'We outsmarted an ancient Red Dragon': DND players outwit dungeon boss with nerdy malicious compliance

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Dec 5, 2023 9:00 AM EST

Role-playing games offer us a chance to escape our own perspective within a structured world with a unique set of rules by adopting a new perspective within a structured world with a unique set of rules—and what's not to enjoy about that? After all, there are plenty of people who play games that are essentially chore simulation machines, and pretty much all games in some way seek to simulate the effects of completing important tasks by tapping into the reward centers of our brains. So, with all the parallels being drawn here, it's no surprise that you should be able to handle a "boss" in that pretend world the same way that you handle your boss in the real world: with a little malicious compliance to their instructions in defiance of their expectations. That's exactly what these dungeon crawlers did in a delightfully refreshing story shared with this popular online community.

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    an "He realized too late..."
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    r/ r/MaliciousCompliance 9 hr. ago Upbeat_Cut7613 How Our Wizard's Mastery of Arcane Technicalities Overcame a Dragon's Challenge M Our D&D group has been playing for years, and we love delving into the nitty-gritty of spell mechanics and rules. This story from our latest campaign is a prime example of how a deep understanding of these mechanics led to an epic moment of malicious compliance. :
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    Background: Our party, consisting of myself (a high- level wizard), a cleric, a fighter, and a rogue, was on a quest to retrieve an ancient artifact from the lair of a powerful and cunning Ancient Red Dragon, known as Pyrothraxis. This dragon, being both intelligent and devious, proposed a challenge: we could take the artifact if we could "entertain" him without resorting to direct combat or obvious trickery. If we failed or fought him, he promised a fiery demise.
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    The Setup: Knowing the dragon's penchant for riddles and technicalities, I devised a plan hinging on a very specific interpretation of the spell "Evard's Black Tentacles." This 4th-level spell conjures a mass of tentacles that can restrain and damage creatures within an area. However, the damage only occurs if a creature enters the area or starts its turn there. The key here was the term "restrain," which doesn't inherently imply harm.
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    The Execution: As we entered the dragon's lair, I initiated the plan. I cast "Evard's Black Tentacles" to cover the area around the dragon, careful not to include the dragon in the spell's initial effect radius, thus avoiding direct aggression. The tentacles writhed menacingly but didn't harm the dragon. They formed an intricate pattern, almost like a dance, around Pyrothraxis. Simultaneously, our bard began a performance, using his Bardic Inspiration to enhance the visual spectacle, while our r
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    The Dragon's Reaction: Pyrothraxis, expecting a direct assault or a simple magical trick, was both amused and intrigued by this display. He realized too late that our actions, while aggressive, did not directly harm him or violate his conditions. The tentacles' dance, combined with the bard's performance, was indeed "entertaining," but not in a way he anticipated.
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    The Outcome: With the artifact secured and the challenge technically met, Pyrothraxis, bound by his word, allowed us to leave. He applauded our clever use of arcane semantics, acknowledging that we had found a loophole in his challenge. TL;DR: In our D&D campaign, we outsmarted an Ancient Red Dragon by using the specific mechanics of "Evard's Black Tentacles" to create a non-violent, yet aggressive spectacle, entertaining the dragon while retrieving the artifact without direct combat, adhering t
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    Blees-o-tron . 8 hr. ago The Rule of Cool is the master of D&D, and anyone who disallows this sort of shenanigans is a poopoo head, and furthermore, a buster. Had a campaign where they were fighting Definitely Not Rita Repulsa, and the bad guy had given mild sentience to piles of clay (for her Putty monsters lololol). The party's psychic asked if she could mentally befriend a small hunk of clay. Sure, why not, give the party a mascot. She rolled good dice and got a friend.
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    Later, when they're fighting Not Rita, there's a big vat of clay that she's been using to make the putties. The psychic asks "so, since I've already made a connection with this piece, if I throw it into the big vat, can I try and connect with all of it?" "...yes?" "Cool, and if I succeed, can I turn it into a giant clay mech and punch her with it?" "...roll dice, please." Not Rita was punched to death by a clay mech.
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    Contrantier • 9 hr. ago ● Huh. I wish I could find people to play this game with in an easily accessible area. - ↓ 41 Share Reply itbeazombieyo . 8 hr. ago Should look into online groups, I've been dming with a group for nearly four years. The virtual tabletops are getting good too, we use Foundry. 41↓ Reply ↑ Share
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    fozzy_de 7 hr. ago reminds of the time we began a session at a tournament asking questions like "do lightning bolts bounce of walls?" :) 0 4 1 ↓ ↑ Share Reply Olthar6 6 hr. ago In 1e it did by RAW 41 ↓ Reply ↑ Share
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    IxyNova 6 hr. ago ● we could take the artifact if we could "entertain" him without resorting to direct combat or obvious trickery. Well, now I'm curious what exactly the Ancient Red Dragon expected otherwise. 41 凸 Reply ↑ Share
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    Clockwork_Kitsune 3 hr. ago Edited 56 min. ago ● It's weird that your literal first sentence includes ● we love delving into the nitty-gritty of spell mechanics and rules. Because your whole story is about ignoring exactly that. It's more like
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    O we love delving into the nitty gritty of ignoring the RAW and implementing our own spell mechanics and rules. You changed like every aspect of Black Tentacles. It is supposed to target a solid square area. It attacks any creature that goes into it, which should include the rogue. You're supposed to use Dex saving throws to avoid getting grappled by it, not Sleight of Hand. Bardic Inspiration wouldn't affect it because there's no attack or ability check when casting it. Sure, it's a fun story,
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    kriever7 · 8 hr. ago So, I suppose the DM was cool with that? - 4 1 ↓ Reply ↑ Share Second Talon 7 hr. ago If the DM wasn't, the dragon woulda pounced as soon as the spells went off. 41 凸 Reply ↑ Share
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games RPG malicious compliance tabletop games funny story gaming RPGs fun story video games dungeons and dragons
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