I enjoy the role play aspect of D&D. While I enjoy puzzling my players and throwing difficult encounters at them, at the end of the day, I consider myself more to the RP side of the DM spectrum.
As a result, I quite enjoy when my players come up with creative solutions and ideas, and generally try to reward them, especially if the idea is in keeping with their character.
The session was just about to start when one of my players says to me, “Look at the last item in my inventory.”
So I look: 2 vials of my own piss
OK, I think, and smile at the player. “Noted.” is all I really say to him.
The group was traveling through the jungles of Maztica, being led along poorly defined trails by a couple of indigenous guides. The morning was uneventful. I rolled for the afternoon: 19. So we were going to have an encounter. I roll a d100 (98) and check out the handy quick match table in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. Apparently 98 is 1d4 giant apes. Roll a d4: 3.
So the group of 4 level 6 six characters is going to encounter 3 giant apes. Not a big deal.
Now, at this point I honestly hadn’t looked a lot at the stat block on giant apes. I’d had a couple players polymorph into one before, but that really only involves a quick glance. The group was pretty tanky overall and typically had an easy time in combat, so I really didn’t think anything of this.
At least not until the first of the three apes threw a rock at the cleric and almost KO-ed him with one shot. Apparently, giant apes can throw a rock for 7d6+6 damage…who knew?
At this point I knew that if I ran the combat all the way through, the party would die. Fortunately, apes are not always perfectly logical creatures, and are not necessarily concerned with wasting time in combat with creatures that they don’t deem as a threat.
So, after throwing his rock, giant ape number one beat his chest and strode off into the jungle again.
The group beat on the second ape until it died, but with one ape left, they were already pretty beat up.
That’s when Flint, the dwarven barbarian, decided to use his special weapon.
“Can I fling one of my special vials as an attack?” he asked.
“Sure.” I replied, “Give me a ranged improvised weapon attack.”
The other players waited anxiously to see what would happen, not knowing what was in this secret vial.
The vial hit, shattered, and released it’s contents all over the ape’s chest. I describe how it’s nostrils flare and it’s eyes widen, understanding this as a challenge.
Flint, using the rest of his action, pounds his chest and yells, making an Intimidation check with advantage. 23 against the ape’s 7.
At this point, everyone else stops to see what’s going to happen, so it passes to the ape. He returns the gesture, feeling somewhat insecure in himself, despite the obvious size advantage that he has over a dwarf. Intimidation checks go about the same as before, with the ape not really gaining much.
Back to Flint. The player describes to me how he takes a flask of alchemist’s fire out of his belt pouch, and smashes it over his head. He’s raging and figures that the damage won’t really be that big of a deal (he’s a path of the totem warrior – bear, barbarian). He then makes another intimidation check, again with advantage, and (secretly) I give him a +5, because seriously, he’s a pissed off dwarf with a drinking problem who’s literally on fire and yelling angrily at this ape. Most of us would be pretty intimidated.
The check well exceeds the ape’s contesting check, and the ape backs down, turns around, and lopes back into the jungle.
Flint continues to watch, while still burning, until the ape is out of sight, the pain from being on fire keeping him enraged until it disappears.
Only then does he permit his party to pat him down, extinguishing the flames, and celebrating their victory.
Afterwards, by way of explanation, the player relayed the following to the group:
“I figure, my character is a dwarf, and an alcoholic. That should make my pee more than a little bit pungent, so I figured, why not weaponize it?”
I love these little moments. I hope you do too.
More to come soon, I hope!