hey guys

well this was so much fun, i just had to share it with everyone

pre-gencon, if you were browsing the other thread, you would have saw that at some point over the weekend, i was going to DM something for the guys (mike, john and martin). With me, i took R-1 To the Aid of Falx, Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits and Judges Guild Tegel Manor.

In the end, i chose Tegel Manor, pretty much from the point, that the likelihood was, they wouldnt have played it and i wanted something nice and fresh for them to enjoy, so Tegel it was

so anyway, we headed off to the Hyatt, found a nice table to game on, they rolled up some stats and then we were good to go. now remember, we were playing Tegel Manor from the 1st print. anyone who has read that will know that there is NO description at all, other than the very bare bones of what is in each location, so you pretty much wing everything!

the encounter i want to relate, took place in a cook's room - i can't remember the character names just now - sure the guys will pipe in and tell me and i can then edit the post to read correctly.

Martin was playing a 9th Level Dwarven Fighter

John was playing an 8th Level Human Cleric

Mike was playing an elven multi-classed 6th Level Magic-User/8th Level Thief (i dont do race/level limits and all that rubbish)

"so you enter a room which looks pretty much like living quarters for one of the manor's cooks, long since deserted. there is a bed over by the wall, bedding looks rotten, grimy and torn. A scimitar is hanging from a bracket above the bed. There is small table near the bed, with a rickety looking chair under it. next to the chair are a pair of boots"

DM: what are you going to do?

Mike: well is the sword glowing?

DM: no

Mike: ok then, so there isnt anything else in the room?

DM: not that you can see

Mike: uh-oh don't like the sound of that

(martin rolls his eyes, john smiles)

Mike: ok so i will go over and check the bed. what do i see?

DM: well um a bed. (john laughs) the bedding material is rotten and smelly. looking, you cant see anything else.

Mike: ok i will go over to the table and look at the boots. what are they like? do they look new or old?

DM: well they look like normal boots which have seen better days.

"right mike, at that point (DM rolls an attack & misses), you feel something jump onto your back (from under the chair). what are you going to do?"

(john and martin at this time are just standing there counting the grains of dust on the ceiling i think)

Mike: oh man what is it? oh my god (jumping around at this point) i want to roll an attack

DM: you do realise dont you that if you miss, you will likely stab yourself in the shoulder or head

Mike: (panicking now) oh yeah, ummm ok, right i will jump backwards and land on my back squashing whatever this is on the floor

John: what is it?

DM: it kinda looks like a large rat or something (its a giant Shrew   )

John: mike what are you DOING??!!

Mike: well i'm trying to kill it

DM: ok mike, you have done some damage to the thing (6 points), but unfortunately, you have some fragile items in your backpack, so i need to see if you have broken anything. (2 rolls later), ok potions of healing are ok, (2 rolls later), 1 of your 2 vials of holy water has shattered on impact, (2 rolls later) and one of your flasks of oil has shattered too. what are you going to do.

Mike: is it dead?

DM: nope

Mike: ok i get back up and i try to grab it

DM: ok roll for a hit at -4 because you cant see it

(mike rolls and misses)

(Mike starts to discuss something with John, DM counts to ten)

DM: ok another attack on you mike (rolls & misses)

(at this point mike looks like he is about to hyperventilate

DM: right initiative. what are you other guys doing?

Martin: nothing just now (smiling)

John: ok i will take a swing at it

Mike: you WHAT? what if you miss??!!

(martin is laughing)

DM: so is that what youre going to do?

John: ummm

(DM rolls an attack & misses)

DM: right initiative (rolls & everyone else rolls) - ok john your attack what are you doing?

John: well i will try and hit it carefully.

DM: just bear in mind that mike is jumping around a lot just now, but i will give you +2 as you are trying to aim specifically (john rolls & misses)

John: oh f*ck

Martin: hey i am just standing here just now doing nothing (mike is looking a little frantic)

DM: ok my attack (rolls & misses - sheesh)

DM: missed. ok initiative (rolls dice & everyone else does) - ok you guys first

Mike: right i will try and grab it again (rolls & misses) "oh man"

John: ok i am going to try and prod it again (rolls & misses)

DM: ok john rolled and missed. whats happened is that he has prodded and its missed, sliding the mace up into the back of your head (rolls), take 4 damage and msses
Mike (looking wild-eyed): what are you doing?!!

John (smiling): i was trying to hit!

DM: ok initiative (rolls & so does everyone else)

DM: ok me first (rolls and hits). ok mike 1 point of damage.

Mike: ok i try and grab it again (rolls & misses)

Martin: ok i am going to grab hold of mike so that he will be still and john can then grab this thing and pull it off mike

DM: ok. you do realise that you are a dwarf and he is an elf. you are effectively grabbing him around the face with your face near his butt.

(john is laughing and martin is smiling - martin rolls a "hit" and grabs mike)

DM: ok martin has grabbed hold of you so you are now pretty much still. however the creature will now get +2 to hit as youre not moving much.

(john rolls at +2 and hits!)

John: yes!

Mike: thank god for that

DM: ok john you fling the creature off mikes back and into the wall (rolls for damage - 5 points). ok from the impact, the creature now looks really bloody and is looking for a way to get away.

Mike: (pretty enraged) right that lil mother f**ker is gonna get it now. i am gonna stomp that little... (begins to do stamping action etc)

DM: ok i will allow you an attack as its trying to flee

Mike: right ok (rolls and hits). cool! i've hit (rolls). ok thats 6 damage (it had 1hp left).

DM: ok youve killed it. in fact you pretty much stomped it into mush on the floor.

(everyone breathes a sigh of relief)

Mike: what the hell was that

DM: a giant shrew

Mike: A GIANT SHREW??!!! (looking wide-eyed)

(john and martin are laughing)

DM: you know that whole combat took like 35 minutes....that was the funniest thing ever in like 20 years of DMing

(everyone is now laughing)

Mike: ok i do a search...what treasure do i find

DM: nothing

(john is howling now)



so there you go folks...that was a snippet from the Acaeum's D&D game at GenCon

it really was very funny, especially when mike asked john to heal him!!!!

Al

HAHAHA!!     Slaughter of the Shrew 2007, I love it.  Great story, time to get to GenCon one of these years!

Sounds great.

Wish I had been there!

Maybe next year ( Wife permitting!! )

David

I was really hoping to read the "Taming of the Shrew", but the "Smushing of the Shrew" would make an excellent play as well.

i tell you though guys, i havent enjoyed DMing a game so much in the last 20 years. it really was fun and actually playing a game amongst good friends too. shame there wasnt a few more we could have got to join in really, but was still a real blast.

i am going to definately try and come over again next year and i will certainly do another game, possibly just as obscure, so that nobody really knows much about it.

i thought it was more fun that way, as nothing to the players was predictable and it was a good example too, which Mike agreed with, that just because you DM forever, you can still be very surprised as a player. its real easy to manipulate things like that to work in your favour and makes DMing a game real fun as you can play on it and make it a real blast for the players.

i had a lot of fun with that and it really was a pure shame that the game wasnt longer really. next time, we will set aside a huge chunk of time to play and hopefully be a little more organised about it

thanks to the guys for making it a lot of fun.

Al

I'm sill in shock from not making it to Gencon this year (sobb).  How was the auction?  

killjoy32 wrote:the encounter i want to relate, took place in a cook's room - i can't remember the character names just now - sure the guys will pipe in and tell me and i can then edit the post to read correctly.

Later that night at the bar

Barkeep:  So what will it be?

Mike: Beer and keep it coming

Barkeep: You look like you had a rough day?

Mike:  You could say that.

Barkeep:  Wrestle with some Hill Giants?

Mike: Nope and I don't want to talk about it.

Barkeep: Ogre?

Mike: No and stop asking

Barkeep: Troll?

Mike: Quit it.

Barkeep: Bad of Goblins?

Mike: No.  It was a giant shrew.  Now leave me alone.

Barkeep: A shrew.  <turns to another patron> Did ya hear that Murray this kid got beat up by a shrew.  

<Much laughter at the bar follows>

Thanks guys for the best laugh I have had in years!

Badmike wrote:
What the Frik is a shrew anyhow??????

Mike B.

           

FormCritic wrote:And...for some reason they throw themselves off cliffs.

That would be lemmings ....