Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Chrome-Gnome Sep 08, 2010 18:13:23	I was DMing in my group for the last two years, this last year being with a full group. My friend aaron(my age) just started DMing for us  Two new players Chris and Max And Josh who doesn't like building a character but enjoys playing(note josh is aaron's brother) So,  in our most recent fight, our party of four lv3 characters faced a CR13 (warforged group, a salamander and rust monster) played kinda low stratigy (attack the enemy) and ambushed Our monk(Josh) messed up the rust monster and AoO all the warforged that came at us(he sat inbetween us and them) Combat Reflex +22 dex Our Barbarian had his pet(yes, pet) wolf trip, and after tripping, he would hit em' with his greatsword My artificer upped everone's gear because we saw them, hid, than ambushed.  We won without damage. Now, aaron says "This isn't DnD" and wants to switch us to 2.5, the rest of us, however like things this way and just want him to up the challenge. He is making me drop my gnome (I would like to point out that I did 0 damage in the last combat, and have kept magic items to the minimum) I want to make him feel comfortable, but we enjoy our stronger character builds. I am seeking a way to resolve this. We are using 3.5 and the Ebberon Setting
#2 Astromath Sep 09, 2010 8:32:34	You might get better luck in answering your question here: What's a DM to Do? There's also here: D&D Previous Editions for editions previous to 4e.
#3 Cohen95 Sep 09, 2010 9:09:00	You don't change editions/settings/games simply and solely because the DM wants to. That's just not how it should work. If the DM doesn't want to DM that edition/setting/game anymore, that's fine, someone else needs to step up. Or you guys can round robin it, with or without him as an eligible DM. If he doesn't want to play that edition/setting/game, that's fine too, same rules apply.
#4 Bill4747 Sep 09, 2010 9:54:54	Some advice. 3.5 characters can be weak, or godlike, depending on many factors. Challenge ratings are useless, generally. The DM should pay attention to the AC and saves of the enemies more than anything else. Throw some monsters at the characters and here is the big thing: Don't worry if the players humiliate and destroy the enemies. If the players win, great! They are Heroes. Have the next fight be tougher. The next after that even tougher. See how much they can handle. But it is GOOD for the game if the players win and show off their power. They are Heroes. Just make sure some fights are challenging without being utterly impossible to win. Hint of the day: A fighter has a 35 AC! oh no! The DM is helpless! can't hit him! Wait....here comes the sneak attack ambush, thirty cultists, level 3 evil sorcerors, all packing 5 magic missle spells!
#5 chaosturtle Sep 09, 2010 12:12:10	Something does sound a little fishy.  Yeah, 3.5 characters can become broken later on, but unless you're going out of your way to use one of the more obsencely broken builds that no DM would likely allow you're not going to be packing that much of a punch at level 3.  Winning certainly isn't out of the question, but winning without taking a single blow suggests either a mess up with the rules or just really poor planning on the dms part.
#6 Chrome-Gnome Sep 09, 2010 16:49:39	I'll be sure to continue negotiations. I didn't go to the "What's a DM to do" because I'm not DMing and I was seeking advise to make him comfortable. Looks like you guys got most things covered. FYI, he doesn't like more prep than general plot. He also has bookmarked his recomended challages for us. I spent some time today explaining about CRs and how to take the situation into consideration. Things are looking good. Thanks Everybody
#7 Astromath Sep 09, 2010 17:28:12	Sorry about that.  It's just that it sounded like you were the DM in your OP.
#8 t_stalker Sep 10, 2010 11:38:41	Some remarks: "Monk ... Combat Reflex +22 dex": How did he get 22 dexterity at level 3? "Monk ... AoO all the warforged that came at us(he sat inbetween us and them)": Then this is just plain poor tactics on the DM's part and he shouldn't complain about it. "Our Barbarian had his pet wolf.": AFAIK there is no listed price for a pet wolf, only for dogs. How did he get that? Overall, I can't help it but this all just sounds very fishy to me. Makes me think your DM has been too generous with treasure/other things in the past and is now regretting it. And are you sure you guys are level 3? Sounds to me like someone's been messing around with exotic races or templates, that should come with a LA. I don't mean to offend or acuse you and your group of anything, I'm just one of those people who gets annoyed if he doesn't understand something. And why would he make you drop your gnome? I'm sure you're an effective leader, but an artificer should be an easy class to limit in power for a DM.
#9 miarra Sep 10, 2010 13:49:10	Some remarks: "Monk ... Combat Reflex +22 dex": How did he get 22 dexterity at level 3? "Monk ... AoO all the warforged that came at us(he sat inbetween us and them)": Then this is just plain poor tactics on the DM's part and he shouldn't complain about it. "Our Barbarian had his pet wolf.": AFAIK there is no listed price for a pet wolf, only for dogs. How did he get that? Overall, I can't help it but this all just sounds very fishy to me. Makes me think your DM has been too generous with treasure/other things in the past and is now regretting it. And are you sure you guys are level 3? Sounds to me like someone's been messing around with exotic races or templates, that should come with a LA. I don't mean to offend or acuse you and your group of anything, I'm just one of those people who gets annoyed if he doesn't understand something. And why would he make you drop your gnome? I'm sure you're an effective leader, but an artificer should be an easy class to limit in power for a DM. ^^^This^^^ All of it.
#10 RyndarLocke Sep 10, 2010 17:41:12	I can't imgaine 4 level 3 characters played by the book being able to handle a CR13 encounter. Do you guys have unusually high stats?  More treasure via magic items then the books suggest?  Did the DM roll a d12 all night instead of a d20?
#11 Chrome-Gnome Sep 11, 2010 11:52:57	shifter shifting w/ longstride got him at 22dex so its nice for him, and our dm had us under wealth per level by 1000gp  As for the wolf.... yah its messed up. He was gonna try to kill the wolf to fix things during the fight but...  no, I explained. Poor tactics + our advantage + our using actually stratigy= yep And our barbarian got really lucky w/ a crit on the salamander + the fact that a rust monster vs a monk w/o metal is a fail.