Rare Times I Have Gotten to Play

So last time I told the story of how I am the “Forever” DM. which is mostly true. I have had sometimes where I’ve been allowed to play on rare occasions.

They were really only a few times in recent history when I’ve been able to play instead of running a game: one time during Adventurers League when I had a new DM to vet, so I played at one of my other League tables.

We were playing Dungeon of the Mad Mage. I had enough DM rewards to create a character of appropriate level, which at this point was 9th level. They had gone back up to the first level for some reason, when my character joined. I was playing an aasimar defender cleric of Kelemvor (death domain; I earned it from the previous season’s Tomb of Annihilation) named Azrael (after the angel of death). He was a very martial, Lawful Neutral, no-nonsense kind of guy. He led by example.

Hey in case, the party was on level one, deciding to do a clearing job of each level. This led them to the goblin bazaar. The goblin with the funny circlet was really getting on Azrael’s nerves. So he decided to take action.

He simply walked up to this goblin in disguise, and took off his circlet. he then proceeded to pick up the goblin by the scruff of the neck and explain to him, and no uncertain circumstances, that he was the boss now. He demanded that the goblin acknowledge his new boss. The DM explained and described how a puddle of yellow liquid was forming it on the floor beneath him. I smiled. I asked him where his treasure lay. He pointed me to his back room. Going back there, he smiled seeing his four bugbear bodyguards. Azrael called them together, almost conspiratoriously, asking to speak with them. I asked the DM how they were approaching, spread out or all together. He said they approached together looking as if they thought their strength in numbers was an advantage.

The rest of the party waited outside, mind you.

When they got close enough, I told the DM: “I cast flame strike.”

He looked at me, with eyes wide open. “Wait, what was that?”

“You heard me, I said, ‘I cast flame strike.'”

He describes a heavenly column of flames engulfing all of the bug bears as I roll out my dice, tallying up over 35 points of damage. Those bugbears were absolutely toast. Literally.

I brought the sniveling goblin up to face me, again by the scruff of his neck.

“Who’s in charge?” Azrael asked the goblin.

“You are, sir! You are definitely in charge.

I can’t remember much of what happened after that, but everyone did seem to be having a good time, and I really enjoyed getting to play my clarity, even if it was the only and last time I got to play in.