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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheSword" data-source="post: 9793943" data-attributes="member: 6879661">I found one of my posts from a couple of years back about the Seven Maxims raised in AD&D’s High Level Campaigns accessory. It contained all sorts of weird and wonderful rules - 10th level magic etc. I still have my High Level Campaigns hardcover from AD&D. Ironically one of the few books i struggled to sell on eBay… I wonder why? Seven Maxims seems as relevant today as they did three decades ago.- Don’t Depend on the Dice (At high level and high stakes randomness becomes less and less satisfying this ties back to the point about not relying on combat and the previous point about saving throws. Losing a character to a single bad roll or even a couple is pretty frustrating. So instead depend on decisions. Give players choices and let that be what determines what happens next rather than just a die roll.- Intelligent Adversaries When you are running fights consider the opponent’s intelligence; review the creature’s weaknesses; review the creature’s strengths; prepare for defeat; minimise personal risks; don’t Fight Fair. It’s less about playing gimmicks though and more about making things surprising and unusual. The powerful villains either know about the PCs or are fast learners and take the PCs into account in their plans.- Control Magic Use magical items as foes, make magic tempting, remove unwanted magical items, challenge spell memorization and acquisition with timers and long rest interruptions or limitations, understand magic’s limitations and use them to create interesting challenges.- Be Aware of Demographics Understand the PCs place in the world. If high level characters are common then it’s one thing but they are likely not to be. [USER=7031143]@GuyBoy[/USER] told me a story of a campaign he was a player in where the prison guards were all 20th level spellcasters. Implausible and lazy. Breaks immersion and is the same school of management as ‘rocks fall you die’.- Think on an Epic Scale Heroes are not anonymous; heroes deserve heroic tasks that have reaching Impact. Kind of [USER=6790260]@EzekielRaiden[/USER] ’s point about statues of the PCs and them having fame and clout. Really lean into that. One of the things that makes John Wick awesome is that everyone knows him.- Plan Ahead Create villains who learn, have consequences, use fame and infamy, maintain the balancing act. Baldurs Gate series of CRPG have always been good at doing this with villains that are part of the local power structure and are equally known and respected by the PCs. Now killing the villain in their throne room may set the PCs against an entire community and leave them pariahs. - Share Responsibility Garner player interest, have players set goals, form allies and enemies, give all NPCs personality. To run HLC don’t be afraid to offload some of the world building to Players. They will care more about NPcs that they had a hand in bringing to life. Avoid DMPCs like the plague. Give stuff to players.Thought it was worth sharing these again.</blockquote>

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