Our group is mostly magic based, with a Samurai and his cohort being the only real melee option we've got. Yet our sorcerer (who stays in a support role) is carrying 3 swords, 2 staffs, a dagger and a crossbow, and he only uses the knife (which gives some ridiculous stat bonuses). We've a wizard, druid and cleric that are similarly armed.
I've raised it with the group and everyone agrees it's too much, but when we tell the DM he comes up with some excuse as to how a sword has a drawback if it's overused, or how we'll need them to face this boss he's cooked up. Even after throwing away several items (a +1 keen, human-bane, elf-bane longsword for instance) we're still being handed some amazing weapons (including several specific weapons from the DM's handbook that have been buffed up - as if they needed to be!).
I really don't know what to do, besides chucking away all our loot and making all our work so far fruitless. Our DM seems to love the idea of making uber-characters and won't be listen when we tell him we'd like a challenge. Can anyone make any suggestions as to what we can do?
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Tarrasque, half white dragon
Size/Type: Colossal Dragon
Hit Dice: 60d12+840 (hp: 1230)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 50 ft, Fly 100 ft (average)
Armor Class: 39 (-8 Size, +3 Dex, +34 Natural), Touch 5, Flatfooted 36
Base Attack: +60/+97
Attack: Bite +74 melee (8d6+21 15-20/x3)
Full Attack: Bite +74 melee (8d6+22 15-20/x2) and 2 horns +69 melee (1d10+11) and 2 claws +69 melee (1d12+11) and tail slap +69 melee (3d8+11)
Space: 30 ft/20 ft
Special Attacks: Augmented critical, breath weapon, frightful presence, improved grab, rush, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Carapace, damage reduction 15/epic, darkvision 60 ft, immunity to cold, fire, poison, disease, energy drain, sleep, paralysis and ability damage, low-light vision, regeneration 40, scent, spell resistance 34
Saves: Fort +46, Ref +35, Will +26
Abilities: Str 54, Dex 16, Con 38, Int 6, Wis 15, Cha 16
Skills: Bluff +66, Hide +50, Jump +85, Listen +13, Spot +13, Tumble +66
Feats: Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Enduring Life, Improved Initiative, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Natural Attack (bite), Leap Attack, Mobility, Pain Touch, Power Attack, Rapid Stunning, Shock Trooper, Spring Attack, Stand Still, Stunning Fist
Epic Feats: Dire Charge, Epic Speed, Epic Will, Spellcasting Harrier
Environment: Any
Organization: Unique
CR: 22
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: 49+ HD
The tarrasque is 70 feet long and 50 feet tall, and it weighs about 130 tons.
The tarrasque cannot speak.
Combat
The tarrasque attacks with its claws, teeth, horns, and tail.
The tarrasque’s natural weapons are treated as epic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Round 1: BigT is hiding with a DC 60 to spot him. Yes, it is stupid, isn’t it? He’s disguised as a hill.
Round 2: Tarrasque charges the PCs; using Dire Charge, Power Attack, Leap Attack and Shock Trooper, one PC is dead, no questions. Remember, he can charge up to 100 feet now; 300 if he uses Rush! He stops to attack at the extent of his reach.
Round 3: PCs attempt to move away. If they’re stupid, or expecting a normal Big T, they won’t use the withdraw option, so Big T uses Stand Still to keep them all bunched up, though he might let any melee types move far enough to charge him next round. Charge 10 feet and destroy another PC with Power Attack, Leap Attack and Shock Trooper.
Round 4: Mop up.
Augmented Critical (Ex): The tarrasque’s bite threatens a critical hit on a natural attack roll of 18-20, dealing triple damage on a successful critical hit.
Breath Weapon (Su): 30 foot cone of cold. 6d8 damage, save DC 54
Frightful Presence (Su): The tarrasque can inspire terror by charging or attacking. Affected creatures must succeed on a DC 43 Will save or become shaken, remaining in that condition as long as they remain with 60 feet of the tarrasque. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the tarrasque must hit a Huge or smaller opponent with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the foe the following round.
Rush (Ex): Once per minute, the normally slow-moving tarrasque can move at a speed of 150 feet.
Swallow Whole (Ex): The tarrasque can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of Huge or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 2d8+11 points of crushing damage plus 2d8+6 points of acid damage per round from the tarrasque’s digestive juices. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing 50 points of damage to the tarrasque’s digestive tract (AC 25). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. The tarrasque’s gullet can hold 2 Huge, 8 Large, 32 Medium, 128 Small, or 512 Tiny or smaller creatures.
Carapace (Ex): The tarrasque’s armorlike carapace is exceptionally tough and highly reflective, deflecting all rays, lines, cones, and even magic missile spells. There is a 30% chance of reflecting any such effect back at the caster; otherwise, it is merely negated. Check for reflection before rolling to overcome the creature’s spell resistance.
Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to the tarrasque. The tarrasque regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If the tarrasque fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10 (or 1240 hp). The tarrasque is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability.
The tarrasque can be slain only by raising its nonlethal damage total to its full normal hit points +10 (or 946 hit points) and using a wish or miracle spell to keep it dead.
If the tarrasque loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 minutes (the detached piece dies and decays normally). The creature can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.
Skills
The tarrasque has a +8 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.
.You know....
I wonder how my epic group would like this guy....
Another option, of course, is to take it, sell stuff you don't want/need/is too powerful after you ID it, and donate the money you gain to various worthy causes to help them rebuild after the destruction the bad guys did.
Just because he gives it to you doesn't mean you have to take it.
Another option, of course, is to take it, sell stuff you don't want/need/is too powerful after you ID it, and donate the money you gain to various worthy causes to help them rebuild after the destruction the bad guys did.
The best solution ever
Also can i borrow your DM for a session?Last time we saw a magic item it was a +7 dagger with 2d6 of fire damage... what?
The best solution ever
Also can i borrow your DM for a session?Last time we saw a magic item it was a +7 dagger with 2d6 of fire damage... what?
Had to do that one more than once with a prior DM.
"My 5th level wizard just got a Staff of the WHO-GI?!"
I brought my character up to 14th level and didn't even use 1% of that loot. And we totally decked our characters out.
The worst part was the DM would let about any bonus stack with about any other. We could also make up custom magic items by following some broken formulas. So all of my stats were above 18, and a few were in the mid 40's.
Games like that are fun for a bit, but then it just becomes a big joke. Anything he throws against us either kills us in one hit or can't touch us.
This DM sounds like he is either new or he is trying to make friends.
When I was a new DM, I gave away too much as well. I did learn my lesson.
If he is not a new DM, then he has a serious problem in that he wants to to gain the favor of his players. Even though I don't use it myself, I would point out the wealth charts to him and ask him to balance the party.
Be careful what you ask for and good luck.
2) donate items
3) smack dm
4) goto 3
My players weren't making a point; they're just playing good folks, and they recently mopped up some raiders in RHOD bearing masterwork weapons. At +300gp market price, these weapons can fetch a pretty penny for 5th level characters. But rather than try and find a market in the area, they felt inspired by the talk of a little town's militia standing up to the raiders and donated the weapons to the cause.
I love my players.
So it's not seeming to be a case of he doesn't know, or that he's trying to buy them off.
It seems to be a case of he wants the game to be Epic: +6 instead of +2. A hundred thou GP instead of a thou.
The super cool boss they'll fight in the future.
What I'd do is this:
Take all that stuff, make a careful, careful list of it all. To the last coper, to the last GP, to the +?/+? on each sword.
Then, one day, when you are visiting a king and he says name your pleasure, ask him for a land charter, and buy your own slice of a country.
Your DM doesn't understand that just because a thing has plusses, dpoesn't make it cool. What makes it cool is earning it.
In fact, a different tactic you might take (and i know this sounds weird) is to do the opposite. Ask, +4? Is that ALL? Man, you've only given us crap +4 for the last two sessions! We want +6 at least!
Then keep those, with the list as I suggested.
If he goes for that for a few sessions, he is in fact trying to buy your guy's favor.
After two sessions of that the group needs to meet with the DM and tell him point blank, "This is too easy, it's boring. Theres no challenge, we didn't earn any of it. Magic is supposed to be rare, woundrous, and valuable. It's like a brothers Grimm fairytale. Where's the danger, the excitement of the battle?"
After that, yeah someone else DMs.
Good luck. He sounds like a nice guy that wants to have an epicly cool campaign, but doesn't understand it's all about challenge and risk.
The campaign itself was quite fun, but short lived.
My next campaigns have been more down to earth.
The DM of one of the ones I play in has the exact oposite problem. My character died and couldn't be brought back so my next character only started with 200 gold OR the basic starting package (I was a 10th level rogue...
) four sessions in all I have now is a grey bag of tricks (damn party pool) and some ok gloves of true striking (and a couple of potions but I don't count them as they are one shot and suck)All I wanted was some gloves and boots of elven kind and a ring of jumping, maybe a mith shirt.
After 4 sessions with lots of dangerous combat, my players have aquired few magic items. A hand of the mage, a horn of fog, and some potions, and a mean dagger. I inquired in the DM forum about some treasure ideas, and one of them was a non-magic metal for weapons that still gave +1 damage (and +1 to hit for quality), to which I added an expanded critical threat range. None of them know the qualities of the 'slate blue metal' weapons.
You can't have kobolds hoarding dragon troves.
a level 19 lyric thaumaturge sublime chord warmage (form age of man) could one shot that monster with a meteor swarm quickened with (meta magic song) using energy substitution electric, and born of three thunders with sonic might, assuming the mob made all its saves about because thats likely, 70% of the time.. 100% of the time with celerity.... it needs at least 800 more hp to survive that.... and thats without the bard even novaing (using something like energy gestalt or and empower spell) so the monsters not that bad.
Lucky for that monster, that is not the case.
There were finally some challenging monsters, 9 in total and all the same type, but 3 melded together with the same AC and HP as one of them only to get hit by an attack from our Samurai (an epic sword that breaks apart to attack in a cloud of mist) and die. 3 more Hearthstoned away, though I had to remind the DM that one of them was stunned and couldn't make the action.
The final three were encountered with a boss. 2 were killed by said boss for no apparent reason, the other was killed by a second character the DM gave to one player who had been given a "temporary" +40 to attack and damage from meeting his God. Oh, and the boss vanished using an unknown spell rather than attack or basically do anything.
Twice in the game our wizard tried to think outside the box, which was a great to see but ended up failing, and the DM let it go. The first time he used Rope Trick to try and let the party make a surprise attack, which didn't make much sense to me seeing as the monsters in question were engaged by the tanks and just served to take everyone else out of the battle for two turns.
The second time he tried to save a Griffon (the point of the mission) after our Druid carelessly turned the floor to water for one turn to try and trap the monsters guarding it. After realising the the bound Griffon couldn't breath when the floor hardened over it again, the wizard cast Blink on it. This eventually lead to the Griffon's death, as the boss's only action besides killing his henchmen was to cast a spell that only works on the Ethereal plane.
Both times the DM twisted the rules to let the party have an easy victory, and with the exception of some hotility and random annoyances happening to me, everyone's still picking up some really stupid weapons. The strategy I've adopted is to try and take everything (seeing as we get to roll for items if more than one person wants one), and then sell them off... if we ever get out of this dungeon and meet a vendor.
I did try talking to him in our last game, it took him all of 3 minutes to hit my character with a DC 60 trap
Ok.. so clearly your DM is not interested in making a game that the players enjoy. It is time to stop playing. No explanation needed. No phone calls, nothing. Not worth another thought.
If you continue to play with him, there's nothing we can say that will help you in any way.
I did try talking to him in our last game, it took him all of 3 minutes to hit my character with a DC 60 trap which sucked him away to somewhere else and took me out of the game till the end. I spent the rest of the time trying to make the game proper, rather than having everything just slide for no apparent reason.
There were finally some challenging monsters, 9 in total and all the same type, but 3 melded together with the same AC and HP as one of them only to get hit by an attack from our Samurai (an epic sword that breaks apart to attack in a cloud of mist) and die. 3 more Hearthstoned away, though I had to remind the DM that one of them was stunned and couldn't make the action.
The final three were encountered with a boss. 2 were killed by said boss for no apparent reason, the other was killed by a second character the DM gave to one player who had been given a "temporary" +40 to attack and damage from meeting his God. Oh, and the boss vanished using an unknown spell rather than attack or basically do anything.
Twice in the game our wizard tried to think outside the box, which was a great to see but ended up failing, and the DM let it go. The first time he used Rope Trick to try and let the party make a surprise attack, which didn't make much sense to me seeing as the monsters in question were engaged by the tanks and just served to take everyone else out of the battle for two turns.
The second time he tried to save a Griffon (the point of the mission) after our Druid carelessly turned the floor to water for one turn to try and trap the monsters guarding it. After realising the the bound Griffon couldn't breath when the floor hardened over it again, the wizard cast Blink on it. This eventually lead to the Griffon's death, as the boss's only action besides killing his henchmen was to cast a spell that only works on the Ethereal plane.
Both times the DM twisted the rules to let the party have an easy victory, and with the exception of some hotility and random annoyances happening to me, everyone's still picking up some really stupid weapons. The strategy I've adopted is to try and take everything (seeing as we get to roll for items if more than one person wants one), and then sell them off... if we ever get out of this dungeon and meet a vendor.
Woah, woah, woah. Time out...
Stat bonuses?
Hearthstones?
This DM's got a bad case of the WoW...
Hearthstones don't normally exist in D&D
Rolling for loot?
"vendor"?
I'd be leaving for the land of OpenRPG by now.
It sounds like this person is an inexperienced DM. If the DM were to play in other peoples games he might get a better perspective and be able to incorporate more things into his game.