Heres the tale... It is somewhat sad for me to think back on all the firsts in gaming Ill never get to experience again. The first creature defeated. The first suit of chain mail armor I could afford. The first trap that made me truly fear the dungeon might become my grave. Introducing my older son to the game renewed, in a vicarious way, my own thrill of those first times. I recall one of his first adventures in which the party entered a widened hallway scattered with puddles on the floor and festooned with stone dragon heads - mouths gaping open - along both walls. Now, any veteran gamer would have seen the danger coming from a mile away. But this crew marched forth with only passing suspicion that something was amiss. The only veteran at the table (my older brother) kept his experience to himself so that he too could enjoy the reaction when it all went south. True to form, one of the adventurers stepped on a flagstone that depressed into the floor. The entrances to the hall slammed shut and water began gushing out of the stone heads. As the water began to pool at their feet, my son looked at me for a moment with true concern in his eyes and asked are we going to die? My response was a knowing wink. Over the next few minutes the group worked together to solve the puzzle. When their Perception checks failed to produce a release mechanism my sons Goliath fighter tried to shove his adventurers kit into one of the stone heads to staunch the flow. My nieces dragonborn ranger tried to find a way to lift the stone doors that blocked their egress. My brothers elf fighter - in the spirit of fun and to allow the kids to solve the problem on their own - stood in the middle of the room shouting THE END IS NIGH! MAKE RIGHT WITH THE CREATOR! in absolute panic. The water kept coming. My son had some measure to be concerned. Months earlier I had proven myself to have no shame in killing his characters, familial loyalty be damned. In a Star Wars session he rushed a group of battle droids with his wookiee warrior and ended up a pile of smoking fur as the first casualty suffered at one particular local game store. So when he was put in this situation he knew the danger could be very real. But I learned a long time ago that I can usually throw anything at players and, if there is a way out, they will find it. The Goliath was excellent at athletics so my son had him start diving into the water looking for some alternate way out. This time, however, he specified exactly what he was looking for: bubbles. Pretty crafty for a boy of 8, so I allowed him a second Perception roll, this time with a lower DC. He nailed it. He located a second, loose flagstone that had bubbles coming up from around the edges. He surfaced long enough to tell the others what he had found then they all dove in and began prying the stone up with their blades. It gave way and the water began draining out through the cavity below. As the water emptied out of the hall the trap reset and the doors went up. The look of pride in the kids faces was priceless, as was the posture of relief. But it paled in comparison to my own cathartic feeling that I had just experienced my first trap all over again.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 17:33:44 +0000
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