Interesting Reddits

Monday, March 4, 2013

Pixies

This maybe a "you had to be there post" but here's a recap of the best random encounter I've been in to date:

The game: Rise of the Runelords

The scene: a wooded trail on the way to the Shimmerglens

The characters: Male Human Druid, large and armoured Wolf Companion, Male Human Evoker(me), Female Dwarven Cleric, Female Dwarven Gunslinger, Male Dwarven Fighter, Male Elf Bard, Female (?) Rogue/Magus, and 5 bored Pixies.

The group is walking when the dm asks for a perception check. Most of us rolled pretty low, but the gunslinger manages to hear a child like laughter from nowhere, so our first warning is the gunslinger drawing weapons and moving out in front of the party. This is followed by quick "corner of the eye" flashes of pixies with bows, and the wolf suddenly passing out.

Next up, I raise my hands above my head and move forward, announcing that we mean no harm and wish to precode with out harm to us. The answer comes in a whisper "Harm is such a relative term" and more laughter.

More of us move forward, and we get to the pixies again. Now the pixies using permanent image to manifest a huge spider-like creature in front of the bard, and a Glabrezu in front of the fighter. The bard is now screaming in panic at nothing, and the dwarf charges to the side of the party and is swinging at mid-air. One pixie attempts irresistible dance on the druid, but the druid makes the save.

The druid has figured out he can't wake the wolf, and ask the party for assistance. For some reason, all the party ignores him. I spend my turn trying to figure out whats wrong with the bard and fighter, and convince them they're seeing things. The cleric succeeds on a dispel magic on the bard.

The round comes back to the druid, he asks for help to carry his wolf again, and doesn't see any signs of assistance, so starts dancing anyway. Apparently, pixies think druids can't dance. So when the perform check is low, one of the pixies looses it, and becomes visible, literally rolling on the ground laughing.

The magus/rogue things this is a good chance to bring some sanity to the situation, and grabs the pixie. The pixie's ill health is now noticeable, so the magus asks what's wrong. The pixie proceeds to point at the dancing druid and continue laughing. "Silly time" has struck the table.

Back around to me, I move back towards the party, and attempt to convince the fighter it's all in his head. Once again, no luck. The cleric attempts to dispel the image on the fighter, fumbles, the DM determines that this instead dispels the barkskin potion the fighter had taken, and that the fighter sees the image wiggle its claws as the barkskin is dispelled. Oh joy.

The gunslinger, who was just going to leave, decides that maybe it'd be wiser to help the people that rescued him from a fort basement prison, and comes back to help convince the fighter its all in his head. More on that later.

I'm not going to bet to the druid to help with picking up the wolf, but I’m still thinking "logically" hence my it's all good, I'll cast enlarge person from here an the druid can carry the wolf on his own. So I cast enlarge person, druid grows, but what does the druid do on his turn? He picks up the paws of the unconscious wolf and continues to dance.

Now we have three laughing, prone, visible pixies. The cleric attempts grappling a second pixie, and misses, badly... and once again asks what made them this way. She's referring to their sickly appearance. DM rolls percentile for the three of them, determines that they all point at the druid. Cleric is annoyed.

Okay so the gunslinger's idea of "helping" fighter realize its an illusion is to get in front of the fighter, and stand there dodging swings and ask what the fighter's fighting. Roll for disbelieve illusion, fail, fighter sees the demon eat the gunslinger. The fighter continues attacking.

The bard has his head on straight again, so he attempts a knowledge nature check to see whats wrong with the pixies. He rolls a 1. I know skill checks can't be fumbled, well DM says they can. So the bard's player says "Wait, I'm not at the bank!" to represent his fumble. Next is one of the remaining pixies.

Permanent Image again, failed roll again, the bard IS at the bank.

Magus? She's making friends with the pixie she's got by the waist.

Druid continues dancing.

Gunslinger, attempts to pistol whip the fighter prone. Hits, doesn't knock prone, fighter things the demon hit him. This really only makes him angry.

Cleric asks again, this time she specifically asks "Why are you sick?" Pixie makes a knowledge nature check, rolls a 6, answers "Umm, something down in whitewillow... must have... pthththth." yeah, the pixie shrugs and raspberries. Cleric looks at the dm with a look. Dm says "I rolled a 6!" Of course, the someone asks of the pixie really broke the fourth wall... Dm rolls percentile, and determines, yet again that weirdness happened. The pixie really does answer "I rolled a 6!"


Me, I'm ready for a little sanity, my staff is the UE Hurricane Staff it's already over my head, so a couple of spins, "Enough of this Tomfoolery!" and gust of wind. I knock the two pixies who'd stood back up prone again, and the one in front of me (who I couldn't see) falls prone and is also visible.

It doesn't really help, but someone loudly asks if anyone knows what happened to the pixies. The final pixie voluntarily becomes visible and explains that none of them were there for whatever happened, but for it to affect pixies this far out, something very bad must have happened in Whitewillow.

Peace is made, we offer to help, since we're headed that direction anyway and looking for a lost human who was obviously in love with a nymph. They mention they've not seen him in quite some time. We head off.

As a leaving gesture, the (remember female) magus/rogue attempts to steal a pixie's underwear. They aren't wearing any.

So a "combat" that lasted maybe four rounds in game (that I probably don't recall the proper order of things happening). Took most of the night, and made the night like no planned encounter ever could have. It was mad, goofy, and excellent, and I expect this game to have more nights like it before its over.

Most of all, I don't know if I'll ever be able to say the word pixies with a straight face again.


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