Help me reward a powergamer!

[Oryan77]

and Jester

I did get the idea from Dragon Mag. As for the issue? Mid 100's? Pretty sure it was when 1st Ed was still the latest thing.

Change it as it suits you O77 (heck, it's not MY idea ).

Well, I decided a 2nd lvl spell with a CL 4 will be within the price range I was looking at. I spent an hour trying to figure out what 2nd lvl spell to choose but none of them fit my "no powergaming" criteria. Then I remembered Domains! I found the perfect spell for a Heavy Mace...Soften Earth & Stone. It won't boost up any of his current powergamed abilities. It won't boost up any abilities he sacrificed. It gives him an option that he never uses (area effects that keep people from moving). And it could be a fun utility spell for when he gets creative.

The imagery is cool too...point the mace and a sonic-like jolt shoots from it and melts the ground.

 

[Oryan77]

PS: To make him smile every once and a while, have the friendly churches not be so friendly to his non-believing party members.

I need to remember that one. It'll make him feel special

 

[Doomhawk]

Then again it's a "rock". Could it be something special? You give it to him now and later after some special event it awakens and becomes the awesomest rock the guy has ever seen.

In one adventure I ran, at 2nd level, the fighter obtained a ring with a faint aura of Necromancy. It could heal the wearer of 1 hit point per day.
This campaign went all the way to 20th level, and he never gave up on trying to figure out what was up with that ring. He was absolutely certain there was something more to it; why else would it be Necromancy instead of Conjuration (healing)? Hell, he still talks about it sometimes.
The best part is, it was an adventure straight out of Dungeon. The item description just said that it had a faint aura of necromancy and healed 1 hp per day, with no further explanation.

 

[Jesus_marley]

The imagery is cool too...point the mace and a sonic-like jolt shoots from it and melts the ground.

Why not have the ability activate on contact? Have it work like a cone effect from the point of impact with the ground...

 

[Tzarevitch]

So I have a powergamer in my group and I'm having a hard time giving him magical treasure that would make him happy to have, not improve him in any areas that he already excels at, not improve him in any areas he's weak in, & won't be more than around 8k gold.

He's a Half-Orc 7th lvl Cleric.

I tried giving him new armor that was 1 point weaker in AC than his current armor but had the slick property. I thought he might like it for the flavor of having an odd type of armor...but this is a powergamer I'm talking about and I shoulda known better

Any ideas on magical items I could give him that won't just simply make him more powerful in combat? I'm thinking more like utility spells. I'd even like to give him some type of helmet but I can't find anything cheap enough. The item can be from any source, even custom made.

Maybe I missed something, but you don't want to give him treasure that improves something he is weak in . . . but you also don't want to give him treasure that improves something that he is strong in? What do you want to give him exactly? Something that improves something he is mediocre in or something that does nothing of interest to him at all? Because that is all that is left.

No offense, but it sounds like you are actually trying to give him a trinket or door prize that is mildly interesting but not really all that useful. I can tell you it is unlikely any trinket or doodad you offer is going to impress him that much unless it does something functional, i.e. improve something he wants improved. That's like offering a lawyer a gift of a book on the latest trends in mircobiology. What is he going to do with it? He'll show outward appreciation and then quietly try to figure out how do dispose of it without offending you.

The first rule of powergaming is functionality. If it isn't that functional to him within the definition of what the player considers functional for his character, he won't really use it.

Again, no offense, but you obviously want to give the player a gift, what is the reluctance to giving him something he actually will genuinely appreciate as opposed to something he will just pretend to appreciate? Best advice is, either give him something that will actually help (i.e. improve something he wants improved) or let him find cash and buy what he wants.

Tzarevitch

 

[Oryan77]

what is the reluctance to giving him something he actually will genuinely appreciate as opposed to something he will just pretend to appreciate? Best advice is, either give him something that will actually help (i.e. improve something he wants improved) or let him find cash and buy what he wants.

Thanks for expressing your thoughts about this, but I don't think there is anything wrong with the gift I've decided to give him. It gives him the chance to make his PC look a little cooler. A powergamer might think making him even stronger is what makes him look cooler...but that's one of the reasons I dislike powergaming, and I'm not here to discuss pros/cons of powergaming.

I've already explained why I dont' want to give him something that will improve something he wants improved...I don't want to reward him for nit-picking at the rules for 2 weeks until he thinks he's created a character that can "beat" all of my NPC's 24/7. I prefer players inventing interesting chracter concepts that will add to the storyline and help me create awesome adventuring opportunities. Most powergamers I've met don't do that.

This player spent every penny he had to get +2 Full Plate, +2 Shield, yadda yadda yadda, and started the game borrowing cash from players (just to pay for normal goods & services) and weilding normal (not even masterwork) weapons. He actually told me, "It'll be easier for me to find +1 weapons than it will be to get +2 armor/shields...so I bought the +2 gear". Sorry, but I'm not going to encourage powergaming by giving him what he wants so he'll be even more powerful than everyone else. The other players didn't spend 2 weeks flipping through books making notes and trying to optimize a PC with precise choices. And I don't have time nor the patience to powergame NPC's just so they will be challenging to him. It's not fair to the other players if I help this guy be even more optimized than them.

The first rule of powergaming is functionality. If it isn't that functional to him within the definition of what the player considers functional for his character, he won't really use it.

I won't tell him he can't powergame, but I do ask that he be reasonable for the sake of the other players. If he likes D&D for the powergaming, then I'm not going to totally take away his fun. The item I'm giving him is not useless by any means. If he thinks it's useless, that's just another reason I don't care for powergaming. Me not giving him the items he wants should be a good thing for a powergamer...it means that I'm giving him more of an opportunity to powergame to make up for the lack of cool magic items

 

[Tzarevitch]

I didn't intend to start a discussion on so-called powergaming. That never goes anywhere. Either you are ok with it or you aren't. Arguing it never convinces anyone.

I am just suggesting that your search is likely to be futile because you two are operating at cross purposes. He is looking to make his character more effective at whatever it is he designed it to do and finds entertainment in being effective at that thing, you are trying to give him a minor item to encourage him to do something else . . . but not too well. You are going to have a very narrow overlap where those two desires will coincide.

Take the Slick armor for example. As someone already pointed out, why would he want a suit of armor that is less effective at what it does (provide protection) just so it can provide a property that he won't have much if any use for? The armor may be better cost-wise, but utility-wise it is worse. If he has 0 ranks in the skill, adding +5 on top of an armor check penalty just causes him to go from terrible at the skill to not-quite-as-terrible. For this occasional benefit you are asking him to take a loss in AC that will come up far more often.

Tzarevitch

 

[Oryan77]

Arguing it never convinces anyone.

I completely agree

Take the Slick armor for example. As someone already pointed out, why would he want a suit of armor that is less effective at what it does (provide protection) just so it can provide a property that he won't have much if any use for?

As I said, I learned my lesson on that one. Which is why I was looking for something completely different than what he can already do. In that example, I tried giving him something for flavor to replace something else. And I failed. I don't blame him at all for not wanting the armor. And he sold it and got a good hunk of change for it, so he still came out ahead.

My new choice of treasure is better than what he has without altering anything. He will get to swap a +1 weapon with a +1 weapon that can cast a utility spell. It's a spell that isn't boosting anything he has already boosted himself. And it's not granting him an extra spell to make him more powerful...it just gives him more options.

If a player doesn't like it, and gets upset that he's not getting what he wants, that's not my problem at all. A player like that won't mesh well in my games. I don't believe players should expect any specific type of treasures. A character gets what he finds and makes the most of it. Anything I give specifically is supposed to be a perk. If he doesn't like the item, he can sell it and continue powergaming. I've heard people complain because their DM didn't give them Gloves of Dex when they played a Rogue, or a Bag of Holding because it's a "common" magic item. Player's that expect something makes me cringe.

Anyway, I think he'll find this Heavy Mace interesting and hopefully he'll appreciate it. Thanks for the input though.