Post/Author/DateTime	Post
avatar6v7 11-12-05, 02:28 PM	Ive had the epic level handbook for some while now and ive been itching to use it, and i was wondering whether you could begin with epic level charchters. The first and quite possibly correct answer is no. Epic levels should come as a reward for long term players whove stuck to the campaign or to revitilize a campaign when thing have hit 20th level and all the PCs arnt intrested in 'settling down'. But what if you wanted to start players off in a deadly and strange world of which they knew nothing,powerful charchters with no memory of how they got their youd start them off with powers they dont quite fully understand. Theyde have to quickly discover their powers and use them to their full extent just to survive. I considered having them kidnapped by a phane and plunged into the distant past in an attempt to upset bonds it was contained with. (phane is a shadowy bastard child of a deity related to time, its imprisoned within time itself but it can ocaionly excape or influence things)
hammer_hand 11-12-05, 04:41 PM	The simple answer is no. If this world is so dangerous, and I know it is, then how about having the first few adventures up to lvl 5 in a fairly contained and safe area, such as a fortified city with lots of oppurtunities for theft and political intrigue. Also, don't call me a 'they' as I am quite clearly a 'he'.
green_yawgmoth 11-12-05, 05:34 PM	The answer is yes, because it's a game and whatever is fun for you AND the group is correct. If you want to figure out how to make epic characters fast, just say that everyone goes through a sort of "prep school" to figure out what they'd be best at when they're very young; then everyone goes to the appropriate school, where they learn their class. Each year of prep school and each semester of normal = 1 level. Assuming 5 years of prep (elementary) and 7 of normal, that puts everyone at level 19 when they graduate. Then there could be various "colleges" where people learn to cross into epic. As for why, just say that the world is really dangerous in many areas, and intelligent monsters pick up certain ways to train themselves in the same skills, or are already powerful enough to not need them. Have the players be abomination slayers, going after the most horrible creatures in an attempt to keep the world from needing such great powers so commonly, or something. Here (http://www.3edb.com/viewCharacter.asp?cid=9770) is a character from an epic game I played in last year; your characters'll never see him coming. ;D http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.gif
rkr1970 11-12-05, 05:56 PM	I have considered running an epic character version of the Labyrinth of Madness updated for 3.5. That module, IIRC, suggests a fresh level 25 PC with a slew of magic items. I would say that starting at epic level you should be sure to inform the players that there is a real chance of PC death, and that you should never go easy on them, but hey, give it a shot. It could be fun.