The most memorable time for me happened in a homebrew game. I was playing a Warlock, who functioned as the parties scout, she had snuck ahead with her Slippers of Spider Climb to check out the opposing forces, when her stealth was beaten by an opposing cleric, which hit her with a guiding bolt, knocking her unconscious. Falling from ceiling to floor dealt damage, inflicting a first failed death saving through. The party heard a commotion, and rushes to catch up, but in the turn it takes them to arrive, a second death saving throw is failed.
The party arrives to see a group of hobgoblins propping up the warlocks unconcious body, blade to her neck, threatening to kill her if the party dont lay down their arms, but the Barbarian is already raging, and the situation looks bleak for the Warlock, and I was completely ready to roll up a new character! The warlocks turn was next, however, and the party waited on baited breath as the third death saving throw was rolled. Natural 20! With a sharp intake of breath, the Warlock recovers consciousness, and before the hobgoblins could react, she had misty stepped to safety next to the party healer.
The party cheered! I cried a little, overwhelmed at the sudden and drastic turn of events. No longer having a hostage, the hobgoblins were swiftly dispatched, and we managed to press through and defeat the boss, but this could easily have gone awry. Truly, the dice gods were with us that day!
We were fighting orcs and one of them took down our frontline fighter with a critical hit. We had to try a diplomatic approach after the barbarian went down too. Luckily they were open to bribes.
I ran Icespire Peak as a first-time DM for a group of mostly new players. During an early session, I rolled on the "Where is the dragon?" table only to discover that Cryovain was bearing down on my sweet, squishy group of level three adventurers just outside of Phandalin. Aiming to be honest without totally wiping out the party, I rolled for a tail attack that caught the sorcerer square in the chest. Anything more than minimum damage would have blown him into a cloud of once-magical mist...and luckily, the dice fell on minimum damage and only knocked the poor guy unconscious.
Later in the fight they managed to chase off Cryovain thanks to damage inflicted by a nat-20 boomerang to the dragon butthole, but that is a much different story.
The group went on to play through the campaign and recently defeated Cryovain in pitched battle atop the Peak. The sorcerer lived to tell the tale and see the dragon killed, and they returned to the town in peace (until the next adventure.)
#DDBStyle The party was chatting with a princess who was giving us information on a quest. On a lark I asked her to come with us. DM asked for a Persuasion check, and I rolled a Nat 20, much to his chagrin (He uses the house rule of Crits on skill checks). Some say she still travels with the party on dangerous quests...lol
I'm still playing Curse of Strahd (dm changes a lot so I have no clue if this is the standard book experience) as a Firbolg Druid, and we were fighting the druids on Yester Hill at level 3 or 4 when our ranger went unconscious and one failed death save, but the monk was down as well so I healed him because monk action economy is just better. Next turn the ranger rolls a natural 1 on her death save and we aren't leveled high enough to have revivify. So I took the green gem we were there to gather, which brings life to Barovia (used in the winery to grow the grapes) and just shoved it into her chest. Rolled a nat 20 so my dm decided that it works and the gem is now being used as our rangers heart. #DDBStyle
I was dming for a group of new players and the wizard (who had 7hp left bc of a fight before) decided to attack a pack of wolves in the forest. It was him against 4 wolves and due to bad rolls, he managed to survive about 3 rounds before going down. The wolves lost interest and left. He died later that day, after he got healed for a single hit point and decided to attack them again upon seeing them again. #DDBStyle
My druid gnome had gone through a traumatic time of watching his newlywed wife being killed by an invading war party, before using a wish granted from the Deck of Many Things to undo the events.
Shortly after that rollercoaster, our party ventured to clear a creepy mansion one of the PCs had come into ownership of. We encountered a menagerie of horrors before my PC was crit and knocked unconscious. Having failed 2 death saving throws, another member decides to pull out a healing potion and pour it down my neck. The DM asks the player to roll a d6.
Several sessions before, the PC had acquired a "healing potion" from a captured mad scientist who the rest of the party didn't trust. As the dice would have it, this is the bottle that the PC drew and thrust into my mouth. The acid ate away and burned as I experienced my first player death in the very same session that we had rescued his wife from the same fate. It was very poetic in the end but didn't stop my new character from resenting the other PC for no apparent reason. #DDBStyle
Recent sunday game with parents and their kids. Kid tried to convince a manticore to join the party. I asked him to make an animal handling check. He only went and rolled a nat 20. I didn't want to be mean so now he has a pet manticore follwing the party around.
It was my first time DM'ing and I was running Baldurs Gate Descent into Avernus, they were approaching Mortlock and his opponent. I was excited at the upcoming fight and possibly deadly outcomes, with interesting affects to occur from the environment..****y to learn about the power of numbers (the party) and one PC who couldn't roll below a 17 for his grapple checks, and decided to man handle their first 'boss' into a weak harmless corpse. Thus one the most important lessons as a DM I learned, even the strongest opponent is weak is one side how the power of action economy. #DDBStyle
1st real fight of Dragon Heist against the 4 Kenku in the warehouse. The DM was rolling in full view and the Kenku rolled 4 Nat 20s against the fighter in the first 2 rounds. Cleric tried but he went down with only one Kenku downed at that point. Made the rest of the fight pretty tense.
I mean I've had many nat 1's but I have 2 encounters which really got my heart racing;
one wasn't in a fight but got a nat 1 in perception in a forest, and stepped into a circle of mushrooms. now knowing about the fae that is just a disaster ready to happen. but my DM at the time just said it was nothing, but my face was set in stone with pure fear and my whole group just laughed about it, I still fear to this day about that encounter
but the other one was in combat and i got a nat 1 in athletics when charging at a terracotta soldier, tripped over and got launched into a door... my head sticking out the other way and was prone to all attacks and was left on 2 health while looking like a fool... I was scared aswell as it was the second fight of the campaign and I didn't want to die that early
Our entire party had been captured by an ancient green dragon at level three. It was supposed to be a major plot point and end up taking us to a different plane of existence. In a last ditch attempt, my character challenged the dragon to a duel. Our DM, not one to railroad, agreed and the ancient dragon, Tristil Venomtongue, sent out her champion to fight me - a powerful Kobold spellblade with a sword that reduced the victim's strength. Needless to say, I was not supposed to win this fight. Despite the odds, my paladin agreed to the fight and got buffed by the cleric and the wizard. First round, and Mordecai (My pally) eats a massive hit, taking him very low. Then it was my turn. Natural 20. I then proceeded to roll EXTREMELY WELL on his smite, which led to Mordecai doing over 70 damage. At level three. I vaporized the champion, then collapsed due to the injuries. The entire (virtual) table went up in cheers. Best DnD moment ever (For me).
Grum Ironhand knew that he’d never see the forges of Gauntylgrym again. He looked down to the crossbow bolt in his chest. Even as his fingers felt the sticky purple liquid around the wound, the burning sensation was spreading through his body. They had won the battle and were headed for home, but it would be too long a journey for him. “Damn dark elves,” he said, and spat on the ground in disgust. As Grum’s vision faded to darkness, Eonir, the half elf druid knelt by his lifeless form. “Your days are not over yet, my gruff friend”. Eonir called to the spirits, asking them to reincarnate Grum, giving him the chance to fight again. (DM rolls the dice, chuckles, and lifts the DM screen….24 Elf, dark) “I guess you’ll be moving now Grum?” #DDBStyle
When playing with a new group, joining their decades-long campaign (yes, decades), we were running through a complex that was swarming with goblins. Decided to hide in a room nearby, when the goblins ended up gathering around the room. I was a cleric. In chainmail. Stealthy. Figured my game was over and I'm rattling 2 d20's in my hand... About to be embarrassed by my error of judgment, when our ranger doubles back and looses an arrow toward the hoard, stealing their attention away from me. Live to fight another day! #DDBStyle
A PC wanted answers about a secret haven in the woods, so he goes to a random tree and puts his hand on it saying "tell me your secrets." Me: roll a nature check. Nat 20 Treant opens his eyes, "uh, what?"
#DDBStyle I was DMing a low level group that was supposed to scare off a young dragon that was too powerful to kill. Some great rolls later and it takes off to flee. 1 hand crossbow bolt later, rolled at disadvantage, and my Dragon falls 100 feet out of the sky, dead.
We were playing a 5e conversion of the Age of Worms campaign. My PC was a half-elf ancients paladin with a moonblade. The DM was having it gain new powers as we progressed through the campaign. One time, we were fighting a titan, and my PC landed the killing blow with a nat 20. My DM described the blow as my PC beheading the titan. He then decided it was an appropriate time for my moonblade to gain a new power. My heart was in my throat as he picked up his percentile dice ... and proceeded to roll 100, meaning that my moonblade was now, fittingly, a vorpal weapon!
(He came to regret it somewhat, as I proceeded to behead all manner of bad guys from that point on ... but I got my comeuppance when we faced off against his modified version of Kyuss, who was equipped with his own vorpal blade. My PC lost her own head that day, although luckily, at level 20+, death is but a speed bump, and one of my companions resurrected me after the battle had ended ... just in time to face off against a worm-ridden tarrasque!)
#ddbstyle
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The most memorable time for me happened in a homebrew game. I was playing a Warlock, who functioned as the parties scout, she had snuck ahead with her Slippers of Spider Climb to check out the opposing forces, when her stealth was beaten by an opposing cleric, which hit her with a guiding bolt, knocking her unconscious. Falling from ceiling to floor dealt damage, inflicting a first failed death saving through. The party heard a commotion, and rushes to catch up, but in the turn it takes them to arrive, a second death saving throw is failed.
The party arrives to see a group of hobgoblins propping up the warlocks unconcious body, blade to her neck, threatening to kill her if the party dont lay down their arms, but the Barbarian is already raging, and the situation looks bleak for the Warlock, and I was completely ready to roll up a new character! The warlocks turn was next, however, and the party waited on baited breath as the third death saving throw was rolled. Natural 20! With a sharp intake of breath, the Warlock recovers consciousness, and before the hobgoblins could react, she had misty stepped to safety next to the party healer.
The party cheered! I cried a little, overwhelmed at the sudden and drastic turn of events. No longer having a hostage, the hobgoblins were swiftly dispatched, and we managed to press through and defeat the boss, but this could easily have gone awry. Truly, the dice gods were with us that day!
#DDBStyle
We were fighting orcs and one of them took down our frontline fighter with a critical hit. We had to try a diplomatic approach after the barbarian went down too. Luckily they were open to bribes.
#DDBStyle
I ran Icespire Peak as a first-time DM for a group of mostly new players. During an early session, I rolled on the "Where is the dragon?" table only to discover that Cryovain was bearing down on my sweet, squishy group of level three adventurers just outside of Phandalin. Aiming to be honest without totally wiping out the party, I rolled for a tail attack that caught the sorcerer square in the chest. Anything more than minimum damage would have blown him into a cloud of once-magical mist...and luckily, the dice fell on minimum damage and only knocked the poor guy unconscious.
Later in the fight they managed to chase off Cryovain thanks to damage inflicted by a nat-20 boomerang to the dragon butthole, but that is a much different story.
The group went on to play through the campaign and recently defeated Cryovain in pitched battle atop the Peak. The sorcerer lived to tell the tale and see the dragon killed, and they returned to the town in peace (until the next adventure.)
#DDBStyle
#DDBStyle The party was chatting with a princess who was giving us information on a quest. On a lark I asked her to come with us. DM asked for a Persuasion check, and I rolled a Nat 20, much to his chagrin (He uses the house rule of Crits on skill checks). Some say she still travels with the party on dangerous quests...lol
My friend hit me with his Rod of Decapitation and I had to roll a constitution save. #DDBStyle
I'm still playing Curse of Strahd (dm changes a lot so I have no clue if this is the standard book experience) as a Firbolg Druid, and we were fighting the druids on Yester Hill at level 3 or 4 when our ranger went unconscious and one failed death save, but the monk was down as well so I healed him because monk action economy is just better. Next turn the ranger rolls a natural 1 on her death save and we aren't leveled high enough to have revivify. So I took the green gem we were there to gather, which brings life to Barovia (used in the winery to grow the grapes) and just shoved it into her chest. Rolled a nat 20 so my dm decided that it works and the gem is now being used as our rangers heart. #DDBStyle
I was dming for a group of new players and the wizard (who had 7hp left bc of a fight before) decided to attack a pack of wolves in the forest.
It was him against 4 wolves and due to bad rolls, he managed to survive about 3 rounds before going down. The wolves lost interest and left. He died later that day, after he got healed for a single hit point and decided to attack them again upon seeing them again.
#DDBStyle
My druid gnome had gone through a traumatic time of watching his newlywed wife being killed by an invading war party, before using a wish granted from the Deck of Many Things to undo the events.
Shortly after that rollercoaster, our party ventured to clear a creepy mansion one of the PCs had come into ownership of. We encountered a menagerie of horrors before my PC was crit and knocked unconscious. Having failed 2 death saving throws, another member decides to pull out a healing potion and pour it down my neck. The DM asks the player to roll a d6.
Several sessions before, the PC had acquired a "healing potion" from a captured mad scientist who the rest of the party didn't trust. As the dice would have it, this is the bottle that the PC drew and thrust into my mouth. The acid ate away and burned as I experienced my first player death in the very same session that we had rescued his wife from the same fate. It was very poetic in the end but didn't stop my new character from resenting the other PC for no apparent reason. #DDBStyle
#ddb-style
Recent sunday game with parents and their kids. Kid tried to convince a manticore to join the party. I asked him to make an animal handling check. He only went and rolled a nat 20. I didn't want to be mean so now he has a pet manticore follwing the party around.
It was my first time DM'ing and I was running Baldurs Gate Descent into Avernus, they were approaching Mortlock and his opponent. I was excited at the upcoming fight and possibly deadly outcomes, with interesting affects to occur from the environment..****y to learn about the power of numbers (the party) and one PC who couldn't roll below a 17 for his grapple checks, and decided to man handle their first 'boss' into a weak harmless corpse. Thus one the most important lessons as a DM I learned, even the strongest opponent is weak is one side how the power of action economy. #DDBStyle
1st real fight of Dragon Heist against the 4 Kenku in the warehouse. The DM was rolling in full view and the Kenku rolled 4 Nat 20s against the fighter in the first 2 rounds. Cleric tried but he went down with only one Kenku downed at that point. Made the rest of the fight pretty tense.
I mean I've had many nat 1's but I have 2 encounters which really got my heart racing;
one wasn't in a fight but got a nat 1 in perception in a forest, and stepped into a circle of mushrooms. now knowing about the fae that is just a disaster ready to happen. but my DM at the time just said it was nothing, but my face was set in stone with pure fear and my whole group just laughed about it, I still fear to this day about that encounter
but the other one was in combat and i got a nat 1 in athletics when charging at a terracotta soldier, tripped over and got launched into a door... my head sticking out the other way and was prone to all attacks and was left on 2 health while looking like a fool... I was scared aswell as it was the second fight of the campaign and I didn't want to die that early
#DDBStyle
The time when my party of 3 level 4 characters thought they could "out skill" Bonegrinder in CoS and got tpked.I even warned them rip.
#DDBStyle
"The Frost Giant swings his axe at the Rogue's head." *roll* "Nat 20!"
"Wait! I'm a Protection Paladin! I block with my shield! He has to roll again because of disadvantage!" *party cheers*!
*GM Rolls*
*chuckles*
"Nat 20 again."
#DDBStyle
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Our entire party had been captured by an ancient green dragon at level three. It was supposed to be a major plot point and end up taking us to a different plane of existence. In a last ditch attempt, my character challenged the dragon to a duel. Our DM, not one to railroad, agreed and the ancient dragon, Tristil Venomtongue, sent out her champion to fight me - a powerful Kobold spellblade with a sword that reduced the victim's strength. Needless to say, I was not supposed to win this fight. Despite the odds, my paladin agreed to the fight and got buffed by the cleric and the wizard. First round, and Mordecai (My pally) eats a massive hit, taking him very low. Then it was my turn. Natural 20. I then proceeded to roll EXTREMELY WELL on his smite, which led to Mordecai doing over 70 damage. At level three. I vaporized the champion, then collapsed due to the injuries. The entire (virtual) table went up in cheers. Best DnD moment ever (For me).
#DDBstyle
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Grum Ironhand knew that he’d never see the forges of Gauntylgrym again. He looked down to the crossbow bolt in his chest. Even as his fingers felt the sticky purple liquid around the wound, the burning sensation was spreading through his body. They had won the battle and were headed for home, but it would be too long a journey for him. “Damn dark elves,” he said, and spat on the ground in disgust. As Grum’s vision faded to darkness, Eonir, the half elf druid knelt by his lifeless form. “Your days are not over yet, my gruff friend”. Eonir called to the spirits, asking them to reincarnate Grum, giving him the chance to fight again. (DM rolls the dice, chuckles, and lifts the DM screen….24 Elf, dark) “I guess you’ll be moving now Grum?” #DDBStyle
When playing with a new group, joining their decades-long campaign (yes, decades), we were running through a complex that was swarming with goblins. Decided to hide in a room nearby, when the goblins ended up gathering around the room. I was a cleric. In chainmail. Stealthy. Figured my game was over and I'm rattling 2 d20's in my hand... About to be embarrassed by my error of judgment, when our ranger doubles back and looses an arrow toward the hoard, stealing their attention away from me. Live to fight another day! #DDBStyle
A PC wanted answers about a secret haven in the woods, so he goes to a random tree and puts his hand on it saying "tell me your secrets." Me: roll a nature check. Nat 20 Treant opens his eyes, "uh, what?"
#DDBStyle
#DDBStyle I was DMing a low level group that was supposed to scare off a young dragon that was too powerful to kill. Some great rolls later and it takes off to flee. 1 hand crossbow bolt later, rolled at disadvantage, and my Dragon falls 100 feet out of the sky, dead.
We were playing a 5e conversion of the Age of Worms campaign. My PC was a half-elf ancients paladin with a moonblade. The DM was having it gain new powers as we progressed through the campaign. One time, we were fighting a titan, and my PC landed the killing blow with a nat 20. My DM described the blow as my PC beheading the titan. He then decided it was an appropriate time for my moonblade to gain a new power. My heart was in my throat as he picked up his percentile dice ... and proceeded to roll 100, meaning that my moonblade was now, fittingly, a vorpal weapon!
(He came to regret it somewhat, as I proceeded to behead all manner of bad guys from that point on ... but I got my comeuppance when we faced off against his modified version of Kyuss, who was equipped with his own vorpal blade. My PC lost her own head that day, although luckily, at level 20+, death is but a speed bump, and one of my companions resurrected me after the battle had ended ... just in time to face off against a worm-ridden tarrasque!)
#ddbstyle