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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zad" data-source="post: 3637276" data-attributes="member: 90">I think there's something of an irrational fear of "higher" level games out there. Exactly what "higher" means varies from person to person. For instance, I'd call 9-12 mid level personally.I'm not a DM but have played in some longstanding campaigns (see sig for story hour links) including one six year number that started at level 1 and went to epic levels. Here's some of my initial thoughts:First, your PCs are getting a little more power. That's just fine - don't be scared of it. Fighters are going to start getting lucky and laying down powerful attack sequences. Spells start flying, and things generally can get a bit more extreme. Don't be afraid of it. Some DM's or some modules respond to this by neutralizing some of the more powerful options - like traveling to a plane where no spell over 3rd level works, etc. Don't do this - all you're doing is making your players feel weak and denied. You just have to be more ready for it.One foe is generally easier for PCs to deal with than lots of foes. For one big dragon, you can concentrate your fire. For lots of giants, it gets a little harder.Personally, spell-like abilities scare me a lot - save-or-die stuff espcially. Anyone can roll a 1. You can use this carefully to create some fear and hence excitement.Roll with it - just like at lower levels, if the PCs use some ability and come up with a brilliant counter to the whole module you wrote, then good for them. Roll with it rather than looking for ways to shut them down.Divinations - they become a more significant part of a game starting at these levels. And they can seem powerful. But the problem is knowing the right questions to ask, and often the PCs won't know that. BBEGs will not disclose their entire evil plan to a low-level lacky, so interrogating him won't help much. They use buffers, go-betweens, and minions both knowing and unknowing. All of this can help confound divination attempts. And there are several readily available countermeasures which smart bad-guys will use.Be ready to let the little things go. When the party gets to 10th level, it's probably time to stop asking "So how are you going to light the torch?" We call these "torch-lighting issues" in honor of Wulf Ratbane's game/group. It's things that just aren't as important any more. Some routine travel can be hand-waved, and other little things like that. There are new concerns to replace it trust me. At the late teens with teleportation etc. you can begin to hand-wave travel to known destinations almost entirely.PCs are better, but so are the bad guys. They're going to have counters to common things like invisibility, and so on. Don't be afraid to use them but not so much they completely negate the value of the spell/item/whatever.Lastly, as PCs gain levels, you want them to feel more powerful. A big part has nothing to do with spells and feats but is about how they are treated by the people in your world. They should be shown respect by more people. They get included, told more, etc. They are asked to do something, rather than ordered. Treating them as persons of note will enhance the achievement that they feel.That's really the tip of the iceberg - I think I had some other stuff at the end of our completed story hour. Hope it helps.</blockquote>

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