RPGNow

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Best / Worst Use of a Spell You've Seen in Game

Seriously, if you've seen the use of a spell in real life, that's something for a whole 'nother topic.

The best use - or worst, if you were the DM running the adventure, was by a 14th level druid in an AD&D adventure run at some con at Columbia University back in 85 or 86.

The adventure was some sort of death trap. I don't remember much of it, except that at the moment in question, the party was taking a beating with more harm incoming.

The player of the druid: "This is a tightly packed dungeon. What ate the walls and floors and stuff made out of?"

DM: "Er, stone I guess"

Druid: "I cast Transmute Rock to Mud"

DM: "K, so what are you taking out? A wall?"

Druid: "Uhm, its a 2" cube per level, which gives me 14 x 2" cubes - 2" is 20' in real life, so that's 14 20x20 cubes of rock to mud - I'll take the room out in front of us, to the sides and behind that room. Oh, and i center it mid height in the room, to me sure to take out the ceiling and floor. Next round I'll dispel magic on the mud."

DM: "Fucckk!" Throws notes and maps onto the table. "Well, we're done now."

Yes, I was that druid ;)

Thanks to Sa Roe for the topic :)

So, what the best, most creative, disruptive but BTB use of a spell you've seen in your years of gaming?

7 comments:

  1. Nicely done. :D Sounds like a perfect cap to a bad situation.

    I used an audible glamer on bat creatures that had swarmed us. They were getting plus to attacks in the twilight because of their sonar ability. The "rushing water" sound I used pretty much cancelled their massive bonus and saved the party.

    A friend in that same game group used Abundant Step to defeat a "boss" encounter instantly by "teleporting" past an impenetrable barrier and then used an artifact that triggered a one way portal to send her back to where she came. :D It was fantastic, but the DM felt completely defeated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The audible glamour is an amazing way to defeat echolocation. Great thinking.

      Delete
  2. I don't know about the 'best' use, but certainly one of the most entertaining images was created by this just this month in our online 1st Ed. Oriental Adventures game.

    We were pursuing a magical boat and wanted on board. The archer, me, shot an arrow with a line attached. We tied the group of us together with the cord. The shugenja used a levitation spell to make us all float up in the air. He then pulled on the line hand-over-hand to reel us into the boat.

    It was like a giant Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon with six people floating in a big ball over to the boat.

    ReplyDelete
  3. To be fair, the topic idea came from The Miniatures Page. I just sent it to Erik.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I once had a wizard soften earth and stone over a fire elemental for a smothering effect. The DM was similarly displeased...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mine comes from the DM side of the screen.

    The party climbed up a tall tower through a large, central shaft. At the top was a circular room where the floor was still pierced by that shaft. During the fight with the evil high priest, the party quickly took the upper hand. The EHP, with one of his last spells, cast Mislead (turns you invisible and simultaneously creates an illusory duplicate). While the villain stepped to the back of the room to heal, his illusory double jumped down the shaft. Determined to prevent their prey from escaping, the party jumped down the shaft after him ... the party with only one member that could fly. Three PCs died by voluntarily jumping to their own deaths in search of blood while the last was killed by the invisible, nearly fully healed EHP. And thus ended the campaign.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mine was also as a DM, with a green dragon who could cast MU spells. He used Invisibility, then Phantasmal Force to create the illusion of a gnome illusionist who was obviously casting some sort of spell. The dragon attacks, ending the invisibility, and the PCs are desperately trying to disbelief the very real green dragon while shooting arrows at an illusory illusionist. They were not happy when I explained afterwards.

    ReplyDelete

Tenkar's Tavern is supported by various affiliate programs, including Amazon, RPGNow,
and Humble Bundle as well as Patreon. Your patronage is appreciated and helps keep the
lights on and the taps flowing. Your Humble Bartender, Tenkar

Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition