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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ruleslawyer" data-source="post: 1313067" data-attributes="member: 1757">Superhero comics.To be honest, there is no comparison in heroic fantasy literature to REALLY high-level play using the core rules, simply because of the ability that high-level characters have to do practically... well, anything. Conan is really, really tough; maybe even tough enough to imitate the combat options available to, say, a 14th-level fighter/barbarian/rogue. But, with no magic items and no buff capability, he's not really the equal of a D&D fighter, who can have magically-enhanced superstrength, enough hit points to wade through a legion of lesser foes, flying, elemental resistances, and a vast slew of abilities. A better comparison might be:The Justice League of America: Batman can use his skills (epic Hide and Move Silently checks, anyone?) and custom equipment (magic items) to avoid super-hearing (JLA #1, Morrison run), Martian super-senses (#2-3, same) and cower crazy alien criminals into submission. The team can teleport to practically any known location, discern faraway problems using the technology of the Watchtower and certain members' super-senses ("divination spells") and can travel to far realms of existence and battle previously-unknown alien threats.  The teams's allies include legions of ocean wildlife, super-powered Amazon warriors, lesser magicians, and other useful cohorts. Sound like a D&D party to you?There are certainly fantasy literary parallels that could only suggest high-level gaming, but they involve some serious restrictions on the range of magical options available to the characters therein. For example, Elric of Melnibone certainly fits the description of a high- or epic-level D&D character: Artifact-level god-slaying sword, near-invulnerable armor, planar travel abilities, the power to summon incredibly powerful fiends and animal spirits, and a vast range of minor magical talents. But, he lacks quite the same range of powers. That's the trick, really, and why you need to twist your gaming style a few degrees from the fantasy mold in order to adequately anticipate design challenges.</blockquote>

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