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fearmeforiampink… and I have strong suspicions that the reason it wasn't a full TPK was the GM fudging things to save the one character who had a vague possibility of survival (mine). It's a rather long story, but worth it for both the sheer number of fuckups, and the awesome level of fuckup at the end.
This is a Pathfinder-Eberron game. Classes and the vast majority of rules from Pathfinder, but the setting is Eberron, items, prestige classes and such can be brought from Eberron with permission, Dragonmarks are already approved. We're working for the Vigil, which is essentially the joint enforcement for the Dragonmarked Houses, in Sharn — a huge city of towers that goes up and down a looooooooong way. Think of a Necromunda hive without the outer skin.
We're after what's essentially a major McGuffin, some item of power that'll give whoever has it power over stuff going on. The Dragonmarked Houses want it, and don't want anyone else to have it. We've found various groups after it, stopped some of their machinations, but not all. We're aware of it/a major link to it appearing in the city very soon, and two groups that will want to make a play for it. The first are some fairly bluntly violent Warforged, the second being the Council of Thieves. We decide the former can be dealt with by throwing bodies at them when the time comes, so concentrate on the latter first. This decision is made pretty much at the end of the previous session I was at.
I then spend about a week in a field for Maelstrom LARP. I get an email from the GM entitled "While the cat is away, the mice will screw it all up", referring to the fact that in the various games this group does, it's usually him or me that veto dumb plans.
Here's his description of what happened:
So, this is what I return to.
IC, I've been doing some stuff for my Dragonmarked House which is why I didn't join the rest on their stupid plan. I hear about the plan, and leave a note enchanted to yell at them for their stupidity.
Anthony is 200 foot down a rather smooth tower. It was originally near perfectly smooth, a few hundred years have worn it enough so that it's not impossible to climb, just hard. It's ten or more DC15 climb checks to get up to where he was before (and a huge drop below), fail by 5 or more and you lose your grip, with a DC 20 climb check to arrest your fall. Anthony has no climb bonus/ranks, so that's a 30% chance of success on each time, with a 50% chance of him losing a grip, and a 95% chance of him falling to his death if he does so. Anthony considers instead trying to do controlled arrested falls, essentially letting go and grabbing back on again four times. Which would be four times 95% chance of death. Basically, he's dead.
Shen and Joe have successfully got rings of feather falling, and jumped off, they'll be safe, it'll just take 'em a while to get back. Sam decides, for some reason, to try the mission alone, and is fairly rapidly dispatched by the leader of the thieves' lightsabre (well, Brilliant Energy weapon).
…then Anthony is the first to return to the Vigil house. He says he was lucky and a passing wizard saw him falling, and cast feather fall on him. Later, Joe and Shen return. They're all pretty beat up. I tell them all their plan sucked.
An hour later, there's a big crash. We head to the entrance to the building, and someone's thrown in a sack containing Sam's character's head and a note. Looking at the head, Shen waves the note at Anthony, who reads something along the lines of "Don't mess with our business. Also, I prepared Explosive Runes today"
Explosive runes go bang. I am, luckily, outside the blast range. But I think I'm now the only party member not on single digit hitpoints or close to such. Apart from the one who's dead.
Anthony is not best pleased, since he'd already guessed the note might be trapped. He uses Mage Hand to telekinetically slap Shen. Shen's character is not best pleased by this, and throws a vial of alchemist's fire at Anthony. Now, normally, I'd expect that to do some damage, maybe knock him unconsious. Shen critically hits, and kills Anthony. What happens next will need some explanation, so we'll rewind back to Anthony on the tower…
…I forget if he decided to go up or down, but either way, he fell. And was feather falled by a mage that any of the rest of the party would've recognised as working for the bad guys. Even without this useful information, Anthony might've realised he wasn't dealing with a nice person when he was brought in front of a balor flanked by two rakshasa.
He's basically given the option to live, if he gets and gives personally to the balor a particular object, the McGuffin. (He later plans to fuck over the balor by breaking the object before giving it up… though that's actually what the balor wants to do to it anyway.) If he breaks or fails in the deal, there will be… consequences. By accepting the deal, his alignment shifts to Evil.
… So, back to the 'killed by accidentally opening his mouth and swallowing the greek fire thrown at him' Anthony. It turns out that dying counts as failing, so Anthony's corpse is hit by finger of death, disintegrate, and flame strike.
The first two, being single target, aren't too much of a problem. It's the area of effect flame strike that's a problem. Shen and Joe both die, as do all the low level flunky types nearby. I'm brought down to -1 hitpoints by the first 8d6 damage rolled. I'm fairly sure I saw the DM roll another 4d6, and that numbers were visible that should have resulted in me taking more than 8 damage. But I'm told I'm on -9 hitpoints, where -10 would've killed me.
So... yeah. Rather epic in the amount of stuff going badly, bad choices, and so forth there. I then get given the decision on whether the vigil should fund True Resurection on the dead PCs, so we can try and stop the demons and others getting the McGuffin. Being rather harsh, my character basically says on three out of four of them "No, because they're idiots and/or traitors."
This is a Pathfinder-Eberron game. Classes and the vast majority of rules from Pathfinder, but the setting is Eberron, items, prestige classes and such can be brought from Eberron with permission, Dragonmarks are already approved. We're working for the Vigil, which is essentially the joint enforcement for the Dragonmarked Houses, in Sharn — a huge city of towers that goes up and down a looooooooong way. Think of a Necromunda hive without the outer skin.
We're after what's essentially a major McGuffin, some item of power that'll give whoever has it power over stuff going on. The Dragonmarked Houses want it, and don't want anyone else to have it. We've found various groups after it, stopped some of their machinations, but not all. We're aware of it/a major link to it appearing in the city very soon, and two groups that will want to make a play for it. The first are some fairly bluntly violent Warforged, the second being the Council of Thieves. We decide the former can be dealt with by throwing bodies at them when the time comes, so concentrate on the latter first. This decision is made pretty much at the end of the previous session I was at.
I then spend about a week in a field for Maelstrom LARP. I get an email from the GM entitled "While the cat is away, the mice will screw it all up", referring to the fact that in the various games this group does, it's usually him or me that veto dumb plans.
Here's his description of what happened:
"So, after shopping and introducing the new sorcerer, they begin planning the raid on the Barravend Estate in upper city [where the Council of Thieves are].
I showed them a basic map of the towertops of note in the area and the fact that the tower in question had a ramp leading down from the main landing round the side to a servants / supplies entrance. After suggesting flying in to the sky pier three towers over, and discounting it as the place is probably watched, someone made a suggestion of trying to come in as a supply wagon.
They asked about the supplies to the estate, alas at least a full day early, I did mention the merchant who supplies most of the homes in the area was paid up with house Vadalis and Orien under the dragon mark houses, very wealthy man you see, lots of high profile customers.
Poor Joe is struggling to build the basics of a plan, Shen and Sam don't like the plan of 'the warforged and cavalier in boxes while a bluff is attempted'. [Despite this], Anthony decides to get the show on the road and blows the last of his startup cash on two cubic feet of apples and other fruit uncommon in these warm subtropical climbs and hires a small wagon pulled by two stocky but not special oxen.
He then rides this wagon right up to the front of the Vigil house [a known place of law enforcement likely watched by the council of thieves, especially when they may know we're after the same thing as them] to be loaded up (they at least got into the boxes inside) he even prestidigitates a ramp for the loading, and off they go, Joe bemoaning its too fast, Sam uncomforable in a box in the warm humid rain and wind (i specifically mention at this point).
Four and a half hours later travelling by a main route most of the way then going off the beaten they arrive and head down the ramp, met half way by three guards who make a show of listening and inspecting before the fight starts. Two guards on the main landing above drop alchemical fire into the wagon at the boxes, the three in front shoot poison bolts.
Sam keeping cool doesn't panic when the box he is in gets hot bursts out, as does Joe while Anthony scorching rays a guard and gets a wand out. Shen drinks a shield potion.
Ant drops a guard, Sam bounds forward to engage another, Joe aims at one above and shoots, Shen hops off the wagon and drinks another potion, a better rogue than the guards in general appears from invisibility behind Joe dropping him to 2hp. Shen responds by hurling one of his bombs to hit the rogue and not Joe or most of the wagon. The blast of fire rolling all around them is enough for the oxen, Anthony is given the choice - ride the wave or roll handle animal and spend the action to maintain control. "Let em ride!" he says, as he shoots his wand of magic missiles,
Sam gets run over by the wagon taking 10 damage, Joe is still onboard but chooses now the time to down a potion handed to him by Anthony and get off, more guards drop till the only ones left are one above, and one on the ramp running down to the servants entrance.
The one above with evil glee (well it was going to happen anyway) shoots the outermost oxen sending the cart barreling off the side of the ramp to a sheer 1mile drop (hey; I noted the name of the estate was the same as that of the tower). Anthony fails to bail onto the ramp and through generosity on my part, and a natural 20 on his, [is left] clinging on for dear life 200ft below the party without his wand in the wind and rain on a sheer surface with few handholds. The party dont know this merely seeing him go over the side with the cart.
Final words:
Guard at door, "Boss, we screwed it up."
Anthony, clinging on for dear life "Damnit, that was a rental!"
So, this is what I return to.
IC, I've been doing some stuff for my Dragonmarked House which is why I didn't join the rest on their stupid plan. I hear about the plan, and leave a note enchanted to yell at them for their stupidity.
Anthony is 200 foot down a rather smooth tower. It was originally near perfectly smooth, a few hundred years have worn it enough so that it's not impossible to climb, just hard. It's ten or more DC15 climb checks to get up to where he was before (and a huge drop below), fail by 5 or more and you lose your grip, with a DC 20 climb check to arrest your fall. Anthony has no climb bonus/ranks, so that's a 30% chance of success on each time, with a 50% chance of him losing a grip, and a 95% chance of him falling to his death if he does so. Anthony considers instead trying to do controlled arrested falls, essentially letting go and grabbing back on again four times. Which would be four times 95% chance of death. Basically, he's dead.
Shen and Joe have successfully got rings of feather falling, and jumped off, they'll be safe, it'll just take 'em a while to get back. Sam decides, for some reason, to try the mission alone, and is fairly rapidly dispatched by the leader of the thieves' lightsabre (well, Brilliant Energy weapon).
…then Anthony is the first to return to the Vigil house. He says he was lucky and a passing wizard saw him falling, and cast feather fall on him. Later, Joe and Shen return. They're all pretty beat up. I tell them all their plan sucked.
An hour later, there's a big crash. We head to the entrance to the building, and someone's thrown in a sack containing Sam's character's head and a note. Looking at the head, Shen waves the note at Anthony, who reads something along the lines of "Don't mess with our business. Also, I prepared Explosive Runes today"
Explosive runes go bang. I am, luckily, outside the blast range. But I think I'm now the only party member not on single digit hitpoints or close to such. Apart from the one who's dead.
Anthony is not best pleased, since he'd already guessed the note might be trapped. He uses Mage Hand to telekinetically slap Shen. Shen's character is not best pleased by this, and throws a vial of alchemist's fire at Anthony. Now, normally, I'd expect that to do some damage, maybe knock him unconsious. Shen critically hits, and kills Anthony. What happens next will need some explanation, so we'll rewind back to Anthony on the tower…
…I forget if he decided to go up or down, but either way, he fell. And was feather falled by a mage that any of the rest of the party would've recognised as working for the bad guys. Even without this useful information, Anthony might've realised he wasn't dealing with a nice person when he was brought in front of a balor flanked by two rakshasa.
He's basically given the option to live, if he gets and gives personally to the balor a particular object, the McGuffin. (He later plans to fuck over the balor by breaking the object before giving it up… though that's actually what the balor wants to do to it anyway.) If he breaks or fails in the deal, there will be… consequences. By accepting the deal, his alignment shifts to Evil.
… So, back to the 'killed by accidentally opening his mouth and swallowing the greek fire thrown at him' Anthony. It turns out that dying counts as failing, so Anthony's corpse is hit by finger of death, disintegrate, and flame strike.
The first two, being single target, aren't too much of a problem. It's the area of effect flame strike that's a problem. Shen and Joe both die, as do all the low level flunky types nearby. I'm brought down to -1 hitpoints by the first 8d6 damage rolled. I'm fairly sure I saw the DM roll another 4d6, and that numbers were visible that should have resulted in me taking more than 8 damage. But I'm told I'm on -9 hitpoints, where -10 would've killed me.
So... yeah. Rather epic in the amount of stuff going badly, bad choices, and so forth there. I then get given the decision on whether the vigil should fund True Resurection on the dead PCs, so we can try and stop the demons and others getting the McGuffin. Being rather harsh, my character basically says on three out of four of them "No, because they're idiots and/or traitors."
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no subject
Date: 2011-06-30 06:50 am (UTC)Including the guy who just diablerised Mithras' emissary and great-grandchilde. Oh, wait. Never mind.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-30 09:50 am (UTC)Perhaps a conversation could be had OOC before people create their next characters so people create some characters who aren't likely to stab each other in the back and then explode?
I've never been big on intra party conflict myself, I much prefer teaming up against the external enemy.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-30 10:51 am (UTC)— when you're working against the forces of hell/equivalent, you can expect them to offer dark deals,
— D&D characters become killing machines as they level up, which (in my experience) usually engenders a good level of care and politeness between characters as they can do a lot of damage to each other very quickly.
I like intra party conflict when it makes sense; I'm big on people doing what their character would do, even if it causes problems. But I'd agree that there are games (like this) where it's preferable for people to make characters that won't raise intra party conflict to that level. I will mention it to people though, suggest they have characters with calmer tempers and less likeliness to have more than a verbal go at each other.