CRGreathouse
Community Supporter
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/er/er20020210a
Here are the new sections, as far as I can tell:
Q: Will the Epic Level Handbook include rules for mass combat?
A: No. That's a topic we briefly considered, but decided ultimately that such a topic deserved better coverage than a book like the Epic Level Handbook (which must, by necessity, focus on 21st- and higher level gaming) could provide.
Q: How powerful are epic-level characters compared to deities? Is there a point at which an epic-level character could expect to win a battle against a deity?
A: Strictly speaking, a deity is more powerful than an epic-level character of similar level/HD. That said, since there's no real limit to an epic-level character's power (except that which a DM may place in his campaign), then yes, eventually an epic-level character can expect to win battles against deities.
Q: Will there be rules for generating treasures and encounters above 20th level?
A: The Epic Level Handbook is designed to support a nigh-infinite range of levels. The book includes explicit guidelines for assigning XP and treasure rewards through at least 40th level, and shows the DM how to extrapolate beyond those numbers (if we went much farther than that, the book wouldn't have anything in it except enormous tables of numbers).
Q: Will NPC classes rise above 20th level?
A: No. By definition, the NPC classes found in the Dungeon Master's Guide (adept, aristocrat, commoner, expert, warrior) really aren't epic. If a 20th-level commoner (which seems a contradiction in terms already) wants to become epic, he'll just have to start gaining levels in a PC or prestige class.
Here are the new sections, as far as I can tell:
Q: Will the Epic Level Handbook include rules for mass combat?
A: No. That's a topic we briefly considered, but decided ultimately that such a topic deserved better coverage than a book like the Epic Level Handbook (which must, by necessity, focus on 21st- and higher level gaming) could provide.
Q: How powerful are epic-level characters compared to deities? Is there a point at which an epic-level character could expect to win a battle against a deity?
A: Strictly speaking, a deity is more powerful than an epic-level character of similar level/HD. That said, since there's no real limit to an epic-level character's power (except that which a DM may place in his campaign), then yes, eventually an epic-level character can expect to win battles against deities.
Q: Will there be rules for generating treasures and encounters above 20th level?
A: The Epic Level Handbook is designed to support a nigh-infinite range of levels. The book includes explicit guidelines for assigning XP and treasure rewards through at least 40th level, and shows the DM how to extrapolate beyond those numbers (if we went much farther than that, the book wouldn't have anything in it except enormous tables of numbers).
Q: Will NPC classes rise above 20th level?
A: No. By definition, the NPC classes found in the Dungeon Master's Guide (adept, aristocrat, commoner, expert, warrior) really aren't epic. If a 20th-level commoner (which seems a contradiction in terms already) wants to become epic, he'll just have to start gaining levels in a PC or prestige class.
