I remember the first time I died
Transcript
I remember the second time I died.
I remember the second time I died. Robby Flammang is the DM. The highest I ever get in AD&D was the third level. I just got my first Henchman. We have spent a great deal of time filling out a sheet on him, spending my gold money to get him equipped. And off we go.
We come to a tower. There is a locked door and two goblins with spears on top. Ok, so I’m still really new at this and I don’t know what to do. I figure the door being locked is a problem. I remember my new henchman can pick locks.
“My henchman can pick locks” I say. “I send him to pick the lock.”
All of a sudden my DM looks like something I have never seen before. His eyelids come halfway down over his eyes,. I’m not sure if anyone in the room is breathing. I can see the powder blue carpet we are sitting on even now. He drops his pencil on his note pad and there is the sound of finality to it.
“Ok.” He says. In inhales one long important breath. I’m on the edge. “He’s dead. The goblin just leans over, drops his spear” Robbie leans forward, with his hand in a fist, just opens his hand, “and he’s dead.”
“What.”
“From that height he doesn’t even have to try, gravity does the rest.” Yes, even in grammar school my friend is a physics nerd. But that’s another story. Currently I’m devastated, and I’m confused. He didn’t even roll dice. We aren’t using any kind of map, so I have no idea what he’s seeing in his mind.
Let me see if I can figure out what is going on. Ohhh yeah . . . Getting third level. I have encountered a Salamander. Something he rolled up I think. But I am hopelessly out matched. As we read the salamanders’ level, stats, immunity to non magical weapons, I know I am toast.
Robbie says “You could use the scroll of reverse gravity you found.”
I said “Ok. Yeah! I do that.”
He says “You slam him against the roof. Robbie flattens his hand and then raises it above his head real quick bringing it to a sudden stop. “And he takes . . .” He rolls two dice. I can see in his eyes it’s not enough. “You can slam him back down against the floor.” Robbie flattens his hand and then slaps it into the other one.
I nod enthusiastic that this might work.
He rolls two dice. Still not enough. He repeats this up and down slamming the salamander till it’s dead. He then looks up the experience for a six hit dice Salamander. This is how I go from half way through level one straight to level 3. And as a consequence get a Henchman.
So now it makes a little sense to me. Maybe the henchman is a little much. But I have spent almost all of my gold on his gear. And I do feel that his death is kinda my fault, so maybe I should clean up the mess or something.
So I say to him “Ummm, well. Ok. I guess I’ll go and get his gear?”
His eyes get big around, he makes the sound of exasperation and says “Well, they kill you too then.” He holds forth his fisted right hand and opens it.
“Uh.” I pick up my character sheet. “Ok.” And I hand it to him.
I realize by his reaction that he doesn’t want my character sheet, not really. He takes it. Puts it away with the books. But something tells me that he is not going to save it. I feel a little sad.
David Michael Grouchy II