Recent content by RainOnTheSun

It's not about notoriety, it's about how exceptional their abilities are. Nobody's heard of Buffy in-world, but she's superhumanly strong and skilled, so when something dangerous is going on, she's the one who has to handle it. Her role in the show would be different if there were a few dozen...

I think a lot of settings could benefit from just a short sidebar about what a 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. level character means in that setting.

Much more than any specific adventure from Ed Greenwood (which I admit I would have very little confidence in from prior experiences), I would be very interested in a book or mini-book about what he sees as the role of PCs at different levels in his world. Maybe with examples of things PCs might...

I just wanted to say that a psionic fairy sage would make an awesome bodyguard. If I have an audience with the Baron and he walks in with a sprite on his shoulder, I'm paying attention to that guy! He is important! I don't want him sending miniaturized telepathic hit men after me! But, no way...

Oh. Well... good! Glad to see WotC is taking my advice.

In a setting book, rather than actual adventures, I think lore reasons/opportunities for high-level adventures would be easier to write and more useful at the same time. An author who's never heard of you can't predict the specific crazy abilities of your party, but they can go "a lich in...

I have to admit, Faerun is the last place I'd expect to have a lack of high level adventures. I understand that there have been efforts to change it, but I still feel like the authentic Forgotten Realms is the Ed Greenwood "every inn has an archmage, every town guard is a fourth level fighter" one.

Look, rent prices in Union are going up and all those 20th level guards have to move somewhere.

Honestly, this is 95% of railroading to me. Rails aren't a natural feature of the landscape, after all. They're put in place because trains are too clumsy to go anywhere else. Railroading is when the GMing is so clumsy (or uncaring) that it becomes obvious that things are only happening to...

"Most of my hair has already sailed into the west..."

PCs don't have to start out exceptional, but it makes it a lot easier to explain why they're going on an adventure in the first place. If they're being hired by some kind of patron, it stands to reason that the patron will seek out the most qualified people they can afford, and if they're...

It seems to me that your problem is the religious overtone, and there doesn't seem to be anything in the mechanics that would break down if you just took that out. Take the religion out of clerics, too, while you're at it, and leave the mechanical parts as they are. You'll have to invent a new...

Which made the jump from strength 18 to strength 19 absolutely hilarious.

To me, the difference is that spending money on training is still very utilitarian, and a character who only spends money on strictly utilitarian things can feel more like a drone the player pilots than a person. I like mechanics that incentivize PCs doing things people would do, because they...

It might be worthwhile to mimic the way Final Fantasy XV did level-ups: your experience points didn't really "count" until you cashed them in by resting for the night, and spending money to go to a fancy hotel instead of camping outdoors gave you a multiplier. In other words, the more money you...