2 current problems I'm having [Archive] - Wizards Community

2 current problems I'm having [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
shadowmimiiru
07-15-06, 03:07 PM My D&D game has 2 problems that I'm hoping anyone can help me with. The first was made purely out of my inexperence when I first started DMing. You see I gave away far too much EXP when I first began DMing, and now after 4 months my players have level 19 characters. I wouldn't see this as a big problem but it's only been a month game time, and realisticly the kinds of improvements these characters have made are simply not possible. I mean they went on a mission for a Pirate King at level 2, and now after destroying an entire Magical floating island controlled by a Dracolich (not the original mission but something they stumbled upon) they're finally returning to the Pirate King who is himself only a level 25 after years of being a pirate.

So my question is: Is there anyway to fix this? I don't want the charcters to be all Demigod like so quick, and the Epic Level Book has only a few monsters for them to handle. I know this is my fault, but any suggestions would be great.

My second problem is a player. He's not a bad or mean or anything negative like that. No his problem is he paces for the entire 3 to 4 hour game, and the other players have come to me and have told me that he's distracting them. So my question here is how can I nicely get him to stop pacing? I've asked him not to before for the reason of distracting but after sitting for a 1/2 hour he jumps right back up and paces again.

Sorry to bother.
Shadow
EternalZzyx
07-15-06, 03:28 PM Sorry to bother.

ha, thats the best, it don't bother me to give my opinion, and I am sure everyone on this board will agree with me on that (why else would we be here?)

your first problem, is as it were, not so much of a problem, it seems that your PCs in this month have done a lot more than most pirate captains, and an important thing to remember is that PCs are exceptional people, but yes, you are right, that is a bit quick, my recommendation would be to if it really is that much of a problem, see if everyone wants to roll new characters, i am sure your players are reasonable people. or just tone down the XP for a bit...

your second problem, now, i will admit now, i myself and a shameless pacer (I act as well... gesture wildly, etc... I once got everyone acting out a fight, just for the fun...) just try sitting down with the offending player and explain to him that his pacing is distracting the other players from the game, I am sure he will understand. if that does not work, then a few meters or strong rope will... (that was a joke, i do not condone tying down players (unless you are both into that, then feel free)).
Aeromus
07-15-06, 03:40 PM My D&D game has 2 problems that I'm hoping anyone can help me with. The first was made purely out of my inexperence when I first started DMing. You see I gave away far too much EXP when I first began DMing, and now after 4 months my players have level 19 characters. I wouldn't see this as a big problem but it's only been a month game time, and realisticly the kinds of improvements these characters have made are simply not possible. I mean they went on a mission for a Pirate King at level 2, and now after destroying an entire Magical floating island controlled by a Dracolich (not the original mission but something they stumbled upon) they're finally returning to the Pirate King who is himself only a level 25 after years of being a pirate.

So my question is: Is there anyway to fix this? I don't want the charcters to be all Demigod like so quick, and the Epic Level Book has only a few monsters for them to handle. I know this is my fault, but any suggestions would be great.

My second problem is a player. He's not a bad or mean or anything negative like that. No his problem is he paces for the entire 3 to 4 hour game, and the other players have come to me and have told me that he's distracting them. So my question here is how can I nicely get him to stop pacing? I've asked him not to before for the reason of distracting but after sitting for a 1/2 hour he jumps right back up and paces again.

Sorry to bother.
Shadow

Ok to address issue number uno. Slow down and stagger out your adventure hooks. If you had a mission from the pirate captain let them finish that first. Remember to account for game time spent doing things like "learning new spells, creating maic items, shopping in town. Use these downtime type actions to progress the game. "Yes you can sell all that loot but it'll take a few days to set up the buyers." Or "Oh you want to scribe the 13 scrolls you got? Fine, but that will take time." And, "Of course you can create that magic item, but it'll take a few days. And you need to shop for a new magic staff? Not a problem man, you stumble around town looking in all the shops and finally find the staff of insane power. Took you four days though."

Stagger out the adventures. The King wishes to see you, he has slotted you in four weeks from thursday for an audience. You need the HIgh cleric of Pelor to rez your fallen friend? Well let me see she has an opening in her schedule a week from sunday. Don't stack the adventures. Let them finish one before you drop another one on them.

Start over. Level 19 is as god a place as any to start over. Make new characters and rework the game. Learning from the mistakes you made in the last one.

Now onto the next part, about a pacing player. If he pays attention, and doesn't disrupt the game. And, no him pacing isn't disruptive. Then tell the other players to move and sit somewhere else. Really if this is the only problem one of your players presents you.. be happy, and just cope.
albinomonkeyking
07-15-06, 04:27 PM Well, lets begin where everyone else has, the level. In my opinion it is really up to them. If all of them like where they are and like their characters then I would recommend you roll with it. Why not just up the ante? If it isn't too much of an inconvience play with it, make normal monsters stronger than they would be because the party is stronger, any number of dragons could still pose a threat, and if you want to hold them off for later advancing a dragon adds much to its difficulty.

I'm running a game where the level I envision them reaching will be quite high, not because they will combating gods but because the game is going to last quite a long time and they enjoy leveling. So to match this the monsters, enemies, whatever, will be stronger. I discussed it with the players, (because I foresaw it as a problem) and they agreed, playing against toughened monsters did not bother them. So if your players are for a world like that then maybe the average town guard isn't a lvl 5, but 15, or something of the ilk. It really does depend on what your players want. But also keep in mind your enjoyment, you are there for fun too. ;)

As for the pacing....well I can't help much there. My players are all either, extremely active or extremely lazy, and the opposing sides don't care. So, like the others suggested, talk to it with him and them, and just shoot for your best result. To help bring it up you could start off almost jokingly, like, "Hey, so whats up with you always walking around? You act like a madman!" Who knows, something light-hearted usually works for me. Good luck!
shadowmimiiru
07-16-06, 10:32 AM Thanks for all the advise. My group loves their party and are already planning what they want to do next as they travel back to the Pirate Lord's base (as well as freeing a highway sysem from a group of Bandits).

As for the pacer, I'll talk to him again, but in my opinion he's never been a problem, so I'll talk to the other people as well.

Thanks again.
Shadow
KJW
07-16-06, 10:46 AM On the first point, I think three adventures per level is a good benchmark for advancement and I would suggest starting over, too rapid advancement strains the imagination and the game system. Still if your players are happy then you might as well run with it, here are some ideas for you to consider.

I would say that the party did not go from 1st to 19th in a month, most likely they went from 17th to 19th at best. So this gives you pre-adventures to play around with, what this means is that you can be a little funky in your DMing if you want, you can do flashback scenes to adventures they had at lower levels. Just make sure you have an out to deal with any character deaths, but this could be a neat way for you to redo lower levels. For example, maybe the PCs tangle with the current BBEG indirectly at an earlier level years ago. This may sound a little difficult to handle, but it can work nicely it just takes a little work to reverse engineer your player's character. If you don't want to do this then ask your players to write up backgrounds to justify their current high level, basically let them fill in the earlier levels with tales of their exploits. PCs need to earn their levels and this is a good substitute for adventuring in the situation.

I would also really, really, slow down the XP pace. Take your time getting them to 20th, they shouldn't mind because at 19th level you are pretty much at the top of the curve in power mechanics.

As for the pacing you have the best idea talk to everyone about it. As a DM I pace, mostly to throw my players off a little, but I can see that a player pacing could be really distracting. But some people need to pace and walk, they get kind of bound up with energy and need to release it. Talking about it is the best solution, remember though you are the mediator it falls to you to keep any such discussions cordial.
Kapalen
07-16-06, 03:42 PM I'll say something noone has mentioned. DO the player's, or more importantly their characters, know the pirate is level 25(or only slightly more powerful than them in character)? If not, just level him up if you need to.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
shadowmimiiru 07-15-06, 03:07 PM	My D&D game has 2 problems that I'm hoping anyone can help me with. The first was made purely out of my inexperence when I first started DMing. You see I gave away far too much EXP when I first began DMing, and now after 4 months my players have level 19 characters. I wouldn't see this as a big problem but it's only been a month game time, and realisticly the kinds of improvements these characters have made are simply not possible. I mean they went on a mission for a Pirate King at level 2, and now after destroying an entire Magical floating island controlled by a Dracolich (not the original mission but something they stumbled upon) they're finally returning to the Pirate King who is himself only a level 25 after years of being a pirate. So my question is: Is there anyway to fix this? I don't want the charcters to be all Demigod like so quick, and the Epic Level Book has only a few monsters for them to handle. I know this is my fault, but any suggestions would be great. My second problem is a player. He's not a bad or mean or anything negative like that. No his problem is he paces for the entire 3 to 4 hour game, and the other players have come to me and have told me that he's distracting them. So my question here is how can I nicely get him to stop pacing? I've asked him not to before for the reason of distracting but after sitting for a 1/2 hour he jumps right back up and paces again. Sorry to bother. Shadow
EternalZzyx 07-15-06, 03:28 PM	Sorry to bother. ha, thats the best, it don't bother me to give my opinion, and I am sure everyone on this board will agree with me on that (why else would we be here?) your first problem, is as it were, not so much of a problem, it seems that your PCs in this month have done a lot more than most pirate captains, and an important thing to remember is that PCs are exceptional people, but yes, you are right, that is a bit quick, my recommendation would be to if it really is that much of a problem, see if everyone wants to roll new characters, i am sure your players are reasonable people. or just tone down the XP for a bit... your second problem, now, i will admit now, i myself and a shameless pacer (I act as well... gesture wildly, etc... I once got everyone acting out a fight, just for the fun...) just try sitting down with the offending player and explain to him that his pacing is distracting the other players from the game, I am sure he will understand. if that does not work, then a few meters or strong rope will... (that was a joke, i do not condone tying down players (unless you are both into that, then feel free)).
Aeromus 07-15-06, 03:40 PM	My D&D game has 2 problems that I'm hoping anyone can help me with. The first was made purely out of my inexperence when I first started DMing. You see I gave away far too much EXP when I first began DMing, and now after 4 months my players have level 19 characters. I wouldn't see this as a big problem but it's only been a month game time, and realisticly the kinds of improvements these characters have made are simply not possible. I mean they went on a mission for a Pirate King at level 2, and now after destroying an entire Magical floating island controlled by a Dracolich (not the original mission but something they stumbled upon) they're finally returning to the Pirate King who is himself only a level 25 after years of being a pirate. So my question is: Is there anyway to fix this? I don't want the charcters to be all Demigod like so quick, and the Epic Level Book has only a few monsters for them to handle. I know this is my fault, but any suggestions would be great. My second problem is a player. He's not a bad or mean or anything negative like that. No his problem is he paces for the entire 3 to 4 hour game, and the other players have come to me and have told me that he's distracting them. So my question here is how can I nicely get him to stop pacing? I've asked him not to before for the reason of distracting but after sitting for a 1/2 hour he jumps right back up and paces again. Sorry to bother. Shadow Ok to address issue number uno. Slow down and stagger out your adventure hooks. If you had a mission from the pirate captain let them finish that first. Remember to account for game time spent doing things like "learning new spells, creating maic items, shopping in town. Use these downtime type actions to progress the game. "Yes you can sell all that loot but it'll take a few days to set up the buyers." Or "Oh you want to scribe the 13 scrolls you got? Fine, but that will take time." And, "Of course you can create that magic item, but it'll take a few days. And you need to shop for a new magic staff? Not a problem man, you stumble around town looking in all the shops and finally find the staff of insane power. Took you four days though." Stagger out the adventures. The King wishes to see you, he has slotted you in four weeks from thursday for an audience. You need the HIgh cleric of Pelor to rez your fallen friend? Well let me see she has an opening in her schedule a week from sunday. Don't stack the adventures. Let them finish one before you drop another one on them. Start over. Level 19 is as god a place as any to start over. Make new characters and rework the game. Learning from the mistakes you made in the last one. Now onto the next part, about a pacing player. If he pays attention, and doesn't disrupt the game. And, no him pacing isn't disruptive. Then tell the other players to move and sit somewhere else. Really if this is the only problem one of your players presents you.. be happy, and just cope.
albinomonkeyking 07-15-06, 04:27 PM	Well, lets begin where everyone else has, the level. In my opinion it is really up to them. If all of them like where they are and like their characters then I would recommend you roll with it. Why not just up the ante? If it isn't too much of an inconvience play with it, make normal monsters stronger than they would be because the party is stronger, any number of dragons could still pose a threat, and if you want to hold them off for later advancing a dragon adds much to its difficulty. I'm running a game where the level I envision them reaching will be quite high, not because they will combating gods but because the game is going to last quite a long time and they enjoy leveling. So to match this the monsters, enemies, whatever, will be stronger. I discussed it with the players, (because I foresaw it as a problem) and they agreed, playing against toughened monsters did not bother them. So if your players are for a world like that then maybe the average town guard isn't a lvl 5, but 15, or something of the ilk. It really does depend on what your players want. But also keep in mind your enjoyment, you are there for fun too. ;) As for the pacing....well I can't help much there. My players are all either, extremely active or extremely lazy, and the opposing sides don't care. So, like the others suggested, talk to it with him and them, and just shoot for your best result. To help bring it up you could start off almost jokingly, like, "Hey, so whats up with you always walking around? You act like a madman!" Who knows, something light-hearted usually works for me. Good luck!
shadowmimiiru 07-16-06, 10:32 AM	Thanks for all the advise. My group loves their party and are already planning what they want to do next as they travel back to the Pirate Lord's base (as well as freeing a highway sysem from a group of Bandits). As for the pacer, I'll talk to him again, but in my opinion he's never been a problem, so I'll talk to the other people as well. Thanks again. Shadow
KJW 07-16-06, 10:46 AM	On the first point, I think three adventures per level is a good benchmark for advancement and I would suggest starting over, too rapid advancement strains the imagination and the game system. Still if your players are happy then you might as well run with it, here are some ideas for you to consider. I would say that the party did not go from 1st to 19th in a month, most likely they went from 17th to 19th at best. So this gives you pre-adventures to play around with, what this means is that you can be a little funky in your DMing if you want, you can do flashback scenes to adventures they had at lower levels. Just make sure you have an out to deal with any character deaths, but this could be a neat way for you to redo lower levels. For example, maybe the PCs tangle with the current BBEG indirectly at an earlier level years ago. This may sound a little difficult to handle, but it can work nicely it just takes a little work to reverse engineer your player's character. If you don't want to do this then ask your players to write up backgrounds to justify their current high level, basically let them fill in the earlier levels with tales of their exploits. PCs need to earn their levels and this is a good substitute for adventuring in the situation. I would also really, really, slow down the XP pace. Take your time getting them to 20th, they shouldn't mind because at 19th level you are pretty much at the top of the curve in power mechanics. As for the pacing you have the best idea talk to everyone about it. As a DM I pace, mostly to throw my players off a little, but I can see that a player pacing could be really distracting. But some people need to pace and walk, they get kind of bound up with energy and need to release it. Talking about it is the best solution, remember though you are the mediator it falls to you to keep any such discussions cordial.
Kapalen 07-16-06, 03:42 PM	I'll say something noone has mentioned. DO the player's, or more importantly their characters, know the pirate is level 25(or only slightly more powerful than them in character)? If not, just level him up if you need to.