On Monday, I ran Arden Vul. The halfling thief investigated a secret compartment, decide to open it without emphasising the precautions taken. I asked two or three questions like "OK, so you find that hollow sounding panel, do you press it?" Yes. "OK, so you do and you think you can lift it off, do want do do that?" Yes. "OK, so you open it, right?" Yes. "Immediately there's click and a needle shots forward and sticking into your breastbone as you stare into the compartment… Save vs. poison!" And the *periapt of proof against poison* only added +2 to the save and it was failed; and the *elixir of health* had been taken by a character that's not part of today's expedition; and not even the clerical scroll of *delay poison* was here, somebody else had taken it. They called for help. The put the foaming halfling into a stinky healing mud. It was all for naught. The halfling died. Rest in peace, little one!
On Tuesday, I ran my hex crawl, "Behind the Giant Giants". The players were attempting to assault the old dwarven mine that has been taken over by orcs for the second time. The first time they abandoned the attempt because time was running out after they had slain the balrog and his hell hounds. A week later, they returned and a great slaughter ensued on the shooting galleries with about 40 orcs slain. At the end, orcs were luring a 5-headed pyrohydra into the hall were the party was passing through. A lightning bolt, flying daggers, sling shots, and then close quarter sword fighting and a mighty chop with the axe and it was done! And then I read: "Its blood is poisonous: cutting off one of its heads with a melee weapon exposes the attacker to its cursed poison, save vs. poison or die." And the two melee fighters had to roll and one of them failed. Splayed by spurts of poisonous blood! (And memories of the halfling dying in Arden Vul!) What to do? The character from an AD&D game had an anti-poison for "great snakes" and said in AD&D the anti-poison was specific to the creature but in my game, there's just generic mythic poison… What to do? I ruled that it worked, but slow (because time was running out, again). So they dragged their foaming and trembling but still breathing friend back to the surface and we ended it there.
#RPG #Poison #Halberds and Helmets