Discussion:What do you do with a powerful charicter

Alaksandus (talk) 06:09, 24 April 2017 (UTC)

some of the charicters in my campain are too powerful what should I do; they are also rolling realy high like 17-20's all the time what should I do?

Increase the challenge of the game, to make it more difficult. (Also check to see if the dice are biased)

In fact, watch them roll if you can. It may take some extra time but you should probably look at their rolls in case they're cheating. If it's 17-20s all the time like you say, they probably are cheating like crazy. What level is the campaign supposed to be?

First if they are too powerful make them face things which are equally or more powerful. After a certain point you may have to move away from straight 'encounters' where they meet something and fight it and then move on. If they are much more powerful than most NPCs in the setting then they should be having much more to say in the world than simple encounters. Give them Lands to govern (with all the attending problems that come along with it), Guilds to lead, Colleges to found and run. All of these things will definitely open up a lot of opportunities for the characters. Remember if your PCs are more powerful than the NPCs this should be reflected in how influential they are. Unless they go out of their way to avoid such entanglements they will have lesser nobles seeking to ally themselves with a power in the land, folks who want to move up in their respective organizations trying to use the characters to do so etc.

If some of the PCs are much higher than other PCs then you should probably split the party. Make those high lvl PCs become NPCs (which the PC has a degree of control over) until the others catch up. Remember it is no fun to be the LVL 5 guy in a group of LVL15-20+. I always suggest that if a player loses a PC during an ongoing campaign that they draw up a new character that is about 2 or 3 LVLS below the rest of the party, or better yet turn a follower or recurring NPC into a PC for that Char.

IF you find that the PCs are simply TOO powerful then tell the player they need to retire that PC. Turn it into a powerful force in the land. You make the day to day decisions but every once in a while ask the original player what they would do because something happened. This gives the Player the idea that they can still influence the game with that Character. Also (within certain limits) let the Player role-play that NPC whenever the Players interact with it.

--Kydo (talk) 18:33, 24 April 2017 (UTC)

Your players should roll an even spread. There is something interfering with their dice.

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI3N4Qg-JZM&app=desktop and test their dice for balance.

If they refuse to let you do this, they either know the dice are imbalanced, or they are rolling a trick die at your table.

They may be practiced side-rollers or drop rollers, which are techniques used to place a die on a desired side while maintaining the look of a random roll.

If they declare their die results without you seeing them, regardless how benign it may seem, they may be just straight-up lying to you.

To avoid issues with dice infidelity:

1. Play with responsible players. Ensure your players understand that having fun is the only kind of "winning" in D&D, and that character deaths, while a challenging experience, is an intended aspect of the fun in D&D. If they ain't down with that, D&D ain't their game.
2. Request dice be rolled in the open for all to see. This ensures transparency among players and builds trust in the group. This works best if you are willing to roll your dice in the open for the players to see. If you want to retain the right to fudge results, just say so to the group. As long as you're acting in good Faith, they'll likely be fine with it.
3. If you demand secrecy, you could mandate that you make all rolls yourself. To do this right, you need to be able to fill the gap you left your players at the table, with descriptive renditions of their activities and the consequences therein. A simple "you succeed" is nolonger enough, because the players have nothing to occupy their hands or minds.
4. If all else fails, buy your own balanced dice and set up a dice tower. Have your players use only your dice in your dice tower.

Above all, DO NOT ALLOW SPINDOWN D20s AT YOUR TABLE. WotC makes them from cheap, imbalanced plastic, because they are not intended as dice; they are a decorative life counter! Drop rollers and side rollers love these dice, because even if the die rolls slightly from their intended result, they still get something close to what they wanted. Spindowns are pretty and cool, but are completely inappropriate at the D&D session. --Kydo (talk) 18:33, 24 April 2017 (UTC)

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