Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Doxter 10-13-03, 12:46 AM	I am about to start a new campaign, where the PCs will begin at 20th level. I am calling the adventure 'The Fall Of Faerūn' so it is going to be something huge and spectacular! It all began one day where I was reading the FRCS, and I thought to myself: "We have all these great stories, epic NPCs and weird planes. Why not make an adventure, where I bring all of that together and mix it up in one mighty, epic adventure, where even the gods will play an important part." So I thought that I would bring it up here, and maybe get some ideas and inspiration. About the adventure I can tell you this: It all begins when this ancient and evil council, working on planes unknown, wants (needs) to bring imbalance to the world. The council holds no power over the material plane, but they do have some influence over other planes, and especially the outer planes. The council begins to recruit powerful, evil villains (the PCs) who they need to work out their plan. I was thinking that all of you here at the boards must have a great deal of experience and ideas when dealing with epic adventures. So if anyone could give me some pointers, ideas on the adventure? Maybe some of you already have an epic adventure, that you wish to share? Anyway, all help would be nice! Thanks
Cunning Linguist 10-13-03, 09:08 AM	I say, start at level 1, (or 3, if you want power races to be allowed) and work your way from there. They will hit level 20 someday, but when they do, they will have personality, and not just be some random 1 level character with 20 level character stuff and stats. Character like to have a story behind there stuff: "Yea, I remember when I got this sword. We had to kill that old Lich Lord for it, but it has served me well. Hey remember when he cast his Summon spell and I countered it, so that I got the monster and not him? yea, that was a blast.." rather then "Yea, I got this +5 vorpal sword for a bargain at the local Thayan Enclave"
Doxter 10-13-03, 10:55 AM	Well, I have been thinking about that, and you're absolutely right. Characters without any form of background story or the like, are not real characters. They're kinda empty. But the problem is, that we (the group I play with) have been playing several campaigns but haven't reach the high levels in any of them. Because 1) The players get tired of their characters, and make new ones or 2) The DM get stuck in the adventure, and cant get the adventure running again. I play with a lot of people, and we have 3-4 campaigns running with different DMs. So I thought, I would start at 20th level, and then maybe write down along with the PCs their background stories. It's not the same as playing it, I know, but maybe it could work.
BHC_Crow 10-13-03, 11:19 AM	Ya. would be tough to run a deep epic level story without developing your characters over time. I dont think I could DM it, and make it more than messed up. Good luck though
Eltharion 10-13-03, 11:20 AM	Originally posted by Doxter Well, I have been thinking about that, and you're absolutely right. Characters without any form of background story or the like, are not real characters. They're kinda empty. But the problem is, that we (the group I play with) have been playing several campaigns but haven't reach the high levels in any of them. Because 1) The players get tired of their characters, and make new ones or 2) The DM get stuck in the adventure, and cant get the adventure running again. I play with a lot of people, and we have 3-4 campaigns running with different DMs. So I thought, I would start at 20th level, and then maybe write down along with the PCs their background stories. It's not the same as playing it, I know, but maybe it could work. Well, here's an alternative idea: Start at a relatively low level (3-5). Play for a while. Don't tell your players that your intent is to eventually run a high-level campaign, just go with it for a bit. If (well, from the way you've described your group, I guess I should say "when") the players get tired of their characters, call a "break". Run one last adventure that for whatever reason breaks the party up and sends them on their seperate ways (amicably or not). Then sit down with each of the characters and figure out what they would have been doing in the meantime- and advance their characters to 20th level or so. Then find an excuse or way to bring them all back together as a group. Let them all discover what the other characters have been up to through roleplaying. If you want to get a sense of what this could be like, watch The Man in the Iron Mask- the one with Gabriel Byrne and John Malkovitch and Leonardo DiCaprio... it brings the Three Musketeers back together after an extended departure from one another. There you've got the best of both worlds. They've played out some of the history without having to make the slow climb from 1st to 20th. If you're really sharp you can drop hooks to the Epic stuff you plan to run in the low-level "prelude" adventures. Elth
Doxter 10-13-03, 01:14 PM	Sounds like a good idea. I think I will start at the low levels, play a few times, and let the PCs figure out their characters, and at the same time let them get taste of what's to come. About not letting the PCs know of the epic stuff is all too late. They're all running around like mad men, trying to beat each others class/prestige class ideas. Its actually quite funny to see how easily you can make someone go crazy when they need to choose among so many prestige classes ;) All I told them was, that its going to be epic, and they're going to be smacked around if they dont make some powerful characters. Now I think I will have a little chat with them about the upcoming adventure. Anyway, its a good idea you got there, thanks Elth
Eltharion 10-13-03, 02:53 PM	Originally posted by Doxter Its actually quite funny to see how easily you can make someone go crazy when they need to choose among so many prestige classes Tell me about it... if I was handed 17+ levels and told to make a character from scratch I think I'd go crazy. I've been havnig a hard enough time figuring out what PrC to take now that I've run out of Bladesinger levels. Anyway, its a good idea you got there, thanks Elth No problem! It's the kind of thing I've been toying with for a while... I like the feel of those kinds of movies, where you're bringing together an old group, but capturing it around a table is harder since the "new" characters would have no sense of history with each other... Glad you like it. Have fun! Elth
avian tiefling 10-13-03, 10:49 PM	i'm thinking you could do some stuff that gives quick XP. send the characters through a seies of gauntlets across the planes. do that until the characters are beefed up (about 10 levels gained, start at 3-5) then they come back to find out that all that was to strengthen them for the REAL quest. the gauntlets could also be a way for the characters to get their equiptment, finding them at the end of the guantlet or along the way, and the gauntlets themselves would be in increasing order of difficulty, all with an equally powerful item at the end. all except the final one, which would be an INSANELY powerful item capable of threatening the gods themselves, and perhaps playing a part in the party's passage to Mount Celestia, the final stage of the campaign. for more info: aviantiefling@hotmail.com
Israfel666 10-14-03, 02:07 PM	Quick XP is something I would do too. I'd start at level 6-8 (so that you are already beyond the "kill goblins and commoners" phase), then run a series of one-shot adventures, handling out double or even triple XP. To justify that to your players, make the monster appear very scary - at least one character per encounter should end up at negative HP, then fudge die rolls in order to keep him alive; this will make them feel like they are earning the rapid adcancement they are being granted. Finally, instead of treasure appropriate for their levels, put fewer items in but go immediately with the +5 stuff, so that their equipment keeps pace with their experience