Dungeons and Dragons

Play hardball, they're squishy, break some bones if they don't use their spells and run at things I'n cloth instead of plate.

Lots of good advice here already, but I would also suggest this: if they like playing a spellcaster but aren't very familiar with the spells available, spell cards could be very helpful. If you don't want to buy official ones, there are sites where you can print your own. I did this for one of our players and it helped her a ton.

I think you, as the DM, should privately poll your players to see if the choices of this individual are causing distress or reduced enjoyment for the other players. If so, you should consider one or all of the following:

• Choose monsters for the next campaign that are physically immune / resistant to piercing damage. For example, every monster has a hard shell like a turtle or something and unless attacking with advantage or some other mechanic, the piercing attack will just glance off.

• Create a back-story for the campaign that makes all monsters generally immune to most damage. For example, have them campaign to a plane of existence where the monsters need to be made vulnerable through finding certain artifacts that will essentially severely weaken or kill the monsters for them once the artifacts are found and engaged together.

• Create a back story to the campaign that promotes choices in-line with your class and alignment. For example, make the monsters 20% more difficult, but allow the players automatic advantage if they choose to play / engage the monster in accordance with their class and alignment or automatic disadvantage if not...

• Create a back story to the campaign that captures or incapacitates the problematic hero, rendering him useless unless he can find an artifact or a way out of some dungeon, maze, or cell, but the key is to use some specific element of a cantrip or spell and have clues that they can find to help allude to the issue. All the while, the other party members are progressing in a separate parallel quest.

In each scenario, the players will be forced to change and embrace different tactics or be dead weight. Its a hurdle / handicap everyone will need to overcome, but if they realize early that early on they can find a way to use it to their advantage...

If none of this works, brutally kill the player's character or kick the player out, especially if the other players have had enough.

You're obviously aware of their playstyle, and if they aren't very well versed in the rules, maybe you could roll a couple of melee focused spellcaster (Hexblade Warlock, Bladesinger Wizard, etc) options for them and have them choose from one of them rather than relying on them to come up with something on their own? They'd still have some agency, but would play a character that better suits their playstyle.

Oh, and make sure the options don't have a dagger in their equipment list. 😄

The solution is simple: Remove the dagger mid-combat.

You could make the dagger too hot to hold and it falls out of reach (off a mountain, into rushing water, etc...)

You could make the dagger dissolve away (through lava, acid, being eaten, etc...)

You could make something take the dagger (disarming, stealing, etc...)

A hag/genie/etc could place a curse on the PC (holding anything makes them experience immense pain and drop what they're holding, anything dagger they hold is turned into a spoon, etc...)

The player obviously is stubborn and won’t apply what you’ve told them.

Kill their character. Their wizard with high intelligence wants to melee? The monsters are smart and they see the robe guy who gets stabbed easily - so that’s what they do. All. Of. Them.

Kill, kill, kill. Then have a chat with them after about why this happened. Let them know they know how to play the game but actions have consequences and the monsters are smart. You’ve let them have their learning curve and now there are stakes.

Is the player choosing a caster for "cosmetic" reasons, or because they don't know better (like recycling the last character sheet)?

If the first, then maybe they could play a character who disguises as caster, or something along the lines.

If it's the latter, then they would probably appreciate it if you helped them create a new character from scratch together.

How about making a character that fakes being a caster, and like treats everybody like they don't deserve to see his magic meanwhile he's actually a rogue? Looks and behaves like a caster, is just still useful in combat

Could they play a Hexblade warlock?

If Player is receptive to directions in the moment, perhaps a queue card would help.

Stuff like;

Positioning: As a caster, you are easy to hit and have relatively low HP. Try to stay 15-30ft away from the nearest enemy. -Relevant Abilities:

• • 30ft Movement
• • Disengage (1 x Action)
• • Misty Step (1 x Bonus Action, 1 x level 2 Spell Slot)

Damage:

Healing:

Support:

“”I run up and stab it with my dagger!”

“Are you sure? As a wizard, your dagger is very ineffective and puts you in harm’s way. You could cast fire bolt from where you are standing. You’d have a better chance to hit, do more damage, remain safe, and play to your character’s strengths more. Do you want to do that instead?”

“I’m trying to save my spells for an emergency”

“Well fire bolt is a cantrip, so it never runs out and you can use it every turn like a fighter would use their weapon. Cantrips are the ‘auto-attacks’ for spell casters”

I can’t understand your situation OP if the exchange I described above isn’t the solution. I play with newbies and first timers all the time and we constantly strategize in combat so they can learn how to play as we go. Would your player really say “no, I don’t care, I stab them” after being presented with that option? If so, I think they are doing this intentionally because they think it’s funny or interesting, not because they don’t know better

Christ on a stick, you're spamming every rpg-related forum with this?

🤦🏼‍♂️

Why would a player drawn to spellcasters prefer weapon attacks over cantrips? I think that's the question we need to focus on.

Are they having trouble finding spells that fit the theme of their character? If so, maybe they'd benefit from looking at a wider range of source books. You can also remind them that they can "reflavor" their spells to better fit their character.

Is it utility magic that draws them to spellcasters? Are they even choosing offensive spells to begin with? If not, maybe you can help them out with a magic item - something to guarantee that they have access to a spell or two that would benefit the party. You could also shift some of the danger towards non-combat encounters to give their spells more value. For what it's worth I don't think there's anything wrong with utility-focused characters - they just tend not to shine as much in one-shots. Maybe if they knew more about the adventure ahead of time, they could better cater their character to the situations they're likely to face.

Are they overwhelmed by their character sheet? If so, playing short campaigns starting from level 1 might help to ease them into their class abilities. Spell cards might also be helpful if you're playing tabletop.

This sounds like someone that doesn't take the time to read and understand the mechanics of their chosen class or the spells and how they work. That's unfortunate.

Have you discussed how their actions are impacting the other players, and that their play is leading to the deaths of their friends? They may not realize how irritating it can be from the friends' point of view.

It seems as though they want a wizard-warrior, almost like a Jedi--who fights with swords, but has magic spells too. There are many ways to achieve this character idea and I'm sure you're more aware of them than I, but it could be as simple as a fighter with the magic adept feat.