Post by insightfulhedgehog on Feb 24, 2015 18:12:45 GMT
So I used to be in a campaign where we were fighting against dragons and kobolds who were all servants of Tiamat. My party consisted of me(A Ranger), a paladin, a monk, a cleric, and a wizard. Well there came a time when my DM wanted to challenge us so he sent us up against a Dracolich. Well essentially our group all reacted poorly when entering the combat and we were all impacted by its breath weapons which created a wind wall and also paralyzed most of our party(for a long period of time). So essentially this was our situation: Our monk,who had a pair of slippers of spider climb, was standing paralyzed on the back of this dragon, our paladin, Cleric, and Wizard were also downed sitting in front of this dragon. So, here I am, A ranger, standing alone against a Dracolich who has used a wind wall that lasts 3 turns. [Note: My favored enemy was reptillian humanoids(+2) and dragons(+1), I took a crafting skill and had crafted my self a Mighty Masterwork bow(my strength was 18), and I had a circlet which let me use the spell Searing Light once per day] So, my first turn I moved within range to use my point blank shot and used the Circlet against him(which of course did extra damage seeing as how he was undead). The Second turn I didn't know what to do so I used it to stabilize the nearby Cleric who at this point had been struck by the Dragon and knocked out(The wizard and Paladin each shortly followed). Then the wind wall ended and I let loose(I had the feat which allows you to fire an extra time(for a total of 3). essentially I did enough damage to kill the Dracolich within 3 turns because I hit 3/4 of my shots and each turn rolled a critical hit(I am notorious for rolling well(a trait which transfers over to my DMing, which my players hate)). When the Dracolich died I was left with only 3 health. I quickly stabilized the party(except the monk who was still paralyzed at full health on the bag of this dead dracolich and we all rested until the cleric had enough strength to heal everyone.
So that is the story of how I singlehandedly killed a monster that had been intended to be a difficult challenge for a group of 5 players. This story is a constant reminder to me that in combat a lot of what happens is determined by how you and the enemy roll.
I later asked my DM what he did to make it so I could kill it in the combat(thinking he had lowered the health or AC so as not to have a party wipe. However, he laughed and told me that he hadn't and that he had almost done it but decided not to just to see what happened. A note to all fellow DMs don't underestimate your players ability to adapt, but at the same time if you accidentally cause a party wipe without the players doing something stupid to cause it then you have created a challenge they are not ready for. Basically, know when you need to adapt and be able to do so.
So that is the story of how I singlehandedly killed a monster that had been intended to be a difficult challenge for a group of 5 players. This story is a constant reminder to me that in combat a lot of what happens is determined by how you and the enemy roll.
I later asked my DM what he did to make it so I could kill it in the combat(thinking he had lowered the health or AC so as not to have a party wipe. However, he laughed and told me that he hadn't and that he had almost done it but decided not to just to see what happened. A note to all fellow DMs don't underestimate your players ability to adapt, but at the same time if you accidentally cause a party wipe without the players doing something stupid to cause it then you have created a challenge they are not ready for. Basically, know when you need to adapt and be able to do so.