7 Tips to Make High Level D&D Fun and Easy | 5e | Web DM
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2024
- High level 5e D&D is not only super playable, it's also incredibly fun! So why do we keep hearing about how "the game breaks down in tier 4?" It requires a different approach to being a dungeon master than lower level Dungeons and Dragons, but we know you can do it! Here are our top 7 tips for making High Level DnD fun and easy.
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Time stamps:
0:00 Intro and Storytime
7:46 Mindset
9:32 D&D is Fractal
12:28 Practice Improvisation
16:10 Be Ready to Kill Your Setting
18:20 Get Off the Tier 4 Hype Train
20:52 Stop Being a Fan of the Characters (Hear us out, it’s nuanced)
24:33 Level Up Your DM Skills
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Great content as usual and thank you Jim for keeping this going even without Pruitt here I wish you both the best now and going forward.
So if the setting is not sacred, and the players are also not sacred. The villain must be the most important thing. It and snacks of course.
Been waiting for this kind of video for a long time. High-level D&D and Pathfinder is really hard to balance for a party of any size. I often run a one-on-one game for my wife with her as the only player, and she prefers high-level D&D / Pathfinder. Let me tell ya, it’s HARD. Thanks for this! Brings up some new perspective.
Hope it helps!
I've been running a campaign for my daughter for the last seven years and she really likes the high level content too. I created around two dozen classes so that we could take 5e to fiftieth level. 21-30 are immortals trying to amp up their power. 31-40 are angels, gods, really powerful dragons, and a special class of wizard which get political and start to rule entire planets. 41-50 are cosmic powers like, Death, Justice, Infinity, Eternity, etc, which have agendas like the sacred timeline or protecting mortals from the war between heaven and hell. When I categorize the adventure types by those level categories, it really helps. Also, sometimes she plays new characters in her capital city and gets to experience what her city looks like from a low level perspective. Basically combining something new with recycled past content. Having her low level character interact with her high level character is fun too when there is a messenger between them.
High level AND party of one? Sheesh you are an absolute mad lad
@@Viper3220 It was definently crazy. Last Christmas she lead an army of undead monsters and flying ships and fought her way layer by layer to the lowest layer of hell to put it under "new management". It was awesome and I saved it all on video. :-)
I think this might be the best video I've heard on running high level D&D. Having recently finished my first campaign, in which the players reached level 20 (5e), I can see how each of these would improved the experience for me and the players. Thanks for sharing!
One thing my players and I found fun for concluding the campaign was me asking the players what they wanted their character's legacy to be. Each had ideas that made me excited for when we return to that setting, and just a little sad to say goodbye to those player characters.
Epilogues are awesome! Thanks for the compliment!
I love the background music and especially the transitions. It really meshes well with the more laid back vibe Jim gives being the only speaker. It's really amazing how quickly Web DM found its "new voice" if you will. I've seen countless content creators have to shift formats and it almost always takes multiple attempts and ends in varying degrees of sucess. Ya'll nailed it.
Thank you!
@@WebDM YES! You are doing a WONDERFUL JOB!! I will continue to miss Pruitt-- but you are absolutely killing it, keep it up, I still LOVE Web DM & get so much from watching your channel!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Tip 4 is super important. I DM almost all the time so I’ve never done tier 4 play as a player, but if I got that far and was unable to affect the world on a bigger scale, I’d be really upset. Those characters are *meant* to be world-shapers, they’re *meant* to fundamentally change the setting, and they deserve to
Agreed!!
Do they though? Let's look at Forgotten Realms for a moment. On the Sword Coast alone you have a dozen of mythical characters around at the same time. They can barely keep Waterdeep together. No one's heard of them on the other side of the continent. The setting you're playing in might be different, sure, but all setting I've encountered would realistically have people trying to subvert whatever your characters are doing once they become high level. Why would the world, all its gods, all its heroes just LET you dominate everything? Your characters are the big bads for someone else.
@@yaldabaoth2 Just because somebody "deserves" something doesn't mean they don't have to work for it. In this case, the pc's are powerful beings with the ability to have a major effect on the world around them. If the players want to change the world in massive ways and have the abilities that let them, then of course they'll try and use them. It'd be stupid for a dm to say "no you can't do that" when the players literally can. Where the game and story come in is npc's that try to stop the characters from doing whatever it is they're doing, point them in different directions, or otherwise mess with the characters' plans.
Of course not everything the players say goes, but it's pointless if they don't get to use any of their grand power for anything. Like Jim said, the setting is just as much the players' as it is the dm's, and it can be super cool when players get the chance to help shape it, especially with the characters they've come to know and love.
Pros of new content: I can listen to Jim Davis lofi all day long, shit is like my dad watching golf my midday naps have never been more restful.
Cons: I feel like having a costar to roll with makes it seem more organized and easier to follow.
I completely agree with #5. If the players can get from tier 1 to 4 in the matter if months, so can so many others. In my campaigns, magic is more normalized
As a DM that has felt burnt out because of the high level campaign I'm running: I needed this. This has reinvigorated my excitement for my campaign. Thank you!
I DM high level D&D. I've had multiple long term high level campaigns at this point. Its been super fun. My first BBEG battle started with the players going in as flying triceratops to attack the BBEG. It was a massively fun time.
The main thing that has helped me for high level D&D, is feel free to make *deadly encounters*. Trust in your players ability to circumvent enemy stats and overcome the challenge. Also, give your BBEG a couple hundred more HP when prepping. Because paladin smites will do over 100 damage easy.
I wish you all the best and as a DM, make sure you check in with your players. High level play is all about communication and teamwork, DM included.
I came to this video expecting to find novel advice; instead I found a distillation of my DMing experiences.
Thanks for the honest insight. Cheers 🥂
Thank you so much for this video! I've run two full campaigns and am currently running a third, all of which have entered tier 4 play, and my play experience has absolutely not matched up with the vast majority of what people have been saying online. However, it HAS meshed very much with everything you said in this video! I was worried that there was something weird about my table/group, but just the reassurance from this video alone was worth the watch. There was some great advice too that I can't wait to put to use.
Okay your topic selection is on point. I'm loving this new webdm chapter
Thank you!
@@WebDM No, thank you. My adventurers are still level 6 but the aim of the campaign is 20 and beyond so this is quite useful!
This is hands down my favorite video you have done so far.
I love the clear, personal engagement and honest approach. It's applicable and direct input.
I also value the video because of running fairly long games personally that always tend to evolve into high level play and this video could not have said it better for any DM wanting to play in that direction.
Thank you
Thanks for all the videos! They always give me something to think about.
Loved the video Jim! I am really enjoying the format of the last few videos, especially the “story time” at the start. Keep up the great work.
Thanks!
Quality, as always.
Another tip for DMs:
Just like He-man, you have the power!
There is NOTHING the players can hit you with that you cannot overcome. But this isn't a call to beat them down; now is your chance to do something bonkers with little to no downside. For example, damage immunities are seen as an end point. Once you get fire immunity, fire holds no fear or wonder for you. That need not be the case. The game and its lore alone fly in the face of it. The Elemental Plane of Fire is home to the Sultan of the City of Brass. He and Kossuth, the non-evil god of fire, can both produce flame that is so profound that even creature that are immune to fire and native to the plane take FULL DAMAGE from their fire.
Another example is just to make a legendary exception. If a creature you bring to the table doesn't just simply have legendary actions but is legendary in its truest sense, that creature should be able to do at least one thing at tier four play that slaps down conventions and defies expectations. A CR 25 lich BBEG might be able to cast more than one leveled spell per turn, or an ancient dragon can be the size of a literal mountain (with its own relative gravity), and it can see into the present, past, or future as easily as a dark elf uses darkvision.
And that is just the beginning. Genius Loci, Soul Rot, puzzles on the scale of entire castles, time-loop traps, arcano-cyborg beholders, world wars, and so much more.
Game on.
Jim, as much as I love Mr. Pruitt, your solo shows are great. You really have a knack for getting the point across and explaining concepts that are hard to communicate. Great DM skills. Thanks for your vids.
Really like the take on mindset you led on with. It's been my experience that a lot of people either don't know how to 'take their fun seriously,' or they don't trust the people around them enough to commit to that. Everyone knows the smartass at the table that names their character 'HulkSmash' and just won't change it because lols, the person that memes their way from scene to scene and won't put their phone down, and the friend that is irritated by someone else and they *could* choose to deal with it later...but takes every opportunity to jump into an argument regardless of the obvious un-chill vibes they are dropping on the night. They're at every table at one point or another...and of course there's (a lot) more.
These people never fail to dismantle what could be a powerful, cinematic experience and *ensure* it isn't.
That isn't to say that these antics aren't endearing in some ways, because they can be - and laughing until you are about to cry is a great thing but not every game session needs to be that. This is by far the thing that gets in the way of pencil and paper RPG gaming period, but comes to the fore at high levels.
Most players are looking for a dice to roll and a legendary beast to slay - they don't want to tell a story they just want to win and be told they are winning. You put a table full of dukes, thanes, and barons in front of them for critical peace and military negotiations that are aggressive, sharp-minded, and strategic...and they get bored. "Yeah I bitch slap him." "Yeah I take my sword out and swing." "Yeah I use a cantrip and squeeze grapefruit juice into his eyes." They don't have the mindset to meet the scene in front of them because they only thing they are committed to is being amused...and if they aren't being amused by someone else, they will be happy to use everyone's evening to supply themselves with entertainment.
Running Mad Mage right now and this level of play gets tougher and tougher. Good timing
As a DM for going on for over 40 years it is so refreshing to hear from someone who isnt afraid of running high level games for crazily powerful characters.
Very good advice.
I would add
It's all about the characters not a dms preconceived plans and
The dice never lie.
Thanks again and happy holidays.
While I agree that a dm should never be too attached to their plans and allow the flow of the story to be organic with the party for the most of it. I've always hated the saying that it's all about the players because the DM is a player too imo. If I'm spending hours of my free time throughout the week preparing for a session or world building I'd like to have some fun too. That can be through things like seeing major story beats I planned come to fruition, seeing how my players deal with specific encounters or puzzles I've made etc
Man what a great video! Our group just hit level 17 after about a year and a half. Every day playing is better than the day before. It just keeps getting more fun! I really don’t understand why so many people have so many problems with high level play. You are right! It’s their world! Your job is to just go with it as long as the results are a great story.
This is why I love Web dm you guys seem to know what's up and are at least trying to address it with tips and ideas keep it up 👍
"Tip number two!" LOL, you're awesome
Love the chilled vibe/production on this one
I have really been loving your tips and commentary recently, particularly Tip 6 about being a Referee. Great stuff.
I love the style of this video. Hope to see more solo videos from Jim and Pruitt in the future (and more tag team videos too!)
Omg. A FANTASTIC video. Thank you so much!! Feeling INSPIRED!!!!
After running in tier 3 & 4 in the past year in an ongoing campaign, this video has really been a hugely satisfying one to watch. Seriously the best advice I have heard in a video after seeking out advice like this online for a long while.
damn now i need to yawn! sweet, keep it real jim, wishing the team a great holiday season. my backs a mess right now too so this is perfect escapism/brain comfort food, thanks for all the passion and knowledge
Hope your back gets better; thanks for watching!
Started doing prep today for a Gith Knight one-shot coming up this weekend. I wanted to go all in. Red Dragons, planeshift, elder brain. The whole deal. Definitely a lot to manage.
Just saw this come up on my feed. It was meant to be. Keep up the great work!
I'm proud to say that group's favorite campaign after a decade of gaming is a modified Rise of Tiamat campaign I ran, with personalized dungeons and stuff that slowly took them up to level 17 over the course of 2 years. I had always said I only liked the very lowest of levels, my players liked 3-8 but I liked 1-5. This has changed, at least partially. the later levels were the most fun of that campaign for everyone. I basically gave them Superman's world of cardboard speech, because I could make an ever-changing feywild dungeon spill into a ancient dragon ritual spill into a mindflayer hive with a brainstealer dragon. And people struggled, some died or had to be revived, and it was a BLAST. I could just throw my party COOL LOOT, and as long as I listened to my players and made sure to give them all moments to shine it was a wonderful. Especially since a lot of my stuff had some risk to the reward, massive AOEs can backfire for instance.
Essentially the best moments were a point where I said "ok you have 4 months before your army arrives, but due to teleportation circles you can get there within a week from near anywhere on this continent, how are you going to acquire power?" The elf found her people just in time to rescue them from mindflayers, the kalashtar led the party to an ancient temple dragged into the feywild to give restore her patron spirit's full power, the human dragged everyone to a party on a quest to get Amn on thier side...then abandoned it after they got the artifact and realized they didn't want AMN to have access to even minor temporal powers. But everywhere they went they had IMPACT. they set armies in motion after them, or gained the eye of a powerful demon or patron, or suddenly found themselves fleeing when they found the immesurable depths of what trouble the got themselves into with thier arrogance. but even when they lost, half the party wiped, or were cursed, or what have you...they were still amazed. Because they weren't sneaking around hoping a tiny tribe of bullywog harrassing a little backwater didn't notice them, they moved people, for better or for worse. That, to me, is what high level is about...As long as the players also realize that sometimes what they set into motion might be for the worse.
Good video Jim! Started a campaign recently with the group and watch this to get a feel of what to do if we should ever get that far. I constantly forget plane hopping is a thing at tier 4, I was planning on them fighting an ancient green dragon in the Underdark instead.
Plane hopping can happen at tier 1, if you're crazy enough.
Great stuff! Point 6, I have made it a point to tell my players that I will round character favor, but the dice land how they do.
You really nailed the pregame that gets players to the 'Tier 4' as well as how to keep players engaged with their character at said tier.
Super happy for this video! I definitely think more people need to openly talk about high level DnD. Converse, share and compare with others so that it won't be this "scary thing" as well as help others who go to high tier. I definitely need to work on tip 6! Thanks again for the wonderful video.
Jim, I really appreciate this video. Informative, and well paced, and enjoyable to watch. Thanks for doing what you do!
Thank you!
Thank you so much! We're working hard on this new format!
I'm actually just wrapping up a campaign that's ending at level 17. My players just slayed a (heavily modified) Tarrasque. It was a serious challenge as a DM, but has been a goal of mine since I started running dnd to run at this level. The bug issue was combats became at lot less frequent as random encounters just weren't worth it anymore, but the ones we had were super epic and deadly.
Congratulations, this a big improvement from the camera-shy previous episode! And one of the best content-wise!
Thought provoking and very comfy to listen too 👍
I have been running a home-brew high level campaign (started lvl 17, now level 23). We decided this as a group because I wanted to create my own world and had a rough sketch while also wanted input and influence from the players I was designing it for. Like mentioned in the video, what better way to do that than playing high level where players DO have the influence? Anyways, things I have learned to have fun/improve the experience:
1. Innovate battle. Whether it is having an Empyrean teleport the team a mile or so above the surface and have them free fall while trying to battle it or creating a PC based enemy team (thats right, PVP style making level 20 characters to fight against), its all incredibly different.
2. Rules? What rules? The characters are powerful beings! They should be able to change the world around them. Of course, free reign is not fair, but if your player wants to create a ginormous crater or become a god to a group of follower, why not let them? In fact, most of this lends itself to good plot points!
3. Story format. Probably the most important thing I have incorporated is asking what type of game they want to run. High level political intrigue is very fascinating when players have to restrict their own powers or face the wrath of powerful beings vs Brute force killing machines wanting to go around having drawn out fights with new and exciting monsters. A balance between this and other styles might work for your table!
4. Consequences. A high level druid player once accidentally stole something in a major city and the guards attempted to stop them. A quick attempt at escaping resulted in a panic as a bear ran through the city and then the rest of the party caused further chaos with high magic. Long story, short, they ended up destroying a sizable city and disrupted the economy of one corner of the continent. Point is, don't be afraid to look at your players and say "your actions will have grave consequences".
I love this format Jim!
good discussion. I like the new format. background music is nice too. I've run tier 4 in 5e before and it's difficult to change the mindset, but, it does take a different approach to adventure design. Best bit of advice was to be ready to destroy your world. before I started my first 1-20 game in a homebrew world, it was a world I had been designing for nearly 15 years. in one year of game play, it was destroyed...and it was glorious.
I'm really appreciating these high level ones since my current campaign is going in that direction. I typically only do low level and maybe max out around 10 because I'm not a fan of the superheroes and like the dirty grimy gritty part of the low levels. So thanks for the advice because my experience is lacking lol
I've found by having a presence of high level threats early on that once they get there, they act less like superheroes and more like survivors.
The way I kept my level 20 game relatively grounded was by having the characters have to deal with organizational politics and logistics.
Oh the level 20 wizard with epic boons has 3 ninth level spell slots and can make simulacra. Well if you want an army with you the army needs to be paid, trained, fed, armed, supplied and led by someone who actually understand warfare on a strategic and theatre level and not just small unit tactics.
At this point for the group they started calling in favors from other groups and religious orders they helped over the campaign and the wizard spent a lot of time making money using simulacrum and wish to get funding while also using Spelljammer ships to hire outside help so that the players don’t crash the economy of the Sword Coast. Discussing the implications of economic inflation will make most people realize they are not all powerful if they have any care about what happens to the people in the setting.
Really loving all the newer content. Can’t wait to read Weird Wastelands. 💪
Brilliant topic I really enjoy the video and I cannot agree more with tip #6
Cheers
The new solo format is really working for me :) obviously miss Pruitt, but I love listening to Jim talk!
Dude, I thought I was the only one who thought people need to get over the tier-4 hype. I agree with you wholeheartedly!
Amazing video very helpful
Excellent video!
Thanks!
*sees webDM video* *clicks like before event watching because I know it’s gonna be amazing*
Great video!! :)
One trick for keeping things interesting at every tier of play is introducing a mirror match up villain party. Think the Linear Guild from Order if the Stick.
How do you stat these nemesis characters?
1.Take the sidekick rules from Tasha's.
2. Give each "sidekick" stat block levels in sidekick classes equal to the PC they're supposed to mirror.
3. Then give them all the subclass features from any subclass you think would be funny to put against that PC's chosen subclass. It can be the opposite thematic class like pitting life cleric vs death cleric. Or the same class. Life vs life, and anything in between. Hell, pitting a battlemaster fighter against a berserker barbarian can be fun.
4. Give the nemesis party whatever bases, vehicles, and political powers they need to constantly show up and pester the PCs. The Acquisitions Incorporated book is great for this.
That'll work well once, maybe twice, but aside from divine GM intervention, one party is just going to win in an open confrontation. It's not like Pokemon's Gary who you encounter over and over and you both just keep leveling. If you leash your players or the nemesis party and prevent them from properly interacting, it'll get either toothless, annoying, or both.
That's why the leader of the nemesis party is a caster with 3 or 4 escape spells and the half the party the PCs kill gets replaced with revolving door minions.
Then a coup happens off camera and the PCs start asking what happened to that one guy when he stops showing up.
Realistically though, it's not that hard to give invulnerability to a nemesis party. Strixhaven just came out. If your campaign is set there or in any other sort of adventuring academy the party will have class rivals who they keep butting heads with and aren't allowed to outright kill.
Same if your party is employed by a guild or mercenary company that has multiple teams. Every time the PCs go to the bounty board to look for work have them bump into the prick from the other team and have him dole out sarcastic remarks on the jobs they pick.
Then stage a final battle with the nemesis party in which the leaders of the guild or academy are killed and the PCs are left in charge of day to day running of the organization. And that running of a globe spanning organization is tier 3 and 4 play.
I love order of the stick.
This video inspired me to bring back my campaign that had reached tier 4 and fizzled out due to my own nerves from running high level play. Now I got some fresh ideas and the content of the video helped revitalize the necessity to continually challenge myself as a game master. As always, thank you for your unending guidance and wisdom Mr. Davis.
Awesome! Have a great time!
I've been running a high-level campaign for about 2 years (started at 17 and are now 20) and these are all spot on. I'm glad you start with "Mindset" because that really informs everything else. Running a game with players that can literally call on the power of gods is way different than killing gnolls and requires a shift in how you think about the campaign and its story/goals.
Prepare heavily, know your players' capabilities, and buckle up for the ride!
High level play is the best! thank you for this video.
Some good ideas. And great point about the vicious circle of unsupported high-level play.
My players PCs are all 14th level now. I recently put about a hundred Hobgoblins in a tower to show them that the goblinoids were mobilising under their new leader. Sort of, there's a hundred of them, just go around (which they did) sort of thing.
Ran the numbers between sessions and it turns out that six 14th level PCs could take on a hundred Hobs pretty handily. A Deadly-ranked encounter to be sure, but quite within their capabilities.
Great tips! I'll strive to level up as a DM. These can be applied to the lower end as well, I think. They resonate with my worries for my party, despite them being level 4. I'm running 3.5 though, so I think my concern is that they'll trivialize a lot of things suddenly. If I'm on top of it though, and transition my mindset correctly, I think I can still challenge them. So, basically, as long as I keep challenging myself, I can keep challenging my group.
I'm excited to eventually make it to high level d&d. Running OotA right now, the party started at 5th level since we were doing homebrew stuff beforehand. They're 6th level now and only halfway to the kuo toa so I'm excited to see how it all pans out
Skipped the ad, because I already bought it, from an ad in a prior video. Good shit.
Just what I needed, my week has been terrible! Gotta get that dose of D&D.
Hope your week turns around!
healthy and seeing you well, enjoyed the video Jim and Co 🖤
Yo I love story time to start the episodes now keep up the good work man
Thanks!
Solid advice Jim! The Tier 4 hype is nonsense. DMs have to remember that character abilities scale up at higher levels but so do their adversaries. Give a bad guy a boat load of feats that suits the challenge you want to create. The NPC enemies do not and should not progress through levels like character do. If you want to challenge the characters, throw an enemy at them that crits on a natural 15. That’s a 25% chance to crit on each attack. Give them multiple attacks, legendary actions or regeneration. I’m breaking the rules for my upcoming campaign where characters will start at 16 level. The rule I am breaking is for some enemies, they will remain invisible even when they attack. You can get creative and really challenge them. Parties live for that and putting them on edge makes for memorable game play. One last thing - throw a hundred enemies at them that are low level and maybe have a couple hit points each. They’ll have a blast totally dominating, then after chewing up some of their resources, have a reasonably difficult boss emerge. That’ll get them shaking in their boots
Great video
You guys should make a WebDM video on running a game as a Play-by-Post. All the different advantages and disadvantages that come with it.
I'm missing Pruitt, but you're doing great, Jim! Thanks for the video :)
Our group started at 1st level , four players have attained up to level 18th . It’s D&D 5E , with Homebrew added to it. Having a load of fun !
Slainte
Excellent, inspiring, great brain fuel video.
“Never give a 100th level character an even break!” - The Throne of Bloodstone
Loved that publication. I used it as inspiration for my own high level game.
Odd breaks only. GOT IT!
About to finish CoS with level 11 PCs...This was inspiration that I can continue their story at the higher levels!
Yeah all right fine. I'm old I'm tired and I don't have much time for prep but you know what, you can convince me.
I'll absolutely push my game into the 4th tier when the time comes.
You're right, there is something about that level of gameplay and it doesn't have to be so daunting, but moreover I'm starting to stagnate.
On a side note, your mic comes in very sharp and picks up a lot of the smacks and subtle noise from you. I'm not sure if there's a way of softening it up I'm not a sound expert, but I had to throw a towel over my phone to dampen the sharpness of the sound.
Thank you so much for doing what you do you and your team are amazing.
I am looking forward to playing T3-4 as a dm!
When Is that time when I can bust out the beholders, ancient dragons, and all the good stuff with cr 10+
This is one of the things that always gets me in DND and in Pathfinder. In the 20 years I've been playing these games I always run across the forums and boards and chat rooms that people will do what I call Whiteboard Tabletop. Where they throw up everything in the rule books up on a white board and talk about how broken the mechanics are and how players can one shot this or subvert that or do this or can do that. How they power level these characters with specific equipment and specific magical items and specific everything.
But then in actual play, at the table, all this whiteboarding and planning they do is barely 1% of what happens ever in the state of play. Yea your wizard might have known a spell to instantly destroy the world, but since youve been telling your DM about it for weeks, the DM just adds in something to stop it with the roll of a die. Yea your CoDzilla or Gish can buff up with 90 buffs before a dungeon, but your DM brings up time passing as you are doing stuff that doesn't involve combat and soon you are out of time. Or you get ambushed before you can do your buff chance
All of these problems they bring up as High level of play and what the players can do really rarely ever are an issue in the game itself. Especially with a group of players you can trust and work well with
This is an awesome video on this topic. I see so much negativity around high-level play that as someone who’s never had the opportunity to participate in it I’ve been kind of put off it in the past, so it’s reassuring to see a more positive but still helpful discussion on it.
I’m running my first game at the moment (played for a few years before this) and this is really helpful. The players are a long way off this level of play and it’s possible they’ll want to move on to new characters before then, but I want to be prepared for the day it happens 😂
It’s probably a bit nebulous as there’s so many areas to look at, but I’d love to see a video with your advice on how to self-evaluate our DM skills and then work on improving them. Things like what to look out for, what kinds of resources would be helpful for improving in each area, etc.
Excellent video! Commenting just to appease de TH-cam algorithm!!
Bless you!
The bear totem barbarian can be a challenge with resistance to all by psychic damage. But it's fun when you can turn them against the party.
Sooooo, what you're saying is that DM-ing is like a Nike commercial from the 90's?? Haha, fun to watch as always:)
This HP change keeps lower levels alive long enough to develop a character and keeps a high level on their toes and paying attention !
This is a system I developed in 1987 , it's based of of size race constitution and more importantly keeping the game interesting as ones character increases in levels . First a race needs to be determined for a character this will put the hit points in a size range small medium large there is also extra large but that's more for creatures than characters .
Small being 0-3' Medium 3'- 8' Large 8'-18' and ExLarge 18'+
Hit points being based off of a 1d12 per ft with -1hp per dice for S. a +1hp per dice L. and a +2hp per dice for ExL. M. receives no penalty or bonus.
Racial Adjustment
Human no adjustment, Halfling a -1per hp dice , Half Elf -1-2per hp dice , Elf -1-3per hp dice , Gnomes no adjustment this is based off of their hardiness off setting their small stature this brings us to Dwarves +1-6per hp dice and half orcs +1-2per hp dice adjustment . Now one will say well this is fine and dandy for characters but what about creatures will this is where your experience and skills of a DM comes into play , there's a reason people are joining you for a game they trust your expertise and honesty to make appropriate calls on adjustments in figuring HP's and damage for example a battalion of archers that's a 1000 men raining a 1000 arrows down on a dragon isn't going to do anything even though one arrow could kill a human . So don't be lazy this system will give your game a much more realistic feel so take the time to figure HP's for creatures at first this will be time consuming but once your used to it it will be more like second nature a quick judgement on size and hardiness of the creature and boom you'll know an appropriate number.
So in figuring a S. character 1d6+or-, M no more than 1d8+or-, L no more than 1d10+or-, ExL no more than 2d20+or- such creatures as dragons
HP Adjustment for Strength
3-7 strength -1hp per point below an 8
8-14 strength no adjustment
15-18/50 +1 HP per point over 14 no additional until a score of 18/51 - 18/99 an additional+1 and a score of 18/00 +2
HP Adjustment for Constitution
3-7 -1per point under a score of 8
8-14 no adjustment
15-18 +2 HP per point over the score of 14 .
HP Adjustment Based off of Sex
Males none females - 1d6 but +1d6 for Charisma .
Now what makes this so different and challenging is that first your players actually have the ability to make it past 1st level because they start off with substantial HP's secondly it's based of of something that actually makes sense in the game and finally once a character hits 6th level he/she better be using their witt's because your HP's don't adjust. Less the DM has adjusted them permanently for some reason. So there ain't no having 13th level fighter having a 130+ HP's !
Submitted for your consideration please let me know your thoughts I would love a critique. Speaking of a critique I obviously jumped the gun with your system ! Yes it's important to keep the game moving and again this is where the DM's expertise comes into play I whole heartily agree with the none important creatures the ones there as filler , to push the campaign in a certain direction and such .
I've been running a planehopping/spelljamming high-level campaign for the past few months, and I definitely didn't understand the hype (or the fear). It plays just like normal D&D - the only difference is that I need to more frequently homebrew or reskin monsters (considering with 6 level 13 PCs, even demon lords are often just "hard"). Hell, I even give my players a ton of OP homebrew stuff (10th level spells anyone?) and it works fine.
Still, this video was super useful in terms of being conscious of and articulating what has worked so far, so thanks.
While I agree that I don't find challenging my players difficult no matter the level. I think you illustrate an issue by noting that "Even demon lords are often just "hard"". Which tells me that the game is badly supported at that level, and the designers aren't always aware of how challenging their monster statblocks actually are.
For example: When I ran Curse of Strahd, I researched other DM's experiences, and one of the more common was that Strahd himself felt entirely underwhelming for his supposed CR rating, and would end up being killed early, possibly even in random encounters.
Was really enjoying the solo videos, hope y'all return to youtube at some point.
Stinger!!!
Also, I think Jim might have joined the Tracksuit Mafia
We are getting back to our groups high level game next week after a nice few months of level 5 play so this is well timed. Hopefully I still remember how my Warlock/Rouge (17/1) works.
Have fun!!
much better with lower music volume. Thanks!
This vid was awesome xDD
I've been in a campaign that has been running for over three years now. We started at level one and we are now at level nineteen. My mountain dwarf fighter character just found the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. We are planning on taking the campaign to Epic levels.
Great video!
I do not want people to be scared of figure out 4th tier.
This really should be part of normal dnd, 4th is a true super hero and Leader of nations game, take advantage of that.
I'm pleasantly suprised by how well Webdm has adapted in our new post Pruitt (pp) era. Rock on Jim Davis
Where's Pruitt?
Thanks for this. Just in time for my party to hit level 30 in my homebrew lmfao. We're two years in, and about to do the final questline if act 2, which prompts act 3, the war arc, where shit is about to get even crazier than it's been. My party now consists of 4 avatars of different gods, so balancing is getting a little out of whack. We still have another several months, to a year to go, and it gets harder every week to balance this shit lol. That being said I'm doing very good considering. Most DMs don't have a clue how to run high level campaigns, and just start freaking out and throwing random shit in the mix. I've learned how to properly challenge my players in more indirect ways. Combat is still smooth and fun, the enemies just die much quicker now.
On a theoretical level I understand what you mean about "not being a fan of the PCs" in regards to fairness and stakes, but in practice I struggle with that because I find it difficult to figure out how to make the campaign personally tailored to the players if the characters have the potential to change often. When I'm coming up with the outline of the campaign's plot and when I'm planning for the smaller arcs of individual adventures I frequently mine the characters' backstories for NPCs or themes. If a PC was a driving factor in a big adventure, I'm worried that that thread would just be dropped and then I have to scramble and struggle with coming up with a bunch of new stuff and try to bring this new character in, and it sounds really daunting.
I know that if I just dropped this idea of a cohesive "story" for the campaign that would solve my problem, but I REALLY want to do it this way because my favorite campaign I ever played in was super personalized to the characters playing in it and I want to create a similar feeling for this group. I'm just intimidated by the amount of work I'd have to do in order to improvise the story all the time AND keep it unique and personal. Is there ANYTHING anyone can think of that would make this more balanced without just scrapping the feeling of personalization I'm going for?
Great video. My main campaign is on a break after hitting 20. But we are going to play for 5 more levels or so. I think I'm ready to see the world burn.
I need highly edited clips of every Jim Drink.
Noted
Great advice. Hitting tier three soon and I was like maybe it’s time to stop. Dungeon craft and rune hammer often say that high level d&d sucks. But this inspired me. If we can go the distance, I’m down! I’ve never DM’d high level d&d.
Ran a campaign that lasted for 3 years. Started during the NEXT playtest and finished in 2015. By T4 they were commanding armies as they fought their way to my homemade CR 30 Big Bad Death King. It was fun and everyone made it to level 20. After that, the players focused on political intrigue, building/maintaining their temples/homebase, and helping out their lower level PCs from time to time. Ah good times.
Thats a fucking handsome sweater mate, looking good!
Wisdom Incarnate.
Thank you Jim and Friends!
Tier 4 is the best tier both as player and Dm. it is when the stakes can be as high or little as you like, so much freedom and opportunity to be creative and in a world, you have likely spent months/years adding to. Richer and more fun in literally every way.
Love a Mitchell amd web reference
Trippin Balls Cosmic D&D
Hm, interesting points! Lot's to think about.
I would love more high level play advice
Dude! Thanks for telling me to up my game with no published support.