D&D 5E (2014) Looking for Campaigns for 14+ level PCs

[S'mon]

I'm not insisting that it's "not possible" to run a fun level 14 campaign. I'm saying it has a different format, and in particular, I'm suggesting the OP's request for "sidequests" is difficult to fulfil.

Whether of not a high level game is fun or not depends on what you like.

I'm saying the format of some of my (very popular) high level campaigns is of the kind you say is not possible.

An RPG session 'side quest' can involve major opposition, but it's not the main point of the campaign and it's usually short. Look at eg the high level Delves in 4e's Dungeon Delve.

 

[FXR]

I actually wrote a little mini campaign to take my PCs from 15th to 20th after Rise of Tiamat. I have a very rough draft that I kept meaning to eventually turn into something that I could put up on dmsguild but never got around to it. It does play into some of the storylines in HotDQ and RoT. If you are interested send me a message and I will share.

I think others would be interested. I would really like to read your ideas.

 

[Eric V]

A few demons or devils can easily provide a challenge. Bounded Accuracy means that a few (eg) Nalfeshnee can easily challenge high level PCs without being a world-ending threat.

Really? The Banishment spell really ruins that situation for me... :/

 

[Eric V]

I’ve actually found that increasing damage and increasing hp is the way to go. Basically augmented versions (made by evil wizards or corrupt energies)

Then they are not really CR 3 anymore though, right?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's the way to go; I'm just sympathizing with Paul about how BA doesn't really work as presented...or, it does, but having a ton-load of low CR mooks hoping to roll 19 or 20 really slows the game down.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Really? The Banishment spell really ruins that situation for me... :/

Which is the problem referenced earlier. You would need to design an encounter very differently depending on if the party had access to Banishment or not. Same for half a dozen other spells that are capable of turning an impossible encounter into a trivial encounter if the party has them.

 

[Eric V]

Which is the problem referenced earlier. You would need to design an encounter very differently depending on if the party had access to Banishment or not. Same for half a dozen other spells that are capable of turning an impossible encounter into a trivial encounter if the party has them.

Like when I had a really powerful necromancer villain but two of the party spellcasters had counterspell... double :/

 

[Reynard]

Really? The Banishment spell really ruins that situation for me... :/

Banishment is a Concentration spell, it allows a saving throw and it requires casting at a decent level to get a good number of them. Generally though I would use more fiends of lower CR to avoid a one spell encounter end.

 

[Reynard]

Which is the problem referenced earlier. You would need to design an encounter very differently depending on if the party had access to Banishment or not. Same for half a dozen other spells that are capable of turning an impossible encounter into a trivial encounter if the party has them.

You get a lot of mileage out of varying your enemy types in a single encounter. Having more, more varied enemies allows you to make fights interesting without having to specifically plan for every spell the wizard has. You can't counterspell a great axe.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You get a lot of mileage out of varying your enemy types in a single encounter. Having more, more varied enemies allows you to make fights interesting without having to specifically plan for every spell the wizard has. You can't counterspell a great axe.

It also makes the fights slower and harder to keep track of when you have half-a-dozen stat blocks to keep track of.

 

[Eric V]

Banishment is a Concentration spell, it allows a saving throw and it requires casting at a decent level to get a good number of them. Generally though I would use more fiends of lower CR to avoid a one spell encounter end.

No, I know what Banishment does, believe me. So do my players, who protect the Banish-er with greater ferocity than they would for any princess!

Casting it at 5th level gets 2 targets, which is more than enough. A random Hard encounter for 4 17th level PCs would be 2 Barbed Devils, 1 Chain Devil, and 1 Bone Devil. The last two get banished, leaving only the Barbed Devils, who are now easily dispatched.

So, yeah, a bunch of lower level fiends would make more sense...but then you're going through the motions of lots of attacks that are destined to miss, which isn't terribly exciting (at least in my group, the players hate facing hordes, even though they love fireball).