Tabletop Roleplaying Games (D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, ETC.)

[BlazikenLover]

Gentlexirs: gimme some advice on how to make a vaguely min-maxed Cleric feel a bit more scared/threatened without coming across as Rocks Fall On Your Head-tier lazy DM punishment. I'm running some Ravenloft and been enjoying that almost every character is squishy and feeling the heat but the one dude just has absurd AC and spell buffs going that at times I feel like is actively hurting his enjoyment of the game because most shit cannot hit him and he's doing so much damage that other PCs feel like side-kicks. The flip side is that if I crank shit up, it can feel too excessive on the rest of the party.

In the past I've tossed saving-throw based attacks/spells at people in similar situations with mixed results and I have seen Banshees used quite effectively but I am just seeking some general tips from veteran DMs who can advise as to how to put the fear of the Morninglord back into his heart instead of power-gaming/sleep-walking through every combat encounter. It doesn't have to even by a pure by-the-book solution either, more than happy to homebrew or mix-match as well.

Assuming this is fifth edition:
-if he is not using shield, try upcasted magic missile, cloud of daggers also works
-if he is using metal armor: heat metal, get fucked tin can
-you could draw inspiration from old mystic's soul knife subclass, in which they could treat the ac of an enemy as 10 + Dex or force them to do a dex saving throw instead
-if he is using heavy armor perhaps having them fighting underwater could make the armor an hindrance.
-really just target his weaker saving throws

That aside, if the player is not being a prick I don't see the need to go out of your way to tune encounters just to challenge him, I suggest talking to him and see if you can reach an agreement.

 

[Brain Problems]

In the setting I'm running, orcs were created in techno-magic vats by a mad wizard. They're beings of pure chaotic energy who get paroxysms of joy from destroying anything that strikes them as orderly. Now, your orcs don't have to be my orcs, and that's fine. Problem is the woke crowd says I'm not allowed to have a setting where orcs are animated techno-magic syrup whose brains are wired to like smashing things up the way humans are wired to like sex, because it somehow traumatizes black people or whatever for me to play that game with my friends. The castle of imagination doesn't need a hall monitor.



Which edition and what level?

5e lvl 6

 

[40 Year Old Boomer]

Gentlexirs: gimme some advice on how to make a vaguely min-maxed Cleric feel a bit more scared/threatened without coming across as Rocks Fall On Your Head-tier lazy DM punishment. I'm running some Ravenloft and been enjoying that almost every character is squishy and feeling the heat but the one dude just has absurd AC and spell buffs going that at times I feel like is actively hurting his enjoyment of the game because most shit cannot hit him and he's doing so much damage that other PCs feel like side-kicks. The flip side is that if I crank shit up, it can feel too excessive on the rest of the party.

In the past I've tossed saving-throw based attacks/spells at people in similar situations with mixed results and I have seen Banshees used quite effectively but I am just seeking some general tips from veteran DMs who can advise as to how to put the fear of the Morninglord back into his heart instead of power-gaming/sleep-walking through every combat encounter. It doesn't have to even by a pure by-the-book solution either, more than happy to homebrew or mix-match as well.

He has high AC and does absurd amounts of damage precisely because he is a coward. He's afraid of getting hurt or killed, so he wears a lot of armor and covers himself with magic. While the allies may see him deftly dispatching foes, in reality he's just wildly flailing away and praying in panic for divine smitings.

In the setting I'm running, orcs were created in techno-magic vats by a mad wizard. They're beings of pure chaotic energy who get paroxysms of joy from destroying anything that strikes them as orderly.

The orcs I use were created by the in-setting god of war alongside giants, ogres, and goblins. They all ended up getting cursed with profound retardation save for one particular group as they were able to get far enough away from the source without suffering too much brain drain, but are still a far cry from the tactical genius employed by their ancestors.

 

[King Dead]

That aside, if the player is not being a prick I don't see the need to go out of your way to tune encounters just to challenge him, I suggest talking to him and see if you can reach an agreement.

Agreed. If this is something that the player has specifically brought up to you ("combat feels boring because it's too easy for me"), then you're good to ramp up the difficulty. At level 6, your cleric player has access to most of his core toolkit, so he should be ready and willing to take more of a beating than the squishier members of his party. As the DM, you're the one making the decisions about which PC the monsters attack, so if nothing else, you can just make everything gang up on him. Eventually, something's gonna hit.

If, on the other hand, you don't know his feelings, then I wouldn't just spike the difficulty out of nowhere. Maybe he enjoys steamrolling encounters with the power of his chosen deity, and maybe the party's happy to have such a strong ally in play. I do think that having an appropriate level of challenge makes a game more rewarding, though, so you'd probably want to increase the difficulty anyway, at least a little. But I would definitely discuss this first before you spring the Giant Badguy of Fuck You on him, just to get an idea about how he and the rest of the group feel about the combat. This does have the added benefit of allowing you to put the fear of God into them about your future plans, which is always fun as a DM.

 

[Ghostse]

If, on the other hand, you don't know his feelings, then I wouldn't just spike the difficulty out of nowhere. Maybe he enjoys steamrolling encounters with the power of his chosen deity, and maybe the party's happy to have such a strong ally in play. I do think that having an appropriate level of challenge makes a game more rewarding, though, so you'd probably want to increase the difficulty anyway, at least a little. But I would definitely discuss this first before you spring the Giant Badguy of Fuck You on him, just to get an idea about how he and the rest of the group feel about the combat. This does have the added benefit of allowing you to put the fear of God into them about your future plans, which is always fun as a DM.

One thing I'd mention is that you could have Strahd (or a one of his henches) respond to any powerful divine powers. OR maybe the Gloom that imprisons strahd reacts with Gothic bullshit.

Only thing I'd caution here is if the GM taketh away, he best give giveth if he doesn't want bullshit to be called.

For example, maybe using a divine smite causes werewolf to show up after a short rest, laying in wait in the next room. But killing that werewolf, as it shifts back to the person it used to be, the poor afflicted soul had adorned himself with amulets to resist the change - not that it did him any good. But that necklace of Wolfsbane, if burned as incense, would provide a protective aura allowing a being-fucked-with-free long rest.

 

[AnOminous]

If, on the other hand, you don't know his feelings, then I wouldn't just spike the difficulty out of nowhere. Maybe he enjoys steamrolling encounters with the power of his chosen deity, and maybe the party's happy to have such a strong ally in play.

As a GM I was always big on traps. Imagine yourself as a crazy wizard setting up a place to be difficult to steal from. You have years to plan. Your dumb minions might be all dead by the time someone tries to plunder your booty (I said booty lol).

I generally set up things so it would be essentially suicidal just to charge in like a bunch of morons.

Remember Grimtooth's Traps? I used a few of them but mostly used it for inspiration to create traps in a similar vein (the players had mostly all read it too and would recognize the really obvious ones anyway).

 

[Battlefield2142EU]

Holy shit I didn't see this coming. Say what you want about critical role and CR fans. But I am impressed. They are standing up to pro-WOTC woke censorship on YouTube and calling out soyboy types. Especially Indestructoboy. Critical role fans have some of the most Reddit fandoms ever, yet even they are tried of self hating white guys crying about white privilege. There is a campaign by Indestructoboy followers to cancel the critical role crew for sexism and racism. How gay you have to be to think critical role conservative in anyway? It's sex and fart jokes with graphic violences here and there.

 

[Ghostse]

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Holy shit I didn't see this coming. Say what you want about critical role and CR fans. But I am impressed. They are standing up to pro-WOTC woke censorship on YouTube and calling out soyboy types. Especially Indestructoboy. Critical role fans have some of the most Reddit fandoms ever, yet even they are tried of self hating white guys crying about white privilege. There is a campaign by Indestructoboy followers to cancel the critical role crew for sexism and racism. How gay you have to be to think critical role conservative in anyway? It's sex and fart jokes with graphic violences here and there.

Say that again, but pretend you're talking to people who have had sex with a (living, conscious, & willing) woman.

 

[Ol' Slag]

Gentlexirs: gimme some advice on how to make a vaguely min-maxed Cleric feel a bit more scared/threatened without coming across as Rocks Fall On Your Head-tier lazy DM punishment. I'm running some Ravenloft and been enjoying that almost every character is squishy and feeling the heat but the one dude just has absurd AC and spell buffs going that at times I feel like is actively hurting his enjoyment of the game because most shit cannot hit him and he's doing so much damage that other PCs feel like side-kicks. The flip side is that if I crank shit up, it can feel too excessive on the rest of the party.

In the past I've tossed saving-throw based attacks/spells at people in similar situations with mixed results and I have seen Banshees used quite effectively but I am just seeking some general tips from veteran DMs who can advise as to how to put the fear of the Morninglord back into his heart instead of power-gaming/sleep-walking through every combat encounter. It doesn't have to even by a pure by-the-book solution either, more than happy to homebrew or mix-match as well.

How much of a dick do you wanna be?

Dump Cha?- Have Strahd or another baddie mind control him using a cha saving throw.

Dump Str?- Water bases combat where he gets dragged into the water. Suffocation rules are a bitch and he will flail to get out of the water.

Have they met the pie hags? Make sure they are too irresistible to refuse. A few sleepless nights using exhaustion rules will slow him down significantly.

 

[Corn Flakes]

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Holy shit I didn't see this coming. Say what you want about critical role and CR fans. But I am impressed. They are standing up to pro-WOTC woke censorship on YouTube and calling out soyboy types. Especially Indestructoboy. Critical role fans have some of the most Reddit fandoms ever, yet even they are tried of self hating white guys crying about white privilege. There is a campaign by Indestructoboy followers to cancel the critical role crew for sexism and racism. How gay you have to be to think critical role conservative in anyway? It's sex and fart jokes with graphic violences here and there.

Are you sure you're not missing some context or at least a couple of links there? I don't follow either of those spergs so I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Battlefield2142EU]

Say that again, but pretend you're talking to people who have had sex with a (living, conscious, & willing) woman.

I don't follow either of those spergs so I have no idea what you're talking about.

Long story short. Critical role is a popular podcast with voice actors playing roles by playing games and voicing their characters. They started out playing Pathfinder E1, but they later got sponsored by WOTC/Hasbro to play Dungeons and Dragons 5E instead. The critical role team later made an adult animated show on Amazon Prime called The Legend of vox machina based on their campaigns and characters. Critical role and WOTC had a falling out because they refused to licensed DND to them because of the show being too adult and violent. Critical role said" fuck it" and removed all ties to DND in the cartoon. Critical role is releasing a TTRPG based on the setting of the legend of the vox machina show called DaggerHeart. Now that critical role will be a direct competitor to WOTC. Dungeons and dragons youtubers now give a shit about critical roles being too edgy and problematic. Autistic as fuck. I know.

 

[iScream into the void]

Wait, CR jumped the WotC boat? Please hold, my sides are in orbit. Amazing, truly outstanding.

 

[BlazikenLover]

View attachment 5559402View attachment 5559410
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Holy shit I didn't see this coming. Say what you want about critical role and CR fans. But I am impressed. They are standing up to pro-WOTC woke censorship on YouTube and calling out soyboy types. Especially Indestructoboy. Critical role fans have some of the most Reddit fandoms ever, yet even they are tried of self hating white guys crying about white privilege. There is a campaign by Indestructoboy followers to cancel the critical role crew for sexism and racism. How gay you have to be to think critical role conservative in anyway? It's sex and fart jokes with graphic violences here and there.

Mind post the videi that has that last image?

And I am surprised CR and WOTC had a falling out, thought they had a disagreement after the OGL which was solved rather quickly and isn't matt mercer still involved in a few D&D projects? He voiced Minsc on BG3 and even advertised the game.

 

[MISTER-CREEPMAN00]

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Long story short. Critical role is a popular podcast with voice actors playing roles by playing games and voicing their characters. They started out playing Pathfinder E1, but they later got sponsored by WOTC/Hasbro to play Dungeons and Dragons 5E instead. The critical role team later made an adult animated show on Amazon Prime called The Legend of vox machina based on their campaigns and characters. Critical role and WOTC had a falling out because they refused to licensed DND to them because of the show being too adult and violent. Critical role said" fuck it" and removed all ties to DND in the cartoon. Critical role is releasing a TTRPG based on the setting of the legend of the vox machina show called DaggerHeart. Now that critical role will be a direct competitor to WOTC. Dungeons and dragons youtubers now give a shit about critical roles being too edgy and problematic. Autistic as fuck. I know.

I always found the podcast to be lame and cringe, so I never tuned in.

Anyways something I want to get off my chest, has anyone noticed how D&Dtards only want to play D&D and nothing else? I mean goddamn not even Warhammer fans are narrow-minded enough to reject the idea of trying different board/war games. Yet D&D fags seem to be allergic to anything that isn't 5e slop.

 

[BlazikenLover]

I always found the podcast to be lame and cringe, so I never tuned in.

Anyways something I want to get off my chest, has anyone noticed how D&Dtards only want to play D&D and nothing else? I mean goddamn not even Warhammer fans are narrow-minded enough to reject the idea of trying different board/war games. Yet D&D fags seem to be allergic to anything that isn't 5e slop.

Dude that's a complain thats so old it can legally drink, is not exclusive to 5e either, but yes D&D players in general are afraid to try other systems and it is for a variety of reasons, some good some bad.

 

[Ghostse]

Long story short. Critical role is a popular podcast with voice actors playing roles by playing games and voicing their characters. They started out playing Pathfinder E1, but they later got sponsored by WOTC/Hasbro to play Dungeons and Dragons 5E instead. The critical role team later made an adult animated show on Amazon Prime called The Legend of vox machina based on their campaigns and characters. Critical role and WOTC had a falling out because they refused to licensed DND to them because of the show being too adult and violent. Critical role said" fuck it" and removed all ties to DND in the cartoon. Critical role is releasing a TTRPG based on the setting of the legend of the vox machina show called DaggerHeart. Now that critical role will be a direct competitor to WOTC. Dungeons and dragons youtubers now give a shit about critical roles being too edgy and problematic. Autistic as fuck. I know.

Holy shit not only a explaination but one that doesn't need a corkboard and red thread.

I knew who CR was (fags) and they moved from PF1e to 5e for dosh (like fags).
I also knew Mercer was putting out his own faggy not!D&DWMPRPG, but I did not follow they've moved over systems to it AND cut Woketards out completely.

ahahahahhahahahaha talk about punching youself in the dick. Who else is going to buy Sparkle Faggot Queer Prom books if not Critards?

So now that the gayest, faggiest, most DIE-friend podcast is taking their fans and going home, Hasbro is trying to unleash their pocket shills - I'm guessing Patches and the Bearded Lady are said shills - to cancel CR but no one is listening?

Anyways something I want to get off my chest, has anyone noticed how D&Dtards only want to play D&D and nothing else? I mean goddamn not even Warhammer fans are narrow-minded enough to reject the idea of trying different board/war games. Yet D&D fags seem to be allergic to anything that isn't 5e slop.

Won't lie, I usually turn down other systems because they are p. much either a narrative game or just "D&D, but worse" after a closer look, and person suggesting said system is usually a power gamer itching to unleash whatever fucked up broken reddit/gitp build or scenario they've built up in their mind..

 

[Adamska]

You know, maybe the Wizards staff are so concerned about how races like Orcs are taken because they're monstrous humanoids themselves. I'm thinking pathfinder goblins however rather than Orcs, since even the most stereotypical take on Orcs have more cunning and forethought than this. It takes an unholy blend of malice, mental retardation, a complete lack of survival instinct, and not thinking beyond the moment to shoot yourself this badly.

Trying to throw down with easily the biggest audience you have and why you had complete control over the market as a tabletop game provider this edition is legendarily dumb. That it was to a group that basically agreed with you is something that takes a German poet hours to transcribe into a single word. It's like setting your house on fire to stay warm level stupid, but that's still in the short term beneficial.

It's actually hard to describe in words how catastrophically fucking retarded you have to be to do this.

 

[Ghostse]

It's actually hard to describe in words how catastrophically fucking retarded you have to be to do this.

I think I can describe the appropriate level of retardation with an image.

 

[Agent of Z.O.G.]

Long story short. Critical role is a popular podcast with voice actors playing roles by playing games and voicing their characters. They started out playing Pathfinder E1, but they later got sponsored by WOTC/Hasbro to play Dungeons and Dragons 5E instead. The critical role team later made an adult animated show on Amazon Prime called The Legend of vox machina based on their campaigns and characters. Critical role and WOTC had a falling out because they refused to licensed DND to them because of the show being too adult and violent. Critical role said" fuck it" and removed all ties to DND in the cartoon. Critical role is releasing a TTRPG based on the setting of the legend of the vox machina show called DaggerHeart. Now that critical role will be a direct competitor to WOTC. Dungeons and dragons youtubers now give a shit about critical roles being too edgy and problematic. Autistic as fuck. I know.

Finally, a d20 system where they say fuck.

 

[BlazikenLover]

@Ghostse what does WMPRP stands for? Thought you meant the warhammer fantasy rpg but rhe initials don't match up and google isn't helpful at all.