Danger and Chance; Risk and Excitement; Victory and Death

 Last night we had the type of gaming session which makes role playing and adventure gaming so engaging -- so fun! 

Put into an unusual situation, knowing that evil was waiting just around the corner but not knowing what kind of danger it was, the party sent their rogue -- their Shadowdancer -- to scout ahead.  Though he had been diligent in looking for traps all night, he neglected to do so at this critical point, and the trap was sprung!  Without warning, he had fallen into a pit with a horde of undead intent upon horrible violence.

And yet, though he took some quick damage, he kept his wits, downed a potion of invisibility and moved out of danger as best he could, knowing that the rest of the party would arrive soon.  Smart thinking, Tathrion.  It's a good thing halflings are quick-witted.

Well, with two strong clerics and a paladin, the pit of undead were soon under control.  The dwarven warrior even performed an act of unusual dexterity (he didn't trip and fall!) on his way to cleaving through several zombies to take on the biggest nasty. 

Yet the party had seen two very scary looking creatures escape beyond the pit, so the adventurers were cautious when they reached The Rock Garden -- an open space with large boulders obscuring their view of the evil which awaited them.  Showing unusual bravery, the still-invisible Tathrion scouted the positions of the creepy outsiders, and was poised to make a sneak attack as the party began its well-coordinated assault.

Let me step out of narrative mode for a minute.  This is one of the fun parts about being a Dungeon Master (DM.)  I set up a battle scenario.  I know what the villains are prepared to do.  But I don't know how the players will react.  This group of players can sometimes display and exceptional talent for quickly planning tactics, and executing well-reasoned battle plans.  They did that in this session.  As a DM, I try to anticipate what they might do, so I know the first responses the enemies will have.  But I never know exactly what they will do, even when I know their tendencies.

They almost never use their store of single-use magic items - such as potions of invisibility, so I certainly did not expect to deal with that.  Yet, because of Tathrion's quick thinking in service of self-preservation, he was invisible, and the group took advantage of that.  How unexpected!  How clever!  How fun! 

So, there he was, standing behind the biggest, nastiest "outsider" he had ever seen, ready to deal huge amounts of damage with a sneak attack.  And though he was likely to take the first shot from the enemy, he was ready to do that, certain of help from his party and confident in his quickness.

But in a game like this, there is always chance.  There are dice to roll.  And sometimes a player rolls badly.  And sometimes, twice.  And that can be bad.

It was.

Oh, the initial hit from this demonic form was painful, but that was not the problem.  The demon used a "breath weapon" of sorts on the halfling.  Normally, this is not an issue for Tathrion - he is highly dextrous, and is typically able to jump out of the way when something is flying towards him.

Not this time.  A very bad die roll and -- Splat!  Sticky, viscous, acidic slime hit him full in the face, covering his eyes, nose and mouth -- burning and suffocating him.  Then it was up to him to use his Fortitude to survive.  Our little halfling Shadowdancer is not so very good at Fortitude, and he failed once more.

Meanwhile, the battle had begun, and there was no way for the rest of the party to reach him quickly.  The heroes were heroic.  The spellcasters were clever with their spells.  The archer was effective and quick with holy arrows.  And the party dealt with the expected :"surprise" attack from the evil spellcaster.  Within a few melee rounds, the vile creatures had been dispatched, the sorceress's death scream echoing through the box-canyon of Hidden Vale.

But not before Tathrion died a horrible, face-dissolving, choking death.

As a DM, it's difficult finding a balance.  I want the players to feel that their characters could perish.  If the trials they face are not capable of causing death, then they are mere nuisances.  Yet I don't want to force death upon them. 

This time, it all worked.  What could have been death early in the evening was avoided because a player did something very smart, and the party used their abilities to handle a situation.  What should have been relatively safe later in the evening turned deadly because of some bad luck, and because the foes were, indeed, formidable.

Don't get me wrong.  I am not reveling in the death of a character.  I am pleased that the danger was real (in the fantasy game definition of "real") and that the players were able to experience a thrilling adventure.

And now, it's time to see if Tathrion is just "mostly dead" or if it's time to go through his pockets, looking for loose change.

(Sorry, Trevor.  I just had to say it.)