Epic & Keeping Balance

[warpmind]

In a few days the Epic Levels Handbook will be in our hands and all of us will devour its pages. New adventure ideas will flourish into our minds. But, could we handle such a powerful characters in our current campaigns? How will affect our adventures the introduction of Epic Level PCs and NPCs?

Most campaign settings (except, perhaps, FR) have an internal balace. I mean that D&D (and most settings developed for it, official or not) was initially designed for 1st to 20th level characters. The most powerful beings in a world are usually of between 15th and 25th level. What will you do when your PCs reach that level? Send them to other Planes?

I have had to handle with this problem in AD&D where information for playing Epic campaigns was little or nonexistent. There were some high-level adventures, but not much about their role in the world.

Surely the ELHB will give some answers, but I want if you have some ideas right now.

 

[Bob Aberton]

I know that in my campaign, if they get too disruptive, then either Merlin, the Lady of the Lake, or Ronetaig the dragon will come in and lay the smack-down on them.

Y'see, I have never statted out Merlin or the Lady of the Lake, so they can be whatever level I need them to be...

And the dragon is a super-minmaxed Great Wyrm (Perhaps with a template...)

No worries here...

 

[Psychotic Jim]

IIRC, there was an adventure issue of Dungeon a while back that dealt with the introduction of epic level characters into the game. Supposedly long ago, the gods sealed away the ability for mortals to become high level, and in the adventure, several high-level baddies had dipped themselves into this pool that allowed them to become epic-level or some such.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Most if it is going to depend on how epic the world is prior to the characters gaining said levels for themselves. In the FR, this is already in palce with numerous NPCs of said level. In another setting like Scarred Lands, they may not even be able to become Epic Level, based on what the GM feels that the gods would allow. After all, the Titans already made the mistake of letting their children get too powerful...

Campaigns cannot continue to escalate past their initial point without a really good GM or the campaign feeling like fake plastic . It's not like the real world where sciene is always advancing. There are only so many ways to hack and slay someone eh?

 

[warpmind]

I know this adventure Jim, but I'm talking about the trascendence that high-level characters can have in a campaign world which is designed to be inhabited by non-epic guys. How to handle with this.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I have a standing rule that says the NPCs advance one level for every three PC levels. That gives me time to plan out their development.

I think there are two ways around the epic problem in campaigns:

1) Take it to the planes. I'm pretty sure this is how that fine cinematic feature Mortal Combat addressed it. You can advance to wacky levels in the planes but in the Prime Material reality rears its ugly head (such as it exsits in magical worlds).

2) Epic people have always been there but they didn't have time to deal with you before. When you're fighting over the nature of reality do you really give a @#$^ what king is in charge of a kingdom? Its like the 17th level chracters passing by Keep on the Borderlands. Sure, they might know evil kobalds are afoot, but they can only be in so many places at once. You don't want to win a battle just to lose a war.

 

[Alcamtar]

Well, you could play in Mystara, which has tons of NPCs in the 25th-36th level range, including all the major villains and many good guys as well. (It's pretty well balanced between them.) Characters can ascend to immortality and become gods.

OTOH, the Mystara 3E conversion project has been working overtime to wuss-down the setting and convert all the characters down to 25th level max.

I think the best bet is to either add high level villains to FR, convert Mystara yourself, or roll up a homebrew setting. When your players outgrow the current setting, have the gods contact them: "We've been watching your careers with interest, for we have been waiting for mortals stong enough to undertake a certain task.."

Send them to another world which is being invaded and conquered by demons/monsters/evilgods. It is late in the war and all the weaker beings have already been killed off or enslaved; the surviving combatants are epic level. They have to turn the tide here, because if they don't, the invaders will target their homeworld next.

 

[Nightfall]

Well Joe, there is Yugman to consider...but he's kind of a wild card anyway.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

Or instead of bringing the characters to other planes, bring the other planes to the characters. Being epic-level tends to make one extremely famous, and with fame comes challengers. Perhaps other-worldy beings of immense power learn about the epic-level characters and decides to meet with them. Just be careful or the game might get "Dragon Ball Z Syndrome" .