The harder, the better - dm

[gizmo33]

Trying to use eldritch blast on statues to see if they're monsters? Trying to re-charge encounters mid-encounter? Your initial post was correct - those people are ***(deleted for the sake of Eric's Grandma)*** and there's no point in playing with them unless you have to. If you have to play with them, tell them to shape up, or else start killing them off.

What's the problem? In the first case it's simply a matter of the DM knowing the rules and the problem is solved. You don't get your powers back after 1 round of resting IIRC. If a player says that he automatically kills a monster when he rolls a 20 or that he boosts to 1000 hit points by wishing for them out-loud, then the player is in error. Why lose sleep over it?

In the second case - who cares if the PC is blasting stuff right and left? First of all it's a dungeon. Secondly, why is it the player's fault if his character gets unlimited blasts?

Assume some sort of hypothetical "real-life" situation - what are some negative consequences of walking into hostile territory and blasting away and every object in sight? I'm sure you can add to this list:
(1) You make lots of noise and attract monsters
(2) The statue may contain a lever that opens a secret door, and now you've just destroyed it.
(3) The statue may contain, or be, treasure, and now you've just destroyed it
(4) The statue may be a petrified ally, and now he's had his head blown off

But these would be unusual occurances. It's just a statue. Now it's a statue with some scorch marks on it. Look bored and move on with the adventure. Or if it really bothers you, have your NPCs go to his house and fireball his statues. Whatever.

Also consider the fact that PCs in previous editions of the game could have simply set fire to the flammable parts of the dungeon with their torches. This is not completely strange behavior from hostile people in alien territory. You don't really expect them to sign the guest book and close the door on their way out, do you?

I would also consider applying some sort of fatigue rules to the Warlock in question. After all, if the fighter in the party wanted to bash up everything in the dungeon with his mace, then that's an approach I'd consider.

**
DM: "The tapestry in front of you speaks- 'I'm the Tapestry of Doom, to pass you must answer a riddle..."

Players: "We fireball the tapestry."

If this situation surprises anyone then it seems to me that they've been DMing for about a week. There's nothing wrong with that though, just chalk it up as a learning experience and make sure the tapestry is made of asbestos the next time. Expect smart players to solve problems.

 

[generalhenry]

what we have here is a conflict between two people who don't know what the hell they're doing.

Both the OP and his player are wrong.


Quit being a dick.

 

[Ibixat]

Ranger w/ two bastard swords? Hey, it's over the top, but whatever.

Trying to use eldritch blast on statues to see if they're monsters? Trying to re-charge encounters mid-encounter? Your initial post was correct - those people are ***(deleted for the sake of Eric's Grandma)*** and there's no point in playing with them unless you have to. If you have to play with them, tell them to shape up, or else start killing them off.

So he took his starting feat just to be proficient, then spent 60g on the two bastard swords and then one would think 25-30g for a shortbow or longbow, so lets see, of his starting 100 he's already down to 10 or 15g left depending on the bow he bought. Leaving him not enough money for armor, or so he buys armor then he's basically got no ranged weapon money left over except maybe a sling. But seriously you don't have to be exactly kind in rewarding magic bastard swords, so if he wants to keep his weapons up to date he's going to have to buy them or get them made, both of which will cost a lot more in the long run than finding a weapon you can actually use.

 

[Oompa]

So he took his starting feat just to be proficient, then spent 60g on the two bastard swords and then one would think 25-30g for a shortbow or longbow, so lets see, of his starting 100 he's already down to 10 or 15g left depending on the bow he bought. Leaving him not enough money for armor, or so he buys armor then he's basically got no ranged weapon money left over except maybe a sling. But seriously you don't have to be exactly kind in rewarding magic bastard swords, so if he wants to keep his weapons up to date he's going to have to buy them or get them made, both of which will cost a lot more in the long run than finding a weapon you can actually use.

An two weapon fighting ranger build wont go for an bow fast so he would save some money.. and you dont need the best armor you can buy..

An good dm adjusts his game to his players, if i have 6 players who dont have optimized builds, or equipment, i give them easier encounters and more equipment of loot..

First and only rule the dm must enforce:

You and youre players must be having fun, if you are not having fun, talk to eachother how you want to have it back at the happy happy fun level..

 

[ST]

Yeah, that's a playstyle issue.

If I'd been in your situation, Bran, there's probably some point where I'd have stood up and said, "Hey, I get it, okay? You don't like these rules, so you're gonna go out of your way to make it not fun. You win. You wanna stop doing that, or would you rather me go home? Cause I'm here to have fun, not to stand in as your whipping boy."

Okay, I probably would have been more polite than that, but that would have been the gist of it. But any time I end up at a table and it becomes crystal clear to me that other folks want to do stuff I don't find fun, I try to apologize for the confusion and either get us all on the same page, or just call the game there.

Or in other words, I'm fine with "playing to win", but "playing to break the game" is just dull.

 

[Ibixat]

Even my two bladed ranger grabs a bow, twin strike using a bow is just too nice to pass up if you start a combat at very long distances. Between Quarry and Twin strike using a bow you should probably be able to drop or at least bloody a creature or two in an encounter if it starts at a good distance. Either way, spending 60g for 2 weapons is a very large dent in your starting cash.

Though after looking at the sling I think they are too cheap, they are almost statistically identical to a hand crossbow but cost 1/25th as much, the hand xbow weighs more but it's ammo is less weight.

Anyway, was just pointing out that if you buy 2 bastard swords, you have to decide between a bow or armor at that point, you can't afford both if you go for the 2 "superior" melee weapons.

 

[Terwox]

What's funny is that, isn't the "blast everything we see" method helpful in 1E tournament style games?

Eldritch blasting the paint off the walls seems like a decent idea...

But yeah, as for encounter powers recharging, just use the actual rule about 5 minutes and you're done. Of course players are going to try and get their powers back as quickly as they can. If it is your first time DM'ing, give the rules another read through until you are comfortable with them.

What's wrong with players being blast happy anyway? They can use a ten foot pole to poke your traps open, or they can use eldritch blast. I'd prefer if my players ran in blasting everything really.

 

[ExploderWizard]

What's funny is that, isn't the "blast everything we see" method helpful in 1E tournament style games?

Nope.

 

[Bran Mak Morn]

Be back to you in a while Gizmo... just to clarify something you're probably missing....

 

[firesnakearies]

Or if it really bothers you, have your NPCs go to his house and fireball his statues. Whatever.

I laughed!