I want to be very clear, here... do not do this. Nothing will frustrate your players faster, or mar their trust in you more, than feeling like they cannot rely on you to hold up your end of the social contract for this game.
That said, if you find yourself in this situation, consider the following steps.
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| No, give me that back! |
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Step #1: Re-Read The Rules in Question
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| It says what, again? Really? |
This is the first step because it's one nearly everyone skips, and it can solve a majority of problems in a lot of situations. If an ability like sneak attack or smite is giving you fits as a Game Master, make sure that you're reading it carefully, and that your player has been running it correctly. A lot of the time we misread a class ability, item description, or feat, and then it becomes far more potent than it should be due to a misunderstanding.
As an example, I once shared a table with a player who wanted to use the Panther Style combat feats in Pathfinder. The way they work is that when you trigger an attack of opportunity for moving through an enemy's space, you may counterattack them if they take that attack of opportunity against you. It's a useful ability for speed-based characters with a high armor class to get in extra shots on several enemies while rushing through a crowd.
What it does not do, however, is allow you to trigger all of your possible counterattacks at once when an enemy attacks you. It's one counterattack per attack of opportunity against you, and most foes you fight only get one. However, this player insisted that he should get 6 free attacks on an enemy, and that they should all resolve anytime he received an attack of opportunity for any reason, rather than due to movement as the feat states.
If something seems really overpowered to you, look it up. There's a good chance the player isn't reading the rules correctly.
Step #2: Look At The Big Picture
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| Don't get too close to things. |
If it turns out the rules are being run correctly, and the ability, magic item, etc., does do what you think it does, then step back and take a big picture look at your game. Try to gain a sense of perspective, and ask if something is really as potent as it first appears when you look at it from your god's eye view.
For example, your wizard may be able to wipe out a single encounter by using a combination of their highest level spell as well as several metamagic feats... but while that's impressive, is it that game breaking when there are 4-5 encounters that are going to happen in a given session? You can ask the same question about barbarian Rage, paladin smite, magic items that have daily charges, and so on, and so forth... any ability that can only be used a certain number of times per day has a cap built in. And that cap is usually enough to carry the day in one or two encounters, or to solve a handful of problems, but it has limitations beyond that.
Even if an ability can be done as often as the circumstances present, like sneak attack, take a look at what it's actually doing. Sneak attack damage allows a character to deal extra damage to a single foe under specific circumstances... even if such an attack kills a foe, is that such a big deal when there are 4-6 enemies on the board? Even slaying as fast as they can, the sneak attacker can only be in so many places at once... and the circumstances for that ability to work won't always be present whenever they attack.
As someone who's been a Game Master, and written my share of modules, even the most powerful player abilities are rarely as potent as we think when we look at them in regards to the sheer amount of nonsense they're going to have to face down over the course of a campaign.
Step #3: Modify Your Challenge Accordingly
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| Numbers... got to change the numbers... |
Once you've checked the rules, and examined the ability or item in question, and you've determined that it is, indeed, a powerful ability that still doesn't mean you should re-write the rules to take it away from your players. Instead, modify the challenges you're presenting.
To reiterate, this does not mean immediately presenting only enemies and scenarios that render powerful or potent abilities unusable. It simply means that you need to put a few extra bells and whistles in to make sure the game doesn't become a cake walk.
For example, say your barbarian fighter has a devastating ability to deal a lot of damage to any foe they charge. Cool, let them do that! But instead of just putting one enemy on the board, give them a couple of mobs to deal with. That way everyone gets to participate, and while the blood is still going to flow it isn't just letting Rogar run in and one-shot the enemy tank. If you have a sorcerer whose area of effect spells are really potent, let them blow up a crowd of foes from time to time... but ensure there's cover strewn around, and that enemies are widely dispersed enough that it isn't enough to immediately end the entire battle. If the fighter got hold of a flametongue far earlier than you expected, don't make all their enemies immune to fire... but once word has gotten out that Kristoff the Red bears a blade of fire, maybe have enemies drink potions to offer them some limited protection if they were planning on taking on the party.
Bonus Step: Alter, But Do Not Remove Items
Most of the examples up to this point were about class abilities, feats, etc. However, sometimes you get a little overly generous with magic items because you want everyone to have fun, and you realize too late that you might have screwed yourself over in terms of presenting a challenge.
Ideally, you should alter the threats your players face, making these items a necessity, or providing some challenges they simply cannot defeat. Perhaps the barbarian who acquired frostbrand has been tearing through many of the bandits with it, but when it's time to fight the leader we find that they're a demon in disguise, and the greatsword's icy aura is nowhere near as potent against them. A normal blade, however, would have been utterly insufficient to pierce their hide! Mayhap your rogue acquired a ring of invisibility, and while it's enough for them to sneak around guards and undead minions, it does not hide them from the dragon's keen senses. And so on, and so forth.
However, if you feel like you really messed up and gave your players something far too powerful, and it's going to break your game, make modifications to the item instead of coming up with some reason that it gets stolen, broken, or commandeered by an NPC.
For instance, consider putting a minor curse on an item that explains why it was found so early in the game. Perhaps the Iron Bands of Binding that were found only work on evil outsiders, making them potent when facing demons and devils, but less so the rest of the time. The deadly dagger the rogue found has been a life saver, but it turns out that it only functions in areas of dim light or darkness. The enchanted suit of armor the fighter has used may seem great, but the armor is actually woven with a thread of cowardice, and it offers less protection the more injured its wearer is.
You get the idea.
Lastly, if an item is particularly rare, powerful, or unique, consider making it intelligent (though perhaps it was asleep until just now). This doesn't lessen its powers, but it does turn the item into something of an NPC that players will have to contend with in order to continue using its abilities. This can add an extra hurdle to unlocking the item's full powers, and make it a more engaging aspect overall.
All of these choices are infinitely better than just having an item stolen off someone's hip while they're at the bar, or finding it missing from camp in the morning. Because your players are going to want it back, and to punish the thief, often to the point that this will utterly derail whatever campaign you were trying to run in the first place to rectify this situation.
Recommended Reading
If you'd like to check out some more stories with lessons for Game Masters in them (or just some GM advice in general), I'd recommend some of the following:
- Game Masters Shouldn't Leave Players Twisting in The Wind: While this particular incident happened at a Werewolf: The Apocalypse LARP, it's a lesson that I think can be applied across all RPGs; don't let your players chase their tails for no reason.
- 100 Tips and Tricks For Being a Better Game Master: 10 years of tested advice from this blog, boiled down into a simple, easy-to-digest list for GMs new and old alike!
- How To Ruin a Promising LARP in 3 Easy Steps: A game that had great promise, but which was ultimately laid low by the way the folks running it handled (or didn't handle) things.
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