sasw@bnl.UUCP (Steven Akiba Swernofsky) (11/04/83)
If the PC grossity (overly powerful character) is your own fault, of course, you cannot just boot him out of the game. There are many ways to limit the character without making the player feel that he is being singled out for special (and arbitrary) treatment. Recall that a GM who alienates his players is soon a GM without players. The easiest method is to run low-level expeditions for a while. I know that some people run the same characters over and over again, but it adds variety to the game to run some high-level and some low-level expeditions. It provides each player with a "stable" of PCs; it makes advancement possible and it minimizes the effect of actually losing a character permanently. If you run low-level expeditions occasionally it will also emphasize to the players just how powerful their high- level PCs are. It will also slow down the advancement of those PCs which cannot be run every day or every week. Pursuant to this idea, you can ask the player to limit the cases in which he runs the offending character. Say, "this is a really neat character, but it is only fair to me to run it when the monsters are too powerful for the other PCs, please run something else." Most people will take the hint, if they have any alternative. Provide them an alternative, even if it is an NPC you have to give them. Socially, people who are head-and-shoulders outstanding above others attract flak. Tell the player so. Then start creating NPCs who have heard about the gross PC and are prepared. So, evil swords which are +2 more against paladins, spells which are extra damage against thieves, and MU-seeking arrows. If there are enough of these things in the world, the PC you are worried about will not be so dangerous anymore. (A GM I know was so incensed at the powers of Elves at low-level that he populated Swords +1 vs Elves routinely. He eventually populated so many of these that no one was willing to run an Elf at all!) If you are really in trouble you can always populate a bane sword for the PC, but this is rather extreme. In medieval society especially, people who are doing too well attract enemies. Is the character of noble birth? If not, the aristocracy may have a score to settle with someone so rich and powerful. The ruling government may fear the character as a potential usurper. Any of these NPCs might arrange to have the character (a) killed, (b) sent into exile, (c) drafted into the army, or (d) sent on a few judicious suicide missions. Use your imagination. Does the character have a family? They can be threatened, and usually this is more effective than threatening the character itself. It always makes for an interest- ing expedition for the player to have to rescue someone. Last in this list, though by no means last among solutions, is to remove or reduce the emphasis that raw power has on your game. I think this is a good idea for any game, but one with a too-powerful PC is usually ripe for it. Have more "puzzle" expeditions, or political misiions, where brains are more important than brawn. Hand over goodies to players who think, or who use the least magic in a dangerous situation. If excess power is no advantage, the player will think twice about demanding to run the character which is a problem. Hope this helps. -- Steve