Petrified Player Characters and how to Cure them

[dansteeby]

Yes, the subject sounds like another JK Rowling film, and no I wouldn't complain if it actually was one.

On top of hitting up the Troll Lords' booth at Garycon for lots of awesome books that have not been found on my local comic shop's shelves, I also picked up the Monster Alphabet from Goodman Games, and have been having fun creating unique monsters for my homegame using that fun little book. Perhaps I got a little ambitious, in that I rolled out a flock of Fey Helmuth-raptors on them, which were dinosaur-headed, worm-bodied, horrors that flitted through the air on no less than 3 sets of dragonfly wings, packed a nasty bite, and even had a petrifying gaze attack from their insect-like compound eyes, which were constantly flashing in hypnotic red patterns and throwing off what I described as red sparks as they assaulted the party. 3 of the 4 players were slowed by the gaze attacks (1st failed save), and one was petrified (2nd failed save).

This is the 1st brush with 'character death' in my homegame, or at least the closest I've bother to bring them to the real deal. Half my players are noobs and this is their 1st time playing an RPG that doesn't involve a Nintendo in their lives, so I've been pretty gracious. My adventure style is definately 'high adventure' and I do tend to balance my encounters pretty heavily in my players' favor. So a petrified bard in the party has lead to much upset and trepidation by the players. Yes, its probably my own fault for not have already killing them like a good old school DM by now anyway, and the party is now carrying with them a petrified halfling (at least it wasn't a hulking half-orc, right?) and I'm thinking a side quest is in order to save their companion.

I've given a cursory glance through the PHB spells and googled "de-petrification", which pulled up a few spells from AD&D rules that would do the trick, along with some recommendations of chiselling and some other jokes. It looks like the most appropriate spell from C&C would be Dispell Magic, which no-one in the party can cast. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with de-petrifying characters without access to this spell, and also without access to a nearby town rife with high-level clerics to hire to do the job. In my campaign, the PC's have just stepped through a planar gate into Fairyland-- which I'll probably be borrowing heavily from Skottie Young's "I Hate Fairyland" comic to describe to the players (should be fun). But in the meantime, they'll have no contacts in this strange realm, and I'd like to throw a few sessions at them where they need to quest for either the right components to end the petrification or to win the favor of a magic user to cast the spell for them. I'm always interested in the input from other, more experienced CK's as well as any zany ideas anyone here may have.

[Captain_K]

Transmute Flesh and Stone by a wizard (the reverse obviously), a divine favor, likely the limited wish and wish.. all are high level, but then, you hit them with something tough. Make them work as a team to carefully drag the bard to someone who can, for "a price", bring them back to flesh.. all in the name of the next encounter. The spell is cheap so the wizard casting it really isn't out much.

[mmbutter]

Dispel Magic won't work - the description specifically mentions that it only works against magic with on-going effects, not "instantaneous" magic. Petrification is "instantaneous". As mentioned previously, Transmute Flesh and Stone is the appropriate spell. They might find a scroll with that spell somewhere as well...

[Lurker]

Dans

Funny you mention this, and Capt K hung that answer, something similar came up a few months ago with the Monday night game ... we found a ring that had 2 or 3 spells of stone to flesh saved on it, then a few games later we found a room that had 4 'statues' of adventure types - the dwarf knowing stone work could tell they were real people transmuted to stone. So we were careful (a rarity for our group) and avoided the monster's ambush in the next room that would have transmuted some of us ( so we didn't need the ring for us like the module assumed). Later we found an evil wizard (or was it a cleric,, I can't remember) also turned to stone.

That lead to a big discussion on what to do after we had finished the adventure and cleared out the dungeon ... the good guys in the party (including me) didn't want to leave the adventures there to suffer for eternity, and didn't want to leave the evil guy there incase a friend of his came and released him ... but the not so good guys in the party didn't want to use such valuable spells on 'not party members' . What to do ... we eventually used the girdle of giant strength, a few fly spells, and our magic folding boat, to get them all out of the dungeon, back to the duke's town, and have him and the temples we have been tithing to and buying potions from and helping send the transmuted NPCs to a city that had spell casters high enough to free them, and to hold and try/ punish the evil guy for being evil.

After the game we talked about possible solutions ... the only thing we could think of was transmute (reverse of flesh to stone) or wish. there may be a few iffy ones out there that the GM could bend to rules to allow them to work, but that would be a generous DM

[Go0gleplex]

It is not a spell per se, but in some myths Medusa possessed a golden needle which she used to restore her petrified victims to flesh...before devouring them.

[Lurker]

It is not a spell per se, but in some myths Medusa possessed a golden needle which she used to restore her petrified victims to flesh...before devouring them.

Cool, I never heard of that ... it could be an adventure in itself . I like it !!!

[dansteeby]

Wow! What a wealth of ideas and directions to go in! Thanks all. I thought Dispell Magic seemed like an awfully 'light' way out of the situation at hand, even though my players are all low level enough that none of them could cast it. Great to hear they'll need to do something more epic than find a nearby 5th level cleric or something equally mundane.

[serleran]

Asudem can reverse the process, for a price, which is more like a lamia.

[Lurker]

Asudem can reverse the process, for a price, which is more like a lamia.

Oh good point .... just what are you willing to pay .... slipping my devil's advocate hat on

[dansteeby]

This Asudem ... is this Aihdre lore? I don't actually own any of the setting books (yet), but do like the idea of a quest, and have not thrown a lamia at the party yet.

[Go0gleplex]

This Asudem ... is this Aihdre lore? I don't actually own any of the setting books (yet), but do like the idea of a quest, and have not thrown a lamia at the party yet.

It's the male Medusa I believe and was included in the 2ed D&D Monster Manual binder expansion sets. I would have to go digging to confirm that though.

[serleran]

Male medusa, in 2nd edition, are called maeder.

Asudem is a nilbogginized medusa. Or a new creature. Not from Aihrde. Not from anywhere. Just a reversal of the name so, naturally, a reversal of ability.

[Go0gleplex]

Male medusa, in 2nd edition, are called maeder.

Asudem is a nilbogginized medusa. Or a new creature. Not from Aihrde. Not from anywhere. Just a reversal of the name so, naturally, a reversal of ability.

Oh. My bad then. But the Maedar still has the ability to reverse the petrification as well...for meals for him and his mate.