Best way to handle a Spike Chain weilding Bloodstorm Blade

[Aemoh87]

Normally I am really good at dealing with players, but in this very combat/skill/rp balanced campaign only one of my 5 players has chosen to optimize. He is using bloodstorm blade and a spiked chain with cleave. I have already hosed him because he was not using an apporpriatly sized weapon, but the reality is he is tiers above most of the party as it contains new players and a few experienced players who are trying very "different" builds.

Any advice to make combat fun for everyone with this fighter being able to deal so much damage to so many different targets?

[Morbis Meh]

Well first of all, what is the other party composed of? Secondly what is he doing that is broken? Cleave is a meh type feat because killing blows are limited at high levels. Is he throwing the chain and tripping everyone with it as he throws (via knockdown) then getting another attack using improved trip or something?

[Sylivin]

Keep him busy? More more more. More mobs more hit dice more.. whatever. They see him as the target of highest priority given he's a walking chainstorm of doom so they throw themselves at him. He gets to trip around with things and the rest of the party can plink away at everything else.

Note that there are many ways to deal with melee.. for the bad guys at least. Grease traps, entangle, tanglefoot bags, obscuring mist, illusions (or anything with a will save, really), rays of enfeeblement.. etc. Don't make it a habit, but make sure to shut him down completely sometimes and let the rest of the group finish things, or work to free him, or anything else where it becomes their turn to shine.

Also, might just want to figure out spotlight issues. If he's stealing the spotlight in battle all the time where are other ways you can make the new characters shine?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

First of all, his ability to treat ranged attacks as melee attacks only lasts during his own turn. When it's not his turn he only threatens his melee reach, not his thrown weapon reach. Even during his turn he does not threaten any squares he can throw the chain into, because each individual ranged attack is converted to a melee attack as it's made. AoOs grant a melee attack; he would need to be granted a ranged attack in order to convert it into a melee attack. He only threatens his normal melee reach no matter what.

Second, when throwing the chain, the range increment is ten feet, which is not affected by the chain's reach. Opponents within his normal reach are at the first range increment, attacks against opponents 15-20 ft. away are at -2, 25-30 ft. away is at -4, 35-40 ft. is -6, and 45-50 ft. is -8, and that is his maximum range. When he's counting his ranged attacks as melee attacks, he shouldn't benefit from any feats that improve a ranged attack, such as Point-Blank Shot, Far Shot, Ranged Weapon Mastery, etc. because he is choosing to make those as melee attacks instead of as ranged attacks.

Make a playful Kyton with a Ring of Invisibility take an interest in him and follow the party around. When he throws his chain the Kyton should cause it to wrap around him and tangle him up as he catches it, thus ruining his full attack. Between its regeneration and the ring of invisibility it can just run away if the party takes an interest in it, only to catch back up to them and continue its schemes.