DM Fun

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

In the long, involved, convoluted storyline in my homebrew campaign setting, I finally ran into a little trouble.
See, everyone has known for the last three years that the End of the 5th Age is coming. They know that it is the End of the Immortals.
They've found out how it happens, they have found out what happens, and who does it.
Now the players and the PC's are approaching the last 3 years with courage, even though they realize that they have little chance of surviving. They are still doing their best to ensure that if they do not survive, they still can ensure that some form of civilization does.
The mage is researching magical crystals and ways to put objects in a near-indestructable stasis.
Clerics are gathing together groups of people, preparing them for the coming apacolypse.
Fighters are organizing resistance, and ensuring that some people can survive against what is coming.
Roques are still looking for the best way to survive, and working with the mages to appropriate resources needed. One particulalry brutal 1/2 orc rogue is busy ferretting out other people's survival plans, and ensuring that if he does not survive, these other high-powered creatures and beings will not.
Sure, it's Epic gaming at it's best, and most of the PC's are converted 2E characters that everyone has had for years, but it's fun.

Now, to my problem.
The party is making vast changes on the way things will turn out, making it so that it will no longer be a hell-world, and ensuring the elimination of many beings who would have survived and twisted everything up.
They are acting as true heroes, doing what must be done, and caring more for those who will survive (part of the End of Age will cause everyone above 5th level to be obliterated) than their own legacies.

What kind of reward should I pass to the PC's when it is all over. When everyone writes up new PC's, what kind of benifits should I give the players. They are voluntarily sacrificing thier PC's, and insist on playing it out to the hilt, all the way to the Final Dawn.
They all want to start at first level, and I honestly can't figure out good rewards for losing Epic level characters

Any ideas?

 

[Crothian]

Creat a new series of feats and give each one as a bonus at first level. The feats will be based on past heroes and it will havea minor portion of their power in it. Come up with a game mechanic way to show what trhe concept of the character was.

 

[alsih2o]

let each p.c. give an object via handout or time capsule to their new p.c......

 

[Rune]

Create ancestor feats based on the characters. These need not be so powerful that level 1 characters shouldn't start out with them. Furthermore, the ancestor characters need not have actually produced offspring. There may be other ways of becoming ancestors to later characters, such as spiritual attatchment, or somesuch.

Anyway, I commend the players for wanting to see this through to the end; that's what epic really means!

[edit-- looks like Crothian suggested something quite similar. Guess I should have read more carefully ]

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

You know, the feats idea is pretty cool. Reminds me of the feats in Oriental Adventures.
Since we all agreed to pick up the campaign 3-500 years after Final Dawn, then perhaps these feats are the way to go. Stasis items around that everybody wants, relics of these PC's legacies out there.
It might be fun for a sorcerer to take a "Blood of Azela" feat, which grants them cool magical bonuses, or for the rogue in the party to find Ash's blade, Ribslider. It'll really give the players a connection, and continue the continuity feeling the game has.

 

[Shiv]

Beyond the various character reward ideas, don't forget to reward the players.

Turn their characters into the stuff of legends. Towns, Cities, maybe even Kingdoms named after them. Orders, Societies, Colleges, etc. named after them as appropriate. The greatest bards of this new world all know "The Ballad of the Fallen Saviors" (or whatever you decide to call it). Monuments. Shrines. Perhaps Demi-god status for those whom it would fit.

If these characters truly are saving the world from certain doom, make them an integral part of the new world they're ushering in.

Sounds like a spectacular campaign. Keep us apprised as to how it all ends.

 

[the Jester]

Sounds like awesome amounts of fun!

I suggest that you leave the new pcs alone. Reward the players, not the new characters who have nothing to do with the old ones. Like Shiv said, name towns after them.

I like the ancestor feat idea a lot, too (again, I dig OA). But don't tailor it too strongly to the new pcs or you may find that your group is stuck in the past, so to speak. New characters should be allowed to make their own mark.

IMHO, of course.

 

[phoamslinger]

I wouldn't give them anything.

But I would write up a legend of their legendary ancestors with perhaps a not too difficult quest to put some of their old characters choice possesions (destined to fall ) into their hands.

 

[Conaill]

Have them be remembered

 

[Radiating Gnome]

Heck, have them worshipped. They could have become minor dieties, with an interest in what comes after -- they might even become patrons of the new adventurers.

-rg