As you know, I have been running a Ptolus game off and on for 2 years now. Last weekend, we finally finished the Night of Dissolution module bringing the players to 10th level. During the final battle in the game I realized for the first time that I was DMing above my pay grade. What does that mean?
It means that I realized that I was feeling out of my depth on how to run a game at that high of a level. Now some (or most) of you might snicker at that but for the most part, none of the games I have played in as either a player or a DM have made their way to this height in levels. Usually a game peters out by the time the characters hit 5th or 6th levels. I have been gaming for over 25 years and I can count the number of campaigns that I have been involved in that have gone over the double digit mark in levels on 1 hand with fingers left over.
So, what’s the big deal, you might ask? You just throw higher powered monsters at the party and move on, right? While that might work to a certain extent the issue I have is that the players now have more options available to them that they didn’t have before. Wizards are flying everywhere; fighters are being hasted and enlarged and getting many more attacks a round. Suddenly, there are a lot more variables for the DM to consider. The issues of which characters perhaps have become unbalanced starts to rear its ugly head as you develop stronger foes to challenge one player only to see a different character go down because they have been over-powered.
When we started this campaign, we said that we would see it through to level 20. No one in the group in their entire gaming career has taken a character from 1st level to 20th. The highest level achieved was 12th for one of our players. For everyone else, this campaign now ranks as their highest level character developed from 1st level. This is a bit of a saving grace for me as they are learning how to take maximum benefit of their abilities as I figure out how to appropriately challenge them.
I would assume other DM’s have run into this issue before and overcome them. The Epic rules for 3.x D&D are there for a reason so someone must have figured it out. For me, I am trying to use more intrigue and character driven stuff while I figure out how to get a handle on the much-more involved combat process. Let’s hope I figure it out before the next big battle.
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August 10, 2008 at 7:51 am
The Chatty DM
You’re currently in D&D 3.5’s sweet-spot.
The players have fun with uber cool abilities and yes, sometimes they’ll kick the snot out of pregenerated adventures.
I DMed a Ptolus campaign from level 7 up to level 12. After Night of dissolution, I suggest that you search the web for either ‘Queen of Lies’ a Ptolus Drow adventure or ‘Beyond the Veil’. Both are at the level your characters are.
Then finish the campaign with Demon God Fane (Level 14) (just put the fane in the Ptolus Bay)… all these adventures were designed by Monte Cook and he knew how to handle high level characters.
Trust yourself… the game’s math still hold at that level… it’s after the 15th that things start to break down.
August 10, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Deadshot
Thanks for the advice, Chatty. Presently I am working on adapting Bane Warrens but those other modules sound like a much better fit. I’ll probably weave them all together to keep things from seeming too linear. I like to throw lots of sub-plots out and see what the players go for.
Glad to hear the math still works its just my reaction to the events that I need to be sharper on. However, as the players are still learning as well, we should progress about the same. Hopefully!
August 13, 2008 at 11:19 am
Grrw
Having played in your PBeM games for several years, I can honestly say you are a very creative and talented DM. I always felt you struck a great balance between fluff and crunch.
One of the biggest things that messes with DM’s of every ability and at all levels is the randomness of the dice. ITs easy to forget that. alot of times when it seems you are swinging on a pendulum between TPK and Cakewalks its becasue the dice conspire against you.
Right now my group is almost at 9th level, running Cormyr: Tearing of the weave (SPOILERS AHEAD)
In the past 3 sessions, weve lost 3 PC’s. Each one due to bad dice rolls (and a little bit of player miscalculation)
Aleksandr, the rogue:
We Had just cleaned out the warrens of the shadowsacle lizardfolk. Aleks had lept into the melee, trying to set up a flank and sneak attack with my Barbarian. After dropping the chieftain and his minions, Aleks was still at 1/2 hp, with the only foe remaining being a dire stink beetle (or somethign like that). DM rolls 2 crits with almost max damage each time and drops him:
Kivos: Wizard/Druid. We had entered the shadowplane, and had found the strange bellows that pumped “shadowstuff” Deciding they must serve some nefarious purpose, we decided to destroy them. Well, Yarkle the barbarian set to smashing them with his axe, and Kivos decided hed help out by beating it with his quarterstaff. Kivos really shoulnt have bothered, as he had an 8 strength. (Play miscalculation..). Well, after about ten whacks, it blew up. 10d6 damage. reflex for half..Damage rolle dout to 55 hp, and kkivos rolls a 2 on his reflex save. No more kivos.
Ing: Wizard After showing up unexpectedly to replace Kivos, he survived one encounter with a group of shadows, and then the large black dragon flew by to investigate the destruction of the shadow bellows. He blasted everyone with his breaht weapon….Ing fails his save by one point.
The dragon then did a flyby attack, choosing his target randomly. 4 is Ing. DM rolls 4, Dragon bites Ing, who has 10 hp remaining..no more Ing.
Previously , the DM had been concerned we were rolling through encounters too easily, in part due to Yarkle defeating the BBEG in the previous chapter in one round.
the cleric had cast several buffing spells, followed by a 20 on both the primary and iterative attack, and the fact Yarkle had been power attacking at his BAB. Took a risk,but did something like 110 hp in one round.
Randomness…gotta love it. th ebest laid plans od DM’s and PC’s go astrya when confronted by the almighty d20!
August 13, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Deadshot
Thanks for the comment, Grrw. The memories of our play-by-mails are still some of my favourite gaming moments. I think that the randomness of the dice is something that I have gotten pretty good compensating for in the lower levels and hope that I can roll with it as we move further into the double digits.
My apprehension about my lack of knowledge at this lofty height in levels is offset though by the excitement of the players as they get access to fun new abilities and spells. We’ll all learn together and if I kill a few of them along the way, I have enough storyteller in me to figure a way out of death. It works in comics, I am sure I can apply it to D&D.
August 13, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Grrw
Yeah, I miss CoE
Well, theres always “raise dead” and “true ressurection!”
In cormyr:
It got to be a pretty good joke, as the first wizard replacement (Ing) arrived via an awry portal from undermountain onto a summoning circle on the map.
After the dragon ate him, we ended up retreating to the same room, purely by happenstance, and another wizard PC arrives in the same summoning circle, this one the result of a rod of wonder.
DM fiat…we had already rescued theprisoners who the module had reccomended using for replacement PC’s.
My PC, Yarkle the gnoll barbarian, is convinced that every time he enters the room a wizard will appear. for hte first hour or so of that session, we referred to Ravinder as Wizard number 3, and how wed go back to Wizards ‘R Us if he met some horrible end.
August 13, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Deadshot
True, but I hate to use the ‘coming back from the dead’ card too much. It gets tough for believability (yes, I know its a fantasy game) and for players to invest in their characters if they are dropping like flies all the time. As always, a balance must be struck.
August 13, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Grrw
Absolutely..We were almost at that point last Sunday. I had suggested that if we lost this wizard, he’d have to get seconday color robes, as wed killed off all of the primary colored ones.
the levity was nice, and it kind of worked out for the best, as the player had a kind of unworkable concept for the campaign(Mystic Theurge), which he didnt fully realize until he was 7th level and only castign 3rd level spells.
Then the replacemtn gettign killed after one encounter was a fluke.