Characters have huge ACs and low attack bonuses

[Nail]

.....I think those are the main factors that come to mind

Yoowza! That sounds like fun.

So, those halflings walked all over that party, eh? I'm imagining how the NPCs were tricked out.....

Re: XP gain
As I've never played/DMed a game with a fixed advancement rate, I'm not sure how I'd like it. The toys you hand out sound like fun, though.

 

[shilsen]

Yoowza! That sounds like fun.

For me, yes

BTW, I forgot to mention that the PCs had 3 swashbuckling cards each (though they got mostly lousy ones this time), which allowed them to do things like turn a critical into a normal hit (which turned an 80 pt critical into a 50 pt hit), remain conscious to -9 hp, etc.

And that the PC who got taken to -9 was at 145 hp for the fight. With her quickened Cure Spells, she took about 175 pts of damage in the fight.

So, those halflings walked all over that party, eh? I'm imagining how the NPCs were tricked out.....

Not really. They did beat the 3 PCs up pretty badly, but the PCs won in the end. My expectation was that the NPCs would scare the heck out of the PCs, but would eventually be beaten, and that's what happened.

Anyway, if you're curious, these specific NPCs are posted in my campaign's Rogue's Gallery, along with most of the PCs. They're in the bottom post.

Re: XP gain
As I've never played/DMed a game with a fixed advancement rate, I'm not sure how I'd like it. The toys you hand out sound like fun, though.

I know my players, or at least a couple of them, would have preferred the standard XP system, esp. when we started. But since this method is a big part of me being able to run the campaign the way I want, and so far it's been an enjoyable one, there haven't been any complaints.

Or not serious ones

 

[Nail]

They did beat the 3 PCs up pretty badly, but the PCs won in the end.

You used a Bbn/WB! Of course it kicked their arses.

Where's "Boomerang Daze" from. That Fort save is just *nasty*.

 

[Rystil Arden]

You used a Bbn/WB! Of course it kicked their arses.

Where's "Boomerang Daze" from. That Fort save is just *nasty*.

Ohhhh, a Warblade. Well then, mystery solved

 

[Nail]

@Shilsen: Nice stat-blocks, BTW. Thanks for the peek.

 

[shilsen]

You used a Bbn/WB! Of course it kicked their arses.

Ohhhh, a Warblade. Well then, mystery solved

I wanted to see how it worked out in play, and with all the special stuff the PCs have, I figured it was fair play. It worked out very nicely.

Where's "Boomerang Daze" from. That Fort save is just *nasty*.

From Races of Eberron. And yes, it's very nasty. I wouldn't normally use it, but there was an in-campaign reason why these two boomerang throwers were very exceptional.

I was actually quite happy with how well I judged the effect. I figured that if they beat the PCs on initiative, there'd be a damn good chance of dazing them, since they'd be getting sneak attack damage too, but once that passed, the PCs would make their saves, since they're all high on Fort. That's precisely what happened. The PCs sat there for one round doing nothing, with the players going "Oh, great - we're going to die without getting to do anything!" And then they got to go and threw around their spells and smites and whatnot and won, but not before being taken right to the brink.

@Shilsen: Nice stat-blocks, BTW. Thanks for the peek.

Thanks. And you're welcome. Those are the kind of stat blocks I've been using in my game prep for a long time, and they really work well for my purposes.

Now I have to go work on some more. On their next visit to the arena, the 4 melee-oriented PCs are supposed to take on a dozen low level enemies at once (I figure about 4th or 5th lvl, which means an EL 11 or 12 encounter), while the alienist gets to take on 3-4 low level arcanists. Should be easy for them again, so I need to work out how to make it a little challenging.

P.S. This is my most successful thread-jack ever!

 

[Nail]

I wanted to see how <Warblades> worked out in play, and with all the special stuff the PCs have, I figured it was fair play. It worked out very nicely.

Truth In Advertising: IMC one of the players is a Mnk/WB. He's still low level...but I anticipate lots of my NPCs will get smacked around.

From Races of Eberron.

Ah.

And yes, it's very nasty. ..... I figured that if they beat the PCs on initiative, there'd be a damn good chance of dazing them, since they'd be getting sneak attack damage too, but once that passed, the PCs would make their saves, since they're all high on Fort. That's precisely what happened. .....

Right.

I imagine the PCs really appreciated being dazed the first round of combat. IME, when a Nalfeshnee did that to the entire party of PCs, the cries are heard 'round th' table: "RBDM! RBDM!"

 

[shilsen]

I imagine the PCs really appreciated being dazed the first round of combat.

Oh yes. They were positively giddy with excitement.

IME, when a Nalfeshnee did that to the entire party of PCs, the cries are heard 'round th' table: "RBDM! RBDM!"

Nowadays I get that from the start of the session. We had an OOC exchange before the fight which went along the lines of...

Player1 (not participating in the fight): Well, presumably they're a lot lower level than you guys.

Player2 (giving 1 a dirty look): He's a barbarian! He's one of Shil's barbarians! Don't give me that "lower level" crap! (pointing at me) Look at that - he's smiling! We're all gonna die!

 

[Fedifensor]

Though I wouldn't use them all the time, groups of Psionic Warriors or Warblades can ignore a good portion of their AC thanks to touch attacks. A 12th level Psionic Warrior (or PW 6/War Mind 6) with Deep Impact and Psionic Meditation should be able to hit them a good portion of the time, and that's a CR 5 below their level (which means you can use several at once against the PCs). Likewise, Warblades (from Bo9S) can get Emerald Razor (touch attack to hit) as a relatively early maneuver.

At 17th level, the characters should expect intelligent foes with the right resources to unleash greater dispel magic against them, which should take care of barkskin. It also sounds like they may be a bit overloaded with magical gear that increases AC...while it's a last resort, stealing or destroying some of those items could bring things back in line. Maybe give them something in exchange for the loss of items that helps their attack bonuses.

However, it also sounds like they're just using the resources available to them. One of the perks of being a Druid is having access to the barkskinspell. Paladins don't get many feats and have multiple-ability dependency, so I can see only having a +26 at 17th level quite easily. As it's generally better to be a specialist in D&D, I can see why they would focus on a high AC at the cost of increasing their attack bonuses. Try not to penalize them for that.

 

[Nail]

Nowadays I get that from the start of the session. We had an OOC exchange before the fight which went along the lines of...

Player1 (not participating in the fight): Well, presumably they're a lot lower level than you guys.

Player2 (giving 1 a dirty look): He's a barbarian! He's one of Shil's barbarians! Don't give me that "lower level" crap! (pointing at me) Look at that - he's smiling! We're all gonna die!

Heh, heh, heh!