CapnZapp
Legend
“E6” was a rules idea for D&D 3rd Edition that saw a lot of traction. The idea was simple: after sixth level, you simply did not advance in levels anymore. More XP did give you minor boons, such as more feats, but nothing major.
The advantage was that heroes never lost touch with the “ordinary” world. While a sixth level character is powerful enough to beat a bunch of peasants or cut-throats, they’re not immune to low-level attacks. Besides, it can be argued that most heroes of legend (including fictional legend) are about sixth level, compared to “ordinary mortals”.
Now, in Fourth Edition, you can do the same, but there is one snag: powers. By sixth level, while you’ve amassed respectable defenses (AC, hit points and such), you really still have only a very few powers at your disposal. Thus, just adopting the E6 idea wholesale can become kind of dull in 4E.
But what if you gain powers up until double the level limit? That is, up until twelfth level. Instead of being stuck with “merely” two powers of each kind, you’d have up to four.
Also, let’s remember that we’re primarily concerned with defenses here. It is when defenses become too high you really are elevated above your peers. Not offenses. Having a deadly offense is, after all, commonplace in today’s society (I’m thinking of automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades here). So allowing for more and higher-leveled powers is much less disruptive than you might think. Besides, you’ll be surprised how damage scales much less with level in 4E than before.
Rather than merely suggesting you advance in powers beyond sixth level, however, I am putting forth a complete proposal, where advancement in powers occurs at double speed, interspersed with regular level advancement.
For my proposed solution, check out the PDF...
Read the rest (including a fully formatted table) in the attached PDF...
The advantage was that heroes never lost touch with the “ordinary” world. While a sixth level character is powerful enough to beat a bunch of peasants or cut-throats, they’re not immune to low-level attacks. Besides, it can be argued that most heroes of legend (including fictional legend) are about sixth level, compared to “ordinary mortals”.
Now, in Fourth Edition, you can do the same, but there is one snag: powers. By sixth level, while you’ve amassed respectable defenses (AC, hit points and such), you really still have only a very few powers at your disposal. Thus, just adopting the E6 idea wholesale can become kind of dull in 4E.
But what if you gain powers up until double the level limit? That is, up until twelfth level. Instead of being stuck with “merely” two powers of each kind, you’d have up to four.
Also, let’s remember that we’re primarily concerned with defenses here. It is when defenses become too high you really are elevated above your peers. Not offenses. Having a deadly offense is, after all, commonplace in today’s society (I’m thinking of automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades here). So allowing for more and higher-leveled powers is much less disruptive than you might think. Besides, you’ll be surprised how damage scales much less with level in 4E than before.
Rather than merely suggesting you advance in powers beyond sixth level, however, I am putting forth a complete proposal, where advancement in powers occurs at double speed, interspersed with regular level advancement.
For my proposed solution, check out the PDF...

Read the rest (including a fully formatted table) in the attached PDF...