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What to do when one PC is *far* weaker than rest of party
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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6836433" data-attributes="member: 4937"><p>Well, to begin with... try not to let that happen. </p><p></p><p>It's a particularly bad problem in 3.5 when you get a system optimizer in a group with a bunch of casual players (or vica versa) because the balance is all over the place. The only system worse is probably Rifts.</p><p></p><p>1) Generously ban material. Keep your problems to a minimum. Things still won't be balanced without much work, but at least you'll have fewer things to juggle. I for example ban all PrCs. </p><p>2) Patch classes as needed.</p><p>3) Firmly insist on point buy for just a lot of reasons, this being just one of them.</p><p>4) Coach players if they are building toward something much weaker than the rest of the group - non-optimized monks, rangers, or bards for example. Non-optimized fighters if you are playing above 9th level or so. Generally speaking, your DM should have caught a non-optimized bard back before the character was approved and made some suggestions. No CON bonus is a huge red flag on almost any character. I try not to put a firm hand on the player's builds, but if you see someone that has a build that just won't cut it in the long term, you need to gently ask that player if they are going to be happy with the player not getting much combat spot light, often being a weak link in the party, and being often a little pathetic. Also, you need to tell them that the party can't hide behind a pile of dead bards as a tactic.</p><p>5) Stay in the sweet spot. If you are past 13th level, you've missed it. </p><p>6) If you see the problem developing, figure out how the character is going to die and try to patch the character with gear. Gear is a huge part of a character's effectiveness, and while I'd never overgear a character deliberately just to keep them alive I would adjust the gear to be perfectly suited to their current needs if that kept the character in the spotlight more and the table more contented. So, short bows with an energy descriptor of some sort to buff their damage, very good light armor with some small bonuses to Bard-y stuff to make sure she got claim of it, gear that let you cast defensive magic, and probably a belt of health would turn up just in that character's exact size.</p><p>7) Don't just throw monsters of a given CR or EL at the party just because the system says so. Use some discretion based on party capabilities. Somethings will be easier for a particular party composition and some harder. Figure out how to let everyone shine without getting people straight up killed at a high probability.</p><p>8) Let the 'tankier' players draw agro. If the Bard isn't doing a lot of damage, it probably shouldn't be drawing much attention either. NPC's attack threats they can observe in a largely rational manner. Sure, that Brute might be able to smash the Bard down in a single attack, but why would it even try when more immediate threats are beating on it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6836433, member: 4937"] Well, to begin with... try not to let that happen. It's a particularly bad problem in 3.5 when you get a system optimizer in a group with a bunch of casual players (or vica versa) because the balance is all over the place. The only system worse is probably Rifts. 1) Generously ban material. Keep your problems to a minimum. Things still won't be balanced without much work, but at least you'll have fewer things to juggle. I for example ban all PrCs. 2) Patch classes as needed. 3) Firmly insist on point buy for just a lot of reasons, this being just one of them. 4) Coach players if they are building toward something much weaker than the rest of the group - non-optimized monks, rangers, or bards for example. Non-optimized fighters if you are playing above 9th level or so. Generally speaking, your DM should have caught a non-optimized bard back before the character was approved and made some suggestions. No CON bonus is a huge red flag on almost any character. I try not to put a firm hand on the player's builds, but if you see someone that has a build that just won't cut it in the long term, you need to gently ask that player if they are going to be happy with the player not getting much combat spot light, often being a weak link in the party, and being often a little pathetic. Also, you need to tell them that the party can't hide behind a pile of dead bards as a tactic. 5) Stay in the sweet spot. If you are past 13th level, you've missed it. 6) If you see the problem developing, figure out how the character is going to die and try to patch the character with gear. Gear is a huge part of a character's effectiveness, and while I'd never overgear a character deliberately just to keep them alive I would adjust the gear to be perfectly suited to their current needs if that kept the character in the spotlight more and the table more contented. So, short bows with an energy descriptor of some sort to buff their damage, very good light armor with some small bonuses to Bard-y stuff to make sure she got claim of it, gear that let you cast defensive magic, and probably a belt of health would turn up just in that character's exact size. 7) Don't just throw monsters of a given CR or EL at the party just because the system says so. Use some discretion based on party capabilities. Somethings will be easier for a particular party composition and some harder. Figure out how to let everyone shine without getting people straight up killed at a high probability. 8) Let the 'tankier' players draw agro. If the Bard isn't doing a lot of damage, it probably shouldn't be drawing much attention either. NPC's attack threats they can observe in a largely rational manner. Sure, that Brute might be able to smash the Bard down in a single attack, but why would it even try when more immediate threats are beating on it. [/QUOTE]
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What to do when one PC is *far* weaker than rest of party
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