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| #1PrimeSonicSep 16, 2013 7:30:14 | I'll try to make this as easy to get through as possible. Our party is all Essentials classes, 5 PCs. Our DM gave lots of houseruled buffs to each class to add powers or mechanics to either buff or balance them against the others or just give them something interesting to do since we found Essentials classes to be simplistic to the point of being boring at times. Our combats always last no more than 2-3 rounds. The DM feels we are never in "real danger" because we hardly ever (or just never) run out of resources and rarely worry about actually getting killed. No one has ever had to use a Second Wind and all we have is a Battle Cleric and a Paladin for healing. I've already told the DM about using "alternate goals" and "time pressure". DM doesn't seem receptive. I'm starting to burn out from all the dungeon crawling. Maybe it's because I'm playing an Elementalist that has little else to do besides spam Elemental Bolt 99% of the time. DM attempted the whole "reduce monster HP and increase monster damage". It made things very swingy instead to the point where a PC would go from full HP to rolling death saves in a single round. Each member of the party is generally very good at what their role is supposed to do. We can be very efficient at times with only insta-death hazards proving to be the only real threats. ---- So what the heck can I try to do here? The DM is far too much of a fan of the "fight to the death" combat, has taken to a lot of tedius dungeon crawling on the excuse of "realism" and "that fight had to be there". And he's getting frustrated that we aren't being challenged enough. We're currently lvl 14 and the idea was to make it to Epic. Personally, I'm starting to feel burn-out. I also think that "being challenged" should mean more than just having the entire party running on empty, bloodied, and wondering if they'll make it out alive.
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| #2iserithSep 16, 2013 7:51:56 |
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| #3PrimeSonicSep 16, 2013 8:22:04 |
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| #4iserithSep 16, 2013 9:42:43 |
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| #5Be3Al2Sep 29, 2013 9:16:45 | You say that the DM gave you a lot of buffs to make the classes more interesting but that you now have too little problems blowing up encounters. Try working together with the group to try a couple of sessions with a minimum of houserules and see how you like that. Then perhaps you might be able to find what works and what does not. Also, since you are in paragon tier you should be beginning to save kingdoms and fight armies rather than just crawl along another dungeon. Do the characters have any motivations beyond loot and XP? Crawling along a dungeon because you try to find why the cultists have allied with the orc horde threatening the kingdom in a plot that might end in climatic battle with Gruumsh should be better than just crawling along because there might be a bit of loot there. And remember that social interactions can also count as skill challenges and those are encounters. So having an social interaction skill challenge to gather information about where the cult is located, a travel-to-the-dungeon skill challenge and then a combat with the orcs unexpectedly sitting outside the cultists' cave still counts as three skill encounters, but might allow for a bit more roleplaying. |
| #6CentauriSep 30, 2013 13:07:59 | Make a new game for yourself within the game. Keep track of how much damage you take and how many surges you use. If you lose X hit points and lose Y surges before taking an extended rest, you win. Or, looked at another way, if you end the day with any surges, action points or daily powers, you lose. What do you lose? Nothing. It's arbitrary. Just see if you can do it, and see what it does to your and your DM's enjoyment of the game. Challenge the other players to do the same, but it can just be your thing. |