Ending at level 21...

[Danzauker]

I'm loving what I'm hearing about the heroic/paragon/epic divisions so far. Every time I read about it, I can't help but think:

Heroic: Basic/Expert Set (1-14)
Paragon: Companion Set (15-25)
Epic: Master Set (26-36)

The focus and power level of each of the 4e tiers is strikingly similar to these BECMI counterparts.

Sweet memories...

Oh, well where's the bad in learning from the past, anyway?

If I REALLY had to be nitpicking, I'd say that Heroic -> Expert Set (3-14), since 4e starting characters seem to be a bit more powerful than BECMI 1st lev characters.

That leaves room for, what, maybe a basic introductory D&D 4e game?

 

[Magus Coeruleus]

I would like to adopt these levels instead of 10/20/30. I'm afraid in 4E you can reach paragon tier too rapidly.

Easy peasy. As Danzauker said, 4e level 1 is more powerful than previous editions' level 1 and could be thought of as level 4ish under BECMI, i.e. skipping Basic. The you have 4-14 (E), 15-25 (C), 26-36 (M), i.e. 11 levels of each. Whether it's 10 or 11 doesn't matter since you can just slow down advancement a bit; what's nice is you have equal number of levels in each ruleset. Of course, H-P-E doesn't correspond to E-C-M directly. For instance, you get stuff at Expert levels that in 4e won't come until Paragon, like easy access to Fly and Teleport. In any case, if the point is just that you want longer heroic play you can slow advancement either across the board or even just for Heroic levels if you want it to pick up in speed once you hit Paragon. Then again, given that BECMI Expert gives you things that 4e will make you wait for until Paragon, you may not need to slow down anything it all.

 

[med stud]

I will give a level 1 to level 30- campaign a shot. If my plans work out, that will be the mythological foundation for games to come. The ones finishing at level 30 will be major figures in how the campaign world will look for coming characters.

Ideally, it will be a series of campaigns, with a time jump between 50-150 years between each cycle of lvl 1 to lvl 30.

 

[Hairfoot]

D&D however has always been more "grounded" (for lack of a better term) to me. It's always been more about the plight of the above average "realistic" hero. It's Conan. Frodo. Aragorn. John Carter. Oh, sure, you may fight the minions of an evil god, legendary dragon, etc - even change the course of history. But battling the Gods and whatnot in D&D always has struck me as lame-o, Time of Troubles novel/12 year old munchkin type play.

I'd agree more, only my friends and relatives intervened to stop me wearing my skin-tight, "JeffB is right" costume.

 

[DeusExMachina]

I wasn't very interested in epic play in 3.5, but one of my players who also DM's a lot absolutely loves it. For that reason I like it that epic play is now part of the core books, so hopefully our next epic campaign won't be so horribly broken when it comes to the rules, because while the epic level handbook is interesting in scope, the math is so incredibly wrong...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I will give a level 1 to level 30- campaign a shot. If my plans work out, that will be the mythological foundation for games to come. The ones finishing at level 30 will be major figures in how the campaign world will look for coming characters.

Ideally, it will be a series of campaigns, with a time jump between 50-150 years between each cycle of lvl 1 to lvl 30.

I really liked the "Zeitgeist" article on the DDI. I feel that epic heroes might have a shot at setting the Zeitgeist...

 

[DandD]

Id' like to take everyone away from thinking of Epic is some form of Anime or extremity that has no grounds in reality.

Yes, Epic games will be fantastic in rules and mechanics, and in thematics if desired. However, not all epic games are going to be so fantastic that it's unbelievable. They provide the rules to battle the End of Baddies, but he could be a normal Joe just like the rest of us. He just happens to be made of win.

The White Wizard, Merlin, Gannondorf of Zelda, etc. There are many stories where epic battles are fought without raging demons, gods, spells of doom and whatnot.

The story is what you make of it. Don't let mechanics use you; use them as a basis for your story telling.

Yeah, I agree. You might now be able to emulate the fantastic mechanics of video games too.
Yeah, I belong to those people who like it that D&D 4th edition might become more "video-gamey".

 

[neceros]

Yeah, I agree. You might now be able to emulate the fantastic mechanics of video games too.
Yeah, I belong to those people who like it that D&D 4th edition might become more "video-gamey".

I don't care what it becomes as long as I'm able to use it in my stories effectively. Combat? Check. Dragons? Check. Dungeons? Check.

EVerything else is entirely up to the minds of it's users. Video Games have a strong hold for a reason: They work. Is 4e Like a video game? Who knows. Will it break everyone's ability to roleplay? Doubt it.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

What I like about the tiers is that it's a great way to set up a transition in tone for the game. Once the players reach 10th level or so, one could set up a transition in tone so that by the time the heroes reach 11, not only are they paragons, but the problems have become paragon in scope.

I don't think epic play has to involve a universe in peril. I think some extraplanar travel is a given, and certainly the stakes are higher. But destroying Hell and trashing gods need never come into play.

 

[Mercule]

I won't rule out Epic -- my current 3.5 campaign would make sense to include the Epic tier. That said, I don't expect to use it without having a specific plot arc in mind.