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the D&D DM thread.
Clawshrimpy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey, I thought it might be a good idea to start a DMing thread for us new or confused DM's.
My game has been going well, but I'm finding it hard giving Gestalt Characters good fights, they are 8th level and they've plowed through a Purple Worm and 4 Catelobepases tonight.
My game has been going well, but I'm finding it hard giving Gestalt Characters good fights, they are 8th level and they've plowed through a Purple Worm and 4 Catelobepases tonight.
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Party Setup:
Me(DM PC): Human Psion/Wizard7 Ectopic Adept1
Dwarven Wizard/Barbarian7 Rage Mage1
Elven Cleric/Ranger8
Human Sorcerer/Swashbucker7 Spellsword1
Human Paladin/Knight8
4 is the standard party size, it's not small. Five is an oversized party, and five gestalt...
Yeah, your party is going to be a massive powerhouse. :P
Make sure you know the game well-enough to be able to use decent tactics, or your 8th level players are going to have no problem concentrating firepower. A purple worm has a sting attack that can deal instant 1d6 strength damage. Have it find whichever caster is doing the most damage, and keep stinging until he/she is so weak their gear keeps them pinned to the ground.
And use that 20 ft burrow speed! Straight down so the characters can't follow it without falling, then a bend so they can't shoot/throw/cast down at it. Then it gets under them, just a few feet below using it's tremorsense, and it can shoot up and bite one(or even swallow hole).
Awesome android RPGs are made by my friends; check them out.
And if they're using a spell rage, their AC is 2 lower yet.
...
And you can always use a 'Psionics as Magic' approach to handle the psionics thing. "Psionics are a huge part of the plot, but the party doens't have one, so I'm playing a psion" is a bad call all over the place. The game should never be about an NPC more than the party.
EDIT: Since it's just us 3, why not keep this convo going in #bombfell on IRC?
Awesome android RPGs are made by my friends; check them out.
While he might be easy to hit, he has ~90 hp UNBUFFED.
Sure, what's the IRC Server?
Awesome android RPGs are made by my friends; check them out.
I say, run 4 CR 8 Dragons, and watch the fun begin. Grapple the arcane casters, with a sorc/wizard riding on the back of one of them. Have him hold person/whatever the knight, or some other save/lose. Solid Fog is good for that, just convince the knight that one of the dragons is the nastyest, he'll use his challenge type thing, and then the dragon runs away, knight gets pulled off... caster casts solid fog and dragon flies straight up. Knight is out of the fight.
Use things like this to pull them apart. If you don't TPK them, you'll at least put the fear into them.
You should know that most dragons disdain grappling. It may not make sense from the perspective of a creature that is large and strong, but in their descriptor (I believe) or possibly the Draconomicon, it indicates that they prefer not to. There's no reason why they can't, mechanically, but it's not their preferred tactic.
Be careful with this. Nothing is more frustrating for a player then having the DM's personal PC solve a bunch of puzzles and use his powers to advance much of the quest.
If Psionics is an integral part of the setting it then one player should probably be playing Psionics, especially a Gestalt game there really is no excuse why the players can't cover all needed classes like Thanatos said.
Get rid of your DM PC. Kill him off in a way expedient to the plot, or have him leave to show up at a convienient time later.
That will help fix the issue. You have essentialy 8 characters worth of options in your party already, 5 character parties arent strong because they have so many more actions than a 4 character party but that you can focus while maintaining a full coitere.
With Ghestalt you can have a full coitere with 2 PC's, 3 and you can easily fill every needed option for almost any situation.
Also, none of my players really WANT to play Psionics, they're "tradionalists"
Sorry, sai, but you can't do both reasonably.
If YOU are handling the psionic challenges, then the party isn't, and they're not challenges.
To add onto the limed post.
If you have psionic challenges, they should be big "go get x" challenges that can be solved by other means. The occasional psionic challenge isnt bad, but it has to be something that can be solved via another means.
If your character is acting as a psionic repository, then make him into a book, and just give the characters the book.
NPC's should not stick with the party for more than two or three sessions[3 max], and especialy not over level 4[it isnt so bad in the lower levesl because you can use the character as a deus ex machina to save characters from stupid bad luck].
DM PC's are bad juju, get rid of them, do something, just get rid of the DM PC.
It slows down fights and stops the game being about you interacting with the players and turns it into you interacting with yourself.
Its god damn masturbation. You are masturbating in front of your friends. Your friends do not want to see you masturbate, stop masturbating.
ed: SR and DR are there specifically in order to be a chore, if psionics ignore that for the majority of the time, then they arent doing their intended purpose.
Craft the adventure to the players do not add NPC's to make up for the adventure.
E.G. In a game I ran with Salt that broke up, the party fought a young white dragon. Now part of the White Dragons book gives it a fear aura. Now the fear aura is basically no save panicked on characters of less than or equal to level 4. The characters were level 4. So i conveniently removed that part of the monster, because without it, they would have been toast. The fight ended up being fun, and a challenge. If the dragon didnt have DR, a good flat footed AC, SR and high hit points the fight would not have been fun, or a challenge.
Before that, i had an NPC with the party, who conveniently left the scene[and I had been messing around to make him a non-issue in the combat before hand, since he outclassed the players, isolating him in different situations, or just ignoring him all togother(there were actualy 2 of them, but that is another issue)].
By keeping the game challenging and keeping DM fiat out of the way[characters or NPCs i have emotional or story related reason to keep around] I was able to make the game fun and interesting enough to keep people playing until i fucked it up by introducing an item i should not have.
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=8934
It's a wilder 8 human vampire, a CL 10 encounter. I rolled 5d6(highest3) for base stats, then added vampire template. While the powers are odd for a wilder alone, he could've easily used psychic reformation to get them, so no worries there. Now the basic cheese here is that a vampire template only adds CL+2, even though it's pretty much insane (as long as the vampire gets to find on it's own turf, no daylight etcet).
Things this vampire could do:
Buff up before combat with:
Precog, Defensive Wild Surge before combat to gain +4AC, +4 to all saves.
Claws of the Beast Wild Surge to gain 2x 6d6 weapon (which also bestows 2 negative levels 1x/round)
Freedom of Movement.
Before Combat:
Combat:
Before Combat: Summons bat swarms as a distraction.
It should probably attack from a ceiling, outside of melee range, to begin with.
Gaze Attack: DC 21 Will save. It will probably target the cleric in the suprise attack round, recognizing it as it's greatest threat (turn undead). If it succeeds, The cleric is now an opponent, instead of an ally.
When attacked: First of all, it's AC is godly, 36. It shouldn't get hit very often. If magic is used against it, Dampen Power for a measly 3PP minimizes damage. It's immune to mindaffecting, ability damage, movement impairing effects. If it gets hurt to badly, it'll gaseous form through some small crack and be gone, heal up to full and ambush later on (or sleep up it's power points for the next day).
Wild Surge Energy Missiles for 11d6+11 on 5 targets. That's an average of 49 damage to the whole party, though it has a 15% to daze him for one round.
Nice ways to have it attack include:
Have him sneak up and attempt to dominate whoever guards the camp during the night (depending where/how they sleep).
Some dark cave, where sight is very low, especially with control light (the vampire has darkvision, how many of the NPC's have something like that?)
Basically, it will be a book that if you speak the title of a tome or text you wish to review, the pages will fill with that content. Basically its a suitable for travel library.
I think I might add a qualifier to the item that says that while you may conjure a spellbook in this manner, you cannot copy spells from the book into your spellbook or memorize spells from the tome.
I'm trying to decide what sort of powers this item might have. I'm leaning towards it allows you to make Knowledge checks trained or untrained at a +5 bonus, however making knowledge checks with the book takes 1 hour per 5 on the Knowledge check DC. (You still have to read the book you conjure afterall)
Depending on how vast the library is, that'd have a huge impact on the value of the book. Being able to look for any book ever written would probably put it comfortably into artifact territory, because suddenly you've got a Quest Item for any quest that involves written words.
I am going to lean towards "any book ever written" but they will still need to figure out what the book is that they need to conjure. I think the time delimiter will balance nicely.
There is a bonus to this, however. In the campaign I'm running (Eberron), Sharn is about to dive deep into the shit, leaving the PCs, a percentage and the populace, the Lord of Blades, Vol and her cult, as well as a lot of other factions trapped in the city for an extended period of time. It's going to be like Batman: No Man's Land where the different factions spend a lot of time fueding over territory, and a Wall of Force is surrounding the city in an effort to keep Vol locked in since Breland is in no way prepared to deal with that kind of a threat.
When the cataclysm happens, its going to destroy a lot of things including libraries, and information that was readily available will become a precious resource. The book will allow the PCs a unique position as Sharn's saviors over time.
Now I"m aware that there is a wild magic prestige class (and one of the players new sorc in my campaign has shown interest in taking this).
Anyways, when he was discussing it, I said "Why don't you make a specialist wild mage instead", only to look through my collection of 3.5 books to find out that it doesn't really exist. So I made something up, and threw it in to the mix so that if other players want they can play it. Starting next session one of the players will be playing a Ghostwise Halfling Wild Mage
Here is the class I came up with. Feel free to discuss:
New Specialist Wizard: Wild Mage
A wild mage gets all of the FR benefits listed under Wild Mage in the Complete Arcane (get to roll 2x for favorability in wild magic zones). The Wild Mage is a specialist wizard, receiving one bonus spell per level; however, unlike other specialist wizards, a wild mage does not sacrifice a school of magic.
Caster level: A wild mage has a modified caster level.
Table:
Level 1: No effect Level 2: CL-2 + 1d3 Level 3: CL - 2 + 1d3 Level 4: CL - 2 + 1d4 Level 5-9: CL-3+1d6 Level 10-14: Cl-4+1d8 Level 15-19: CL-5+1d10 Level 20-24: CL-6+1d12 Level 25+:Cl-10+1d20
This check is made first when a wizard says "I want to cast a spell."Thus a 5th level wizard who rolls a 1 can casts a 3d6 fireball. If he, instead rolled a 6, he would cast a 8d6 fireball.
Note that this effects length of time spells last, size, reach, and a
variety of other things. Be sure to keep your spell card detailed on caster level dependent variables.
If a spell would otherwise be successfully cast, now roll a 1d20. A 1
is an automatic wildsurge.
(The Wild Surge Table is basically taken straight from the BG2 manual with some small fixes and some slightly more defined effects.)
New Spells
While these spells are part of the 'specialized' school, a wild mage need not prepare one in his extra spell slot. Instead at level 1, 3, and 13 when a wild mage gains the two new spells for his spellbook, he must take one of these spells.
Mage Spells: Level 1
Nahal's Reckless Dweomer (Invocation/Evocation)
Level: 1
Range: Special
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 Standard Action
Area Of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: Special
This spell is the Wild Mage's ultimate last-resort spell. When cast, the mage releases a sudden flood of wild magical energy in the hope of seizing and shaping that energy into a desired spell effect. The attempt usually fails, but something almost always occurs in the process. Before casting the spell, the mage announces the spell effect he is trying to create. The mage must be able to cast the spell (I.E., have it in his spellbook), but need not have it memorized. After announcing the spell (Along with the target and any other conditions required by the spell), the Wild Mage casts Nahal's Reckless Dweomer.
A burst of magical energy is released, which the Wild Mage tries to manipulate into the desired form. The actual effect of the spell is determined randomly.
Because the release of energy is planned by the mage, his level is added to the dice roll made when determining what sort of wild surge occurs. This means there is a better chance of a good result. If the result indicated success, the mage has shaped the magical energy into the desired effect. More often that not, the effect is completely unexpected. The result may be beneficial to the mage or it may be completely disastrous; this is the risk the mage takes in casting Nahal's Reckless Dweomer.
Note that while the spell is 'cast' at the completion of this spell, spells that take longer then one standard action (such as Summoning or Identify), still require the normal length of time to complete the spell.
Example: A level 9 wild Mage rolls a 3 on his d6, giving him a caster level of 9. He has Spell Focus (Evocation) and 18 int.
He says he wants to cast Fireball using one of his prepared Reckless Dweomers. He decides to cast defensively, giving a concentration check of 16, which he passes easily. Next
1d100 + 9 is rolled.
Rolling 95, giving a total of 104, the spell is cast 'normally', and he rolls 9d6 damage, the save dc is 18. He still has a move action and a swift action for the round.
He decides to cast a prepared quickened Dweomer again for the same spell. He rolls high on caster level, getting 12. Next 1d100 + 12 is rolled. He receives a (14) +12 or 26.
Oops! His target just got a free Globe of Invulnerability!.
Mage Spells: Level 2
Chaos Shield (Abjuration)
Level: 2
Range: Personal
Duration: 5 rounds + 10 rounds/5 levels
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Area Of Effect: You
Chaos Shield increases a Wild Mage's chance to gain a favorable result
when a wild surge occurs. Every time a roll is made on the wild surge
chart, an extra 15 is added to the dice roll. When Nahal's Reckless
Dweomer is cast, the bonus from Chaos Shield stacks with the Wild
Mage's level bonus.
Mage Spells: Level 7
Improved Chaos Shield
Level: 7
Range: Personal
Duration: 2 turns
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Area Of Effect: You
Improved Chaos Shield increases a Wild Mage's chance to gain a
favorable result when a wild surge occurs. Every time a roll is made
on the wild surge chart, an extra 25 is added to the dice roll. When
Nahal's Reckless Dweomer is cast, the bonus from Chaos Shield stacks
with the Wild Mage's level bonus.
New Feats
Embrace the Wild:
Due to your strange connection to wild magic your spells are cast more randomly, sometimes much stronger and sometimes much weaker.
Prereq: Wild Mage Specialist Caster level 3
For the purpose of determining your caster level on the caster level check, go up two on the table.
Normal: Normally a wild mage when casting a spell rolls according to
the table.
For Example: A level 3 Wild Mage would in roll a CL(3)-3+1d6, or a 1d6. A level 4 would roll a 4-4+1d8. A level 5 would 5-5+1d10. A level 6 would roll a 6-5+1d10. And so on. A level 15 would roll a 15-10+1d20.
Wild Magic Control
Wild Mage caster level 3
Almost an Oxymoron, but you have managed to reduce the extreme randomness of your wild magic. Move down the wild magic the table one level.
For instance. A 11th level Wild Mage with this feat would cast at 11-3+1d6 instead of 11-4+1d8.
This feat can be taken multiple times Each time it moves you up the chart one level.
This feat can be combined with Embrace the Wild.
===
I'm hoping this won't hurt game balance too much, and should bring some fun to the table.
Encourage the players to develop actual goals for their PCs which they can pursue. Perhaps they want to rule a realm - or topple an existing one. Perhaps they are searching for powerful artifacts. Perhaps they want to destroy a villainous organization forever. Ask them what they want, and then ask them how they want to proceed. That will create long, satisfying role-playing sessions with little combat - and when combat does happen, you can justify going completely over the top with it.
At least, that's the experience in my Exalted campaign, which has absurdly powerful player characters as well.
Had a long session last night... a very long combat encounter. Looking to see if anyone has any advice for -- well, not really mass combat -- but sort of "small-scale mass combat"
This particular case was:
4 PC's and 10 NPC's defending a small outpost from a force of 20 attackers. Basically a situation where the PC's show up to "save the day" when some foresters are outnumbered 2 to 1 by the bad guys.
I managed to streamline a couple things as the attackers were making their way up to and ramming/climbing over the walls, like having the defenders make "volley" type attacks (I had the one calling the volley making the attack roll to hit squares, the squares being in the same shape as the formation of the attackers, then opponents occupying targeted squares had to make a reflex save to avoid being hit... that sort of thing).
As soon as things broke out into melee though... total chaos. A battle less than 10 rounds ended up taking nearly two hours... orcs knock in a wall with a battering ram, push their way through, start running amok, all manner of AoO's and whatnot.
It was cool, because the PC's got excited while making their battle plans, and there was a real sense of urgency at the table. They were smart in the way they defended the fort and as a result didn't suffer great casualties despite being outnumbered. But the combat took such a long damn time... I had too many dice to throw.
I was pretty well prepared for keeping tabs on things and the PC's did a good job as well... but wondering if anyone has tips on making it easier to handle these sorts of encounters that are more like "skirmishes" than large battles. (Other than the obvious alternative, of course: "Don't do that," which I'm leaning towards at the moment.)
I like this solution the best... I just don't want to make my PC's feel like I'm interfering too much in an "unfair" way. Only way to find out is give it a try and see if they object... better yet, when they are in a command situation stress to them in the narrative how their decisions have put the NPC's in a better/worse situation. Then again, I can also just roll some dice for a second, look like I'm doing the math in my head and then say it.
I've already taken to this for doing skill checks, and it definitely makes things smoother... hmm... maybe I could generate a sheet of attack rolls and damage ahead of time for the various PC and monster types, then just cross things off as I move along. I may try this one, too.
Thanks man, good ideas.
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