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<blockquote data-quote="Bardsandsages" data-source="post: 3410960" data-attributes="member: 28771">Running games at that level requires the players really be prepared and be willing to work with the GM.&nbsp; I've often found it's the players that cause most of the problems, as they suddenly have all these spells or cool new powers but don't clearly understand how to use them.&nbsp; So you end up with players trying to do things they aren't really able to do.&nbsp; I ran a FR campaign from level 1 to level 22.&nbsp; It's an enormous amount of prep work, but it was also very rewarding.&nbsp; At the end, Thay had a new Pharoah (one of the players, no less) and half the Chosen were dead.&nbsp; There was much rejoicing at the table.As it became apparent that the game was going to reach &quot;epic&quot; proportions, I just put certain rules into play.&nbsp; I think it was around 14th or 15th level:1.&nbsp; When combat begins, it's &quot;real time&quot;.&nbsp; You do not have ten minutes to look at your spell list.&nbsp; You have been playing this character since 1st level.&nbsp; If you don't know your spells by now, you have no business playing a spellcaster.&nbsp; Same for everyone.&nbsp; You don't have ten minutes to decide which feat you are using.&nbsp; 2. I don't check rules at the table.&nbsp; I expect people to know their spells and abilities.&nbsp; If I discover someone used something in a way it can't be used, he gets one warning.&nbsp; If it happens again, the gods strip them of the power.&nbsp; Fortunately, I never actually had to do it.&nbsp; Everyone understood very quickly I did not have time to research their characters for them.&nbsp; I had hordes of NPCs to worry about.3. Everybody and there brother was summoning help (either summon monster, summon planar ally, or a variant.)&nbsp; This made combat unweildy with all the extra bodies.&nbsp; So we decided that everyone had a specific creaturee they summoned based off of their patron diety and/or their own nature.&nbsp; It would be the same creature that appeared all the time, with a name and stats.&nbsp; But if you summoned it, it got a share of the XP for the encounter.&nbsp; This both insured they only summoned it WHEN IT WAS NEEDED and also allowed the creature to gain levels, thus being useful as the party got more powerful.&nbsp; Players actually became very protective of their summoned friends, and even gave them a share of the treasure (in the case of the planar allies).So long as the players and the GM are on the same page, you can run a game successfully into epic levels.&nbsp; But if you are running an adversarial style with the players against the GM, it can be about impossible.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Bardsandsages, post: 3410960, member: 28771"] Running games at that level requires the players really be prepared and be willing to work with the GM. I've often found it's the players that cause most of the problems, as they suddenly have all these spells or cool new powers but don't clearly understand how to use them. So you end up with players trying to do things they aren't really able to do. I ran a FR campaign from level 1 to level 22. It's an enormous amount of prep work, but it was also very rewarding. At the end, Thay had a new Pharoah (one of the players, no less) and half the Chosen were dead. There was much rejoicing at the table. As it became apparent that the game was going to reach "epic" proportions, I just put certain rules into play. I think it was around 14th or 15th level: 1. When combat begins, it's "real time". You do not have ten minutes to look at your spell list. You have been playing this character since 1st level. If you don't know your spells by now, you have no business playing a spellcaster. Same for everyone. You don't have ten minutes to decide which feat you are using. 2. I don't check rules at the table. I expect people to know their spells and abilities. If I discover someone used something in a way it can't be used, he gets one warning. If it happens again, the gods strip them of the power. Fortunately, I never actually had to do it. Everyone understood very quickly I did not have time to research their characters for them. I had hordes of NPCs to worry about. 3. Everybody and there brother was summoning help (either summon monster, summon planar ally, or a variant.) This made combat unweildy with all the extra bodies. So we decided that everyone had a specific creaturee they summoned based off of their patron diety and/or their own nature. It would be the same creature that appeared all the time, with a name and stats. But if you summoned it, it got a share of the XP for the encounter. This both insured they only summoned it WHEN IT WAS NEEDED and also allowed the creature to gain levels, thus being useful as the party got more powerful. Players actually became very protective of their summoned friends, and even gave them a share of the treasure (in the case of the planar allies). So long as the players and the GM are on the same page, you can run a game successfully into epic levels. But if you are running an adversarial style with the players against the GM, it can be about impossible. [/QUOTE]

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