Why isn’t ____ personally involved?

[EATherrian]

I don't know how to answer this for the Realms, but Mordenkainen probably IS involved. He may not be out there throwing spells, but I'd bet he has agents doing some of the things that need to be done maybe even the PCs. It helps that Mordenkainen is an agent of Balance, so there are more options open to him, even things that might not be traditionally considered. Or he could be off having dinner with Elminster and Raistlin; either/or.

 

[hexgrid]

There's also the Harry Potter approach- no one but the PC's even believes that the threat exists!

Of course, this doesn't work as well when the protagonists aren't children.

 

[Krensky]

1) The high level BBGG can't act, because if he moves directly to stop the BBEG he uncovers assets of the forces of light that the BBEG can strike with little to no expenditure of resources, since the BBGG who was protecting the land of happiness is off sneaking into the the BBEG's lair. Sneaking, not bamfing because the BBEG thought of this and layered defenses properly.

2) Despite cosmic, near god like power and knowing every divination in the book (and a few that will be in the next one) the BBGG is not omniscient, nor (despiute teleport and whatever) is he omnipresent. The BBEG's plan has flown under the BBGG's radar until now because, well, the BBEG is smart and doesn't want to attract the BBGG's attention until it's too late for him to be stopped. The PCs, however, are the men on the spot. No time to call for the mobile plot device. They've been sept up in events and need to focus on keeping themselves and those they care about alive. Part of this involves defeating the BBEG and saving the world.

 

[The Ghost]

Because fame does not equal power.

 

[Set]

IMO, the vast majority of 'problems' with uber-NPCs is that they are written in novels that, quite often, are written by novelists who may be quite talented, but know little or nothing of how power-levels function in the D&D game mechanics. If Elminster is shown in his novel appearances meddling and poking his nose into various lower-level groups affairs or bailing out Shandril Shessair's boyfriend, who, as always, is hopelessly underclassed for whatever is going on around him, if the god Paladine is calling himself Fizban and *travelling around with the adventuring party,* etc. it creates a sense that this is how these uberNPCs should be used in the setting.

If the potential DM never reads a single novel, I don't think the uberNPCs would be that hard to ignore, since he wouldn't have gotten any unhelpful impressions about how the setting 'is supposed to work.'

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

Says it all, really, doesn't it?

 

[GoldieDavid]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Set
<Awesomeness>

...(Don't know why I'm posting any of this, though, since Set already won this thread.)

These. Set is my new hero. Unless he or she disagrees with my preferred edition in which case Set is obviously insane devilspawn.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Why isn't [Insert Elminster/Mordekainen Equivalent] personally involved?

He is. He's the villain.

 

[Oni]

Sure Elminster can save the day, no problem. However your new task will be getting him sober, or you know you could go take care of it yourselves.


[actually I could see a whole adventure based around trying to sober up a legendary "hero", might be fun. ]

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Most of my campaigns have a very; rebellious, cyberpunk, punkish, etc. tone. So generally the "Elminster's" of the world are working for the forces that the PCs are going against.

As such, they simply don't exist in the form that would help against whatever the issue is.