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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormonu" data-source="post: 9346406" data-attributes="member: 52734">From what I remember of my higher level games, the party is past the point where gathering information is a problem or a goal (such as a mundane murder mystery or puzzle or trap).  It has to switch to knowing what to do with the information they've received.Likewise, high-level characters can't really be boxed down.  Dungeon walls rarely restrict them, overland travel can be easily shortened or bypassed and remote locations are no longer remote.  Areas that can't be reached without using magical movement come into play as well as being able to cast movement spells enough times for the whole party to reach the destination.Traps are no longer about discovering and avoiding them, but need to be nefarious things the players willingly have to stick their assorted limbs into to solve them, tanking damage as they do so. (Note:  they'll still finds ways to get through them unscathed)Also, this becomes the time where characters have enough power that they can split up and tackle challenges separately, at the same time and then meet back up together at some point to face a bigger challenge.   The challenge becomes DMing that without boring the other three while the fourth goes off to do their part of the quest.  If you allow the party to hang together all the time, it becomes so easy for them to trivialize encounters they run across.  Encounters are easier to build if the entire party's guns isn't pointed at them all at once and you can get the players buy-in on being heroically semi-independent.  Even an encounter or two that forcibly splits the party can help.Last of all, major fights can be a grind so I'd recommend making them occur less often and find other ways to challenge the group.  It's harder to do, but if you can manage it, the variety helps - and keeps the PCs from just focusing on continuing to upgrade their firepower (the game does a little better when the PCs see the need to broaden their abilities, rather than laser-focus them).  Get familiar with the character's sheets and look for ways to design encounters around their non-combat abilities, skills and background information - especially those rare-to-use ribbon abilities.  Group has a character with the Scribe background?  Set up an encounter where the characters need a tidbit of information from the local metropolis's library half-way across the world only to run into bureaucratic red tape that restricts their access - meaning they need to bribe, influence, sneak into the library or risk divination magic that's being watched for by the enemy, with consequences and advantages for each approach.  Especially if those consequences affect other encounters down the line.</blockquote>

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