Page 45 of Cosplay & Consequences

The crowd erupted into wild cheers.

“Roll for damage! You need to roll the damage die and double it before adding your Dex modifier,” Brayonna instructed.

Daniel leaned forward, gleefully checking his character sheet. “And if I read this correctly, I can expend my last bardic inspiration to add damage. Does that double as well?”

“It does!” Bray laughed.

Daniel let out a cackle, and the crowd joined in. He rolled his dice and muttered softly to himself, his voice picking up on the microphone. “Okay, that is a six on the die, a four on the inspiration dice, so… twenty-three?”

Brayonna looked over at me. I let the silence hang there for a moment to raise the tension level.

“I had twelve hit points,” I replied.

The entire auditorium screamed and jumped to their feet.

“Sir Roderick of Meh! How do you end this battle?”

Daniel stood up, throwing his arms open to the crowd, milking the moment for all it was worth. “I run up to her on my wee tiny feet. I call out to Grover, using my magical words to heal him. Then I thrust forward, burying my blade to the hilt. As the light starts to fade from her eyes, I say-”

He dropped his voice low, using his Tyrst’an voice. “I guess I’m not so meh after all.”

The crowd cheered and stomped their feet. Daniel bowed, throwing his arms out grandly.

But the game wasn’t over yet.

Bray smiled and turned back to me. “Kismet! Any last words?”

I leaned forward, putting my elbows on the table, and gave Daniel and Brayonna a sly grin. “That depends. Do I get a reaction?”

“Indeed, you do,” Bray cackled.

The crowd gasped. Danny’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

This is where my gaming experience paid off.

“As the light fades from my eyes, I point at Sir Roderick and say, ‘you may be victorious, but I’m taking you with me!’” I shouted in my best hag voice. “And then with my dying breath, I cast Hellish Rebuke. At seventh level.”

The crowd reacted, applauding and shouting.

“I don’t understand what’s that?” Daniel asked, looking around and blinking rapidly.

“Dude, you are so dead,” Grover said, shaking his head.

“Sir Roderick, I’ll need you to make a Dex saving throw,” Brayonna informed him. “Roll high.”

Daniel rolled and then burst out laughing. “That’s a natural one.”

The crowd ate it up, groaning and gasping at the turnaround.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Bray, but I believe the house rules state that on a natural one for a saving throw, they take critical damage?” I asked with a wide grin.

“Oh no!” Pippin shouted.

I picked up all the dice I needed and rattled them around in my hands, a smirk on my face. Daniel’s eyes went wide.

“That’s a lot of dice,” he murmured.

Bray laughed. “What’s the damage?”