As for the other post on this same subject: the DM seems to have something against you/how you built your character specifically. My easiest suggestion would be to see what the other players think, and eventually find another DM.
Seems like a drastic solution, but it also seems your DM is not willing to see reason, or we miss some other information that could help give better suggestions.
I know it is mostly out of frustration that you wrote this, but there's not really much that can be done, I am afraid.
P.S. I will also be so bold as to compare your DM to one of the many naming of the male reproduction apparatus.
Seems like a drastic solution, but it also seems your DM is not willing to see reason, or we miss some other information that could help give better suggestions.
I know it is mostly out of frustration that you wrote this, but there's not really much that can be done, I am afraid.
You never get the whole story on forums....
I disagree that there is not much that can be done. The question is how much is this ruining your enjoyment and will the 'solutions' cost more than you are willing to pay?
Some randomish ideas of the top of my head, in no particular order. Change your character. Change how you play your character, so that it is weaker in combat (You are probably min/maxed to the hilt, so should be easy enough.) Leave the group - if you are an asset, they will beg you to return. Offer to DM; it will do both you and your current DM good to walk in the other's boots for a while. Bring more pizza to the table. If you are old enough, bring more alcohol to the table, drink it, socialise, role-play the bottom off every combat encounter (loudly), ask for extra details about monsters and locations to counter-balance your lack of magical potency.
I suspect this is now more a matter of principal than worrying about an extra +1 to hit and damage. DPS characters should out DPS the healers and tanks. The other players should not feel threatened, but perhaps you have been rubbing their noses in your damage output figures....
Let me play the devil's advocate just for a second.
I think that if you're the only player that specifically optimized your character to deal the most dps, i can kind of understand what your DM is getting at. I probably wouldnt limit the amount of magical items for that person, but i would limit the power of their magical items maybe. I could see why it's problematic to give magical items to the pc that already does the most damage. I think you should talk to him and try and negotiate again, because from the perspective of your post, it seems like you were just yelling at him and ignoring any points he made. I mean, to even write this out in a frustrated trying-to-be-funny way (with comments that you clearly didnt make while arguing with your DM) on a forum looking for pity points instead of an objective view on the situation makes you seem ignorant.
But i don't know. You might be completely right in your frustration, but judging on your post history your DM has a point.
Problem is, I'm not missing attacks....because I have +13 to attack (which is a bit high). Other players have only +7 or +8 and I feel for them and the DM as he tries to balance the encounter.
If the mobs AC is too low, I drop into Precise Shot mode (via Sharpshooter) and do tons of damage. If the mobs ac is too high, I still hit.....for moderate damage and other players struggle to hit at all.
My reply was due to the knowledge of this other thread the OP opened on the same matter.
I agree the ones you propose are other possible solutions and yes, to me this is clearly a matter of principle rather than the DM not wanting to give a +1 something or another.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
As a DM I can see where your DM is coming from. If you are dealing so much damage that he has to buff the monsters to match your strength so that the game still feels as a challenge he would then have to buff the other players to make you all on an even playing ground.
It sounds as though, you did a good job making a character meant to deal massive damage, but it also sounds like the DM is trying to balance the other players with you.
Basically, when I plan an encounter for my group, the expectation is that they should lose one person. I make my encounters life and death. The players should walk away feeling victory was pulled through either by luck or working in sync perfectly. So if one player is throwing off the balance, it becomes this struggle between handicapping them so everyone can enjoy the fight.
Now as others stated, this is what I got from your post. I don't know you nor do I know your DM, he might just be a dick.
Sorry Lek, I was mostly in agreement with you; it was probably the quirks of the forum editing that made it look otherwise.
I think the OP might have been better off posting on BookFace, where everybody seems to be in a rush to offer sympathy and silly emojis.
If this guy has an extra +7 to hit over the other characters, then no wonder the DM is reluctant to hand out another +1 to hit. How is this possible, especially with 5th edition rules?
The one thing that most drew me back to this edition is the slower accumulation of bonuses to hit, and armour classes remaining below the 20 threshold. This widens the level range where monsters are viable. My conclusion is that something is broken in this guy's campaign.
I'd love to see his character sheet, and maybe one of the inept 'heroes' he adventures with......I'm not holding my breath.
Sounds like my former DM. Of the two characters I played in the one campaign, the only gear I managed to get was looted off the dead corpse of my hubby's character. "Be patient," he kept saying each time I brought up the fact that I had received no gear at all, while the others were discussing who got what after a big fight. We ended up leaving his company, over other, unrelated issues. But, it was clear he didn't like me.
Sorry Lek, I was mostly in agreement with you; it was probably the quirks of the forum editing that made it look otherwise.
I think the OP might have been better off posting on BookFace, where everybody seems to be in a rush to offer sympathy and silly emojis.
If this guy has an extra +7 to hit over the other characters, then no wonder the DM is reluctant to hand out another +1 to hit. How is this possible, especially with 5th edition rules?
The one thing that most drew me back to this edition is the slower accumulation of bonuses to hit, and armour classes remaining below the 20 threshold. This widens the level range where monsters are viable. My conclusion is that something is broken in this guy's campaign.
I'd love to see his character sheet, and maybe one of the inept 'heroes' he adventures with......I'm not holding my breath.
Sorry, my reply must have sounded unintentionally quite dry XD
The whole story (in the other post as well) seems quite strange, and bits and pieces are not clear and not clarified, so I opted for the most direct approach in this case :P
I agree there is most probably something seriously broken within the campaign.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I'm not asking for magic weapons, since my character is doing fine on offense (although a bursting bow would be nice). Magic armor, miscellaneous items, decent rings, etc, etc...would be nice. If the non-dps are getting very nice weapons to try to bring their dps up to mine, then by the same logic I should be getting defensive items to bring my survivability up.
It IS frustrating, though I still have a good time. There's an Arcane Trickster in the group (with a Flaming Whip of Haste) that can match my damage output and a Sorcerer (with an artifact level Staff of Bones) that of course rocks whenever AoE is available.
I agree there is most probably something seriously broken within the campaign.
Indeed. Between this thread and the other, the only things which are clear to me are:
There are mismatched expectations: The player expected their build not to cause special treatment despite how it relates to other characters at the table (not an unfair expectation), and the DM seems to have expected that all the characters would be closer to roughly equal in various capacities (also not an unfair expectation). Those not matching up can only be dealt with by coming to some sort of understanding of a new set of expectations that do match up, or by one of the involved parties altering their expectation to match the other parties' (among the whole group, not just this one player and the DM).
The DM isn't yet aware that the handling of one PC being way better at a particular thing than the rest of the PCs is tricky, with the most fruitful solution typically being to ignore that one character being better - build the whole game as if everyone's characters were at the baseline set by the less specialized characters, even though that means the specialized character will probably seem "over powered". The reason why that works being that the player that specialized their character in a particular area either wants A) their character to constantly reign supreme in that area so they will enjoy being allowed to actually do that instead of being constantly "adjusted for", or B) their character to feel "good enough" at that particular area, which they will auto-correct the character down to when they realize their level of specialization is more than is necessary to hit their desired result. Pretty much never, in my experience, has a player that squeezes every possible advantage from a character actually wanted that character to be constantly challenged and pushed to their limits.
Nope, nope, nope... Maybe you should let him know that because you built your character based on the rules you shouldn't be stunted because of his bias against you doing so. This is a straight-up a-hole move. If you can not get a new DM, I am sorry; but this person is taking their DM powers a little too far.
The fact that they won't let you acquire magic items, something that rounds out your character (Wulfgar with his hammer? Rentaro with his Broom of Flying? Hercules with his lion's cloak? King Arthur with Excaliber?), is a sign that they need some classes on how to be a good DM.
A DM's job isn't to limit the characters that play in their game but to help them become true heroes (or villains lol). Yes, we throw monsters and situations at our players to push them; but this game is a shared story. All of us are creators, and no one should stifle another's creativity. I feel like everyone, for the most part, feels the same way. If there were limited magic items for the whole game, this wouldn't be a big deal. But, this is a big deal because you are being singled out and basically punished for creating a good DPS character. Kudos to you for using this system's rules to make the best character you can.
"...Debts must always be paid, sometimes in more than blood and gold. But this is Ordo Ursa," Ren places his hand on Erakas's chest, right where the Dragonborn's heart is. "Right here. And it always has been and always will be. Don't ever forget that. Because I won't."
Serandis Mendaen (Aereni Elven Rogue/maybe one day Wizard)- Project Point Playtest
Nope, nope, nope... Maybe you should let him know that because you built your character based on the rules you shouldn't be stunted because of his bias against you doing so. This is a straight-up a-hole move. If you can not get a new DM, I am sorry; but this person is taking their DM powers a little too far. The fact that they won't let you acquire magic items, something that rounds out your character (Wulfgar with his hammer? Rentaro with his Broom of Flying? Hercules with his lion's cloak? King Arthur with Excaliber?), is a sign that they need some classes on how to be a good DM. A DM's job isn't to limit the characters that play in their game but to help them become true heroes (or villains lol). Yes, we throw monsters and situations at our players to push them; but this game is a shared story. All of us are creators, and no one should stifle another's creativity. I feel like everyone, for the most part, feels the same way. If there were limited magic items for the whole game, this wouldn't be a big deal. But, this is a big deal because you are being singled out and basically punished for creating a good DPS character. Kudos to you for using this system's rules to make the best character you can.
I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything, but is there a reason why you write at increased font size, italic and with no linebreak ever?
I just ask because I find it really hard to read this post (especially on mobile) to be honest...
No offense taken...lol The large font because I'm old and have bad eyes... the no spaces is because I forgot to do so before posting lol I added spaces haha :P Also, I post mainly from my work PC... sorry that it has made your reading difficult :/
"...Debts must always be paid, sometimes in more than blood and gold. But this is Ordo Ursa," Ren places his hand on Erakas's chest, right where the Dragonborn's heart is. "Right here. And it always has been and always will be. Don't ever forget that. Because I won't."
Serandis Mendaen (Aereni Elven Rogue/maybe one day Wizard)- Project Point Playtest
IMO, every character wants (and should) be useful in combat, out of combat and should have interesting RP potential. When I joined the party, there wasn't really any long-ranged DPS except the Sorcerer. PHB gives an advantage to archers (via Fighter/Ranger Fighting Styles). Maxed out my Dex (by level 15, should be at max) and threw in some Rogue levels. Lately have thrown some Fighter into the mix.
ATM I'm a level 5 Hunter with Colossal Slayer (and of course Hunter's Mark), level 3 Champion (Action Surge and expanded crit range) and level 7 Scout (from XGtE). So in 15 levels, I've got 1 stat bump - to Dex and 1 feat - Sharpshooter. In 2 more levels, will pick up Elven Accuracy & Crossbow Expert. Should be able to squeeze off (pun!) 3 attacks a round...rolling 3d20 as often as possible.
A bit proud of the Features list he has from race, background and triple-classed. With the Ranger and Rogue mixed in, a bit of a skill monkey as well with most skills having +10 to +15 (except Charisma based ones).
No offense taken...lol The large font because I'm old and have bad eyes... the no spaces is because I forgot to do so before posting lol I added spaces haha :P Also, I post mainly from my work PC... sorry that it has made your reading difficult :/
All fine man it was mostly a curiosity ^^ I admit the (possibly involuntary) boost of passion your messages give off being written like this is nice in the end :)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
There are very nice magical items that don't impact to-hit or damage. Animated Shield, Studded Leather of Fire Resist, Scarab of Protection, Ring of Shooting Stars, Belt of Dwarvenkind, etc, etc that don't really impact my damage output but are still fun/powerful items that people at high level use to "round out" their character.
Want my damage down, give out the Animated Shield: I'd have to use a Bonus Action to activate it.
My last game WAS 3.5 with tons of magic items. I don't miss that, but to go from drowning in magic items to dehydration doesn't seem much better. Just want a fair and reasonable distribution of magical gear.
Last epic battle we fought? Loot was a Headband of Intellect (our only Int caster already has an 18 Int) and Leather of Frost Resist (not studded leather or leather +1). It all went into party loot and will probably rot in there. Maybe sold for a fraction of its cost in gold.
Thanks to everyone that responded to this thread and gave feedback, really helped and I'm glad some people had the courage to take the DM's side! Happy holidays to you and a special wish to let your die roll more than average!!!
The last thing you could do is convince your party members to give you loot, this way you completely circumvent your DM. He really can't stop them from providing you with loot unless he is a real dick.
The game should not be a competition between the players or between the players and the dm. Sadly it does happen and anyone who has been at this a long time, circa 1985 for me, has seen it happen. The aspect of competition is the broken dynamic that must be repaired! I hope you can work it out and enjoy the game together! This hobby should be fun before anything else!
Still, you have the 'holy trinity'. Tanks tank, healers heal and dps does damage. If the tanks and healers expect to do as much damage as my build, that just shouldn't happen.
I shouldn't expect to have the same defenses or healing of a tank/healer class. So really, there should be no "you do too much damage". I do my damage, let the healers do their thing and the tanks try to take the hits. Should be a team effort.
Now if say a character manages to roll all 3 together: tanks mobs well, never needs healing, does a ton of dps, then yes....I'd say something was imbalanced.
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Me: Why does everyone else in the party have awesome magic items and I have...nothing.
DM: You already do more damage than anyone else, you don't need magic items.
Me: So...the tanks and healers in the party are getting magic items to increase their damage so they can compete with me?
DM: Yes....
Me: Ok, so can I have defensive or healing magic items so I can compete with the tanks and healers.
DM: No.
Me: Can I buy magical armor with my gold?
DM: No.
Me: Can I buy other magical items with my gold?
DM: You can buy potions and scrolls.
Me: How about a bow+1 or a shortsword +1?
DM: No.
Other player: Can I buy a Wand of the War Mage +2.
DM: Yes.
Other player: Can I buy a Cloak of Elvenkind.
DM: Yes.
Me: WTF?
DM: Oh and the mobs you guys just defeated have a Staff of Spell Storing and a Headband of Intellect.
Me: I'd like to note that NOBODY in the party has magical armor or a magical shield...in a party of 8 that has an average level of 14.
DM: Stop complaining about it. You don't need magic armor or shields.
Me: Uh, yes I do....you had 2 mobs on me that had 5 attacks each..and they had advantage on each attack, hit me so often my children will feel it.
DM: Well, you're doing the most damage...the mobs will focus on you of course.
As for the other post on this same subject: the DM seems to have something against you/how you built your character specifically. My easiest suggestion would be to see what the other players think, and eventually find another DM.
Seems like a drastic solution, but it also seems your DM is not willing to see reason, or we miss some other information that could help give better suggestions.
I know it is mostly out of frustration that you wrote this, but there's not really much that can be done, I am afraid.
P.S. I will also be so bold as to compare your DM to one of the many naming of the male reproduction apparatus.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
You never get the whole story on forums....
I disagree that there is not much that can be done.
The question is how much is this ruining your enjoyment and will the 'solutions' cost more than you are willing to pay?
Some randomish ideas of the top of my head, in no particular order.
Change your character.
Change how you play your character, so that it is weaker in combat (You are probably min/maxed to the hilt, so should be easy enough.)
Leave the group - if you are an asset, they will beg you to return.
Offer to DM; it will do both you and your current DM good to walk in the other's boots for a while.
Bring more pizza to the table.
If you are old enough, bring more alcohol to the table, drink it, socialise, role-play the bottom off every combat encounter (loudly), ask for extra details about monsters and locations to counter-balance your lack of magical potency.
I suspect this is now more a matter of principal than worrying about an extra +1 to hit and damage. DPS characters should out DPS the healers and tanks. The other players should not feel threatened, but perhaps you have been rubbing their noses in your damage output figures....
Only you and the people around your table know.
Roleplaying since Runequest.
Let me play the devil's advocate just for a second.
I think that if you're the only player that specifically optimized your character to deal the most dps, i can kind of understand what your DM is getting at. I probably wouldnt limit the amount of magical items for that person, but i would limit the power of their magical items maybe. I could see why it's problematic to give magical items to the pc that already does the most damage. I think you should talk to him and try and negotiate again, because from the perspective of your post, it seems like you were just yelling at him and ignoring any points he made. I mean, to even write this out in a frustrated trying-to-be-funny way (with comments that you clearly didnt make while arguing with your DM) on a forum looking for pity points instead of an objective view on the situation makes you seem ignorant.
But i don't know. You might be completely right in your frustration, but judging on your post history your DM has a point.
My reply was due to the knowledge of this other thread the OP opened on the same matter.
I agree the ones you propose are other possible solutions and yes, to me this is clearly a matter of principle rather than the DM not wanting to give a +1 something or another.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
As a DM I can see where your DM is coming from. If you are dealing so much damage that he has to buff the monsters to match your strength so that the game still feels as a challenge he would then have to buff the other players to make you all on an even playing ground.
It sounds as though, you did a good job making a character meant to deal massive damage, but it also sounds like the DM is trying to balance the other players with you.
Basically, when I plan an encounter for my group, the expectation is that they should lose one person. I make my encounters life and death. The players should walk away feeling victory was pulled through either by luck or working in sync perfectly. So if one player is throwing off the balance, it becomes this struggle between handicapping them so everyone can enjoy the fight.
Now as others stated, this is what I got from your post. I don't know you nor do I know your DM, he might just be a dick.
Sorry Lek, I was mostly in agreement with you; it was probably the quirks of the forum editing that made it look otherwise.
I think the OP might have been better off posting on BookFace, where everybody seems to be in a rush to offer sympathy and silly emojis.
If this guy has an extra +7 to hit over the other characters, then no wonder the DM is reluctant to hand out another +1 to hit. How is this possible, especially with 5th edition rules?
The one thing that most drew me back to this edition is the slower accumulation of bonuses to hit, and armour classes remaining below the 20 threshold. This widens the level range where monsters are viable.
My conclusion is that something is broken in this guy's campaign.
I'd love to see his character sheet, and maybe one of the inept 'heroes' he adventures with......I'm not holding my breath.
Roleplaying since Runequest.
Sounds like my former DM. Of the two characters I played in the one campaign, the only gear I managed to get was looted off the dead corpse of my hubby's character. "Be patient," he kept saying each time I brought up the fact that I had received no gear at all, while the others were discussing who got what after a big fight. We ended up leaving his company, over other, unrelated issues. But, it was clear he didn't like me.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I'm not asking for magic weapons, since my character is doing fine on offense (although a bursting bow would be nice). Magic armor, miscellaneous items, decent rings, etc, etc...would be nice. If the non-dps are getting very nice weapons to try to bring their dps up to mine, then by the same logic I should be getting defensive items to bring my survivability up.
It IS frustrating, though I still have a good time. There's an Arcane Trickster in the group (with a Flaming Whip of Haste) that can match my damage output and a Sorcerer (with an artifact level Staff of Bones) that of course rocks whenever AoE is available.
Nope, nope, nope... Maybe you should let him know that because you built your character based on the rules you shouldn't be stunted because of his bias against you doing so. This is a straight-up a-hole move. If you can not get a new DM, I am sorry; but this person is taking their DM powers a little too far.
The fact that they won't let you acquire magic items, something that rounds out your character (Wulfgar with his hammer? Rentaro with his Broom of Flying? Hercules with his lion's cloak? King Arthur with Excaliber?), is a sign that they need some classes on how to be a good DM.
A DM's job isn't to limit the characters that play in their game but to help them become true heroes (or villains lol). Yes, we throw monsters and situations at our players to push them; but this game is a shared story. All of us are creators, and no one should stifle another's creativity. I feel like everyone, for the most part, feels the same way. If there were limited magic items for the whole game, this wouldn't be a big deal. But, this is a big deal because you are being singled out and basically punished for creating a good DPS character. Kudos to you for using this system's rules to make the best character you can.
"...Debts must always be paid, sometimes in more than blood and gold. But this is Ordo Ursa," Ren places his hand on Erakas's chest, right where the Dragonborn's heart is. "Right here. And it always has been and always will be. Don't ever forget that. Because I won't."
Serandis Mendaen (Aereni Elven Rogue/maybe one day Wizard)- Project Point Playtest
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
No offense taken...lol The large font because I'm old and have bad eyes... the no spaces is because I forgot to do so before posting lol I added spaces haha :P Also, I post mainly from my work PC... sorry that it has made your reading difficult :/
"...Debts must always be paid, sometimes in more than blood and gold. But this is Ordo Ursa," Ren places his hand on Erakas's chest, right where the Dragonborn's heart is. "Right here. And it always has been and always will be. Don't ever forget that. Because I won't."
Serandis Mendaen (Aereni Elven Rogue/maybe one day Wizard)- Project Point Playtest
IMO, every character wants (and should) be useful in combat, out of combat and should have interesting RP potential. When I joined the party, there wasn't really any long-ranged DPS except the Sorcerer. PHB gives an advantage to archers (via Fighter/Ranger Fighting Styles). Maxed out my Dex (by level 15, should be at max) and threw in some Rogue levels. Lately have thrown some Fighter into the mix.
ATM I'm a level 5 Hunter with Colossal Slayer (and of course Hunter's Mark), level 3 Champion (Action Surge and expanded crit range) and level 7 Scout (from XGtE). So in 15 levels, I've got 1 stat bump - to Dex and 1 feat - Sharpshooter. In 2 more levels, will pick up Elven Accuracy & Crossbow Expert. Should be able to squeeze off (pun!) 3 attacks a round...rolling 3d20 as often as possible.
A bit proud of the Features list he has from race, background and triple-classed. With the Ranger and Rogue mixed in, a bit of a skill monkey as well with most skills having +10 to +15 (except Charisma based ones).
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
There are very nice magical items that don't impact to-hit or damage. Animated Shield, Studded Leather of Fire Resist, Scarab of Protection, Ring of Shooting Stars, Belt of Dwarvenkind, etc, etc that don't really impact my damage output but are still fun/powerful items that people at high level use to "round out" their character.
Want my damage down, give out the Animated Shield: I'd have to use a Bonus Action to activate it.
My last game WAS 3.5 with tons of magic items. I don't miss that, but to go from drowning in magic items to dehydration doesn't seem much better. Just want a fair and reasonable distribution of magical gear.
Last epic battle we fought? Loot was a Headband of Intellect (our only Int caster already has an 18 Int) and Leather of Frost Resist (not studded leather or leather +1). It all went into party loot and will probably rot in there. Maybe sold for a fraction of its cost in gold.
Thanks to everyone that responded to this thread and gave feedback, really helped and I'm glad some people had the courage to take the DM's side! Happy holidays to you and a special wish to let your die roll more than average!!!
The last thing you could do is convince your party members to give you loot, this way you completely circumvent your DM. He really can't stop them from providing you with loot unless he is a real dick.
The game should not be a competition between the players or between the players and the dm. Sadly it does happen and anyone who has been at this a long time, circa 1985 for me, has seen it happen. The aspect of competition is the broken dynamic that must be repaired! I hope you can work it out and enjoy the game together! This hobby should be fun before anything else!
Still, you have the 'holy trinity'. Tanks tank, healers heal and dps does damage. If the tanks and healers expect to do as much damage as my build, that just shouldn't happen.
I shouldn't expect to have the same defenses or healing of a tank/healer class. So really, there should be no "you do too much damage". I do my damage, let the healers do their thing and the tanks try to take the hits. Should be a team effort.
Now if say a character manages to roll all 3 together: tanks mobs well, never needs healing, does a ton of dps, then yes....I'd say something was imbalanced.