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<blockquote data-quote="Alchemist" data-source="post: 722318" data-attributes="member: 6594">Heh.&nbsp; There's loads of threads on the topics you cover.&nbsp; Poke around. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />I have similar problems after DMing through an unmodified campaign.&nbsp; My thoughts, and how I'm doing it the next time around:Experience:&nbsp; Don't do it by the book.&nbsp; If you feel the characters were not challenged by an encounter, penalize the xp.&nbsp; How are they meant to be learning and growing by doing the same old to foes who are pushovers?&nbsp; As a note, it's one thing for an encounter to be easy because they're tough.&nbsp; It's another thing if it's easy because they're clever.&nbsp; Don't penalize the clever victories.Wealth:&nbsp; You don't *have* to give out x gold for y encounter.&nbsp; And if I had rich kobolds, they wouldn't be loitering around in poorly defended caves.&nbsp; See Magic for more. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Magic:&nbsp; I had a similar problem.&nbsp; My solution?&nbsp; No item creation feats for players except for Craft Potion and Scribe Scroll.&nbsp; Magic shops are nonexistant, and the only source for custom items is the artificers' guild.&nbsp; Potions and scrolls are available from the appropriate guilds/churches, but you have to be a member or pay a premium.&nbsp; On a similar vein is ressurection magics.&nbsp; To get that raise dead is going to cost you more than just cash, and may not be available at all if you're not a worshipper of that deity.&nbsp; Even then, you have to perform a service to the church for the boon.&nbsp; In 3.5 DR is apparently being adjusted so that if you aren't packing an appropriate weapon to pierce it, you can still do some damage through brute force.&nbsp; I could ramble on forever about lowering magic in the world, but in a nutshell I'm restricting access to magic items they don't find and cutting back the availability of raw spellcasting power so the casters don't outstrip the non-casters.The last point you make is somewhat related to earlier points.&nbsp; They get xp for stuff that's no problem, so why risk your neck for xp that might get you killed?&nbsp; Your players are expecting to Diablo their way around and are unimpressed by &quot;real&quot; challenges.&nbsp; Complaining that the encounter dosen't match the level of the party is, well, whining.&nbsp; It sounds like they don't want a challenge,&nbsp; just to level up and be the biggest butt-kicker on the block.&nbsp; Talk to your players before starting the next campaign and lay it all out before them so they can voice their objections before it's too late.I hope you can implement some of these sort of ideas.&nbsp; I don't think the whole game needs a major retooling but it will take some work to step back from the high-magic assumption of the rulebooks.&nbsp; Take away the magic shops and make spellcasting more difficult.&nbsp; Low magic worlds make more sense with low magic monsters, or at least a rarity of magical monsters.Bleagh.&nbsp; I'm rambling.&nbsp; If any of that made any sense, I salute you.&nbsp; If any of it was helpful, I'm overjoyed. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Alchemist, post: 722318, member: 6594"] Heh. There's loads of threads on the topics you cover. Poke around. :) I have similar problems after DMing through an unmodified campaign. My thoughts, and how I'm doing it the next time around: Experience: Don't do it by the book. If you feel the characters were not challenged by an encounter, penalize the xp. How are they meant to be learning and growing by doing the same old to foes who are pushovers? As a note, it's one thing for an encounter to be easy because they're tough. It's another thing if it's easy because they're clever. Don't penalize the clever victories. Wealth: You don't *have* to give out x gold for y encounter. And if I had rich kobolds, they wouldn't be loitering around in poorly defended caves. See Magic for more. :) Magic: I had a similar problem. My solution? No item creation feats for players except for Craft Potion and Scribe Scroll. Magic shops are nonexistant, and the only source for custom items is the artificers' guild. Potions and scrolls are available from the appropriate guilds/churches, but you have to be a member or pay a premium. On a similar vein is ressurection magics. To get that raise dead is going to cost you more than just cash, and may not be available at all if you're not a worshipper of that deity. Even then, you have to perform a service to the church for the boon. In 3.5 DR is apparently being adjusted so that if you aren't packing an appropriate weapon to pierce it, you can still do some damage through brute force. I could ramble on forever about lowering magic in the world, but in a nutshell I'm restricting access to magic items they don't find and cutting back the availability of raw spellcasting power so the casters don't outstrip the non-casters. The last point you make is somewhat related to earlier points. They get xp for stuff that's no problem, so why risk your neck for xp that might get you killed? Your players are expecting to Diablo their way around and are unimpressed by "real" challenges. Complaining that the encounter dosen't match the level of the party is, well, whining. It sounds like they don't want a challenge, just to level up and be the biggest butt-kicker on the block. Talk to your players before starting the next campaign and lay it all out before them so they can voice their objections before it's too late. I hope you can implement some of these sort of ideas. I don't think the whole game needs a major retooling but it will take some work to step back from the high-magic assumption of the rulebooks. Take away the magic shops and make spellcasting more difficult. Low magic worlds make more sense with low magic monsters, or at least a rarity of magical monsters. Bleagh. I'm rambling. If any of that made any sense, I salute you. If any of it was helpful, I'm overjoyed. :) [/QUOTE]

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