help, the pc's are unstoppable [Thread necromancy]

[JacktheRabbit]

I could be wrong but it sounds like you allow just about any book or supplement and the result is lots of player abuse.

So do the same back to them.

Crush the ninja with a nice high level fighter with a magic item that grants scent.

Throw incorpeal monsters at the barbaian. The 50% automatic miss chance will really hurt.

Smash the wizard with Beholders with levels in wizard. There is nothing worse than the beholder winking into existance in your face instantly hitting with his anti-magic ray.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

I suggest throwing something about 6-8 cr's ahead of the party at them. Beef him up however you must. After trashing half the party, have him teleport away, laughing hysterically. This will teach them they are NOT invincible and they'll have a new enemy to look forward to beating. Eventually, they'll gain a few levels and be able to take him. From a players perspective, that's like finally beating your older brother at something.

 

[s/LaSH]

The Ghost Hunt! A party of incorporeal hunters and hunting dogs (with Scent) could be quite nasty. Especially if you find a way to neutralise that enchanter's functionality... find a way to control the enchanter, say with a vampire's Domination. And turn their strengths into weaknesses, that's always great.

To make this nonlethal, perhaps the Hunt doesn't want to kill the PCs, just chase them all night. (You can kill them in the morning when the spellcasters haven't had time to recover their spells.)

I thought it would make a nice off-center encounter...

 

[jasamcarl]

A party of 8 of any given level should be equivilant to a party of four of that average level +2. Work under that assumption and come back to us...

 

[mirzabah]

I had a similar problem with a party of six.

One problem you might be having with adjusting the CR is that simply increasing the number of mooks doesn't necessarily work. Sure, in an open battlefield upping the number of bad guys makes things much tougher, but there's not much difference between 10 orcs and 20 orcs if they're coming at you down a 10' wide corridor.

You need to both toughen up individual creatures and get a bit more imaginative about your battles.

I'd also look at splitting your group into two seperate campaigns - perhaps you could play in one and GM the other. While other posters have been quite glib about CR adjustments, it's actually a lot of extra homework for the DM on top of all that we already do.

 

[Terraism]

I'd also look at splitting your group into two seperate campaigns - perhaps you could play in one and GM the other. While other posters have been quite glib about CR adjustments, it's actually a lot of extra homework for the DM on top of all that we already do.

Wait, wait - I may be misinterpreting, but... it's more work for a DM to design an adventure with encounters at the player's level +2 than just at the player's level? I've never noticed that...

 

[Alcamtar]

I'd be wary of suggestions for non-combat adventures; if these guys are powergamers you'll just bore them. And a special encounter only works once.

My suggestions (some of which others have already suggested):

(1) Increase the EL of encounters. Someone said +2 which is a good place to start, but adjust upwards until things get challenging again. Be sure not to kill off the non-twinky characters in the crossfire! Don't award extra experience for the increased EL.

(2) Avoid single-monster encounters. Use multiple creatures whenever possible, and try to mix creatures to include a variety of abilities. Find ways for them to complement each other.

(3) Look at their specific powers, items, feats, classes, etc. to see what makes them so effective. Be sure to build your NPCs the same way, with similar equipment. Optimize NPCs, then go back and re-optimize to build on each other's strengths. After all PCs to this. Read the Sultans of Smack thread for inspiration.

(4) Watch their tactics and use the same tactics back at them. Every PC party I've seen works like a well-oiled machine: they are always ready for action, have preferred tactics that play to their strengths, and always go straight for the jugular: the best defense is to win initiative and kill the enemy in the first round. They sleep in their armor, for crying out loud! Make your NPCs behave exactly like the PCs: ruthless, suspicious, alert, prepared. Also note whether your PCs are selfish with equipment and spells, or whether they share and lend to each other. Do PCs kibbitz in combat, sharing OOC knowledge and coordinating attacks? Let your NPCs do the same. Do the PCs single out spellcasters, or coup-de-grace fallen foes in the middle of combat? What comes around goes around.

(5) NPCs aren't stupid, and if they see an effective PC party they'll not only copy them but will also prepare a defense against them. Let their reputation precede them. Forewarned is forearmed.

(6) Don't let them choose their battles all the time. PCs love to catch NPCs napping, sneak up, and set traps for them. Wait until they think they're safe in between adventures, the wizard has loaded up on identify spells or is busy making magic items and everyone else is off guard, then have their enemies catch up and attack.

Oh yeah one more thing

(7) Be a rat bastard DM and don't cut'em any slack.

 

[ced1106]

Well, there **is** more to D&D than combat and fighting. Unless the players are only interested in combat, anything from court intrigue to a mystery can be done at any level. Unfortunately, I don't know any D&D products that can help out, but know that someone on EnWorld ran a courtly intrigue game, so it is possible.


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[nameless]

I've been in this situation before, and there is ultimately only one solution... and that is having the party cooperatively starting over and not allowing such high power. As a bonus to them, I'd recommend allowing their current characters to retire and have powerful positions in the game world. There is nothing more satisfying as having a character you identify as yourself truly having an impact on the world.

If they complain about having low power, just explain that the campaign will be lower powered in general, to avoid the boredom that happens with overpowered parties.

-nameless

 

[Derulbaskul]

Oh no, you typed "rouge" instead of "rogue"... that's the problem. You're being punished by the "gaming gawds"....

How about a couple of opponents, say 16th level each.

One is a blackguard 10/rogue 6 (assume ex-paladin who converted all his levels to blackguard and that at least one of the rogue levels ) with some sort of darkness or blacklight and silence creating item (or the spells) plus the devil's eye spell from BoVD so he can still see. Also, have a spell-storing item on him that grants him wind wall so as to take care of all those pesky missile weapons.

He melees the combat types, within the radius of a combined darkness and silence effect: Darkness + Silence + Sneak Attack = Mess for PC fighter-types, no matter how munchkinised they are, provided the magic isn't countered, which is where our friend the beholder mage comes in: the wizard and psion, and the cleric to a certain extent, can then be taken care of by a beholder mage.

This isn't perfect, but it's a good place to start without being too overpowered.

Cheers
NPP