A short, incomplete list of possible pool contents (derived from personal experience as both gamer and DM): Acid Poison Water Gateway to another dimension Some sort of liquid monster Ordinary water with monsters living in it Ordinary water containing a curse Magical potions
Most magic potion pools contain only one kind of potion. Those that carry several types (effects usually determined by random dice roll) often cause problems for dungeon-delvers who take more than one drink (sometimes the potions mix, and the effects can include internal explosions- this is usually fatal).
Kingsley failed to mention that the LAST such pool we encountered had a voracious appetite for metal. Metal dropped into it INSTANTLY corroded to uselessness. A little caution would not, therefore, be unwarranted.
Let us now return to Kingsley's narrative and discover what ELSE he has left unsaid ...
B: Fandrell puts a halberd in it. J: OK, it gets wet.
Hmmm ... No mention of the examination of the metal to see if new corrosion was present. No mention of testing the depth of the pool at the edge and comparison with the height of the stone lip around the pool.
So now Fandrell knows that the pool is fairly shallow- at least at the edge, and extends below the floor level a little bit, does not corrode metal, and is unlikely to be the abode of most monsters.
B: Go get one of the skulls [from the skeletons] and drop it in. J: OK, it gets wet, and it sinks.
So the pool is not full of exotic acids which only react to flesh (see the movie Yellowbeard for an example), and is probably not an abode for carnivorous magic critters. It is also not a Gateway to another dimension activated by contact with body parts.
Now don't get me wrong: Bill is not such a pain-in-the-ass in real life.
A base canard! I am a pain in the ass in real life!
B: Oh boy. [Or some other pansy-ass statement.]
I believe my actual comment was, "Might as well ... so long as its you." Then we all went off on a brief tangent about designing culinary dungeons, crawling through same with our tongues, having Emeril be the DM, etc.
J: [Rolls] Fandrell adds subtracts one from his armor class. [Meaning he's now harder to hit.]
OK. This is not an ommission, but Kingsley sure did botch the transcript here. What Jim actually said was "Fandrell permanently subtracts one from his armor class." Chuck and I said, "Sweet!" Kingsley went off on a long, sullen pout about the "fact" that he got rooked by the die roll. This prolonged hissy-fit on Kingsley's part was to continue for some time ... right up until Fandrell "died".
B: You can always try it again.
Nope. Kingsley suggested taking another taste. I said it would probably be a bad idea. While Fandrell was talking Calen out of the idea, the NPC (non-player character- someone we met in the dungeon who is controlled by the DM) with us took another drink and developed the ability to see hidden things. At that point, Calen couldn't be stopped.
K: Yeah: Calen takes another taste. J: [Rolls] Calen falls down unconscious. Bill has Fandrell revive Calen.
At this point, I take a look at the odds. I figured about 50-50 at this point that the next drinker would get zapped by something. Fandrell has the best chance of surviving most such events (better "saving throw" scores), so Fandrell takes the next taste.
I would like to point out that I did not weep, gnash my teeth, wail, complain, or engage in a prolonged snit when I thought Fandrell had died. I also did not try to convince Kingsley and Chuck to try and get Fandrell "miracled" back to life in town (they very courteously volunteered to do so on their own- even though it would very likely have taken every scrap of money we had). I would also like to point out that Kingsley's wailing and gnashing of teeth resumed immediately upon learning that Fandrell's death was only temporary.
Acid
Poison
Water
Gateway to another dimension
Some sort of liquid monster
Ordinary water with monsters living in it
Ordinary water containing a curse
Magical potions
Most magic potion pools contain only one kind of potion. Those that carry several types (effects usually determined by random dice roll) often cause problems for dungeon-delvers who take more than one drink (sometimes the potions mix, and the effects can include internal explosions- this is usually fatal).
Kingsley failed to mention that the LAST such pool we encountered had a voracious appetite for metal. Metal dropped into it INSTANTLY corroded to uselessness. A little caution would not, therefore, be unwarranted.
Let us now return to Kingsley's narrative and discover what ELSE he has left unsaid ...
B: Fandrell puts a halberd in it.
J: OK, it gets wet.
Hmmm ... No mention of the examination of the metal to see if new corrosion was present. No mention of testing the depth of the pool at the edge and comparison with the height of the stone lip around the pool.
So now Fandrell knows that the pool is fairly shallow- at least at the edge, and extends below the floor level a little bit, does not corrode metal, and is unlikely to be the abode of most monsters.
B: Go get one of the skulls [from the skeletons] and drop it in.
J: OK, it gets wet, and it sinks.
So the pool is not full of exotic acids which only react to flesh (see the movie Yellowbeard for an example), and is probably not an abode for carnivorous magic critters. It is also not a Gateway to another dimension activated by contact with body parts.
Now don't get me wrong: Bill is not such a pain-in-the-ass in real life.
A base canard! I am a pain in the ass in real life!
B: Oh boy. [Or some other pansy-ass statement.]
I believe my actual comment was, "Might as well ... so long as its you." Then we all went off on a brief tangent about designing culinary dungeons, crawling through same with our tongues, having Emeril be the DM, etc.
J: [Rolls] Fandrell adds subtracts one from his armor class. [Meaning he's now harder to hit.]
OK. This is not an ommission, but Kingsley sure did botch the transcript here. What Jim actually said was "Fandrell permanently subtracts one from his armor class." Chuck and I said, "Sweet!" Kingsley went off on a long, sullen pout about the "fact" that he got rooked by the die roll. This prolonged hissy-fit on Kingsley's part was to continue for some time ... right up until Fandrell "died".
B: You can always try it again.
Nope. Kingsley suggested taking another taste. I said it would probably be a bad idea. While Fandrell was talking Calen out of the idea, the NPC (non-player character- someone we met in the dungeon who is controlled by the DM) with us took another drink and developed the ability to see hidden things. At that point, Calen couldn't be stopped.
K: Yeah: Calen takes another taste.
J: [Rolls] Calen falls down unconscious.
Bill has Fandrell revive Calen.
At this point, I take a look at the odds. I figured about 50-50 at this point that the next drinker would get zapped by something. Fandrell has the best chance of surviving most such events (better "saving throw" scores), so Fandrell takes the next taste.
I would like to point out that I did not weep, gnash my teeth, wail, complain, or engage in a prolonged snit when I thought Fandrell had died. I also did not try to convince Kingsley and Chuck to try and get Fandrell "miracled" back to life in town (they very courteously volunteered to do so on their own- even though it would very likely have taken every scrap of money we had). I would also like to point out that Kingsley's wailing and gnashing of teeth resumed immediately upon learning that Fandrell's death was only temporary.
Bill
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