| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Classic Pathfinder 1st Edition. I can never make it to the Teen levels for the same reason, the game just falls apart. There is not much to do that will truly improve the game experience when players are good. It'll just become Rocket tag.
Am doing my best to move all campaigns to Second Edition mainly because of your problem and that 2E entirely fixes this.
I’d say talk to both the individual first, but you may need to talk to the group as well.
If you think it’s just that the challenge of the game has been removed causing your issue start with that. Make sure to emphasize that it’s not they themselves at issue, but that the adventure writing doesn’t handle characters that powerful, and possibly the rest of the group’s ability and desire to build that tightly as to why you can’t tweak it to do so. This way you’re congratulating them for their mechanical ability even as you ask them to cut back on it.
It may be completely by the system rules to build an drastically more powerful character than the rest of the party, but it can hurt the groups enjoyment so it touches on the group social contract. A lot of groups in a lot of games I’ve been with have had some sort of rule, spoken or un, about keeping things balanced. And honestly as someone prone to building more powerful characters than intended it’s something I agree with. Making other characters feel like mooks, or preventing the GM being able to challenge the group both have serious negative consequences. But some people won’t know they’re even doing it unless you bring it up. After all, they may even think of themselves as having less impact on combat than the Wizard’s fireballs, despite being in reality an untouchable beacon of immortality.
If you still feel the need talk to the group. Not everyone enjoys high level play and it’s much much harder on the GM than anyone else. If your not enjoying it it might be time to call in instead of getting burnt out. Or someone else can try to pick up the reigns if they think they’ll be comfortable with it.
I could increase the diffculity but then I am going to be super swing for the other players at the table who don't have this advantage.
Well, you can change rules that against his PC (and only his PC) every monster gets +5 to hit and double damage. If this is not enough, make it +10 and triple damage. And so on, until he is challenged. Such individual difficulty changes are not covered by the rules but should still work out.
Just make sure to talk with him. Probably he'd like more challenge anyway, and very likely he will enjoy the honor of winning at increased difficulty level. Also he can keep his character this way, with all the power.
Leaving it alone is the last thing you should do. You're not having fun. If the GM isn't having fun, it's not a good game. Full stop.
Talk to your players. But not "to see if they're still having fun" and all that. TELL them that YOU'RE not having fun, and together come up with some ideas to help you enjoy the game again. If you can't find anything, it's time to end this game.
Changing the rules against this PC specifically...just feels like a terrible, terrible idea. I cannot imagine a player enjoying being singled out and having the rules broken to beat them down. It feels unfair, cheap and lame. Moreover, there's got to be a better solution. Maybe the player can tone down their character a bit. Maybe the other players can amp up theirs, and you step up the difficulty. Or again, maybe what's best is starting a new game, perhaps at a lower level.
I play a life Oracle in a 3-person Carrion Crown campaign and we have gotten almost to the end of Book Six without being seriously challenged more than a couple of times. This GM has TPKed multiple past campaigns, so I don't think she's going easy on us. In fact, she's told us she routinely maxes monster hit points. That being said, since I play one I think I know their capabilities well enough to say most life oracles probably have bad Fortitude and Reflex saves, bad touch AC, and so-so CMD (at best). Can't you use whatever part of that is true for this character to make things interesting for him?
For instance, some GMs play monsters with grab as if they would never consider using a straight grapple attack, even if their chance of hitting with their primary attack and actually getting the opportunity to use grab is very slim because of super high PC AC. They should forget about regular attacks against PCs who simply cannot be hit and go straight for the grapple.
Or give some of the baddies the fiendish template so their smite good ability comes into play. Or some sort of invisibility, which gives a+2 to hit on top of depriving most enemies of Dex and dodge bonuses. Use spells like Waves of Exhaustion (good saves don't work against no save) against him or Silence centered on a bad guy who is attempting to beat him down. The bad guy might not hurt him, but the oracle won't be contributing much aside from (Su) abilities until he gets away.
Traps. Most traps don't target Will.
Don't try to kill him, but forget about "fairness." Strange Aeons is a horror campaign; your players didn't sign up for it looking for fairness. They were looking to be made afraid.
The problem is he has built up the AC with spells and armor enchantment that none of my creatures can hit her 40AC.
I've experimented with adding a house rule to deal with this specific problem. There's a Fight Defensively option, but the game is much more in need of a Fight Offensively where creatures (and PCs) can make melee attacks with +4 to hit by taking a penalty to their AC or similar.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'm sorry that you're not enjoying the game at this point, especially since you're getting so close to the end. And if you're not enjoying it the players will know and it will make it significantly harder for them to enjoy it as well.
As PCs level up they become really good at what they've decided to be good at.
Life Oracles are able to save the party from pretty much everything you throw at them. I know this. I've played one and I have someone playing one in my current campaign. (Right now, my players are level 16). The character is disgusting. I love it. I can safely throw anything I want at them and I know that the group will survive. I've had a player go from full (130+ HP) to negative 40-something hit points, and back to full within 2 turns. (Enemy got full attacks off on the Paladin, Oracle used Breath of Life one turn, then Heal the next.)
Don't worry about not being able to hit that one. It's been too long since I've read Strange Aeons to provide specific suggestions, but general things are:
1) The PCs are supposed to win. Never forget that. The monsters die, sometimes the PCs might have a harder time achieving that goal than others, but sometimes it's really easy for them.
2) You get to set the pace of the encounters, not the players. Make them use up their resources. Yes, it seems like the oracle has a never-ending supply of healing magic... make it look like the enemies aren't going to let up, that way the player might try to be more conservative with their spells. In Strange Aeons, at this point, they're in unknown lands, right? They don't know what's over the next hill, around the next corner.... don't give them the chance to rest until you want them to be able to. Rope Trick can be dispelled, a hidden camp can be found. The enemies in the book doesn't have things that can do that? Give them a minion that can. Heck, make it a low CR creature that finds their camp while they're sitting around waiting for it to be late enough to fall asleep. That will show them that they can be found and will make them paranoid. If it doesn't make them paranoid, show them why they should've be worried.
3) As they get higher in levels HP damage starts to become less of a threat. Invisible attackers, plane-shifting magic, enemies can easily get away and come back later while the PCs are in another fight, flying enemies are super effective on a group unprepared for them... high level problems need high level solutions.
4) APs are written for 15 point buy, and 4 averagely built characters. Your PCs are neither of those things, right? Maybe apply the simple Advanced template to a lot (all?) of the enemies. It gives them a slight increase in power and defenses, and your Life Oracle will be able to handle all of the healing that the group will need. (Trust me, you're lucky to have a life oracle.... it means you can go REALLY hard on the group and they'll still be able to live through it and get to the end of the AP, which has an amazing pay-off)