I wrote in a previous article that your most memorable moments in role-playing games are usually the results of your most spectacular failures. This came to mind when one of my players asked me to create a top 10 list of the best moments of our campaign that had just ended. Strangely, nine of the ten, were blunders, mishaps, and catastrophic events for the players-but they were awesome!

So here's my finest moment in an RPG.

My character from an old 2nd edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign was Grimbernne Ironshanks, dwarven fighter; Tons of hit points, covered in steel mail, and hell on wheels with a longsword. Gruff, rude, opinionated, yet somehow a natural born leader.

Fast forward a few years.

We spent literally months of campaign time working our way to the lair of an ancient red dragon, living in the mountain ruins of an ancient dwarven kingdom that he had laid waste to generations ago. We discovered deep in the ruins a dwarven arch-lich, a former subject of the kingdom, who for the last two hundred years has been doing nothing but forging a powerful dragon-slaying sword. He handed the sword over to us, then vanished into dust.

When our heroes finally arrive at the chamber of the ancient red dragon, Grimbernne rushes the dragon wielding this newly-found, newly-forged, mighty, dragon-slaying sword. The dragon acts first (primarily because dwarves have short little legs) and unleashes his most terrifying weapon: a fiery blast of dragon breath. But Grimbernne is totally prepared for such an attack. He is wearing a ring of fire protection, red dragon-scale armor, and an arumvorax cloak (a fire-resistance, gold-eating badger for those not in the know). The only way Grimbernne could possibly fail this saving throw is by rolling a...

(clatter) "...1..."

Grimbernne sucks up 88 points of fire damage. Except now, all of his items need to roll saving throws against magical fire. Fortunately metal has a great save against magical fire, so the only way a +5 dragon slaying sword will fail and be destroyed is if I roll a...

(clatter) "...1..."

Yes, I charge into battle wielding a sword that his been magically forged for the last 200 years by a dwarven arch-lich for the sole purpose of slaying this ancient red dragon, and it is vaporized before I even get a chance to swing it at him. We laughed and laughed and laughed. Sure we managed to kill the dragon anyway, but I'm pretty sure that dwarven arch-lich came back and is forging a sword just to kill Grimbernne with....

Learn more about this author, Matt Lau.
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