Asisreo
Patron Badass
So there's a few discussions about playing high-level or perhaps running high-level, but I want to discuss the creation process from the DM's side about creating the high-level content through one-shots, adventures, monsters, encounters, or exploration.
This discussion can be advice, thoughts, opinions, comments, or just shared experiences.
I love high-level play as a DM because its where my imagination can go as far as I want and can come up with interesting challenges for my players.
For example, I am soon going to have my players attempt to fight an Adult Black Dragon alongside Black Puddings that ooze under its command in the lair as a one-shot. I have no clue exactly what characters they are going to bring but I have a few magic items like plate mail or acid resistance, arrows of dragon slaying, some good spell scrolls like 6th-level Protection from Energy and an 8th-level Cloud Kill, and quite a few potions.
The tricky thing, though, is that the lair is full of acidic lakes which the dragon swim in. The acidic lake heavily obscures whoever is in it and it does 10d10 damage per round to whoever is in it. Did I mention that the lair is actually located in the Plane of Water? Because it is and has various Antimagic and Wildmagic zones scattered about.
This is my definition of a cool adventure, at least in my mind, and its one of the reasons I absolutely adore high-level play. I didn't even get into the lore but perhaps that isn't necessarily limited in low level play anyways.
But I can put this type of challenge against my players and watch as they have to come up with a way to bypass the enemy's heavy defenses without worrying that this is a "guaranteed TPK." As long as the players are focused, I think they could surpass my challenge and we could have a another story we recount for months or even years.
This discussion can be advice, thoughts, opinions, comments, or just shared experiences.
I love high-level play as a DM because its where my imagination can go as far as I want and can come up with interesting challenges for my players.
For example, I am soon going to have my players attempt to fight an Adult Black Dragon alongside Black Puddings that ooze under its command in the lair as a one-shot. I have no clue exactly what characters they are going to bring but I have a few magic items like plate mail or acid resistance, arrows of dragon slaying, some good spell scrolls like 6th-level Protection from Energy and an 8th-level Cloud Kill, and quite a few potions.
The tricky thing, though, is that the lair is full of acidic lakes which the dragon swim in. The acidic lake heavily obscures whoever is in it and it does 10d10 damage per round to whoever is in it. Did I mention that the lair is actually located in the Plane of Water? Because it is and has various Antimagic and Wildmagic zones scattered about.
This is my definition of a cool adventure, at least in my mind, and its one of the reasons I absolutely adore high-level play. I didn't even get into the lore but perhaps that isn't necessarily limited in low level play anyways.
But I can put this type of challenge against my players and watch as they have to come up with a way to bypass the enemy's heavy defenses without worrying that this is a "guaranteed TPK." As long as the players are focused, I think they could surpass my challenge and we could have a another story we recount for months or even years.