SwiftRoofusUnderbunk
First Post
So I've been playing dnd for many years now but always as a player. I am now DM'ing my first campaign using an old turn-based RPG I used to play when I was little for the storyline. Everything is going well except combat. I have 2 of my players that built their own characters from scratch and are around the same power level, then I had one player look up "How to break rogue in 5e" and just built his character so it would be the most OP. So I have a mediocre Paladin and Cleric, then I have a super OP crossbow wielding rogue that can attack 3 times in one turn, has +13 to hit, and gets sneak attacks if he stands behind allies. If I balance the enemies for the rogue, the two other characters struggle to survive, and if I balance the enemies for the other two, the rogue just slices through them with zero effort.
I guess my question is how can I balance fights so that they are challenging and feel dangerous for all of my players when their power levels are so different? Also, how can I do so without so obviously seeming that I am trying to shut down my rogue.
I should mention I'm the kind of DM that wants my players to have fun and not the kind of DM that feels like I'm playing versus my players. I don't want my characters to die unless they make really bad decisions, but I'm struggling to give them a challenge without feeling like I'm deliberately targeting my rogue player.
I guess my question is how can I balance fights so that they are challenging and feel dangerous for all of my players when their power levels are so different? Also, how can I do so without so obviously seeming that I am trying to shut down my rogue.
I should mention I'm the kind of DM that wants my players to have fun and not the kind of DM that feels like I'm playing versus my players. I don't want my characters to die unless they make really bad decisions, but I'm struggling to give them a challenge without feeling like I'm deliberately targeting my rogue player.