What's Your Experience At High Levels?

[JNAProductions]

Please, only post if you've actually played or DMed at high levels.

For me personally, it went pretty much fine. The players had a bit of trouble keeping track of their numerous abilities, but it still played fast and fun. Overall, a very positive experience.

[AvatarVecna]

The high level 5e I've played (that wasn't a thought experiment/homebrew test *glances upwards*) nearly got to 15th lvl. I could describe the experience in great detail, but I'll sum up the important takeaway to save time: a party of 1st lvl characters will (generally) have 5 people each with about 5 things they can do; this can only combine in so many ways, but there's enough combinations to keep things interesting, and the element of random chance is still pretty significant. At higher levels (such as the stuff I got to witness during levels 12-14), each character has a lot more personal capabilities, and their existing capabilities are much more powerful. Combined with magic items, possible followers/reputation, the sheer power and versatility of high level class features, and an entire career's worth of tactics and strategy, the sheer number of abilities possessed by these five individuals allow them to pull off basically anything that comes to mind, if they're willing to work hard enough at it.

True, there's definitely some limits, but enough magic and time and creative thinking can accomplish wonders. I watched a Rogue (Thief) 13 technically solo the Tarrasque because he got a day to prepare, while the rest of the party was busy holding off the mad lich that was trying to capitalize on the Tarrasque's appearance to take control of the kingdom. That rogue never even made an attack roll, he just set up a slip-and-slide where the Tarrasque was going to walk...that would leave the Tarrasque slipping and sliding straight through somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 separate deadly traps, finishing off with it sliding into a solid adamantine Tarrasque-sized pit that was immediately filled with lava before being flash-frozen. All of those traps and scrolls were hella expensive, but killing the tarrasque without ever attacking it...or even getting near it...was a thing of beauty.

[JNAProductions]

I've DMed high levels in real life too, AV. Not just Goultard.

[AvatarVecna]

I've DMed high levels in real life too, AV. Not just Goultard.

I didn't mean to imply otherwise, it's just the experience I thought wouldn't be worth personally sharing, given that it's both an experience shared with the OP and one that falls in line with the other high level 5e I've played.

[MrFahrenheit]

My party is 12-13 (about half and half), and eight players. I can't speak highly enough about bounded accuracy here. While the party thief/battle master technically solo'ed an adult white dragon midair last session, the rest of the party fought off its minions. It was still perilous for all involved, and still nearly resulted in a tpk.

My one desire for higher levels is for an MM2. Not for variety's sake on its own, but because there is an absence of high level mooks. Seems like once you hit CR 11 and up, all monsters are meant to be bosses. Really undercuts their specialness to start seeing adult dragons, beholders and rakshasas on a regular basis. Yes I know I could throw the party against a horde of CR 5-8s (and I have), but that gets to be a real drag on how time is spent at the table.