Players getting cocky (4e)

[Dannyalcatraz]

A classic problem that can't be solved by direct violence is The Spoiled Brat.

Their fortunes bouyed by tales of their exploits, a wealthy merchant hires the party as the personal guard for his
Spoiled Brat, who is about to embark on a looooooong journey.

Spoiled Brats are like cats- very curious about everything- and their status ensures that they underestimate the danger of every situation. They don't understand when to be quiet, when to be still. They don't understand that numbers matter in combat just as much as the individual prowess of ones' bodyguards.

 

[Mephistopheles]

There's nothing wrong with the players enjoying that their characters are powerful and successful. It's all relative, however; too much success too easily can lead to boredom.

If you're having trouble challenging them tactically, as your post seemed to imply, you might take a look at Stalker0's thread on avoiding grind: from memory there are some good tips in there not only on avoiding grind but also on setting up fast and furious encounters that can be pretty hard hitting.

You can also throw them strategic curveballs. Perhaps whoever they've been working for with such stellar success turns out to have motives that are not what they seemed and their success will come back to haunt them as they set about undoing what they set in motion - although I use such devices sparingly lest the players come to suspect anyone who asks them to do anything.

You need to be enjoying the game or there's no point in you running it, but make sure you have a correct read on your players before turning the game upside down: if you're all having fun and aren't bored you may not have a problem that needs fixing.

 

[Blackbrrd]

If you want to scare your players, just throw a difficult encounter at them.

I think I would prefer using several chained level n encounters. In other words, they start fighting a normal encounter, but after 2/4/6/etc rounds they get reinforcements. This should be quite obvious to the players so they have time to understand that it's time to flee.

Either that or throw a dragon or two at them with a complete encounter simultaneously. I did one where a white dragon awakened the dead in the cemetery with his breath weapon. (Mine wasn't that hard though, mostly because they had really hard tactics, but it's a nice gimmick to add more monsters as the encounter goes).

 

[ppaladin123]

A classic problem that can't be solved by direct violence is The Spoiled Brat.

Their fortunes bouyed by tales of their exploits, a wealthy merchant hires the party as the personal guard for his
Spoiled Brat, who is about to embark on a looooooong journey.

Spoiled Brats are like cats- very curious about everything- and their status ensures that they underestimate the danger of every situation. They don't understand when to be quiet, when to be still. They don't understand that numbers matter in combat just as much as the individual prowess of ones' bodyguards.

Escort quests.....the bane of all adventurers and video game players. I think I might have to have words with my DM if he inflicted one on us.

 

[Blackbrrd]

Regarding the Escort-quest... Why would the characters agree to such a quest. They are probably after glory too, not just loot. No glory shepherding a spoiled brat = not taking the quest. Forcing it upon the characters = railroading...

 

[Plane Sailing]

My players have handled everything I've thrown at them so far pretty handily. Despite my efforts they have only really had one close encounter with death in the form of a bugbear ambush.

Now their walking the streets of Calimport with some swagger feeling unstoppable and I think its high time I brought this frame of mind crashing down around them like flaming timbers.

My answer? The Mists of Ravenloft.

I agree with others - I think that is the wrong answer to the "problem"

Is the problem that they've handled (nearly) everything easily? Is the problem that they feel unstoppable? Then why not do something in the campaign which addresses these issues, rather than taking what seems like an adversarial approach?

For example, what if the port comes under attack from a colossus or invading army - something that they cannot fight, but can they help people escape (hint, look at recent posts of Sagiros report on Piratecats campaign to get some ideas here, or consider the Cloverfield movie) - a foe that they obviously can't fight, but the adventure is in how to escape, and whether they can rescue others along the way.

Give them a situation to be escaped, rather than a foe to be overcome. Make their existing world broader, rather than take them into a different world.

Cheers

 

[MarkB]

My opinion is that if the game becomes too easy, my players will get bored with it.

I can't remember who conducted it, but there was a study of gamers awhile back which found that, whilst most of them, when asked, said that what they looked for in a game was a challenge, the one thing they tended to enjoy most, and most consistently, in practice, was winning.

In short, don't assume that your players are going to get tired of success. It may well not happen.

 

[Janx]

Regarding the Escort-quest... Why would the characters agree to such a quest. They are probably after glory too, not just loot. No glory shepherding a spoiled brat = not taking the quest. Forcing it upon the characters = railroading...

Not only that, but if the Brat becomes Not Worth It, it becomes a dead Brat, and the PCs work out of any fall out for it, and get back to killing things and taking their stuff.

 

[Marius Delphus]

Ask yourself what, in the end, is the harm. If it's that you're not having nearly as good a time as your players, then yes you need to do something about it... but "putting the screws" to the PCs, as it were, by thrusting them into a new, punitive environment is the wrong approach, IMHO. In particular, I think "Ravenloft" is almost certainly the wrong answer to the question "How do I take my players down a peg?"

Not every fight needs to be a "skin of the teeth" affair, but by the same token not every fight should be a cakewalk. If the characters are easily earning success, the players are naturally going to be a little cocky. The solution is to find a closer match, encounter-wise, for their capabilities.

So ramp up the next few combats and see what happens. Don't go looking for a TPK or anything; just add a few extra minions... or an extra something that has a counter for their main schtick(s). Turn up the heat gradually, find a good simmer point, and learn from everything you (and they) do. Keep things fluid and flexible... if the PCs handily win an encounter or two, consider turning up the heat in the next; if they have a brutal encounter or two, consider easing up on them in the next.

 

[LostSoul]

Let the players pick the level of the challenges. You could be as brazen about it as saying, "Okay, for the next adventure should I make a dungeon of your level, your level +2, or your level +4?"

If they act cocky and pick the equal level dungeon, remind them that they are supposed to win and it's no surprise that they are doing as well as expected.