die happy. For I already achieved one of my goals, to meet a dragon (and briefly) adventure with one.". She transformed back to human, hugged, kissed and thanked me. And later on she decided (insisted) to come with me, but only having her under the condition that she stays in her human form (only turn back to a dragon when really needed).

    My DM scheduled a one-on-one session because I had to catch up (had to leave the country for a while, so my character was on hold for a long while; other players were already CL13 and up). DM offered a free/fast level up and/or a new character altogether (in exchange for a somewhat backstory to cover it), which I refused (where is the fun in that?) and insisted in using my original character. Obviously not wanting to go through that drama, he decided to kill my character (and hopefully making me accept the offer).

    The part where she revealed her true form, DM said "she turned into a dragon.". When I asked what color, he threw a dice (forgot what D#), looked at his book, and looked at me with an evil grin saying "She's a Prism Dragon.". I asked "What do those breath?". DM just simply said "Lasers".

    DM also later on noted that she was taken from Forgotten Realms, whereas Prismatic Dragons are noted to be fond of humanoid company. He also indicated that the part when she was yakking-away and asking for stories, indicated that she was lonely (and somewhat clingy).

    As I do my supposedly last words, that is the part where the DM had me do a Charisma Check (probably just for kicks before he have her chomp down on me), I scored a Nat-20. He then tried to wipe the gleam on my face, by giving me an even evil-er grin as he picks up 2 handfuls of D6 and toss them on the table. The result of which, making me return the evil grin back at him, reminding him about the "house rules".

    In conclusion: I got a new weapon/friend/pet
    Wow! That's awesome you made a very powerful friend. Thank you for telling your story.

  7. - Top - End - #37
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    Griffon

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    Apr 2007
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    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    My luckiest day was technically an event where I got really bad luck, at exactly the right time.

    We were playing Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play though a module called Shadows Over Bogenhafen; a fairly standard "the city has been corrupted by a cult and the players need to find them before they enact the big evil ritual" kind of story. I was playing as a Cat Burglar, which meant that I was something of a Jack-of-All-Trades - I could fight as well as anyone who wasn't a trained soldier, but mostly I would pick locks, disarm traps and conceal stuff that we needed to keep safe.

    Long story short; Bogenhafen went south and so the party decided to leave the Chaos-infested craphole to its fate. Through totally legitimate roleplay, we messed up and somehow not only failed to impede the cult in any way but we also managed to get ourselves implicated in several ritualistic murders that they had committed, and since justice in WRFP can be rather inflexible we thought we'd try our luck in another city that wasn't a) out to get us and b) due to explode in the next week or so.

    Pursued by the local militia, we fled into the Drakenwald - an ancient forest notorious for being the lair of bandits, mutants, beastmen and other ne'er-do-wells - looking for somewhere to lie low, and in a random encounter (later admitted to me by the GM who rolled it on a table of random events) we were attacked by werewolves.
    It was a silly encounter because we were fighting werewolves, on a boat, at noon, for.... some reason. Still, it was meant to be inconsequential so we went with it, and ultimately we prevailed, but for the unfortunate fact that I was bitten and failed my Toughness test to avoid contracting lycanthropy - at the next full moon, or if put under extreme distress, I would Turn.

    The party decided to keep going - surely this was all part of the GM's plan, right? There was a cure out there somewhere, and we just needed to explore enough to find it within the next 7 days, surely?
    So we continued to flee, chased distantly by watchmen and the likes, deeper into the forest. As night approached we sought shelter, and found it in what appeared to be an abandoned tower - think like the watch-towers in Skyrim, except more Gothic - into which we broke and sealed the door behind us, hoping that our pursuers wouldn't notice and would pass on by.

    Of course, this was WFRP and spooky towers in the middle of ancient cursed forests must have something in them, right? In this case, we found a vampire and he had just woken up to the sounds of his front door being kicked down.

    Vampires, in WFRP, are HUGELY powerful enemies. Being undead, they double their toughness in order to reduce the amount of damage that they take from non-magical weapons, meaning that while a player rolls something like 1d10+3 for damage they automatically reduce that by at least 12, plus whatever armour they're wearing. So say nothing of their ferocious combat prowess, dark magic and the rest....

    The fight didn't go well. In the first couple of rounds, we established that only 2 of the 5 party members could reliably cause even a small amount of damage - one of whom was the Trollslayer, who was virtually turned inside-out with the first attack and started bleeding out. The Elven Archer hit the Vampire several times, but rolled pathetically on his damage so no amount of accuracy was going to help. When it was my turn, I stepped forward and brought my sword down on the Vampire's forehead, to be rewarded by a terrifying little *dink* noise before being back-handed across the room, reduced to only a handful of 'hp'.

    At this point, while the Vampire literally eviscerated another player (the Critical Damage charts in WFRP leave nothing to the imagination) the GM decided that now would be a good time to see if my character was feeling at all stressed out. As you can imagine, I agreed with him and rolled my Will-Power to try and keep the Beast Within on a leash.... And failed spectacularly.
    By the time that my next turn came around, I had fully turned into a slavering bestial nightmare of claws and teeth, and with fresh blood in the air I did the only thing that came naturally by lunging at the nearest moving thing; the Vampire.

    This is where my luck turned. Fighting unarmed and naked, I successfully rolled to hit the Vampire and then my damage dice exploded. Three times.

    By the end of a mathematically-laborious turn, I had rolled something like 32 on 1d10, and because I now counted as a supernatural creature the Vampire lost his special ability to soak my damage. We decided in the end that I had formally declared Mortal Kombat on the guy and then peeled out his spine like the Predator claiming a trophy.

    Unfortunately by this point there was only myself and one other party member still alive and I was borderline unplayable since No, there was no cure for lycanthropy - the GM genuinely rolled a random encounter and had no idea that any of this was going to happen, so there was no planned salvation for my Cat Burglar. We counted the fight as a TPK-by-technicality, but claimed a moral victory since the witchhunters never got their hands on us.
    Last edited by Wraith; 2020-05-12 at 02:59 AM.
    ~ CAUTION: May Contain Weasels ~
    RPG Characters What I Done Played As (Explained Badly)
    17 Things I Learned About 40k By Playing Dark Heresy
    Tales of a Role-Play Gamer - Horrible Optimisation

  8. - Top - End - #38
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    Ken Murikumo's Avatar

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    Jul 2014
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    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Not just a one time thing, but for my first long running (3.5) campaign with my current group, i had incredible luck but only when it was life or death. Any roll that was normal or inconsequential was the opposite, though.

    Attack roll for this normal enemy during this routine combat; usually a low roll. Lotta ones here.

    The BBEG grapples me and this is my one and only roll to get free before i get killed; nat 20, break his nose with a headbutt and drops me to cover his face and scream (nobody expects the headbutt).

    The earth shakes when a being of power appears, roll to stay standing; nat 1.

    Roll reflex to avoid a maximized fist of crushing spite; nat 20.

    And so on. This became so expected that the party started forming do or die plans around my weird death defying luck. And they worked... This power of mine has long since faded and i am now rolling pretty normally for everything.

  9. - Top - End - #39
    Orc in the Playground
     
    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Jun 2005
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    Washington St.

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    I have a few stories from years past....

    To start with, I present Reilah Essend, street urchin, brigand, and amateur vivisectionist. She was not known for any bout of amazing luck, but rather a consistent trend of "theoretically rare", but "expectedly common" overperformances of the blade. I had the chance to play her through several different gaming systems, each of which had critical hit systems, and she would regularly hit the top end of the range of what is humanly possible in damage output.

    With only one catch.

    The target had to have only a few hit points remaining.

    We're fighting the big boss? She'd plink away with regular hits, occasionally getting a solid six points or so.

    Fighting Mork the Routine Orc? She'd utterly explode the poor fool with a 35 point bomb.

    Taking on that 40 hp Ogre? She'd miss, or score only routine hits, and the party would slowly wear the monster down. Once he was at 4 hp remaining, that's when Essy would unload a 40 hp megablow that splits him stem to stern, decapitate, kidney blow, and cut his ear off all in one hit.

    And don't even talk about taking prisoners. "Remember, we want this one alive for questioning." KABLOOOSH!!!! "Uhhh... which part did you want to question?"

    *~*~*~*

    One of my players went on a hot streak in a fight once, which is not really that uncommon, but this case was unique because he totally called it all beforehand. Party is fighting some dudes, I can't remember the details now (it wasn't that important of a fight). Come to his turn, he announces "I'm rolling a 20!", and lo and behold he does. Drops his opponent. Play goes around the table, back to him, and he says "I'm rolling another 20!", and sure enough, he drops another. Fight begins to turn to the party's favor with those 2 baddies down. Rest of party presses the advantage, and play comes back to him again. He says "I'm going for a three-fer", and boom, another 20 to drop his third opponent in three rounds. Party starts to mop up as they surround and grind down the remainder. Play comes back around one more time. He scoops up the dice... shakes them for a moment... and says "Yeah, I ain't gonna risk spoiling this winning streak. I forgo my attack and let the party finish this fight." Hands the dice to the next player.

    Gotta know when to leave the table while still a winner!

    *~*~*~*

    Same player, later game: He's playing Shoah the Archer. There was a PC class out of an early Dragon Magazine, the Archer, that massively overspecialized a martial class to be really really good at archery but not much else. The concept of the class was that of a Ranger that wasn't good at direct combat, (did have a few spells at higher level like the Ranger), but in the support role could nail a target across just about any size or kind of battlefield.

    Which of course meant that Murphy's law took over and this poor bugger couldn't hit a broadside of a barn!

    So anyways, they're in this fight with a Giant Scorpion, and given their low level, they're probably trying to punch a bit too much above their weight. They're in trouble, but they are wearing it steadily down, so this fight could go either way. Of course, 1st edition poison rules, a stinger hit means near certain death, so victory comes quick or victory comes costly.

    Next up is Shoah's turn. He reaches back into his quiver... and remembers that I keep track of ammunition (and he apparently wasn't), and so he comes up empty. He knows the Scorpion gets the next move, and so goes into 'desperate times requires desperate actions' mode, and dives into the fray bringing his bow down like it was a spear.

    A spear. A warped spear. A flimsy warped spear. A flimsy warped spear with no blade. I give him an incredulous look and say those dreaded words all players fear most: "Are you sure?" He thinks for a moment and says "Yeah. It probably only does a point of damage, and only if I roll well, but every point brings it closer to dropping, and I gotta do something."

    And of course he then rolls a 20. I snort derisively and shake my head, and say "OK, you did a single point of damage, and your bow is ruined." And then I write a quick note and hand it folded to him, and tell him not to read it but just hold it in the open.

    I then say "Up next would be Mr. Scorpion's turn." I pick four logical targets, roll a d4. "Tarya, you'd be target for the stinger." I roll the d20 in the open, it's a hit. She rolls a poison save. No good. She looks glum. But before anyone can respond, I point back to Shoah and say "Read that note out loud."

    Shoah opens the note and says "This is what would have happened... HAD THE SCORPION NOT HAD ONLY ONE HIT POINT LEFT!!!!! I KILLED IT!!!!" Table erupts in cheers, and everyone agrees to buy the archer a new bow (and forever tolerate his poor hit rolls in nearly every other battle, a trend which continued on for months afterwards).

    That story is still repeated today as the time Shoah killed a Scorpion with a bow... No arrows, just a bow.

    *~*~*~*

    Final story doesn't come from an RPG, but it's a worthy tale a woe. Taken from a game of Axis and Allies (original edition).

    A player who we will simply refer to as "Dave" (because his name was Dave) is planning out the 1st turn for the Germans. He wants an easy kill on the British battleship off the coast of Gibraltar. He decides to get the job done properly (well, overwhelmingly), and sends his own battleship, two subs, three fighters, a bomber, and a transport to land troops on the rock.

    As a quick aside, if I ever saw a German player commit all this on turn 1 against just that single target, I'd celebrate my upcoming victory. The German player has to score as much damage everywhere on the 1st turn, before the allies can consolidate and build up their fleet. Dave was pretty much throwing the game by going for the "easy overwhelming" win, instead of striving to accomplish a more daring "riskier" plan of action. Shoot for the skies. Go big or go home. But that's unimportant to this story.

    So, for those unaware of the game system, each unit rolls a d6 to hit, subs needing a 2 or lower, fighter aircraft needing a 3 or lower, battleships and bombers, a 4 or lower. A single hit kills the target (player taking the hit chooses what dies). Transport with infantry doesn't get an attack roll, but can be chosen as casualties.

    Dave grabs his dice, rolls 2d6 for his subs, a 3 and a 4. No hits. 3d6 for his fighters, two 4's and a 6. Hmmm... Bomber and battleship? A 5 and a 6. No hits at all. Bob the British Battleship (I can't remember his actual name) rolls a 3, a hit. Dave takes it on a sub, the cheapest item to replace. Well, this is why you overcommit into a single battle, for times like this when dice go against you, right?

    Next round: Subs roll a 3, near but oh so far. Fighters roll two 5's and a 6. Bomber and battleship rolls a pair of 5's. No hits. Bob rolls a 2, Dave decides to lose a fighter, as he has plans for that sub next turn.

    Round 3: Sub misses, two fighters miss, battleship misses, bomber misses. Bob... does not miss. Down goes another fighter. What astoundingly bad luck, but this doesn't yet unravel his strategic plans. (What those plans were, I'm not sure, but Dave was still confident.)

    Round 4: Sub misses. Fighter misses. Bomber misses. Battleship misses. Bob does not miss. You know what? Dave doesn't really need to take Gibraltar, so he takes the hit on the transport (losing the infantry with it). That keeps his combat units in the fight.

    Round 5: Sub, fighter, bomber, battleship. All misses. If he was rolling a D&D character right now, he'd have exemplary attributes right now, but Axis and Allies needs low rolls. Like Bob's roll of a 1. That'll hit just fine. Dave loses the other sub.

    Round 6: Fighter. Bomber. Battleship. No hits. Well, one hit. From Bob. Fighter goes down.

    Round 7: Two dice, double sixes. No hits from Dave. Bob rolls a 3. Bomber is far cheaper than a battleship, so Dave reasons that the battleship should live. Honestly, I think he should have taken the battleship and retreated, as the bomber can help with the next dozen turns of land warfare. That battleship is exposed and surely will die soon either way. But bomber dies, battleship continues on in glorious combat!

    Round 8: It's down to just mano a mano, a duel of battleships, for all the marbles (or well, the control of the straights of Gibraltar I guess). Dave rolls a 5... a miss. But then Bob picks up his dice, shakes it once for good measure... rolls... and it comes up a 6!!!

    Dave leaps up from his chair with a mighty shout, prancing around the room in a triumphant victory dance, cheering wildly all the way. Bob has finally missed an attack. Dave's luck is finally turning. Victory is nearly in his grasp, at long last!

    Dave calms down, but still grinning ear to ear, and he comes back in for Round 9. Rolls a 6. Bob rolls a 2. Dave sinks.


    Yeah... TL/DR: Dave Sinks.

    *~*~*~*~*
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordguy View Post
    Casters effectively lost every weakness they had (from AD&D), and everyone else suffered for it. Since this was done as a direct result of player requests ("make magic better!"), I consider it one of the all-time best reasons NOT to listen to player requests.

    Most people wouldn't know what makes a good game if it stripped naked, painted itself purple, and jumped up on a table singing "look what a good game I am!".

  10. - Top - End - #40
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Knaight's Avatar

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    Aug 2008

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    I'm basically a permanent GM, so as a player moment - there was a scene in my Modbots campaign which saw the most ridiculous dice luck I have ever scene. The players were playing strong-AI robots who'd broken out of their factory and were trying to avoid being shipped out as robot soldiers. They'd broken into a weapon manufacturer's factory, and specifically found a workshop doing some prototyping, where they decided to jerry rig a weapon out of the prototype parts and stuff on the shelf.

    We were playing Fudge, using 3dF instead of 4dF. Those are dice which output 1d3-2, for a range of +3 to -3 at a 1/27 chance of either result. As the GM I roll a -3 for the guards showing up, giving the players a huge amount of time. All four players then immediately roll a +3.

    It's the best possible result, at a 1 in 14348907 chance. We've rolled a lot of dice in our time, sure, but nowhere near fourteen million rolls.

    Naturally this prototype weapon they put together was a terrifying thing, and remained the single scariest piece of technology the PCs ever got their hands on and the second scariest piece of technology ever seen.
    I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums.

    I'm not joking one bit. I would buy the hell out of that.
    -- ChubbyRain

    Current Design Project: Legacy, a game of masters and apprentices for two players and a GM.

  11. - Top - End - #41
    Firbolg in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2011

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Quote Originally Posted by Jarawara View Post
    *~*~*~*

    Spoiler: Shoah the Archer
    Show
    Same player, later game: He's playing Shoah the Archer. There was a PC class out of an early Dragon Magazine, the Archer, that massively overspecialized a martial class to be really really good at archery but not much else. The concept of the class was that of a Ranger that wasn't good at direct combat, (did have a few spells at higher level like the Ranger), but in the support role could nail a target across just about any size or kind of battlefield.

    Which of course meant that Murphy's law took over and this poor bugger couldn't hit a broadside of a barn!

    So anyways, they're in this fight with a Giant Scorpion, and given their low level, they're probably trying to punch a bit too much above their weight. They're in trouble, but they are wearing it steadily down, so this fight could go either way. Of course, 1st edition poison rules, a stinger hit means near certain death, so victory comes quick or victory comes costly.

    Next up is Shoah's turn. He reaches back into his quiver... and remembers that I keep track of ammunition (and he apparently wasn't), and so he comes up empty. He knows the Scorpion gets the next move, and so goes into 'desperate times requires desperate actions' mode, and dives into the fray bringing his bow down like it was a spear.

    A spear. A warped spear. A flimsy warped spear. A flimsy warped spear with no blade. I give him an incredulous look and say those dreaded words all players fear most: "Are you sure?" He thinks for a moment and says "Yeah. It probably only does a point of damage, and only if I roll well, but every point brings it closer to dropping, and I gotta do something."

    And of course he then rolls a 20. I snort derisively and shake my head, and say "OK, you did a single point of damage, and your bow is ruined." And then I write a quick note and hand it folded to him, and tell him not to read it but just hold it in the open.

    I then say "Up next would be Mr. Scorpion's turn." I pick four logical targets, roll a d4. "Tarya, you'd be target for the stinger." I roll the d20 in the open, it's a hit. She rolls a poison save. No good. She looks glum. But before anyone can respond, I point back to Shoah and say "Read that note out loud."

    Shoah opens the note and says "This is what would have happened... HAD THE SCORPION NOT HAD ONLY ONE HIT POINT LEFT!!!!! I KILLED IT!!!!" Table erupts in cheers, and everyone agrees to buy the archer a new bow (and forever tolerate his poor hit rolls in nearly every other battle, a trend which continued on for months afterwards).

    That story is still repeated today as the time Shoah killed a Scorpion with a bow... No arrows, just a bow.


    *~*~*~*
    This reminds me of two stories, involving three "best in the land" archers. Both stories involve fickle Arangee, and so are mildly appropriate for this thread.

    *~*~*~*

    Story 1

    So, two archers walk into a bar. Both order some ale, claim to be the best archer in the land. Two sightly drunk archers decide to take this outside.

    Spoiler: from the GM's PoV
    Show
    DM: I still need to help some people with their characters… Any of you who are finished, go ahead and roleplay having your characters meet in the tavern or something. The rest of the party will be there shortly.

    *Helps players with characters*

    Several minutes later…

    DM: OK, let's go around the table, give me your character's name, AC, and <whatever else he called for>

    Archer 1: <answers>

    Archer 2: … I'm working on that.

    DM: …huh? What do you mean? You were the first one done!

    Archer 2: yeah, but that character died, I'm working up a new one.

    Table: ?!


    Spoiler: don't ask, don't William Tell
    Show
    So, the two archers - both 1st level Fighters - decided to determine who was actually the best archer in the land by emulating the famous story of William Tell shooting an apple off his son's head.

    The first archer sticks an apple on his head, and the second archer rolls really well, shooting it off.

    Then the second archer sticks am sweetie in his head, and the first archer… fumbles. Hitting the second archer. For… dead.


    And that is how we set our record death at "~5 minutes before the game started".

    *~*~*~*

    Story 2

    So, enter a third "best archer in the land". Same table, different party.

    Spoiler: but what if I miss?
    Show
    Two other big differences: not the best archer of *this* land, and not 1st level.

    So, really long story short, archer ends up with a McGuffin "Arrow of Life". Later in the campaign, the party is fighting a Death Monster, and nobody in the party can seem to hurt it (including the DMPC Paladin duel-wielding Holy Avengers). Archer decides that this must be what McGuffin Arrow of Life is for.

    Archery lines up the shot… and pauses. Yes, he is an absolutely phenomenal shot, unrivaled in his land or this one, best archer in two realms… but what if he misses?

    He runs the arrow up to the front line, and manually stabs it into the creature (probably rolling a 19 or natural 20 on the attack roll - I just remember it was good enough, we didn't bother doing the math).

    The Death Monster… "died", and the archer loudly (and proudly?) proclaimed, "And that is why I am the best archer in the land!".
    Last edited by Quertus; 2020-05-13 at 06:38 PM.

  12. - Top - End - #42
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    NinjaGirl

    Join Date
    May 2018

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    We were using GURPS so 3d6, with crits being rather rare. Stealing a tank from a pseudo-military base, rolled an astounding series of critical successes for us and critical misses for enemies (with the same dice) a total of 5 out of 7 rolls being crits in our favor, the other two also going in our favor but not critting. The end result was two other identical tanks crippled, the bay for deploying more blocked with debris and us escaping with effectively no pursuit.

  13. - Top - End - #43
    Orc in the Playground
     
    BarbarianGuy

    Join Date
    Oct 2019

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Probably the time in D&D 5E where my Barbarian used Great Weapon Master on a Sphinx... IIRC, it was 3 Nat 20s in a row (or two Nat 20s another number and another Nat 20 right after that... I remember I could have gotten off another attack but I forgot how Great Weapon Master worked so misrolled one when I should have saved it and gotten more damage at the time)? My DM was pissed at how much damage I did to it, though it didn't kill the unaware Sphinx (I just wandered over and attacked it, unprovoked, because we weren't sure of the answer) it DID severely damage it... I didn't get another Nat 20 to beat the Save of its spell, so my character was sent to another dimension or something for a few rounds. The rest of my party did kill the Sphinx considering how roughed up it was from my surprise attack though (and my DM started thinking my character was OP because I got really lucky with my rolls).

    As a bonus, we were playing on my birthday when this happened, so great birthday present overall.
    Last edited by AntiAuthority; 2020-05-25 at 11:34 PM.

  14. - Top - End - #44
    Dwarf in the Playground
    Join Date
    May 2007

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Rolling d100 and having both of them stand on the ends (the top and bottom were flat and about 2 MM across, the die itself was 1.75 CM)

    Spending 6 hours making a rolemaster character and the GM has me roll to wake up from a hangover. Rolled a 297 (that means 96+ on d100 followed by 96+ followed by almost another) slipped, tripped, did exactly damage enough to self to be knocked out and dying, bled out while the rest of the party was downstairs having breakfast. This was my first rolemaster experience.

    Learning how to play poker. First hand dealt to me was a royal flush. The rest of the group said "wow, you'll never see that again." And they were right.
    Last edited by Rerednaw; 2020-05-28 at 12:16 PM.

  15. - Top - End - #45
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    DwarfBarbarianGuy

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    Apr 2020
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    Emerald City, Oz
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    Male

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Playing Shadowrun, the team was in trouble. We were almost away when a Yellojacket popped out of nowhere. My Street Samurai leaned out the window of a swerving hotted-up step van, aimed his Ares Predator at the choppers rotors. The GM called for a target number of 35. My dice pool for the shot was 12. I rolled a 38. Bang. Down it went.
    "There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter."
    ~ Ernest Hemingway

    2021 2022 2023 2024

    Dwarf Magus (Deep Marshal) spell list

  16. - Top - End - #46
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    RedWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Sep 2009

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    1e game. My fallen paladin gets kidnapped by a bad guy wizard. The DM has a plot in mind for him where he becomes a Black knight. I get teleported to the wizards masters lair. She is a level 18 Witch, with about 10 9HD knights and the aforementioned 12HD wizard vs my lvl 10 Basically-Just-A-Fighter.

    The DM runs the game for me solo.

    I kill the wizard first round by hitting every shot against a hard AC and doing 1 off maximum damage on my dice rolls. Then I start running and hiding. I spend 2 rounds putting wyvern poison on my sword, dagger, and arrows. Then I climb on top of a big skull statue so only 2 at a time can get at me. The knight find me and I come out swinging. I kill about 4 with poison, over 3 rounds while the Witch is slinging every save-or-lose spell she has at me
    Hold, Charm, Magic Jar, Finger of Death, Web, Stinking Cloud.

    I make every save and jump down. I find some prisoners and set them free with a 16% bend bars check. I crit another knight and break his leg, then throw my dagger at another and kill him with poison. More saves against spells. Hold Person used to have a -3 on it if you targeted one person so I made a few saves at -3.

    her army of minions comes in but I pull out a relic from Hextor, the Trumpet of Acheron, picked up about 2 games ago. It was a mission to destroy it. I make an opposed Charisma check against Hextor to use it even though I wasnt a worshipper. He has +8 on the roll. I get 18, he gets 6. Army of Skeletons now on my side.

    More saves.
    The knights start hitting but I make it out, crossing the Glyph she has. Finally I fail a save and am dropped to 3 Hit points, but I get out. Im now outside, but 100 miles from my party.

    I make a deal with Hextor. I will be HIS black knight, if he gives me A) paladin powers back and B) a mount, right now, and C) i get to keep my overall mission with my party. Another opposed Cha check, with only a +6 this time. Nat 20 and he rolls a 4.

    I fly away on my new Wyvern while the Witch throws another damn Hold spell at me. I save again flip her off and cackle as my army of skeletons starts massacring her minions.



    I could play that same set up 100 times and never get as good a result as that.
    I Am A:Neutral Good Human Bard/Sorcerer (2nd/1st Level)
    Ability Scores:
    Strength-14
    Dexterity-11
    Constitution-16
    Intelligence-16
    Wisdom-12
    Charisma-16

  17. - Top - End - #47
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Flumph

    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    Santa Barbara, CA
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    Male

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    So option one.

    we were doing character generation on a 3.5 Ravenloft game using the (4-lowest)d6 and arrange method. I was planning to be a rogue...but I rolled 2 18's and some mix with my low score was a 16.... my DM I just looked at the results for about 20 seconds before we did anything. "So I guess I'm playing a paladin then" .... "what?"..."only way to nerf this guy without a reroll and this is amazing".

    option two.

    I was playing a Ravnos in VtM. And I ended up fighting a small werewolf pack. Now this was an incredibly stupid idea. in VtM vampires get dusted by werewolves unless you are a combat monster and also outnumber them several to one. This also wsn't my idea....to fight 3 on 5. We had taken down one and the other two were tearing us to bits but we hadn't quite died yet and they was some effect (can't remember the details) that inhibited our own more magical powers. And we couldn't run. No Ravnos can basically cast sensory tricks, illusions, etc if you buy up that option. There is a lot of rigmarole here but basically it came down to a difficulty ten roll with 2 dice...now in VtM if you roll at or above the difficulty you call it success and if you roll a ten (and with special rules 9's etc but in this case tens only) then you mark down the success and can reroll the die again in hopes of getting an additional success and can keep going until you have no more rerolls available. So I rolled my two dice. Double tens. reroll again. 1 ten. reroll again. 1 ten. reroll and ...ten. And we call it...I'd won and and the game table was already in a freakout. Five successes is an "exceptional success" which triggers a whole sequence of events but basically matadored the two remaining werewolves into thinking that each was Spiral Dancer and commanding the wee vampires (us) are wyrmspawn....this allowed up regroup, heal a bit, and all shock kill the now gravely wounded winner.
    I kinda hated that trick tbh....far far to big and bold for the character style (he was more you smell leaking gas at an abandoned gas station so the other vampires decide not to start shooting guns types) , but lucky dice? yeah it was a damn insane run of luck at the right time.

    Both over a decade ago and the first closer to two

    as a DM: My Players were a bunch of vampires (VtR) trying to figure out who was dropping blood drained bodies on their doorstep (and thus having to clean up before people started noticing)...Turns out it was a Tik-tik. who is basically a person who can turn into a monster at night that is part man, part bat, part mosquito basically. The crew had been not as sneaky as they should have been in their last mission in a project system that was full of immigrants so I had the TikTik notice them dislike them and basically start messing with their heads like a teenager is prone to do. Well these bunch manage to completely miss all the clues on the first two bodies by not actually using any of their own skills and powers...they have a basic clue that there is monster that looks like a large bat and that is it....So I'm starting to get frustrated a bit but shenanigans that are fun have been going on and one of the player gets the power to turn into a bat...like dracula....tame character can also talk to animals. Well she is exploring what it is like to be a bat and just figure out this new trick she has learned when she runs into a couple regular bats up in the sky and she asks them If they have seen a giant bat with a 25+ ft wingspan around. . . now when confronted with something that is basically random I tend to roll a "luck" die. High is lucky. 1's and 10's explode in extra lucky or extra unlucky. Mostly it gives me something to chew on as I make stuff up on the fly. Turn down a random street...High a great place to hide or whatever they are looking for..roll a 1 followed by another? your random turn brings you into the middle of a police bust of an explosive meth lab on this particular cul-de-sac. Well I was flumoxed about what is bat may have known about the TikTik. so to-the-luck die....rolls a ten...then a nine. So he knows of it and where roughly where it lives and is happy to share that knowledge. My friends just see confusion, slight concern hear a couple rolls.....then "oh yeah man-bat! you know him?" which has become a catchphrase within the players who were there.
    Last edited by sktarq; 2020-06-09 at 04:58 PM.

  18. - Top - End - #48
    Pixie in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2008

    Default Re: Your Luckiest Moments In Any RPG

    Pathfinder. I was running a Quick and the Dead sort of scenario where the PCs had gone back to their gunslinger's hometown so the gunslinger could get some revenge on a guy who'd killed his mother. So the final act comes and there's a big fight with all these local gunslinging thugs who worked for the bad guy. HE was actually a relatively frightening gunslinger I'd made; he was going to make one shot per round and his one shot probably would have incapacitated or killed any of the players. So the PC gunslinger rolls out, reveals his identity and just gets... I think it was three consecutive crits on my villain, and these are revolver crits, so x4 damage. Completely obliterates him, which makes for a pretty good scene, so I didn't try to pull anything tricky to get around it.

    I had the incident come up much much later when the PCs were very high level. The party was dealing with a corrupt... high level official; I forget the title I gave him. The guy was absolute scum and to give everyone a laugh, I'd decided to have all his underlings desert him, ultimately forcing him to use a magic item he didn't understand and summon an unbound balor. Among the first people to desert him was a hired rifle-using mercenary. I had the mercenary say something to the effect of "you the one who did Sam Winston?" Which the gunslinger affirmed. "Heard there wasn't much left of him after." The gunslinger nodded to this to, at which point the mercenary took a drag off his cigar, paused, and told his boss he quit.
    Cull your pigs

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