Being "OP", How to deal?

[Pyron]

I just finished a Pathfinder session, and there is a consensus from both DM and other players that my character is a bit over-powered (aka, a pain in the butt). It's also becoming a bit of a party balance issue. Right now, it's not at the point where people want to throw me out of the group. But, I'm still torn about this, and not sure how to deal. On one hand, I think I've built my character too well because I want him to survive and do cool stuff. On the other hand, I wonder if the issue is other players just aren't playing their strengths.

We're also all level 7. To give an idea on the party's make-up, it consists of: 1) Dwarf Aegis (wields giant earth breaker), 2) Elven Wizard (New player, took summoning feat but as of yet he never summoned a monster), 3) Half-Orc Spiritualist (... I'm not sure what his strength is; I think he's focused on debuffing and fear), and 4) Myself: Halfling Steel-fist Warlord / Animus Adept (Dex focused, STR dumped; High AC). Recently, there was a fifth player who was playing the healer, but he is "Sir not appearing in this film" (ie, a no-show thus far).

So... I don't know if it's me, the party dynamic, or if the DM needs to better balance encounters? Or, is it a perception thing. Personally, I think the dwarf hits harder in melee, but I have higher AC and survivability with my maneuvers (plus I can annoy enemies with my debuffs).

So, my question is: has anyone else, as a player, dealt with this, and if so, how do you deal with it?

[SangoProduction]

In what way is he "OP"? If it's damage (as is usually the case with such accusations), then you know you don't have to deal the damage you roll. You can deal *up to* that. Save the big damage for when it really matters.

[Bohandas]

Then don't play your character's strengths too hard either, at least at such times as it would make roleplaying sense not to

[eldskald]

A solution I like is to help optimize the other party members. Sometimes, being OP is just realizing that you're OP. You know, some people don't realize that they're spending their actions inefficiently or that they could coordinate stuff more. It happens a lot with new players, and even more so with casters. Now, if their build is also poor, they could try retraining one or two feats if the DM allows. Just give them advice.

[Krazzman]

From what you wrote about your party set-up I think you are labeled OP because either Party-Setup, missing experience of other players or some other underlying problem.

Compare yourself to the Wizard for example. He seems summoning focused with his feats, but according to you hasn't summoned something yet. Meaning that he is probably underplaying his Wizard.

Then the Spiritualist, who is a bit of a Pet-class afaik, probably took a few too weak options and factors into the imbalance of the whole argument.

Then there is the fact that both Aegis and your classes are 3rd Party material with which the DM or other players might not be accustomed to.

Enhancing that is the fact that, as far as I can tell, you took a pretty hefty and dmg-wise strong discipline with loads of debuffs and good damage potential while being even more annoying to deal with due to your defenses. Which in turn might lead to resentment due to you stealing the other players spotlight.

I would deal with it in asking the others to close the gap a bit while giving up a bit of power myself or offer to reroll/rebuild if necessary.

[Epic Legand]

I have bumped into this problem many times. I have delt with it successfully only part of the time. You have several issues to deal with. 1) Your optimized 2) They are not well built or used 3) They have feeling of being overshadowed. Might seam silly to point each out, but each adds to the whole. Some players will always be unhappy if they are not the center of all storys, I don't know your party, or if this is the case here. 1A) Your optimized....you are probably well rounded and always have some way to contribute, rewrite your character to be more focused. Its fine to shine in your area, but when you ALWAYS shine, it can make others feel week. 2A)They are not well built.... See if other players are open to advice on how to better use their character ( some people get offended, some don't). Map out some battle plans ahead of time that help less experienced players get more mileage. 3A) Overshadowed .....Your DM and one player are being vocal about this, each must be addressed individually. Focus more of your efforts on the player who is vocal, make sure to leave them some room to shine in upcoming battles. Speak to the DM about doing exactly that, DM wants to have an easier time running, and probably feels challenging you might kill the rest. Point out flaws in your build, maybe you suck vs ranged things, maybe the druid can fly, and you can't. Remember, the point of the game is to have fun, there are many ways to do that.

[emeraldstreak]

I suggest a sober assessment of the group. If they are within a magnitude of your optimization ability, try working it out. If it's more, don't bother. Instead look for other groups more in-line with your ability.

[lolcat]

Can you go into a BFC / Tripper role or something like this? What is your combat-strategy at the moment?

[Pyron]

In what way is he "OP"? If it's damage (as is usually the case with such accusations), then you know you don't have to deal the damage you roll. You can deal *up to* that. Save the big damage for when it really matters.


Can you go into a BFC / Tripper role or something like this? What is your combat-strategy at the moment?

To answer both question: I think my character OP strengths come from his AC (31 vs 22 from the Aegis Dwarf) and certain defensive maneuvers like: Temporal Body Adjustment (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/path-of-war/disciplines-and-maneuvers/riven-hourglass-maneuvers). You'll have to scroll a bit, but the short of it: this ability let's me shake of a negative condition. Defenses are a bit strong: but at the moment, we do not have a healer (because the fifth player cleric has canceled twice on the game).

Damage-wise: My output averages 20 per round (and I don't multiple attacks), but, for comparison, the Dwarf Aegis can an average of 30-50 depending on how many times he attacks. So the problem is not damage. However, my DM observed that I hit more often, so I think my BAB is a few points higher. Also, the dwarf doesn't always use the Earth Breaker, so he does hold back in fights more often than I would.

My combat strategy is punching things with my fist or handaxe. Using maneuver or gylphs to inflict blindness, nausea, or knock prone for one round. I also set aside some maneuvers to support the team, such as Flash of Insight (to help re-roll a save). My disciplines are: Broken Fist (which I haven't used often as of late), Riven Hourglass, Elemental Flux and Sleeping Goddess (which I gained/swapped through a trait).

I'm not sure is gimping my damage output is the right way. Right now, we're in a dungeon and the DM scaled up the encounters by giving the monsters DR 10/-. Which means the Spiritualist is sol without my applications of the Elemental Weapon gylph. Additionally, I sorta gimped myself by putting on a cursed gauntlet which turned that arm into stone (normally against my better judgement; I guess wanted to do it as a good-will gesture and maybe for the challenge).

Long story short: I'm the quintessential one-armed halfling monk.


From what you wrote about your party set-up I think you are labeled OP because either Party-Setup, missing experience of other players or some other underlying problem. ...
I would deal with it in asking the others to close the gap a bit while giving up a bit of power myself or offer to reroll/rebuild if necessary.

This assessment is pretty spot on. Honestly, I think the Spiritualist and the Wizard could try to close the gap. If they want to... I will bring up the question in email, and ask what they're thoughts are. I also think the DM could work on tweaking the encounters to allow other the wizard/spiritualist to shine.

While I can look into sacrificing some power, I'm not keen on re-rolling. For one, I kinda like the character. Two, it's possible that the next character I roll could be seen as OP, only because of the GAP in experience.


I suggest a sober assessment of the group. If they are within a magnitude of your optimization ability, try working it out. If it's more, don't bother. Instead look for other groups more in-line with your ability.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to make that sort of decision, only because these are my friends (the DM and I campaigned together for a long time, and despite his concerns, he trusts me to be honest). I think I will try to work this out.