The druid is not fighting!!! LONG!

[Hatchling Dragon]

While I've read everyone else's take on this Druid's reasoning for avoiding combat, I'm still not sure what his real motivation is. Is he a coward, is it a matter of his Player thinking the Druid just can't hack it (sorry, couldn't resist ) in melee?

If it's the latter, there are always ways and means of 'fixing' these little deficiencies. He could ask the Wizard of the group to cast Mage Armor on him, perhaps even putting up some gold to craft a lousy 1st level version wand. That with his Bark Skin, or even Stone Skin, spells would help his AC situation. Combine some of these magics with a well-chosen Wildshape form and viola, Pseudo-Tank and combat monster

Hatchling Dragon

 

[DragonLancer]

if his method of playing is irritating the other players, it isn't too harsh to suggest the one player re-examine his methods. Gaming is a cooperative pastime, which necessitates people cooperating in and out of game.

If its irritating the other players then they need to lighten up and play. Jeez! My group don't always agree (IC or OOC) with somethings the others do but they are roleplaying and thats the point of the game. Characters should not be clones of one another just with different classes.

 

[mmu1]

If its irritating the other players then they need to lighten up and play. Jeez! My group don't always agree (IC or OOC) with somethings the others do but they are roleplaying and thats the point of the game. Characters should not be clones of one another just with different classes.

If one guy is getting on everyone else's nerves, he's the one that needs to make the change. This is a prime example of the attitude I was talking about - everyone else needs to "lighten up" and put up with the problem player.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

If its irritating the other players then they need to lighten up and play. Jeez! My group don't always agree (IC or OOC) with somethings the others do but they are roleplaying and thats the point of the game. Characters should not be clones of one another just with different classes.

You're being hyperbolic. I'm not saying they should be "clones" of each other - never even suggested such a thing. I'm saying that when one player's "roleplaying" leaves the rest of the party in the lurch, that that player may well find him or herself out in the cold, IC and OOC. When the other PCs give that PC a blanket party, as suggested above, call that roleplaying also - it's always interesting to see party dynamics manifest themselves.

The point of the game is more than just roleplaying, let's remember. The complexity of the combat system in most RPGs suggests that a lot of players enjoy beating up monsters and taking their stuff about as much as, if not more than, flexing their thespian muscles. The inaction of one makes that tougher than it should be, and can lessen the enjoyment had by the others. Perhaps the one player should lighten up in regards to his thespianism, and try to help the other players have a good time also.

EDITED to add a clarifying sentence.

 

[DragonLancer]

I really would not want to play with a group like that. Beating the smackdown on monsters and stealing/looting their treasure is only a small part of the game. Its called ROLEPLAYING for a reason. The story is important. The players have to be having fun, and that should include roleplaying their character.

You can't expect everyone to play a combat monkey everytime. The party has a druid is not a combatant. His skills lie outside of combat. They should use that and not drag him into a fight where his character is going to be killed. Thats not fun for the player of the Druid.

 

[Mark Chance]

If one guy is getting on everyone else's nerves, he's the one that needs to make the change.

Maybe.

But what if that one guy is right and everyone else is wrong?

 

[Pants]

I really would not want to play with a group like that. Beating the smackdown on monsters and stealing/looting their treasure is only a small part of the game. Its called ROLEPLAYING for a reason. The story is important. The players have to be having fun, and that should include roleplaying their character.

But what if the group has fun just beating down orcs and stealing their loot? Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean that it's not a viable part of the game for someone else.

I think this may be a problem of different playing styles clashing. Perhaps the druid is more of a roleplayer, while the others are more hack and slashers. Then again, the Druid's character concept could just be pissing everyone else off.

However, I will say this. The mid-level Druid in my party is always getting beat down whenever he goes into melee with someone else. The strength of the Druid lies in his spells and buffs. His AC is going to be terrible and he doesn't get the added benefit of spontaneously casting cure spells like a Cleric. However, the Druid can be very effective as a scout and a support caster.

I think that both the Druid and the other players may need to concede on the point a bit. The other players should realize that the Druid is going to be far more effective in the back row. The Druid should manage his/her spells a bit better and accept that when he's out of spells, he should go and help the tanks in the front. IMO of course.

 

[DragonLancer]

But what if the group has fun just beating down orcs and stealing their loot? Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean that it's not a viable part of the game for someone else.

Ah, you misunderstand me. I wouldn't want to play in a group where the rest of the party got peeved at roleplaying a character or at playing a character that wasn't built for combat (both of which seem to be the case here).

 

[ced1106]

He does have a nice thunder staff which does heavy melee damage and the other party members say that his attack bonus in melee is very good (which it is).

Kill him and take his staff. Er, stuff.

I'd also like to know more about the player. Does he **always** play like this? Or is he "trying to stay in character"? If the former, scale down the EL of the encounters for half a druid. If the latter, have a large tree fall on him and have him start up a **brave** character.


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[mmu1]

Maybe.

But what if that one guy is right and everyone else is wrong?

This is one of the those rare occasions where right and wrong are relative... We're not talking about robbing liquor stores or odious personal habits, here.

What the majority of the group enjoys is right - certainly, if you can accomodate everyone with only a minor change or two, it'd reflect well on the rest of the group to make the effort to change, but in general, you can't expect the majority of the players to change their playing style to suit one.