How to deal with super PC?

[Vaahama]

Simply put, i'm working on a one week-end event for very old friends who have'nt played for years, some since last days of D&D 2nd. ed!
Basicaly a rare reunion around a PnP game.

Since most of them are rusted i (the DM) have already built their caracters whom they will randomly pick.
Since i don't need to worry about long term balance each of these level 10 caracters are maxed out with stats, feat, gear, magical item and so forth!

The more i go into the design process the more i realise that such a party will simply blow the adventure away!
Of course i don't want a party wipe, especialy for that rare occasion, but i would like them to have a decent challenge!

what kind of advance would you have for me beside maxing the monster's HP?

[Captain Yeti]

I would role out a few sample battles to help come up with some tactics for the monsters. A smart played monster will mean more then just maxing out the HPs on them, and you might start seeing some places where you can make it more challenging. My only other piece of advice would be that this is a reunion game, and fun is the main focus so a bit light on challenge might not be too horible.

[GermanyDM]

This isn't exactly what you asked, Vaahama, but make sure to focus on things other than what the monsters can do.

Make sure the players have lots of memorable things to do, like a small cave with earthen ramps around it they can run up and jump down from, vines to swing across while attacking, a fight beneath a stony promontory they could potentially bring crashing down on their foe's head.

Also, foes might be more interested in the all the goodies they're carrying than in killing them. Stat a few foes with good disarm or steal chances. Sometimes having your prized X stolen and getting it back is enough of an adventure hook for the whole weekend.

Lastly, a way to vary a monster's challenge is to give it a few potions, tattooes or other one-off magic that it can take to recover during the fight. As GM, you can decide whether it is willing to risk activating the magic (potential AOOs, etc) to justify the monster NOT using if if the challenge is already hard enough for the players. Lesser restoration, haste, expeditious retreat, gaseous form, they all give you the opportunity to bump up the difficulty quickly or leave it as is.

[james maissen]

Vaahama wrote:

what kind of advance would you have for me beside maxing the monster's HP?

First, even if you've run the characters through the mod, you don't know how your party will handle things. Parties always surprise you on both ends of the spectrum.

Corollary to that, ask yourself where they might mistake a situation for something else. You, knowing what the real deal is, assume that they do as well, and there might be a point where say a rogue readies an attack for the enemy monk to cast a spell, etc.

Second, if you are certain that they are way above the challenges, why not turn back the clock on the PCs and make them level 9 with commensurately less gear?

Third, look over the module and ask 'realism' questions. Many times people can have a monster waiting in its room ignoring the loud combat beside it. See if you can imagine certain reactions that will make the experience more 'realistic' in this event. Perhaps that will increase the level of challenge in many different ways.

-James

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

Sharks with friggin lazerbeams!

[sowhereaminow]

Honestly, just let them blow through the minions/side encounters. This will give them time to get familiar with the characters and comfortable with the system differences.

If you feel the need. up the hp on key encounters and the boss fight. If they are blowing through a key encounter, apply an on the fly advanced template to toughen up the encounter. Amazing what a +2 to hit, dam, saves, AC, save DC, and skills can do to an encounter.

And most of all - have fun!

[sowhereaminow]

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

Sharks with friggin lazerbeams!

Actually, this is a much better idea than mine...

[Charlie Bell]

So, you deliberately built super PCs, and now you're worried that they will blow through encounters?

[Sleet Storm]

Wait....you are building their characters, and you are afraid that those characters will be so optimized that they break your game???

"............"

Ninja'd by disbelief

[Gherrick]

I kinda agree with the "roll back the clock" thought and have you tweak the characters a bit to tone them down. Perhaps make them a little more well-rounded, and not so specialized. Did you use Point Buy, and how much?

[Roberta Yang]

I am hitting my head against a wall. But when I hit my head on the wall, it hurts. Can anyone advise me how to build a new wall that would hurt less when I hit my head against it?

[Gherrick]

Roberta Yang wrote:

I am hitting my head against a wall. But when I hit my head on the wall, it hurts. Can anyone advise me how to build a new wall that would hurt less when I hit my head against it?

Naw, they build walls with padding already. Just talk to your family physician and I am sure (s)he would be willing to issue you a day pass to a local establishment:)