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Pen & Paper Roleplaying Central => Pen and Paper Roleplaying Games (RPGs) Discussion => Topic started by: obryn on March 23, 2006, 04:47:51 PM

Title: An Unpredictable Ending
Post by: obryn on March 23, 2006, 04:47:51 PM
I was going to tell the story behind all this, but started typing and realized it would be many more pages than I was willing to go through. :)  So I'll make this short & sweet.

One of my Arcana Evolved campaign's PCs went off on a solo mission of sorts and hired mercenaries.  One was intended to be a permanent PC, one was a backup PC, and three more were pregens I put together specifically for this purpose.  Overall it was a pretty good - though combat-heavy - session.  Up until the end, that is.

Through a string of interconnected coincidences...

(1) The first PC - the one who headed off on the mission - was taken over by an evil artifact and will come back as a villain

(2) The one who was going to be a backup PC was killed by negative energy & raised as an undead creature, forced into the service of the first PC by said artifact.

(3) One pregen, who started out as more or less a bad guy, was also compelled into the first PC's service

(4) The second pregen, who was lowered down to about 6 HP, was forced into the negative energy by the other 3, raised as undead, and also forced into service.

(5) The final pregen was left as a sacrifice of sorts to a power-mad champion of Death

(6) The lone "unscathed" survivor only survived because he was lowered down to 2 HP and didn't feel like exposing himself to more risk on the inside.

What a fun session. :D

-O
Title: An Unpredictable Ending
Post by: Xavier Lang on March 23, 2006, 05:17:30 PM
Could have been worse, could have been a TPK instead of just losing the soloer.
Title: An Unpredictable Ending
Post by: GeoFFields on March 23, 2006, 06:04:54 PM
*applaudes*

I had a similar experience back in 2e. One player was absent. The group dropped  a PC off at the temple where he currently resided. On the way back to their inn, the fighter said, "I think the three of us can take that wizard."

Unfortunately, the wizard was powerful enough to take ALL FIVE of them out.

TPK minus the 2 of course.

They had no in-story reason to go after him. I admit he was the bad guy, but they didn't know it yet. The player decided he didn't like the wizard's name or something stupid like that and wanted to kill him.
Title: An Unpredictable Ending
Post by: Zachary The First on March 24, 2006, 05:55:08 AM
Quote from: GeoFFields*applaudes*
 
I had a similar experience back in 2e. One player was absent. The group dropped a PC off at the temple where he currently resided. On the way back to their inn, the fighter said, "I think the three of us can take that wizard."
 
Unfortunately, the wizard was powerful enough to take ALL FIVE of them out.
 
TPK minus the 2 of course.
 
They had no in-story reason to go after him. I admit he was the bad guy, but they didn't know it yet. The player decided he didn't like the wizard's name or something stupid like that and wanted to kill him.

Well, in that instance, you can hardly be sorry about the results.  I always tell my players, "Foolish actions cause foolish deaths".