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The challenges of high level adventure design.
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 8929928" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>I'll start by saying that 3e, especially the 3.5-era Dungeon Magazine, was probably the high point for high level adventure design. And it was so good because the 3e designers recognized that high level pcs have the ability to basically know or find out anything, go anywhere, and deal with any threat. So instead of writing adventures with ways to stymie these abilities in mind, they wrote adventures that required them.</p><p></p><p>So, require information they don't have. They can get it. Even if the party doesn't have a high powered diviner on board, by the time they are 15th level, they have probably made an ally that can do such divinations for them. If they haven't, they can do so now, or go to the expensive sage, or conduct research for months, or whatever; don't worry about how they will do it, just trust that they will figure out a way.</p><p></p><p>Put adventures in far-flung locations, and don't worry about how they're getting there. If they can't teleport or transport via plants or something, they'll hire someone to teleport the party, find some big flying mount or airship, something. They can do it. </p><p></p><p>The nature of what challenges high level pcs is different. Because they can kill almost anything, one option is to use adversaries and situations that can't just be killed. Instead of a BBEG, maybe the party needs to cure a city of a plague. Maybe they need to raise a baby roc to adulthood. Maybe the foe is a political movement the party is opposed to, and stopping it requires convincing a large number of nobles spread over a large area, most of whom are friendly to the party, to change one of their fundamental beliefs. Maybe a town is cursed with poor harvests, and the party has the find a way to break the curse. </p><p></p><p>When it comes to combat, really pull out the stops. Don't worry about how the party will defeat a given foe; trust them to be able to pull off almost anything. Encounter balance? That's for lower levels. </p><p></p><p>Again, look at some of the high level 3e/3.5e Dungeon adventures, if you have access to them. They're pretty great, and often have really cool examples of high level adventure writing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 8929928, member: 1210"] I'll start by saying that 3e, especially the 3.5-era Dungeon Magazine, was probably the high point for high level adventure design. And it was so good because the 3e designers recognized that high level pcs have the ability to basically know or find out anything, go anywhere, and deal with any threat. So instead of writing adventures with ways to stymie these abilities in mind, they wrote adventures that required them. So, require information they don't have. They can get it. Even if the party doesn't have a high powered diviner on board, by the time they are 15th level, they have probably made an ally that can do such divinations for them. If they haven't, they can do so now, or go to the expensive sage, or conduct research for months, or whatever; don't worry about how they will do it, just trust that they will figure out a way. Put adventures in far-flung locations, and don't worry about how they're getting there. If they can't teleport or transport via plants or something, they'll hire someone to teleport the party, find some big flying mount or airship, something. They can do it. The nature of what challenges high level pcs is different. Because they can kill almost anything, one option is to use adversaries and situations that can't just be killed. Instead of a BBEG, maybe the party needs to cure a city of a plague. Maybe they need to raise a baby roc to adulthood. Maybe the foe is a political movement the party is opposed to, and stopping it requires convincing a large number of nobles spread over a large area, most of whom are friendly to the party, to change one of their fundamental beliefs. Maybe a town is cursed with poor harvests, and the party has the find a way to break the curse. When it comes to combat, really pull out the stops. Don't worry about how the party will defeat a given foe; trust them to be able to pull off almost anything. Encounter balance? That's for lower levels. Again, look at some of the high level 3e/3.5e Dungeon adventures, if you have access to them. They're pretty great, and often have really cool examples of high level adventure writing. [/QUOTE]
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