Tim Cain, the creator of Fallout, reports on YouTube about a legendary D&D player who outpaced everyone in a competition over 30 years ago with an invisible monk.
What kind of developer is this? The enthusiastic fan is none other than Tim Cain, the creator of the post-apocalyptic role-playing series Fallout.
Even though the setting differs greatly from a medieval-inspired fantasy world, Fallout operates on similar principles as Dungeons and Dragons. Therefore, it is not surprising that the developer has a fondness for the well-known tabletop game.
In a video on his YouTube channel, he now recounts a legendary D&D player who ran away with the competition more than 30 years ago.
The surprise hit Baldur’s Gate 3 is based on the D&D rules and has sparked a renewed hype around the tabletop RPG. The cover image features a monk from Baldur’s Gate 3.
Developer reports on D&D competition from the 90s
What kind of hero was that? Cain talks about the winner of a D&D competition he heard about in 1993 at a gaming convention in California. Participants of the “1 Million XP Dungeon” received 1 million experience points to create a character and guide it through a complex dungeon.
The experience points could either be used for level-ups or converted 1:1 into gold to purchase magical items. As such, some players were able to reach a high level, while others relied more on items, with most, according to Cain, landing somewhere between these extremes.
The participants played in groups of 3 to 5 players with a dungeon master. Whoever reached the dungeon’s goal first among all players was supposed to win the competition.
An invisible monk ran through the dungeon
This is how the player proceeded: As Cain recalls, the winner chose a human monk, whom he brought to level 11 with 700,000 XP – or 700,001 XP. According to the First Edition rules at the time, the monk would have had a speed value of 25 – faster than a horse and almost twice as fast as all other characters, even under the influence of Haste.
In addition to his speed, the monk could draw upon useful resistances and immunities and had the ability to take no damage with a successful saving throw and only half damage with a failed throw.
The remaining points were used by the player to acquire 3 magical items: A Cloak of Protection, which gave him +5 on the saving throw, further boosted by a Scarab of Protection. Crucial to the strategy was a Ring of Air Elemental Command, which made the hero invisible and allowed him to fly.
Cain reports: When the DM gave the signal, the monk made himself invisible and simply ran off. With his extreme speed as well as the ability to fly over traps and remain hidden from opponents, the player was presumably unstoppable.
According to the developer’s account, he reached the goal even before most players had properly started. The monk’s victory was so pronounced that the organizers changed the rules for future competitions, requiring players to collaborate on some of the puzzles.
Here you can listen to Cain’s version of the events:
Are there any clues about the hero? Cain says that although he knows many details about the course of the competition and has heard the story from several people, he cannot find any clues online. The developer suspects: Either no one ever wrote down the story, or it was some kind of fever dream.
In the comments on YouTube, there are some players who participated in similar competitions in the 80s and 90s, but nobody seems to remember the mysterious monk.
Do you remember similar legends from your D&D days? Feel free to share them with us in the comments.
Cain entertains viewers on YouTube not only with D&D anecdotes from the 90s but also provides insight into the creation of his own games. You can find more about this here on MeinMMO: The creator of Fallout explains why beans play an important role in the wasteland
