Is it harder to be a DM in a high-level campaign?
- Thread starter candidus_cogitens
- Start date
Toj
First Post
Teleport
A change we made to teleport was this:
Teleport is out.
Teleport without Error becomes the new "teleport"
You can only teleport to an area you have a rune marked too. A rune is made by casting Arcane Mark and inscribing the rune into some object (a staff, a book page, even your skin). You then cast your teleport spell, touch the rune, and you teleport to the location.
Teleportation Circle works the same way as teleport, but you open up a gate to the location.
I took this from the Ultima Online game and our group really likes the way it works.
A change we made to teleport was this:
Teleport is out.
Teleport without Error becomes the new "teleport"
You can only teleport to an area you have a rune marked too. A rune is made by casting Arcane Mark and inscribing the rune into some object (a staff, a book page, even your skin). You then cast your teleport spell, touch the rune, and you teleport to the location.
Teleportation Circle works the same way as teleport, but you open up a gate to the location.
I took this from the Ultima Online game and our group really likes the way it works.
RangerWickett
Legend
I once had a crash course on all the things you can do wrong in a high level adventure. The problem was, it was the ending to a long campaign, and my ineptitude rather ruined it.
First, be flexible. If the PCs want to summon a dozen water elementals to capsize an attacking warfleet, don't panic and have a kneejerk reaction to say that they can't do it. Sure, you want the invasion to take place so your PCs can't rely on their home base, but you need to accept that they won't just run away without a little fight. Realize that if the defenders have high-level spellcasters to summon elementals, the attacking army probably has a few too.
Also, consider their plan and decide how logical it is. The fleet's out in a large harbor, destroying local ships before they make their landing. The ships aren't all clustered together, so movement restrictions alone will prevent any given elemental from capsizing more than one or two enemy ships. Plus, unless the PCs want to teleport or fly out to fight the ships up close, their elementals won't reach it at all before the duration ends.
Second, don't screw with the players. I had a friend who tried to support my decisions by saying that whatever the GM says is okay, because of rule zero. So now, our group uses "to zero" as a verb that means to screw over or mess with people. Toward the end of my adventure, I got rushed for time and didn't properly plan a dungeon they were exploring, so to try to make it more difficult, I made it an antimagic area. The whole thing. Except for the magic traps. So yeah, the players got miffed.
If I could do it again, I know things would be much better. For one thing, I wouldn't try to run a game on the evening of the preshowing of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
First, be flexible. If the PCs want to summon a dozen water elementals to capsize an attacking warfleet, don't panic and have a kneejerk reaction to say that they can't do it. Sure, you want the invasion to take place so your PCs can't rely on their home base, but you need to accept that they won't just run away without a little fight. Realize that if the defenders have high-level spellcasters to summon elementals, the attacking army probably has a few too.
Also, consider their plan and decide how logical it is. The fleet's out in a large harbor, destroying local ships before they make their landing. The ships aren't all clustered together, so movement restrictions alone will prevent any given elemental from capsizing more than one or two enemy ships. Plus, unless the PCs want to teleport or fly out to fight the ships up close, their elementals won't reach it at all before the duration ends.
Second, don't screw with the players. I had a friend who tried to support my decisions by saying that whatever the GM says is okay, because of rule zero. So now, our group uses "to zero" as a verb that means to screw over or mess with people. Toward the end of my adventure, I got rushed for time and didn't properly plan a dungeon they were exploring, so to try to make it more difficult, I made it an antimagic area. The whole thing. Except for the magic traps. So yeah, the players got miffed.
If I could do it again, I know things would be much better. For one thing, I wouldn't try to run a game on the evening of the preshowing of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
RangerWickett
Legend
Lesse. My house rules regarding high-level games.
Like one person posted before, only outsiders and certain spells are Evil or Good and detect as such. For real people you have to rely on Sense Motive.
Time Stop allows you to cast multiple spells, but if more than one damaging spell effect goes off in the same area when time reverts to normal, damage doesn't stack. So you can Time Stop, fling 5 fireballs across the battlefield, and hurt a bunch of people at once, but if you cast 5 fireballs at one person, they'll only take 10d6 damage, not 50d6.
Like one person posted before, only outsiders and certain spells are Evil or Good and detect as such. For real people you have to rely on Sense Motive.
Time Stop allows you to cast multiple spells, but if more than one damaging spell effect goes off in the same area when time reverts to normal, damage doesn't stack. So you can Time Stop, fling 5 fireballs across the battlefield, and hurt a bunch of people at once, but if you cast 5 fireballs at one person, they'll only take 10d6 damage, not 50d6.
paqman
First Post
My experience as a DM and player
Hi all,
Here is my experience with high level campaings:
Lets say that in the past, when I was younger, I was highly fearful of high level campaings, bellow 10th level was okay for me, between 11 and 12th level was getting to much.
I think it was caused by my uncertainty of the world, what if the players could teleport anywhere, damn, that would be way out of control. But after some times, 10 years, I started to like DMing them, the Role playing gets to a higher level also. Now, one campaing we started in the end of the 80's, is nearing ECL25. The setting is about 4 or 5 game world plus Hell.
The players are Lawfull Evil, resourceful and driven to conquest with plans within plans within plans (A la dune). It is amazing and a blast to play.
The setting : Toril, Talada, Forge (oathbound), Hell, Kalamar once in a while and Ghelspad once in a while.
The Taladas world is slightly modified and Iuz is an important entity there.(We are actually ploting is destruction and one of Us will take over his territories once it is done). We have been preparing for this for a year now of real time. We are planting spies, making deals with city lords who are ruling cities under Iuz, scrying here and there (I play a diviner with Epic skill focus in scry for a 36 + d20 roll) so much fun, we also take turn DMing, I DM Toril, Ghelspad, Hell and the Forge while another friend deals with Taladas and another one with Kalamar. So we even have to DM our NPCs that deal between themselves.
GREAT FUN my friend, if you are able to improvise on this scale.
The Characters:
- A Half fiend (Demon) Sorceror 18 who is the son of a former Great lord of all the Lower planes combined (before the blood war) (He has a hell (hehe) of a bunch of demons, devils and yugoloth hunting him)
- A vampire wizard 18 / Cleric of Loviatar 1. He his the core of this campaing, that character started at level 1 in forgotten realms 20 years ago. So a lot of plotting, adventuring and diplomacy revolve around that character.
- A Wizard (Diviner) 17 / Fighter 1Elder Drow , my character. Yes yes, the typical player who decided to play a drow after having read too much Dritzz novels, but what can I say, I started that character when I was very young and I developed my own identity on this one (I fight with ONE sword,
). I am the resource finder, the hunter, the one who knows a lot on other.
- A Irda ogre Wizard 10. This one joined us about 3 years ago and all he wants is put is seed in as much many women as is possible because all his decendant gets is polymorph power and they are completelly obedient to him. He is experiencing a lot of coupling with all kind of diferent races and monsters to see the outcome
That is the core of the PCs, I don't know why I went to such explanations, must be the exitement that still got me after all those years....
Enjoy your game as much as you can, that's what I can say. If you want to limit the use of high level spells, go for it, but why do that, try to be imaginative and flow with the wind. As has been stated previously, it is easy for a high level character to cast non detection, hell, this is the first thing I do every morning (damn paranoid drow...). Then, have your master villains or hero make teleport redirect in a traped area. You will say how typical, yes!!!! this is high level magic playing, you would expect master villains/heroes to do so. They would be wrong not to. Can you imagine a governement agency or official building without cameras and all such items of protections? no, thats the same thing.
Hi all,
Here is my experience with high level campaings:
Lets say that in the past, when I was younger, I was highly fearful of high level campaings, bellow 10th level was okay for me, between 11 and 12th level was getting to much.
I think it was caused by my uncertainty of the world, what if the players could teleport anywhere, damn, that would be way out of control. But after some times, 10 years, I started to like DMing them, the Role playing gets to a higher level also. Now, one campaing we started in the end of the 80's, is nearing ECL25. The setting is about 4 or 5 game world plus Hell.
The players are Lawfull Evil, resourceful and driven to conquest with plans within plans within plans (A la dune). It is amazing and a blast to play.
The setting : Toril, Talada, Forge (oathbound), Hell, Kalamar once in a while and Ghelspad once in a while.
The Taladas world is slightly modified and Iuz is an important entity there.(We are actually ploting is destruction and one of Us will take over his territories once it is done). We have been preparing for this for a year now of real time. We are planting spies, making deals with city lords who are ruling cities under Iuz, scrying here and there (I play a diviner with Epic skill focus in scry for a 36 + d20 roll) so much fun, we also take turn DMing, I DM Toril, Ghelspad, Hell and the Forge while another friend deals with Taladas and another one with Kalamar. So we even have to DM our NPCs that deal between themselves.
GREAT FUN my friend, if you are able to improvise on this scale.
The Characters:
- A Half fiend (Demon) Sorceror 18 who is the son of a former Great lord of all the Lower planes combined (before the blood war) (He has a hell (hehe) of a bunch of demons, devils and yugoloth hunting him)
- A vampire wizard 18 / Cleric of Loviatar 1. He his the core of this campaing, that character started at level 1 in forgotten realms 20 years ago. So a lot of plotting, adventuring and diplomacy revolve around that character.
- A Wizard (Diviner) 17 / Fighter 1Elder Drow , my character. Yes yes, the typical player who decided to play a drow after having read too much Dritzz novels, but what can I say, I started that character when I was very young and I developed my own identity on this one (I fight with ONE sword,
). I am the resource finder, the hunter, the one who knows a lot on other.- A Irda ogre Wizard 10. This one joined us about 3 years ago and all he wants is put is seed in as much many women as is possible because all his decendant gets is polymorph power and they are completelly obedient to him. He is experiencing a lot of coupling with all kind of diferent races and monsters to see the outcome
That is the core of the PCs, I don't know why I went to such explanations, must be the exitement that still got me after all those years....
Enjoy your game as much as you can, that's what I can say. If you want to limit the use of high level spells, go for it, but why do that, try to be imaginative and flow with the wind. As has been stated previously, it is easy for a high level character to cast non detection, hell, this is the first thing I do every morning (damn paranoid drow...). Then, have your master villains or hero make teleport redirect in a traped area. You will say how typical, yes!!!! this is high level magic playing, you would expect master villains/heroes to do so. They would be wrong not to. Can you imagine a governement agency or official building without cameras and all such items of protections? no, thats the same thing.
Last edited:
Tzarevitch
First Post
arnwyn said:
Actually, Rope Trick is easily found by a mid-level cleric using a Divination spell to get a general location. Find the Path is even better.
If any enemy spellcasters have the Transdimensional Spell feat from the Unapproachable East, then they can bombard them INSIDE the pocket dimension.
Tzarevitch
Similar Threads
