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Dungeons & Dra.. What's a DM to Do? To Puzzle or Not To?... How the Barbarian is...
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Switch to Forum Live View To Puzzle or Not To?... How the Barbarian is making everything too easy
5 months ago  ::  Jan 09, 2013 - 6:01AM #21
Olrox17
Date Joined: Jul 23, 2010
Posts: 992
Gently remind them that bringing down walls might bring the dungeon's ceiling down. Tons of rock will kill even the strongest barbarian, so he might reconsider his approach.
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5 months ago  ::  Jan 09, 2013 - 9:59AM #22
Centauri
Date Joined: Jul 21, 2004
Posts: 9,651

Jan 9, 2013 -- 6:01AM, Olrox17 wrote:

Gently remind them that bringing down walls might bring the dungeon's ceiling down. Tons of rock will kill even the strongest barbarian, so he might reconsider his approach.


This is saying "No." Try to find a way to say "Yes, and..." because players love to call a DM's bluff, and what DM really wants to bring the ceiling down on the players just because they wouldn't jump through the DM's preferred hoops?

[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
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5 months ago  ::  Jan 11, 2013 - 8:43AM #23
SwampDog
Date Joined: Jan 2, 2011
Posts: 405
There are tons of ways to get around that.   The collapsing building is needlessly extreme.

The barb smashes through a door:
- and falls into a pit...that's not unoccupied.   The pit has a locking plate on it, and the key is held by the other monsters who were in that room.
- and is suddenly faced by a boulder rolling towards the party
- and alerts all the monsters within 5 rooms to come and investigate
- which triggers several darts to fire at him.  Those that miss might hit those behind him.

Simply put, don't allow breaking down doors to always be the most advantageous thing to do.   That part IS your fault.
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5 months ago  ::  Jan 11, 2013 - 9:05AM #24
Xaspian
Date Joined: Aug 31, 2007
Posts: 163
In the dungeon described, with the party split over multiple planes, you have the perfect opportunity to let the barbarian loose without risking losing any puzzles you set up for the other PCs. To keep the feel of the place being indestructible and it's master god-like, describe the walls and doors re-forming when he turns his backl. Reforming in new configurations, making the whole place a maze. 

If you want to discourage him from this strategy, there are plenty of other suggestions, but wait until after that dungeon.
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5 months ago  ::  Jan 11, 2013 - 9:18PM #25
Matyr
Date Joined: Jun 19, 2004
Posts: 2,726

Jan 9, 2013 -- 9:59AM, Centauri wrote:

Jan 9, 2013 -- 6:01AM, Olrox17 wrote:

Gently remind them that bringing down walls might bring the dungeon's ceiling down. Tons of rock will kill even the strongest barbarian, so he might reconsider his approach.


This is saying "No." Try to find a way to say "Yes, and..." because players love to call a DM's bluff, and what DM really wants to bring the ceiling down on the players just because they wouldn't jump through the DM's preferred hoops?




"Yes, and if you happen to take out a load bearing wall you all might die".

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4 months ago  ::  Jan 12, 2013 - 10:47PM #26
MadIceQueen
Date Joined: Jul 18, 2012
Posts: 70
You could always role play a reinforced bunker type of thing (like a paranoid wizard) which has 12" iron sheets between two stone walls. I mean it's your dungeon! Alternatively, unless wizards have had prior experience with portals they can't really mess with them. Unless they can solve the puzzle that bars a door, which makes the portal disappear if they try to enter it, it makes them fall from the roof and land in the square infront of the portal, or the bit of their body that it put in the portal falls from the roof. Non leathal of course and is just for show, but it does cause them pain. Just a thought
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