E6: The Game Inside D&D (with PDFs!)

[Kunimatyu]

From EN Worlds own D&D 4th Edition News Page:

"The very first thing they said to me was that the core rulebooks will span levels 1-30. Not only that, but those levels are supposed to extend the "sweet spot" of D&D, which WotC guesstimated at currently being levels 4-14ish."

This is why I want to see E6 to continue to evolve and be play tested. This isn't where my taste and style of play line up. I find that things get increasingly silly and cumbersome at levels greater than 10. I'd guess that a lot of the folks here who like the E6 model would agree with that statement.

Ryan- Your work is far from done...

My fear is that just as what happened when 3.5 was announced, the announcement of 4th edition has taken the wind out the sails of anybody trying to do anything different. Let's keep this E6 thing rolling. I'm getting ready to playtest a new campaign. I'm interested in how the existing playtests have worked. Let's hear some feedback!!

I'm planning my campaign, which should kick off mid-September; it's using the Sorceror supplement Dictionary of Mu, retooled a bit for D&D. It's going to be nine kinds of pulp awesome!

 

[Ry]

I am running a weekly E6 game as well, though I expect I'll switch to an E6 version of 4e when it comes out.

 

[F4NBOY]

Is 4E10 a possibility?

 

[Ry]

Definitely a possibility. Of course, I'll have to see it first.

 

[Elergan]

Hi,
I have been looking for various ways of solving the very same problem of heroism vs superheroism for quite a long time, being totally fed up since a recent game with my 15th level players...
You have exactly pondered the same issues but you have managed to reach a conclusion I haven't (I've been browsing through a lot of OGL products like A Game of Thrones, Black Company, True 20...): instead of curbing the level progression or adding new rules (like hit points/wound points, etc) why not stop the level increase ?

Wonderful and so elegant and simple !
I'm looking forward to tweaking my group and implement the E6 rules. I'm running a Forgotten realms campaign using Red Hand of Doom with a group having just reached 8th level, so I guess it won't be that much of a hassle to retroadapt them into 6th level + 2 feats...
It seems it would also be a perfect system for such a low-magic/low-monster environment as Midnight.

A question comes to my mind, though...
In E6, how would an archvillain (say an archmage or a lich, since in the Realms you can't throw a dead goblin without hitting one ) translate into E6 stats ?
What would make him so deadly (as far as magic is concerned, since 6th level heroes have the same type of spells ) ?
By giving him feats allowing for more spell pe day ?
By giving him Incantations prepared in advance for magical protections and boosts ?

Anyway...your system is by far the one to solve all the problems I had with D&D...

(and by the way, I apologize for any mispelling or syntax error, being a French DM...Excuse my French as the saying goes... )

 

[Kunimatyu]

So, the question is, what would make an archmage or a lich a capable foe in E6?

First off, for a lich, the DR, fear aura, and paralyzing touch really help, but that's not really answering the question.

The way to make a memorable magic-user final battle is to give them a number of extra slots, Arcane Thesis(PHB2) for their signature spells, and then some Swift Metamagic feats(you'll find that feat on the first page of this thread) to customize their spells. Between their extra spells, their metamagicked spells, and some sort of powerful magical bodyguard, you'll have a memorable encounter. A few Toughness feats might also help with their survivability, so that they have HP over 50.

 

[Elergan]

Okay, I see...so basically, he will fight the PCs with the same spells, although these will be metamagicked and he will be able to cast more of them...

 

[Ry]

Welcome to ENWorld, Elergan!

Kunimatyu is pointing you in the right direction. For those kinds of opponents I like to lay a lot of feats on, and with that you can really get the punch of a lich with a 6th-level sorcerer/wizard in an E6 universe.

 

[Elergan]

Merci, Ryan, and keep up the good work !!
Imagine that, your masterpiece has crossed an ocean (well I guess it didn't need me to do so )...next step, transplanar game...

 

[Will]

Been away for a while, just twigged to this thread and only read a few pages, so apologies if mentioned already...

I've been having a REALLY enjoyable time playing in a gestalt campaign. What do people think of gestalt E6?

Seems to offer a decent flexibility and breadth without running into the usual power issues, bumps the effective CR range by 1 or so.