Making Melee Characters Useful at High Levels

[Baramay]

I am suprised by your situation. Giants are great grapplers. Archers and mages are not good against grapples. If these two guys are ripping up the giants they would be the target of the most attacks. Overrun and a giant's greater speed will get them there quickly. If the barbarian is getting knocked around he can wait until later when the other two are neutralized. Yes, weaker opponents do not want to give a fighter all of his attacks in a round. Just like your party should not want to fight the giants with all of their attacks.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think the Barbarian did quite well. Imagine what would happen without him! The Giants would have charged the casters and archers and simply devestated them, either by simply power attacking or lot or by grappling them to death...

Remember that most Giants don't have Improved Grab or Improved Grapple, so it is not their optimal combat action.
But regardless of this, even a grappled character can fight - Spiked Gauntles or Armor Spikes and attack in grapple - even with a -4 penalty to attack rolls, that is better than attempting to oppose a unbeatable grapple checks.

I have fond memories of my barbarian character being swallowed by a shark - drew his dagger to make his way out (though unfortunately for this story, the lethal blow was made by the characters "outside" the shark)

 

[Aeric]

I agree with everything that has been said here so far.

My own two cents:

I play a fighter/paladin in a party of mostly casters (two cleric/wizards, a psion, an artificer, and a bard), and up until our last session, I was feeling a bit like the cleanup crew. My Dex was low, my movement rate was low, so I went last and took forever to reach the enemy. Even when I went first, the other PCs asked me to hold my action so they could blast the enemy with fireballs and scorching rays to soften them up. Usually, by the time I actually reach the enemy, they only had a couple of hit points left; a real waste for a powerhouse melee combatant.

This last session, however, something was introduced which had not been used in the campaign before - spell resistance. We were facing a single bone devil whose SR was higher than normal due to the area we were fighting in. Suddenly, all thoughts turned to buffing the fighter/paladin as he charged in.

So spell resistance, counterspells, silence, antimagic zones, archers holding their actions to disrupt spellcasting, all of these things can make a difference in combat. Against non-casting ranged combatants, there are plenty of spells which render ranged attacks impossible: wind wall, protection from normal missiles, obscuring mist, etc. Even natural terrain such as a forest can prevent effective ranged attacks.

 

[Odysseus]

In addition to the above comments I'd add

Check the barbarians damage bonus. High level melee characters often can hit alot, so there damage per hit is critical to their sucess.
The players should have tactics to defend against tactics such as grab or trip attacks on their characters.
How combat starts is a big factor. If the party get a chance to buff pre combat, it has a big impact, compared to just encountering the monsters.

 

[Odhanan]

First, do an equipment check. Melee guys are the most effected by wealth totals under standard (as defined by the DMG). See if his total gear is about right or if he's fallen under.

Also verify that his equipment, if/when in the right range of total price, increases the character's specialty specifically. That is, magic weapons, armor, movement based items, such things that would increase the efficiency of a barbarian. A crystal ball doesn't do anything for a barbarian, so to speak.

 

[Voadam]

Outsiders have high SR and good saves.

Wizards are particularly vulnerable to melee characters.

Rogues and monks with evasion avoid area spells, so throw in the hordes of ninja mooks!

Melee fighters should have some movement ability to get to the enemy quickly such as winged boots.

Melee ambush!

The cleric/fighter, VoP druid, and paladin in my 16th level game are all melee oriented characters who do very well.

 

[The_Gneech]

A nice "giant bane" sword would have made a world of difference, too.

I only mention this 'cause one of our melee monsters had such a sword in Against the Giants/Liberation of Geoff and he basically mopped up the room with it. When one of the other characters in the group even gave a giant a bloody nose, it was considered a great victory.

-The Gneech

 

[SBMC]

Tactics are the key to all characters in melee, not just the fighters. I've seen many normally ineffective characters become effective by thinking thru their attack options and making the right choice. Currently, my Epic level party has a tank that dominated the game for several sessions but has been killed off in the last 2 games by poor tactics (not just his, but also the party's overall tactics).

Fighters need support, too.

No doubt at all - I agree. What I am saying is that a FIghter has more flexible options readily available than other classes due to the volume of feats available.

 

[SBMC]

Others have said things pretty well.

Step 1: Tactics check. Is the player being dumb? If he is, he should stop and see if the problem goes away.

Step 2: Equipment check. Does the character have appropriate gear for his level? A barbarian with a +5 moderate fortification mithral breastplate, belt of giant strength +6, and amulet of health +4, gloves of dex +4, and a ring of protection +4, a +3 adamantine animated heavy shield, +5 vest of resistance, boots of speed, cape of the Montebank, a few potions of fly, and a +1 keen holy cold iron greatsword is going to do a lot better than one with a +1 keen greatsword, gauntlets of ogre power, and a +2 chain shirt.

3. Tactics check two. A barbarian who picks up greater magic weapon, magic vestment, shield of faith, stoneskin, and inspire greatness/inspire heroics from his allies does a lot better than one who doesn't.

4. A little analysis. A barbarian who carries a bow (at 16th level, +1 flaming is pretty cheap) and uses it when the situation calls for it is a lot more effective in any situation where charging in isn't the best plan. If he has Quickdraw or a glove of storing, he can be the one who just takes a 5' step and full attacks the giants when they come charging up. A melee guy who is flexible is far superior to a melee character who isn't. (I play fairly regularly with a sixteenth level fighter/barbarian who I took Quickdraw and Rapid Shot to be able to unload with his bow in the first round and then full attack the bad guys after they charge him--for a lightly armored multiclass mutt, two levels of ranger to make that tactic work even better would be a good investment). Another key situational boost for a melee character is having a ghost touch weapon. Incorporeal creatures are pretty hard for most characters to damage, but a character with a ghost touch weapon does very well.

Sorry, I have to say this everytime I see it - call it a compulsion

Animated Shields are one of the most unbalanced things in the game - not allowed in my campaign! And I won't play in one that does either.

 

[tetsujin28]

Sorry, I have to say this everytime I see it - call it a compulsion

Animated Shields are one of the most unbalanced things in the game - not allowed in my campaign! And I won't play in one that does either.

Meh. I don't have a problem with them.