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I have a fire cleric/elementalist gnome in my campaign who currently has an AC 27 and is immune to fire and decided he wanted to permanently be smaller so he shrunk himself with a permanence spell and he is even harder to hit. I am running giant slayer and with him lobbing 50-70 point fireballs nearly nothing stands in his way. My question is should I require him to tone down his character because he is beating the system. Or should I crank up my mobs to combat him. I have found I can grab him but the problem is he now added escape artist. I cannot harm him while grappled can I? It seems like you should be able to pop him like a zit if you had a giants hens around you. Please offer any suggestions. Thanks.
I'd request a character audit before moving forward with anything. As GM, you have every right to make sure your players are making their characters correctly, and if they are making mistakes, then you should be aware, and correct the situation; especially if the mistakes are giving them unprecedented power.
I don't know how a character is getting immunity to an element by 9th level, especially as a Fire Cleric/Elementalist combo, whatever that is. Fire Clerics get resistances, yes, and maybe Elementalists too, but I don't think Resistances stack, and Fire Clerics only get immunity when they hit level 20, which is basically their capstone. So, I'd demand an audit so you understand how he's coming up with that.
I'd only suggest cranking up mobs if the other characters are having just as easy of a time, and even then, I'd ask the players if they think the AP is too easy, and then proceed to ninja-buff the monsters to give them more of a challenge.
In regards to buffing the mobs to counteract the cleric, note that AC is a minor defense, especially at 9th level, and will proceed to become miniscule as the levels increase.
His Reflex saves ought to suck nuts, since Clerics don't get good Reflex saves, though I don't know how invested in Dexterity he is. Determine how much of it is Flat-Footed AC, and how much is Touch AC. Target the lesser of those two if you can, and he won't be nearly as bad to hit.
Clerics are also fairly reliant on buffs if they're wanting to participate in combat. Catching them off-guard, before they get time to buff, is also a fair tactic.
Remember, just because he invested in Escape Artist doesn't mean he's good at it. His Escape Artist roll replaces his entire CMB roll to break the grapple. Even with full skill ranks (9) plus Dexterity (I don't know how much), and maybe the class skill, that's at least a +12, which isn't bad, it's certainly an upgrade to what he's probably had before (which is ~6 + whatever crap Strength he has). But, I'd be careful with trying to nullify his character choice of investing in Escape Artist, because he'd know you're trying to cheat him out of it.
Think area effects; just because he's small, with big AC, and an Escape Artist, doesn't mean he can't be affected by things like Fireball, Web, and so on. Heck, even stuff that simply targets creatures likewise would work, since you don't even need an attack roll or anything to affect them.
**EDIT** If he's throwing fireballs (I think he only gets that 1/day as a Domain spell as a Cleric), counterspell him. Dispel Magic does wonders as a counterspelling agent.
Any information on the party and the cleric (as well as any special rules) would be appreciative as well, if you want more precise and helpful feedback.
Considering that a good rule of thumb for determining unlikelihood of getting hit is equal to 20 + character level, 27 AC at level 9 is decent. Not optimal, but certainly good for a Cleric that isn't buffed.
Also, at 9th level, with average D10 hit dice and 14 Constitution (which is fairly hefty), a creature would have ~80 hit points. For a truly dedicated blaster, since they can cast an Intensified Empowered Fireball for a 4th level spell slot, and deal 1.5(13D6+13) damage, or an average of 59, that's almost 3/4 of their hit points gone within a single round, and that's just on one creature. Fireball is an area of effect.
Yes, there's a save DC, but our example creature (Giants) has crap Reflex, and a dedicated blaster will have a solid Save DC of 10 + 3 + 7 + 1, or approximately 21, so the likelihood of that creature making the save is pretty slim.
That's the damage of a dedicated blaster. (It's not a sorcerer, by the way.)
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Target his saves.Grapple with an optimised brawler,Hmm what else fire resistances/immunity,Use debuffs.A boss with class levels is always better then a big bad monster.Use tactics.USe rogues with invis potion sneak atacking the cleric with debuffs.
EDİT:If he is a big problem you can be a little bit mean though.If ı remember correctly even if you cast yourself a permanent spell.That spell can be dispelled.Then he is stuck at being medium again.
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EDİT:If he is a big problem you can be a little bit mean though.If ı remember correctly even if you cast yourself a permanent spell.That spell can be dispelled.Then he is stuck at being medium again.
I can speak from bitter personal experience to confirm this is true... I spent so much on that one fancy new +2 fist, only to have it dispelled... it shrank with a sad little waah-waah noise...
Spells you gain from your domains can only be prepared in domain slots, not in your regular spell slots, so that fixes the fireball problem immediately.
Aside from that, feel free to (when appropriate) target his weaknesses.
Why *wouldn't* a giant just grab the little thing and squeeze it rather than trying to hit it? His CMD should be garbage, and it makes sense that giants would target it the moment he dodges their first attack.
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Nope. It's another grapple check. On the first round, success means the target is grappled.
On the second around (assuming the giant is still the primary grappler) a second successful grapple check (with a +5 for maintaining), he can do one of several things to the cleric:
-Do damage with an unarmed strike, a natural attack, or an attack made with armor spikes or a light or one-handed weapon.
-Pin him (a nasty condition for any caster)
-Move him 1/2 the giant's speed
-Tie him up (at a -10 unless he's pinned or restrained first)
Grappled is probably bad enough for your spellcaster from a debuff POV, so repeated grapple checks for damage are probably enough. At least until you scare him into having freedom of movement available at all times.