Hey again everyone. A big thanks to All Things DnD for another wonderful narration of my story. This particular session will always stand out for me since it was one of the most brutal low-level encounters that I have ever been a part of. The dice Gods can truly be very spiteful sometimes.
@@R.E.E.D. No. Paladins, unlike Clerics, don't rely on their gods for everything. They believe in fighting with their own power to prove their worth, either to their gods or to those around them. Some of them don't even follow gods. An Oathbreaker Paladin for instance is still seeking glory, they've just turned to the path of Evil (or at least Neutral) to do so. Paladins believe it's cowardly to rely on outside help when they can do something themself, but they aren't against asking for divine aid when they really need it. This Paladin not only did get some divine help, but being Suli already had powerful ancestry to begin with. What matters is that he courageously fought with his own strength, which proved his worthiness as a warrior and the "dice gods" rewarded him for that.
Hey, I’m a little confused on how a lvl 1 had 18strength and also good charisma. Any chance you could clear that up for me? I’m new to DnD so idk much. Legit unsure and confused, not being a dick
The Kobolds fleeing in terror was the right call. Kobolds fiercely believe in 'fight another day'. They had no idea how much HP the paladin had left. And they'd just seen him shrug off their heavy hitter's attack and then meeting his end in glorious fashion. No wonder they retreated.
Yep, I have used that as well quite a few times. So much better than them just killing off the character after. Even if the character is pretty obviously badly hurt, these creaturs are too cowardly to throw their own life at the man in order to possibly kill him. It is just not something they would do. I had one character ones that, more or less like in this story, destroyed their leader with a single wellplaced hit. The remaining "soldiers" of that leader became his most loyal servants for one very simple reason....fear..He didn't try to make them fear him, nor did he actually treat them badly and that most certainly helped but all of them just saw him as this unstopable monster that they would never be able to beat...so joining him was a much better option. Later on it became clear to them that he wasn't this all powerful being..but at that point they had gotten so invested in him and his kindness that they were actually able to fight their cowardly nature and defend him. It was honestly rather beautiful XD.
yep, in fact it would have been VERY out of character for kobolds to hang around after their leader was defeated, and only a Bad DM would have them attack the next round.
I had to stop myself from saying that it was pretty obvious that the primary goal was to bluff out of a deathly fight, and you don't need rolls to know he had hit all key points to do it, but I know there are DM that doesn't know not to play meta and needlessly end a story of a player character.
This is actually incorrect, kobolds fight their enemies to the death any time because dying in battle is the only requirement for them to go to heaven.
More flavors ! With my DM, we would charge an orc camp on a whim, but we would be worried at the idea of charging a goblin/kobold camp unprepared and would spy them beforehand.
as a DM i love mixing inept enemys and really clever ones. let them fight some idiotic trolls for a time or undead and when they really dont expect anything clever hit them with a well crafted trap ridden kobold lair full of sneak attackers alchemist bombs and trained animals coming through hidden entrances collapsing gateways all the good stuff.
@@malyssaryan1987 I mean when your foe has a plan it levels the playing field a lot. I mean they party spent 90% of the time in that "fight" either getting crush by boulders, falling in a pit, or getting shot by arrows. They never really had a chance to retaliate and couldn't adapt to the rapidly changing situation.
Here's the original story:- www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/2mjhz9/what_would_happen_if_an_intelligent_greatsword/ Alternatively, search "Garg and Moonslicer" on this channel and you'll find a fantastic reading!
@@GreenKnight343 I would gave to disagree. It's a role playing game while abandoning party members is never really a good idea, it might be a character flaw someone has (to be cowardly) and I cant fault someone who is playing their character. Especially at low level just being introduced to every one.
@@GreenKnight343 it's cool, it's a pet peeve and understandable so, I don't enjoy playing with cowardly characters having to drag them along to get stuff done or possibly losing someone mid-fight, it gets tiresome.
@@mr.rabbit9714 İ love cowardly characters, but you can make a coward that wont run away and will still stay with the party and fight while for example crying/sobing etc. There are many option that wont create a bad, unfun conflicts in group.
You mean like how the paladin abandoned the party and got completely separated from them because he thought it was a good idea to move forward alone after one goes unconscious and the rest took damage?
@@joanbighorn9778 he is the one who takes the front, that was explained in the beggining, if it wasn't for the hole, he'd be the tank impeding the kobolds from getting to his party
It reminds me of a higher level (12) dwarven paladin of plate and shield I had. Decked out in sacremental adamantine, full on stalwart wall with tower shield and everything. Party rushed into a fight, I am having to hold back enemy hard, and taking a beating. Wizard runs with a dimensional door and takes cleric with. Rogue runs, monk runs. Me in a dungeon surrounded by baddies. I am in full plate and a dwarf. I wouldnt be able to outrun anything. I was stuck there, surrounded and alone. Well, DM asks me what I do, I say to DM nobody else is here, so we will resolve in private since session was going to end soon. Next game, party returns to find or rescue me. Finds a charred body with armor still on in a pit. Take me back to my order. Finds out I was the son of the king (DMs idea). The body is not me. Armor is faked adamantine. What happened to my Dwarf? Next time party encountered my dwarf, it was a fallen paladin/hellknight. See, I was captured by the BBEG organization. My mind was broken by them. Twisted thoughts of betrayal and hatred of all those who abandoned me and as such, pledged fealty to the BBEG due to the followers willingness to die for the order.... unlike my party. See my guy was dead, because that organization was ruthless and evil. Party took days to return so that sect had left their now found hideout in the meantime. I am a big roleplayer, so I wouldnt let the DM just ex machina me to safety. He asked me first if I agreed to this plan. He wanted the party to consider their actions more carefully and them to face the conscequences of abandoning the long time party defender. So their cowardice resulted in their shield, their friend, the one who carried two others on his back while bloodied and broken... well.... resulted in him becoming the right hand of a demon. Destroyer of cities and slayer of kings....
@@B0TFrosty I don't really like that statement but I find it pretty cool and most people who like their characters are like hella nah to that statement which is pretty funny also playing a paladin you SHOULD'VE inspect betrayal at one point it's the Paladin's job almost not only that it seems out of character for a level ONE party too do that so early
I think what happened in your story is the most realistic turn of events, if such things could happen. I could further see that your fallen paladin would be torn in his new life; Torn between wanting to faithfully serve his new lord/s and desperately wanting to leave just so he could hunt down and then vengenise [sic] his old teammates.
Every Paladin player worth their salt dreams of the day they get to pull out the Flight of Dragons speech. It's like the D&D equivalent of the parlor scene in a detective story.
@@heathenpride7931 it's the scene in old detective novels/movies where the detective gathers all the suspects, usually in the parlor of the mansion, and runs down all the evidence and eventually points out the guy who did the murder.
You know, this actually makes sense to me. For the characters that aren't motivated by faith to panic and flee when things go so horribly wrong is actually the only thing that makes sense in-universe to me for a fresh group of adventurers.
@@ivarthebonelesslothbrok5918 Well enjoy getting kicked from the game for being a murderous bastard. Most smart DMs know to limit PvP to nonlethal if any at all, because nothing kills a game faster than the inevitable feud between such players. Regardless there were no cowards depicted in the story, the Rogue advanced, failed, and nearly died. The Mage returned fire, nearly died. The Ranger returned fire. The Inquisitor provided medical aid. The Pali was separated, returned fire, nearly died. With 60% of their crew rendered combat ineffective against an unknown enemy force with mastery over the terrain, retreat was the only logical course. Even the retrieval of the Pali was out of the question, as it would have put both the Pali and whoever would have aided him under fire, and potentially left them unable to retrieve their wounded, giving the Kobolds more captives, which would have put them in worse straights for mounting a rescue. Sometimes the braver thing to do, is to act intelligently, rather than following some creed dogmatically to one's own demise.
My first dnd campaign is in a few weeks I'm gna b a ranger with trust issues and if I they were to run my character would nvr do anything they asked again betrayal is a huge no no with my character but I'm working on a backup character that would understand bc you do wat u do to survive
If i'm being honest it's probably due to good AC, good damage, good HP, and the ability to cast spells, so the odds are much better a paly would live if left by themselves, or at least buy the most amount of time.
Nyghtking that combined with the fact that these are more experienced players telling their stories, and as being betrayed is both a semi common and rememberable thing, plenty of people have those stories to share
Well, there are some Paladins, _not naming names,_ that are a bit... you know... "holier than thou", arrogant or not exactly deserving of Lawful Good. So I COULD understand why you guys would get betrayed every once in a while. I wouldn't leave a true Paladin to die or betray them, never! Though, a Paladin like the ones you meet in games like WOW. Wouldn't even feel one bit of remorse, in fact... I would enjoy it.
As a Kobold/Goblin would say, "All I know is that the shiny Klick-Klack Stones with numerical engravings wait until the last second to perform miracles."
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I would of stayed because of 3 reasons 1 always keep teammates alive so you can use them later 2 free items if you live 3 gain thier trust in order to help yourself later if needed
It all really depends on the Character i'm playing. For a better awnser, here's some examples: BARON NATHANIEL TREVELYAN(NG V.Human Noble Fighter:Banneret)--Stand and fight as many as he could while trying to get the Paly out of the hole.... ORPHEUS SPYROS(LN V.Human Noble Wizard:Necromancy)-- Had his undead familiar Octis fight for him while casually walking out of arrow range.... RAKE GRAYYSON(CG Half-Ork Fighter: Champion/Rogue:Swashbuckler/Barbarian:Tribal Guardian)-- Cut a swath of destruction, using an Enemy's body as both a shield&Blunt object... As you can see, none of them would run away. But there's a difference between running back to town and moving out of arrow range....
My first character was a tiefling vengeance paladin who swore to end all heresy or die trying. He almost did. Multiple times. One time, he found a statue of Bane, and being the religious fanatic that he is, he tried to smash it. Only then did he realize that the massive stone statue was actually a big ass golem. The party was level 3. We tested our cleric to his limits that day.
Ofc i would stay, just give me 2 turns to take care of the cowards running away and we can start our 2v6 till the mountain path becomes a river of blood.
As a whole, the party did the reasonable thing both from a logical and role play point of view. That being said, the Wizard and Ranger might have still been able to do something by finding cover or going full-defense. Still, an Inquisitor isn't very good at healing multiple targets, there were more enemies lying in wait, and bad dice rolls can demoralize even the mightiest of DMs.
Uhhhh just fleeing from battle without even saying anything to their comrades? A tactical retreat to a re-group is fine, but abandoning someone is just pure cowardice
@@B0TFrosty It's still reasonable thing cause if they didn't the campaign could've possibly be over and they couldn't predict if the paladin WAS going to do that also it would've been out of character
@@JavierGomezX I mean, to be fair, there are some people(like me early on) who can be described as a Lawful stupid character, especially since I was a paladin.
Most of my characters are some form of evil (usually more "anti good" than evil, but I like a character that changes over a journey) and all of them would have stood their ground. And yes, that story was epic.
Based on the dodge forward/back, sounds like the boulder was rolling across the path not along the path. ergo the boulder didn't roll over the pit at all.
Nah man, what you heard at the moment of the prayer if any anime ost, it is berserk dont remember the name exactly but search it by "my brother" and if you disagree after hearing it, you are just wrong xd Edit: literally is called "my brother" Just as the vocals start matches too much the prayer and the music itself shows how the kobolds have seen him after obliterating the mage kobold.
To be fair, if the party is level 1, and if the characters have really only just met each other? Staying to die at each other's side rather than running and escaping with their lives would probably be pretty out-of-character for anyone who isn't of Lawful alignment or honouring a vow.
ranger could've helped the paladin leave the hole in a few seconds, the fallen dude could've been carried together by the dwarf and the one who ran away, it'd take just a few seconds for it even
@@-hello6177 Well, "just a few seconds" is at least one turn in game terms. You'd have to at least spend your main action, and even then, that would only be an attempt - to go with your first example, the Ranger would have to make a Strength Check in order to help the heavy Paladin in full plate armour out of that hole. Going by what I just said, it probably wouldn't be an easy Strength Check, and Rangers tend to have pretty awful Strength at that. DnD isn't always all that straightforward; the simplest plans can fail because of one bad roll. In fact, they usually do. If someone else had stayed behind, they would've very likely just died.
One of my fighters probably would have stayed long enough for everyone else to hoof it before he ran for it. Merc's honor. :P If he got caught, he'd have probably surrendered, though.
That was absolutely epic. Although not as "rare" as you might think, but the truth is that if you play XCOM games, no ammount of ludicrous rolls can suprise you. As for whether or not I would have made a final stand, I'd definitly choose to fight.
Fucking XCOM man... you so right about that! but with Xcom its sad usually... have your team of hardened vets die, only leaving a rookie behind... who becomes mans one true hope and savior... think imma have to go play some Xcom now.
Battle hardened Colonel with a shotgun with a 97% success rate for an enemy that's at point blank. Sneezes and hits a duck a quarter mile away. God bless XCOM
During my whole 8 years of playing i abandoned only one team member. On the side note, he asked for it. As a team we encountered Giant sitting peacfully near the road. We were licking our wounds after one of toughest encounters we had yet and our healer was unconsious. It was at this moment our brilliant Druid thought it would be a great idea to kill this giant, because "it's free xp and loot". Paladin said no, because giant was peacfull. Barbarian wanted to fight a giant but not when that meant risking his bff healer life. I, as a rogue, said no because that thing od huge and we are in bad shape and most important, nobody gonna pay us for that. Ignoring the voice of team, he headed to the Giant and cast one of his electric spells. Giant wasnt really happy about it as his grand club explained that exruciatingly to the druid. Oh the shock od disbelief on that poor druid face when his team simply left him to Die there
I've had a character die by staying and using her last spell to free one of the party members from an intellect devourer, instead of misty stepping away from the battle (Surrounded by orcs and goblins, and two of the party already had their brains devoured) She was the only one to mentally and physically fall, with her familiar fading away, while the other two will be roaming around the dungeon for our next group to find and hopefully free one day. The guy I saved went unconscious, but not to death. He later escaped and we have yet to meet him as our latest characters. (Mad Mage)
Thanks s was definitely one of your better tales. The best stories show the cowardice of men and the heroism of those forsaken by them, characters who remain true to who they are but grow and stand a little bit taller because of adversity. I'd imagine that paladin gained a newfound respect among his friends and a little bit more influence over them as well. SO many good narratives that could come from a story like that!
I'm amazed the Kobolds stuck around as long as they did. I mean this guy got hit by a boulder and survived; as far as a Kobold is concerned, that's a clear sign of immortality.
In 3.5, we had a super overpowered chain fighter. He had figured with the DM that he was going to have a heroic sacrifice and hold off an army for a couple of turns while the characters retreated. We didn't know this. It was amazing, we began retreating, leaving our main fighter to die. Except he didn't die. He was built so well that his attacks of opportunity made mincemeat of the army, he kept making his saves against the enemy spellcasters, and suddenly it looked like we might actually be able to *beat this army* if he keeps his position. So we turned around and went back to help him, sending heals his way and filling the battlefield with hazardous effects. My swordsage blinked into the fray, and together we took out the commander and changed the course of the campaign - at least for a bit.
Hey man running from a fight means you can fight another day, and I tend to implement that rule with my monsters that I threw up in front of of my party, especially when they're higher levels
I am glad that DM allowed the kobolds to consider those actions. Too many would have known he only had a few hp's left and attacked again. Also props to the paladin for not holding a grudge on the rogue.
For the amount of beating everyone was taking, retreating was the best option. Paladin's are fantastic for TPK preventing final stands, that's why they have Lay on Hands. Also, RIP my own Suli Paladin, who died blocking a horde of orcs while my wife's Halfling Ninja/Sorcerer escaped and hid in a chimney for hours as the sole survivor of the party.
I have a story, it's quite like this one! I was playing as a human fighter ( I know, basic.) My party consisted of a Teifling Paladin, a dwarven Ranger and a halfling rouge. Lastly, we had a kenku monk. We had been set out save local villages from a string of mysterious attacks. We set off on our long trek until we reached a village. Everything looked fine until we got close. The village was in ruin, everything had been set in flame, rubble littered the streets. My party decide to split up and search the village. Me and the Rouge went into the village square, where peculiar rocks sat scattered about. The rouge who had the intelligence of a fence post went "OooOoOh Shiney!" And proceeded to whip out his pickaxes and beat the crap out of one of said estranged rocks. In response, the rock pile stood up. Yeah, and earth elemental. Another rumble sounded from behind us. There were 2. 2 earth elementals. Mind you we were 3rd level at the time. So this was terrifying for us. Our rouge, still oblivious, continued his mining escapade moving from rock to rock. Smaking all of them. He eventually got close enough for an elemental to whack him across the village square. He got hit with a critical, dropping him to around 10 health. Our monk, unequipped for this situation ran and hid in a burnt out shop down the street. This left me, the paladin, the ranger, and half a rouge. The paladin charged the elemental on the left which crushed him with ease when he failed his saving throw. This damaged him decently. Around half his health remained. As you can tell our DM hated us. I decided to charge the elemental on the right. Narrowly avoiding his attack. I then proceeded to draw my great sword and pound the monster. I struck him twice for an overall 22 damage. A pretty great hit. Then it was the rangers turn, who was multi classing as a cleric, ran over to help the injured rouge as our asshole of a monk jeered at our dismay. I cracked a joke about turning him into KFC after this fight (I was an eldritch knight who mained fire magic.) This pissed of our monk who finally came out of his hiding place. The rouge rushed the left elemental and started to chip away at it. Which then cycled to the paladin who hit the monster with a heavy blow. But was cast aside once the elementals started swinging. This time though, I got hit. I was launched into the air and landed with a heavy thud dropping my health to around half. I got up, picked up my weapon and said "My Turn" and Swung 2 hits on him, one was a natural 20. Which doubled the base damage. Then, used my bonus action to swing once more hitting him with an acceptable blow. The dice goes were smiling down on me. I hit the bastard for 43 health. The cleric attacked the left elemental missing. The cleric got crushed at was immediately knocked out. Our main h eww alert was gone. Our paladin ran over to help only for the right elemental to shamble over and knock HIM out. Great. So, a rouge who's been chipping away at the elementals, a monk who once again RETREATED into hiding. And a ranger who has been providing light fire support. I shouted "hey ugly" at the right elemental. And proceeded to blast him with a jet of flame. This barely affected him. But it got his attention. All the while the last of my teammates are attacking the left elemental. After another round of attacks, things arnt looking good. The rouge was knocked out and the ranger (who stabilized themselves) ran off to join the monk. This left me and 2 damaged elementals. I stuck to attacking the right elemental. I'd hit it, blow after blow just to be met by the crunch of being hit or the swoosh of barley being missed. Eventually the rocky beast had dropped my hit points to around five. But, he wasn't looking so good either. My teamates were stabilizing themselves or skipping their turns to watch the carnage. It was his turn, he swung he narrowly hit me. He launched me into my back. I was on the ground. A meager 1 hitpoint left. I steadied my self and picked up my sword. " I can do this all day" I said as I raised my sword to make my last stand. I brought my sword down, it was met with a defining crash and the crumble of rocks. I had defeated an elemental, practically on my own. But, the left elemental was still standing. As I fought my breath and attempted not to collapse I was throw through a wall. The last elemental had knocked me into a random shop. I needed to get stable. The ranger provided a meek distraction as I stabilized myself. Once I was back on my feet, I used second wind to gain back 10 health. With this small gift of health I walked out of the trouble to my teamates surprise. I sprinted at the elemental with my sword in hand and brought it down cleaving it into the elemental. The ranger went back to hiding. I was hit with another blow, leaving me with 5 hitpoints. I looked at the elemental, one more hit, it would die. I gripped my sword tightly and was ready to end this when..."I attack it with my quarter staff" the monk chimed in. It was his turn after all. But this time, he didn't skip it. He charged the elemental and smacked him, finally making it crumble. That was my kill. He stole it. It sounds selfish but I put in so much effort just for him to make his first and only attack to steal that glory. With greed comes karma. He was walking through the village when a particularly loose pile of rubble mysteriously crushed him when he failed a dex save. He almost lost his charecter because nobody wanted to stabilize him. But in the end he didn't die. But if he act up, it might just rain rocks...
I definitely would have tried to save the Paladin in someway before turning and running, either by using a shield to cover me while I reach down to him, or by jumping in with him and hoping that I can help push him up. But if I couldn't do either of those due to lack of shield or strength, I definitely would have turned and run after telling him he better survive.
Run or fight. That all depends on the type of character you play. A self-insert is all up to you, a brave one would stand there ground, and the coward is pretty self explanatory
@@capincmmd5299 I think you should read TimeTurner's comment the party could've just met it'll be out of character if they just decided to stand their ground without a reason
@@capincmmd5299 Well it said that it would be pit of character if a party who had JUST met to stand their ground for one person that makes no sense like at all
@@zombieslayer2016 abandoning fellow characters, unless the players have all agreed to be okay with it in a Session 0, is always a dick move regardless of circumstance. Every encounter doesn't have to be either a party victory or TPK, some options could have been surrendering, taking cover and full defense actions, or even retreating a short distance rather than fleeing all the way back to town.
This story clearly demonstrated the true threat kobolds can bring to a low to mid level party. The kobolds were utilized to perfection. 2 vs 5 drop the traps and shoot from cover. 7 v 1 come on gang, let's go see what we've caught for dinner today. Epic dice rolls saving the day and fleeing kobolds leading to an epic tale for years to come.
For anyone willing to humor my ideas: If I, as a dm, witnessed my party abandon 1 of the team trapped in a pit while Kobolds were around: I'd have the Kobolds approach the pit *without* hostility. They'd help the person out of the pit, and once out they'd see one Kobold clearly leading the others, but not a prideful spellcaster. Rather, just an unusually intelligent Kobold. There would then be a conversation basically amounting to "We're people too, don't attack our home, ok bye now." and that party member would have some new Kobold friends. The rest of the party does not.
@@pantherapardus8192 Making the occasional creature that doesn't just mindlessly murder doesn't make the game for kids. If anything, treating monsters as mindless murder machines is the most childish option.
@@thesong7877 I get where you are coming from... but Panthera is right... Kobolds are EVIL by nature... they would want to kill someone for their "shineys", but they are also generally dumb and cowards. So unless your guy was Evil as well and able to dominate the kobolds to your will (via str or int) they wouldn't want anything to do with you. Kobolds only understand strength of leadership... if you're a weak kobold, a stronger kobold will kill you and take the lead, if they are weaker then you, they will listen and follow.
@@Legohaiden I mean...kobolds don't actually exist. They don't _have_ to be evil by nature. There's nothing wrong with taking a race and adding culture and sentience to it so they can have a society.
@@psychronia they have a society and a lore... its right there in the Monsters Manuel. they are evil by nature, its what Kobolds are... yes there may be odd kobolds who are different and not evil, but it wouldnt be the norm (kind of like Drizzt) That all being said, its DnD and you can do whatever homebrew stuff you want
Funny story. I'm pretty much a forever DM, one of my buddies played a headstrong Orc with a heart of gold and brain of....dumb. (He intentionally went with 3 int but was more akin to Lenny from of mice and men than anything threatening). When he triggered a boulder trap in a narrow corridor he tried to intimidate the boulder, puff out his chest and stand his ground instead of letting it steamroll and likely kill the party. I told him to roll a strength save and he got the crit. Basically his unwavering faith made him completely impervious for the 3 seconds he needed to be. Boulder bounced off him like a pebble as the entire party was screaming thier heads off. Only problem was he started doing that for just about everything afterward.
Very true. I still fondly remember the time my players cut a bridge in half because the alchemist got his foot caught on a mimic. The alchemist ended up dangling upside down on the other side of the bridge, still stuck to the mimic, the cleric and barbarian ended up in the water, and cleric couldn't climb or swim. Bard and rogue made their reflex saves, but ended up having to try and stave off the two owlbears that were attracted to the commotion alone, while the others struggled to get up the cliff.
first encounter of my first game, lost mines of phandelver, and our wagon was ambushed by gobbos. we made an epic stand on top of the wagon, myself an elven wizard, and devout follower of Oghma and my bro a dwarf cleric. He swatted away goblins with his hammer and I provided ranged support until I went down to arrows. Cleric bro stood his ground until the goblins fled, he considered pursuing them to gain a huge info advantage for the campaign, but decided to stay and cast his first ever spell, cure wounds. All of this from a 10 yr old trying out D&D for the first time.
I actually love Kobolds and would try and Redeem them. There was one story I heard that melted my heart about Kobolds that I just love them now. The Video was "The Kobold King - Monsters, Misguided #4" I fell in love with Kobolds as they are just feral cats that need to be pacified.
Moko Arc So... in my current campaign, this is in Adventurers league, our party has befriended and recruited every single kobold we have come across: we either persuade, pay, or threaten. Our numbers have hit 65 in the kobold army.
Having played Neverwinter Nights and had Deekin as a rather helpful traveling companion I don't see them as Murder-fodder right off the bat. They're like children in lizard-form. They only need a firm guiding hand to show them a better way to live and be, and depending on your DM, one day they'll make you proud like a parent or teacher.
The only class allowed to “run away” is the rogue who is trying to hide and get sneak attack bonus. Everyone else must “We ride together. We die together.” (From Bad Boys for all you copyright ninjas)
The whole situation was way out of whack for level 1 characters. A double trap *and* 2 entrenched enemies that require 2+ turns to reach? The only reliable option in such a situation would have been a AoE from the Wizard. But after having been knocked out and just revived at 2 HP, I fully understand him legging it. The DM really should have used passive perception here, and only risk dicerolls for those that did not make it passively. It was specifically added in 4.0 and kept for 5.0 to avoid the whole "everyone rolled bad" scenario. It even mentions such a scenario as a example. Also adds a whole dimension to high perception characters, if they do not even *need* to roll. As for the Intimidate failure causing Combat - yes, that was perfectly sensible. Intimidation always makes the target (more) hostile. Sucesds just makes them unable to attack you for a while to act on that hostility.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was thinking, "Um, they weren't cowards. The DM made it basically impossible for them to mount any sort of defense let alone fight BACK." And yes, I agree about the perception thing. ESPECIALLY when it results in SO MUCH damage to level 1s.........Seriously, that DM needs to reconfigure what they think level 1s can handle or something..... holy cow
lol, to be fair, this encounter really only became difficult due to bad luck. None of my party were rolling well, and the DM's dice were basically on fire. And although I wrote the story with a slightly bitter/sarcastic edge, my group still laughs about this encounter, and they basically used it as a character building experience for everyone in the party.
@@lukeshort2960 I'm afraid I didn't DM this particular encounter. However, I will say that our DM absolutely loves playing his characters properly. As such, while I initially didn't have a problem with kobolds, once our DM exposed myself and my group as to how kobolds 'actually operate', I quickly learned to hate them. lol
@@sinlesssoul If that is how they operate, it is on character. Also totally out of whack for Level 1 Heroes. Also the chance to roll poorly has to be acounted for. This is level 1, not 10. The old "Book of Challenges" has the "Temple of Draxion" encounter. It includes some Kobold traps. It is Level 2. The "traps" are far enough appart to avoid overlap. They have a Kobold behind good cover - but it only attacks if the characters dally or approach and "retreats when the PC endanger him". Primarily he is there to sound alarm. So actually decently easy to chase off. The enemies are 2 Humans and 4 Kobolds, not 8 Kobolds + a Kobold caster. The "Bugbeat Pit Fight" is Level 3 is also a bit tricky. But nothing close to this level.
My high-elf ex-princess warlock would stand her ground out of pure bull-headedness and scream at her fleeing allies whilst killing the monsters. If she finds them again she would throw a tantrum and sulk in a corner. Usually the fighter just picks her up and slings her over his shoulder whilst she tries to attack the enemies.
@@-hello6177 Nah she's all about using persuasion and command (and raining down fiery death). Her mum; the evil, immortal wizard-queen (I leaned into disney princess for her origin) rules through fear and deceit so that is what Ara (my warlock) has grown up with and thinks is the only way to lead (she doesn't really lead the party but likes to think she does). She'll do impulsive stuff like waste a spell slot (Warlocks have very few) on casting command on an npc that has insulted her if she can't intimidate them into groveling. What's worse is that she is the face of the party. So we have a big tough half-orc fighter, a creepy malicious gnome rogue, a fairly friendly dragonborn barbarian, a serene and unphased human druid (often with his eyes closed) all standing there as this little teenage half-elf warlock intimidates, decieves and throws tantrums at every npc they have to interact with.
Narrator says, "popular paladin quote," and I immediately thought of Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe's speech in "The Flight of Dragons." Sure enough, that's the one. Made me happy.
In my very first DND campaign (I was in 4th grade and the DM was my art teacher, he was amazing) are first mission was to get information from a kolbold infested temple and their always being “that guy” who is a total pacifist, of course it was the fighter (me) of all classes, and by some miracle I befriended the kolbold’s leader, gave him a golden mask meant for kolbolds, and when I f*cked up on a wish spell and sent my group 100 years in the future (that’s a whole different story) I found out he became known as a god of bravery to kolbolds for leading them to victory many times, and guess what, they also thought of me as a Demi-god who aided him in his most well known journeys, the journey of friendship with human travelers. BTW the kolbold leader’s name is Grum.
One of my most memorable encounters that has stuck with me from 15 years ago is when my party fought some Kobolds in a cave. There was no light in the cave, so we had to use torches and the light spell. The Kobolds targets the light spell first, thank god for the cleric in half plate standing in front of the wizard. After we killed half of them, the ones not in melee ran from us. Considering that there were only 2 ways further in, we chased after them without thinking about it. We passed a pile of trash just short of a 'natural' drop in the cave floor. Thinking 'It's a cave. They have small ledges all the time. It's only 5 feet down, no problem.' As we follow the path, we see all kinds of broken barrels, wooden weapons, an empty chest or two all sorts of things you might just throw away if you have no need of it. All of this is covering the length of the path, along with a strange smell. So, we naturally assumed that this was their trash pit. Oh how wrong we were. After rounding a corner, we see a light at the end of the path, but just a bit too far to make out what it is. It some light, seeping through the crack of a door; though we thought it was the top of the door at first. The light shone through the bottom of a metal door, that was ten feet up. Our rogue stood on the fighters shoulders to try and quietly open the door and let us no what was inside. Alas, the door was barred from the other side. Deciding to head back and try the other path, we turn around. Suddenly, a high pitch whistle is heard from behind the door, and answered from the cave entrance. A round after the whistle is blow, the door opens for a moment. A Kobold sticks it's head out a sees us a ways away from the door and 'smiles'. It throws the light we saw, a torch, through the door and into the wooden trash pile. The DM then gives us a free perception check to see what the smell was. It was oil. A bang is heard as something falls in place on the other side of the door, barred once again. We run, to try and get back to the other side of the pit. But the fire spreads faster than us, and we have 200 feet to run. But as we round the corner, we see several Kobolds with slings, bows and crossbows just waiting for us. And the one up front has a whistle around it's neck. The 'trash' pit, was really a Barbecue Pit. So, what the DM had done, was have 10 kobolds at the first of 4 rooms waiting for people to enter. When they were reduced to half, they would run down the main path. The first trash pile was made with a bunch of light material. This was so that one of the Kobolds would dive under it to hide and wait for the part to pass. If the party was too close, it would use it as cover instead. In the pile was a cloth rapped bundle of a whistle and a vile of alchemist fire. The hiding Kobold was instructed before hand to wait until the adventures passed and then run back the other way. It would reach another metal door and knock a few times to let the kobolds know to unbar the door. Another Kobold would then run through the back way to let Kobolds past the bbq pit that adventures are coming and light the torch by the door. The rest of the Kobolds would then gear up with ranged weapons and head to the pit ledge. The ones behind the bbq door we look through a peep hole on the door and and watch the adventures. Once they turned back, the peeping kobold would blow a whistle. Once answered, it would throw the torch into the pit. In the end, only the fighter made it out of the pit due to his higher hp. He killed the kobolds thanks to cleave and left the cave. We all had a laugh at the simple 4 room cave and thought, we will never look at them the same again. This was using 3.5 and one of the players thought the kobolds were unfair and too smart. The DM said that kobolds have an INT of 10. The same as a human. After that, I really started to think of how to run monsters as more than just a stat creature and 'think' about how they would fight. Dragons especially. Invisibility, Protection from Energy spells, and Fly-by-attacks.
It was a good group imo :) Sounds like everyone played his/her character well at 1st level: Paladin - ready to take epic adventures as its written in the books; underestimate kobolds for not being giant epic monsters and thus "plot-armor" shall protect the party.... arrogant, heroic, and stupid enough for a 1st level paladin :D Inquisitor - being a dwarf is enough :D Wizard - surely the most intelligent of the group, realises the actual danger of the "lowly" kobolds and retreat for recalculations, also knows living is better than dying for nothing Ranger - a character for survival. Realises that heroism won't help him survive this encounter, and retreat (next time, stealth and cunning might help good "predator") :D Rogue - my only disappointment. why isn't his first reaction is to take cover and try to hide? maybe the heroism of the paladin and the inquisitor inspired him to charge against an enemy which has the better position - okay, I guess so everyone put on a quite good act :P
not really retreating, since there was a fallen ally that he could've easily helped carry if that was the case, he could've asked the inquisitor to help the two leave the hole if his plan was for them escaping, he just fled alone
We don't know any of their intelligence stats. Calling one or the other smart or stupid at this point is getting ahead of yourself. They weren't paying close enough attention to their surroundings as a group, knowing they were going to be raiding hostile territory. That's on all of them. Paladin made an assumption, fell in a hole. Ranger made an assumption, got shot. Rogue had a plan, got tripped up, fell in a hole. Inquisitor had spells, cleaned up party's mess. Wizard had fear, ran away. Ranger had fear, ran away. Rogue had fear, ran away, got shot. Inquisitor picked up party slack, reluctantly retreated. Paladin had plan, first blood. Kobolds showed condescending mercy, Paladin refused to yield his pride/honor (admittedly have mixed feelings on the viability of this action in context of spiritual health vs. pragmatism). Paladin tanked damage, killed attacker. Roared triumph. Kobolds lost nerve, fled. I don't see arrogance or stupidity here. Just a lack of preparation that nearly lead to a paladin dying.
WorldWalker128 well tactically yes they probably were just cowardly, but they played their characters like the people they were suppose to be. These two, ranger and wizard, were on deaths door fighting enemies they couldn’t hit with a bunch of people they just met, not exactly the scenario for last stand heroics (unless you’re a noble Paladin)
@@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097 Yeah, if you it isn't homebrew. I kinda play it as you take your oath and tenets at lvl 1 and at lvl 3 your god rewards you for your dedication makes more sense for me ^^
@@DemonMaluMintus I think it can be played either way as long as you still act like the Paladin you want to be. By which I mean that until level 3 Paladin you get some more freedom to make 'mistakes' (as in don't act within the oath you are going to choose) as long as you don't do anything that directly opposes the oath you are going to choose.
@@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097 true but you still need a deity, its not like as a paladin you can get magic from nothing. They are divine casters and need a deity because of it. And as such the deity probably requires them to follow vows before admitting them any magic, they need to follow the deity for a good amount of time and be a devout follower. It's not like there are a bunch of level 2 paladins running around leeching off of deities they have no intention of following. This isn't really a free trial up to level 2 sort of deal. It takes time and commitment to said deity
If I was in his situation staring down those arrows, I would’ve screamed “By the gods, what is that monstrosity behind you!!” And scuttle away while the kobolds are looking behind themselves.
Now THAT is the fun of playing the game, having everything in the party's favor and somehow blowing it or have practically no way to survive and pull a miracle out of the ol' hauberk.
I have to say, given how things were going, retreating was likely the best option. So the narrators screes of cowardice really fall flat for me. Too many parties are wiped out because they don't retreat when they should have. He did end up with a pretty cool story, but most of the time he would have just died.
@@ryderstover275 Yep, and they retreated from a situation they clearly couldn't handle and the poster comes off as a fool who has mistaken luck for skill.
This reminds me of my own epic stand. I was playing a teifling bard. Long story short, my party consisting of me, a half elf paladin, a high elf wizard, and a lizardfolk cleric ended up in a situation where we were level 3 fighting 2 powerful dragonborn. The wizard went down first, followed by the cleric, then the paladin. I was the only one left standing. I cast thaumaturgy on myself to boom my voice, managed to stay alive, I then cast minor illusion to make it look like I was cloaked in red fire. I then made an intimidate check yelling as loud and deep as I could muster "YOU WILL BOTH DIE SCREAMING!" I rolled with advantage, I rolled a 2 and a 3. I died shortly thereafter
Never underestimate the Power of a Pallys God speaking through the Dices to create Awesomeness. Reminds me of a Random Group at a Convention I played with (DSA). We had to clean up a Raiders Camp Positioned on top of a small, rocky Hill, only way up through a winding Path, yet broad enough to sprt a little Carrige. But, it had multiple Fortifications and Guardtowers, so either Climbing or sneaking past was quite impossible. We were about 8 People facing a 30 to 50 Raiders. I played a Priest of Rondra, the Goddes of Battle and Honor - literally a Pally as it is common for their Priests to wear Heavy Armor. Soon we realized that the only true Chance would be a Charge to take the fortified Camp - fighting upwards a Hill full of Archers. Thus, our chances looked griefly bad and everyone expected not to manage the 3rd of 4 entrechments we had to pass before beeing able to fight them inside their Camp head on. If we only had a Chance to get there safely, we would have the upper Hand. 7 of 8 Players were deeply concerned, but in the end, as we all played more or less LG or CG Chars we decided to pull this off or die trying - which was mandatory for my Char (one of the Gods Laws to obide). I smirked inside, as I had waited for such a Chance, as my Build was pureley "Honorable Defender", which mostly noone plays as thoose Guys mormally are 100% subborn Lawful Stupid (their only Goal is to die in Battle honorably). But not this one. I took the GM aside and told him I go around Town while the others prepare. I buy a Sheep, 3 Gallons of Lamp Oil and 12 metal Pans, a thick rope of about 120 feet and a big Stoneblock from the Stonemason I heaved directly in front of the Hill under cover of night (but not "sneaky", just at night). For that, I used 6 Wooden Logs. The next morning the Party got up early, as they wanted to attack with the Sun in their Backs the first third of the Hill. But, I had other Plans, and as we went towards the Hill, they realized me having a Sheep aside and some heavy Stuff on the Back (Barrels, Pans). They asked me what I intend to do and I said that I will sport a Rondrian Communion before Battle and I would not do otherwise. Most of the Party were pissed, as this would give away our advantage due Surprise - but, they went along stating "Well, we are fucked anyway, so why not..." I put the Pans up with Oil and lit them, formed a Duel Circle with the Rope around the Stoneblock becoming a sacrifice Altar - all in plain sight but out of the enemys Bows reach. The Rites can be done modest, but not this Time - I insist of the old Rites of performing a Battle to the third blood (that means until one goes down from its wounds). One honorable Knight agreed to go on with me. The Rope, drenched in Oil were set ablaze as we entered the Circle. I cast the Spell of "Honorable Combat" so we are bound to finish this - before, noone can leave the circle or enter it, nor interfere. And so we fought well, until I went down. But, this was my Plan - because, now I can use my Divine Powers. First, I activate the "Will of Steel" preventing me from going unconcious, 3 HP of 45 Remaining. Then, I hold some speech kinda "It is a good day to die"-Thingy. raising the Spirits of the others, making them immune to fear and manipulation. I sacrificed the Sheep, sharing the Blood among my Comrades by drinking and pouring it over us - Granting the "Fury of the Goddes", raising Attacks and Damage and making uss immune to Pain and Stuneffects. I then gave a motivational Speech along some "For the Goddes, for Honor we fight!" and led them into Battle going first. As I came into hearing Range of the Raiders, I dared them to fight me head on - which forced them to attack me - and only me. Also, I dared them to fight Honorably, which meant they could not attack me from behind - mostly, it prevents tem from attacking as long as they have advantage (both Miracles). So, basically, they could only shoot at me or come down the Towers and fight me 1 on 1, one after another. But, as soon as I had passed them, they were bound to "fight" me but could not attack "without honor" from behind. So, I walked up that hill with my Shield in front blocking the Rain of Arrows and as soon as I had passed, my Comrades went up that Guardtowers and arrested the Raiders in them without them able to resist. But, the best Thing is: As Priest, who casts Wonders exessively, you gain advantage on all Actions related to your god according to the Amount of "Karma" (like divine Mana) you used up. And I used up abot 55+ Karma, resulting in me getting a +5 Bonus on any combat related Action - and -10 on all others. On getting into the Camp, I used "Commanding Voice" to intimidate the Leader, forcing him into submission and surrender. In the End, Only me were wounded in the Rite, and noone even got a scratch - not the Party, nor the Enemys. The Party was really impressed, as normally thoose Chars are played as intolerant, inqisitive Meatshields that dispose of themself very quickly and piss everyone off until then (...just think of a Pally casting a Spell forbidding the Caster to cast and Rouge to sneak/hide/Backstab, also destroying any Ranged weaponry on sight). But, this way, the Mage were free to cast as long as he did not "interfere with the Combat" but could freely use "Knock" to open the Gates in our way, the Rogue and the elven Ranger were good at sneaking/climbing up the Tower and subdue the Guards/tie them up. The Dwarven Twins and the 2 Fighter (Warrior and Knight) just strolled along and then tied up the Encampment itself. So, no, by all means, it was not a "one Man show". Without them, I would had failed horribly. But, that is what I love on thoose Class - if you show them what "to Lead an Assault" and also "fight Honorably in the Name of the Lioness" truly means. That Town now has a Rondrian Temple with a Statue of that Char, "leadng the Assault". And my Comrades are the Pillars that carry the Roof of it.
Hey again everyone. A big thanks to All Things DnD for another wonderful narration of my story. This particular session will always stand out for me since it was one of the most brutal low-level encounters that I have ever been a part of. The dice Gods can truly be very spiteful sometimes.
Good story dude!
Did the Paladin lose his faith after the gods betrayed him and start believing in his own power?
@@R.E.E.D. No. Paladins, unlike Clerics, don't rely on their gods for everything. They believe in fighting with their own power to prove their worth, either to their gods or to those around them. Some of them don't even follow gods. An Oathbreaker Paladin for instance is still seeking glory, they've just turned to the path of Evil (or at least Neutral) to do so. Paladins believe it's cowardly to rely on outside help when they can do something themself, but they aren't against asking for divine aid when they really need it. This Paladin not only did get some divine help, but being Suli already had powerful ancestry to begin with. What matters is that he courageously fought with his own strength, which proved his worthiness as a warrior and the "dice gods" rewarded him for that.
@@DragonGunzDorian Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Hey, I’m a little confused on how a lvl 1 had 18strength and also good charisma. Any chance you could clear that up for me? I’m new to DnD so idk much. Legit unsure and confused, not being a dick
Dwarf: you’re bleeding man...
Paladin: my god says I haven’t got time to bleed...
My Paladin:
*THE BLOOD GOD CARES NOT FROM WHERE THE BLOOD FLOWS, SO LONG AS IT DOES!*
More blood for the blood god
@@The_Forge_Master *BURN HERETIC!*
No! i was not given permission to die!!! -Soldier TF2
RNJesusBless
The Kobolds fleeing in terror was the right call. Kobolds fiercely believe in 'fight another day'. They had no idea how much HP the paladin had left. And they'd just seen him shrug off their heavy hitter's attack and then meeting his end in glorious fashion. No wonder they retreated.
Yep, I have used that as well quite a few times. So much better than them just killing off the character after.
Even if the character is pretty obviously badly hurt, these creaturs are too cowardly to throw their own life at the man in order to possibly kill him.
It is just not something they would do.
I had one character ones that, more or less like in this story, destroyed their leader with a single wellplaced hit.
The remaining "soldiers" of that leader became his most loyal servants for one very simple reason....fear..He didn't try to make them fear him, nor did he actually treat them badly and that most certainly helped but all of them just saw him as this unstopable monster that they would never be able to beat...so joining him was a much better option.
Later on it became clear to them that he wasn't this all powerful being..but at that point they had gotten so invested in him and his kindness that they were actually able to fight their cowardly nature and defend him. It was honestly rather beautiful XD.
Kobolds like Goblins are cowards by nature so them running away after there boss got dropped in one blow was pretty well role played by the DM.
yep, in fact it would have been VERY out of character for kobolds to hang around after their leader was defeated, and only a Bad DM would have them attack the next round.
I had to stop myself from saying that it was pretty obvious that the primary goal was to bluff out of a deathly fight, and you don't need rolls to know he had hit all key points to do it, but I know there are DM that doesn't know not to play meta and needlessly end a story of a player character.
This is actually incorrect, kobolds fight their enemies to the death any time because dying in battle is the only requirement for them to go to heaven.
"Oh shit! The enemy knows what they're doing!"
- Some adventurers, probably.
More flavors ! With my DM, we would charge an orc camp on a whim, but we would be worried at the idea of charging a goblin/kobold camp unprepared and would spy them beforehand.
as a DM i love mixing inept enemys and really clever ones. let them fight some idiotic trolls for a time or undead and when they really dont expect anything clever hit them with a well crafted trap ridden kobold lair full of sneak attackers alchemist bombs and trained animals coming through hidden entrances collapsing gateways all the good stuff.
Tbh, me anytime i do anything in D&D
Competence, the true nemesis of every adventuring party.
@@malyssaryan1987 I mean when your foe has a plan it levels the playing field a lot. I mean they party spent 90% of the time in that "fight" either getting crush by boulders, falling in a pit, or getting shot by arrows. They never really had a chance to retaliate and couldn't adapt to the rapidly changing situation.
I still think back to the orc who found a talking sword that made him a good guy. Good shit.
Ah, yes. Garg and The Moonslicer!
I'd like to hear a continuation of that...
Wasn't it an ogre?
Here's the original story:- www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/2mjhz9/what_would_happen_if_an_intelligent_greatsword/
Alternatively, search "Garg and Moonslicer" on this channel and you'll find a fantastic reading!
@@rileygoddard7181 yes, an ogre
That paladin was too angry to die
Edit: fuck y'all for the likes... and thanks I guess...
Was his name Grimaldus, I wonder?
Give 'em a free level of barbarian lol.
Too angry, also too proud to retreat, and pride comes before the fall.
*M A X I M U M A N G E R Y*
@Kapten Krok only because you asked nicely...
There is so much sarcasm in this story and I absolutely love it
Yeah, especially the family jewels bit
A strategic retreat to regroup is fine.
But abandoning party members is not.
Hope he leveled and got all the goodies from that fight.
@@GreenKnight343 I would gave to disagree. It's a role playing game while abandoning party members is never really a good idea, it might be a character flaw someone has (to be cowardly) and I cant fault someone who is playing their character. Especially at low level just being introduced to every one.
@@GreenKnight343 it's cool, it's a pet peeve and understandable so, I don't enjoy playing with cowardly characters having to drag them along to get stuff done or possibly losing someone mid-fight, it gets tiresome.
@@mr.rabbit9714 İ love cowardly characters, but you can make a coward that wont run away and will still stay with the party and fight while for example crying/sobing etc. There are many option that wont create a bad, unfun conflicts in group.
You mean like how the paladin abandoned the party and got completely separated from them because he thought it was a good idea to move forward alone after one goes unconscious and the rest took damage?
@@joanbighorn9778 he is the one who takes the front, that was explained in the beggining, if it wasn't for the hole, he'd be the tank impeding the kobolds from getting to his party
Now that's some good stuff.
A paladin who faces his doom with pride and not fear.
Thumbs up to that healer too.
It reminds me of a higher level (12) dwarven paladin of plate and shield I had. Decked out in sacremental adamantine, full on stalwart wall with tower shield and everything.
Party rushed into a fight, I am having to hold back enemy hard, and taking a beating. Wizard runs with a dimensional door and takes cleric with. Rogue runs, monk runs. Me in a dungeon surrounded by baddies. I am in full plate and a dwarf. I wouldnt be able to outrun anything. I was stuck there, surrounded and alone.
Well, DM asks me what I do, I say to DM nobody else is here, so we will resolve in private since session was going to end soon.
Next game, party returns to find or rescue me. Finds a charred body with armor still on in a pit. Take me back to my order. Finds out I was the son of the king (DMs idea). The body is not me. Armor is faked adamantine.
What happened to my Dwarf? Next time party encountered my dwarf, it was a fallen paladin/hellknight. See, I was captured by the BBEG organization. My mind was broken by them. Twisted thoughts of betrayal and hatred of all those who abandoned me and as such, pledged fealty to the BBEG due to the followers willingness to die for the order.... unlike my party.
See my guy was dead, because that organization was ruthless and evil. Party took days to return so that sect had left their now found hideout in the meantime. I am a big roleplayer, so I wouldnt let the DM just ex machina me to safety. He asked me first if I agreed to this plan. He wanted the party to consider their actions more carefully and them to face the conscequences of abandoning the long time party defender.
So their cowardice resulted in their shield, their friend, the one who carried two others on his back while bloodied and broken... well.... resulted in him becoming the right hand of a demon. Destroyer of cities and slayer of kings....
Ngl that's a pretty creative turn of events 😶 I like it.
Dude I so want to hear more about this story,
Welp that's what they get for abandoning someone, a party travels together and die together
@@B0TFrosty I don't really like that statement but I find it pretty cool and most people who like their characters are like hella nah to that statement which is pretty funny also playing a paladin you SHOULD'VE inspect betrayal at one point it's the Paladin's job almost not only that it seems out of character for a level ONE party too do that so early
I think what happened in your story is the most realistic turn of events, if such things could happen.
I could further see that your fallen paladin would be torn in his new life; Torn between wanting to faithfully serve his new lord/s and desperately wanting to leave just so he could hunt down and then vengenise [sic] his old teammates.
The Paladin’s prayer was from the old animated fantasy movie, “Flight of Dragons”. I absolutely love that movie! :D
Omg you noticed too
OMG I love that film, I love how the dragons balloon up to fly, they look so goofey! lol
Thank you!! I knew it sounded familiar.
Wanted to comment this.
I didn't know sir Oren was a Paladin.
Every Paladin player worth their salt dreams of the day they get to pull out the Flight of Dragons speech. It's like the D&D equivalent of the parlor scene in a detective story.
What’s a parlor scene?
@@heathenpride7931 it's the scene in old detective novels/movies where the detective gathers all the suspects, usually in the parlor of the mansion, and runs down all the evidence and eventually points out the guy who did the murder.
@@Necrodancer1312 thankd
You know, this actually makes sense to me. For the characters that aren't motivated by faith to panic and flee when things go so horribly wrong is actually the only thing that makes sense in-universe to me for a fresh group of adventurers.
Whoops left me family jewels back in town better go get em *just a trail of dust*
@@GreenKnight343 I don't think it was too hard, the party just failed too many saves and it snowballed.
"I just remembered! i don't work for Mr Krabs!"
Depending on my character's personality I'd probably retreat so I'm out of fighting distance but not completely gone so I could rejoin when healed
@@ivarthebonelesslothbrok5918 Well enjoy getting kicked from the game for being a murderous bastard. Most smart DMs know to limit PvP to nonlethal if any at all, because nothing kills a game faster than the inevitable feud between such players.
Regardless there were no cowards depicted in the story, the Rogue advanced, failed, and nearly died. The Mage returned fire, nearly died. The Ranger returned fire. The Inquisitor provided medical aid. The Pali was separated, returned fire, nearly died. With 60% of their crew rendered combat ineffective against an unknown enemy force with mastery over the terrain, retreat was the only logical course. Even the retrieval of the Pali was out of the question, as it would have put both the Pali and whoever would have aided him under fire, and potentially left them unable to retrieve their wounded, giving the Kobolds more captives, which would have put them in worse straights for mounting a rescue.
Sometimes the braver thing to do, is to act intelligently, rather than following some creed dogmatically to one's own demise.
If my character is a complete coward he'd run like hell but I'd nvr make one bc I can't stand playing a coward
My first dnd campaign is in a few weeks I'm gna b a ranger with trust issues and if I they were to run my character would nvr do anything they asked again betrayal is a huge no no with my character but I'm working on a backup character that would understand bc you do wat u do to survive
Me playing a fighter who believes death in battle was the most honorable thing to do
Not my style sorry
Flight of dragons quote. Give this man inspiration that gave me chills.
Misra D Fox i wouldve
And a free level in Barbarian
hehe, took a while of searching through comments to find someone else who recognized the quote. well done :)
I feel like this was borimers last stand except he lived
lol I know right!
*Boromir
YES! Love Boromir! Protect the halflings!
THEY'RE TAKING THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS TO ISENGAURD!
Why it's us Pals that always get betrayed/left to die?
Because to quote Dark Helmet: "good is dumb" 😁
If i'm being honest it's probably due to good AC, good damage, good HP, and the ability to cast spells, so the odds are much better a paly would live if left by themselves, or at least buy the most amount of time.
Nyghtking that combined with the fact that these are more experienced players telling their stories, and as being betrayed is both a semi common and rememberable thing, plenty of people have those stories to share
Well, there are some Paladins, _not naming names,_ that are a bit... you know... "holier than thou", arrogant or not exactly deserving of Lawful Good. So I COULD understand why you guys would get betrayed every once in a while. I wouldn't leave a true Paladin to die or betray them, never! Though, a Paladin like the ones you meet in games like WOW. Wouldn't even feel one bit of remorse, in fact... I would enjoy it.
@@sashmiel6566
Ooooh the edge.
As a Kobold/Goblin would say, "All I know is that the shiny Klick-Klack Stones with numerical engravings wait until the last second to perform miracles."
"klick-klack stones" and "numerical" don't match up there. lol
Do not prescribe agency to the polyhedron!
What I like the most about this story is that it's not about some epic-level adventurer but about a lvl 1 one. Hell of a way to start a journey.
I will note running seems perfectly reasonable, but I enjoy a good character death so I often don't.
Kapten Krok I would rather you didn't but it is a free country
For me it depends on character personality. Some will run for their lives, some will face death.
After the rolls they got, I'd run too. Well, depending on the character, but personally I'd be just about done with the session at that point.
Would you have turned and run or would you have made a final stand? And how miraculous was that fight? Please let us know and comment below!
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I would of stayed because of 3 reasons
1 always keep teammates alive so you can use them later
2 free items if you live
3 gain thier trust in order to help yourself later if needed
Im definitely gonna make a final stand damnit! I don't care if its not part of my character, imma fight the thing trying to kill us til the very end!
It all really depends on the Character i'm playing. For a better awnser, here's some examples:
BARON NATHANIEL TREVELYAN(NG V.Human Noble Fighter:Banneret)--Stand and fight as many as he could while trying to get the Paly out of the hole....
ORPHEUS SPYROS(LN V.Human Noble Wizard:Necromancy)-- Had his undead familiar Octis fight for him while casually walking out of arrow range....
RAKE GRAYYSON(CG Half-Ork Fighter: Champion/Rogue:Swashbuckler/Barbarian:Tribal Guardian)-- Cut a swath of destruction, using an Enemy's body as both a shield&Blunt object...
As you can see, none of them would run away. But there's a difference between running back to town and moving out of arrow range....
My first character was a tiefling vengeance paladin who swore to end all heresy or die trying. He almost did. Multiple times. One time, he found a statue of Bane, and being the religious fanatic that he is, he tried to smash it. Only then did he realize that the massive stone statue was actually a big ass golem. The party was level 3. We tested our cleric to his limits that day.
Ofc i would stay, just give me 2 turns to take care of the cowards running away and we can start our 2v6 till the mountain path becomes a river of blood.
As a whole, the party did the reasonable thing both from a logical and role play point of view. That being said, the Wizard and Ranger might have still been able to do something by finding cover or going full-defense. Still, an Inquisitor isn't very good at healing multiple targets, there were more enemies lying in wait, and bad dice rolls can demoralize even the mightiest of DMs.
Uhhhh just fleeing from battle without even saying anything to their comrades? A tactical retreat to a re-group is fine, but abandoning someone is just pure cowardice
@@B0TFrosty It's still reasonable thing cause if they didn't the campaign could've possibly be over and they couldn't predict if the paladin WAS going to do that also it would've been out of character
simple solution
Scream SCATTER
flee
I usually play the NG or LG character, so I would have stood and fought side by side with that awesome paladin. Regardless, that story was epic!
Lol depends on the character.
@TheReal RedWolfofDeath That sounds like something a Chaotic Stupid player would say!
@@JavierGomezX I mean, to be fair, there are some people(like me early on) who can be described as a Lawful stupid character, especially since I was a paladin.
Most of my characters are some form of evil (usually more "anti good" than evil, but I like a character that changes over a journey) and all of them would have stood their ground.
And yes, that story was epic.
My Minotaur would have stayed to fight they don't run from a fight even if it looks like it'll be their death
Boulder rolls down hill, apparently not falling into a 10 ft ditch.
the momentum carried it over
10 ft deep not 10 ft wide.
Jeff people don’t seem to understand the concept of: big rock going fast goes over hole that is deep not wide
Multiple traps back to back like that was quite common in earlier editions of the game. So was not surviving to level 5.
Based on the dodge forward/back, sounds like the boulder was rolling across the path not along the path. ergo the boulder didn't roll over the pit at all.
The amount of swagger this guy must have lift into that tavern, was way heavier than weight of his loot... Small kobolds, epic story.
"Pain heals, chicks dig scars, *glory* lasts forever." - Keanu Reeves, 'The Replacements'
at least they were trying to mount a rescue attempt, and the inquisitor didn't want to leave the paladin but for the paladins insistence.
They may have said that but if you jad just left someone dying and ran without saying anything and they walk in the romm what would you say
I've never played D&D but I love listening to these.
What interesting stories you would have, Fecal Eruptions.
That last prayer was from Flight of Dragons! I loved that movie!!
I'm so glad someone else caught this!
that was pretty rad...I swear I think I heard 'goblins slayers' theme during that badass scene
Nah man, what you heard at the moment of the prayer if any anime ost, it is berserk dont remember the name exactly but search it by "my brother" and if you disagree after hearing it, you are just wrong xd
Edit: literally is called "my brother" Just as the vocals start matches too much the prayer and the music itself shows how the kobolds have seen him after obliterating the mage kobold.
Yes, this guy is basically the kobold version of goblin slayer xD
Brrrrooooooo he quoted flight of dragons! I haven't seen that in years, it was my favourite character too (that he quoted) awesome
To be fair, if the party is level 1, and if the characters have really only just met each other?
Staying to die at each other's side rather than running and escaping with their lives would probably be pretty out-of-character for anyone who isn't of Lawful alignment or honouring a vow.
ranger could've helped the paladin leave the hole in a few seconds, the fallen dude could've been carried together by the dwarf and the one who ran away, it'd take just a few seconds for it even
@@-hello6177 Well, "just a few seconds" is at least one turn in game terms. You'd have to at least spend your main action, and even then, that would only be an attempt - to go with your first example, the Ranger would have to make a Strength Check in order to help the heavy Paladin in full plate armour out of that hole.
Going by what I just said, it probably wouldn't be an easy Strength Check, and Rangers tend to have pretty awful Strength at that.
DnD isn't always all that straightforward; the simplest plans can fail because of one bad roll. In fact, they usually do.
If someone else had stayed behind, they would've very likely just died.
@@TimeturnerJ sad
One of my fighters probably would have stayed long enough for everyone else to hoof it before he ran for it. Merc's honor. :P If he got caught, he'd have probably surrendered, though.
@@TimeturnerJ Lv 1, full plate? What?
That was absolutely epic. Although not as "rare" as you might think, but the truth is that if you play XCOM games, no ammount of ludicrous rolls can suprise you.
As for whether or not I would have made a final stand, I'd definitly choose to fight.
Fucking XCOM man... you so right about that! but with Xcom its sad usually... have your team of hardened vets die, only leaving a rookie behind... who becomes mans one true hope and savior... think imma have to go play some Xcom now.
Battle hardened Colonel with a shotgun with a 97% success rate for an enemy that's at point blank. Sneezes and hits a duck a quarter mile away. God bless XCOM
@jm6456 In your favour, on all difficulties besides Classic an Impossible (X1), and on all besides Legend (X2)
During my whole 8 years of playing i abandoned only one team member. On the side note, he asked for it. As a team we encountered Giant sitting peacfully near the road. We were licking our wounds after one of toughest encounters we had yet and our healer was unconsious. It was at this moment our brilliant Druid thought it would be a great idea to kill this giant, because "it's free xp and loot". Paladin said no, because giant was peacfull. Barbarian wanted to fight a giant but not when that meant risking his bff healer life. I, as a rogue, said no because that thing od huge and we are in bad shape and most important, nobody gonna pay us for that. Ignoring the voice of team, he headed to the Giant and cast one of his electric spells. Giant wasnt really happy about it as his grand club explained that exruciatingly to the druid. Oh the shock od disbelief on that poor druid face when his team simply left him to Die there
"Like" doesn't do justice to how I feel about this story.
I've had a character die by staying and using her last spell to free one of the party members from an intellect devourer, instead of misty stepping away from the battle (Surrounded by orcs and goblins, and two of the party already had their brains devoured) She was the only one to mentally and physically fall, with her familiar fading away, while the other two will be roaming around the dungeon for our next group to find and hopefully free one day. The guy I saved went unconscious, but not to death. He later escaped and we have yet to meet him as our latest characters.
(Mad Mage)
A more accurate title: How the Sniveling Cowards (Minus One) Left Me, A Paladin to Die.
minus two, one was fallen
@@-hello6177 correct
@@-hello6177 the rouge running was understandable.
@@Wilsontrippletsthe rogue never ran, he was carried away while unconscious
We're like a minute in and I feel like this guy is gonna turn into goblin slayer
Thanks s was definitely one of your better tales. The best stories show the cowardice of men and the heroism of those forsaken by them, characters who remain true to who they are but grow and stand a little bit taller because of adversity. I'd imagine that paladin gained a newfound respect among his friends and a little bit more influence over them as well. SO many good narratives that could come from a story like that!
At first I thought the DM had it out for ya. But that turned around in the best possible way.
I'm amazed the Kobolds stuck around as long as they did. I mean this guy got hit by a boulder and survived; as far as a Kobold is concerned, that's a clear sign of immortality.
In 3.5, we had a super overpowered chain fighter. He had figured with the DM that he was going to have a heroic sacrifice and hold off an army for a couple of turns while the characters retreated. We didn't know this.
It was amazing, we began retreating, leaving our main fighter to die. Except he didn't die. He was built so well that his attacks of opportunity made mincemeat of the army, he kept making his saves against the enemy spellcasters, and suddenly it looked like we might actually be able to *beat this army* if he keeps his position.
So we turned around and went back to help him, sending heals his way and filling the battlefield with hazardous effects. My swordsage blinked into the fray, and together we took out the commander and changed the course of the campaign - at least for a bit.
A truly epic tale of treachery, bravery, honour, hope and faith.
That's the kind of battle players tell stories about. Well played, sir.
Hey man running from a fight means you can fight another day, and I tend to implement that rule with my monsters that I threw up in front of of my party, especially when they're higher levels
Always stand and fight. When death smiles you in the face... all you can do is smile back.
If a level 1 Wizard is panicking at being at 2 HP, something has gone seriously wrong, that's basically full HP.
I am glad that DM allowed the kobolds to consider those actions. Too many would have known he only had a few hp's left and attacked again.
Also props to the paladin for not holding a grudge on the rogue.
Because the rouge didn't do anything wrong, he was just unlucky. Probably only left because the inquisitor carried him away.
For the amount of beating everyone was taking, retreating was the best option. Paladin's are fantastic for TPK preventing final stands, that's why they have Lay on Hands. Also, RIP my own Suli Paladin, who died blocking a horde of orcs while my wife's Halfling Ninja/Sorcerer escaped and hid in a chimney for hours as the sole survivor of the party.
I have a story, it's quite like this one! I was playing as a human fighter ( I know, basic.) My party consisted of a Teifling Paladin, a dwarven Ranger and a halfling rouge. Lastly, we had a kenku monk. We had been set out save local villages from a string of mysterious attacks. We set off on our long trek until we reached a village. Everything looked fine until we got close. The village was in ruin, everything had been set in flame, rubble littered the streets. My party decide to split up and search the village. Me and the Rouge went into the village square, where peculiar rocks sat scattered about. The rouge who had the intelligence of a fence post went "OooOoOh Shiney!" And proceeded to whip out his pickaxes and beat the crap out of one of said estranged rocks. In response, the rock pile stood up. Yeah, and earth elemental. Another rumble sounded from behind us. There were 2. 2 earth elementals. Mind you we were 3rd level at the time. So this was terrifying for us. Our rouge, still oblivious, continued his mining escapade moving from rock to rock. Smaking all of them. He eventually got close enough for an elemental to whack him across the village square. He got hit with a critical, dropping him to around 10 health. Our monk, unequipped for this situation ran and hid in a burnt out shop down the street. This left me, the paladin, the ranger, and half a rouge. The paladin charged the elemental on the left which crushed him with ease when he failed his saving throw. This damaged him decently. Around half his health remained. As you can tell our DM hated us. I decided to charge the elemental on the right. Narrowly avoiding his attack. I then proceeded to draw my great sword and pound the monster. I struck him twice for an overall 22 damage. A pretty great hit. Then it was the rangers turn, who was multi classing as a cleric, ran over to help the injured rouge as our asshole of a monk jeered at our dismay. I cracked a joke about turning him into KFC after this fight (I was an eldritch knight who mained fire magic.) This pissed of our monk who finally came out of his hiding place. The rouge rushed the left elemental and started to chip away at it. Which then cycled to the paladin who hit the monster with a heavy blow. But was cast aside once the elementals started swinging. This time though, I got hit. I was launched into the air and landed with a heavy thud dropping my health to around half. I got up, picked up my weapon and said "My Turn" and Swung 2 hits on him, one was a natural 20. Which doubled the base damage. Then, used my bonus action to swing once more hitting him with an acceptable blow. The dice goes were smiling down on me. I hit the bastard for 43 health. The cleric attacked the left elemental missing. The cleric got crushed at was immediately knocked out. Our main h eww alert was gone. Our paladin ran over to help only for the right elemental to shamble over and knock HIM out. Great. So, a rouge who's been chipping away at the elementals, a monk who once again RETREATED into hiding. And a ranger who has been providing light fire support. I shouted "hey ugly" at the right elemental. And proceeded to blast him with a jet of flame. This barely affected him. But it got his attention. All the while the last of my teammates are attacking the left elemental. After another round of attacks, things arnt looking good. The rouge was knocked out and the ranger (who stabilized themselves) ran off to join the monk. This left me and 2 damaged elementals. I stuck to attacking the right elemental. I'd hit it, blow after blow just to be met by the crunch of being hit or the swoosh of barley being missed. Eventually the rocky beast had dropped my hit points to around five. But, he wasn't looking so good either. My teamates were stabilizing themselves or skipping their turns to watch the carnage. It was his turn, he swung he narrowly hit me. He launched me into my back. I was on the ground. A meager 1 hitpoint left. I steadied my self and picked up my sword. " I can do this all day" I said as I raised my sword to make my last stand. I brought my sword down, it was met with a defining crash and the crumble of rocks. I had defeated an elemental, practically on my own. But, the left elemental was still standing. As I fought my breath and attempted not to collapse I was throw through a wall. The last elemental had knocked me into a random shop. I needed to get stable. The ranger provided a meek distraction as I stabilized myself. Once I was back on my feet, I used second wind to gain back 10 health. With this small gift of health I walked out of the trouble to my teamates surprise. I sprinted at the elemental with my sword in hand and brought it down cleaving it into the elemental. The ranger went back to hiding. I was hit with another blow, leaving me with 5 hitpoints. I looked at the elemental, one more hit, it would die. I gripped my sword tightly and was ready to end this when..."I attack it with my quarter staff" the monk chimed in. It was his turn after all. But this time, he didn't skip it. He charged the elemental and smacked him, finally making it crumble. That was my kill. He stole it. It sounds selfish but I put in so much effort just for him to make his first and only attack to steal that glory. With greed comes karma. He was walking through the village when a particularly loose pile of rubble mysteriously crushed him when he failed a dex save. He almost lost his charecter because nobody wanted to stabilize him. But in the end he didn't die. But if he act up, it might just rain rocks...
I love the frequency of the writer mentioning be trapped in a "damn hole"
A moment of valor shines brightest against a backdrop of despair! a righteous cleave Leper approves.
As soon as I heard the title out loud I imagined death knights and fallen heroes.
After watching... Permanent +1 for rolls against Kobalds.
I definitely would have tried to save the Paladin in someway before turning and running, either by using a shield to cover me while I reach down to him, or by jumping in with him and hoping that I can help push him up. But if I couldn't do either of those due to lack of shield or strength, I definitely would have turned and run after telling him he better survive.
Run or fight. That all depends on the type of character you play. A self-insert is all up to you, a brave one would stand there ground, and the coward is pretty self explanatory
That is true. You also can't help people if you're putting your own safety over the party's by running or demanding protection
@@capincmmd5299 I think you should read TimeTurner's comment the party could've just met it'll be out of character if they just decided to stand their ground without a reason
can't find the comment, but that is also a factor I didn't take into consideration
@@capincmmd5299 Well it said that it would be pit of character if a party who had JUST met to stand their ground for one person that makes no sense like at all
@@capincmmd5299 Anyway thanks for understanding
I wouldn't run without helping the paladin out of the hole first, unless I was roleplaying a more cowardly character.
@@zombieslayer2016 abandoning fellow characters, unless the players have all agreed to be okay with it in a Session 0, is always a dick move regardless of circumstance. Every encounter doesn't have to be either a party victory or TPK, some options could have been surrendering, taking cover and full defense actions, or even retreating a short distance rather than fleeing all the way back to town.
He sent them away...and they were coming back for him! He just got lucky at the last second.
I was looking for this comment!
IMO: the Paladin is full of himself based on how he talks about the team vs himself
This story clearly demonstrated the true threat kobolds can bring to a low to mid level party.
The kobolds were utilized to perfection.
2 vs 5 drop the traps and shoot from cover.
7 v 1 come on gang, let's go see what we've caught for dinner today.
Epic dice rolls saving the day and fleeing kobolds leading to an epic tale for years to come.
For anyone willing to humor my ideas:
If I, as a dm, witnessed my party abandon 1 of the team trapped in a pit while Kobolds were around:
I'd have the Kobolds approach the pit *without* hostility. They'd help the person out of the pit, and once out they'd see one Kobold clearly leading the others, but not a prideful spellcaster. Rather, just an unusually intelligent Kobold. There would then be a conversation basically amounting to "We're people too, don't attack our home, ok bye now." and that party member would have some new Kobold friends. The rest of the party does not.
Kobolts would never do that ,to play soft takes it for a game for kids .
@@pantherapardus8192 Making the occasional creature that doesn't just mindlessly murder doesn't make the game for kids.
If anything, treating monsters as mindless murder machines is the most childish option.
@@thesong7877 I get where you are coming from... but Panthera is right... Kobolds are EVIL by nature... they would want to kill someone for their "shineys", but they are also generally dumb and cowards. So unless your guy was Evil as well and able to dominate the kobolds to your will (via str or int) they wouldn't want anything to do with you. Kobolds only understand strength of leadership... if you're a weak kobold, a stronger kobold will kill you and take the lead, if they are weaker then you, they will listen and follow.
@@Legohaiden I mean...kobolds don't actually exist. They don't _have_ to be evil by nature. There's nothing wrong with taking a race and adding culture and sentience to it so they can have a society.
@@psychronia they have a society and a lore... its right there in the Monsters Manuel. they are evil by nature, its what Kobolds are... yes there may be odd kobolds who are different and not evil, but it wouldnt be the norm (kind of like Drizzt) That all being said, its DnD and you can do whatever homebrew stuff you want
Funny story. I'm pretty much a forever DM, one of my buddies played a headstrong Orc with a heart of gold and brain of....dumb. (He intentionally went with 3 int but was more akin to Lenny from of mice and men than anything threatening).
When he triggered a boulder trap in a narrow corridor he tried to intimidate the boulder, puff out his chest and stand his ground instead of letting it steamroll and likely kill the party. I told him to roll a strength save and he got the crit. Basically his unwavering faith made him completely impervious for the 3 seconds he needed to be. Boulder bounced off him like a pebble as the entire party was screaming thier heads off.
Only problem was he started doing that for just about everything afterward.
If the others hadn't run the Paladin wouldn't have had a chance to have that encounter. The best gaming stories usually involve great failures.
Very true. I still fondly remember the time my players cut a bridge in half because the alchemist got his foot caught on a mimic. The alchemist ended up dangling upside down on the other side of the bridge, still stuck to the mimic, the cleric and barbarian ended up in the water, and cleric couldn't climb or swim. Bard and rogue made their reflex saves, but ended up having to try and stave off the two owlbears that were attracted to the commotion alone, while the others struggled to get up the cliff.
Incredible story. Luck was only with that Paladin once he was near death and after his entire party abandoned him.
I love that I knew that paladin prayer :) it’s from the highly underrated “Flight of Dragons”. Great scene
Found you, buckaroo.
first encounter of my first game, lost mines of phandelver, and our wagon was ambushed by gobbos. we made an epic stand on top of the wagon, myself an elven wizard, and devout follower of Oghma and my bro a dwarf cleric. He swatted away goblins with his hammer and I provided ranged support until I went down to arrows. Cleric bro stood his ground until the goblins fled, he considered pursuing them to gain a huge info advantage for the campaign, but decided to stay and cast his first ever spell, cure wounds. All of this from a 10 yr old trying out D&D for the first time.
I actually love Kobolds and would try and Redeem them. There was one story I heard that melted my heart about Kobolds that I just love them now. The Video was "The Kobold King - Monsters, Misguided #4" I fell in love with Kobolds as they are just feral cats that need to be pacified.
Moko Arc So... in my current campaign, this is in Adventurers league, our party has befriended and recruited every single kobold we have come across: we either persuade, pay, or threaten. Our numbers have hit 65 in the kobold army.
Thank u for that
Once the leader is dead you could always intimidate with a good "Kneel or die"
The Otaku Dragon Slayer We eliminate enemies with 65d4 damage. It is very fun.
Having played Neverwinter Nights and had Deekin as a rather helpful traveling companion I don't see them as Murder-fodder right off the bat. They're like children in lizard-form. They only need a firm guiding hand to show them a better way to live and be, and depending on your DM, one day they'll make you proud like a parent or teacher.
when you roll that bad all scene, getting a big roll at the end is HELLA cathartic
The only class allowed to “run away” is the rogue who is trying to hide and get sneak attack bonus. Everyone else must “We ride together. We die together.” (From Bad Boys for all you copyright ninjas)
I'm borderline in TEARS of HOW AWESOME THAT WAS!!!!!
The whole situation was way out of whack for level 1 characters. A double trap *and* 2 entrenched enemies that require 2+ turns to reach?
The only reliable option in such a situation would have been a AoE from the Wizard. But after having been knocked out and just revived at 2 HP, I fully understand him legging it.
The DM really should have used passive perception here, and only risk dicerolls for those that did not make it passively. It was specifically added in 4.0 and kept for 5.0 to avoid the whole "everyone rolled bad" scenario. It even mentions such a scenario as a example. Also adds a whole dimension to high perception characters, if they do not even *need* to roll.
As for the Intimidate failure causing Combat - yes, that was perfectly sensible. Intimidation always makes the target (more) hostile. Sucesds just makes them unable to attack you for a while to act on that hostility.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was thinking, "Um, they weren't cowards. The DM made it basically impossible for them to mount any sort of defense let alone fight BACK."
And yes, I agree about the perception thing. ESPECIALLY when it results in SO MUCH damage to level 1s.........Seriously, that DM needs to reconfigure what they think level 1s can handle or something..... holy cow
lol, to be fair, this encounter really only became difficult due to bad luck. None of my party were rolling well, and the DM's dice were basically on fire. And although I wrote the story with a slightly bitter/sarcastic edge, my group still laughs about this encounter, and they basically used it as a character building experience for everyone in the party.
@@sinlesssoul if you DMed this kodos on the way you played the kobolds, not many get it right instead using them as training dummies.
@@lukeshort2960 I'm afraid I didn't DM this particular encounter. However, I will say that our DM absolutely loves playing his characters properly. As such, while I initially didn't have a problem with kobolds, once our DM exposed myself and my group as to how kobolds 'actually operate', I quickly learned to hate them. lol
@@sinlesssoul If that is how they operate, it is on character. Also totally out of whack for Level 1 Heroes.
Also the chance to roll poorly has to be acounted for. This is level 1, not 10.
The old "Book of Challenges" has the "Temple of Draxion" encounter. It includes some Kobold traps. It is Level 2. The "traps" are far enough appart to avoid overlap.
They have a Kobold behind good cover - but it only attacks if the characters dally or approach and "retreats when the PC endanger him". Primarily he is there to sound alarm. So actually decently easy to chase off.
The enemies are 2 Humans and 4 Kobolds, not 8 Kobolds + a Kobold caster.
The "Bugbeat Pit Fight" is Level 3 is also a bit tricky. But nothing close to this level.
I enjoyed this narration. It didn't feel rushed. Keep up the good work with this kind of narration.
I think this is my favorite D&D story
I’ll say it again: Paladins are #1 Class for me & always will be! Excellent story!
I’m the one usually making the last stands, and I’m not even a paladin.
Kapten Krok I mean, as long as it’s not a fetish thing.
My high-elf ex-princess warlock would stand her ground out of pure bull-headedness and scream at her fleeing allies whilst killing the monsters. If she finds them again she would throw a tantrum and sulk in a corner. Usually the fighter just picks her up and slings her over his shoulder whilst she tries to attack the enemies.
@@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097 Does she have any inspire skills? She sounds like she should
@@-hello6177 Nah she's all about using persuasion and command (and raining down fiery death). Her mum; the evil, immortal wizard-queen (I leaned into disney princess for her origin) rules through fear and deceit so that is what Ara (my warlock) has grown up with and thinks is the only way to lead (she doesn't really lead the party but likes to think she does). She'll do impulsive stuff like waste a spell slot (Warlocks have very few) on casting command on an npc that has insulted her if she can't intimidate them into groveling. What's worse is that she is the face of the party. So we have a big tough half-orc fighter, a creepy malicious gnome rogue, a fairly friendly dragonborn barbarian, a serene and unphased human druid (often with his eyes closed) all standing there as this little teenage half-elf warlock intimidates, decieves and throws tantrums at every npc they have to interact with.
That was a epic come back.
Depending on the situation, the paladin act wisely and bravely enough to survive.
Too much epicness, i wish i had time to play D&D.
Narrator says, "popular paladin quote," and I immediately thought of Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe's speech in "The Flight of Dragons."
Sure enough, that's the one. Made me happy.
Now THAT is how you Paladin!
A grand tale of surviving Kobolds. Kudos to that one, bonus xp for the Palladin!
I'd do a Captain Jack Sparrow, and run away so that we may fight again. Ambush the Kobold leader while they are trying to capture the Paladin.
of course helping the fallen comrade as you do?
Nigerundayio!
In my very first DND campaign (I was in 4th grade and the DM was my art teacher, he was amazing) are first mission was to get information from a kolbold infested temple and their always being “that guy” who is a total pacifist, of course it was the fighter (me) of all classes, and by some miracle I befriended the kolbold’s leader, gave him a golden mask meant for kolbolds, and when I f*cked up on a wish spell and sent my group 100 years in the future (that’s a whole different story) I found out he became known as a god of bravery to kolbolds for leading them to victory many times, and guess what, they also thought of me as a Demi-god who aided him in his most well known journeys, the journey of friendship with human travelers. BTW the kolbold leader’s name is Grum.
This is what selling your soul in the afterlife is for.
I rememeber hearing that prayer in a Flight of Dragons. Spoken by an old knight as we was being bathed in dragons fire.
This is somewhat unrelated, but one time, while my party was engaged in epic combat, my rogue decided to go shopping.
One of my most memorable encounters that has stuck with me from 15 years ago is when my party fought some Kobolds in a cave. There was no light in the cave, so we had to use torches and the light spell. The Kobolds targets the light spell first, thank god for the cleric in half plate standing in front of the wizard. After we killed half of them, the ones not in melee ran from us. Considering that there were only 2 ways further in, we chased after them without thinking about it. We passed a pile of trash just short of a 'natural' drop in the cave floor. Thinking 'It's a cave. They have small ledges all the time. It's only 5 feet down, no problem.'
As we follow the path, we see all kinds of broken barrels, wooden weapons, an empty chest or two all sorts of things you might just throw away if you have no need of it. All of this is covering the length of the path, along with a strange smell. So, we naturally assumed that this was their trash pit. Oh how wrong we were.
After rounding a corner, we see a light at the end of the path, but just a bit too far to make out what it is. It some light, seeping through the crack of a door; though we thought it was the top of the door at first. The light shone through the bottom of a metal door, that was ten feet up.
Our rogue stood on the fighters shoulders to try and quietly open the door and let us no what was inside. Alas, the door was barred from the other side. Deciding to head back and try the other path, we turn around.
Suddenly, a high pitch whistle is heard from behind the door, and answered from the cave entrance. A round after the whistle is blow, the door opens for a moment. A Kobold sticks it's head out a sees us a ways away from the door and 'smiles'. It throws the light we saw, a torch, through the door and into the wooden trash pile. The DM then gives us a free perception check to see what the smell was.
It was oil.
A bang is heard as something falls in place on the other side of the door, barred once again.
We run, to try and get back to the other side of the pit. But the fire spreads faster than us, and we have 200 feet to run. But as we round the corner, we see several Kobolds with slings, bows and crossbows just waiting for us. And the one up front has a whistle around it's neck.
The 'trash' pit, was really a Barbecue Pit.
So, what the DM had done, was have 10 kobolds at the first of 4 rooms waiting for people to enter. When they were reduced to half, they would run down the main path. The first trash pile was made with a bunch of light material. This was so that one of the Kobolds would dive under it to hide and wait for the part to pass. If the party was too close, it would use it as cover instead. In the pile was a cloth rapped bundle of a whistle and a vile of alchemist fire.
The hiding Kobold was instructed before hand to wait until the adventures passed and then run back the other way. It would reach another metal door and knock a few times to let the kobolds know to unbar the door. Another Kobold would then run through the back way to let Kobolds past the bbq pit that adventures are coming and light the torch by the door.
The rest of the Kobolds would then gear up with ranged weapons and head to the pit ledge. The ones behind the bbq door we look through a peep hole on the door and and watch the adventures. Once they turned back, the peeping kobold would blow a whistle. Once answered, it would throw the torch into the pit.
In the end, only the fighter made it out of the pit due to his higher hp. He killed the kobolds thanks to cleave and left the cave. We all had a laugh at the simple 4 room cave and thought, we will never look at them the same again. This was using 3.5 and one of the players thought the kobolds were unfair and too smart. The DM said that kobolds have an INT of 10. The same as a human.
After that, I really started to think of how to run monsters as more than just a stat creature and 'think' about how they would fight. Dragons especially. Invisibility, Protection from Energy spells, and Fly-by-attacks.
It was a good group imo :)
Sounds like everyone played his/her character well at 1st level:
Paladin - ready to take epic adventures as its written in the books; underestimate kobolds for not being giant epic monsters and thus "plot-armor" shall protect the party.... arrogant, heroic, and stupid enough for a 1st level paladin :D
Inquisitor - being a dwarf is enough :D
Wizard - surely the most intelligent of the group, realises the actual danger of the "lowly" kobolds and retreat for recalculations, also knows living is better than dying for nothing
Ranger - a character for survival. Realises that heroism won't help him survive this encounter, and retreat (next time, stealth and cunning might help good "predator") :D
Rogue - my only disappointment. why isn't his first reaction is to take cover and try to hide? maybe the heroism of the paladin and the inquisitor inspired him to charge against an enemy which has the better position - okay, I guess
so everyone put on a quite good act :P
not really retreating, since there was a fallen ally that he could've easily helped carry if that was the case, he could've asked the inquisitor to help the two leave the hole if his plan was for them escaping, he just fled alone
We don't know any of their intelligence stats. Calling one or the other smart or stupid at this point is getting ahead of yourself. They weren't paying close enough attention to their surroundings as a group, knowing they were going to be raiding hostile territory. That's on all of them. Paladin made an assumption, fell in a hole. Ranger made an assumption, got shot. Rogue had a plan, got tripped up, fell in a hole. Inquisitor had spells, cleaned up party's mess. Wizard had fear, ran away. Ranger had fear, ran away. Rogue had fear, ran away, got shot. Inquisitor picked up party slack, reluctantly retreated. Paladin had plan, first blood. Kobolds showed condescending mercy, Paladin refused to yield his pride/honor (admittedly have mixed feelings on the viability of this action in context of spiritual health vs. pragmatism). Paladin tanked damage, killed attacker. Roared triumph. Kobolds lost nerve, fled.
I don't see arrogance or stupidity here. Just a lack of preparation that nearly lead to a paladin dying.
I love these first encounter stories
I'm with the rest of the party, they did the sensible thing
True, it doesn't feel good but the rest of the part besides the dwarf was one to two hits away from being killed.
Tactically, yes. Doesn't stop it from hurting.
WorldWalker128 well tactically yes they probably were just cowardly, but they played their characters like the people they were suppose to be. These two, ranger and wizard, were on deaths door fighting enemies they couldn’t hit with a bunch of people they just met, not exactly the scenario for last stand heroics (unless you’re a noble Paladin)
Especially considering how the dice gods forsaken the players
That last paladin quote was from one of the greatest fantasy animations of all time. Flight of dragons. A super epic last battle
Living to see another day is sensible however as a paladin his deity would have probably frowned upon it. He did take an oath after all
Depends on the edition, deity and oath but if we are talking about path finder or 3.5 yeah probably :/
don't you take an oath at level 3 though?
@@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097 Yeah, if you it isn't homebrew. I kinda play it as you take your oath and tenets at lvl 1 and at lvl 3 your god rewards you for your dedication makes more sense for me ^^
@@DemonMaluMintus I think it can be played either way as long as you still act like the Paladin you want to be. By which I mean that until level 3 Paladin you get some more freedom to make 'mistakes' (as in don't act within the oath you are going to choose) as long as you don't do anything that directly opposes the oath you are going to choose.
@@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097 true but you still need a deity, its not like as a paladin you can get magic from nothing. They are divine casters and need a deity because of it. And as such the deity probably requires them to follow vows before admitting them any magic, they need to follow the deity for a good amount of time and be a devout follower. It's not like there are a bunch of level 2 paladins running around leeching off of deities they have no intention of following. This isn't really a free trial up to level 2 sort of deal. It takes time and commitment to said deity
If I was in his situation staring down those arrows, I would’ve screamed “By the gods, what is that monstrosity behind you!!” And scuttle away while the kobolds are looking behind themselves.
Only one thing matters in life. Survival. The rest is just fluff to make you feel good about yourself.
Now this, is a bad ass example of you don't give up 😶 There's always a chance.
That was a pretty amazing turn of events 👌
So, basically, the Inquisitor was his only real friend in the party.
Now THAT is the fun of playing the game, having everything in the party's favor and somehow blowing it or have practically no way to survive and pull a miracle out of the ol' hauberk.
I have to say, given how things were going, retreating was likely the best option. So the narrators screes of cowardice really fall flat for me. Too many parties are wiped out because they don't retreat when they should have. He did end up with a pretty cool story, but most of the time he would have just died.
There is retreating and there is running away they ran away
@@ryderstover275 Yep, and they retreated from a situation they clearly couldn't handle and the poster comes off as a fool who has mistaken luck for skill.
This reminds me of my own epic stand. I was playing a teifling bard. Long story short, my party consisting of me, a half elf paladin, a high elf wizard, and a lizardfolk cleric ended up in a situation where we were level 3 fighting 2 powerful dragonborn. The wizard went down first, followed by the cleric, then the paladin. I was the only one left standing. I cast thaumaturgy on myself to boom my voice, managed to stay alive, I then cast minor illusion to make it look like I was cloaked in red fire. I then made an intimidate check yelling as loud and deep as I could muster "YOU WILL BOTH DIE SCREAMING!" I rolled with advantage, I rolled a 2 and a 3. I died shortly thereafter
DUDE! THIS GOT ME SO HYPE!
Never underestimate the Power of a Pallys God speaking through the Dices to create Awesomeness.
Reminds me of a Random Group at a Convention I played with (DSA). We had to clean up a Raiders Camp Positioned on top of a small, rocky Hill, only way up through a winding Path, yet broad enough to sprt a little Carrige. But, it had multiple Fortifications and Guardtowers, so either Climbing or sneaking past was quite impossible.
We were about 8 People facing a 30 to 50 Raiders.
I played a Priest of Rondra, the Goddes of Battle and Honor - literally a Pally as it is common for their Priests to wear Heavy Armor.
Soon we realized that the only true Chance would be a Charge to take the fortified Camp - fighting upwards a Hill full of Archers. Thus, our chances looked griefly bad and everyone expected not to manage the 3rd of 4 entrechments we had to pass before beeing able to fight them inside their Camp head on. If we only had a Chance to get there safely, we would have the upper Hand.
7 of 8 Players were deeply concerned, but in the end, as we all played more or less LG or CG Chars we decided to pull this off or die trying - which was mandatory for my Char (one of the Gods Laws to obide). I smirked inside, as I had waited for such a Chance, as my Build was pureley "Honorable Defender", which mostly noone plays as thoose Guys mormally are 100% subborn Lawful Stupid (their only Goal is to die in Battle honorably).
But not this one. I took the GM aside and told him I go around Town while the others prepare. I buy a Sheep, 3 Gallons of Lamp Oil and 12 metal Pans, a thick rope of about 120 feet and a big Stoneblock from the Stonemason I heaved directly in front of the Hill under cover of night (but not "sneaky", just at night). For that, I used 6 Wooden Logs.
The next morning the Party got up early, as they wanted to attack with the Sun in their Backs the first third of the Hill. But, I had other Plans, and as we went towards the Hill, they realized me having a Sheep aside and some heavy Stuff on the Back (Barrels, Pans). They asked me what I intend to do and I said that I will sport a Rondrian Communion before Battle and I would not do otherwise.
Most of the Party were pissed, as this would give away our advantage due Surprise - but, they went along stating "Well, we are fucked anyway, so why not..."
I put the Pans up with Oil and lit them, formed a Duel Circle with the Rope around the Stoneblock becoming a sacrifice Altar - all in plain sight but out of the enemys Bows reach.
The Rites can be done modest, but not this Time - I insist of the old Rites of performing a Battle to the third blood (that means until one goes down from its wounds). One honorable Knight agreed to go on with me. The Rope, drenched in Oil were set ablaze as we entered the Circle. I cast the Spell of "Honorable Combat" so we are bound to finish this - before, noone can leave the circle or enter it, nor interfere. And so we fought well, until I went down.
But, this was my Plan - because, now I can use my Divine Powers. First, I activate the "Will of Steel" preventing me from going unconcious, 3 HP of 45 Remaining. Then, I hold some speech kinda "It is a good day to die"-Thingy. raising the Spirits of the others, making them immune to fear and manipulation.
I sacrificed the Sheep, sharing the Blood among my Comrades by drinking and pouring it over us - Granting the "Fury of the Goddes", raising Attacks and Damage and making uss immune to Pain and Stuneffects. I then gave a motivational Speech along some "For the Goddes, for Honor we fight!" and led them into Battle going first. As I came into hearing Range of the Raiders, I dared them to fight me head on - which forced them to attack me - and only me. Also, I dared them to fight Honorably, which meant they could not attack me from behind - mostly, it prevents tem from attacking as long as they have advantage (both Miracles).
So, basically, they could only shoot at me or come down the Towers and fight me 1 on 1, one after another. But, as soon as I had passed them, they were bound to "fight" me but could not attack "without honor" from behind.
So, I walked up that hill with my Shield in front blocking the Rain of Arrows and as soon as I had passed, my Comrades went up that Guardtowers and arrested the Raiders in them without them able to resist. But, the best Thing is: As Priest, who casts Wonders exessively, you gain advantage on all Actions related to your god according to the Amount of "Karma" (like divine Mana) you used up. And I used up abot 55+ Karma, resulting in me getting a +5 Bonus on any combat related Action - and -10 on all others.
On getting into the Camp, I used "Commanding Voice" to intimidate the Leader, forcing him into submission and surrender.
In the End, Only me were wounded in the Rite, and noone even got a scratch - not the Party, nor the Enemys.
The Party was really impressed, as normally thoose Chars are played as intolerant, inqisitive Meatshields that dispose of themself very quickly and piss everyone off until then (...just think of a Pally casting a Spell forbidding the Caster to cast and Rouge to sneak/hide/Backstab, also destroying any Ranged weaponry on sight).
But, this way, the Mage were free to cast as long as he did not "interfere with the Combat" but could freely use "Knock" to open the Gates in our way, the Rogue and the elven Ranger were good at sneaking/climbing up the Tower and subdue the Guards/tie them up. The Dwarven Twins and the 2 Fighter (Warrior and Knight) just strolled along and then tied up the Encampment itself.
So, no, by all means, it was not a "one Man show". Without them, I would had failed horribly. But, that is what I love on thoose Class - if you show them what "to Lead an Assault" and also "fight Honorably in the Name of the Lioness" truly means.
That Town now has a Rondrian Temple with a Statue of that Char, "leadng the Assault". And my Comrades are the Pillars that carry the Roof of it.
All you need is luck, wisdom and courage.
That party should now be a bunch of lvl 1's and a 2nd lvl Paladin with more gold than the others combined.