How to tell the PCs...

[Tinker Gnome]

Since these people are actually meeting up with you and gaming, presumably they enjoy the game and it is a worthwhile investment of time and effort. If so, I belive you seriously need to lay it on the line and explain that either they need to shape up or you quit DMing. I'm usually opposed to the "my way or the high way" approach to DMing, but in your case, it seems that it is generally "the players' way" and esp. "my brother's way", and that is a lousy way to do it.

On a related subject, most of the threads you start on this forum have to do with how bad your group is, how bad your brother is, and how painful it is do DM for them. I'm really curious why you continue to do so. Life is much too short to spend time doing things you don't enjoy.

Because sometimes there are lulls in the "badness" and things go okay for a while, but then they start to get bad again every once in a while.

 

[Ibram]

It sounds to me like you arent having fun anymore, and if your not having fun there is realy no point in wasting your time seting up adventures.

Frankly it strikes me as odd that the players expect everything to be as in the MM. I dont think i have ever been in a game where goblins and orcs didnt get class levels. Do the players expect these creatures to just spring forth from the ground fully formed?

 

[painandgreed]

Dire orcs. Maybe fiendish dire orcs. Half demonic dire orcs?

Following path of least resistance I'd either stop being DM or stop using orcs. Have all the bad guys be character races with levels or give the orcs leaders of other, tougher races.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

It sounds to me like you arent having fun anymore, and if your not having fun there is realy no point in wasting your time seting up adventures.

Frankly it strikes me as odd that the players expect everything to be as in the MM. I dont think i have ever been in a game where goblins and orcs didnt get class levels. Do the players expect these creatures to just spring forth from the ground fully formed?

Pretty much, once we get another MM I am going to show them theat monsters can advance by class level, and if they do not like it then they can either quit playing or deal with it.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

A friend of mine once gave me some very good advice...

If you want to teach them a lesson, let them stumble upon a dozen or so kobols... but, make the kobols with nets. A good way of making what would seem a very easy encounter a very, very difficult one.

They can either fight orcs with class levels or low-level mosters that they will *really* feel stupid for being killed by.

 

[arscott]

Bah. This reminds me of the time the 300 lb. wrestler wanted to play a super-sayan in a forgotten realms campaign.

Several people have come up and said, Try this, this, or this, and if that doesn't work, try quitting.

I'd try quitting first. If you aren't enjoying yourself, you have absolutely no responsibility to DM or play in a campaign. You clearly have access to the internet, so if you can't find another group to play with in your hometown, try a Play-by-Post or Chatroom Game.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Bah. This reminds me of the time the 300 lb. wrestler wanted to play a super-sayan in a forgotten realms campaign.

Several people have come up and said, Try this, this, or this, and if that doesn't work, try quitting.

I'd try quitting first. If you aren't enjoying yourself, you have absolutely no responsibility to DM or play in a campaign. You clearly have access to the internet, so if you can't find another group to play with in your hometown, try a Play-by-Post or Chatroom Game.

I am sort of in a PbP over at the WOTC forums, which is fun. I tend to stay in the backround and pop up again when least expected.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Bah. This reminds me of the time the 300 lb. wrestler wanted to play a super-sayan in a forgotten realms campaign.

Several people have come up and said, Try this, this, or this, and if that doesn't work, try quitting.

I'd try quitting first. If you aren't enjoying yourself, you have absolutely no responsibility to DM or play in a campaign. You clearly have access to the internet, so if you can't find another group to play with in your hometown, try a Play-by-Post or Chatroom Game.

I am sort of in a PbP over at the WOTC forums, which is fun. I tend to stay in the backround and pop up again when least expected.

 

[Arrellion]

You may want to try to confuse them a little. The next bunch of Orcs they run into could actually be Dopplegangers instead. Or they could meet a lone travelar that becomes part of their group but one night while they are all asleep the new travelar allows his pack to circle the group. They awake to the growls of the "monsters". They get up to fight and the pack turns into half human/half wolf monstrosities or any other Lycanthrope. During battle the "new" member of the party Changes and joins in the battle, AGAINST them. See how they like that.

Bottom line, like others have said, the DM has the final word.

Good luck,

Arrellion

 

[Tinner]

Stop using Monsters

Ditch the whole dungeon concept. Put them in a city adventure, where all their opposition is core races with class levels.
They don't want Orcs with Class Levels? Fine, they can fight some Half-Orc Barbarians instead. Goblins have to all be the same? OK, how about a party of Halfling Rogues?
Or you could just have all the Orcs under a variety of magical effects. Bull's Strength, Mage Armor, Bless, Enlarge etc. can all buff your Orcs into more of a challenge.
There's always the Hordes of Humanoids tactic too. Since all your Orcs and Goblins have to be little weenies, just bury the PC's under them. Sure Orcs are just 1/4 CR, but when there are a few hundred of them and they are armed with seige weapons, and enslaved war animals, they can become a challenge for higher level PC's.
Another tactic that works well is just making every Orc EXACTLY the same. They use the same weapons, they make the same attacks, each dungeon is just a neverending hallway of 10x10 rooms with orcs in it. The sheer monotony should help you convince them that a little variety might be in order.
They'll either get bored and demand a change, in which case, you reply with "Well, I do have this other dungeon, but the orcs have class levels and you guys probably can't handle that ..." or they'll be thrilled to be chopping up so many orcs. In that case, you're GMing for idiots, and you probably should quit.
They need to adapt or die IMO.