First level PC in high level campaign

[Uller]

Just to point something out...if all the lowest level characters hang back, inevitably the higher level ones will be forced up front and will die. Then the lower level ones move up...The cycle will continue and the game will languish with the average PC level around 3rd or so. If you want the party to get to higher levels, either the game has to be decidedly non-lethal or PCs must eventually start higher than 1st level.

My advice: As others have said, take your DM aside after a game and tell him how you feel. Start off by telling him what you _LIKE_ about the game. What is it that make you want to keep coming back? Then...tell him what you don't like. Tell him that insta-kill traps (one in every dungeon? Really?) ruins the fun. Playing a 1st level character in a 4th or 5th level party isn't very interesting. As a player, we all want to feel like we make a difference. A first level PC among mid-to-high level PCs will rarely make a difference. The game is supposed to be fun, not the DMs vision of how it should be...

If I was in a party of 5th level characters and died and was told to make a new 1st level character, I'd say "I'll just watch then." Seriously...I would simply refuse to play saying that I want to play a hero, not a lacky.

And don't forget: you players have some power here...if all the players who are unhappy with the situation refuse to take part until a better rule for creating new characters is introduced, then the DM will be forced to either find new players or compromise.

 

[randcortin]

If you beleive that you cannot reason with him about the comfort level of the game, then you have two choices. Stick it out, and continue a passive assent to his way of running things, or you can stop playing under him. That's the only other viable choice. But not being assertive when someone does something that staps on your rights as a person, is the part YOU can control.

It has nothing to do with gaming: It has to do with the respect for others.

I believe it has to do with respect, and that's why this next game session will determine what happens. If the first thing we do when we walk in the door is get bitched at, we'll probably just walk right out the door and never come back. If he is courteous, and doesn't yell at us the moment we appear, then we'll see how the game session goes.

Keith isn't usually like this. A source says he and his wife were drinking when they made the rude comments, and Samnell and I are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in this matter. As for speaking up for our rights, we did that, and he trampled on them. But again, he isn't usually like that, and this next gaming session (which is tomorrow, Thursday) will determine whether we play or walk. And I believe that only experience with the rule will change his mind: when he last did this rule, it was under 2nd edition, and things have changed from that to 3rd. Hopefully, things will not go as he expects, and that will prompt him to change his ruling. We're willing to give this a shot, and he had best make the most of it.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

So what exactly are you hoping he changes?

1. His attitude?

2. Remove insta-kill traps?

3. Restart at 1st level no matter what?

4. Butchering game style that kills people all the time?

Exactly what about his gaming style is worth keeping?

I believe it has to do with respect, and that's why this next game session will determine what happens. If the first thing we do when we walk in the door is get bitched at, we'll probably just walk right out the door and never come back. If he is courteous, and doesn't yell at us the moment we appear, then we'll see how the game session goes.

Keith isn't usually like this. A source says he and his wife were drinking when they made the rude comments, and Samnell and I are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in this matter. As for speaking up for our rights, we did that, and he trampled on them. But again, he isn't usually like that, and this next gaming session (which is tomorrow, Thursday) will determine whether we play or walk. And I believe that only experience with the rule will change his mind: when he last did this rule, it was under 2nd edition, and things have changed from that to 3rd. Hopefully, things will not go as he expects, and that will prompt him to change his ruling. We're willing to give this a shot, and he had best make the most of it.

 

[JadeLyon]

I'm thinking the only way to deal, is good gaming. Drill him about every detail in every room. If you're entering a town, go rob the big house you pass on the outskirts. Out of the blue. If he provides you with horses so that you can get to a place quickly, tell him your character hates horses, and that you're walking. Come up with clever weapons, like a bag full of pebbles to throw at an enemy's feet. Sand to throw into enemy eyes. Make him work to accomodate your innovations.

Exploit every weapon. Exploit every situation.

I am not saying this just to make the game suck for him. I'm saying that if he's going to make a 1st level character game with creatures that are geared for higher levels, you have to GAME at a higher level. He's gotta be up to the task, too.

I used to sit around thinking of clever things that anybody could just walk into a situation and do to screw things up. Things that don't even need rolls.

As a DM I encourage players to take us for a loop sometimes. It always works out better than what I had planned anyway

Now ... IF he is putting these traps there just to force you to be observant in these situations ... and you're still just wandering in blind... then death is appropriate! =)

 

[takyris]

Judging by what your DM is putting on you, I'd go with a Monk/Paladin/Cleric. Plug your high scores into Charisma, then Wisdom, then Dex, then Con. You'll have marvelous saves, evasion while not wearing armor, an unarmed strike while not wearing armor, Wisdom to AC while not wearing armor, and your cleric spells will be all of two levels lower (assuming you take only one level of Monk and Paladin). With a decent Con, your hit points won't suck, either.

EDIT: If he's throwing a lot of evil creatures at you, go with Protection and Good as Domains. If he's throwing lots of save or die stuff, go with Protection and Luck.

This combination will rarely be a damage machine, but he has a pretty good chance to survive anything that allows a save.

Your DM should also, by the way, be aware that Instakill traps are SOOOO last year. Instakill, by his definition, being "Disarm or Die". Any trap should either have to hit you for damage OR get a save to avoid its effect as though it were a spell. Even Power Word: Kill, which allows no save, gets Spell Resistance if I recall correctly, and only works up to 100 hit points (if I recall correctly again). And if the party is running into those traps, you are within your rights to request the experience that a trap of that CR is worth.

-Tacky

EDIT: I built one with 32 point buy:
S:12, D:14, C:14, I:8, W:16, Ch:14(15 at 4th level)

Going by the "x levels of good, y levels of bad" save system, you'd have a Monk1/Paladin1/Cleric3 character with:

Fort: 5 good, base +4, con+2, cha+2 = +8
Ref: 1 good = +2, 4 bad = +1, dex+2, cha+2 = +7
Will: 4 good = +4, 1 bad = +0, wis+3, cha+2 = +9

Not bad for a fifth level character. And if you take Luck as your domain, you get to reroll one bad roll per day. Save it for a save or die scenario.

(Going straight out of the book, adding together the saves of each class, you'd have:

Monk: F+2, R+2, W+2
Pal: F+2, R+0, W+0
Clr: F+2, R+0, W+2

F:+6 +2 Con, +2 Cha = +10
R: +2 +2 Dex +2 Cha = +6
W: +4 +3 wis +2 Cha = +9

I still like the first method better, because it goes along with "calculate BAB with fractions first" rule, giving your guy a BAB of .75 (monk) +1(pal) + 2.25(clr) = +4, instead of +0 (Monk) +1 (pal) +2(clr) = +3.)

 

[Kai Lord]

If I suggested I DM, he would just laugh... he's DM'd D&D for over 10 years, and I've only been playing since February of this year...

Big deal. So he's the DM equivalent of Roland Emmerich. You could be Christopher Nolan or one of the Wachowski Brothers.

 

[randcortin]

UPDATE!

UPDATE!

The DM showed one of his gaming friends who plays with us Samnell's LiveJournal, and the comments made, and the friend agrees with us that it was poorly handled by the DM and his wife. He thinks Keith's about burned out on DMing and he and Lisa really messed up how they handled the whole situation. Having someone else around (which now makes four of us) who didn't think much of the situation helps a bit, and there's talk of replacing the DM, but we're not sure who would be the likely candidate. It may be Keith's friend, since he has as much experience DMing as Keith and his Tuesday game may be calling it quits.

 

[Henry]

Good for you! I would suggest, however, that you NOT restrict the DM'ing to only one individual. Starting off with one DM to "save the group" is fine, but it never hurts to have the DM'ing duties roate every once in a while, if nothing else to avoid the "burnout" you suggested.

Good luck, and I hope your "wayward DM" manages to get a refresher!

 

[Uller]

Re: UPDATE!

UPDATE!

The DM showed one of his gaming friends who plays with us Samnell's LiveJournal, and the comments made, and the friend agrees with us that it was poorly handled by the DM and his wife.

Where is this journal?

 

[randcortin]

I had the link posted here, but was asked to remove it by the writer, Samnell. Apparently he doesn't like having his thoughts made public, even though he uses the most public medium available, the internet, to post his thoughts to whoever finds his ramblings. Check out www.livejournal.com if that sort of thing appeals to you. I might note that if you aren't referred to it by somebody, you have to pay for it. But, my understanding is that you can pay $5 for two months, then use the codes that they give you to start a free one. I have one at www.livejournal.com/~randcortin/ that I just started, that I plan to use to keep a record of our D&D games.