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doliemaster
2007-03-09, 09:32 PM
I'm running a campaign of me,the dm, and my three players I totally ripped out the campaign from deltora quest, but they don't know that!:smallbiggrin:
Anyway they are causing me a nightmare! First of all 1 of them, or player A is mad cause the other players are much stronger than him, he's a dagonesti[that is the one with str bonuses right?] sea elf, fighter with no particualer magic items till recentently he is a video game/anime[mainly naruto] lover who just won't stop either copying them or coming up with crazy ideas like dragging a person over a wall with an arrow and a rope, and also he didn't get magic items cause he missed a boss battle that gave the others them.
Player b plays a half-elf bard that likes most video games and animes but not to and obsseive point, he is obviously power hungry and likes to ruin my plot to an unimportant level, like using some spells to make a stupid enemy that is majorly powerful attack a mirror image of itself when it was leaving anyway, this wasn't a major problem until recently with a control water spell and help from player A he drowned a level 15 wizardess, lv-2 archmage with an ac 30[protection spells] by moving a lake she was flying over and suffocating her[no swim ranks and a negative str mod.] and he is persistent with getting magic items.
Player C- is a uber powerful monster aka a half-elf druid who probably would read the druid spell list to his kids if he had any, now the overpoweredness isn't the problem it's that he seems to want to do sucicedal things cause he thinks his character is a god unless I make something sound like a super creature then he becomes an earthworm.

Help me!

Clementx
2007-03-09, 10:00 PM
My first question is how a low-level bard managed to cast a lvl6 Sor/Wiz spell like Control Water.

Miles Invictus
2007-03-09, 10:13 PM
If player A is significantly weaker than the other players, and it's because he doesn't have any items, you need to address that. In the next couple of treasure troves, make sure that there's at least one or two items that'll help bring him up to par.

I'd love to know how player B drowned a flying creature with Control Water. It can raise water by two feet per caster level. If he's claiming all of the magic items, you need to address that, too -- because it sounds like he's doing it at the expense of player A. (oh, and Clementx brings up a good point. It's not even a Bard spell!)

This forum has a number of excellent threads on how to run horror campaigns, by the way. You might find some useful advice in them.

doliemaster
2007-03-10, 01:12 AM
no to the horror campgain one this isn't a horror campaign I'm saying my characters are driving me crazy!
Also the weather was either a lv up or he cheated and it's to late to change it, besides if it's neither of those that was my sheet that I was going to use elsewhere and didn't have time to modify.
Also it is a bard spell I triple checked it's lv-5 bard, and the wizardess with fly cast on her was right above the water, and the expense thing is that player A wasn't there when the major not gem magic artifacts were won and he hasn't made alot of gold, I've tried helping but it's getting hard to mess with it so much.

Jack Mann
2007-03-10, 01:42 AM
It's never too late to change it. You can veto any spell you like, even if the player has already used it, especially if it was illegal for him to have it.

Talanic
2007-03-10, 02:25 AM
Yeah, it's not listed as a bard spell at all on the SRD (which is supposed to trump other sources if they conflict, isn't it?) If it's not a bard spell (which, according to our sources at least, it is not), he can't use a wand or scroll of it, either.

And if it's a level 5 bard spell, he's at least 13th level, right? The party should have a fair deal of magic items by that point...it seems like you may be new to this. Am I right? We're here to help!

doliemaster
2007-03-10, 04:30 AM
The game started at lv.10 and they each have atleast 1 overpowerd magic item, Player 1 has a 2d6+5 sword with a +5 to atk and a helmet that grants 1 min/lv of invisiblity,Player b has a enchanted crossbow and an uber sword[against evil anway] and drank a potion that made his hp double and he can't age, and player c has a +3 int,+3 wis gem and a gem that gives +3 con, +3fortitude.
Any ineptitude is due to lack of resources, We don't have nearby computers when playing, and I'm running a game with a phb 1,dragonlance campaign setting, and am using d20 modern urban arcana monsters[once making them suitable.]

Belkarseviltwin
2007-03-10, 11:21 AM
As for "lack of resources":
http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/monsters.htm
All the monsters you'll ever need. Print them out when you want to use them.

Talanic
2007-03-10, 12:22 PM
Wait, a potion of hp doubling? What was it called? Gems of +stat? Would those be Ioun stones? If so, you can only equip one at a time...

As for the archmage, I'dve ruled that the fly spell could lift her out if she got to the surface just once. Sometimes you get players winning by being smart and using the right spells in the right circumstances...though still, no resource I see says that a bard should be able to cast that...he picked it as one of his few slots for spells?

Jack Mann
2007-03-10, 04:28 PM
Actually, you can have as many ioun stones active as you want, with the caveat that most of them don't stack with themselves. They don't take up a slot.

PinkysBrain
2007-03-10, 04:40 PM
he drowned a level 15 wizardess, lv-2 archmage with an ac 30[protection spells] by moving a lake she was flying over and suffocating her[no swim ranks and a negative str mod.]
No offense, but learn to play your class ;) (In your case that unfortunately means all of them.) A wizard/sorcerer of that level without a silent dimension door is frankly unthinkable (either directly through the feat or with a rod). A ring of freedom of movement is also quite common at high levels, and with that she could have flown under water.

Besides, a NPC of that level will probably have friends which will resurrect her ...

Help me!Start killing PCs, actions have consequences.

Or if you don't want to kill them, have the wizardess resurrected and let her completely own the players ... after which she puts a geas on them to fulfill a quest for her as repayment.

Woot Spitum
2007-03-10, 04:53 PM
Have your evil villains escape by teleporting instead of flight. Problem solved. While getting back at your players for killing the recurring villain in an extremely cheesy manner might sound fun, I'd advise against it. The idea is to have fun, and simply trying to get back at people inn-game won't help. Maybe one encounter that goes after them in a manner they don't expect, but don't go for the total party kill just to assert your authority over them.

Tobrian
2007-03-10, 06:48 PM
Doliemaster, I can put my finger on your main problem right away:


((snip)) First of all 1 of them, or player A is mad cause the other players are much stronger than him, ((snip)), fighter with no particualer magic items till recentently he is a video game/anime[mainly naruto] lover who just won't stop either copying them (snip)

Player b plays a half-elf bard that likes most video games and animes but not to and obsseive point, he is obviously power hungry and likes to ruin my plot to an unimportant level, ((snip)) and he is persistent with getting magic items.

Player C- is a uber powerful monster aka a half-elf druid who probably would read the druid spell list to his kids if he had any, now the overpoweredness isn't the problem it's that he seems to want to do sucicedal things cause he thinks his character is a god ((snip))

It is my firm belief that rabid fans of animé TV series are unable to play ANY roleplaying game except maybe a game of godlike superheroes. Anime series like Dragonball and Yu-gi-oh are the worst. Teenagers who constantly rot their brains with superhero anime expect that their characters will never get more than a scratch, can fly at supersonic speeds and shoot fire from their hands, will always win, will always beat the bad guy, and if they cannot beat the bad guy the first time around because he is immune to their attacks, the problem can always be solved by using the same powers again but this time a lot harder... or by transforming into their super-Sayagin form and pulling some more extra special superpowers from thin air. When things don't work like that in their roleplaying group they will pout and whine until they get their will.


The game started at lv.10 and they each have atleast 1 overpowerd magic item, Player 1 has a 2d6+5 sword with a +5 to atk and a helmet that grants 1 min/lv of invisiblity,Player b has a enchanted crossbow and an uber sword[against evil anway] and drank a potion that made his hp double and he can't age, and player c has a +3 int,+3 wis gem and a gem that gives +3 con, +3fortitude.

Why did you start the game at level 10, instead of perhaps level 3?
So you showered them with powerful items. Sorry, it's your own fault if your players are spoiled. They never had to work for it.

Looking over the items, they're still in the power range for level 10+ characters, except for the strange potion. Permanently doubling hit points and immunity against aging effects sounds like an artifact, except that no-one can take it off him. (I remember that Dragonlance setting has some necromatic spells and monsters that can make characters age, at which point aging rules would result in physical attribute loss, so this potion is extremely powerful.)

But two gems, for a total of +12 attribute points, if that was a racial bonus the character would have at least a +2 racial level adjustment. While an item like a Headband of Intellect and Wisdom +3 or a Belt of Giant Strength and Constitution +3 is possible to create under the D&D rules (although most items gives bonus of +2 or +4), it sounds like these gems don't even fill an item slot? Wait... +3 CON, plus +3 Fortitude? Do you mean it gives a bonus on Constitution, and a bonus on Fortitude saves on top of it?? That would be strange.


he's a dagonesti[that is the one with str bonuses right?] sea elf

I'Ve only played Dragonlance under AD&D 2nd edition rules, and read the novels. But I thought the Dagonesti and Dimernesti sea elves cannot move far from water, or stay out of water for longer than some hours or maybe a day or two, unless they want to suffer damage?


Also the weather was either a lv up or he cheated and it's to late to change it, besides if it's neither of those that was my sheet that I was going to use elsewhere and didn't have time to modify.
Also it is a bard spell I triple checked it's lv-5 bard,

As per my D&D Player's Handbook 3.5 it is NOT a bard spell: Control Water, page 214: Cleric 4, Druid 4, Sorc/Wizard 6, Water domain 4. I'm not sure what rules you are using.

Unless that bard had a scroll of the spell and used Use Magic Device, or had a magic rod that created the effect, he cheated.


(...) this wasn't a major problem until recently with a control water spell and help from player A he drowned a level 15 wizardess, lv-2 archmage with an ac 30[protection spells] by moving a lake she was flying over and suffocating her[no swim ranks and a negative str mod.]
and the wizardess with fly cast on her was right above the water

Next time, check the damn spell description. Control Water does not enable a caster to raise water more than 2 feet per caster level, the area of effect is up zo 10x10 feet/caster level square. The spell does NOT enable you to shape the water into tentacles or grabbing hands made of water rearing up against the pull of gravity. The whole "whirlpool" stuff mentioned in the lowering water option is limited to extremely large bodies of water, i.e. oceans.

One Question: If the wizardess used a Fly spell, even if she was engulfed by water, why the hell didnt she simply fly upwards to get out of the water?? The Control Water spell does not enable your player to ensnare her inside the bulge of water.

Under d20 D&D rules characters can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to their Constitution attribute, and then they must roll every round if they start drowning. Plenty of time to get out. Of she could have made a Concentration roll and cast Greater Dispel Magic on the effected water around her.


unless I make something sound like a super creature then he becomes an earthworm.

Earthworms are not tiny creatures. Cats are "tiny". Earthworms under d20 PHB 3.5 rules are "minuscule". Normal druids can only become as small as "tiny", at level 11, under 3.5 rules. I would have to dig out my 3.0 rule books to check if the druid's wildshape ability worked vastly different under 3.0 rules.


Any ineptitude is due to lack of resources, We don't have nearby computers when playing, and I'm running a game with a phb 1,dragonlance campaign setting, and am using d20 modern urban arcana monsters[once making them suitable.]

I don't have a running computer or laptop at the table when I run a game (it only distracts players) and you don't need one to play either. But for god's sake, please either buy at least the core rulebooks or use the internet to get the info you need and print it out.
Why are you mixing d20 modern urban arcana monsters with Dragonlance setting??
Dragonlance had a number of unique monsters and races, and certain races like orcs, drow elves, thri-kreen didn't exist on Krynn. While the old AD&D Monsters of Dragonlance book is long since out of print, some Dragonlance monsters appeared in old AD&D Dragonlance modules that might still be around gathering dust in some comics/game shop. Check the internet, a lot of fans have updated old Dragonlance monsters from AD&D to d20 D&D and have posted the stats on their homepages or on D&D forums. Try googling for it, or check Wizards of the Coast's forums.

Are you using Dragonlance War of the Lance, Dragonlance 5th Age (post-Chaos War) or Dragonlance d20 Age of Mortals as a setting?

I'm not sure your campaign is still salvageable at this point. Perhaps you should start a new one, with lower-level characters. If your players can grow up and get past their anime/munchkin power trip and learn that not everything is about winning and that ripping off character ideas from TV series or literature does not make their character as cool as the original, they could make good players. They are resourceful and come up with interesting ideas, that's a lot better than players who can't even be bothered to learn what spells their cleric has or what dice to roll and never pay attention to the plot.

The problem from what you described is that your players try to bend the rules or come up with weird ideas but don't apply common sense. For example, the idea with the arrow and the rope to "spear" an enemy and drag him towards the characters is interesting, but common sense would tell you that it won't work, any force strong enough to drag a grown adult man across obstacles would rip the arrow out of the body even if the arrow had barbs. And if you tie a rope strong enough to pull a man to an arrow, that arrow won't fly because the rope is too heavy. If they want to pull off their idea, they would need to use a harpune (that'S what they were designed for after all) or a siege engine bolt launcher that launches large barbed javelins at the enemy.

Maybe you should try another system. D&D is strongly geared towards tactical combat, combat is not very lethal for PCs and there are many healing spells. Characters that are expected to "win" and grow very powerful. Players expect to find magical items as their characters go up in level. And sad to say, from my own experience the d20 system encourages min-maxing of characters, players get conditioned to aim for the "perfect" character. Finding the right combination of feats and race and prestige classes to beat every challenge often becomes more important than the actual story and roleplaying /character development.

Perhaps they should first learn to play characters without magical items. Then they'd have to use their cleverness to survive. Introduce some NPCs that are not merely either a) enemies, or b) quest givers. They have to learn that Out THere is a campaign world where things happen by their own and not everything revolves around their characters. Give their characters the opportunity to survive without having to be the biggest most powerful warriors around, and that there are important interesting things for their characters to do that are not connected to combat or magic. Ask them to come up with hobbies for their characters (maybe grant them a one-time bonus of two bonus skill points at character creation to use only on a hobby skill like Craft or Perform. Something that cannot be abused for powergaming.)

Edited to add:

Or if you don't want to kill them, have the wizardess resurrected and let her completely own the players ... after which she puts a geas on them to fulfill a quest for her as repayment.

I must strongly advise against that. I learned from painful experience that spells like Dominate Person and Geas are nifty and cool, but unfortunately using them on player characters is the single worst decision you can make. Even gentle non-powergaming players get frustrated and angry if their gamemaster has the villain use mental enchantments on them to push them around like puppets. It only leads to the players maniacally trying to kill the villain even more. Now imagine how players who think of their character as demigods will react: explosively. The lesson they learn from it is that their characters were still too weak, they need more powers, the spiral of powergaming turns even faster.

doliemaster
2007-03-10, 08:40 PM
They worked for the items, but not hard enough in my opinion, they bought the magic crossbow and ubersword,[I should really take away druid's money sometime], the jewels are the center of the quest they are in, the 2d6+5 blade was from a boss that I had to beat FOR THEM, via plot device, and before anyone says I should have let them die, with how the plot worked[player 3 secretly being rightful king of nation, I didn't pick him but he took the jewels before anyone else did] the potion came from the boss, the helmet was bought[must take the gold away]the wizardess wasn't the main villian she was a boss and a type of miniruler, with the shadow lord ruling and her in control of a dukedom in his territory and if the bard did't cast it it might of been player c. Also all my books come from a half-priced books and currently even if they got some of the core-books I couldn't afford them, my players don't even own a phb, they use mine, yet they won't even donate to help me get them the books to improve the game.My printer doesn't work and also to restarting I get similary problems in many campgains I run with them, they are my only players nearby, and they always make it go crazy and to make matters with C worse he seems to think that he has connections with all other organizations, I have a npc pull out a pelor amulet and he says he rolled with them, he's a weapon's enthuisiast yet has no knowledge skill in it or in a backstory!

Tobrian
2007-03-10, 08:58 PM
Can't the players take the job of printing stuff out for you then?
Well, it sounds as if the situation sucks on all fronts.

Perhaps you should switch to a funny over the top game for a while, freestyle, something like Hongkong movie kung-fu.
Or if you want rules, but rules-lite, try the Ninja Burger® (http://ninjaburger.com/) RPG.
116 page rulebook is everything you need to play, downloadable as PDF, costs only 10 dollars. Available here (http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=NBRPG), here (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=11881&affiliate_id=14551) and here (http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=6754).

I admit I've not yet played it, because the people I usually play with have glad if they can find enough time every couple weeks or month to play our regular campaigns, and the guy who used to be the greatest gamemaster for fast-paced "silly" games like Paranoia and Toons moved 600 km away some years ago. But he was the one who told me about it, and it sounds hilarious.

Players have to play along with the genre though or otherwise it falls apart, but the genre is one they should be familiar with only turned into a crazy parody. :smallbiggrin:

toddex
2007-03-10, 09:38 PM
5TH-LEVEL BARD SPELLS
Cure Light Wounds, Mass: Cures 1d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
Dispel Magic, Greater: As dispel magic, but +20 on check.
Dream: Sends message to anyone sleeping.
False Vision M: Fools scrying with an illusion.
Heroism, Greater: Gives +4 bonus on attack rolls, saves, skill checks; immunity to fear; temporary hp.
Mind Fog: Subjects in fog get –10 to Wis and Will checks.
Mirage Arcana: As hallucinatory terrain, plus structures.
Mislead: Turns you invisible and creates illusory double.
Nightmare: Sends vision dealing 1d10 damage, fatigue.
Persistent Image: As major image, but no concentration required.
Seeming: Changes appearance of one person per two levels.
Shadow Evocation: Mimics evocation of lower than 5th level, but only 20% real.
Shadow Walk: Step into shadow to travel rapidly.
Song of Discord: Forces targets to attack each other.
Suggestion, Mass: As suggestion, plus one subject/level.
Summon Monster V: Calls extraplanar creature to fight for you.


I dont see control water in there. Nothing like it either.

What books are you using?



The only other thing I can say to you is start enforcing rules, and read more about them. If your player keeps insisting on adding things to his back story, well then help him out with that *evil smile*. Oh he rolled with them alright, and left them for dead when the chips came down. Maybe they arent to happy with that.

toddex
2007-03-10, 09:42 PM
Also this will help you alot.
http://www.d20srd.org/

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/srd35

PinkysBrain
2007-03-10, 11:46 PM
I assumed the 17th level caster wasn't the BBEG but just a random NPC the PCs decided to off ... if they ran into a 17th level caster BBEG at 10th level they should have been dead.

KoDT69
2007-03-11, 01:59 AM
Don't be afraid to have Contingent Resurrections on your BBEG's! All kinds of contingentcies can be in place simultaneously. There is also the fact that one of those uber over-powered items once belonged to a greater god who would promptly send his avatar or some divine servant to relinquish it from mortal hands. And I would rule as DM the potion could also be extracted, although it would NOT be pretty!

The Glyphstone
2007-03-11, 05:21 AM
Maybe you should try playing Exalted instead...characters are supposed to be godlike anime-esque monstrosities in that system, I believe.

Cowboy_ninja
2007-03-11, 02:02 PM
Or if you don't want to kill them, have the wizardess resurrected and let her completely own the players ... after which she puts a geas on them to fulfill a quest for her as repayment.

i LOOOVE that idea! lol.

yea have the wizardress resurected because after all if PC pitch in to res a friend then why shouldnt her friends.

then have her comeback with a vengence. putting some sort of spell on them where if they dont go to X location and get X treasure to pay for her ressurection.... they die.

end of story that should put them in their place! :smallbiggrin:

Talanic
2007-03-11, 05:02 PM
Wait, let me get this straight...

You killed the boss for them and gave them the loot...
The loot included a potion that doubles the drinker's max HP and prevents all aging...

So the boss had a potion that permanently doubles max HP and prevents all aging, and he didn't drink it himself?

PnP Fan
2007-03-12, 09:50 AM
A few suggestions:
1. The biggest thing your game is suffering from is lack of knowledge on all parts, players and DM. You don't need ALL of the books, you don't even need encyclopedic knowledge of the books you own, but you do need to read them, and you do need to have them at the table to reference. If you want to play D&D, lots of folks have already posted the SRD, go to it. Have your friends print out sections of it every week, put them into a binder for the group to use. If your Bard is the unbalancing factor in your game (first time I've ever heard that! ;-), then read up on what they can do, chances are you or your player is doing something wrong with spells (specifically a spell not on their list, that is far more effective than the way the spell reads.) I would start your printing with the PHB.
2. Once you've got the PHB printed, read it, and enforce it. Don't be a jerk, but be firm.
3. Ditch this campaign, it sounds like its' all messed up, and almost to an unrecoverable point anyway. Start with low level characters. If you've never run D&D before, start at first level, with a kobold/goblin encounter. Work your way up from there.
4. In the mean time, since you have the modern rules, why don't you play d20 Modern?
5. Anime players? Exalted is the way to go, but you've got limited funds, so that will take time to save up for. In the mean time, you can make up for numeric insufficiency with lots of descriptive text.
6. Remember, it's up to you to determine how powerful pc's get through treasure and equipment. If the PC's can't defeat a "boss" monster, then maybe they need to run away, or you need to tone down your boss encounters.
7. The players are supposed to win. It doesn't have to be easy, and a chance forfailure should exist, but they really should win most of the time.

It sounds like you don't lack in creativity, which is good, and that your interests are at least peripherally in line with your players. Sounds like you just need some knowledge, and practice. Remember, when you start downloading SRD and what not, the player's power level will start dropping. Explain to them how you(collectively) weren't going by the rules, how the rules work, and I'm sure they'll fall in line.

Good luck!

valadil
2007-03-12, 12:14 PM
It sounds like your players really just want to be powerful and see what kind of effect they can have on the world. I say you let them. Instead of a giving them a story that they can break, make your game more like a sandbox for them to mess around in. It'll be more fun for them and less stressful for you. With any luck they'll outgrow this phase some day.

doliemaster
2007-03-16, 10:24 PM
First of all stop with the frickin' d20 links I have the website on favorites, we don't play at my house, so to repeat LINKS DON'T HELP,stop posting them!
Next I tried to start at a lower level and in all truth I have even a harder time with lower level, there were three of them at Lv 1. and they failed to defeat a cr 2 shadow person. A freakin cr-2 shadowperson which I had attack the highest hp person first and move in that order yet they frickin' died 3 times in a row even when I fudged the shadowperson's rolls to make him miss. My other problems for the players are as following.
A.His only really annoying feature is he keeps sparking up anime conversations, and it's a real distraction.
B.The fact that he loses his character sheet more often than he freakin' pays attention, his first character was in our 1st level campaign a kagonesti elf ranger, and twin to player C's, I made that sheet 10 times!Then his bard sheet cause I got tired of making the ranger.
C.Can't find to much bad things with him, since aside from what I've said he is a good player, but I swear he would read any kids he'll have that druid spell list as a bedtime story!

Caelestion
2007-03-17, 09:48 AM
That would seem to be because you don't appear to understand the CR system. FOUR 1st-level characters can take on THREE - FOUR encounters at CR 1 before needing to rest. Three might be able to manage two to three.
A CR 2 encounter may well cripple them, especially if it has damage reduction etc.

Variable Arcana
2007-03-17, 10:34 AM
Why do you play at the house of someone who doesn't have a computer?

If you want to play D&D, you're going to need access to rulebooks at some point -- and you'll often need to look something up mid-game. Either print the whole thing out, chip in to buy a copy of the PH (you can print out or copy down the stuff from the MM that you'll need for a given session when you prep at home), or play at a house with internet access.

(As to character sheets.. I like to have my own copy of each character sheet when I DM -- but don't *give* your copy to the player if he loses his own, just let him copy from yours.)

Finally... don't let your players walk all over you. When the Bard pulls out his "I cast Control Water... that lets me do this, that and the other thing" -- and Control Water isn't on his character sheet, tell him he wastes his round trying to cast a spell he doesn't know. (If it is on his character sheet, you should have checked it with the rulebooks at some point...)

And if you're sure he cheated... well... inevitables exist for a reason.:smallgrin:

Morlark
2007-03-17, 06:59 PM
Yeah, it's not listed as a bard spell at all on the SRD (which is supposed to trump other sources if they conflict, isn't it?) If it's not a bard spell (which, according to our sources at least, it is not), he can't use a wand or scroll of it, either.

And if it's a level 5 bard spell, he's at least 13th level, right? The party should have a fair deal of magic items by that point...it seems like you may be new to this. Am I right? We're here to help!

Control Water is listed as Brd 5 in the 3.0 PHB. Perhaps they're playing a 3.0 game?

doliemaster
2007-03-17, 08:47 PM
Yeah it's a 3.0 game cause I coundn't find a 3.5 book and I'm going to scrap this game and then make a list of things I won't accept at the game with a penalty list,with talking about naruto at the game table a total party kill.

ArmorArmadillo
2007-03-17, 08:56 PM
I'm sorry, but this is not a horror players situation, this is a DM problem.
The DM is responsible for knowing rules more than the players; and he needs to be the authority on them. The players should help him, but he needs to either know the rules or have a copy of them. If you can't memorize them or gain access to a copy of the rules, you shouldn't be DMing.

Also, as for their overpowered items: you gave them to them. Even if they "earned" them, you still gave them to them. If you powergame villain gear and treasure, you will end up with powergamed players once they defeat them.

As for the Control Water situation; if you left your wizard in a position where she could be killed by a control water spell; your player wasn't doing something wrong by killing her. It's easy to prevent this kind of situation; you should.

As for the Shadow killing people; CR 2 monsters should be able to kill 1st level parties if they are lucky. Also, Shadows deal STR damage, so they are very dangerous.

PnP Fan
2007-03-18, 02:38 PM
Wow. . . wow.

1. Ditto with the CR2 vs. lvl 1 party. . . not a good idea on your part. If you have links and acomputer, read the CR system a little more carefully.
2. Your anime person. . . snag him before the game. Treat your players like people for cryin' out loud. If he's got an annoying habit, talk to him about it. Don't be a jerk, no matter how frustrated you are. Explain to him that he's distracting from the game, and that you'd need his help to keep eveyone else on track. Heck, put him in charge of killing the table talk. I find that if I give my "distracting players" the job of keeping everyone on track, then they tend to be less distracting.
3. hey, you've got at least one player who's a clutz. Big deal. No drama, just collect everyone's character sheet at the end of the session. Not only does that solve your lost charcter sheet problem, but it also gives you the opportunity to audit everyone's character sheet and find out who's screwing up/cheating, at home, in front of your bookmarked link to the SRD.
4. Print out the SRD. No one has to print the whole thing out, but if everyone prints out rules applicable to their character (spells, a few basic combat rules, etc. . .) then you'll at least have what you need to play for one evening at a time. If you are going to play D&D, you've got to shell out some cash. I know if you're young it can seem like a lot, but compared to other hobbies, buying three $30.00 books isn't really that bad (and really only one of those is a must). If you're short on cash, you might consider picking up an extra shift or doing more chores around the house for some extra allowance money (depending on your age).