Thoughts On The Challenge Rating System

[Upper_Krust]

Hey there!

Well CR's break down in higher levels.

The official CRs you mean.

Enemy HP and defensive measures dont keep pace with damage dealing potential at high levels.

There are two dichotomies in D&D that reverse from low to high level.

At low level, AC > Attack Bonus, but Hp are proportionally low compared to Damage.

Whereas at high level, AC (roughly) = Attack Bonus, but Hp can soak up multiple attacks.

At epic level, AC < Attack Bonus, and Hp can soak up even more attacks.

 

[boredgremlin]

This is one is the reasons i dont really like the higher levels of play. Trying to make a challenging but not devestating encounter is more luck then skill. Everything just becomes about who roles better on damage. Or wins initiative. I have only played one epic level game and it was probably the most boring game i have ever been in. Sometimes it really is best to just let a character retire and start something new.

 

[Cheiromancer]

This is one is the reasons i dont really like the higher levels of play. Trying to make a challenging but not devestating encounter is more luck then skill. Everything just becomes about who roles better on damage. Or wins initiative. I have only played one epic level game and it was probably the most boring game i have ever been in. Sometimes it really is best to just let a character retire and start something new.

Do you read any of the high-level story hours? Jester's, Piratecat's, Sep's (link in my sig)... gfunk's also comes to mind. Very entertaining (both to readers and players), and definitely epic.

If you don't, look around the story hour a while. They start off mid to high level, and then go up, up, up.

 

[boredgremlin]

Depends on what you like i guess. I had a player once who loved being able to destroy whatever he came across. When he DMed the stories were allways big world spanning epics that usually ended with players becoming either gods or immortals. Some people liked it. I would rather watch TV then play in a game like that, and i just cant muster up the interest to run one for the life of me.

For the adventures are about the feel of a regular person doing desparate risky things because they either have to be done or because there is a great reward. Like a good horror story its about constant danger and fear. Once players get too high level it become more about plotting and strategizing. Loses the horror story feel and becomes a high fantasy novel. Which while i like reading them i dont get the same good feeling from playing or running them. I like the drama and tension thats often lacking in higher level games.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey boredgremlin!

This is one is the reasons i dont really like the higher levels of play.

One bad experience has tainted you it seems.

Trying to make a challenging but not devestating encounter is more luck then skill.

Only using the official CR rules, not my CR rules.

Everything just becomes about who roles better on damage. Or wins initiative.

I've been playing in an epic campaign on and off for 17 years and I don't ever remember it being as simple as that. I mean wheres your politics, your strategy, the ramifications of your actions. In epic campaigns the world should shake.

I have only played one epic level game and it was probably the most boring game i have ever been in.

Let me guess you just rolled up characters out of the blue? If so that was your first mistake, though a common one to be fair.

Like most roleplaying experiences you only get out what you put in.

Sometimes it really is best to just let a character retire and start something new.

Sometimes perhaps, but not all the time. Successful epic gaming probably requires more player imagination than before. The players have to be the impetus behind their characters goals, less so the DM.