The Arms-Race aspect of D&D (3.5)

[Jowgen]

As the ECL of any given campaign gets higher, both PCs and enemies get more powerful. There are a multitude of factors which affect how quickly and how much this happens, but in my opinion there are 3 main factors: book-access, DM-permissibility and Player-optimization-proneness.

While there is much variation from table to table, it seems to me like there is a tendency for players and DMs to engage in an arms-race on some level. The List of Nessecary magic items, for example, illustrates the need for certain abilities to stay relevant very well; and I think that "Rocket Tag" is a beautifully fitting metaphor for higher level combat.

Sometimes, these arms races have terrible results for campaigns (e.g. when the ueber-charger starts murdering everything things tend to get bad); but I like to think those are the exception. I like to think that in most campaigns, both players and DM conduct themselves in a sporting fashion in regards to cheese and optimization and everyone has a fun time as the arms race carries on in a controlled manner.

It is this controlled progression of the arms race that I'm interested in. I'd like to hear how other people have experienced it (e.g. learning curves, times things got out of hand, etc.) and what they think the inns and outs are. :smallsmile:

[OldTrees1]

My group has all 3 factors you named(book-access, DM-permissibility, and Player-optimization-proneness) and yet there is barely anything like an arms race.

My players know that I tailor my adventure arcs even if I don't tailor individual encounters(more on this later). So if they did not have internal breaks on their optimization(which luckily they all do to some extent or another, more on this later) then there would develop internal breaks in response to this external factor.

I tend to tailor my arcs such that the PCs start out as underdogs and grow in power while the threat levels of things are kept constant(but not all equal). This way the players make informed choices about what to tackle, as they get more powerful there are more and more things they can expect to tackle. Then I reset it again in the next arc(basically the PCs graduated to the next more powerful battlefield). These moments of resetting to the next arc are the closest we come to an arms race.

Finally I have been blessed with cooperative players. While they are all cooperative for slightly different personality reasons, the effect is the same that they are cooperating with me to create the sessions we will both enjoy. As such they have internal breaks on their optimization that they use to avoid being unbalanced.

I guess to name 1 factor that contributes a lot to avoiding an arms race:
I don't care if the PCs become more powerful than their foes in the middle of an arc and I control the balance at the beginning of each arc.

[Hrugner]

We tend to keep games from going too far above level 6-12 honestly, that seems where most of the games monsters and classes are well balanced. Beyond that, most of the game play happens off of the table top with developing contingencies, plots, item creation or shopping, or engaging in diplomacy with other world scourging power houses, since the rules don't do much in the realm of diplomacy it ends up being a **** way to resolve quests and an endless series of downtime play sessions.

[Thealtruistorc]

I actually created a specific campaign world built around this concept (This would be fun to put in a campaign journal if you're interested) and challenged my players to build and play their characters in ways that would make them the most potent killers possible (we've kept things T3 and below so far, but expect that to go overboard soon). Every time they find some trick that makes them seemingly unbeatable, I have to find some new way to maneuver around it, and vice versa. I've allowed pretty much every book, save for a few precautions (Pazuzu has been killed off, the Efreeti race has gone extinct due to overbinding, and Iron Heart Surge has been Iron Heart Surged out of existence). The result is actually quite fun, and keeps everyone innovating and thinking about the game in ways never considered before. It's good fun if you have a group who is very well-versed.

[frost890]

I have found that the Arms race is controlled easily by resources. If the campaign takes place in a large magic friendly city it is easier to get ahold of someone that can create the weapon of slay everything. If the campaign in one the outskirts of civilized society thing will have a more nature friendly feel. Yes they have a chance to find a great druid to make the fighters sword thundering but even if they find one who can why would he? Why would the war wizards take time from protecting the realm to help the party? Even if the players have helped the king in the past having a group running around that they can not control is never taken lightly.