DM help: Pool of Radiance / Warmage.

[EPRock]

I have been running a Pool of Radiance module, and have found that I have to buff up the bad guys so that they do not get massacred by the player warmage.

From what I can tell it is an armor weilding Sorcerer, with more spells to choose from.

(Sorcerers usually take combat oriented spells and scrolls / wands of spells that they may need).

Some of the characters just got level 6

Currently the players are searching the polyadrium, and have escaped from the ambush leaving the crypt. (I had to buff the bad guys up immensely to even be able to attempt to capture the players.).

I do not want to kill the player, but figure a way to incapacitate them. I have been modifiying some of the cultists because they were pretty static and would get mowed down like nothing. Bah, any ideas?

 

[Nail]

You'll have to be more specific. That is: what are the Warmage's particular tactics?

Generally speaking, I'll bet they are all "ranged". There are simple, low level spells to slow this sort of thing down. Think about limiting his line of sight.

 

[EPRock]

Well I now have to start reading spells out of other spellbooks.

He was casting Hail of Stone, which was pretty disgusting, and he was casting it as a 1a instead of 1 rd. Grrrr

Now he has fireballs/stinking cloud, thankfully some of the spellcasters have resist elements. Grr

 

[moritheil]

Contrary to most DMs, I love warmages. Now, you're stuck running a module, so your options are very limited, but I find that the best way to deal with the excesses of a party that has one warmage is to put three of them in an opposing party. And guess who they identify as the biggest opposing threat?

Of course, you seem to be at cross purposes with yourself, because you stated that you really want to avoid killing the character. What's wrong with letting him die and letting the party raise him? After he dies a few times and loses a few levels, his overconfidence and disrespect for enemies will once again be replaced by a healthy fear of the unknown.

And yes, warmages are sorcerers that wear armor and cast from essentially the entire Evocation list, which effectively is their known spell list. They can't really cast anything else, though, so they don't do well as the sole mage for a party.

I have been running a Pool of Radiance module, and have found that I have to buff up the bad guys so that they do not get massacred by the player warmage.

From what I can tell it is an armor weilding Sorcerer, with more spells to choose from.

(Sorcerers usually take combat oriented spells and scrolls / wands of spells that they may need).

Some of the characters just got level 6

Currently the players are searching the polyadrium, and have escaped from the ambush leaving the crypt. (I had to buff the bad guys up immensely to even be able to attempt to capture the players.).

I do not want to kill the player, but figure a way to incapacitate them. I have been modifiying some of the cultists because they were pretty static and would get mowed down like nothing. Bah, any ideas?

 

[Liquidsabre]

Well I now have to start reading spells out of other spellbooks.

He was casting Hail of Stone, which was pretty disgusting, and he was casting it as a 1a instead of 1 rd. Grrrr

Now he has fireballs/stinking cloud, thankfully some of the spellcasters have resist elements. Grr

As long as you have access to all the spells the warmage is using, that is good. Hail of Stone can only be cast as 1 round action, how is the warmage casting the spell as a standard action? The only way to do this is to use the Rapid Spell metamagic feat. Hail of Stone doesn't look disgusting at all, dealing the same amount of damage as Burning Hands would but at range (but instead of cast as a Std Action as burning hands is, HoS is 1 round action so the spell isn't completed until the character's next round).

Warmages aren't even close to being useful outside of combat, aren't their close-quarters, traps, anything that can reduce ranges and create lot's of cover (making even ranged touch attacks hard to make)?

More specifics of what exactly this warmage has done to handle these encounters more easily than a regular sorcerer would help us help you out more.

 

[moritheil]

That's exactly what I'm talking about when I say that warmages make horrible lone party mages. And IMHO, what it sounds like the problem is is a mage on a rampage, rather than a specific "warmage over sorcerer" problem. Either way, three opposing mages with Improved Initiative will make quick work of the guy, provided that their screening fighters can keep back the rest of the player group for a turn or two.

IIRC Warmages have no abjurations; thus, three magic missiles cast at the warmage are likely to put the hurt on.

Warmages aren't even close to being useful outside of combat, aren't their close-quarters, traps, anything that can reduce ranges and create lot's of cover (making even ranged touch attacks hard to make)?

More specifics of what exactly this warmage has done to handle these encounters more easily than a regular sorcerer would help us help you out more.

 

[Nail]

More specifics of what exactly this warmage has done to handle these encounters more easily than a regular sorcerer would help us help you out more.

That would get you more responses.......

 

[EPRock]

More specifics of what exactly this warmage has done to handle these encounters more easily than a regular sorcerer would help us help you out more.

The problem was he was using Hail of Stone as a Standard Action, which is like a Mass Magic Missile, plus his damage bonus he was mowing down bad guys.

He would usually get lucky on initiative rolls and beat them. (He deals enough damage to take out the majority of enemy arcane casters.

Plus now the cleric stays near him to be able to heal him when damaged.

I am going to take some previous advice and have a few enemy warmages combat the party

 

[Liquidsabre]

The problem was he was using Hail of Stone as a Standard Action, which is like a Mass Magic Missile, plus his damage bonus he was mowing down bad guys.

I am going to take some previous advice and have a few enemy warmages combat the party

No need to do that. First thing, stop the casting of Hail of Stone as a standard action and make the warmage cast it as 1 round like he's suppose to. 1 round casting meaning that the warmage takes their entire round casting and continue casting the spell until the beginning of their next turn (and can be interrupted by attacks on the warmage) when the spell is finally cast. Following the rules for the spells being cast might go a long way towards solving some problems.

 

[kyberus]

Warmages retain the depressing grapple modifiers of their mage forfathers, and have few defensive spells... one might suggest trying the "earthen grasp" spell from cover or invisibility(which guarantees they act first)? (I really haven't actually tried the spell) (or stoney grasp). Grappled mages don't tend to do that well. That, or throw them down a well and see if they can fly out :S
or you could cast "blindness" on him... etc, healing doesn't help quite so much against the inability to target enemies.

perhaps have someone (ie: cleric) cast "shield other" on one of your arcane casters?

really... erm... I don't know much, but direct hitpoint damage does have its counters, or should, hopefully.