D&D 5E Barbarian troubles

[randrak]

He did roll in front of me...he was that lucky. I usually give them two chances to roll, but if they pick the to reroll after the first, they keep the second no matter how bad it is.

I mentioned the possibility of him rerolling a new character since the party wiped and he just angrily refused, saying that it wasn't his fault the party was killed since it was the effects of the curse and that he shouldn't lose his character just because the others keep dying.

I'll try encounters that exploit his weaknesses more, though I fear he'll just start claiming I'm actively trying to kill him. Last time his character died he got really down and nearly quit playing, which prompted the whole "Let me make an unkillable barbarian". I love this group, we're all close friends and we play several times a week even...I really wouldn't want to break it apart.

I don't even know how to introduce new characters to the story now...I mean, they left on a mission to take out some great evil guy who was out to get them. As they were entering the evil guy's lair, they encountered the sword and the wipe happened, the barbarian then just left back home. Don't even know where to begin when it comes to introducing the new members to the party now...

 

[Sacrosanct]

If you have a player who threatens to quit if their PC is at risk of dying? Then D&D isn't the game for them. Seriously. Find another game if you want to game with them, or tell them to grow up. It's part of the game. In fact, it's just a game. Not something you should have that level of emotional investment in, to where you get legitimately seriously depressed over. Because then it becomes an unhealthy activity.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Then by all means, that campaign is over. You may play a 1 on 1 with him, eventually let the evil guy kill him if he does not retire. In the meanwhile other characters can keep up. You may tell him, that it makes sense for him to also roll up a new char for the time the others need to get to his barbarian. And he should make sure he plays aome character that makes his team not die all the time, which his old charactet seemed to fail at.
In the end, you should also question yourself what your aim is as DM. Do you plan in encounters that should threaten the whole party or do you lay out a story and give other options to get something that does not involve fighting.
Until now, I have not seen a single power gamer, who chose to keep on his pure powergaming path when the represented story challenged other aspects of a character.
I had an optimized archer in 3e abandon his bow for most combats and even increase con insteas of dex.
I had a ranger in 5e sacrificing wisdom for a few points in strength, because he didn't want to fail strength checks anymore... and I have power gaming tendencies myself, but not a single planned out career survived contact with the actual story.
It is your responsibility to make powergamers regret their low stats without designing combats that exploit his weakness or even worse, overpower his strength.
Design combats that are varied. Sometimes he will rule. Sometimes a melee barbarian stands around doing nothing if he does not become creative.

 

[jgsugden]

Rolled stats are your problem here, not the barbarian class. I allow them, but a 16 is treated as a 15 and a 17 or 18 is treated as a 16... and if the character has stats that are too good, they reroll.

Instead of dropping the pc, how about having it take a vacation for a few sessions until the other pcs catch up? If you give his temporary pc a juicy storyline he might decide to stick with it.

 

[DeathMutant]

I have a similar PC (1/2 orc bear totem barbarian) in my campaign though he is not as OP as yours. I am running "White Plume Mountain" and the party is about to go after the dreaded artifact "Blackrazor" (aka "Stormbringer"); a quest given by "Erik the White" (=Elric) himself, actually, in a weakened state. They are terrified of what might happen should their barbarian get his hands on Blackrazor and I have played it up to reinforce this fear. A nice, young woman (=EVIL Night hag; Thingizzard) in the bog has aided them, even resurrected two of their party members, and her plan is a wicked one: let the barbarian recover the sword, encourage him to slay his party to prevent them from taking the weapon ("my preciousssss"), then capture his -- now evil -- life force in her "soul trap." This is more than a planned TPK, actually, because Stormbringer does not just kill -- it devours souls -- but it is a fitting *ending* to a campaign. Our next campaign starts immediately afterward, with all new characters, in "Ravenloft!"

Challenges I have or considered throwing against "invincible" barbarians:

* Ghosts; barbarians tend to have low WIS saves and a possessed barbarian is easy to kill
* Githyanki assassins; psychic swords cut right through barbarian resistance
* Mind Flayer: barbarians tend to have low INT saves and a stunned barbarian is not very threatening
* Night hag; prevents a long rest so Rage does not recharge
* Riddle-giving Gynosphinx banished him when he threatened her while raging; to a round white-padded room, no less!
* Anything that restrains without damaging him, like webs, thus denying him an attack and cancels Rage

A 1/2 orc bear-totem barbarian is very powerful, perhaps too powerful, but I have talked with the player ahead of time and he does not mind being used as a "plot device." I do not recommend just springing these "counters" on a PC -- without talking to the player first -- because they might (rightfully) perceive it as you "picking on them."

 

[SkidAce]

If you are playing with friends and don't want to outright kill the character (should not be a deliberate decision anyway to try) NULLIFY him.

If he fell into a pit and was unable to get out and the combat passed with the other characters victorious....a flying creature grabs him and they fight mid air away from the "other" combat...etc etc.

Be gentle, have fun gaming.

 

[MG.0]

Quit playing to the barbarian's strengths.

Two words:

Intellect Devourers.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Perhaps it is time to start a new campaign and close the old one out. Give it one last good adventure, for closure, then start over. At the same time, that he already outright refused to make a new character, could indicate that he'll have a similar fit at starting over. I can totally understand that you’re all friends and you don’t want to risk that friendship over a confrontation.

As others have mentioned, seek those weakspots out. Find situations that will give the barbarian disadvantage and/or the opponents advantage.

Tailor situations so that other party members can shine (like social challenges if you’ve got a bard), throw challenges at them that can’t be resolved with dice and overwhelming power (like riddles and puzzles), that sort of thing. Heck from time to time, split the party so that the barbarian ends up on his own in the middle of a battle, fighting one-on-one with a power-level appropriate monster.

There’s a balance as a DM, between challenging the PCs and enabling their moments of awesome. Sometimes it’s okay for a PC to be really great. But when a single PC eclipses all the others, that can be a problem.

Maybe, since you game so frequently, run some sessions without the barbarian, to enable the other PCs to catch up in levels. Heck, maybe even let them get a little higher in level...

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Yes. If the player is a team player, no problem. Also some people don't mind hoding behind the barbarian. Maybe your other players need to stop him killing everything, because always picking combats with everything is too dangerous.

 

[Ath'kethin]

Work the sword into the story. What is its past? Its purpose?

Perhaps it is prophesied to strike down the Big Evil One, but only in the hands of a brave warrior blah blah blah. The catch: in order to slay the Big Evil One, the hero must prove his worthiness by sacrificing his own life. Barbarian goes out in a blaze of plot-satisfying glory (with the sword).

Failing that, the weapon itself transfers its enchantment to the BEO, who goes berserk and attacks at random afterwards. The sword is then a simple +whatever weapon.