race & feat combos that destroy my campaigns melee combat.

[The_Warlock]

Displaced, Incorporeal, Undead, spell-focus enchantment, sorcerers under the command of a mid flayer lich.
Oh your evil baby! I will use that, "got any builds handy?"
Thorncrest

Not off hand, I've been beating my players with dragons lately, and I'm converting a few things right now, but give me a week, and I could provide a few... chuckle

 

[Prism]

No they didn't. This rule is still in effect. Check the SRD if you like, in the section cocnerning magic weapons. Here:

http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/v35/MagicItemsII.rtf

This has been corrected in the 3.5 DMG errata to remove this requirement. It was removed for armour but left in for weapons accidently. If you play by the errata its simply more hit points and hardness for each plus.

Just to add to the main discussion, you could create a few situational combats - chasms, stairs, pits, cliffs etc - where the party has to work together to beat the encounter and everyone gets a chance to shine

 

[Tzarevitch]

So here is the problem...and I do consider this a major problem!

1) He destroys weapons with one swing! I mean absolutely destroys them! +2,3 4 whatever-GONE! I FEEL THAT MAGICALS NEED MORE PROTECTION THAN RAW ALLOW. To take a enemies weapon, sheild, thats +3 or more & worth 50,000 or more that took a month for the mage to enchant and to let a meathead llike this to break it with one swing? I mean c'mon already!

I don't see where the problem is. He isn't even abusing the rules. How is his breaking the NPC's weapons any different from an NPC fire giant or something breaking his weapons? Which leads me to another point. The NPCs need to break his weapon back or stop letting him get close enough to attack the weapons. Barring that, get adamantine or obdurium weapons (hardness 30), they should at be able to hold out better.

2) And to make it worse he causes so much damage he downs opponents like bugs bunnies pitching 1 2 3 strikes your outta here. I mean this guy causes a good 75 pionts or so a round. I didnt exactly count while we were playing but I feel this is about right. The fully powered Merilith Demon with a Medusa template (basically a Madusa head) dc 18 or get stoned- was killed in 3 of his hits and he rolled with 2d8 a 4 twice!

Again, so? One PC in my current game can inflict 120 points in a round with three swings. His enemies have learned this and they don't stand there for him to hit them 3x. Also, as DM I know that he has this capability so I plan accordingly. My NPCs use hit-and run attacks, hit from range, and use ground control effects. Start using wall spells, web, solid fog, evard's tentacles, entangle, sleet storm, etc. to grant miss chances and prevent him from closing range or targeting his foes very well. Basically, your PC has found a tactic that is working for him, YOU now need to adjust and come up with better tactics for your NPCs otherwise he is going to cut them down like wheat.

He doesnt have the best ac in the world, but his to hit is good but his damage toooo UBBER!
The party is now 13th level so he is 9th fighter and is debating on his next feet, so its gonna get worse!

Secondly the party cleric and wizard are'nt dumb so they beef this guy up.

BTW it is "feat" not "feet". In any case, if the other PCs are buffing him up, dispel him. The NPCs aren't idiots. If they see this guy looking like Conan and cracling with magical energies they should dispel him. There is also a great spell in Complete Arcane called Reciprocal Gyre (or something similar). It causes the target to take damage according to how many spells he has cast on him at the time.

IS SUNDER BROKEN? IS TWO HANDED POWER ATTACK BROKEN? ARE SMART PLAYERS BROKEN?

its not his magicals thats causing the problem at all its his feats! Usually Im known to complain of toooo much magic but now its the feats, tooo much ubber feats.

do I diss-allow the stone child race? diss-allow the above combo of feats? Should I cheat and modify dungeons to better combat the party? (I have been) tELL THE PARTY THEY GOT TO DUMB IT DOWN A BIT? OR JUST BEEF THE HELL OUT OF DUNGEONS/ENCOUNTERS?

The feats aren't "broken". Things aren't "broken" simply because someone is having problems adjusting to them. The problem you are having is you are playing to the PCs strength. Let me tell you, I see characters like that in my games all the time. I have a couple of characters in my game who have advanced their strengths into the low 30s.

Here's some advice: Let the player have his fun but don't be afraid to change tactics on him. Here are some suggestions:

1. There is nothing stopping NPC giants or other strong creatures from doing the same thing to the PCs. Next time the PCs run into a group of ogres, have them break their weapons or disarm them. If they don't have Imp. Unarmed Combat or a backup weapon, they are going to have some problems.

2. Have the enemy start heavily targeting the stonechild with ranged attacks or magic. If he is causing that much damage that fast, the NPCs are going to try to target him exclusively and take him down quickly or immobalize him somehow. They would have to be stupid if they didn't. His reflex and will saves have to be incredibly poor. Attack those. There is a great spell in the PHB called Ray of Enfeeblement. Use it. It is 1st level. Hitting him with it should be like hitting the broad side of a barn.

3. In the future don't have the PCs roll abilities. That causes problems like this all the time when players get fluke die rolls. If you use a point buy he can't start with that high a strength AND con without totally shafting everything else.

Tzarevitch

 

[Squire James]

If you don't have a problem with your Saint (which was hopefully earned in play... the source material strongly suggests that you not let players start play with one) or your Vow of Poverty Monk, the Stonechild shouldn't be a problem either. Yeah, he's going to rock in melee. Yeah, he's going to stink in everything else.

There's plenty of CR 10-12 giants that could give this guy a run for his money. Just remember that oversized weapons have more HP than their normal equivalents. Also remember that weapons all have Hardness that acts in a manner similar to X/- damage reduction. If he Sunders a giant's weapon, well, I guess the giant will have to grapple him instead... even Str 26 guys might have difficulty with giant bear-hugs!

 

[painandgreed]

We roll our stats he had a 1 18 which he put to str 1 16 which put to con and he leveled up to 18 with the +1 at 4th and +1 at 8th. And I am going by the RAW thats my point are they broken-sunder, stonechild this series of feats...should I in the future out law them?

My initial opinion is that he has too many feats and stat increases. Since he is a LA +4 race with 2 HD, he starts out as the equivilant of a 6th level character with reguards to EXP and level. To my understanding he does not get any of the feats or stats for those levels as they are figured in to the Race LA. He should only have the feats for a 6st level fighter, 4 total IIRC, other than what is granted due to race. He'd have a stat increase from 8th and 12th level? I'll have to doubel check everything once I get home which is something I've been meaning to do anyway since I'm in an mostly LA race campaign right now and we're still learnign things.

That being said, soemthing that we've learned is that LA races tend to act broken compared to normal races because they usually have advantages that the GM isn't used to. For example, half the characters in my current campaign can fly right now due to natural wings. This totally breaks some adventures because we can simply fly over water or cliffs. Some other abilities also tend to change the way things go and if run like normal humans, it all tends to seem broken. We have our drawbacks. My pixie is a 9th level character (6 for pixie, 3 in fighter) and has only 33 hit points. This stone child seems min-maxed for combat but I suspect if faced with traps or things he can't simply sunder and hit easily, he'll be at a disadvantage where another race and class might not be. Since D&D is slanted towards stand up fights, this means he's pretty good at most adventures.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Well, you could have had two more levels in fighter and a good deal more hit points with your pixie if you hadn't insisted on giving it the Otto's Irresistible Dance ability. Its a good power, but only once a day, it really is not worth the extra two LA.

 

[Sir ThornCrest]

Well the party isnt having a problem the Ranger with his multi shot, 4 attacks a round he's causing great damage because he hits so much. The Arcane Trickster does his thing always inviso and touch attacks such as melfs acid arrow he applies his additional 4d6 damage for sneak attack while he is inviso. The Cleric is very good w/ saint probably to good! That darn saint nimbus light thing messes up several attacks a night. And my Monk works good we call him the kill stealer because I run around so fast I end up in combat more that the rest of the party. So they all get a chance to shine, Im just bringing light to the damage caused by these huge hulking melee combatants.

Thorncrest

This has been corrected in the 3.5 DMG errata to remove this requirement. It was removed for armour but left in for weapons accidently. If you play by the errata its simply more hit points and hardness for each plus.

Just to add to the main discussion, you could create a few situational combats - chasms, stairs, pits, cliffs etc - where the party has to work together to beat the encounter and everyone gets a chance to shine

 

[Rystil Arden]

Well the party isnt having a problem the Ranger with his multi shot, 4 attacks a round he's causing great damage because he hits so much. The Arcane Trickster does his thing always inviso and touch attacks such as melfs acid arrow he applies his additional 4d6 damage for sneak attack while he is inviso. The Cleric is very good w/ saint probably to good! That darn saint nimbus light thing messes up several attacks a night. And my Monk works good we call him the kill stealer because I run around so fast I end up in combat more that the rest of the party.

Thorncrest

Wait, am I reading this right: you are the DM *and* one of the PCs?

 

[Sir ThornCrest]

Yes we switch DM'ing about every month or so. And as a result we all have pc's. Thats why I chose a monk w/ VoP it's easy, no belonging to worry about. He's a perfect npc while Im DM'ing -not interested in being the leader, not forcefull, gets along with everyone good back up.

Thorncrest

Wait, am I reading this right: you are the DM *and* one of the PCs?

 

[painandgreed]

Well, you could have had two more levels in fighter and a good deal more hit points with your pixie if you hadn't insisted on giving it the Otto's Irresistible Dance ability. Its a good power, but only once a day, it really is not worth the extra two LA.

No, pixie is LA +4 plus 1 HD so a pixie with one class level is going to be 6th. Pixie is LA +6 with Otto's IIRC. I just can't remember my character's levels properly.

I also messed up earlier. the stone child hsould have feats for a 6th level fighter plus any gained from levels 7 through 12th.