How an ambitious alchemist and a corrupted druid destroyed an entire campaign (Dancing weasels included)

In this story we see how an alchemists life's work, an a druid turned evil and an uncommon magic item and a thirst for vengeance ruined the lives of six adventurers.


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5 comments, 10 points

I’ve been playing D&D for a few years now, and ever since I found all things d&d I’ve been waiting for a story like this to happen to me so that I could share it with the world. 

I go to a middle school that’s just across the street from the school my friend goes to, and we would always walk home together to play D&D during the school year. This all started when he asked me if I wanted to join a campaign he was running with some of his other friends. I really loved creating characters in my spare time, so I had alot of them who I wanted to try, so I agreed. He told me that sessions would take place in his backyard, that all the players would be using standard array for ability scores, cause otherwise the first level players would be too powerful. 

I created an alcoholic goblin monk way of the drunken master, who’s entire village was killed by a tribe of orcs, and a head injury made it so that he had no recollection of his past life. He was taken in by an old man who taught him how to harness the power of alchohol to his benefit. I also asked the DM if I could have been trained to resist the worse effects of alchohol, and he agreed. 

Our party consisted of a Dragonborn paladin oath of vengeance who’s family was also killed by orcs, a half-orc rogue cursed with a baby-voice that came out when he was stressed (for humor reasons,) and- this is the most important member- a Firbolg druid circle of the moon. As it turns out the DM forgot to tell the Druid and the rogue to use standard array they rolled their characters, which everyone was more or less fine with.

A few sessions later we were joined by a Triton calvalier who rode a land shark and a Tortle Monk way of the four elements who had rolled his character. Since I had standard array and he had rolled really well for his ability scores, he was able to out-monk me in everything, making my chatacter useless. So I quicky rolled up a goblin alchemist from Eberron who was the sister of my previous character, and I made her have dedicated her life to creating an elixer that could grant you unlimited knowledge by mixing the world’s most deadliest poison with a wish spell. 

The session that I swappeds characters, we attacked an abandoned Orc base where we encountered a hord of undead orcs. Me and the druid killed most of them by casting grease and spike growth on the same place, so they slipped and fell on the spikes, killing most of them, while the monk drew their attention and the few javelins that hit him he deflected and threw back at them. When the orcs were killed, we went to the other rooms and discovered that these were the orcs who killed our paladin’s family, so he was at peace. 

Looking for ingredients for my poison, I found a black mist, which, after casting detect magic, I determind was full of necrotic energy.  I told the DM “I get one of my vials and put some of the mist in it.” The DM describes as the mist slowly eats through the vile, and I put it into a container with thicker glass. I worry for a second when he says it starts to eat through the glass, but take a sigh of relief as he tells me that it slowly comes to a stop. We then searched the base and found enough gold pieces to give each of us five thousand gp.

Later on we are shopping at the cart of one of the local merchants. Originally our DM said that they had many magical items of all rarities, but after looking at our stats after we bought the items with the gold we found, he withdrew the magic items, and decided we only found a thousand gp each. The session ended there.

The next session, we left the merchant’s stand and were jumped by a couple ettins. We beat them easily, with our druid turning into a spider and repeadetly restrained one of them, and when he was dead everyone easily defeated the other one, while I kept him distracted. 

After the fight, the druid injected poison into the blood of one of the dead ettins to insult it while it was down. I decided to take a sample of his blood and mix it into the vial with the necrotic mist. The DM described as it turns into a dark misty liquid. I put a drop on a tree, and the DM suggested “Have you considered putting it on a copse?” “Good idea,” I respond. “I place a drop on the Ettin’s arm and a drop in it’s mouth” The DM tells me that the drop on his arm sizzles through the flesh, but after the other drop goes down his throat, he flails and gets up, standing there. “I smash his fac-” the druid starts, but the DM interupts him. “The Ettin is motionless. It’s not hostile.” I approach the Ettin.

“Will you answer any question I ask?” I say to the Ettin. “Yes,” it responds. “What are the potential powers of the mist?” I ask. “The mist has the capabilities to bring anything back from the dead,” it says. “Can it be used,” I start, “As a poison?” There’s a small pause. “Yes,” it responds. 

Everyone at the table stares at me, as I have now revealed that part of my project involves a poison, and they are obviously very curious. Later, our monk uses a feature granted by his hermit backround to recieve a vision on what would happen if I used my poison, and saw a demon killing everyone in the party. He discussed this with me, and I said that I would take the potion when no one else was around, so that  I would be the ony one at risk, and he agreed. 

Later, we arrived at a dying forest to retrieve an ancient ring hidden in a crypt. I tried to take samples of the treebark from the dying trees, but it crumbled when I touched it. Horrified by the dying trees, our druid attempted to cast plant growth on them, but when he did, he heard voices of death in his head, telling him secrets of necromancy, dealing psychic damage to him, and telling him how to influence undead. Later, we came across a ditch in the forest, and in the ditch were zombies moaning, with spikes sticking through their stomachs and holding them in place. 

The druid roars “EVIL!” and says to the DM that he goes down there and casts thunderwave. The DM warns him that the cliff is steep and he would probably fall onto the spikes and die. I had a soloution though. I had created an elixer of flight as my experimental elixer, and so I offered to give it to him on the condition that he gives me a sample of the zombie blood, and gave him an empty vile to put it in. He sighed, but agreed to do it. He slowly floated back down, and when he was in the middle of the ditch, a loud boom errupted from him and all the zombies were destroyed. He kept his word, going over to one of the shattered corpses and collecting a sample of the blood.

When he got back to us, he gave me the zombie blood and I mixed it into my elixer, but I am disappointed when the DM tells me that the potion doesn’t look very different. And then the DM says something that horryfies us. “You do realize that thunderwave can be heard by anyone within 300ft., right?” 

No one says anything as the DM describes 400 wights emerging from the forest, with a wraith at the front. I start wieghing my options here, cause I know they could kill us within a round, when the DM, wanting to have mercy on us and to add a little humour, decides the Wraith steps forward and says, “Me and my army will spare your miserable lives, if you can beat me in a dance off!” I was about to ready grease for when the Wraith starts dancing when he cuts in “Only one rule! No interference!” 

The dance-off ends early when our rogue succesfully does a backflip and our druid decides to add even more humour and start dancing as a weasel, and apperently the Wraith isn’t a very good dancer, because he gives up right then and there. “Very well,” the Wraith says. “What are your demands?” I speak up first. “I want a sample of your essence!” I announce, before anyone else can speak, bringing the vile I was making my poison in. “Very well,” he says, filling the vile with his essence before I close it again. But while stirring it, I turn to the monk who looked at me warily and said six words: “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” 

After that we found a small cave where we could rest for the night, and we each had a small alcove in it. In my alcove, I made an arcana check to see if my poison was deadly enough for use, and with a nat-twenty, the DM determind that it was so strong I would only need a minor spell for it to work, such as purify food and drink, which I had prepared. The monk looked at me, and was about to speak when I said “I keep my word. I will take this alone, and none of you will be at risk.” Though later, alone in my alcove, I was worried that the people who I was traveling with would attempt to ruin my life’s work. So I got another vile out, and started to pour half the liquid from one vile to another, which would give me a backup poison. But while the potion was in mid-air, time seemed to stop around me, and a demon appeared, much like the one in the monk’s vision. At first I thought she would kill me, but all she did was speak. “You have no idea what you’re doing! Once I am freed, nothing will stop me!” She then disappeared and time resumed, and half the potion went pouring into the bottle. After a couple arcana checks, I determind that a purify-food and drink spell would release the demon, but I wasn’t sure if a wish spell would do the same, so I asked the monk to do some research, because he was the only other who knew of the risk, and he agreed for the sake of the party. 

Later that night, the druid turned into a spider and snuck out of the cave. He told this to the DM infront of all of us, so we were all suspicious. The DM took the druid away to discuss the events of him sneaking out privatley. They were gone for quite a bit, only coming back once to retrieve dice. When they came back to the table, the DM says “You wake up the next morning to see the druid gone.”  I immediately start making investigation checks to look for clues while others take the help action to give me advantage. Later, using our monks survival, we tracked him down to the crypt we were looking for. Outside the crypt were three gouls sleeping on the ground. When we ask if we have to make stealth checks to get around the gouls, the DM tells us that the gouls are so fast asleep that they can’t be woken up. Inside the crypt, we find a crossbow bolt sticking out of the wall, stained with blood. After a succesful investigation check, I determind it to be the blood of a Firbolg, and it didn’t take long for us to make the connection to our druid. I cast detect magic on myself, and dicovered that there was no magic in this room, but I did find a machine presumably shot the crossbow bolt, which our rogue disarmed using theives tools. 

When we turned the corner, we found many undead surrounding the corpse of the druid, and we all gasped, shocked. However, I still had detect magic, and I could sense magic that wasn’t necromancy in this room. With a succesful Arcana check, I determind that the corpse of our friend was an illusion, though the undead were very real. I was determind find out if our druid was trying to trick us, or if he was being held prisoner. To get to the other side, I cast invisiblity on myself, and walked to a door on the other side. When I opened it, a hail fo arrows came my way. A few of them hit, but then I pointed out to the DM that I was invisible, so the attacks had disadvantage. When he re-rolled, all of them went right over my head, missing me completley. 

I looked around the room and saw five wights, zombie ogres, trolls, and sitting on a throne at the other side of the room was a tiefling, wearing a ring that I could see was filled with necrotic energy. 

I quickly made an investigation check to find the druid, and managed to see a spider spinning a web and going right above the Tiefling’s head, and I was confident that it was the druid. I went behind the tiefling and attempted to snatch it out of the air in my hand. The DM told me to roll slight of hand.

12

The druid rolled acrobatics and got a nine, and they spent a couple long faitful minutes looking for the stats of a spider. They then came to the conclusion that he had a +2 in acrobatics, making it so he just failed. 

I snatched him in my hands and started walking towards the exit, when he turned back to his reular form and landed in front of me “You again,” the tiefling said. “What do you have to offer this time?” He then responded something that shocked the whole table. “I’m offering to turn her in,” pointing to the spot where I was. 

Realizing I had been found out, my character backed up and shouted “DIE, TRAITOR!” and cast melph’s acid arrow. “You realize you will lose your invisiblity?” the DM asked. I nodded. Now my character was fuled purely by vengeance. I delt about 24 acid damage, because my subclass alowed me to add my intelligence modifier to acid damage I deal. “Kill him,” the Tiefling said, and her wights ran over to me, and all tried to hit me with their longswords. miraclously, all of their attacks got seven and below, and I managed to doge them all. But I knew the situation I was in, and I knew that battling just the druid would nearly kill me, but with his backup there was no way I would win. I got on one knee and surrendered, and they took my armour and my alchemists supplies, rendering me useless. The Tiefling then turned to the druid. “I still see no use for you,” and they both telported away, and all the undead crumpled to nothing. I went back to the alcove, angry at the druid, and so I wanted to know where the Tiefling took him so that I could kill him. First I contacted the local villages and put a bounty of 1000 GP on his head. I also, to get his location, I cast purify food and drink on the poison and drank it. Everyone stared at me, while I glared daggers at the druid’s player. The DM tells me that I do not gain any knowledge, but I do summon in a demon lord with a CR of 28. Everyone is silent exept for the Paladin, who says, “I pray to the gods!” The DM responds “Roll a D100”

30

The DM describes as about 15 gods descend from the sky and the demon lord hisses. They wave their hand and she disappeared, banished to the demonwaste in Eberron, where she came from. The Gods then turned to us and shouted. “YOU BROUGHT HER HERE. IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO FACE YOUR PUNISHMENT! AND THE WORLD SHE CAME FROM!” At first I thought they were going to kill us, but then a portal appeared and we were banished to Eberron. There, my alchemist filled with shame for being so foolish, and said that she was not worthy of magic, and renounced it, becoming a fighter. The campaign had to end there, because everything the DM had planed had turned to ashes. 

It turns out, while the druid was sneaking out, he went to the crypt, harnassed the power of the whispers to make the gouls fall asleep, but got shot by the crossbow bolt in the hallway. After healing himself, we convinced the undead outside the room that he was friendly, and created the illousion that he had been killed outside. Inside, he attempted to take the ring, which, as it turns out, was an uncommon magic item that allowed you to control up to ten undead with a max CR of 5. But the Tiefling ordered her undead to attack, and he narrowly managed to escape, and was trying to get the ring back when I found him. 

To this day, I still don’t know why the druid betrayed the group, but my feeling was at first he wanted to go to the crypt himself, wanting to destroy the undead, but once he found his power over the undead, he wanted to harnass it, changing his alignment to evil, and wanting to take the ring knowing it had power over undead.

As soon as the session ended, the duid apologized to the party for turning evil, and the DM aplogized for letting it happen. We said it was okay, and agreed to start a new campaign later. I’m going to be the DM for this campagin, and I think it’s going to go well. My only hope is that the players don’t turn evil and try to kill each other like they did in this one. 


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