h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As part the current campaign arc the group I game with are doing in D&D we are competing in the Champion's Games... an odd combination of gladiatorial tournament and pro-wrestling. Having got through the first round we were placed against Pitch Blade, a pair of Barbarians who were potioned up to the eyeballs. We knew this would be a hard combat but we weren't quite prepared for what also happened...

It all started when my character took some damage, 11 points to be exact, taking him from 53 Hit Points to 42. I smirked, and thought nothing of it. I was then taken down to 1 Hit Point from a Critical Hit and surrendered.
Then L's character took 42 points of damage (again from a Critical), which unfortunately killed her character (although we later resurrected her). I mentioned that earlier I'd been taken down to 42, we all chuckled, gave token cries of 'spooky' and again thought nothing of it.
Mrs. D's character - a Scout who is rather good with a crossbow - got a very good shot off at one of the Barbarians. She rolled her 5d6 (d6 = six-sided die) skirmishing damage (as she had moved 10ft.) and came up with a 1, a 4, a 2, another 4, and another 2... two more 42s!
This was getting weird.

The next combat saw us pitched against 'Mad Tooth the Hungry' a creature very much like the Bug Blatter Beast of Traal (which led to cries of "we need a Vogon grandmother). Another team (the previous champions) was supposed to be fighting Mad Tooth, but the organiser of the contest was a dodgy man indeed and was trying to get us killed. Luckily we killed Mad Tooth... but not without a couple more instances of 42.

The final combat saw us pitched against the defending champions (who I can't remember the name of). Everything was going okay... nobody died and we managed to keep the upper hand for the most part. L's character used the Summon Nature's Ally spell to summon a Dire Bear which promptly started shoeing the opposing team's leader. That particular combat was a pretty average exchange of blows until the bear, managing to hit with both claws and a bite, did a total of 42 points of damage.

I'm pretty sure there were other 42s as well, but my brain seems to have blanked them (possibly for reasons of sanity).

Today I shall be watching for ships which hang in the air in exactly the same way that bricks don't.

I hope you all knew where your s were.