Problem on first game, experienced GM advice needed

M

MistMonkey

Mongoose
Hi, thanks for the taking the time to read this. Well I ran my first game today but ran into a problem where one player seemed severely unbalanced to the rest of the party. Using character creation process he was able to create a with 89% polearm skilled warrior with a +1D6 modifier. He completely skewed a cutpurse alley assault single handedly whist the difficulty was alright for the rest of the group.

Nerfing him would be unfair as he was lucky, leaving it would overshadow the rest of the group. Increasing difficulty of the opponents may result in the murder the others of the group.

In such situations what is the best course of action when all things are legal, and it was really his luck that this stats are so high.

Waiting anxiously as he is rampaging through with a Stavesword.
 
Quite probably the character's other skills will be quite low. Bring in plenty of situations that require success in other skills so the other characters can excel a little, and they won't feel left out if it comes to combat. Also, beef up the opposition leaders a bit. Make it clear who they are by gear etc, so he naturally has to be the one to take them on - the character will lose face in the party if he purposely goes for weaker enemies. And maybe a boss challenges the best in the party?
On the other hand, make sure you're not being unfair too. Okay, it makes it too easy for the party if the guy is too hard, but he is a legal character so shouldn't be punished as nothing has been done wrong. Make the challenges tough enough, but don't kill the character off deliberately.
 
One of the sections of the 3rd Edition D&D DMG talks about "Tailored" vs "Status Quo" encounters. Tailored encounters are designed to match the strengths and weaknesses of the party, while Status Quo encounters are just set there and the players are responsible for taking appropriate action, including hightailing it out of there if they are overmatched.

I find that tailored encounters are easier from a GM point of view, and more realistic. Encounters are not suddenly going to start getting tougher just because the PCs are tougher, but tougher PCs will be expected to start going against more formiddable enemies.

In your situation, the fact that the PC was able to get up to 89% means that it should be relatively common for NPCs to get up to 89%. You can use the same rules for generating NPCs as for PCs, or you can use my method, which is simply to roll two ten-sided dice and multiply them, then add the ability modifiers. Either way will generate opponents capable of challenging Mr. 89% without overwhelming the rest of the party.

As for the rest of the party, it might help to post what they can do. I remember Call of Cthulhu games that were sub-ideal because some PCs were just not as capable as other PCs. But maybe there are ways that you can help other PCs accomplish things, even if it is nothing more than making use of contacts they'd have in the community that Mr 89% might not have access to.

In my group, it is established practice for the GM to keep the character sheets. Not only does it prevent character sheets from getting lost or forgotten, but the GM can look them over and think of ways to balance the adventure. Maybe Ms. Sorceress could benefit from a mission to rescue a wizard who could teach her a new spell at a discounted rate, for example. Maybe Ms. Bard could attract the attention of a wealthy patron. Maybe Mr. I-Tried-To-Be-A-Jack-Of-All-Trades could gain attention from a mentor who could help him concentrate on one area.

Good luck.
 
Depends on game type. If all you do is combat, then it can be a problem. If there are a lot of other encounters the combat monster will spend a lot of time in the background.

How do the other players feel about this?
 
I dont think you really need to worry about it. Just vary the adventures. THeres stuff his character wont be good at, but other people will. When the fighting starts, let him have his moment in the sun
 
The question is are you having fun? Does it matter?

If no get someone to steal his polearm. Try finding another in the wilderness
 
If no get someone to steal his polearm. Try finding another in the wilderness
Click to expand...

Or trying to replace a polearm when the haft has been hacked in two during the middle of a fight.[/quote]
 
If no get someone to steal his polearm. Try finding another in the wilderness
Click to expand...

Or trying to replace a polearm when the haft has been hacked in two during the middle of a fight.
 
In addition to the "do other kinds of things" idea, you could always put him in a place where he doesn't have the room to use the polearm. Like some small cramped Trollkin infested tunnels.
 
Those are the suggestions that I would have made, but people beat me to it.

You can't use a polearm in an enclosed space, in an alleyway, in tunnels or inside buildings.

A polearm use would be the first to be taken out by opponents, so make it dangerous for him.

Some cities have bylaws that prevent the carrying of long weapons, so have the guards impound the polearm at the gate.

Put them on horseback - you can't use a polearm on horseback.

Break the polearm, it makes him a bit useless.

But, as others have said, does it matter? If it causes ill-feeling in the group then it does. If he keeps killing your lovely NPCs then get over it - it happens all thr time. If it unbalances the game then of course it matters.

Have him go somewhere he can't use his polearm - climb a chimney, go in disguise, go through sewers, go into a guarded building or underwater. Have him do things where a polearm would give a massive penalty.

But, don't be obvious that you are targetting him. Afetr all, you probably approved his character in the first place, so it would be unfair to penalise him too much.

If you still feel it is unbalancing the game then explain it to him and ask him to change the polearm for something else or put some of the skill into other skills. If you are both reasonable then that might work.
 
Actually, I'm not sure why everybody wants to attack the polearm. After all, if this guy wants to be Mr. Polearm Man, why not let him? Heck, why not let him find a spiffy pole-arm so he can be the pole-arm champion?

The question is whether the other PCs are able to shine, too. The advantage of a class-based game like D&D is that every PC is forced to have enough attributes to be viable. In a game without classes, it is very easy to end up with a character who is not suited for any mission.

Also, 89% is interesting, but not uber, in my opinion. Uber is when you have 110%+ and have modifiers that push your chance of a critical to umpteen percent and have a legendary ability or two. If pole-arms are made useless, then why become Mr. Uber Polearm Man?

In a cramped tunnel, a pole-arm can still be jabbed forward and backward, perhaps at a -50% penalty and reduced damage. I'd probably allow use of a polearm with strong penalties, depending on the situation, but Mr. Polearm might also have other weapons to use when the polearm is not feasible.

Also, remember, this is Runequest, not D&D. One good hit in the head by a crossbow bolt can put an end to your whole day. Heck, what is a polearm user going to do if he only has one good arm currently?
 
If you use a two handed weapon, you are twice as likely to become unable to use the weapon. A serious wound on either arm will not only make you impotent with the weapon, but unable to parry as well (if all his points were put into the two handed weapon). The whining will begin shortly afterwards unless you have a good healer. He'll have tno choice but to fade to the background until his arm is restored.
 
It just doesn't matter. In one game I ran we had an elf, a troll and a trickster (don't ask!). The troll was like a tank as you'd expect and the elf with his arrowtrance and multimissile was like a machine gun. The trickster was useless but that didn't matter because we all had fun and that's the important thing.

How I balanced things out a bit was by giving all the matrixes and stuff a human only (or Lightbringer only, etc) rule or giving out rings and armour that fitted the trickster so at least he had plenty of toys to play with.

MGF Maximum Game Fun!
 
Sinisalo said:
It just doesn't matter. In one game I ran we had an elf, a troll and a trickster (don't ask!). The troll was like a tank as you'd expect and the elf with his arrowtrance and multimissile was like a machine gun. The trickster was useless but that didn't matter because we all had fun and that's the important thing.

How I balanced things out a bit was by giving all the matrixes and stuff a human only (or Lightbringer only, etc) rule or giving out rings and armour that fitted the trickster so at least he had plenty of toys to play with.

MGF Maximum Game Fun!
Click to expand...

How did you manage to get the troll and the elf to not fight would be my main question.
 
juhanfg said:
How did you manage to get the troll and the elf to not fight would be my main question.
Click to expand...

1. Maximum Game Fun is the golden rule, IMHO. We did it because we enjoyed it.
2. In the old days Jrustela was full of elder races who lived in harmony. That's obviously been gregged, but we used that to justify. How they got to Dragon Pass through the Closing nobody asked. Thank God.
3. Characters are actually imaginary made up people who are controlled by real people who decided not to. :)
 
RW history abounds with storys of people that should be enemys getting along just fine. Gloranthan history also has lots of those. Likes/dislikes are guidelines, not cast in iron laws.
 
We often had mixed species and religions in our parties.

We had a dwarf (non-mostali) who had attuned a Godling Bone, so could be resurrected with no time limit, so he had a handle welded to his armour so that his corpse could be carried to the healers. Once he was with a Dark Troll and dies, as normal, so the troll offered to carry him, using said handle. After a couple of hours, rations were handed out, but the troll refused and said he was fine (munch, crunch), this happened several times until the rest of the party realised the troll was munching away quite happily on the dwarf's corpse.

We had several factions in our long campaign. The Dark Faction consisted of Zorak Zoran trolls and a Morokanth and a Storm Bull Minotaur. The Storm Faction consisted mainly of Orlanthi but sometimes had the Minotaur. The Light Faction had Yelmalians and a Yelornan Elven Archer. Normally, parties consisted of the Storm and Light Factions or the Storm and Dark Factions. Only very, very occasionally did the Light and Dark Factions adventure together and there was always friction and a number of (sometimes fatal) duels before the adventuring started.

But, generally, they all got along famously.
 
I'm having the same problem with a certain Sorcerer in my group that is way more powerful then the other players. He took the Damage Resistance spell and has been consently casting the spell at magnitudes of 5 and 6 to prevent any threat to the group. We have talked/argued about the spell and he claims that the rules say he only needs to spend one magic point to increase the spell's magnitude to the 5 and 6 levels, while he has 18 magic points to spend. It consently takes the threat of any enemies away from the party.

Even though he is not a tank-like character, I feel he is really overshadowing the rest of the gaming group who are very balanced.

Any helps or ideas on this one?
 
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