How do i deal with power gamers? he's horrendously powerful compared to the party and nobody in the party can get a hit in. because of the combat focus, there hasn't been as much role-play. I'm sure some of you have dealt with power gamers before.

Any advice?

One solution, this guy obviously too strong. Time to bring in the fact he has probably pissed off some organization or some power somewhere along the lines. Thus Selene Assassins were hired, get him when hes alone in an Inn or even shank him in the streets with a stealth kill. Highly doubt he has a really high notice to see it before it strikes, just knock him off, no reason to fret over it for long. I honestly hate when my own character begin to complete out scale others to the point I just either make them leave and make a new character or have them do stupid things that could get them killed. Typically have them leave.

Or if your really hate the party (if they all power gamers) throw them at Omega.

A less drastic approach is simply remind him in a non lethal manner that he is not a god. Put him in situations that he can't simply bash his way out of. For instance if this character is a really righteous holier than though paladin who seem to think based on his skills that he is god's personal chosen. Force him to face an evil that trumps him in some other way.

For instance in the case of the paladin I would have an agent of the Selene who was hired to "break him" put him into a situation where several things important to him were in danger and raw combat power would not be able to save the day. In this case the player would only have 2 options;try to brute force his way through or turn to role play and creative thinking to save the day. If he still opted for brute force he would fail because this rival would be built to counter him and thus he would learn the hard way that you can't power game your way past the GM. If he got creative and began actually role playing he might avoid losing everything.

I personally don't like to just "off" a character since my players really get invested in their characters and would honestly be very hurt and might actually drop out if they felt I just wrote them off. This is why I just get creative and FORCE them back into the right frame of mind. And if I do feel I need to off a character it won't be permanent, for instance instead of killing this power gamer perhaps he gets captured by some powerful foe and the party then has to rescue him in a manner that combat turds can't.

If you want I could give you some ideas if you messaged me more details on this character such as his class, play style, character personality, etc.

My solution has been to make an even stronger character to force them into line. I create "just in case" storylines that would give them the choice between combat they can't win or RP that get's the story back on track.

This will probably not help you now, but I have always found it effective to deter powergamers and min/maxers before they even start. While in this setting I am just fine with people being specialized, since that is what it takes to survive, I will pointedly let my characters know when they are going to far. Communication is key.

An easy way to reign in powergamers is to limit experience gains so that others in party can catch up. send the party on a mission that requires stealth maybe collect an object that the owner cant know it was taken or that they loose their reward if they are noticed or if any guards die. throw them at weaker enemies, that the power player wouldn't gain experience from, but that the others in group could so every so often he gains less then the others. maybe take a look at his character, if he doesn't have a high regeneration let him loose a limb or maybe have someone he personally killed that didn't need to be had a brother that had him cursed, make him blind and have the party have to help end the curse, so they get a bunch of xp but he gets less cause he was blind for the whole scenario.

there's tons of ways to level the playing field in a party with story even if one member spends his entire gaming time planning out how to make the ultimate super character. if the guy is still a pain fighting every step of the way just throw him at a mage. there's plenty of permanent debilitating spells that reduce stats that you can forcibly weaken him to the point hes on par with the rest of the team.

also check out the section about the effects using large amounts of power has on the world. if he blatantly shows off powers in sight of normal citizens set the church after him, they have a whole branch of zealots specifically trained and tasked to hunt down such individuals.

Thank you very much for the advice, i will have a talk with him before the next session, see if i can find out whats going on. maybe ask him to tone down the goal of becoming god level.

and although i would love to throw more role-play his way to try and stump him (which seems bad, its like punishing him), the party seems to travel together and i don't want to deprive them of having their chance at combat as well, I'm sure ill find out something. these were all very good tips.

and although i would love to throw more role-play his way to try and stump him (which seems bad, its like punishing him), the party seems to travel together and i don't want to deprive them of having their chance at combat as well, I'm sure ill find out something. these were all very good tips.

I would say there is nothing wrong with "punishing a player as long as it is done constructively. Forcing a player to focus on his character more than his stats is constructive, killing him and everything he holds dear because "I just don't like the shirt you wore today.".....not so constructive.

Try just talking with the player and see if he would bench the character for awhile. Explain to him that the game is not as fun when everything rides on his actions alone. Point out a few scenarios when the rest of the group didn't have fun and see if he agrees with you. He can retire his OP character for a short time until the rest of the group catches up in level. Make up a story like he needs to take care of a sick aunt or help out on the family farm. Bench him for awhile and then bring him back into the game when the party is more compatible. This will give your power gamer an opportunity to play a different type of character for awhile and let him/her experiment. Win/Win for everyone.

welp...the second session happened, and he almost derailed the whole thing, refused to join the party, and began killing NPC's left and right instantly. i was seconds from killing him off before he critically fumbled, went into bleed out and coma and lost his character because the party refused to heal a murderous *******.

so I've been asked to give him another chance, and all his characters have been really powerful, and I'm assuming his next one will be too, i have agreed to give him one more shot but i don't know how I'm going to deal if he does it again where he tries killing his way through an innocent town again for ***** and giggles.

also this absolute zero power, wtf! thats ridiculous, insta killing everyone.

i took your guys advice to talk to him, i guess it didnt work, in fact i think it upset him, which is probably why he did this.

Didja try making an uber-mob to check him? INsta-killing things brings in the army, the Inquisition, and possibly a Nightmare Lord whose food he just massacred. Power characters draw in power enemies.

Just find a way to **** him in-game. A few that I am thinking are

1) If the character kills an innocent person, he dies.

2) Whomever a character defeats/kills merges with a creature in the Flow of Souls and the creature gains the abilities of the defeated/killed enemy and randomly attacks the character solo. The creature absorbs all the abilities of the defeated/killed enemies and takes the greater value. It cannot be DR.

3) Every time a character inflicts damage, he loses 5 LP which is recovered at a rate of sacrifice.

4)The character can only attack if he is attacked first. He must be able to „see“ the attack.

Number 2 would be particularly nasty if there had been a cinematic scene where he was cursed, and then you didnt tell him what the curse was rules-wise.

In my experience in-game solutions only lead to trouble. I think it's better to talk to that player.

One thing I tell players that I haven't played with yet, is what I expect from their characters to be. Or rather what I don't expect them to be. Rampaging murderous monsters is one of those things I don't allow my players to play.

At first it sounds harsh and limiting but I rather have them understand this before the first session than afterwards. After all I am part of the gaming group as well and I am also entitled to have fun. Same for you.

Assuming everyone else does feel that their fun is compromised, I would tell that player that. If he does not care, sadly the best thing to do, would be to not invite him to your sessions again.

It is hard, but sometimes two different opinions on what is fun and what is not are just not compatible. It is pretty meaningless to include a player into your group, that can't or won't enjoy the way, everyone else wants to play.

Crippling his character will likely only lead to discussions and it is pretty unlikely that anyone will enjoy this.

In my experience in-game solutions only lead to trouble. I think it's better to talk to that player.

Crippling his character will likely only lead to discussions and it is pretty unlikely that anyone will enjoy this.

This my goodness the rest of the thread just read as one trainwreck answer after another.

Don't challenge the power gamer to combat or force them with corrective behaviour, they'll sour their opinion and make them unbearable.

Talk to them like a human, ask what they expect of the game and expect what you (and seemingly the rest of the players) expect of the game, and state that while they are enjoying themselves and that's fine they're impacting the fun of everyone else at the table and frustrating you as well.

If they get it, they'll keep themselves in line, if not then remove the player as a variable.