Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Are powergamers a problem and do you allow them to play in your games?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Kobold Boots" data-source="post: 7325526" data-attributes="member: 92239"><p>Send me his build plus what's going on in your campaign in brief via PM and I'll give you some ideas that are directly applicable.</p><p></p><p>Generally, dealing with any given build and any given power gamer is specific to the campaign he or she is playing in. Just because you have a powergamer doesn't mean that it's a problem. </p><p></p><p>Step 0 - Be sure you have a real problem. Talking isn't always the best idea. Having stats is. (how he's rolling in combat, average damage per turn, is it area or single target etc What are his combos.)</p><p>First, you have to be willing to scale the encounters to the power gamer's build and increase the risk of death for everyone else at the table - </p><p>Second, you have to be willing to expand the campaign into the political and social role-playing areas that may not play to the strengths of the power gamer.</p><p>Third, you have to be willing to explore the concept of consequences. A power gamer inevitably causes problems in the game world. This ties back to the second point.</p><p>Fourth, you have to be willing to balance things out. Ex. Giving a PG more magic and more toys until you figure out how to address the problem is not a good idea.</p><p></p><p>Dealing with a power gamer is NOT a pure combat fix. However, it can be helped by not forgetting about other areas of the game and having a good grasp of probability and stats. Last time I ran in a Pathfinder group as a player I essentially gave the GM a chart with all of the parties average damage per turn, average armor and general probabilities to hit. Turned out we were optimized to be three levels over standard as a party. Next game we had a really hard time winning, which was what everyone wanted.</p><p></p><p>So I'd say the most important thing here is this: Make sure your group is ok with the challenge level of the game after you fix it. While you may be correcting things in favor of a better game, it's not a better game unless everyone keeps showing up.</p><p></p><p>KB</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kobold Boots, post: 7325526, member: 92239"] Send me his build plus what's going on in your campaign in brief via PM and I'll give you some ideas that are directly applicable. Generally, dealing with any given build and any given power gamer is specific to the campaign he or she is playing in. Just because you have a powergamer doesn't mean that it's a problem. Step 0 - Be sure you have a real problem. Talking isn't always the best idea. Having stats is. (how he's rolling in combat, average damage per turn, is it area or single target etc What are his combos.) First, you have to be willing to scale the encounters to the power gamer's build and increase the risk of death for everyone else at the table - Second, you have to be willing to expand the campaign into the political and social role-playing areas that may not play to the strengths of the power gamer. Third, you have to be willing to explore the concept of consequences. A power gamer inevitably causes problems in the game world. This ties back to the second point. Fourth, you have to be willing to balance things out. Ex. Giving a PG more magic and more toys until you figure out how to address the problem is not a good idea. Dealing with a power gamer is NOT a pure combat fix. However, it can be helped by not forgetting about other areas of the game and having a good grasp of probability and stats. Last time I ran in a Pathfinder group as a player I essentially gave the GM a chart with all of the parties average damage per turn, average armor and general probabilities to hit. Turned out we were optimized to be three levels over standard as a party. Next game we had a really hard time winning, which was what everyone wanted. So I'd say the most important thing here is this: Make sure your group is ok with the challenge level of the game after you fix it. While you may be correcting things in favor of a better game, it's not a better game unless everyone keeps showing up. KB [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Are powergamers a problem and do you allow them to play in your games?
Top