Underappreciated Monsters - Number the First

 Some monsters get more love than others.  This was especially true during my years as a teenage DM.  I had old favorites that would always turn up during games, while others were never used.  When I say that these monsters are underappreciated I am referring to my own games, I don't presume to know what happens at other gaming tables.  Some of these beasties deserve a second look.  I'd like to share some thoughts, and look for ways to make these neglected critters more fun and interesting.  Thus, I thought I'd start this sporadic series of posts.  These aren't your classic villains, they aren't the favorites... they're the other guys, the ones nobody bets on.  Let's take a closer look.

GIANT ANTS!

 One of the first adventures I ever put together featured country bumpkins being terrorized by a colony of giant ants.  Lumberjacks and farmers had been killed, and the towns people wanted the adventurers to take care of the problem before the ants found the village.  The reaction from my players... *disappointed sigh* "Ants?" O_o

 The players were unimpressed.  They wanted something more fantastical to fight.  I was young, a new DM, and totally unsure of myself running an adventure.  I think I might have changed the ants to goblins to make my players happy.  There was a fundamental truth that I knew instinctively, but I couldn't seem to get my friends to agree.  Giant ants are frick'n scary!    


  1. Ants are strong and fast
An ant can easily lift 10 times it's own body weight.  If an ant were the size of a man, it could lift 1000 pounds and would be as fast as a racehorse. Using the surface tension from the moist pads on their feet, they can move almost as fast along walls and ceilings as they do on the floor.

  2. Ants can defend themselves
Every species has mandibles, these can account for a sixth of the total length of the ant.  These powerful scissors can remove the limbs of enemies.  Some ants also have venomous stingers, others can even spit formic acid up to 10 times their length. 

  3. Ants are alert
Ants have large compound eyes good for detecting movement, but see details poorly.  They also have three ocelli (simple eyes) that detect a wide range of light including ultraviolet.   A pair of antennae detect the direction and intensity of chemicals (scent), air currents, and vibrations (hearing).  Ants identify each other through scent, any ant entering the colony mound without the scent of that particular colony will be attacked as an intruder.  Some ants can also detect and prepare for rain an hour or more in advance, no one knows how... but it's true.

  4. Ants can communicate
The "Hive-Mind" might be a fallacy, but colonies are definitely highly organized.  Once scouts find food they leave pheromone (scent) trails as they travel back to the hive, workers follow this path to get the food.  An alarm pheromone (emitted at death) sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy and attracts others from farther away.  Antennae are sometimes used to transmit and receive signals through touch.  Sounds produced with their mandibles may be used to intimidate colony members or other species.

  5. Ants can farm
Some ants tend fungal gardens within their colonies, bringing in plant material to help it grow.  Ants are also the only creatures besides humans that are known to protect, herd, and feed from domesticated livestock (usually aphids or mealybugs).

  6. Ants build stuff
Good luck trying to represent this on graph paper...

See?  Giant ants are scary!  ...and this is all assuming that giant ants are just like regular old real-life ants that happen to be 6 feet long.  In a fantasy setting they could also be magically altered to breath fire, have a true hive mind, AND be able to laugh maniacally!  Muaahhahahahaaaa!

Oh!, and I didn't even mention the "zombie" ants, which are also pure fact by the way.  Sometimes ants get infected with spores or parasites which alter their behavior in strange ways before killing/consuming them.  Like this, and this, and this.

Good night, sweet dreams everyone.

Die Bag of Fate - Part II

Now that I've found the USB cable for my digital camera, I thought I'd revisit my plans for the Die Bag of Fate.  I don't feel that I explained it very well the first time around, hopefully more details and a picture will clear things up.  Let's start with a little background.  Ages ago I had this idea about an evil artifact that stole luck from a large area around it.  I made a dungeon and decreed that any d20 rolled inside would be at -5, for PC's and monsters.

It sucked.

Combat took too long because I had to keep reminding everyone to subtract 5, and because there were so many more misses on both sides.  There was also some grumbling, some players thought that a blanket -5 hurt the party more than the monsters.  I agree, the blanket -5 works out a little better for the bigger critters with better AC and attack rolls, but you know... life isn't fair sometimes.  Mainly though, I think the issue was just that people disliked subtracting from their rolls in general.  The party only spent one session in that dungeon and decided never to return.  It always bothered me because I felt that there must be some way for me to run an unlucky dungeon in a way that was still fun for the players.  The solution came too late, I've moved and don't play with that group anymore.  Next time I try to run an unlucky dungeon, I'll be using the Die Bag of Fate.

It'll work like this.  I'll drop plenty of hints and rumors about how unlucky the dungeon is, so that the PC's aren't totally blindsided about what they are getting themselves into.  Once they are in the dungeon they will quickly see that anytime they (or a monster) would normally roll a d20, they are now passed a die bag and told to pull out one item and roll it (add your usual bonuses).  Here's the key...

I will not explain to the players the details of how it works, and ask them not to look in the bag.

Some players will find this maddening I'm sure (the number crunchers and min/max players especially), but I'm hoping the mystery and novelty of it will be enough that the party doesn't retreat at the sight of a staircase.  Leaving the details unexplained means that the PC's can't gauge exactly how unlucky the place is, which I think is fitting.  I do want them to understand that there is method to my madness, and I'm not just pulling results out of the air.  If it seems to be causing more gnashing of teeth than it's worth I'll probably divulge one or all of the following tips. 

• Choose dice if you want to be extra careful, stones give a higher chance for both crits and fumbles.
• Success and failure is based (mostly) upon the color chosen.
• When rolling dice, higher is always better.
• Dice have a chance to "change color" depending on the roll and bonuses, stones never do.

I'll try to be sensitive to the players concerns.  If I am the only one at the table who knows how this bag works then it is easy for the players to think that they are playing a rigged game.  Rather than pull anything from the bag myself, I'll have one of the players pull dice for the monsters.  I don't want anyone wondering if I can recognize certain stones by feel.  Besides, I already know the ratio of stones to dice and how many dX there are per color.

I'll also want to make sure that none of the players are putting their fingers on the scales either.  After a while someone might realize that a certain stone gives a good result.  If I suspect that someone is feeling around for a particular stone I might impose a five second rule, if your hand is in the bag for more than five seconds you automatically fail.

-------------------------------Behind the DM Screen-------------------------------

Pictured below is an example of my Die Bag of Fate.  I like these ratios pretty well for the first level of the "unlucky dungeon", but maybe I'll add a few more red and purple stones.  Dig it.

If a stone is drawn, the result is based entirely upon the color.

Gold/Brown - Ideal Success (critical hit)
Purple ------- Success (roll damage as normal)
Blue/Green -- Minimal Success (good for a touch attack or Glancing Blow for 1 damage)
Red --------- Failure (miss)
Black/Silver - Epic Fail (fumble)

If a die is drawn, roll it.  Add any applicable bonuses to the roll (magic weapon, Dex bonus for missile, ect.).  If the total is equal or more than the the number of sides on the die, then the result moves up (at most) one color step.

For example you attack a monster,
You draw a red d20 and roll a 20 = Failure changes to Minimal Success. 1 damage
You draw a purple d4 and roll a 1 = Success, roll for damage as normal
You draw a purple d4 and roll a 1, and your short sword is magical +3 = Ideal Success! critical hit chart.
You draw a silver stone, and have a +infinity to-hit bonus = Epic Fail! fumble chart.
and so on... you get the idea.

Now look back up at the purple dice, see the spotty tan/purple d20?  That one gives a special result.  It counts as a success for whoever draws it (no chance for critical), when it is rolled I consult my 1-20 wandering monster table and see which beasty suddenly enters the room.

See the green stone with black dots?  That one is special too.  It gives a Minimal Success, at a price.  You do 1 damage to the opponent, but you get cut for 1 damage in the process.  You open the lock, but break your lockpick.  That sort of thing.

As the party goes deeper into the dungeon, I might add or pull objects from the bag.  Adding red or removing purple would reflect an increase in unluckiness.  I might add a clear piece of quartz once I decide that an Invisible Stalker is um... stalking the party, whoever pulls the quartz is attacked by the Stalker.  I could add a penny, whoever draws it calls heads or tails to see if they succeed or fail.  Add a second penny, blackened with a magic marker it is always a fumble.  Add a third coin, foreign but roughly the same size and shape, anyone who draws that stumbles upon a hidden treasure/cache of coins (remove from bag after found).  

Do I really want to mess with my players minds?  Add something that feels noticeably different to the touch.  The leg from an old G.I Joe maybe (floor trap?), He-Man's head (helpful ghostly disembodied head appears?), a much folded piece of paper with private instructions/information for whoever takes it.  Is any player curious enough to pull the strange items, or do they play it safe and grab for dice instead?

American Jukebox

I've recently discovered that the Library of Congress has set loose a National Jukebox upon the interwebosphere.  It is full of historical recordings, mostly 78 rpm discs from the Victor Talking Machine Co. converted to the digital.  These are all now streaming online and freely available.  Huzzah!

Perhaps I am more enthused than most, I love the hiss and clicks of these turntable recordings.  It makes them feel more real somehow even though the sound quality is worse.  I can hear them singing out from past, not polished and smooth but unedited and gritty.  Listening is like stepping back in time for a moment.

"Pictured here is an acoustic recording session conducted in the era before microphones were utilized for recording. Music and speech was funneled through recording horns, which in turn vibrated an attached diaphragm and stylus, thus etching the sound waves onto a rotating wax disc.  At launch, the Jukebox includes more than 10,000 recordings made by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1901 and 1925. Jukebox content will be increased regularly, with additional Victor recordings and acoustically recorded titles made by other Sony-owned U.S. labels, including Columbia, OKeh, and others." - About the National Jukebox


I've only just begun to scratch the surface.  There are spoken word recordings such as speeches from President Taft, and many, many songs recorded during the first 20 years of the twentieth century. 

I mention all this on my gameblog because I imagine these recordings might be useful for any GM whose game is set during that time period (Call of Cthulhu anyone?).  Also, the instrumentals might be a source of inspiration for any setting.

My favorite find so far is "La muerte del bardo".  I doubt it would take much effort to work a song named "Death of the Bard" into an adventure.  I don't usually like to play music during the game itself.  However, I do like to have a premade tape or burned CD at the ready.  Then (when the need arises) I can tell the players that a minstrel in the tavern, or bard traveling with the party begins to sing a song(s).  I hit the play button and get up to use the restroom or get a snack.  It's a musical intermission for those who need it, and an auto-pilot DM for those who want to stay at the table and have some in character discussions.

P.S. Oh! My mention of Cthulhu reminded me of other songs.  Anyone who respects the mythos might enjoy "Do you hear the pipes, Cthulhu?" which is set to the tune of ABBA's "Fernando".  Double OH!  There are also the the songs from the parody musical "Shoggoth on the Roof".  You can find many of those excellent songs on YouTube if you're interested, but I've never found a decent recording of the play itself.  Supposedly the play is cursed, unable to be produced.  There are some things that man was not meant to adapt to musical theatre.

Telecanter's Tumbler - Puns of the Mad Mage

 There is quite a trove of treasures over at Telecanter's lovely blog.  I was especially moved by his thoughts on a tumbling dungeon.  Now the notion is spinning round my skull.  As I pondered, I discovered the perfect twist.

PUNS!

You see, I quickly decided that my tumbling dungeon was built long ago by the mad mage/alchemist Telecanter (who I hope does not mind that I steal his idea AND his name).

Self-portrait of the mad mage, drawn posthumously

The dungeon will consist of 15 rooms, 3 parallel levels/planes of 5 rooms each.  Dungeon details to be posted later.

Legends about Telecanter will provide some clues about the location of a strange dungeon he built, and hint about a powerful magical item called Telecanter's Tumbler.  The descriptions and functions of the Tumbler will vary wildly... a belt, ring, or codpiece that grants the wearer acrobatic skills... a magical drinking glass with a pointed or round bottom... the only surviving piece of Telecanter's Lock... or whatever.  Telecanter's Tumbler is actually the name of the dungeon itself, Telecanter personally started most of the false rumors in order to draw vict... er... visitors.

The dungeon turns 90° once per hour.  It takes a little over a minute for the wall to become the floor.  Throughout the rooms of the dungeon, phrases are carved deeply into the stone walls/sides.  These carvings are original features, not new work.  The original puns here, my "improvements" below.

------------------------------------------------------
esrevni setirw teop drawkcab A -  (A backward poet writes inverse.)

She was only a brewer, but he loved her still.

No matter how you roll the parchment, it’ll still be stationery.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

A priest might loose his faith, but never turns away from the prophets.

“You stay here, I’ll go on a head.” - Hat

I wondered why the rock kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

The soldier who survives being peppered with arrows becomes a seasoned veteran.

When cannibals ate the priest, they got a taste of religion.

You can spend a lifetime studying pagan cults, but you have to join in order to truly enjoy the sects!

The farmer is a poet, the chicken his poultry.
--------------------------------------------------------

Anytime someone within the dungeon groans, the sound echoes and reverberates.  The volume quickly increases until soon the entire dungeon groans deafeningly... which triggers a sudden 90° turn in addition to the usual hourly turnings.  Telecanter was worried that he might die of old age before his Tumbler turned enough times, so he designed this magical loophole and added the puns hoping to speed things along.  This is also why he teleported in zombies whenever he happened to run across them, but these have rotted away over time into non-groaning skeletons.

I'm looking for at least four more groan worthy puns if anyone has a suggestion.  Bonus XP if they make players leave the table in horror or cause a student of English Literature to loose their lunch.

For the Greater Good

"For the greater good"

It is a terrible turn of phrase, and an NPC who utters it in my games is usually some misguided zealot.  Yet, this is why I steal ideas.

I didn't mean to steal them ... not at first.  For the longest time I did not even realize I was doing it.  I would be running a game when inspiration suddenly struck, and I would add some new detail or NPC.  For a while (in my teenage years) I was impressing my players and myself with my cleverness.  Then days, months, or years later I would reread a book or article and realize that my favorite creations were never really mine.  It was humbling, especially over time as the realizations piled up on top of each other.  I try to keep better track of these things now and give credit where it is due, but of all my skills I am best at forgetting.  I apologize in advance for presenting ideas in my blog that are not my own.  I sometimes wonder now if I've ever had a thought that didn't begin in someone else's head. 

My games are like roads built from stolen bricks.  The stones are worn and familiar, but I hope the twists and turns might lead my players and I to new sights and vistas.  If you see a brick in my blog that belongs to you please let me know.  I'd like to give you credit and my thanks. 



Enough of that, lets plunder from Patrick Rothfuss.

The University is pretty cool, and I'm likely to dig it up roots and all to plant in my game somewhere. In charge of the University are nine masters (one for each of the "sciences"), one master is appointed Chancellor and ranks slightly above the other eight.  I like that each area of study seems equally respected by the students, who think of magics as just branches of science.  At the same time, commoners are often quite suspicious of anyone dabbling in "the dark arts" which might include basic chemistry or advanced mathematics depending on local superstitions.  The nine titles and sciences are...

Master Archivist  ------ History
Master Artificer  ------ Sygaldry
Master Sympathist  --- Sympathy
Master Rhetorician --- Philosophy and Logic
Master Namer --------- Naming
Master Alchemist ----- Chemistry/Alchemy
Master Physicker  ----- Medicine
Master Arithmetician  - Mathematics
Master Linguist--------- Languages


I love the magic system that he presents, but I'm not sure it would play well in a game.  There are four main types of magic, Alchemy, Sympathy, Sygaldry, and Naming.  You can learn to master any one of them without having to learn one whit of the other three.

Alchemy is all about potions, powders, and salves.  It is clear in the book that there is some distinction between chemistry and true alchemy, but I don't mind if those edges blur together a bit in my game.  I'm not opposed to joining Alchemy with Medicine in fact.  It seems fitting for all that chemistry, herbalism, and physiology to be taught together.

Sympathy is quite interesting for it's mixture of the laws of thermodynamics with magical links created by a force of will/belief called the Alar.  I love it for it's complexity and detail, but it seems unwieldy at best for a game.  It's use is described in the books with a lot of detail, but I can't seem to wrap my head around how the PC's would use it during a game... yet.  I don't want to, but I'm likely to toss this out and fall back to the more familiar Vancian magic where spells are memorized and lost as they are used.

Sygaldry is the use of runes to create any magical item such as twice-tough glass, magic lanterns, and cold boxes.  Runes are like a magical alphabet, a long string of them carved or written onto an object is like a sentence magically commanding the object to do this or that.  If it is possible to scratch out one of the runes, then the sentence might become gibberish making the object perfectly mundane or completely changing the magical properties.  The grammar is quite wild, and scratching out runes at random may have deadly or explosive results.

Naming is at once the most powerful and most frustrating form of magic.  To find and speak the true name of a thing is to have total magical mastery over it.  These true names are not known consciously by the caster.  A Name is something divined subconsciously in each instance of the casting and then quickly forgotten.  Discovering a true name only allows it to be used at that moment, soon it slips away like a dream.  If someone speaks the true name of stone to cause a wall to melt away, neither the caster nor bystanders will be able to recall the sound.  The name slips in one ear and out the other, at best the mind will interpret the sound as "stone" as if spoken in their native language.  Being able to look at something and see it's true name is a subtle art.  It does seem to get easier to find a particular name after each successful finding.  So, if you've spoken the true name of fire 10 times, then you might have a reasonable chance of finding the true name of fire the next time you look, but your chance to see the true name of stone, or wind, or the bandit attacking you, or whatever, is as difficult as ever.  What really trips me up is where to draw the distinction between names.   One name for each individual creature, sure.  It is the inanimates that are tricky.  Is there a name for metal, or each metal?  What about alloys?  Does a sword respond to the name of Iron, or Steel, or Sword, or does it have an individual name?  What if it is a sword +1?  What if it is Excalibur? hmmm


Oh!  Something else worth stealing.  Superstitious mumbo jumbo that varies from region to region, most of it useless nonsense.  I've basically always made use of superstitious townfolk in my games, but I've never really bothered to have specific legends or stories for each country or region.

In his setting the Fae are creatures of myth and legend, the commoners in Vintas tell stories but most other lands laugh at "fairy tales".  The Fae turn out to be real... but they tell strange tales and have their own superstitions and legends.  Wheels within wheels.

Author of Note - Patrick Rothfuss

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."
—  Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind)

I apologize if my infrequent posting frustrates or angers any of my gentle readers.  I realize of course that my blog here has had an inauspicious start, falling far short of the post-a-day I had intended.  All of the blame falls squarely upon my shoulders.  My idle laziness knows no bounds.

Still, I am half-tempted to point some blame to Patrick Rothfuss.  Opening one of his books can send me into an out of body experience for hours at a time while my imagination frolics among his stories, characters, and style.  I have recently purchased his second book "The Wise Man's Fear" and setting it down becomes more difficult every time I turn a page.

I read a lot of fantasy books. No, more than that. I own a few hundred, I've absorbed the contents of library shelves from Illinois to California. I've been known to go to a Borders or Barnes and Noble on my day off and read until they close. So when I say things like "Patrick Rothfuss has written the best books to hit shelves in the past ten years." it may not be a fact since such things are subjective, but it is an educated guess that certainly feels true in my heart.  His first book "The Name of the Wind" sits proudly on my bookshelf between The Silmarillion and The Once and Future King.

This is not just a great fantasy story, it is simply a great story.  A story of loss and love, music and magic; but mostly this is a story about stories. I think that Rothfuss is attempting to show how events give rise to rumors and speculation which can eventually become legends and myths that have only a small kernel of truth at their core. How the difference between heroes and villains depends mainly upon your point of view. It is a tall order, delivered well.

In short, read these books.

Going mental over Wisdom(+ poker)

Str
Int
Wis
Dex
Con
Cha

Those six stats have been burned into my gaming brain (in that order) for years now.  I totally respect the simple elegance of this method of character design.  Three stats for physical attributes balanced with three for mental attributes.

Yet... as much as I like and respect the basic six I've always felt that something was slightly off.  Like this system stopped just short of perfect, and some minor tweak would make everything fall into place.  I like the three physical stats... simple, elegant, perfect.  The mental stats never quite sat right with me though, and if I'm perfectly honest... Wisdom was always the red-headed stepchild that I had a problem with.

Wisdom was always described to me as representing common-sense, street-smarts, and willpower... but aren't those aspects provided by the player?  Still, I agree that "absent minded professor" type characters should be possible.  So, I left the big six alone while I watched and waited for that perfect solution to present itself.

Well, after swishing the problem around in my subconscious for twenty-some years the answer was finally revealed to me during a rum induced moment of clarity.

Wisdom = Awareness 


Of course!  It's so simple.

I grokked, and saw that it was good.





So, from now on I'll explain the three mental stats to my players as such...



Intelligence (Int):  Problem-solving, memory, reasoning.  This score shows how quickly the character can grasp new concepts.  If two characters are given the exact same education and life experiences the one with the higher Int will have absorbed and retained more of the information. High Int might give bonus skills or languages at character creation.  It is up to the DM to determine what is common knowledge (automatically known) and hidden knowledge (unknowable) for the character.  For everything else, roll for Int to see if the character remembers reading/hearing something about the subject.  Intelligence ability checks might be made for appraising, heraldry, deciphering codes, solving puzzles/riddles, using unfamiliar machines/devices, and having the character remember facts or details that the player has forgotten.

Wisdom (Wis):  Perception, intuition, prescience.  This score shows how aware the character is of the world around them.  It reflects the accuracy and speed of that characters' senses.  I'll use wisdom ability checks as detection rolls for tracking, traps, secret doors, lies, ambush, weather, direction, spirits, invisible creatures, and (possibly) auras.  It is also useful for interpreting the body language of people and animals.

Charisma (Cha):  Charm, composure, leadership.  Force of personality.  This score shows both how persuasive a character is, and (inversely) how likely they are to be persuaded by others.  This score also reflects how well the character can control and use their emotions and body language.  Social interactions can either be resolved through role-playing, or through Charisma rolls (whichever is more fun).  Charisma ability checks might be made for haggling (Cha vs. Cha), telling convincing lies (Cha vs. Wis), acting/performing, resisting fear, enduring torture, and to withstand enchantment/charm effects.


I can already hear disgruntled players crying out "Where is the common-sense, the street-smarts, the measure of will?".   You provide those things to your character.  As it has always been, you make those decisions and the character suffers the consequences and reaps the rewards.

The "absent minded professor" characters are still possible.  Low Wisdom still means that the character has his head in the clouds and is unobservant of the world around him.  I'm half tempted to rename Wisdom to Awareness, but I'm happy enough with simply tweaking the definition a bit.

Some might say that I've folded willpower into Charisma, because of the enchant/charm thing.  I think I have stopped just short of that though.  Charisma is a measure of the characters force of personality and how well they can shrug off outside influences, either persuasive or magical.  The characters willingness to go on in the face of insurmountable odds, to continue down darkened corridors even though they are 1hp away from death... that is willpower, and that is a decision for the player to make.


As a real world example of how the three mental stats play out, imagine yourself playing a hand of poker.

Once the cards are dealt, you'll use your Int to count cards.  Consciously or not you'll look at your hand, any cards that are face up on the table, discarded, or traded to the dealer, and get some idea about the probability of your hand winning the pot.  Texas Hold'em, before the flop you're dealt a pair of 8's and have 2 opponents...  you have a 50% chance to win the hand.

Your Cha is used to keep your "poker face" on.  You decide to bluff, does a twitch reveal your nervousness? On the next hand, do your eyes go wide when you are dealt 4 aces?  You decide to act a little bit and pretend to be nervous while you bet on your 4 aces, does your opponent believe your performance and think you are bluffing or see through the ruse and realize that you are trying to trick him (your Cha vs. opponent Wis)?

Your Wis is used to read your opponent, looking for tells.  It might help you see a bluff, or marked cards.  Your Wis vs. opponents Dex might show you that he is dealing off the bottom of the deck or slipping an ace up his sleeve.


OK, so that was a real world example.  However, if characters in my game start playing poker in a tavern, I'd never make so many rolls.  I'd do something like this instead....

1. Determine the ante, i.e. the amount of cash each poker player throws in before the cards get dealt (don't subtract this from the character sheet yet, it is factored into the roll)
2. Every poker player rolls a d20.  Poker player(s) with the highest Int, Wis, and Cha each get +2
3. Highest total is the winner.  Ties are ties, split the pot... both had a pair of aces or royal flush (one hearts the other spades)
4. Each poker player subtracts their total from the highest total, then multiply the ante = amount lost
5. All these losses totaled together = the pot going to the winner

So, if your total is one less than the winner that means you folded just after the cards were dealt.  You only loose the ante amount.

Worst case scenario, you roll a 1, winner rolls a 20 and has the highest Int, Wis, and Cha at the table (total = 26).  You got taken on a ride and lost 25 times the ante.  Which is kind of a lot for a single hand, but hey... it happens.