WHEN YOUR CHARACTER IS OVERPOWERED

WHEN YOUR CHARACTER IS OVERPOWERED

(And Your Fellow Players Secretly Plot Your “Accidental” Demise)

By now, you’ve probably played long enough to know that “balance” in Dungeons & Dragons is a myth. Supposedly, every class is equal. Supposedly, the Dungeon Master is impartial. Supposedly, that Beholder’s “death ray” was random.

But then you go and build Gorthak the Magnificent, a 20th-level Half-Dragon Tiefling Arch-Wizard-Barbarian-Warlock with three patron pacts, immunity to everything including criticism, and a backstory written entirely in capital letters. And somehow, you’re shocked when the rest of the table looks at you like you’ve just eaten their crisps without asking.

Here’s how to know your character might be overpowered…

1. YOU DON’T ROLL DAMAGE, YOU ANNOUNCE BODY COUNTS

The other players describe their attacks with detail.

“I swing my sword at the goblin’s neck.”
You just shrug and say:
“I clear the room.”

2. THE DM STOPS PREPARING ADVENTURES AND JUST WRITES YOUR OBITUARY

At first, the DM tries harder encounters. Then “harder” becomes “apocalyptic.” Then suddenly the dungeon collapses before you even walk in, killing you instantly. No saving throw. No death saves. Just, “rocks fall, you die.”

3. THE PARTY HAS BECOME YOUR FAN CLUB… OR YOUR HIT SQUAD

You’ve “accidentally” become the plot. Whole sessions revolve around your backstory. The bard writes songs about you. The rogue starts selling “I survived Gorthak” t-shirts. The cleric starts rolling to see if smite works on allies.

4. NPCS REACT TO YOU LIKE YOU’RE A NATURAL DISASTER

A normal adventurer enters a tavern:

“Welcome, traveller.”
You enter:
“Roll for evacuation.”

5. YOU'VE NEVER FAILED A ROLL BECAUSE THE DM HAS STOPPED ASKING

It’s not that you’re lucky. It’s that the DM has given up.

“Make a Strength check.”
“Why? You already know I’ve got +87.”

6. EVERY TREASURE IS SUDDENLY ‘CURSED’

Sure, it’s coincidence that every shiny thing you touch now shrivels your soul or turns you into a goat. The DM isn’t targeting you. They’re just… creative.

7. THE FINAL BOSS CHALLENGE IS JUST YOU… BUT SLIGHTLY BIGGER

Oh look, it’s “Gorthak the Magnificent II: Even Magnificenter.” He’s got your armour, your spells, your HP… and the DM’s full attention. You’re not fighting a monster. You’re fighting the mirror of shame.

TOP TIP FOR THE OVERPOWERED PLAYER

If you suspect you’re too strong for the game, do the noble thing. Tone it down. Retire your character. Or… keep going until the DM introduces a “plot twist” involving an unexpected dragon attack, lava, and the phrase “no, you can’t cast counterspell on a volcano.”