Coolest RPG Scene

[Burocrate]

On the topic of unbelievable dice rolls and cool sceens:

Game System: Top Secret
Setting: PCs on roof of hotel/apartment building taking fire(and hits!!) from a sniper.
PC #1: I peak up to see where the shots are coming from.
Ref.: Roof top across the street, one building over maybe 50 yards away.
PC #1: I stand up and fire a three round burst at the sniper using my MP40.
Ref.: Supression Fire?
PC #1: No, I am aiming to hit.
Ref.: OK, roll you shots.
Dice: 7, 20,19.
Ref.: Ok roll for hit location(70% cover, so hit to leg etc. automatic miss.)
Dice: Head shot(for the critical sucess roll) and Throat.
Ref. and other PCs: Impossible.
Result: Never went anywhere w/o that damn Schmiesser, even claimed his Traveller(CT) character's SMG was based off that weapon! And he Never missed, except when that Rat-Bastard of a Ref.(me)ruled he could not sneak his beloved SMG through the check points.

 

[Burocrate]

On the topic of unbelievable dice rolls and cool sceens:

Game System: Top Secret
Setting: PCs on roof of hotel/apartment building taking fire(and hits!!) from a sniper.
PC #1: I peak up to see where the shots are coming from.
Ref.: Roof top across the street, one building over maybe 50 yards away.
PC #1: I stand up and fire a three round burst at the sniper using my MP40.
Ref.: Supression Fire?
PC #1: No, I am aiming to hit.
Ref.: OK, roll you shots.
Dice: 7, 20,19.
Ref.: Ok roll for hit location(70% cover, so hit to leg etc. automatic miss.)
Dice: Head shot(for the critical sucess roll) and Throat.
Ref. and other PCs: Impossible.
Result: Never went anywhere w/o that damn Schmiesser, even claimed his Traveller(CT) character's SMG was based off that weapon! And he Never missed, except when that Rat-Bastard of a Ref.(me)ruled he could not sneak his beloved SMG through the check points.

 

[Slink182]

I have four:

System: FGU's Aftermath
The aftermath world saw limited nuclear weapons used, but a fare bit of biochem, neutron and emp weaponry. Information was horded by the universities and colleges that were still viable. The rest of the masses were stuck with (effectively) medieval tech. Mindset of the masses wasn't much better.

Enter into this a recently "graduated" medical man who was great diagnosing diseases and fixing people, but had CRAP in social talents. He settled down in a small low-tech enclave and was greatly appreciated. Right up until the day a stranger stumbled to the edge of town, collapsed and died. Locals went out to check and loot the body before even thinking of calling the medical man. Once he was called, the stranger was practically down to his skivies from the looting. He then diagnosed (wrongly - fumbled the roll BAD) the stranger had died from a disease and for everyone to keep their distance.

Needless to say, the looters turned a few shades of pale. When asked if the disease was contagious, he then blew yet another roll, and said "possibly".

Looters ran while their neighbours hunted them down. There were even a few farmhouses burned to the ground because the "infected" ones wouldn't come out. A few long-standing grudges were also settled in that mess.

System: FGU's Aftermath
Different game. An old military man in the company of a bunch of younger "barbarians", after setting up camp, ends up engaging a combat android. Through some limited planning and a lot of dumb luck, they managed to bring it down. The old military man told the youngsters to leave alone since combat androids typically had explosive devices built into them to discourage tampering. One of the youths decided to check it out (the least technically minded, if memory serves).

On the edge of the camp, while the rest were eating dinner, the kid decided to see what was inside. Pried it open, and started playing around inside. He, by pure dumb luck, managed to disable the explosive without getting the entire group killed (he was rolling against raw natural talent, something like 5% chance of success - he had to roll under his talent SIX TIMES).

He came strutting back in with the explosives in his hand. Once the reality of the situation sunk into everyone else, he was promptly hog-tied, and shock-sticked into unconciousness.

System: CT
A marine loved his battledress to no end. He went everywhere he could with it as long as the local law level allowed it. He often travelled with a heavy assault weapon, and a number extremely nasty grenades bandoliered to his armor. He even went places were it wasn't socially acceptable (like the local pub, restaurant, or movie theater). He died in his battledress, though parts of him were rather hard to find afterwards.

While on on layover on a backwards planet, he and a few crewmembers headed to the local watering hole. He was armed and armored as usual (well, for him, anyway). In the bar, people started hassling him about his armor, which was ticking him off to no end. When challenged to get out of the armor and go man-to-man, he thought "hell, I'll just drop one of these grenades and have them all roast 'cuz afterall, I'm safe in my armor".

So he did, to everyone's horror. People were diving out the windows and doors to get away from the imminent blast while he just stood there and laughed. Then the grenade went off...

... and set of a chain reaction with the rest of the grenades that were bandoliered to him. The resultant series of explosions leveled the building he was in, a number of surrounding buildings, and turned him into a very thin grease spot. The captain of his ship got a personal visit from the town's mayor asking for her to ID the scraps of him that the local's had managed to find, and once he was ID'ed as part of her crew, she and her ship were asked to leave.

System: CT
Barbarian character from a TL1 world was rescued from slavery and made part of a ship's crew (totally amazing survivalist and recon specialist). He understood knives, blades (the big heavy ones only), and simple bows. He didn't understand guns initially. The crew taught him how guns worked and he was quite happy to use "the magic boom sticks" to bring down enemies at range. The only thing that really ticked off the rest of the crew was his habit of throwing away the gun once it was empty. In his own words "magic's gone from the boom sticks". The crew tried repeatedly to teach him the concept of "reloading", but it never stuck.

 

[far-trader]

Originally posted by Slink182:
The only thing that really ticked off the rest of the crew was his habit of throwing away the gun once it was empty. In his own words "magic's gone from the boom sticks". The crew tried repeatedly to teach him the concept of "reloading", but it never stuck.

I like, nice bit of roleplaying.

 

[Whipsnade]

Gents,

Dice huh? I've got dice stories....

An old minis wargame group of mine, everyone 30+, a vet, a doctor, a forensic anthropologist, engineers, etc., etc., you know supposedly educated and rational people. Right?

Hardly!

'Joe', the forensic anthropologist, had the worst set of dice I've ever heard of or seen. You needed a 6, you got a 1. You needed a 1, you got a 6. Never failed, they'd always fail you.

He kept them in this little leather bag like the kind cowpokes kept tobacco in or prospectors kept a bit of gold dust. The numbering on them was nonstandard too. A 3 was a triangle, a 1 looked like an asterix, and so on. They were black and the figures on them were red.

If Joe had a game going and needed other commanders (DBM battles usually have 3 or 4 commands on each side allowing multiple players), no one would play with him UNLESS he swore not to use those DAMN DICE. DBM armies sometimes have allied generals and there is a nasty first turn rule involving them; if you roll a 1 for your first set of pips, the allied general becomes unreliable. You can't move his command, it may exit or even join the other side. Joe once rolled a first turn 1 six games running before we demanded he not use those Damn Dice.

In another game; an age of sail sea battle, Joe has the largest, best armed ship on the table. It's also the slowest so he takes a few turns getting into range while the rest of us have already been pummeling each other. He manages to get a stern rake on a fouled enemy vessel and unleashes his first broadside of the game. It should be all over for the target ship until, on 3 D6, Joe rolls 1, 1, and 1 on those Damn Dice. He misses entirely. Two turns later, a long range hit on his ship damages a mast and Joe must make saving rolls against it falling. Anything but a 2 on 2D6 and he's fine. Naturally he rolls a 2 on those Damn Dice. Then he rolls all the additional 2s required to ensure the rest of his masts fall also.

Those Damn Dice!


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[Straybow]

"Those Damn Dice!"

"Once the reality of the situation sunk into everyone else, he was promptly hog-tied, and shock-sticked into unconciousness."

Go and do likewise.

 

[slyen2002]

my most was with 3rd edition D&D.

the party was fighting Kobalds (no big) when the mage cast a spell at one and it messed up its spell resitance roll and ended up as a bowl of rice kreaspys. yum.

 

[Whipsnade]

Straybow wrote viz "Those Damn Dice!":

Once the reality of the situation sunk into everyone else, he was promptly hog-tied, and shock-sticked into unconciousness."

Go and do likewise.


Mr. Straybow,

Thanks for the suggestion! As a matter of fact, he only uses Those Damn Dice when he's playing 'solo' and his opponents welcome their appearence. I think it gotten to be a 'dig my heels in' thing with him now. We've even tossed the things in the trash; he saved them, and offered to buy them; to immediately dispose of them.

You know, that shock-stick quote would make a dandy .sig!


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[womble]

Ser Whipsnade

Do you have any inkling as to why Joe kept using dice empirically observed to fail?

 

[Andrew Boulton]

The bad luck's gotta run out of them one day, and then they'll be awesome!

 

[Whipsnade]

Womble wrote:

"Do you have any inkling as to why Joe kept using dice empirically observed to fail?"


Mr. Womble,

Sheer cussedness? I dunno...

Others in the group charged him with running an experiment of sorts, he is a scientist after all. He acquires a rigged set of dice or learns how to throw a rigged set of dice(1), brings them to our sessions, uses them repeatedly, and watches our reactions. I've counted his limbs; four, so he isn't a Hiver.

Maybe it's like Mr. Boulton suggests, someday the bad luck will run out and then WHAMMO!


Sincerely,
Larsen

1 - I've seen close-up magicians and card handlers roll common dice and 'predict' the number they'll throw 8 times out of ten.

 

[Straybow]

Except bad luck never runs out. That's why it's bad luck and not just average luck.

I think the warning crackle of a hand stunner should make those Damn Dice go back into the bag for a couple weeks, like the groundhog seeing his shadow.

 

[propjockey]

Without question, the finest Traveller session I ever ran was a slap-together, seat-of-the-pants thing that I spent all of five minutes outlining.
My two players each controlled two PC's that had stumbled across a derelict warship drifting through the outer reaches of the system. Thinking only of obscene amounts of salvage cash, they boarded the ship and began searching. What they found was the compartments burned, blasted, and splashed with gore, but no bodies, no crew.
Searching deck by deck, one compartment at a time, the PC's continued to find evidence of a horrific battle having been fought, but no victors, no vanquished, only a ghastly mystery. I built suspense as slowly as I could, and my players drank it up, truly engrossed in the scenes I painted for them. They played their charachters in top form, complete with the obligatory loudmouthed coward, and they fed off one another.
Admittedly, the scenario was thin, and I am not ashamed to admit I stole several ideas from my favorite sci fi monster films, but the chemistry of my players, their charachters, and my attrocious theatrics combined to make a game session that was so much more fulfilling than any other I've ever run.
I've always believed in rewarding good role-playing, so naturally , my players found the beastie that had slaughtered everybody and were able to overwhelm it, but I also made them work for it!
Gaming sessions like this are few, when everyone and everything just 'clicks', but the results are beyond words!

 

[Spud]

apologies for length.

Used to manage a game store in Wilmington, DE. Regular Thursday nite game of Trav (LBB).
Regulars include usual assortment; several chaps in 25-35 yr range, couple young kids in (Jr?) high school. One girl. While waiting for all to arrive, one older gamer starts razzin' the 13 yo male. Others join in; kid is usually a lot better at this, but can't get off the ropes tonite. After being challenged to (basically justify his existence), he fires off his snappy comeback: "Oh, yeah?" comedic timing is breath-taking, all fall about laughing for ten minutes, easy. Maybe longer. Two players walk into the middle of this, and are completely caught up, tho' no one can talk well enough to explain.
After ten, fifteen minutes, someone manages to say' "Oh, yeah?" again, producing further loss of control. Never got much adventuring done that nite, but we seldom had such fun!

 

[thorn]

Most memorable?? Well...(Reader's Digest Version)...Imperium overrun...leaderless...marauding hordes of ugly bad guys....and a team of 5 players...banding together...trying to save humaniti from extinction by genocide....find an inactive and hey hey HEY...MOBILE...space station....built ahead of time...hundreds of years...by a precog PSI....* smile *....where they could house the last remaining vestiges of humaniti and if it came to it, make their final stand.

I guess it would be a mix of Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica...all rolled into one...with the occasional PC killing the other by placing explosives under his bunk and waiting for bedtime....these people are evil yanno??

 

[Blue Ghost]

Funniest; D&D session.

Our band was travelling a road when we came upon some grazing cattle. Maybe the DM/Ref/GM had been reading Gary Larson... I don't know, but I do know that the cattle in question suddenly started to talk.

Needing directions and general info we decided to talk to the critters. I motioned our spell caster over with a "Psst, psst." Then whispered; "Tell 'em were vegetarians."

She couldn't stop laughing for twenty minutes.

 

[Straybow]

"Hey humans: 'Yakkity yak, blah blah'! "