super charecter

[confused_dm]

Im new at being a dm and have incounterd a problem that i need help with,
in the campain im running the players have disided to focus all their efferts on upgrading 1 charecter of the party, right now he's a 15lv ranger with all feats for archery, but now we get to the problem, with all the party's gold and effert focused on him he get's fist pick of the tresure (+5 longbow, bracers of greater archery :bawl: ) and they have found a way to stump me, according to them they can get an arrow inchanted with a lv10 lightning bolt for about 300gp and that loaded on the ranger who can pump out 12 arrows in 1 round of shooting (multi-arrow and rapid shot) is unbeatable (killed mature black adult dragon in 1 round :bawl: ) and i cant think of a way to stop them...
please help a new dm
please....

[Durandal]

Throw emm up against a clay Golem(Immune to piercing damage) But, what with the magic...I don't know how or if that would effect the thing.

[confused_dm]

thx, mite do that but how to counter that cheap super arrow trick is the hard bit (12 arrows each doing 10d6+d8+6 min damage 204 max damage 888!!! if all hit) i tryed using a mage with the spell anti-magic field and a bunch of high lv orc fighters but the mage was assasinated by the arrow storm (none magic) while the rest of the party held off the orcs, result was a lot of dead orcs when the field turned off. :emb:

[Akiric]

Since their life-line is magic, what you could do is send them to a place where all magic is usless, this could be a plane of dead magic or just say through some strange process the cave they are in nullifeys any magic, or turns it in to wild magic. Also you can come up with some monster that is nothing but magic or it absorbs lighting, or fire, or ice, or set up your mission so that the ranger gets cut off from the rest of the group, or just come up with a better ranger, or have a rogue steal all his nice gear, can't sleep with your bow in hand, and he does, all the rogue has to do is make a slight of hand check (Pick pocket for 3rd), there is always a way to screw over the party, I have confedince in your abilitys.

I just remembered something, if you send them to a plane of dead magic, their magic items don't work right? Well if they have a bag of holding or something to that effect, what happens to the items in the bags of holding, or hand sack, or portable hole is they get dumped in to the astral plane, in other words lost, let me tell you that was a rude awaking for me since I kept my potions in my hand sack and my great sword and great ax in my gloves of storing, and when we meet the wizard in his keep and I am weaponless excpet for my hold-out-knife I keep in my belt...you know I was not a happy fighter.

[Valiente]

Actually...he shouldn't be able to pump out 12 arrows in one round. I have a 7th level 3.5 ranger and I can only get off 5, with all the archery feats. I admit that I haven't looked at the items yet, so maybe that has something to do with it, but that character really shouldn't be able to get off that many arrows.

As to solve the problem of all their attention being on the one character, when giving out treasure, simply don't give out anything he could use. That's your right as DM. And, if they want to sell their items and then buy items for him, simply deny them a place to find such items. Don't make it easy for them to get what they want.

Another great trick is to turn a party member against him. Anything requiring a will save and a class with a poor will save are great for combating such problems. Sure, the ranger can kill a black wyrm in one hit (though I don't buy that for a second) but how ready is he to take down his barbarian friend?

And you could always put them up against a ranger with the same abilities. Add a couple of casters and a few monsters for fodder, and it makes for a challenging encounter.

[Akiric]

Or maybe a monk the does ranged def.
To bad D&D 3.5 dosn't have any rules about choping off arms, but if your sword is magical enough you can cut heads off, dosn't seem right.

[Valiente]

Yeah, a high level monk would mess up a ranger NP.

[mutt]

kill em with a good trap that always kills those one character depending partys i'd say use a classic trap such as a seperation trick than kill the ranger suffication or burn the little bugger with about twenty fireballs trap if that dont killhim nothing can

[waspwriter]

one that my dm pulled on me once, a crystle golem that holds acid inside and inchanted so that it desolves ranged weapons. when a pc hits it it shatters. the crystle deals pearcing and the acid eats any magic items and part of the players that dont make a save. my advice is to have them make seprit saves for there items. you could also have a monk graple the ranger so that he cant fire his bow. ps a monk can also hurt him wile holding him.

[Eldarin]

Simple, dont allow the players to do the arrows, and i dont think you can get 12 shots off a round, thats just stupid, thats 2 loads, aims and fires a second. And if the whine, tell them a wizard did it.

[moo_poo323]

try a master piece of mine; the acid trap. either that or one called 'a fine red mist' (hint hint, the mist is blood.) PM me for more info.

[Valiente]

Rangers usually have really good reflex saves, so while traps can be good, if it's a reflex save there's always a chance the ranger will pass it.

I still think NPC's with actual class levels would prove more effective.

Arcane spell user that can cast lightning bolt + suprise round + monsters = bad.

[Zibad]

wuzzup yall

[DarkWarrior666]

give them cursed item

[Nabrin]

words of advice ,if you have a charecter like that killing off dragons you may whant to send a avatar of tiamat(deities and demigods book).
that all the help i can offer

[Nabrin]

come to think of it why not make him face a double of himself it would kill the double and thr rgr

[ProditorCado]

How would you kill a god with 36 strength, 29 divine ranks, a crap load of magical items, and, 6 billion orcs he invented. I wasn't able to stop him because he played on his own, seperate from my campaign. I was thinking about ripping his character out of my world, or killing it with Hind's blood. But, if you could think of a way, that'd be great.

[Valiente]

No offense or anything man, but why did you even allow that in your game in the first place?

If I were you, I would pull him out immediately and make him make a viable, believable character. when a character is that unreasonable (which it is) and that unbalanced, you don't even need to offer an explanation if he cannot figure it out himself.

[ProditorCado]

He was in the first group I ever dmed. He was reasonable, until he went off and did his own thing. Now I can't kick him from the game because I'll lose the ability to play my character from that group, even though he is a normal by the book character. And the person I am speaking of won't stop complaining about it. And if he decides not to play, there goes a fourth of the group.

[Valiente]

I wasn't trying to suggest booting him out all together--just to have him make a reasonable character, and being level 29 with a 35 in strength is most decidedly NOT reasonable, unless you're all playing epic level.

If I were you, I would hold firm to my belief that this wanna-be god character should not be traipsing about with any kind of normal group. If the person wants to be a whiny and immature little (insert word here) about it, I say let them. You're not the one's that wrong.

[Eldarin]

Ok, about the literal GOD character, theres an easy answer. Somthing created the universe right? one of those Uber-dieties that the DMG ( I think its DMG) talks about. Well, somthing that powerfull probably wouldnt want to be challenged at all. From what ive heard.. 20 deity ranks is just about as powerfull a god that anyone sees. 29 is a bit insane, but how many do you think it would take to create an entier universe. Stomp the character with the Uber-diety that fits in your campaign. And if they whine about it? Tell them an Uber-wizard did it =P.

[moo_poo323]

As DM, you are god. just say he gets a blow! he loses something! that's all you have to do.....

[WarhookDM]

Let's get back to Confused's problem. I can think of a couple ways to deal with him right off:

#1: High-level rogue steals his Bow one night, and disappears for parts unknown. Even if the party wants to buy him another one, that isn't something you can acquire "off the rack"; they will have to commission it, and that will take some time to make (1 day/1000 gp market value). This is not necessarily a permanent solution, but it will give you some breathing room.

#2: Whenever he fumbles, declare that his bowstring broke. Since it takes at least 1 or 2 rounds to restring a bow (assuming he has spare strings) that takes him out of the fight for a little while. Also, the FIRST time he fumbles, CHECK HIS SHEET! If he doesn't have spare strings written on it, he is not going to be able to restring the bow until he gets some strings; then you can charge an exhorbitant price for the "special" bowstrings his bow will require. :rotflmao: ALSO, since he will be in combat the first time it happens, well, the rest of the party will learn a VALUABLE lesson about keeping a BALANCED group; one-trick ponies are great, UNTIL the TRICK CANNOT BE DONE! {added in edit} The one problem with this is that the bowstring is magical in nature, so unless the arrow he fumbles is ALSO magical in nature, this call is technically not possible (Unless you rule that the bow is magical, the string is not, which strikes me as slightly munchkin. Probably JUSTIFIED in this case, but still munchkin.) I figured I better correct/warn you of that aspect before you try it, or I get flamed by a rules-lawyer type. :skidude2: {end of addition in edit}

#3: Run them into a wild magic zone, and cause the weapon in question to develop a high intelligence, and will of its own. After a few arguments with his weapon, the ranger will likely want to get rid of it on his own; it won't be worth the hassle any longer. :D

#4: Keep careful track of his ammo; the best bow in the world is USELESS without ARROWS.

#5: "One spell to kill them all; One spell to bind them." Can you say "Warp Wood"? Again, the best bow in the world is useless without ARROWS, and arrows are made of wood. Since the bow itself is +5, the odds that this spell would damage the BOW are practically nonexistent, but on the ARROWS . . . (and when they inevitably counter this trick with metal arrows, toss a few rust monsters at them! :D )

#5a: Two more words for you: "Mordenkainen's Disjunction". :devil:

#6: Rogue/Wizards with Improved Invisibility up. What he cannot see, he cannot easily hit. Meanwhile, they can surround him and well, can you say "Sneak Attack"? In my experience, PC's that rely on one form of combat are easily offed when they cannot USE that form. I have a high-level archer par excellance in my group; he is the most lethal member of the party. But he has also DIED more often than ANYONE else in the group, because when he gets pulled into melee combat, his dice go cold.

You get the idea . . .

Oh, and BTW, the justification for the High-Level rogue: By now, this guy is high enough level to have gained some renown; this will attract the attention of every rogue in the area.

and 1 more idea: Monsters that drain levels. Sporebats are particularly nasty in this regard; throw a flock of them at the party, at night (what they cannot see, they cannot easily hit), and then just play them as described in the Fiend Folio. Enough negative levels, and the ranger is DONE. He may be well equipped, but I will bet large sums that his "Touch" AC sucks! (This is an area frequently neglected by PC's.)

[Raleigh]

As DM, you are god. just say he gets a blow! he loses something! that's all you have to do.....
GOD as in Games Operations Designer... hehe :rofl:

[Hariman]

Two words: Ranged Sunder

Another Two: Reaping Mauler (Complete Warrior book)

Two more words: Level Reduction

Three words: Null Magic Zone

Cruel Prestige Class: Master of the Unseen Hand (CW book again). Trust me on that. When you pin the guy with telekinesis from hiding, and the only telekinetics in the area are rumored to be Mind Flayers, the party will get scared. Not to mention the fact that you can also chuck the archer right into the center of a group of the enemies that wants to capture him.

Mean, I don't like you, alienate the player Idea: Capture the Arcane Archer and have the rest of the party quest to rescue him. Give the Archer's player a new character for the duration of the rescue. If they rescue him.

Vicious, I don't like that, don't do it again, alienate the group idea: That Dragon had a family. Can that Arcane Archer handle an entire family of Dragons (10+) when they have the entire party surrounded?

Final thought: High level Rogue Archer who Wants That Bow.

And please post us if you use something. We'd like to hear what you used to remedy the problem.

[lunchbox2150]

or u could just kill him from someunkown place you are the dm and you can do what ever u want like de level him or just crush him and the whole team under a montian dungeon

[latamer]

Here is one of the best ways. There is an alignment of planets. When this happens (every 1000 years or so) magic is dead for two months. Set this right in the middle of something important (makes it so the end of the two months they are limping on crutches trying to do something that is time sensative to the pcs) and have them sidetracked by a mage. He will have a telescope and chalk boards covered in equations. There is all sorts of level of detail you can add to make it more fun. Basically what happens is magic resets itself. Magic items +3 or less are destroyed while +4 or higher are improved. The only magic that functions during the time is artifacts. I usually tie in this is how artifacts are fed their power and how magic items stronger than +4 are even created (since i never let my pc's do any better, usually +3 with a few kewl 1/day spell effects is lvl 12 or higher and it requires gathering deadly resources). This was done in 2nd Edition so for 3rd I think the + of the weapon would need to be modified accordingly. Preists even lose the ability to cast greater than 3rd level spells, mages usually turn to theives for the time being and it becomes a very personal struggle for them. I've used it twice in my many campaigns when I felt i had lost the reigns or just for a twist that most enjoyed thoroughly in the end.

[Godlike Being]

Replying to your post is the only reason that I created a login for this site. I had typed a long reply - but some glitch lost it.

Essentially, you made this mess because you either forgot or never knew the following cardinal rule:

You are the DM, this is your world and all of the rules in the universe are only guidelines.

You have been bested at this game because your players know the rules better than you. Shame. This is your world. Rules are yours and no other's, The nice people at Wizards of the Coast are making money by helping you out, gathering together some generalizations so you do not have to spend ten years creating your world, thank them. But; they are guidelines, rules, the limits of magic, rewards for the players, everything about your game should be YOURS. You should be the expert on your world.

Tips:

Keep your players off balance
Make the game challenging
Be a DM, not a computer program - you should be able to adapt and anticipate to anything your players throw at you, this is what makes you better than a computer - you ARE NOT limited by your programing.

If your players are incessantly quoting rules to force you into situations they like - DO NOT LET THEM!!!

No matter how you extricate yourself from this situation, another, probably worse one will crop up in three gaming sessions unless you learn to be a DM and control your game.

Take it or leave it! (and by 'it' I mean DMing)

If you are not capable of controlling your players while providing a fun environment, then you should let someone else try.

[Kian]

Hehe, Godlike Being makes some good points. I have a little advice to give you as well.

As he said, the rules are merely guidelines for the DM. You can change and alter anything you fell needs to be changed (or altered), in any way, shape or form. Don't let the players take control of the world. YOU are in charge. You call the shots.

But still, as a DM, and having chosen a game system, it is also your responsibility to know the rules. This whole mess began because you didn't know the rules beforehand.

This uber character has the Manyshot and the other archery feat, right? Well, guess what. Those feats DO NOT stack. In order to use the feat that gives you the extra attack, you have to use the full attack option. On the other hand, using the Manyshot feat and firing several arrows at once is a standard attack. You can't combine the two. Both feats are meant to be used in different situations.

Now, you are new at DMing. Noone expects you to know all the rules beforehand. After all, they are 3 books (plus accessories). However, before any gaming session you should make a point of looking up the rules that will likely come up during play. Specially those related to feats the characters choose, or special abilities by race or class.

And when reading the rules, make sure to pay attention to the wording. Different words have different meanings. Full attack is not the same as attack action, for example.

And remember the golden rule of any GM. "When in doubt, screw the players."

I hope you found this helpfull.