Dealing with a spell-whore

[Cinos]

If debated having him forget spells that he doesn't use, since he focuses so completely on 3 of his spells and almost none of the others it would make sense to me he might start to forget the others.

So your punishment for him abusing these three spells is to take actions to ensure he can take no other actions but abuse those three spells? This is about as smart as punishing the homeless with fines they can't pay, then fining them for the fines they failed to pay.

[kiralon]

I don't think using the same spells over and over is being clever it was clever the first time not any more.

Dark,
He is level 8
We also have a level 4
And 2 level 1s
I agree singling him out may come off as unfair but it's also not fair that he ends every confrontation before the others get a shot at it. He also has no regard for the other members of the party, for example the last time we played he used coa to stick a large monster. One of our party members went in for an attack and got stuck. The monster than tried to pick up the player who was stuck and I made it very clear she was about to be torn in half, he didn't cancel the spell he didn't show sympathy nothing.

If debated having him forget spells that he doesn't use, since he focuses so completely on 3 of his spells and almost none of the others it would make sense to me he might start to forget the others.
I might not go that far I want the game to be fun but I also want everyone to be able to participate in the battles.

Let the party find a magic sword or whatever weapon the mage doesn't use that causes all cast spells (so not wards and circles) to fail unless they make a negate magic roll, and they need to get 17 or higher with spell strength bonuses to beat. Make the sword +3 or so and if the symbol on the hilt is branded onto the party members the party gets a party bonus to combat like out of tmnt (+1 to combat rolls/saves per party member while the party is working together (say still within that 200ft radius). This means spells that the enemy buffs himself with beforehand will work, and it will reduce the effectiveness of the mage and improve the rest of the group.

[eliakon]

A Psi-Nulifier like they have in Rifts could also be an interesting surprise. The nullifier could fight the rest of the party in their speciality (like say if its skilled as a swords man or what ever) but the fact that he ruins spells cast at/around him would be hard to just 'spell nuke'.
And if nullifiers are rare in game then the mage would not know in character to pump more PPE into it to over come this. (he could learn eventually....but by then the rest of the group might have caught up in levels and gear....)

[Damian Magecraft]

Yeah the Nullifier or even an Anti-magic Cloud. (a personal fave).
I have even had Ley Line storms generate AMC effects on occasion when the party mage gets a little to full of himself.

[Heres_Beefy]

Cinos,
I realize it seems stupid but my thinking is if he knows he forgets spells he doesn't use he might start using them more often.

[say652]

Give bonus xp 10-15 pounts when a different spell is used. To encourage variety.
Also give reduced xp to that one character for everytime they use the combo, only give minor menace xp 25 for the entire encounter.

[drewkitty ~..~]

A Psi-Nulifier like they have in Rifts could also be an interesting surprise. The nullifier could fight the rest of the party in their speciality (like say if its skilled as a swords man or what ever) but the fact that he ruins spells cast at/around him would be hard to just 'spell nuke'.
And if nullifiers are rare in game then the mage would not know in character to pump more PPE into it to over come this. (he could learn eventually....but by then the rest of the group might have caught up in levels and gear....)

Or a Nega-Psychic. (rifts or BTS/NB styles.)

[Glistam]

One word: Necrom.

[Borast]

CoA - if you're strong enough, you just walk through it if I recall...

Nope, Strength does absolutely nothing to help, although i've seen some GM's houserule that beings with SN PS just rip out parts of the floor, it's just that, houserule.

Well, have the opponent have a Pally equivalent to a D&D Ring of Free Action.
Or, better yet, they're hovering about 2mm above the floor, therefore are unaffected since they are floating ABOVE it.

[kiralon]

CoA - if you're strong enough, you just walk through it if I recall...

Nope, Strength does absolutely nothing to help, although i've seen some GM's houserule that beings with SN PS just rip out parts of the floor, it's just that, houserule.

Well, have the opponent have a Pally equivalent to a D&D Ring of Free Action.
Or, better yet, they're hovering about 2mm above the floor, therefore are unaffected since they are floating ABOVE it.

The problem with the enemies having the solution to the problem is that they all the enemies basically need it, and then the players can recover it as loot and use it themselves. Having the players carry around something that nerfs it means the encounters don't have to be so contrived e.g. Heres the fifth group of orcs you have met, oh look they are all wearing rings of free action or are flying, and now its a group of 3 gnomes, look at that, the gnomes all have rings, and that dragon, he's got one too.

[say652]

The different spells for xp thing will definitely work. The spells the gm finds cheesy and or aggravating give less of an xp bonus.
Its how in the end I handled the overpowerness of Just about any Master Psionic.

[eliakon]

One other problem for the party to consider is that if they have someone come after them for some reason. (A rival, they are framed fro (or actually commit) a crime, someone they offended hires an assassin, what ever). The first thing that such a person would do would be to research their target. The goal of the research would be to identify the weaknesses of any target that can be exploited.
So if the Wolfen Empire Ranger Corps comes after you for killing to many Wolfen and stealing their stuff, then they might all have equipment optimized to deal with the group. A budget to shop for supplies based on the level of malice can help you out here. Is this a 6 man team wih 10,000gp worth of supplies, or more of a two man team with 1,000gp between the two of them?
Once you know who and what is coming its possible to figure out what they will bring. Talismans (the spell kind not the alchemist version), amulets (ditto), potions, dusts, fumes, fairy food, poisons, sands, and other disposable (and thus cheaper) materials are good choices for this.
An interesting side bonus to this is that a group like this would be prepared for what the party usually does. The mages favorite pet spells might be useless.....but due to lack of use the other spells might be more useful....since the bad guys would be less likely to know about them! Ditto for the party members that haven't gotten screen time. ("Uh George.....did you know that they could do that?" "Crap no that was not in the briefing.") and afterword's of course the party may want to pay a visit to anyone that is sending bounty hunters/ assassins/ military commandos/ master retrievers/ what ever after them.

[Borast]

The problem with the enemies having the solution to the problem is that they all the enemies basically need it, and then the players can recover it as loot and use it themselves. Having the players carry around something that nerfs it means the encounters don't have to be so contrived e.g. Heres the fifth group of orcs you have met, oh look they are all wearing rings of free action or are flying, and now its a group of 3 gnomes, look at that, the gnomes all have rings, and that dragon, he's got one too.

If the ring only works for the person the party kills, or has a limited number of charges and cannot be recharged...

[Alrik Vas]

someone needs to think tactically when facing your players, then. one group should appear to draw the mage's attention, then another group from behind casts CoA in them and then pepper them with arrows while they can't dodge.

or landslide, or summon a meteor, or whatever floats your boat.

[say652]

I reccomend a good ole goblin swarm like few hundred.

[Borast]

River of Lava cure all ills...if you consider the party "sick"...

[kiralon]

funnily enough a few cobblers doing darkness also sows a lot confusion. I have used that tactic on high level characters before with good success, especially when they go, ooh scary goblins lol

[Veknironth]

Well, there are a lot of good options here. Here are some other suggestions I'll add for the Cloud of Slumber:

The easiest is to keep the players in confined spaces. If there is combat or if there are scenarios taking place indoors, that cloud becomes much less useful. The ways to use this are legion. A smaller room where the spell will hit him and his comrades as well. Or they are lured into a room and attacked from three sides. Sure, he might get one group , but then the others are on him. Also walls, doors, and floors can easily be warded to limit spell casting.

In open areas, you can use the relatively limited range against him. It only has a 90' range. Most distance weapons have much better range than that. Everyone knows you take out the mage first, so he'll be their target. He isn't casting spells while dodging. If he gets hit, then you have the pain role. A clever use of a counter spell is to wind rush the spell back at him and his group. If the character is level 8, he is probably a character of renown and it's reasonable that opponents would focus on him rather than his minions. If you're the best player on the court, you're getting double-teamed. If he wants to win every combat single-handedly everyone will go after him. What's he going to do when he loses initiative and he has 3 arrows, 2 knives, and a hand axe coming toward him?

There are also plenty of ways to keep him from casting. Blind him, keep him occupied, have a mind mage strip him of his spell casting ability. Have the opponents take the combat to him. What if he's attacked in a street surrounded by people? The attacker sidles up to him and starts stabbing him in the ribs. I'd also consider having people fake sleep. He casts the spell, they fall down, knowing he's going to cast it (assuming some save) and when the group strolls up thinking they've won, it's sneak attack time.

For Carpet of Adhesion there are ways out. As has been stated, if you're stuck to the floor, you can still fire a bow or throw a knife (such a solid base you have now!) or you can continue to cast spells or use psionic powers. The Carpet can be neutralized by sand. You throw sand on top and then walk over the sand paper you've created. Or you can use a blanket, cloak, etc. if you have to cross it. Hell, you can do that, and then step out of your boots.

Vary the encounters you throw at them so that the same tactic CANNOT work every time. The guy's 8th level. If he can't adapt to varying situations then he sort of deserves to get killed. Adventuring at that level is dangerous!

For out of game options, the other players could be allies. How do they feel watching the Sandman win every battle with a starting spell? Can they tell him how boring it is? In game the PC's might not like the wizard and might choose to adventure without him.

-Vek
"Do not let him get Immobilize."

[Library Ogre]

A somewhat cheap option, but possibly amusing... toss a psi-stalker-like character (from Rifts) at them. One cut and it slurps up all his PPE. Definitely not an "every encounter" solution, but it is a good one to throw in to keep mages humble.

[Dark]

A somewhat cheap option, but possibly amusing... toss a psi-stalker-like character (from Rifts) at them. One cut and it slurps up all his PPE. Definitely not an "every encounter" solution, but it is a good one to throw in to keep mages humble.

Perhaps a Syphon Entity would be something from inside PF that could serve the same purpose? I once had a Summoner summon one and put it into his sword. The big-bad then can swing away, and/or use his actions on other things, the Entity can use it's actions on psionics/powers, or just to flat out steal PPE.

[Library Ogre]

A somewhat cheap option, but possibly amusing... toss a psi-stalker-like character (from Rifts) at them. One cut and it slurps up all his PPE. Definitely not an "every encounter" solution, but it is a good one to throw in to keep mages humble.

Perhaps a Syphon Entity would be something from inside PF that could serve the same purpose? I once had a Summoner summon one and put it into his sword. The big-bad then can swing away, and/or use his actions on other things, the Entity can use it's actions on psionics/powers, or just to flat out steal PPE.

oooh, nice!

[Nekira Sudacne]

A somewhat cheap option, but possibly amusing... toss a psi-stalker-like character (from Rifts) at them. One cut and it slurps up all his PPE. Definitely not an "every encounter" solution, but it is a good one to throw in to keep mages humble.

RUE clarified the Psi-stalker. they must physically capture and restrain the prey before cutting them will drain PPE, or else they have to kill them outright. simply nicking a Mage in a fight dosn't let you drain them, you have to have them bound.

[Glistam]

I'm loving the idea of someone who can communicate with, or summon and control, entities tossing a bunch at this guy to "soften him up" before swooping in.

[eliakon]

I'm loving the idea of someone who can communicate with, or summon and control, entities tossing a bunch at this guy to "soften him up" before swooping in.

For the evilz Phase World has the Noro Psychic aka The Ghost-Makers
.
.
.
And then it says that other races may have equivalent classes or even be trained as 'honorary Ghost-Makers' (whatever that means)
Regardless the precedent is there for a psychic who can summon and command Entities

[Dark]

I'm loving the idea of someone who can communicate with, or summon and control, entities tossing a bunch at this guy to "soften him up" before swooping in.

For the evilz Phase World has the Noro Psychic aka The Ghost-Makers
.
.
.
And then it says that other races may have equivalent classes or even be trained as 'honorary Ghost-Makers' (whatever that means)
Regardless the precedent is there for a psychic who can summon and command Entities

Summoners have the 'Summon Ghosts & Entities' Circle, which can do the job rather directly, in a core PF class.

There also are the 'Control & Enslave Entity' and 'Summon & Control Entity' spells, which would allow a Wizard to do the same thing, and also still be from PF.

[Library Ogre]

A somewhat cheap option, but possibly amusing... toss a psi-stalker-like character (from Rifts) at them. One cut and it slurps up all his PPE. Definitely not an "every encounter" solution, but it is a good one to throw in to keep mages humble.

RUE clarified the Psi-stalker. they must physically capture and restrain the prey before cutting them will drain PPE, or else they have to kill them outright. simply nicking a Mage in a fight dosn't let you drain them, you have to have them bound.

And yet, the RMB psi-stalker still exists. I prefer the "Not MD, effective hunter" version.

[Tor]

In RMB the original (open to D-Bees, not necessarily human) Psi-Stalker still had "physically capture the prey" to do the PPE cut.

May not have had the RUE 'restrain' elaboration but 'capture' is still a pretty strong term.

Summoners have the 'Summon Ghosts & Entities' Circle, which can do the job rather directly, in a core PF class.

There also are the 'Control & Enslave Entity' and 'Summon & Control Entity' spells, which would allow a Wizard to do the same thing, and also still be from PF.

True, though doing so via circle will limit the number you can control (1/level for summoner) via a battle of wills. Not sure how prone entities are to making pact agreements to bypass this.

The spell would limit you via PPE/duration for assembling large numbers.

Ghost Makers can effectively just summon infinite Haunting/Siphons who will obey them forever, which is pretty terrifying. The ISP/time is only needed for the Tectonic/Possession control.

Apparently they can't deal with Poltergeists/NewHaven entities though.

[eliakon]

A somewhat cheap option, but possibly amusing... toss a psi-stalker-like character (from Rifts) at them. One cut and it slurps up all his PPE. Definitely not an "every encounter" solution, but it is a good one to throw in to keep mages humble.

RUE clarified the Psi-stalker. they must physically capture and restrain the prey before cutting them will drain PPE, or else they have to kill them outright. simply nicking a Mage in a fight dosn't let you drain them, you have to have them bound.

And yet, the RMB psi-stalker still exists. I prefer the "Not MD, effective hunter" version.

It only exists if the individual GM chooses to use the RMB rules instead of the RUE rules. In the current Edition of the game it does not exist except by house rule. (just like in the current edition of the game juicers use the current autododge rules not the old ones, and mages use the current rules and not the old ones and.....)

[Library Ogre]

A somewhat cheap option, but possibly amusing... toss a psi-stalker-like character (from Rifts) at them. One cut and it slurps up all his PPE. Definitely not an "every encounter" solution, but it is a good one to throw in to keep mages humble.

RUE clarified the Psi-stalker. they must physically capture and restrain the prey before cutting them will drain PPE, or else they have to kill them outright. simply nicking a Mage in a fight dosn't let you drain them, you have to have them bound.

And yet, the RMB psi-stalker still exists. I prefer the "Not MD, effective hunter" version.

It only exists if the individual GM chooses to use the RMB rules instead of the RUE rules. In the current Edition of the game it does not exist except by house rule. (just like in the current edition of the game juicers use the current autododge rules not the old ones, and mages use the current rules and not the old ones and.....)

Doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Like I said, not a fan of the new-style psi-stalker. Why break what works fine?

[eliakon]

A somewhat cheap option, but possibly amusing... toss a psi-stalker-like character (from Rifts) at them. One cut and it slurps up all his PPE. Definitely not an "every encounter" solution, but it is a good one to throw in to keep mages humble.

RUE clarified the Psi-stalker. they must physically capture and restrain the prey before cutting them will drain PPE, or else they have to kill them outright. simply nicking a Mage in a fight dosn't let you drain them, you have to have them bound.

And yet, the RMB psi-stalker still exists. I prefer the "Not MD, effective hunter" version.

It only exists if the individual GM chooses to use the RMB rules instead of the RUE rules. In the current Edition of the game it does not exist except by house rule. (just like in the current edition of the game juicers use the current autododge rules not the old ones, and mages use the current rules and not the old ones and.....)

Doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Like I said, not a fan of the new-style psi-stalker. Why break what works fine?

If your not a fan then by all means change things in your game sure.
But the official rules have changed how the psi-stalker works (actually as Nekira pointed out they clarified what the original word 'capture' meant)
Which means that technically no, under the rules it doesn't exist. It can be houseruled back into existence by a GM sure. But by the rules as they are written? No it doesn't exist. (and the 'you can just nick something and drain it of all its PPE' arguably never existed which would mean that 'what works fine' is quite possibly a house rule anyway....)

[say652]

So to the gm.
How did you resolve the problem? ?

[Dark]

I also am curious how this turned out over time.

[say652]

I know right. I am hoping my xp bribery/penalty thingy was used.

[Jerell]

Blinding flash of blue light... Altara warrior women rifts in... Nets mage with net gun, drags him back screaming through Rift to Splynncryth. Then end.

- Jerell
"The Megaverse is a DANGEROUS place!"

[Tor]

In the current Edition of the game it does not exist except by house rule. (just like in the current edition of the game juicers use the current autododge rules not the old ones, and mages use the current rules and not the old ones and.....)

I don't recall RUE saying anything like "You can't use anything in RMB", the Sky King didn't cease to exist, nor did the (traditional) Headhunter OCC just because it got replaced by a modification of the Canada variant.

[URLeader Hobbes]

Another option might be to attack the party with the wizard. Use a possessing entity on them. LOL

All sorts of evil can be done when the group is helpless and watching.. Even if they don't kill the party this can be a great way to strip them of things. Say they camp out by a cliff for the night, at the bottom, hundreds of feet down is a raging river..

Mage gets possessed, the group awakens to the sounds of screaming horses and see the poor hobbled beasts have been cut down by the mage. Confused they look for arms and armor only to see some tracks where all that heavy plate and chain were dragged to the side of the cliff and tossed off into the river below.

A few coins litter the ground making a small trail to where the party treasure chest once was.. Yep that got tossed into the river as well..

Suddenly the mage realizes he/she is holding a bloody axe and they are standing over the body of the Paladin's warhorse. Confused and with no memory of what happened the possessing entity sits behind the mages eyes and watches events unfold.

Maybe things work out and they are able to recover some items.. Maybe they even forgive the mage..

Wait until they are in combat. Mage goes to toss COA, or any of the other aforementioned spells. Time for a Save vs Possession. The local friendly neighborhood entity thinks it's a far better plan to start lecturing the other party members on dueling techniques against multiple enemies and how it is dishonorable for knights and paladins to run in the face of danger.

If they start asking for some assistance in the face of overwhelming odds the entity might want to ask about how having spells tossed to foes to soften them up or neutralize them plays into that whole chivalrous concept of fair play.

Maybe the entity also begins to demand extra shares of the party loot in this circumstance as well. LOL

[eliakon]

In the current Edition of the game it does not exist except by house rule. (just like in the current edition of the game juicers use the current autododge rules not the old ones, and mages use the current rules and not the old ones and.....)

I don't recall RUE saying anything like "You can't use anything in RMB", the Sky King didn't cease to exist, nor did the (traditional) Headhunter OCC just because it got replaced by a modification of the Canada variant.

The RUE laid out the rules for how Psi-Stalkers worked. It did not say that there were any exceptions. Therefore all psi-stalkers in any game that is using the RUE rules follows the RUE rule book rules for how they work. Any creature that is both called a psi-stalker and does not follow the rules in the rule book would have to be a non-rule creature....thus a house rules invention.
We can argue semantics of games and what the meaning of rules and editions are in another thread though. It is not topical to this one.

[SittingBull]

Amulet of negate sleep
Flying creatures
Undead dont sleep and cant be put to sleep, flying groups of undead are hard to carpet .

Astral attackers
Ppe leaches stick to him and suck up his power in some stream right before hes attacked.
A temporal raider. (verry high saves and probably the same spells.)
Offer him a trade both thoose spells for one 10th lv spell take it or leave it.

I can just picture undead flying monkeys now.

[SittingBull]

Dark
I've tried on many occasions to explain to the player that when he only uses those spells it makes it very difficult to challenge him.
He said I just need to throw stronger stuff at him, the problem is there is a leve difference between him and the other group members so throwing something even bigger at them wouldn't be fair to the cannon fodder that makes up the rest of the group.
I'm going to try separating him from the group throwing a lizard Mage at him and seeing if that helps.

You might want to try and see things from the player's side. He's got an effective combination of spells that helps his character survive along with the rest of the group and both IC and OOC would make little sense to not use yet his GM is saying basically 'stop trying so hard to survive and instead make it easier for me to kill you' from his perspective. He's not interested in not using them because he's not interested in making it more difficult for his character or the rest of the group to survive by deliberately choosing to be less effective in dangerous situations when he knows the spells he's using are so effective.

Easy enough. He doesn't have to stop using them.....
...but he doesn't have to get XP either. No threat no XP.
A the XP section clearly says if the monster isn't a threat then it wasn't a menace. Its not clever use anymore either. RP xp wont level him as fast as the others.....
So the problem with them being lower level will self correct quickly enough.

And while his character has a good combination.....
....would the player be fine if enemy mages did this to them? If he doesn't mind that then its fine. Beefy can throw enemy mages at the group that are doing stuff like this. If he would complain that Beefy is a Killer GM though then there is a problem. A trick should be fair for both sides. (This would be the difference between a 'smart player' though and an 'entitled player' The first is a player who looks at the game and uses the best tools. The second is the type of player who feels that only their character should get the tools and everything else just exists to provide them with XP and loot.)

If the monster is no threat to the highest level player, isn't it no threat to everyone in the party technically?

[Jerell]

RUE? RMB? Gentlemen, this is a Palladium Fantasy game were talking, right?

I like the idea of a possessing entity. I've had good experience using possessing entities on the group power house in the past. In my case it wasn't the party mage, but the party Ogre. I did work quite well, as I recall...

[say652]

I used a paraplegic villian with the major power transferal/possession.
Made for an awesome heroes unlimited who done it.
As usual in my games a stupid psychic ruined the fifteen sessions I had planned.
Bio-Manipulation then mind meld.
Grrrrrrr.......

[Library Ogre]

The RUE laid out the rules for how Psi-Stalkers worked. It did not say that there were any exceptions. Therefore all psi-stalkers in any game that is using the RUE rules follows the RUE rule book rules for how they work. Any creature that is both called a psi-stalker and does not follow the rules in the rule book would have to be a non-rule creature....thus a house rules invention.
We can argue semantics of games and what the meaning of rules and editions are in another thread though. It is not topical to this one.

The RMB laid out the rules for how Psi-Stalkers worked. It did not say there were any exceptions. Therefore all psi-stalkers in any game that is using the RMB rules follows the RMB rule book rules for how they work. Any creature that is both called a psi-stalker and does not follow the rules in the rule book would have to be a non-rule creature... thus a house rules invention.

[Jerell]

Western Empire, page 161 - Keremond's Spellshield. Can nullify the effect of any spell cast on the wearer. Absorbs the PPE too, up until it explodes...

You could also throw in some Mage fodder first. Small group of Goblins or Hob Goblins (make sure at least half have ranged weapons) or some such thrown at the party with the purpose to use up the mages PPE.

If you're okay Rifting things in, convert a Mauian Order Lemurian Serpent Hunter to SDC. Even if you convert the MDC to SDC on a 1 to 1 for the bio-armor (which would probably work fine for most PFRPG, just give it a high AR), it would make a good major menace, potentially a boss fight depending on your power level for a party to face. The Leviathan Armor has good magic resistance and limited spell nullification (which enables Mauian Order serpent hunters can go after Dragons and mages/Atlanteans much easier). If the party can handle it, give him the Serpent Hunter mount (Thrall Serpent) as well. Heck if he catches them on a boat/in an aquatic setting or in the right circumstances, you could go for a TPK.

[mirithol]

Great thread! I'm a little late to this party, but a few thoughts that haven't been mentioned:

Beefy - Have your player read this thread - then roll for Paranoia on the insanity tables with a substantial negative to the result.

Assuming an in-game solution is desired - here are a few of my tried and true G.M. rules:
1) The game should be fun.
2) When the game is GM vs. the Player Characters - ususally not fun. I'm with Dark, Cinos, Vek and others that think you
shouldn't punish players for being smart and creative. Those behaviors usually add to the fun and tales told later over beer.

Taking a step back, your original question really refers to game balance and how to restore it. The varied replies to this make this such a great thread. If the game balance is out of whack, then the problem is game design. I use the term in the largest sense, including rule design, spell design, encounter design, campaign design, character design, how the player character learned this combo, etc. Now, put all egos in a box.

Some of the PFRPG rules are out of balance and that's OK, because I'd much rather see a steady flow of great material for Palladium that a trickle of perfect rules. I can adjust my game. Nerfing the XP kind of works, but again is a bit of a punishment - less fun.

Spell design can be adjusted as suggested above, should be talked about and agreed on with the players and codifed before play as a house rule. You run the risk of punishing your Mage for being smart &/or clever and knowing the rules. Yes, he/she may be a power gamer, but I'd advise against this, and consider the impact of any new spells, magic, treasure you allow into your game in the future. Of course, you think of them all. I once used a broken staff of power as a prop to add an aura of power and dread to a crypt only to have the party succeed in the quest and be granted a boon from a power - Hey, can you fix this thing? Crap... Players outsmarting you is the nature of the game and adds fun.

I'd also find a way to accelerate the levels gained by the lower level players - it is hard to design great encounters with the spread you have. Yes, you lose out for a time the sense of achievement of getting to level 5, but usually the good stuff (bonuses/promotions) goes down easier than nerfs. Talk to your players offline and see if they are OK with this.

So it really is incumbent on your campaign/encounter design to challenge the party. What would a supragenius dragon or vampire do?

Encounter design is really your friend here. The terrain can make it impossible to use that combo effictively. Wide open spaces with spread out troops - time for some overland. Any of the monsters listed above and more will cause headaches for an overconfident mage. Mix it up. I'm always evaluating my games/encounters and looking for what worked and what didn't. This is how I become a better G.M. The art here is to challenge your party without punishing. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Cheers,
Miri

[kiralon]

If the monster is no threat to the highest level player, isn't it no threat to everyone in the party technically?

Yes and no, I have made the adventure plot the high level guy has his fate intertwined with the low level guys, and if the low level guys die he goes to jail, magically joins them in death etc.
Then you just ignore the high level guy and go for the low level guys and he has to deal with it, smaller multiple attack groups are best, and this also makes it dangerous for him to pick fights with other high level things, as they can kill the others much easier.
and
Illusionists are also good, let the mage try to figure out why the goblins can walk over the Carpet of Adhesion, or why they all seem immune to cloud of slumber, then throw in some real critters with the illusions to confuse em, I usually give a visual clue for the badguys so they know who are real and not, as the illusions do effect everyone

[SittingBull]

If the monster is no threat to the highest level player, isn't it no threat to everyone in the party technically?

Yes and no, I have made the adventure plot the high level guy has his fate intertwined with the low level guys, and if the low level guys die he goes to jail, magically joins them in death etc.
Then you just ignore the high level guy and go for the low level guys and he has to deal with it, smaller multiple attack groups are best, and this also makes it dangerous for him to pick fights with other high level things, as they can kill the others much easier.
and
Illusionists are also good, let the mage try to figure out why the goblins can walk over the Carpet of Adhesion, or why they all seem immune to cloud of slumber, then throw in some real critters with the illusions to confuse em.

Sounds like the high level needs to take the lower levels adventuring and stand back and not be involved. Let them catch up in levels instead of continually having to babysit them. Although I am betting the high level mage wouldn't have anything to do with that idea...

[ronekiln]

This isn't about using the same 3 spells. This is about party balance, or lack thereof. Either boost the other players or cut out the 8th level guy throwing things out of balance. Forcibly retire him if needed.

A goblin ambushing a mage with a bag of coal dust and ground up glass leaves him choking, blind, and useless while the rest of the characters save the day. Cheap poison daggers in the opening round of combat mess him up the same as anyone. Nets tangle up his arms and leave him at huge negatives to cast. Globe of silence is a low level spell. Hit him over the head with a rock from behind. There are tons of very cheap low level methods to mess him up if played intelligently, and give the other players a chance to shine.

Have a horde of faeries put him on trial for killing their pet wooly dragon with CoS. A faerie court played as a horde of the most over the top caricature of add toddlers hopped up on speed, sugar and caffeine is hilarious. Bring in the most obnoxious younger sibling to play the prosecutor as a guest character. Yes, I speak from experience.

The only real problem I ever had with mages in 2 decades of gaming was using flight abilities to zip back to town to grab whatever gear they needed. A long bad storm during one adventure, a dungeon crawl with the entrance unusable, and some thugs demanding extortionist fees for the one item they needed killed that issue and restored the balance I needed for a lot of game play.

[Nightmask]

This isn't about using the same 3 spells. This is about party balance, or lack thereof. Either boost the other players or cut out the 8th level guy throwing things out of balance. Forcibly retire him if needed.

Now that'd be wrong, he's using commonly available spells to great effect and it would be more than a bit petty after all that hard work to go 'hey you're doing too good so you're going to have to scrap him and go with something less effective'.

[eliakon]

This isn't about using the same 3 spells. This is about party balance, or lack thereof. Either boost the other players or cut out the 8th level guy throwing things out of balance. Forcibly retire him if needed.

Now that'd be wrong, he's using commonly available spells to great effect and it would be more than a bit petty after all that hard work to go 'hey you're doing too good so you're going to have to scrap him and go with something less effective'.

I would say level 8 in a level 2 game is a bit much....
Retire him until the rest of the group is level 7-8....
Because otherwise really how is anyone going to do anything? Anything that is a big enough threat to the high level guy will wipe out the others. Anything that wont face roll them he is just going to use his same three spells over and over on.

[Nightmask]

This isn't about using the same 3 spells. This is about party balance, or lack thereof. Either boost the other players or cut out the 8th level guy throwing things out of balance. Forcibly retire him if needed.

Now that'd be wrong, he's using commonly available spells to great effect and it would be more than a bit petty after all that hard work to go 'hey you're doing too good so you're going to have to scrap him and go with something less effective'.

I would say level 8 in a level 2 game is a bit much....
Retire him until the rest of the group is level 7-8....
Because otherwise really how is anyone going to do anything? Anything that is a big enough threat to the high level guy will wipe out the others. Anything that wont face roll them he is just going to use his same three spells over and over on.

Haven't got my book handy but aren't at least 2 of the 3 spells available readily enough at 1st-2nd level? Remember it's not like we're talking AD&D where level strictly restricts what level of spells you have available or how often you can cast them. Level might increase range, area of effect, and damage if applicable but it's not preventing picking up the spells in question even at low levels.