Friendship is Dragons
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Page 1660 - Dungeons & Ponies, Part 35
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One point of tension I've had with players is in how I can see all of the far worse things that haven't happened, so I often think they're doing much better than they think they're doing. All they care about is that they've lost a bunch of HP/spells and still haven't taken the monster down yet so they must be losing, while all I see is that they've accomplished every secondary objective and survived every limited-use attack which means victory is a formality as long as they don't give up.
And then they give up.
And then they give up.
We have officially reached the "Godzilla Threshold", that point where unleashing Godzilla can't possibly make the situation any worse. :D
My old group did the trope once when facing against a lich in an ancient temple to an unholy MacGuffin. Their rolls were doing pretty underwhelming and they were ill-prepared to counter his spells, so they lured him to a large chamber where you can open a gate to the first circle of Hell.
The cleric and wizard used it to summon Tiamat.
(Topical!)
It was at this point where the players just realized that they didn't summon an aspect of her, no they summoned THE dark goddess of dragons. And she was angry.
The party ran from that room with all deliberate speed as Tiamat came down on that lich with the equivalent of Godzilla's atomic breath and vaporized the lich, his phylactery, half the room, and (because I was merciful) the summoning gate that was allowing Tiamat to come through. The destruction of the last item meant she fell back into the first circle and the dungeon temple then collapsed on itself and the MacGuffin (which no one actually found, ironically enough).
The ranger made the cleric and wizard swear never to do that again. XD
Fun fact, not the last time they would see Tiamat, nor open a gate to Hell.
My old group did the trope once when facing against a lich in an ancient temple to an unholy MacGuffin. Their rolls were doing pretty underwhelming and they were ill-prepared to counter his spells, so they lured him to a large chamber where you can open a gate to the first circle of Hell.
The cleric and wizard used it to summon Tiamat.
(Topical!)
It was at this point where the players just realized that they didn't summon an aspect of her, no they summoned THE dark goddess of dragons. And she was angry.
The party ran from that room with all deliberate speed as Tiamat came down on that lich with the equivalent of Godzilla's atomic breath and vaporized the lich, his phylactery, half the room, and (because I was merciful) the summoning gate that was allowing Tiamat to come through. The destruction of the last item meant she fell back into the first circle and the dungeon temple then collapsed on itself and the MacGuffin (which no one actually found, ironically enough).
The ranger made the cleric and wizard swear never to do that again. XD
Fun fact, not the last time they would see Tiamat, nor open a gate to Hell.
The problem with that trope is that it also applies to villains. How do we defeat a villain who can release Godzilla if he ever feels like he crossed this threshold? :C
(In case my metaphors were too subtle, I should clarify that I'm talking about real life)
There's one story when the main character calls her "Aunt T."
so one time in D&D, my DM gave my character, who was a researcher of lore when he wasn't an adventurer, a wish. A wish that I had to use, because it was from a dickhead jinn who would be sure to twist my words into the worst possible outcome. (the Jinn wasn't the only dickhead. the DM was more than a bit of a dickhead as well.)
and as the DM was saying that there was no way I would be able to come out of this without being screwed over, I said that I wished the Tarrasque, who was rampaging on the other side of the world, had a mate.
I don't know whatever happened, because the DM called the campaign quits at that point, but I like to think they went at it like bunnies and overran the world.
and as the DM was saying that there was no way I would be able to come out of this without being screwed over, I said that I wished the Tarrasque, who was rampaging on the other side of the world, had a mate.
I don't know whatever happened, because the DM called the campaign quits at that point, but I like to think they went at it like bunnies and overran the world.
Why not just wish that two grains of sand on a remote desert island swap places? There's literally no way that could make things worse. If there is, I'll eat my hat.
Two grains of sand on a remote desert island swap places with you.
There is (or was?) a long-running thread on Giant in the Playground which was basically "Provide the worst possible interpretation of a wish, then provide another wish for the next player.
Indeed, we could not call a true campaign if in some point the players don't summon(willing or not) a great evil demigod/demon/dragon god and use the quest main enemy as a bait....
The DM is Free to use any collateral damage as future story point/quest...
The DM is Free to use any collateral damage as future story point/quest...
Guest Author's Note: "DMs are privy to all of the potential bad things that can happen as a result of a roll (because we invent most of them). This means that our attempts at 'helpful' notes can often be lacking. Of course being hunted by an angry dragon god seems like a fine situation to be in. The other alternative was being found by an angry dragon god."
Newbiespud's Note: Not to steal the spotlight for a moment, but uh... did you know I've been working on a video game? A video game mod, to be specific? Well, I have, for the past year and a half, in fact! And it's coming out soon! You can see the teaser trailer for it here!