D&D General What Should High Level (17th+) PCs Be Doing?

[Oofta]

I voted all of the above because it just depends on the campaign. In my campaigns? One had the group dealing with two threats to their home city, one an ancient evil (a giant/god that had been put into long term coma by Thor was stirring), and an ancient dragon pretending to be human to take over the country. In another I had them stop a giant/fiendish invasion (both are Jotun in my campaign world) and then brought in an evil NPC that had taken over their city while they were dealing with the invasion. More of a setup for possible future shadow enemy in future campaign than anything.

So for me it's a mix of just plain old politics, invasions, ancient evils. Maybe the next one will end with recovering an ancient dwarven empire or ... well who knows. That's a long ways away and this time I don't have any overt threat pending.

 

[Reynard]

--- acting as peacekeepers and war-enders between rival states/nations/realms; in other words, diplomacy

that's the last one

--- retiring

Well then they are doing anything

 

[Lanefan]

that's the last one

I read "meddling with the affairs of..." to mean destablizing or creating chaos - i.e. starting wars instead of stopping them. The opposite of successful diplomacy, in other words.

Well then they are doing anything

"Nothing" is still a valid answer to the question "What should they be doing?".

 

[Micah Sweet]

Any of those things can work, depending on the campaign. I'm honestly not a fan of very high level PCs in modern D&D in any case (i think personal power should be capped at no higher than 14, and high-level spells be turned into expensive, hard to source and cast ritual magic). But if you are doing high level in WotC D&D (the version almost everyone assumes in "General D&D" threads), you can appropriately perform any of those tasks.

 

[Reynard]

I read "meddling with the affairs of..." to mean destablizing or creating chaos - i.e. starting wars instead of stopping them. The opposite of successful diplomacy, in other words.

You don't call forcing nations to the negotiating table "meddling"?

 

[Vaalingrade]

I read "meddling with the affairs of..." to mean destablizing or creating chaos - i.e. starting wars instead of stopping them. The opposite of successful diplomacy, in other words.

I read it as trying to hook up Muriel, the nice lady that runs the corner shop up with the Prince of Angels because they both seemed a little lonely.

 

[Lanefan]

You don't call forcing nations to the negotiating table "meddling"?

No, because to me "meddling" means causing unrest and disturbance rather than the opposite.

 

[Blue Orange]

Nobody's mentioned retirement and raising a family.

 

[Vaalingrade]

No, because to me "meddling" means causing unrest and disturbance rather than the opposite.

That's what most matchmakers do though: cause unrest and disturbance by putting their noses in other peoples' business. Like Mystery Inc and Scooby Doo.

 

[Blue Orange]

That's what most matchmakers do though: cause unrest and disturbance by putting their noses in other peoples' business. Like Mystery Inc and Scooby Doo.

"And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those meddling 17th-level wizards, clerics, and fighters!"