How A Critical Failure Defeated An Epic DND Encounter | Narrated D&D Story

I feel like everyone has a cursed dice. But this is a real monkey paw situation. I love when the dice and randomness makes moments that no one could have ever planned for. A sacrifice that was worth the memories. Tell me what you think in a comment down below!
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Credits
Story Source: Reddit
Video Editor: Shawn Kadian
Editors: Lonny Foran ([e-mail])
Narration: Lonny Foran
Thumbnail Art & Channel Artwork: NalaFontaine (Twitter/@nala_fontaine)
#dndstories #dnd #dungeonsanddragons

[@QuixoteBadger]

You... uhh... you collapse from exhaustion and the sword, in full swing, slips from you hand. It impales the opponent through the neck, severing his spine and killing him instantly. He falls on top of you, his full weight crashing down on you, crushing you lifeless. WTF just happened?

[@timwoods2852]

Thank you! That's much better than just "you and the adjacent target die."

[@thetheatreguy9853]

I really miss when this channel was more like this rather than just a bunch of D&D horror stories. I want to hear actual stories about how awesome your guys's characters are, not negative stories about how toxic a player was.

[@FireBowProductions]

Why do I hear McGonagall saying "For shear dumb luck." in my head?

[@reapergrimm8]

Real heroes are ready to lay down their lives if it means saving the day.

[@DBArtsCreators]

"Fates see fit to bestow a bitter honor upon you. Sworn to end this monstrous foe, you bring down your blade and pierce the warlord's chest. Your soul grasps his by the throat and tears you both free, sealing both of you in your blade and leaving both your bodies dead as dust."

[@GM-lx7ji]

Turning three nat 1s into a jackpot!

[@samtastic6827]

eyy that was a truely epic moment, I'd say that was the only chance he had lol

[@alexinfinite7142]

The scale these games go up to is just wild 😂

[@davidmartins7781]

"You push yourself off the tree and charge the warlord screaming bloody mary (in this case, literally bloody). No reason or logic has been able to stop you thus far, so why would your shattered bones and sliced flesh? Thrusting you forward is not just your broken body and stubborn will, but all the might of the vow you swore to yourself, to the people who doubted you, to the world, the divine, all of it. You don't care what happens to you, you know who you are, and for better or for worse, all around you will see and hear it. Halfway through your blow, the weight of your sword.. and your forearm.. leave you, as the orc chops of your arm with one effortless swing of his axe. In a single moment, in a single blink of an eye, blood bursts from your severed limb like a geyser, your foe is open while finishing his move, your remaining arm moves up and, in an unnatural velocity and precision (perhaps the divine itself approves of your actions, or your ancestors are not grieving as much as your foe had hoped) you grab the hilt of your airborn weapon and thrust it through the orc warlords neck down to the base of the blade. He halts, the horde is silent, your last ounce of strength drives your blade to the side as you collapse, and your very last sight in life is the blurry vision of the legendary orc warlord falling beside you, his blood bursting out from his half open neck. You're not sure which happens first: your opponents blood blinding you, or the end of your life, but everything.. goes.. dark."

[@SeanMirrsen]

It's a really old story, usually called "Sameo" after the 1d4chan user who posted it (I think), some long long time ago, and I always like to see it retold. It's short, it's epic, and it's showing some of the best fun that DnD can let people have (even if it's while failing and dying). :)

[@MrNeCr01]

You swing with mighty fury and lose the grip of your sword, it lands vertically with the pommel firmly stuck in the mud. The momentum of your swing causes you lose your footing and fall upon your own sword. The sheer improbability of the moment causes BBEG to keel over in raucous laughter, and gets so carried away that he too falls upon your sword. The orc army builds a grand funeral pyre around the orc/paladin shish kebab, and disbands fearing the ill omen that has visited them this day.

[@Autobubbs]

But.... how? He left out the best part!

[@DanielGafner]

The odds!! Truly epic

[@UndeadDragonWarrior]

I imagine this is closer to the orc fiend's patron became furious at them at losing their valuable dragon to a lone paladin and just blew up his body, with the paladin dying of exhaustion

[@timwoods2852]

It's like getting so mad at a fly that you accidentally swat the nuclear launch button! 😂

[@user-jx5tn4yp3h]

At least you went down fighting like you wanted your paladin went down swinging saving the land from the evil orc leader you technically kept your promise

[@normal6969]

And as even the orc clerics were rolling 1s due to the misfortunetical aura, they 've resurrected your character into the body of the orc cleric boss. The lesser ork-shamans look at you expectantly - what do you do? Remember you don't speak orcish. :D

[@angrymike590]

This is a Mumen Rider moment if I've ever seen one in DnD before

[@heroicheart6911]

Less than 10 min crew! 😊

[@garrusfireye3618]

The dice know. They always know

[@666Vampirefromhell]

That DM kinda deserved that karma for laughing at a player's misfortune like that. When a DM revels in a player's pain, it's a real red flag. That moment better have been played out as a "they kill each other" moment. Both blades striking true for the final, ultimate kill.

[@craigtucker1290]

How do you get red flag? The DM laughed at a natural 1, happens all the time when someone gets a bad roll, even to DMs. It's just a game where characters can die...

[@666Vampirefromhell]

@@craigtucker1290 I get laughing at an unfortunate nat 1. But laughing at a PC's death, especially when the player shows clear distress at it, is sociopathic, if not psychopathic.

[@craigtucker1290]

@@666Vampirefromhell No, it's not. It is only a game, where character death is supposed to be part of the game and unlucky rolls, like this, make such deaths comical. There is nothing stating the DM reveled in the character's death as you implied and there is nothing sociopathic or psychopathic. Are you one of those that emphasizes "story arc" characters? Is that why you seem to be overreacting?

[@666Vampirefromhell]

@craigtucker1290 Are you missing the fact that: A) The player was obviously upset by this character death. B) This death would be a TPK, meaning a very tragic end to the story arc of the campaign. I'm not saying the DM shouldn't follow through with the death. Just that it's far from comical. It's actually pretty tragic as it's basically ending the campaign in horrible misfortune. It's the bad ending, making the player obviously frustrated, and the DM finds that funny.

[@craigtucker1290]

@666Vampirefromhell Are you missing the fact that: A) The player knew their character was going to die. B) Imaginary story arcs are not part of the game. Just some sort of thing modern players interject into the game that makes them way more invested in their characters to the point of being unhealthy. Perhaps this is because the game has evolved into something that coddles players and nerfs death these days, but that is not when this game took place. The player knew the campaign was done. They just wanted their character to go out with a bang. Laughing at a natural 1, followed by a few more, is perfectly normal. The fact that the player still achieved a final victory is even more amusing. You need to relax and just enjoy the story. Not everything is a "red flag" event. I would be more concerned about players with predestined story arcs expecting some sort of fanfic version of a coddled D&D game than I would about a DM having a laugh at the last attack roll of a knowingly doomed PC.

[@craigtucker1290]

Finally, a good story with a legitimate outcome! Unlike that whole grey necromancer coddling/narcism *BS* ...

[@stevenblack9851]

Why not explain what happened definitely a let down great build up and everything explain how they both die?

[@roundcube3]

So this monotone voice is staying huh?

[@Wtdtd]

narration ends too early. It makes foe a shitty ending.

[@SeanMirrsen]

Narration ends where the original story ends. It's a really old story, and there really is no point continuing it beyond that moment - you can imagine whatever you like as the aftermath, but that moment and the dialogue leading up to it was the finale. The campaign was at an end, and the last player tried to end his character's story in an epic manner, and failed his way into far more success than he thought possible - that's all there is to it.

[@1Kapuchu100]

@@SeanMirrsen I think what they're referring to, is that it really feels like there is a syllable or something being cut off, and the next part of the narrator's script starts a bit too quickly afterwards.

[@AnSquatcho]

Didn't happen I call BS

[@SeanMirrsen]

It's a really old story from 1d4chan or somesuch, typically referred to as 'Sameo' after the name of the user who posted it, I think. It was always of dubious veracity, but none of it is absurdly impossible, and it's impossible to verify either way, so it's usually assumed to be true - at least insofar as somewhere, sometime, a story like this has doubtlessly happened, and presenting it in this epic fashion doesn't harm anything.

[@MinnesotaCouchpotato]

​@SeanMirrsen, it sounds like it could be an urban legend. Thank you for sharing that info on the story's history.

[@craigtucker1290]

@@SeanMirrsen Does anyone know where those critical roll tables are from? I would guess some questionable 3rd party product. This sound like 3rd edition game, based on the paladin description and saves.

[@craigtucker1290]

@@MinnesotaCouchpotato Not really. The most comparable example I have is from a 2nd edition campaign where a 7th level paladin was instantly killed by a giant stag beetle that pierced the paladin through the head. That required a critical hit, followed by a failed saving throw against death, followed by critical hit location roll, and a severity roll, all rolled in the open. Highly unlikely, but these things do happen. The PC didn't even get a chance to attack, they were just slain with paladin's body hanging off the stag beetle being ragdolled as it moved. Everyone laughed, even the paladin's player.

[@SeanMirrsen]

@@craigtucker1290 The story is quite old, circa 2008, so it was likely 3.5e or earlier. The critical tables in question are almost certainly a homebrew from the DM involved, as was common in games back then.

[@DxxdEyes]

still that same voice i dont like