Often, "high level adventure" seems to imply equally high stakes for the world. While I think the stakes should always matter to those involved in the adventure, I don't think the world needs a weekly threat of an extinction level event for high level D&D to be fun.
So let's brainstorm ideas for high level adventures that do not involve kingdoms, planets or planes getting crushed, or gods getting dethroned/killed and so on.
When I ran a 20th level test recently, I went with this: the newborn child of an Elf Lord and Lady was stolen by the Queen of the Winter Court to raise as a Winter Eladrin. The PCs (one of whom was sister to the Elf Lady) were tasked with going into the Feywild to retrieve the daughter and warn the Winter Queen off from further meddling. The stakes were certainly high for the Elf Lord and Lady (and by the extension the PCs), but the world would have not ended if the PCs failed. Yet it felt urgent and important nonetheless.
What high level adventures with non-world-shaking stakes have you devised or played in? What ideas do you have for such adventures?
Thanks.
So let's brainstorm ideas for high level adventures that do not involve kingdoms, planets or planes getting crushed, or gods getting dethroned/killed and so on.
When I ran a 20th level test recently, I went with this: the newborn child of an Elf Lord and Lady was stolen by the Queen of the Winter Court to raise as a Winter Eladrin. The PCs (one of whom was sister to the Elf Lady) were tasked with going into the Feywild to retrieve the daughter and warn the Winter Queen off from further meddling. The stakes were certainly high for the Elf Lord and Lady (and by the extension the PCs), but the world would have not ended if the PCs failed. Yet it felt urgent and important nonetheless.
What high level adventures with non-world-shaking stakes have you devised or played in? What ideas do you have for such adventures?
Thanks.