In Dungeons & Dragons the dungeons that bear their name are often the focal point. A group was placed into a dungeon that nearly cost them the lives of their characters.
What kind of dungeon did the group have to enter? As user Multishock4 reported in his thread on Reddit, the Dungeon Master placed his group in a dungeon full of crazy puzzles and dangers. Their highlight was a library that was literally explosive.
For in the books were hidden 4 explosive sigils per page, each storing the spell Fireball at level 8. With nearly 1000 books of about 230 pages, this would result in a minimum damage of 23,920,000 fire damage if the group caused them to explode.
This amount of damage would have killed the whole group multiple times, and they were additionally under pressure, as it only required sounds exceeding the volume of a whisper to trigger the spells. A mere lapse in attention or a loudly spoken word from the group would have meant a sudden end to the adventure.
However, that was not the only hurdle they faced, and the ideas of the Dungeon Master received much acclaim in the comments.
Of Shadow Ballerinas, War Gods, and Lost Feathers
What else did the group struggle with? In some comments, Multishock4 brings up additional examples that their Dungeon Master threw at them. They also encountered:
- A plane made entirely of light, where they had to face a shadow ballerina.
- A room full of weapons, where they had to find feather-shaped knives to use on a phoenix statue. Some of them were fakes that released harmful gas when inserted into the statue.
- A battle against an ancient war god to retrieve the stolen blessings of the paladin.
- A hydra that transformed into a cat when they fed it sufficiently.
How are the ideas received by the community? In the comments on the thread on Reddit, the ideas of the Dungeon Master are well-received. Many ask follow-up questions, others celebrate the ideas and consider incorporating them themselves, while others feel reminded of a similar situation from the video game Baldur’s Gate 3:
- The_Suited_Lizard wonders: “Was it a real library or an attempt by a wizard to build an atomic bomb? Because, holy shit!”
- DerangedDragonBorn celebrates: “I guess borrowing the books is a hell of a venture? Lmao, sounds like crazy D&D fun, fr”
- InsurgentTatsumi chimes in: “It should be safe as long as you have a wizard with counter-magic.”
- plontonik notes: “Sounds like your DM played BG3.”
In Baldur’s Gate 3, there is a situation where you visit a magical library where the books similarly react sensitively to loud noises. In dialogue, you have the option to stay quiet or yell at the books, which causes them to explode – though not as extensively with giant fireballs as with Multishock4’s group.
In Dungeons & Dragons there are many ways to express oneself creatively. In another group, a player took the opportunity to play out his dream romance. However, the Dungeon Master had other plans and ensured that the player cannot forgive him even 20 years later: A player had his heart broken so badly in Dungeons & Dragons that he hasn’t forgiven his DM even after 20 years
