OP PC destroying the army

[JNAProductions]

dont do tuckers kobolds, it might be fun for a dm but it wont be fun for a pc, particularly if they have to deal with it more than once. Its just frustrating.

Depends on the players. Many players would be frustrated, yeah, but some would take it as a call to get smart.

Know your table, and do what's best for them. I've heard of tables with a half-dozen DMPCs where everyone is having a grand ol' time, which is horribly against any advice I've received and given. Probably wouldn't work for me. But it worked for them, so who cares?

[Friv]

i dont know what you mean by "1 attack unless 5' step" can you elaborate that for me?

In D&D 3.x, unless you have a special ability that specifically allows for it you can't make multiple attacks if you move more than five feet, regardless of how many attacks you have access to. This means that if you're charging into the middle of a group of people you're usually reliant on Cleave and Great Cleave to hit more than one of them, and if this is a Goliath (LA +1) who's a Barbarian on top of that, he presumably only has so many feats.

the goliaths ac is around 23 or 25 depending on rage and a couple other magic things that happen in battle. i have used large amounts of arrows to combat the pc before during a bridge battle. the pc was forced to retreat a couple times due to the number of arrows flying at it.

I was going to say that this also seems a bit hinky, given that goliaths have a Dexterity penalty, but I guess +1 Full Plate gets you to AC 20, and then if you have four arms you can toss a shield on top of that and still be flailing away with two-handed weapons and maybe have an extra item for bonus AC.

Even so, I definitely feel like there may be some shenanigans in play. They might not be deliberate shenanigans, but it feels a bit like this character has taken the strengths of a few different approaches and none of the weaknesses.

in general everyone including myself is having more fun now that ive increased the amount of enemies to fight in an encounter. earlier when i increased mob health there was less fun and more confusion due to some things seaming unkillable. but in general its been better. and as stated in another reply i am also changing some mobs out for stronger CR rating ones that fit thier level. this means i have to customise red hand of doom more for them but it does give a far better challenge and make the fights fun.

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its also not so much a problem to fix its more im trying to figure out what i can do to make it a challenge for the pc but not overwhelming the other pcs while keeping it fun. but i will absolutely acknowledge my lack of experience dming but i find dming to me more fun for me them playing a pc. and playing with experienced dms is great since they both help me out and give me pointers

It sounds like you're making good progress on this front! I definitely agree that more enemies is usually more fun than tougher ones, because you can still have a challenge while feeling like sexy shoeless gods of war. A few CR bump-ups, the occasional enemy who prefers to hit and run and toss spells from a distance, and some extra non-combat challenges, and you can still have the goliath be king in his field of "stabbing people in the face" while having ways for the other players to shine. Rogues are good at mobility, traps, and scouting, so give good info that lets the rogue be in position to be close to those ranged enemies early on. Encourage the third player to pick up a spellcaster who can learn useful non-combat spells (unless they've already chosen their new character, obviously.)

[Quertus]

But why would a GM even run a game if it wasn't fun? It's usually quite a bit of work and if they aren't enjoying it, why would they bother at all?

Commitment. Training. Comradery. Not everyone has to view everything under the lens of "what's in it for me?".

[Batcathat]

Commitment. Training. Comradery. Not everyone has to view everything under the lens of "what's in it for me?".

I guess. Though that raises the question, why does it matter that the players have fun? Why should they be selfish and want to actually have fun instead of playing for selfless reasons like the GM?

[Willie the Duck]

I guess. Though that raises the question, why does it matter that the players have fun? Why should they be selfish and want to actually have fun instead of playing for selfless reasons like the GM?

This is a communal entertainment activity. No one person needs to have fun at any given time, but the group as a whole should hopefully be having fun doing this activity overall, and no one person is likely to stick around if they routinely don't have any fun (and 'fun' can be replaced with something like 'satisfaction' or 'sense of accomplishment' where appropriate).

[Batcathat]

This is a communal entertainment activity. No one person needs to have fun at any given time, but the group as a whole should hopefully be having fun doing this activity overall, and no one person is likely to stick around if they routinely don't have any fun (and 'fun' can be replaced with something like 'satisfaction' or 'sense of accomplishment' where appropriate).

I agree. Not everyone can count on having fun 100 percent of the time but the notion of the GM's fun somehow being less important seemed very odd to me.

[False God]

I agree. Not everyone can count on having fun 100 percent of the time but the notion of the GM's fun somehow being less important seemed very odd to me.

This is a communal entertainment activity. No one person needs to have fun at any given time, but the group as a whole should hopefully be having fun doing this activity overall, and no one person is likely to stick around if they routinely don't have any fun (and 'fun' can be replaced with something like 'satisfaction' or 'sense of accomplishment' where appropriate).

I guess. Though that raises the question, why does it matter that the players have fun? Why should they be selfish and want to actually have fun instead of playing for selfless reasons like the GM?

Commitment. Training. Comradery. Not everyone has to view everything under the lens of "what's in it for me?".

This is all precisely why we need to stop thinking of the DM as this "other". Their responsibility is the same as the players: to ensure an enjoyable game is had by all. They're running NPCs and setting up the terrain, but that's just the "role" they're "playing" in this game. The players should be equally burdened to enforce the rules properly (especially on themselves), to ensure their actions are not causing active un-fun for the rest of the table (DM included).

The DM is a Player. Their role is different. But many of the burdens the DM undertakes voluntarily ought to be undertaken by everyone else at the table as well. Ensuring table fun should never be a martyr-like activity. If the people you are playing with cannot be bothered to care for the enjoyment of the DM or other players as well, those people are jerks. Self-flagellation for their enjoyment is not a healthy way to go about gaming.

This kinda goes over to that other thread on murderhobos. If one of more of the players are causing a problem, their character's alignment has nothing to do with it, but everything to do with how that player decided it was okay to value their "fun" above all others.

[Slipjig]

Tucker's Kobolds can be fun, especially if the DM drops some hints early on that wiping out the kobolds through straight combat is unlikely,, and that the PCs should count just surviving as a victory.

[zolfo]

for the upcoming fight i think im gonna redesign the suggested area from the campaign into something a bit more challenging. adding some traps and murder holes and things like that. i think im also gonna make a part where the pcs get trapped in a room and a flood of goblins come in from one side, think zombies charging a few survivors in a store, maybe some sort of arena. could be a fun event and lets me add as many gobs as i like but not so many as to tpk. giving the players a moment of "oh ****" but a satisfying victory when it ends for all involved

[Quertus]

This is all precisely why we need to stop thinking of the DM as this "other". Their responsibility is the same as the players: to ensure an enjoyable game is had by all. They're running NPCs and setting up the terrain, but that's just the "role" they're "playing" in this game. The players should be equally burdened to enforce the rules properly (especially on themselves), to ensure their actions are not causing active un-fun for the rest of the table (DM included).

The DM is a Player. Their role is different. But many of the burdens the DM undertakes voluntarily ought to be undertaken by everyone else at the table as well. Ensuring table fun should never be a martyr-like activity. If the people you are playing with cannot be bothered to care for the enjoyment of the DM or other players as well, those people are jerks. Self-flagellation for their enjoyment is not a healthy way to go about gaming.

This kinda goes over to that other thread on murderhobos. If one of more of the players are causing a problem, their character's alignment has nothing to do with it, but everything to do with how that player decided it was okay to value their "fun" above all others.

I agree with you that *all* of the players should care about and do everything in their power to create a game that is fun for all. And, yes, I include "enforcing the rules properly" in that category - in fact, I often talk about how the healthiest groups usually have the players adjudicating the rules as readily as the GM.

So, if I agree this far, why do I hold the GM to higher standards of abnegation?

Well, several reasons.

I've seen far, far too many GMs go the opposite direction. (In part because humans are bad at "fair")

It's too easy for the GM to lose sight of the players' fun.

Many players - even ones who are great at watching out for one another's fun - haven't a clue how to facilitate a GM's fun.

Thus, my gaming religion says that the GM should chalk it up to their own error, and take the satisfaction of a learning experience, rather than ruin everyone else's fun.

[FabulousFizban]

Employ tactics rather than numbers. Or have the PC fall inti water and drown.

[DwarfFighter]

OPs decision to add more mobs seems ok to me. The player apparently enjoys playing a character that is killing heaps of enemies. Adding more of them shouldnt screw up things for the other PCs much.

It does sound like the PC in question warrants a review, though.

-DF