Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ukkic 05-03-07, 02:08 PM	Being as most npc's in Eberron are fairly low level, it seems to me that city/ civilization based game set in Eberron fit best with low to mid level characters. Because of this I like using low level characters, but I also like prestige classes and options, I was thinking about lowering or dropping some prerequisites for some feats and prestige classes. Has anyone ever done anything like this to allow lower power characters to have more options with prestige classes? -Ukkic
Toloran 05-03-07, 03:36 PM	Actually, there is a LOT of stuff for high level characters. It's just that being high level (beyond lvl 12 or so) is very rare for humanoids. At that point you start dealing with things like Dal Quor and the other planes, stuff in the depths of Kyberr (or however you spell it), or the really hidden ruins in Xen'drik. Oh, and to answer your actual question: I suggest you don't because when your PCs will be far more powerful then then they should be for a given level. That isn't a problem per se but it makes a ton more work for you as the DM.
Ukkic 05-03-07, 03:50 PM	I know that there are high level options, there just arn't many that I could think of that would fit well for more intrigue based games. And I thought of the power thing, ya they would be more powerful, it might cause a little trouble, but important npcs would have the same options. Though keeping things balanced in the party seems like it could be more troublesome to me. -Ukkic
Vharuck 05-03-07, 04:35 PM	At low levels, one feat is more than enough to differentiate your PCs and make them more unique. Higher levels may need PrCs, as complicated or specific techniques aren't covered by the rules.
Cloud Divider 05-03-07, 05:00 PM	Being as most npc's in Eberron are fairly low level, it seems to me that city/ civilization based game set in Eberron fit best with low to mid level characters. In general, one of the things that really drew me to Eberron is how viable the setting is for lower (low- and mid-) level characters. Which suits me fine, because that's the range that I like most to GM. Because of this I like using low level characters, but I also like prestige classes and options, I was thinking about lowering or dropping some prerequisites for some feats and prestige classes. Has anyone ever done anything like this to allow lower power characters to have more options with prestige classes? Never done it myself. But I think you'd probably get by just fine - it would be about as challenging as running a Gestalt game (and likely a bit easier). It'd probably be significantly easier to balance with a smaller party. But really, if you're playing at the lower levels, "balancing" is pretty much solvable by adding an extra monster or two.
Dragom 05-03-07, 09:12 PM	Dragon mark heir (accessable right at level 5) and Master inqisitive (accessable right at level 4) and a few other prestige classes in the Eberron core book are available at ridiculously low levels. I'm pretty sure before I saw the ECS for the first time I hadn't seen a prestige class available before 6th. If you want to try and make more low level prestige classes try and keep them equal to existing low level prestige classes. Like the Boromere Assasin or the Cult Enforcer.
Toloran 05-03-07, 09:29 PM	Dragon mark heir (accessable right at level 5) and Master inqisitive (accessable right at level 4) and a few other prestige classes in the Eberron core book are available at ridiculously low levels. I'm pretty sure before I saw the ECS for the first time I hadn't seen a prestige class available before 6th. If you want to try and make more low level prestige classes try and keep them equal to existing low level prestige classes. Like the Boromere Assasin or the Cult Enforcer. Or classes like Master Specialist where you can start taking levels in it at level 4. Hmm.... Early entry into mark of Siberys... Tasty :)
Edymnion 05-03-07, 09:55 PM	Well, the answer is, in my mind anyway, fairly simple. You simply don't have combat as a major portion of your city based game. You have roleplaying encounters, puzzles, and politicking as the main sources of conflict. Sure, your level 12 fighter could mop the floor with the just about anybody around. Doesn't matter when you can't get into a physical fight with the opponent in the first place. Do a Jack the Ripper type game where the entire point of the game isn't to beat up Jack, but to piece together the clues to figure out who he is, and then try to bring them to justice. What do you do when it turns out the Ripper is actually the head of the city guard? He's a respected member of the community, you can't just kill him without having the entire town rise up against you, and you're going to need to essentially catch him in the act with witnesses to expose him. How are you going to set that up? The only thing high level characters really excel at is killing things. Once you take that out of the equation, it becomes fairly easy to come up with ways for low level NPCs to challenge high level PCs.
JulesCARV 05-03-07, 11:00 PM	I guess one idea of Eberron is that even at low levels, the PCs are unique individuals. A level 1 fighter PC isn't likely to be a better combatant than a level 3 warrior who's spent twelve years in the military and now town guard. The warrior knows how to swing a sword better, shoot a bow better, can take more punishment, etc. However, the PC fighter is, in spite of all that, more cinematic, more cool, and more heroic than the tough, disciplined, but plodding level 3 warrior. As such, one approach, as DM, would be to have NPCs, even if they're more powerful than the party, take a somewhat dull, methodical approach (not necessarily ineffective: just conventional), while letting the PCs know that they're the action movie heroes who cut down chandeliers so that they fall onto the people chasing them, leap from roofs onto balconies, etc. It's not a matter of power. It's not a matter of feats and prestige classes. It's a matter of cool. Even if the PCs can't outfight the local warriors and have spellcasting that doesn't terribly impress the local magewright, they're just cool.
OneWinged4ngel 05-07-07, 03:57 AM	I know that there are high level options, there just arn't many that I could think of that would fit well for more intrigue based games. You gotta be kidding me. What deeper intrigue is there to be found than the Lords of Dust or the Dreaming Dark? These are extremely powerful organizations just *made* for intrigue. And certainly, these guys are giving you encounters well up into epic levels.