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Tyndmyr
2009-12-31, 12:21 PM
So...how do you go about playing an epic campaign....somewhat reasonably. I accept and embrace that it will be very high fantasy, but frankly, infinite combos, universe ending spells, and so forth get old after about...once.

I mean, I'd actually like to craft custom, useful spells. Spells that I can cast without a thousand minions following me around.

Genesis is fun, but I'd like to use this and epic spells as more of a world creation avenue than as a personal power booster.

Intrigue with gods, extraplanar adventures, all a blast.

The thing of it is, most of this stuff is either very roughly fleshed out, somewhat inconsistant, or otherwise problematic. Has anyone pulled off long-term play in epic without things devolving into ridiculousness, and if so, what's necessary to prevent it?

Kylarra
2009-12-31, 12:26 PM
The one time we did it, we just ignored epic spellcasting altogether and just used the feat that gives you higher level slots.

kentma57
2009-12-31, 12:41 PM
I ran a game of epic gestalt...
I ran it with two groups:
-the first built powerful characters but we had fun with it
-the second completely broke the game
luckily I had built finnal bosses for both casses.

So yes I have run a long term game without it decending into ridiculousness. I just had to reminde them that I was a better powergamer than they where :smallbiggrin:.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2009-12-31, 12:41 PM
Just watch a few episodes of Dragon Ball Z, but replace the protagonists with the PCs. Then assume that there are dozens of such groups in the world, and the world-ending events that they thwart happen on a daily basis. Then try not to think about that every time you play a low-mid level character.

Zincorium
2009-12-31, 12:45 PM
The chief problem with epic, if you ignore epic spellcasting and the diplomancer, is that it doesn't introduce anything really new. Yes, gods are now defeatable in hand to hand combat as well as spell duels, you can bully great wyrms, but the special abilities are all pretty much exact extropolations of what was in the 1-20 range.

Epic had immense potential that apparently was forgotten outside of the monster section, and since it was never updated prior to 4th edition (which did a much better job), there's a lack of good reasons to play in that level range. While I don't like the manner in which E6 went about it, it's concerns were valid and they get much worse, much faster in epic play.