Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 8456027" data-attributes="member: 59082">My issue with E6 is that reduces the satisfaction of potentially leveling up 19 times to just 5 and, let's face it, for many/most, leveling up is a major element of fun in D&D.I was just thinking about this while re-watching (again) the Lord of the Rings films. While the Fellowship (aside from the hobbits) are rather heroic and would be the equivalent of high level in Middle-earth, as Ryan Stoughton said, they probably max out around 5th level in D&D terms (maybe a tad higher in 5E...I'm thinking Gandalf might be a F5/W3, Aragorn a F4/R3, Legolas a F4/R2, Gimli and Boromir F5...or something like that).This is illustrated in the fight with the cave troll, which is probably equivalent to a hill giant - a CR 5 creature. They dispatched it without significant damage, but it wasn't easy.It isn't just LotR, either. Most epic fantasy--whether of film or literature--doesn't have the power range of D&D characters, which at higher levels are more like MCU/DEU characters. The battle in Batman v Superman vs Doomsday isn't that different from high level D&D characters facing a Tarrasque.So for me, the question would be: how to keep lots of levels, but bring the power level down to more traditional fantasy levels? Not necessarily low fantasy or hyper-realistic Medieval fantasy, but at least what we see and read in most epic fantasy. I also like the idea of the option for super-heroic characters, sort of like the various demi-gods of the Malazan world: Anomander Rake, Caladan Brood, Icarium, etc, all of whom would be 20th+ level in D&D. So for me, the ideal D&D would have 20 levels that are similar to 5E's levels 1-10 or 12, and then extra "epic" levels that bring the game towards superheroism. I suppose it would be easier to cap at 10, with levels 11-15 being "epic" and 16-20 being "legendary," or some such. Maybe some special quest is needed to "unlock" those higher levels.Another element is the nature of combat in D&D, particularly HP as an abstraction. A more traditional fantasy would involve taking a wound being far more significant. I've never loved the fact that in D&D you can go from, say, 100 HP down to 5, and still be operating at full steam. Or that when you have 100 HP and someone hits you with a battleaxe, you say "ouch, I guess," and then keep going. So a more realistic approach--and one that drives with cinematic and literary fantasy--would probably involve separating AC into two components: Defense and Damage Reduction, with the former being a generally higher value that current AC, and the latter being specific to armor (natural or not) and magic. Then HP would be greatly reduced and not go up with level, except for maybe an increase in CON. Maybe something like Base Racial HP (6-12) + CON bonus + Class bonus X size modifier. So you'd roll to hit Defense, which is generally higher than AC, and then if you score a hit, DR is subtracted. Makes a lot more sense and isn't that much more complicated. Character death wouldn't necessarily be more common, but getting hit would be more meaningful.On the other hand, D&D is D&D and works just fine. But the above is the sort of thing I would have liked to see incorporated as a "modular option" the once-promised version of 5E.</blockquote>

Verification