How would you keep a Frenzied Beserker from killing the whole party?

[Zerovoid]

Here's my take on the situation:

In Character, the FB is probably not choosing this path. He's been raging for quite a while, and its probably gotten the better of him.

OOC, he is kind of screwing the party, but the frenzy is probably worth it. I wouldn't mind having one of my fellow players take this PRC, but maybe you would. If that's the case, just tell them out of game not to take the class.

Dealing with the situation:

HOLD PERSON. The cleric probably has a ton of these memorized anyway, so it doesn't require any special preperation. When the FB turns on you, hit him with a Hold Person. I might actually prefer a FB with a really low will save, so that he would be easier to affect with his party's own spells. Also, I'm sure the carnage that the FB will inflict with more than make up for the wasted spell.

When you can see that the fight is almost over, eveyone else should run away, and let the FB finish off the last enemies. At the very least, be sure there's no way this guy can get a full attack on you after killing the enemies.

Keep the tough characters between the FB and the wizard. The FB is pretty nasty, but he has to attack the closest "enemy". Make sure it is a guy who can hold out until the cleric casts hold person, or the FB calms down on his own.

Remember, HP are abstract. If Bob the fighter with 100 hitpoints takes 30 damage from Bill the FB, then Bob is tired out, and has a few scrapes. Since he didn't just get his arm cut off or something, then Bob shouldn't have too much trouble forgiving Bill.

 

[Someone]

Party comes to palace gates.

Guard- Ok, the prince awaits you and... Why is this guy wearing manacles?

Rogue- Just in case. Sometimes he gets angry and attacks everyone, including his friends.

Guard- Ah... Anyway, you can´t carry weapons or magic artifacts while having an audience, so you will have to left here those wands.

Frenzied berseker- Grrrrr...

Mage & cleric- That would be dangerous. We use them to Levitate and Calm our buddy when he goes berserk. We can left them here, but send a messenger to the prince: If he starts raging, tell him to inmediately play dead.

Guard- Are you kidding?


[OK, OK, I know: "The Story Hour forum is this way...]

 

[Jeremy]

How do you get a listen check of 51?

Also, how many times has Wolvie gone berserk and killed Cyclops?

High wisdom, max cross class ranks, one magic item, and taking 20. The point was, how unbelievably incredible is such a check? It's not something a normal human can do.

Twice by my count, though both times in alternate universes. Gotta love Marvel. Gots to keep their money makers alive. What was it Jean said? About the number of times she's been kidnapped, cloned, killed, came back, comatose, etc?

In any case, I merely wanted to point out that while a difficult RP scenario, from an RP perspective that might just be an affliction of the character, or a conscious choice, or the evolution of something he aspires to be. There are other wild guns out there in fiction, fantasy, sci fi and they are dangerous but also interesting.

 

[James McMurray]

Ok, how many times has he killed Cyclops and continued to adventure with that incarnation of the X-men? Of course, the question also assumes that the teammates saw it happen and liked that particular Cyclops.

Also, you can't take 20 on listen.

 

[Jeremy]

Side note: You can't? It's repeatable.. There are no consequences from failing... Why not just sit there and listen for 20 rounds or until you roll a nat 20? What's the difference between that and taking 20? Just curious...

 

[Corwin the Confused]

Ok, how many times has he killed Cyclops and continued to adventure with that incarnation of the X-men? Of course, the question also assumes that the teammates saw it happen and liked that particular Cyclops.

IMO, D&D is a game and not real life. So if my FB attacks another character big deal. The FB gets a Will save every round to end the frenzy. So he has a greater than 50% chance to succeed each round. In the unlikely event that fails consecutive saves multiple times and he slays a party member, we will raise that party member.

I see no need for the litany "Kill the FB in his sleep" or "Never adventure with the FB again if he hurts a party member" to continue.

So unless you have further suggestions, AND I REALLY DO LIKE READING ALL OF THE SUGGESTIONS, ( I am not yelling, I am using them for impact. )I see no reason for futher posts on this thread. Perhaps you would like to post your own thread or poll: Should a player take a PrC of FB?

 

[James McMurray]

Here's an example of why it is not possible:

Rounds 1-4, you "roll" a 1, a 2, etc.

Round 5, the enemy thief sneaks past invisibly. His move silently check is 20 over your listen skill. You "roll" a 5.

Rounds 6-19, you "roll" a 6-19.

Round 20: You "roll" a 20. do you suddenly hear him now, even though he has already assassinated his target and teleported 1,000 miles away?

Granted, there are situations where it may be feasible (such as a prolonged sound that you know to listen for) but in most cases it probably isn't very feasible.

 

[Templetroll]

Re: Information on the GAME in which I play.

Originally posted by Corwin the Confused
I have asked the other players what they think about me becoming a FB.

This bodes well and demonstrates that you "...do not wish "TO RUIN THEIR ENJOYMENT OF THE GAME" <sorry, inside joke, for [your] DM>)"

So PLEASE, post suggestions about my question.

My favorites of the suggestions are

1. party plays dead when all foes are slain.

2. party abandons the FB when he is down to the last one or two foes.

Do you have a paladin in the group? I'd love to see a paladin doing either one of these.

Getting items to boost your Will save is also good, but not as comical as the preceding two.

My suggestion was that the FB try to avoid Frenzy in the same manner that Wolverine hated his berserk nature.

The Levitate option sounded like a good one, although I dislike the other party members having to save spells or use magic items to deal with the FB.

 

[James McMurray]

But if the FB buys the wand, then it isn't really much of a hassle for the party.

 

[Jeremy]

Here's an example of why it is not possible:

Rounds 1-4, you "roll" a 1, a 2, etc.

Round 5, the enemy thief sneaks past invisibly. His move silently check is 20 over your listen skill. You "roll" a 5.

Rounds 6-19, you "roll" a 6-19.

Round 20: You "roll" a 20. do you suddenly hear him now, even though he has already assassinated his target and teleported 1,000 miles away?

Granted, there are situations where it may be feasible (such as a prolonged sound that you know to listen for) but in most cases it probably isn't very feasible.

But you can take a full round action every round to make a listen check and there are no penalties for a failed check so it meets both requirements for taking 20. So while it may not be feasible to use it in a reactive state (i.e. the dm calls for listen checks because someone is moving silently) but it would work for say standing still and listening to determine which direction the sea is, which direction the sounds of a camp are, etc. As far as I can tell from the description of take 20, you can do it with a listen check, but it takes you 2 minutes. So it may do you more harm than good.

Of course I don't suppose it will ever come up...