This is a tribute....

[trimeulose]

So me and party were hitchhiking down a long and lonesome road.

Actually we were in the city of Brass in an epic campaign attempting to bargain for a special gem that we believe to be owned by the Grand Sultan.

This gem was part of a 6 gem set we needed to complete our mission and we had 3 at this point.

After much negotiating and bribing of the local government we were able to secure an audience with the Sultan.

The Sultan (at least in this game) had a reputation for never trading away anything that anyone ever wanted. His wealth was such that he had everything he ever wanted.

The Sultan agrees he will let us know whether he even has the gem if we can show him something new to him. Great an immortal being of countless years and unlimited resources wants to see something new that should be easy.... or not. The party is at a loss.

There are 5 people in the party, none divine spellcasters and only 1 arcane. We consist of 3 hearty fighters (1 str based, 1 damage resistant based, and 1 balanced"ish"), 1 very able rogueish assasin, and me the bard.

Our characters are 31st level. I am a Gray Elf Bard 29/Seaker of the song 2. My bardic abilities come from singing. So naturally I offer to sing a song the likes of which the Sultan has never heard before.

now for the mechanic...

31st level= 34 ranks in perform (singing)
magic amulet of singing= +30 competance to perform (singing)
Composition of the Aria= +5 morale bonus to perform (singing)
After all bonuses I have a Cha of 44: +17
18 bought, +5 inheretant, +7 levels, +8 enhancement, +6 Inspire Excellence (epic bardic feat)

I cast a 6th level bard spell (dont remember the name). It grants me luck points equal to twice my caster level. I can spend up to half of those points on a single skill check to gain a +1 luck bonus on that check per point spent (I believe the points last 10 minutes per caster level). This effectively gives me a +15 luck bonus on the check.

Now I had never before added it all up (partly because there was no need to) but at this point you can do the math and come up with a nice +100 bonus. Not bad at 31st level.

Now for the moment of truth. We've been sitting at the table top for 25 minutes as I figure out how to boost this check every way immagineable and then add it all up. At this point it really doesnt matter what I roll right? My minimum is a 101 for this check, but I roll anyway.

And I sang the first thing that came to my head and it just to happened to be... THE BEST SONG IN THE WORLD.

At 31st level I achieved a 120 check on perform (singing). The Sultan was so impressed he gave us the gem so long as I signed a contract commiting 100 years of musical service to the Sultan upon completion of my mission. Probably the second easiest of all the gems we got.

 

[Corsair]

So you're saying numbers get big in Epic play?

 

[Asha'man]

Talk about raining on the parade...

Granted, you'd probably have to be there (I wasn't), but imagine the scene, both around the table and in character. You could say "Eh, high numbers don't make something cool", and on the face of it, I agree, but then, what's the difference between DC 20 and DC 35? They're both high. What's the difference between the Lord of Blades, 20th level Warblade with Weapon Supremacy, and a Fighter 4 with Weapon Specialization? They're both good with swords. High level characters are awesome, because they do awesome things. That's what "a DC 120 Perform check" means: This is the Best Song in the World. Nothing short of "Let there be light" bears comparison with it, and it will be remembered in the City of Brass until the stars turn cold.

The onus is, of course, on gamers to convey that in RP, and if there's no desire to consider what a result of "120" actually means in in-character terms, then of course, you're right. It's just an arbitrary, high number. But then you'd be better served playing E6, more likely.

Kudos to trimeulose, and may you find the Song! (It can't be far off. )