Pulling punches with a T1

[Raphite1]

I just started a new campaign and am playing a tier-1 class for the first time, a druid. I've played a sorcerer before, but he was very unoptimized for RP reasons, and although he had moments of greatness he often just served as a bit of utility. I'm really looking forward to RPing my druid and love the backstory I have for him, but I'm really concerned about him overshadowing the rest of the party. Aside from a single blaster-wizard, they're all tier-3 to tier-5. The characters all have pretty ridiculous stats due to extremely lucky rolls which we all shared. We're level 6.

I've deliberately not optimized my druid - he prefers to prep all of his spell slots with buffs for his animal companion and teammates, the companion is a fairly weak creature offensively, and I gave the companion a useless feat for RP reasons. Still, we've had one combat, and I think my character could have handed it all himself, just with buffs and mundane attack rolls. Concerned, I looked through the bestiary a bit yesterday, and I really think he could handle most CR-appropriate encounters for an average sized party. Part of this is because of his awesome stats, but we all have those.

How can I subtly pull punches with this guy so that he doesn't sap the fun from the other characters? I don't want it to be a senseless handicap, like "I don't full-attack this round because... um, feeling lazy I guess?" I intentionally chose weak options for the companion, and am intentionally not preparing the battlefield-dominating spells, just buffs for the companion and others. I'm not planning to use animal summoning for RP reasons. What else can I do that makes in-character sense?

[Amphetryon]

I just started a new campaign and am playing a tier-1 class for the first time, a druid. I've played a sorcerer before, but he was very unoptimized for RP reasons, and although he had moments of greatness he often just served as a bit of utility. I'm really looking forward to RPing my druid and love the backstory I have for him, but I'm really concerned about him overshadowing the rest of the party. Aside from a single blaster-wizard, they're all tier-3 to tier-5. The characters all have pretty ridiculous stats due to extremely lucky rolls which we all shared. We're level 6.

I've deliberately not optimized my druid - he prefers to prep all of his spell slots with buffs for his animal companion and teammates, the companion is a fairly weak creature offensively, and I gave the companion a useless feat for RP reasons. Still, we've had one combat, and I think my character could have handed it all himself, just with buffs and mundane attack rolls. Concerned, I looked through the bestiary a bit yesterday, and I really think he could handle most CR-appropriate encounters for an average sized party. Part of this is because of his awesome stats, but we all have those.

How can I subtly pull punches with this guy so that he doesn't sap the fun from the other characters? I don't want it to be a senseless handicap, like "I don't full-attack this round because... um, feeling lazy I guess?" I intentionally chose weak options for the companion, and am intentionally not preparing the battlefield-dominating spells, just buffs for the companion and others. I'm not planning to use animal summoning for RP reasons. What else can I do that makes in-character sense?

DID your character handle the encounter all by himself? If not, you may just be noticing potential, which is harder for other folks at the table to notice when you're not playing to it. Buffing your allies instead of your animals could also make them feel more engaged, if there's actually an issue.

[Seppo87]

I just started a new campaign and am playing a tier-1 class for the first time, a druid. I've played a sorcerer before, but he was very unoptimized for RP reasons, and although he had moments of greatness he often just served as a bit of utility. I'm really looking forward to RPing my druid and love the backstory I have for him, but I'm really concerned about him overshadowing the rest of the party. Aside from a single blaster-wizard, they're all tier-3 to tier-5. The characters all have pretty ridiculous stats due to extremely lucky rolls which we all shared. We're level 6.
To not steal anyone's role, it's more about how you play than how you build

Do:
-buff party members
-debuff enemies
-perform crowd control
-help with utility
-heal

Do not:
-Be a better melee than the primary melee
-Be a better explorer than the primary explorer
-Summon 100 creatures and have 100 turns per round

Special:
-Animal Companion can help the rogue for flanking purposes
-Only save the day with wild shape when all of the other means failed


How can I subtly pull punches with this guy so that he doesn't sap the fun from the other characters? I don't want it to be a senseless handicap, like "I don't full-attack this round because... um, feeling lazy I guess?"You can and will full attack, but if you buffed the fighter instead of yourself it won't be better than his full attack.



and am intentionally not preparing the battlefield-dominating spells, just buffs for the companion and others
Why? Being a god is good. Nobody will resent you for that

[Abd al-Azrad]

Very much agree with Seppo87.

The easiest ways to "steal thunder" is to be obviously better than anyone else. Most people measure that by raw damage output, flashy evocation or conjuration effects, etc.

Don't do that. Focus on making the enemies unable to perform to their greatest level, or work on making your party more effective damage dealers. You can be the lynchpin in your party's combat strategy, but as long as you're not outshining anyone else in obvious ways, they'll love you for your contributions.

[Raphite1]

DID your character handle the encounter all by himself?

He didn't handle the combat himself, but he did drop a strong enemy on the first round, so I spent most of the rest of the time using the companion and doing not-really-needed buffs.



You can and will full attack, but if you buffed the fighter instead of yourself it won't be better than his full attack.

Our melee fighter is a monk, and I have a martial archetype on my druid, so frustratingly my unbuffed druid may still be doing similar damage at range (he spent a feat on bow proficiency) as the buffed melee monk, especially if you add the companion's damage. But, maybe the monk just rolled badly in our first session and he'll do better on average - we've only had the one combat. Because of battlefield issues I also had trouble getting the companion in place to flank for the monk, so that'll probably be better in the future.

Good tips in these posts, thanks folks. I'll see how things go next session.

[grarrrg]

Every time you order your Companion to attack someone, roll a d20 first.
On an 11-to-20, Companion does as you asked.
On a 1-to-10, use this handy chart to determine the outcome:
Disobedience Chart (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Obedience#Disobedience_quotes)

[Psyren]

Try focusing on grappling. You can be awesome at that, but you will only take one enemy out of the fight at a time, helping the party while still giving them things to do. (Unless your DM is only coming at you with one enemy, which is a whole different problem.)

You can also go with the domain instead of the animal companion, giving you only one character to control, and pick one with more support spells.

[Seppo87]

frustratingly my unbuffed druid may still be doing similar damage at range (he spent a feat on bow proficiency)A commoner with the right feats could do that as well. It's not because you're a druid or anything.
Dude, you're just using a bow.

[Barstro]

If you specifically want to help the melee; send a tripping creature out to flank. That costs you some actions and allows the melee to hit more often and for more damage.

For general theory on how to be the best party member without looking like it; take yourself out of the equation. If the party consisted only of everyone else, what would best help them win? As a Druid you should easily be able to do whatever needs to be done (buff, debuff, herd, split).

[Vogonjeltz]

Our melee fighter is a monk, and I have a martial archetype on my druid, so frustratingly my unbuffed druid may still be doing similar damage at range (he spent a feat on bow proficiency) than the buffed melee monk, if you add the companion's damage. But, maybe the monk just rolled badly in our first session and he'll do better on average - we've only had the one combat. Because of battlefield issues I also had trouble getting the companion on place to flank for the monk, so that'll probably be better in the future.

Good tips in these posts, thanks folks. I'll see how things go next session.

I would advise you to withhold judgment till after a few combats, to see how the dynamic operates over time.

Pulling punches (deliberately doing things that you think are less effective than you could be) is a bad idea because it's insulting to both your teammates and your DM. As a player I would feel aggrieved if someone were underperforming, and deliberately making encounters more difficult for the group.

Adventurers want a teammate, not dead weight.

If you are dealing with all the threats faster than anyone else can, then the DM will adjust encounters accordingly, that is part of their role. Pulling punches sends the message that you don't trust your DM to do their job in making the game fun for everyone, and it sends a message to the other players that you feel they are useless. Neither of these things is positive.

[KingSmitty]

I sometimes "forget" to add certain bonuses i get to things so i actually fail at times

[frost890]

If you feel you need to do something to help them take a item creation feat. Your main "tank" is a monk. they are a glass cannon. Give him a miss chance when someone tries to hit him, or something that ups his AC. What is your animal? If you are looking for a flanker try a bird out with the bluff skill.quick flanking with flight and then it can distract with out over powering it for a flanking bonus. Use your nature skills to put a poison on the talons to slow them down/debuff.