Bye Bye Diederik
Last night I lost my Animal Companion. If you don't play D&D then it might not mean anything to you, but I'm quite bummed. Especially because there were so many occasions that went wrong, and which might've meant me still having my Animal Companion at the end of the fight. Worst of all were the die rolls I made. Meh.
We had entered a room and Diederik (my Animal Companion, a Dire Rat) was standing in front of me, with the rest of the party either to his left or behind me. Suddenly 4 Large Scorpions leapt out on us, 3 of them right next to Diederik. Uh-oh.
According to Murphy's Law, my initiative was lower than that of the DM. And so, 2 Scorpions had a go at my Rat before I had a chance to do something (luckily the third couldn't reach past the other 2). One of them managed to lock him in a grapple, too. He dropped to -5 HP, and on my turn I tried to heal him. Surely enough I rolled a 1, so he only gained 6 HP, and failed my Strength check to try and pry him from the Scorpion's claws. And Diederik also failed his roll, so he was still stuck. And gets an additional 6 HP damage.
Then it's the Scorpions' next turn, and a few claws miss but the sting does strike and hits him for 5 HP. That means that he drops to -10 HP.. and if you know the game, then you know that -10 HP = a dead Rat. Oh f*ck.
We manage to slay all the animals, find some kind of ring on the finger of a half-eaten arm, and that's when the session ends. Which I'm quite happy about, actually, because now I can think about how I'm going to let my character react to this loss. And whether I'll decide to go for a new Animal Companion, and if so what kind and when. But not during this current mission, anyway. I will, however, become extra fierce to the inhabitants of the cave we were exploring - I doubt the party will like me throwing myself into the fray, but it sounds like something my character might do. After all, he is a Dwarf. Sure, he's a Druid who understands the cycle of life and death, but he's still a Dwarf - pretty easily pissed and vengeful and acts like a bull to a red cloth to whoever is remotely responsible for the death of his buddy for the past 5 levels.
Next session is cancelled due to the DM being on holiday, so I've got 4 weeks to think this over. And get used to not having a Dire Rat anymore.. :(
Love, Cherry.
We had entered a room and Diederik (my Animal Companion, a Dire Rat) was standing in front of me, with the rest of the party either to his left or behind me. Suddenly 4 Large Scorpions leapt out on us, 3 of them right next to Diederik. Uh-oh.
According to Murphy's Law, my initiative was lower than that of the DM. And so, 2 Scorpions had a go at my Rat before I had a chance to do something (luckily the third couldn't reach past the other 2). One of them managed to lock him in a grapple, too. He dropped to -5 HP, and on my turn I tried to heal him. Surely enough I rolled a 1, so he only gained 6 HP, and failed my Strength check to try and pry him from the Scorpion's claws. And Diederik also failed his roll, so he was still stuck. And gets an additional 6 HP damage.
Then it's the Scorpions' next turn, and a few claws miss but the sting does strike and hits him for 5 HP. That means that he drops to -10 HP.. and if you know the game, then you know that -10 HP = a dead Rat. Oh f*ck.
We manage to slay all the animals, find some kind of ring on the finger of a half-eaten arm, and that's when the session ends. Which I'm quite happy about, actually, because now I can think about how I'm going to let my character react to this loss. And whether I'll decide to go for a new Animal Companion, and if so what kind and when. But not during this current mission, anyway. I will, however, become extra fierce to the inhabitants of the cave we were exploring - I doubt the party will like me throwing myself into the fray, but it sounds like something my character might do. After all, he is a Dwarf. Sure, he's a Druid who understands the cycle of life and death, but he's still a Dwarf - pretty easily pissed and vengeful and acts like a bull to a red cloth to whoever is remotely responsible for the death of his buddy for the past 5 levels.
Next session is cancelled due to the DM being on holiday, so I've got 4 weeks to think this over. And get used to not having a Dire Rat anymore.. :(
Love, Cherry.