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<blockquote data-quote="Jack Daniel" data-source="post: 4644450" data-attributes="member: 694"><p>The rulebook says that with an ordinary party of six players, playing once a week, it should take about five years. This campaign has had two PCs, playing two to three times a week, so it's only taken us about two years or so to get this far.</p><p></p><p>As to what's going to happen next, well, I'll post the next section of the story once the players have completed another adventure. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> Meanwhile, here's how I'm going to handle the game rules (for those readers who are somewhat familiar with OD&D and might be interested):</p><p></p><p>==========</p><p>Warning! Crunchy rules ahead!</p><p> </p><p>There are two sets of rules for carrying an OD&D game above the 36th experience level. The first is the Immortals Set (1985); the second is a revised set of rules, the Wrath of the Immortals (1992). Both versions of the rules involve a transition from mortal, adventuring PCs to godlike, immortal PCs who concern themselves with creating their own demiplanes, drawing power from worshipers, increasing their divine power levels, and ascending through the hierarchy of immortal beings. Above all, immortals cannot interfere in the mortal realm unless they descend and take mortal form.</p><p></p><p>This is a very different sort of game from traditional, adventure-based D&D, and not exactly appropriate in either scope or tone to a gaslight/steampunk world. The characters can become immortal, and they can ascend into the heavens, but they will not be gods. Instead, the game will shift in tone and setting from gaslight fantasy to science fantasy, and it will take place in the galaxy at large, with the characters travelling from system to system via steamtech spacecraft.</p><p></p><p>In OD&D, once characters pass name level (9th level), they stop rolling hit dice, and they instead gain only +1 or +2 hit points per level. Fighters, thieves, and monks get +2 hit points per level; clerics and magic-users (and, in my world, technologists) get +1 hit point per level. The amount of experience to gain a level is fixed from 8th level onward: either 100,000 XP (cleric or tech), 120,000 XP (fighter or thief), or 150,000 XP (mage or monk). Under the ordinary rules, demihumans are usually limited to 8th-12th level, but as a house rule, I allow demihumans to advance all the way to 36th level, albeit at a -20% XP penalty to keep them balanced with humans.</p><p></p><p>For my system, I have had to create a set of rules for "epic level advancement." The rules are very similar to the makeshift epic rules outlined in the old 3.0 FRCS, before the 3e Epic Level Handbook came out: characters gain special "epic levels" (or, in a terminology more befitting OD&D, "epic ranks") that come with minor, fixed benefits. Above 36th level, characters no longer improve attacks, saves, class abilities, or spells. Other qualities can improve at certain intervals.</p><p></p><p>Upon reaching 36th level, characters no longer earn any experience points. Instead, advancement shifts to achievement points (APs). Characters earn APs for winning battles (1 AP is earned for every 10 monster hit dice defeated), overcoming challenges, and achieving important story goals. An epic rank is earned at every 100 APs (this scale makes it very easy for the DM to ad-hoc AP awards, since APs always represent a percentage of the next level-up). At this level, demihuman abilities are fairly minor, and demihumans are going to be six or more experience levels behind humans already, so there is no demihuman penalty or limit to APs earned.</p><p></p><p>Each epic rank comes with an increase in hit points (+1 hp per epic rank), and a particular benefit that cycles <em>ad infinitum</em> until that particular quality or set of qualities is maxed out. The benefits are as follows:</p><p></p><p>[code]AP Total Epic Rank</p><p>0 O (36th experience level)</p><p>100 I (+1 hit point, +1 skill slot)</p><p>200 II (+1 hit point, +1 to weapon damage rolls)</p><p>300 III (+1 hit point, +1 skill slot)</p><p>400 IV (+1 hit point, +1 to any ability score)</p><p>500 V (+1 hit point, +1 skill slot)</p><p>600 VI (+1 hit point, +1 to weapon damage rolls)</p><p>700 VII (+1 hit point, +1 skill slot)</p><p>800 VIII (+1 hit point, +1 to an ability score)</p><p>etc. Lather, rinse, repeat[/code]</p><p></p><p>Basically, a new skill is earned at every odd-numbered epic rank, until a character can't possibly learn any new skills. At every even-numbered epic rank, a character either adds a +1 bonus to weapon damage, until a maximum bonus of +15 is reached; or the character increases one ability score, until all scores reach the maximum of 25 (the adjustment for a score above 18 is the score itself minus 15, so an ability of 25 is a +10 bonus). At every single level, a hit point is gained, until the character reaches the absolute maximum of 999 hp. If and when all of these qualities are ever completely maxed out, the character can earn no more AP, and <em>then</em> ascension to godhood and character retirement are the only options for further advancement.</p><p> </p><p>One particular magical item in the game, <em>elixir of immortality,</em> can render a character unkillable. This does not make the character godly or invulnerable. Instead, it merely means that a character reduced to 0 hp does not die for any reason. A character with 0 hp, even an immortal one, is unconscious and incapacitated, and cannot fight until he heals again, but he cannot be killed. He could be sealed, bound, trapped, or even cut up into little bits and scattered to the winds for millennia… but never killed. Eventually, the character can recover from any wound, no matter how severe, through natural healing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jack Daniel, post: 4644450, member: 694"] The rulebook says that with an ordinary party of six players, playing once a week, it should take about five years. This campaign has had two PCs, playing two to three times a week, so it's only taken us about two years or so to get this far. As to what's going to happen next, well, I'll post the next section of the story once the players have completed another adventure. :) Meanwhile, here's how I'm going to handle the game rules (for those readers who are somewhat familiar with OD&D and might be interested): ========== Warning! Crunchy rules ahead! There are two sets of rules for carrying an OD&D game above the 36th experience level. The first is the Immortals Set (1985); the second is a revised set of rules, the Wrath of the Immortals (1992). Both versions of the rules involve a transition from mortal, adventuring PCs to godlike, immortal PCs who concern themselves with creating their own demiplanes, drawing power from worshipers, increasing their divine power levels, and ascending through the hierarchy of immortal beings. Above all, immortals cannot interfere in the mortal realm unless they descend and take mortal form. This is a very different sort of game from traditional, adventure-based D&D, and not exactly appropriate in either scope or tone to a gaslight/steampunk world. The characters can become immortal, and they can ascend into the heavens, but they will not be gods. Instead, the game will shift in tone and setting from gaslight fantasy to science fantasy, and it will take place in the galaxy at large, with the characters travelling from system to system via steamtech spacecraft. In OD&D, once characters pass name level (9th level), they stop rolling hit dice, and they instead gain only +1 or +2 hit points per level. Fighters, thieves, and monks get +2 hit points per level; clerics and magic-users (and, in my world, technologists) get +1 hit point per level. The amount of experience to gain a level is fixed from 8th level onward: either 100,000 XP (cleric or tech), 120,000 XP (fighter or thief), or 150,000 XP (mage or monk). Under the ordinary rules, demihumans are usually limited to 8th-12th level, but as a house rule, I allow demihumans to advance all the way to 36th level, albeit at a -20% XP penalty to keep them balanced with humans. For my system, I have had to create a set of rules for "epic level advancement." The rules are very similar to the makeshift epic rules outlined in the old 3.0 FRCS, before the 3e Epic Level Handbook came out: characters gain special "epic levels" (or, in a terminology more befitting OD&D, "epic ranks") that come with minor, fixed benefits. Above 36th level, characters no longer improve attacks, saves, class abilities, or spells. Other qualities can improve at certain intervals. Upon reaching 36th level, characters no longer earn any experience points. Instead, advancement shifts to achievement points (APs). Characters earn APs for winning battles (1 AP is earned for every 10 monster hit dice defeated), overcoming challenges, and achieving important story goals. An epic rank is earned at every 100 APs (this scale makes it very easy for the DM to ad-hoc AP awards, since APs always represent a percentage of the next level-up). At this level, demihuman abilities are fairly minor, and demihumans are going to be six or more experience levels behind humans already, so there is no demihuman penalty or limit to APs earned. Each epic rank comes with an increase in hit points (+1 hp per epic rank), and a particular benefit that cycles [I]ad infinitum[/I] until that particular quality or set of qualities is maxed out. The benefits are as follows: [code]AP Total Epic Rank 0 O (36th experience level) 100 I (+1 hit point, +1 skill slot) 200 II (+1 hit point, +1 to weapon damage rolls) 300 III (+1 hit point, +1 skill slot) 400 IV (+1 hit point, +1 to any ability score) 500 V (+1 hit point, +1 skill slot) 600 VI (+1 hit point, +1 to weapon damage rolls) 700 VII (+1 hit point, +1 skill slot) 800 VIII (+1 hit point, +1 to an ability score) etc. Lather, rinse, repeat[/code] Basically, a new skill is earned at every odd-numbered epic rank, until a character can't possibly learn any new skills. At every even-numbered epic rank, a character either adds a +1 bonus to weapon damage, until a maximum bonus of +15 is reached; or the character increases one ability score, until all scores reach the maximum of 25 (the adjustment for a score above 18 is the score itself minus 15, so an ability of 25 is a +10 bonus). At every single level, a hit point is gained, until the character reaches the absolute maximum of 999 hp. If and when all of these qualities are ever completely maxed out, the character can earn no more AP, and [I]then[/I] ascension to godhood and character retirement are the only options for further advancement. One particular magical item in the game, [I]elixir of immortality,[/I] can render a character unkillable. This does not make the character godly or invulnerable. Instead, it merely means that a character reduced to 0 hp does not die for any reason. A character with 0 hp, even an immortal one, is unconscious and incapacitated, and cannot fight until he heals again, but he cannot be killed. He could be sealed, bound, trapped, or even cut up into little bits and scattered to the winds for millennia… but never killed. Eventually, the character can recover from any wound, no matter how severe, through natural healing. [/QUOTE]
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