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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Sep 2009 : 02:21:04
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Just to address the idea that GURPS cannot handle high magic, powerful monsters and dangerous fights without PCs necessarily* dying; I am now running an 'encounter' with two dracoliches (adult red dragon and an old sapphire one), two great wyrm dragons (black and white), a sixty yard long red dragon, about two dozen lesser dragons, four powerful warriors created with the Teeth of the Dragon, twenty dragonborn warriors and about sixty or so wraiths or other undead. And two necromancer cultists who'd be around 18th-20th level in D&D and a crusader who'd be around 15th level.
The PCs are fighting alongside a roster of heroes including the Knights of Myth Drannor, The Rangers Three, some of the Company of Crazed Venturers, many of the Harpers that follow both Twilight Hall and Shadowdale and some sixty other various individuals.
Spells are flying, people are dying... children are crying, politicians are lying too!
The system seems to handle it just fine. One dragon was brought down with an arrow to the eye, a lucky shot, and several others have been wounded with arrows placed by Merith Strongbow and one of the PCs. The crusader was stunned with a shot to his torso and then decapitated by a hero who jumped onto his dragon's neck while he was trying to regain control of his raging dragon and simultaneously casting a healing spell on himself.
One PC was cowering behind a tower shield enchanted against dragon's breath, but just emerged to throw a keg of smoke powder to the one standing on the neck of an angry dragon slowly sliding to a stop on the top of the tower they are defending. That PC just hacked himself through the scales on the dragon's neck with his bright sword, Cairlachan, "The Cleaver of Stones".
Another just unleashed the lightning from his Netherese Blast Scepter into the wing of a white dragon whose head is now uncomfortably close to him, hoping, undoubtedly, to spoil his landing (for which the dragon appears to have chosen the player character's location as his ideal spot). Sadly, the dragon appears to quite like a bit of lightning, as it did not faze him much more than a strong punch to the shoulder might faze a seasoned boxer. It appears rather inevitable now that a certain PC will come to possess first hand knowledge of why one should endeavour not to be shoulder checked by anything weighting 30 tons, particularly if it has a present velocity of 90 feet per second**.
A strategic relocation might be in order for our valiant heroes***, although such manuovres have not been their forte previously. But they have a plan and it was never intended that they should seriously contest the top of the tower against a flight of dragons, merely use it to sting them a bit before falling back into more narrow and defensible tunnels.
*Though they are always at the risk of dying, which is in my opinion as it should be.
**For the curious, a big NHL hockey player body slamming you at full speed has about 0.2% the momentum of the aformentioned dragon. Ouch. Picture an 18-wheeler hitting something at 50 miles an hour.
***Well, the guy who wants to puff out his chest and check the dragon back won't have a choice, will he? He'll be miles off no matter what he does, probably with every bone in his body broken. |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Edited by - Icelander on 24 Sep 2009 04:51:28 |
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GURPS: Forgotten Realms
