So I'm relitively new to D&D and my wife and nefews wanted to play so I'm DMing a game on Saturdays, 1st time DM and only been a player for a short while on an online campaign. But the game is going rather well, until the gummy bears…
I got a book with a gummy bear ooze enemy that I started using against my players here and there, until one of them asked where these things where coming from. BOOM idea pops and I begin plotting a new quest. I increase the gummy bear population until it's a problem and have the party sent by a queen to investigate. Turns out that was the 1st mistake.
Since the 3 nefews playing with us are completely new to D&D we've been trying to help them get into character and roleplay. They're still working on that but they are improveing, but an investigation was not their skill set. My wife tries to give them a chance to solve the mystery but they just pushed it on her to solve. They end up finding a trail after an NPC named Jim was taken, the party had not met Jim but for some unkown reason made it their mission to save Jim! (Jim was not the only missing NPC so it was interesting to see them get so attached to some rando they didn't actually meet)
So the "investigation" led the party to a tower, the walls covered in a sweet smelling slime. Floor after floor of this tower they fought increasingly difficult gummy bear oozes that where getting bigger and bigger, each one not leaving the center of the room, and each one leaving a glowing rune on the floor where they stood. The party made no attempt to remember the runes, nor investigate them. 2nd Mistake
They get to the top of the tower rather easy, most at full health, and face the gummy bear wizard! Who begins villian monologue about how they've fallen for his trap and they came all this way to find him only to be fooled! To which the party, out loud, says, "Who are you?"
The boss just takes a second and is like, "I'm Jim… You've been looking for me? Not sure why now that you're here. I don't know you." The party gives me the 'really DM?' look and Jim the Gummy Bear Wizard raises a magical shield around him, lighting up runes on the ground (hint hint) and summons the actual boss monster, The Gummy Bear Titan! (which I home brewed based on the gummy bear ooze) Mistake #3
Inititive is rolled, the fight begins, and it's going well until we get to the last player in the inititve, who tried to attack the wizard, who is behind his shield, with a crossbow, this player is a 2 weapon style fighter and the only one in the party who's primary weapon doesn't do percing damage, which the gummy bears are resistant too.
Round after round they continue to only do half damage to the creature as that player continues to fire crossbow bolts at the magic shield, which do nothing. I have been very clear that they do nothing and the rest of the party continues to plead for help. Until one player goes down, the initive rolls to the fighter who has a med kit as they don't have a healer, he is the only one who can reach the KOed player, what does he do!? fires his crossbow at the shield that hasn't worked for the last 6 rounds of combat! Mistake #4
Inititive comes back to the downed player, failed death save. Then the Fighter. another turn again the only one who can save the downed player, another crossbow bolt at the shield. Mistake #5
The turns go around the other players are blocked from their down party memeber, trying to kill the Titan so they can get to him. It comes to his turn, make a death save, Nat 1…
The table went silent as this was the 1st party death. The fight did continue and they managed to beat the titan, solve the rune puzzle, and kill Jim the gummy bear wizard, all without the help of the Fighter, but it was too late.
Our 1st player death at the squishy hands of a gummy bear…
[zombify_post]
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