D&D General Why does D&D still have 16th to 20th level?

[Paul Farquhar]

They adventured when it suited them to adventure, they aren't cursed or honor bound to Adventure the rest of their lives.

It's the players who want to continue to adventure. Their characters might be happy to settle down and run a small tea shop.

 

[Oofta]

I mean, that's just a question of setting right?

Surely Odin's palace is going to have wards against any form of uninvited teleportation, so at most they're going to be planeshifting just outside the front gate and have to submit a petition to see him or try their luck at barging through his warriors.

It's mostly just personal preference and setting. My cosmology is loosely based on Norse lore, with the planes being different realms on the tree Yggdrasil. To get to Asgard you have to cross the bifrost bridge. , to get from one realm you have to travel through specific portals and doorways. It was just my way of having options because "I cast plane shift" or "I teleport" can be boring. I want the option to make the journey as interesting as the destination if it makes for a good story.

 

[Luceilia]

It's mostly just personal preference and setting. My cosmology is loosely based on Norse lore, with the planes being different realms on the tree Yggdrasil. To get to Asgard you have to cross the bifrost bridge. , to get from one realm you have to travel through specific portals and doorways. It was just my way of having options because "I cast plane shift" or "I teleport" can be boring. I want the option to make the journey as interesting as the destination if it makes for a good story.

Just curious... Do you apply the same requirements to Odin himself?

Does he have to use the Bifrost if he feels like visiting other planes?

 

[Oofta]

Just curious... Do you apply the same requirements to Odin himself?

Does he have to use the Bifrost if he feels like visiting other planes?

Gods don't have to follow the same rules as mere mortals. However if you read Norse mythology there are a lot of stories of, for example, the gods having a wall built around Asgard. Or Thor travelling around visiting and having adventures. So I wanted to kind of reflect that.

 

[Luceilia]

Gods don't have to follow the same rules as mere mortals. However if you read Norse mythology there are a lot of stories of, for example, the gods having a wall built around Asgard. Or Thor travelling around visiting and having adventures. So I wanted to kind of reflect that.

True.

In my own campaigns PCs stop being pure mortals at level 13 and my Odin is just level 20, but that's just me lol. I know my takes are the odd one out.

 

[Oofta]

True.

In my own campaigns PCs stop being pure mortals at level 13 and my Odin is just level 20, but that's just me lol. I know my takes are the odd one out.

Yeah, the gods in my campaigns are distant and mysterious. You might interact with a Valkyrie or Einherjar, but that's as close as you're going to get unless you're dead.

 

[d24454_modern]

Can you think of a rules system that makes epic-play easier for the DM that doesn't "suck all the fun out of the game"?

But it’s fun for me to make monsters and encounters.

It’s annoying that I have to nix so many ideas because it’d be too hard for the players.

 

[Stalker0]

I don't think you necessarily have to do planar adventures at high level. there are plenty of other possibilities. But what I do think you need to do if you are still going to "adventure" at that level is a) make it epic, and b) make it player driven. The PCs decide to kill a god. The PCs decide to destroy an evil artifact. The PCs decide to conquer a nation. The PCs decide go back in time and fix their greatest mistake. Player driven games are always a good idea but I think they are essential to epic level play.

Time crunches are also a very important lever. Save the world…no problem! Save the world in an hour…now it’s a challenge

 

[d24454_modern]

True.

In my own campaigns PCs stop being pure mortals at level 13 and my Odin is just level 20, but that's just me lol. I know my takes are the odd one out.

I find it funny how in 3e, the official Odin had an ECL of 60 without counting Divine Abilities.

It makes it really jarring when people actually as though you become invincible at Level 15. That just tells me that the DMs aren’t trying enough imo.

 

[Oofta]

I find it funny how in 3e, the official Odin had an ECL of 60 without counting Divine Abilities.

It makes it really jarring when people actually as though you become invincible at Level 15. That just tells me that the DMs aren’t trying enough imo.

I agree. Now excuse me while figure out how to use mob rules for tarrasques that have a contingent of beholder allies.