It is a little unusual for Rogues to be putting out that much damage on a consistent basis (They average max about 28 damage at that level on 2[W] attacks. ) While I trust your value judgment on the type of play you have at your table, there are a few things that I can think of.

1) Distract the Rogue. While the skill challenge for traps is a basic fail for the first DMG, and a idea that was good on paper, but poor in play, placing a quick skill challenger (3 success, 3 failures) on an active trap in the combat zone is much more effective. This will help mitigate some of the damage he is doing by giving him a chance to do what Rogue characters hope to have a chance to do (i.e. solve puzzles and traps in dangerous circumstances).

2) Use Brutes. I keep saying this, and I need to make sure it’s heard! It’s okay that they are easily killed! They have the HP’s to soak up damage for other monsters. They BEG to be hit, and you want them hit.

3) Use Dart Board Procedure. Okay…. So is this normal for your rogue? Defender Marks, Rogue moves to Flank, Sneak Attack! What you should do then, is to make sure that he gets some of his medicine too. Get a skirmisher in there, move into flank with the rogue, and stick him once or twice. It’s not going to stop them from doing it, mind you, but after a few times of Low Hit Points, they might start watching when they do that.

3a) By all means, though, don’t ALWAYS punish the flank! They need that flank to do their trick, and without that trick, they are hard pressed to deal their sneak attack damage, and that’s their key ability. Never deny a player in a session a chance to use their key ability.

…

Overall, I think your player dedicated themselves into getting a weapon that hits and has dedicated feats into making sure it counts when it hits. That’s not a bad thing, but it can be unsettling at low levels. This damage level won’t be bad by 5th level, so I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s just the growing pains of the group.

@ Takinalis
I like reviewing character sheets before the campaign begins, not so much to screen them but to ensure the encounters I’ve built are balanced and will actually challenge the players. In older editions I think the arguement of how would have learned that is valid. However, I think 4e is much more organic with the power system and its difficult to now say no you can’t learn that power. The very process of adventuring should contain moments of experiment that justify new powers.

@ Rauthik
Dave, welcome to Dungeon’s Master and thanks for chiming in. I also liked Dave ideas!

Power takes two things: talent and oppotunity. The character may have the talent to gain the power…but they may not have had the opportunity.

Remember: The game is about role play. Not roll play. Or maybe I’m just old school. Just be sure to help the players along in developing the characters…if a character build just will not fit where the campaign is then tell them so. Tell them “I’m sorry, your character has not had the opportunity to learn that. You will break the other players suspension of disbelief if you head that route and I can’t allow it at my table.”

Thanks,

Tak

This concept originates from the Hero System, where players take disadvantages to their characters in order to build stronger strengths. So the disadvantages must be pinged by the DM often enough for them to feel like the disadvantage is real and not ignored.

So while mostly the monsters will attack the Halfling CHA paladin’s AC, sometimes they will attack Will defense or something. And daze him, or immobilize him or even sleep him. Really, wouldn’t that be awesome to have the bad guys sleep your tank at the start of the fight?

Smart bad guys will try to exploit the party’s weaknesses. Good GM’s will do this, because overcoming smart bad guys is much more satisfying to the players. The chance of failure has to be there.
.-= Toldain´s last blog .."I Don’t Make Games, I Make Toys" =-.

@ Josh
Touche! Yes, players are synonymous with optimizing their characters. The point of the article was to provide idea’s to new DMs who are unsure of how to handle these players.

@ Satyre
You raise some good points about ensuring it’s the PC not the player themselves. The point here is not to alienate a player away from the group or game. Rather it’s to find a balance to ensure that everyone, the DM included, is having a good time.

Unusual situations? If the situations are believable then yes, absolutely. Obstructive/hazardous terrain, flyers and monsters with slide attacks can mitigate AC maxers. Those with maxed out skills should be given the occasional bone but find themselves in equally tense situations that require quick thinking say the Diplomacy monster finds themselves an attractive admirer who blinded by their passion for the character makes erratic efforts to get their attention or concocts a deadly scheme that backfires. Or an equally-skilled rival.

If you are singling out a specific character, make it very clear that it’s the character the NPCs are gunning for and not the player. This works well with opposed religions and chaotic evil sorts who love to twist the knife.
Ultimately balance is everything. Finding ways to give your monsters an edge is fun brainstorming activity and can lead to flavourful games.
.-= satyre´s last blog ..spare me: ye olde magick shoppe? =-.

Take off the gloves, indeed. DMs should give optimization a try from time to time too. It can be a ton of fun to prove to your players that you aren’t just pulling a DM magic trick… that you’re using the same options that they could have used if they paid more attention to the rules.
.-= Josh´s last blog ..Current 750 Eldar List, and Dream 750 Eldar List =-.

This is fun for them and fun for the party so I don’t worry too much. Changing things around, targeting them with different abilities, upping the difficulty, these can all help.

4th edition gives a huge amount of power to the players, moreso than monsters can typically reproduce or match, I find, but that is fun for them to feel powerful.

It has been a long time since my group felt really at risk, though. That’s something I need to work on.
.-= Mike Shea´s last blog ..Four Tips for Running Solo Creatures =-.