Help! Bored mage & thief!

[Aaron Smith]

Ok, so some of this is certinaly my own fault. I've got a new player on the hook, and I think she's going to drop herself right off since she's not enjoying the style of game that's going on right now.

I'm running the module crawl series, Sunless Citadel. The character's are pregens, but with lots of lattitude in making the characters motivations and personality clear. I -thought- I had made it clear that a module crawl is a great deal like DOOM with dice in place of a computer. Any roleplaying to be derived from the situation, is entirely up to the player! However, she's unhappy that her spells dont work well (uh... she's first level!) and she feels useless due to a lack of combat spell choices.

My thief is bored out of her mind, because she says there's nothing for her to do. This is particularly bad, since I'm not really sure she understands how to USE her thief. I've tried talking to her about the various uses of thieves in a dungeon crawl, but she's feeling useless because she feels the fighter's woudl just kick in the door, as a way of disarming the trap.

So, I need some suggestions. Any help? Any ideas? I'd rather not abandon the module just yet.

 

[Khorod]

Hey, welcome!

For the rogue, I'd try adding in an encounter which a frontal attack will simply not beat- something that requires a sneak to stealthily get behind to the weak spot of a strange critter should do the trick.

Better yet though, see if you can come up with an in-game demonstration of why kicking in doors is bad! If you can get another player to agree to help out, you should be able to make the point.

For the mage- well, first level mages often do have problems. Tweaking some key aspects of the adventure so miscellaneous spells can be used creatively to solve problems is the obvious start. For the first couple of levels, its all about the dream of becoming an archmage.

In short, finesse the module for a short while so the things those two characters could be doing is a little more obvious, then when they get the hang of it take the focus off.

Good Luck

 

[Ashrum the Black]

Well, if I recall the module there are a couple of traps that if the fighter just kicks in the door it'll be a very painful experiece. I'd just change a few locations to add some traps that'll truely mess up somebody for doing the smash and grab thing. A little poison and some tempoary stat damage later and they'll be far more willing to let the thief do her job.

Let her do some scouting ahead of the group. Alow the theif to overhear a converation that will give the group a way of avoiding some type of mishap. Let her shine a bit with the uses of her abilities.

As for the wizard, think og the spells they're memorizing anf give they some ways of using the spells creatively. ie. If the mage memorizes charm person constantly then let them use it to charm a belligerant NPC into helping them. If the wizard can't think of this them self then have an NPC suggest it. This will hopefully get their creative juices flowing to utlize their spells to full effect.

So I agree with Khorod, let the two players shine for a little while to get them into the sing of things. It may take a little work on your part and possibly some off the cuff changes to the module. But I've found it is very satisfying to spark a players interest in this way.

Have Fun!

 

[Airwolf]

First off, greetings and welcome!

Second, the suggestions above are good. See if you can create a situation that is specifically for her.

Third, why on earth is a new player playing a rogue/wizard(sorcerer)?

 

[Trellian]

I think he was talking about two PCs..

 

[Darkon]

My advise

What I believe is that you should allow more roleplaying, and even try to stir up the moods a little. Do not forget that it is always the DM's fault if he cannot instill excitement to the players about the game, and their characters.
Try to make vivid descriptions of the characters, ask from the players to expand their personalities, and advnce the attitude of the characters. Make them a living part of the scenario, and you shall see that no matter how many Dungeon Crawl adventures you will play, they will all be too preoccupied with their characters to even think that they do not like *this or that*.

My two cps worth.

 

[Rel]

I just finished running this module and it seems like these players should have no problems getting enjoyment out of it unless they are using pretty bad tactics.

For the Rogue, there are quite a number of traps and a few locks to pick. Against the foes in Sunless Citidel (i.e. lots of goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears) flanking and sneak attacks should be a great tactic. As mentioned above, have the Rogue sneak ahead and scout things out. Most of the bad guys are not terribly observant and she could do this fairly well. Depending on the skills the Rogue has, she could also be the mouthpiece of the party when dealing with the Kobolds.

As for the Wizard, what spells does she have? Sleep or Color Spray should be laying big swaths of the bad guys low. Given the low hit points of the enemies, even a Magic Missile or Ray of Frost could take out one who was wounded, freeing up a fighter to move on to the next opponent. Because the hallways are fairly narrow, the front line should have no real trouble shielding the Wizard from the bad guys, so discourage her from wasting too many spell slots on defensive spells. Better she should save a Shield for a last ditch defense if a goblin manages to slip past the front line.