Is it just those 2 characters? If not, what is the rest of the party? What kind of encounters have you been throwing at them, and what do they use to steamroll them?
Could you list the entire party composition. It may help us play to their weaknesses.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hi, i'm the DM of a homebrew game and my players just tend to steamroll through every fight i send at them, even the ones that are meant to be threatening. They are currently level 6 and we have an Telekineticist from the playtest and a Catfolk rogue. I'm having serious issues making an encounter that they don't annihilate in 2 rounds. Please help.
Throw them into the Tomb of Horrors without their realizing.
That dungeon eats steamrollers alive.
Throw them into the Tomb of Horrors without their realizing.
That dungeon eats steamrollers alive.
What is the Tomb of Horrors and how does it eat steamrollers?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It's a dungeon module, originally created by Gary Gygax sometime in the later part of the last century. There's an updated 3.5e version floating around on the interwebs somewhere.
It goes like this: A lich designs a dungeon. His end goal is not to create an epic but winable challenge appropriate for high-level murder-hobos. His end goal is to murderkill any murder-hobo, regardless of level, who has the audacity to think they can get into his tomb.
It goes like this: DM: There's a doorway.
P1: I enter the doorway.
DM: You pass through the doorway. You are teleported to the start of the dungeon, naked. You come out through the eye of that nasty-looking statue from before.
P1: I go back into the eye to rejoin my party!
DM: You die. Roll up a new character.
P2: I walk to the other end of the room to search the wall.
DM: You fall into a pit trap. You take 2d10+10 damage, make a fort save dc 25 or die from poison.
P2: *Rolls Dice*. *24*
There are no clues. There's no rhyme, nor is there reason. You just die.
What is the Tomb of Horrors and how does it eat steamrollers?Throw them into the Tomb of Horrors without their realizing.
That dungeon eats steamrollers alive.
Well...
From a purely literal perspective, not only is it quite likely that the dungeon actually EATS them, they're also going to be quite literally steamrolled (though not by a steam-powered steamroller, more like a golem-powered one).
My opinion is that the tomb of horrors is actually too evil. You need to play it with a bunch of players who've made character specifically for the occasion OR with players who are both prepared AND have experience with this type of dungeon.
This dungeon is full of things like this (and in order avoid any direct spoilers, this is a parahprase):
"There are two buttons. If the players press the right button, they die instantly from being teleported into the elemental plane of fire. If they press the left button, the bronze door opens"
And this one
"If the players approach the door, the floor opens and they fall into lava die."
If they ever survive to the final encounter of the dungeon, whatever they find there will basically kill one character per round.
There are also almost no battles.
|
| 6 people marked this as a favorite. |
Warning: If you read this poster you can never play the Original Tomb of Horrors. That's OK, though, because you're better off that way ... Note that this poster does not spoil, perhaps enhances, the fine sequel adventure Return to the Tomb of Horrors.
It's a big poster, and takes time to grok.
Be warned this poster is quite large, perhaps 10 MB. If you like the poster please + like this message, so more people see the poster.
I have realized that I hate this adventure, and will stab any DM that proposes to run that game for me, or it is discovered that I'm playing in that. (Barring the availability of sharp objects) :/
If I wanted to play HOL I would have picked up HOL.
Post their sheets. Also you may want to look at the rule-book again to make sure that everything is kosher.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Just throw Will saves at them. Any Will save will do.
Builds may help, but I'm more curious about how you're designing your encounters, and exactly how the pair are overcoming them.
|
Well, the class features for the Kinetecist means that the more fights they get into, the more burn they're bound to have built up, and less Hit points they have before they go down, so increasing the length of the adventuring day might do it.
I've never really seen a rogue be a problem, especially at 6th level it's too early for the surprise round claw pounce to decimate a target. And there's lots of ways to make sure a rogue doesn't always get sneak attack. Just trying to eliminate the chance to flank is one thing. Concealment is another, send a shadow mastiff after them in anything but daylight, and they're going to have a bad time of it. Or just throw an ooze in every once in a while.
In fact, I'd probably have more of a problem not throwing too much at them, I don't like running small groups just for this reason. The difference between challenge and TPK is just too close, in fact one crit from a greataxe would probably end this adventure real quick.
Whatever you plan to throw at them, throw two of them instead. If they're too powerful for the encounters you are giving them, add more opponents or increase the power level of the ones you already plan to use.
make it hard for melee to melee and ranged to range. Set your bad guys up on a ledge that requires at least 3 climb checks with high winds. High wind will make it impossible to hit with arrows and make it hard to fly. During the meantime the bad guys can drop large rocks on climbers (seeing how large rocks usually are catapult ammo and not affected by the wind as easily as arrows). Also while the are waiting for the pcs to get to em have spellcasters buff your bad guys so when the pcs get to em they are more powerful. Oh and use those casters to dispell the pcs just before they get to your bad guys.
then sit back and laugh manically.
Main thing is don't forget controlling the battlefield controls the battle and as a GM you basically get to dictate what the battlefield is like.
Terrain and environments make encounters more memorable and interesting than just flat floors. What if the PCs have to make Acrobatics checks to cross a narrow bridge? What if the floor is deep sticky mud and they can't charge or take 5' steps? What if it's all foggy and the range attack guys can't see anybody (but the dragon knows where they are and can breathe on them?) What if the room is full of fiery pits that they have to avoid (or maybe knock foes into?)
Do your players want to be challenged?
Consider this question, some few players really don't want to be challenged.
------------------------------------
Assuming they do, I usually find when someone has much of a problem with this it is one of 2 things.
1) The GM is trying to run published material as written for experienced players. (I used to be very bad about this.) Published material is usually written assuming 4 players, nearly complete noobs, 15 point buy, only core materials, and low grades of optimization. Most groups have more players, experienced players, 20 or even 25 point buy, most materials allowed, and high levels of optimization for combat.
For anything other than a small group of noobs, you just plain have to upgrade serious encounters.
2) Most encounters get to be very similar and so the PC’s know exactly what is needed and have the capabilities to handle it. Recently our group got done with a mini-arch that was almost entirely a particular class of undead. By the end of that, it was nearly impossible to challenge them. They recognized when the situation was likely, knew what capabilities they faced, and what tactics were needed to win.
I usually try to avoid ongoing similarity (though the current module really pushes trip builds). Variety of encounters, goals, tactics, environments, resources, etc… will fix this.
Jorman is not evil but was given bad information, you have to stop him without killing him.
I want a live Swamp Skulker (custom intelligent magical giant slug) for my collection.
Go into the underwater ice cave and bring me the head of the white dragon, I don’t care about her allies. (It is actually a powerful dragon disciple sorcerer or witch pretending to be a white dragon, so the group might be set up for the wrong kind of fight.)
A druid sending waves of summoned animal armies from out of line of sight.
Waves of attackers.
Drelnang is the Earl’s son. Protect him in the battles, but make him look good. He and everyone else have to think he is the real hero that brought us the victory.
Craiseen has to think it is the hobgoblins that attacked the manorhouse.
Make the Bracens think their god has forsaken them. We want them desperate to have us as allies.
Robberies are taking place in 2 different places at the same time. Stop both of them.
PC’s are framed for a crime while they are in the middle of tricky negotiations. Then assassins start hunting them.
The biggest one could be that the party has become famous enough that their competition knows about them and has taken steps to counter their known tactics. If they have fire blaster, the enemy have a scroll of communal resist energy fire. If they have SoD caster, there is a couple of counter spelling specialists to oppose them. If they have a heavily armored hulk, the enemy have wands of shocking grasp. Etc…