How to DM Epic-Tier Games: 19 Tips for Running – and Ending – High-Level TTRPG Campaigns - a podcast by Thorin McGee

Every campaign gets to level 1, but how many make it to level 20? How do you challenge players who wield actual cosmic power? Is it fun to be kings, queens, warlords and arch-mages — and take on the responsibilities that may come with those titles? How does the DM/GM make epic-level enemies feel challenging and satisfying to defeat? How do you bring it all to a satisfying end?

There’s a time for fighting rats, goblins and thugs … And that time is long gone. High-level play, in any TTRPG, should feel different. It’s not just about bumping up stats — you have to make the game FEEL epic. It’s time to pay-off on the plot threads the PCs have been pulling since level 1 and let the players see the impact their characters have had on the world.

In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave reveal their best tips for high-level campaigns, including what they do with “Hall of Fame” characters and how to bring it all to the kind of climax your players and friends will talk about for years.

2:00 Our experiences with long campaigns

6:00 When is a campaign “High Level”?

11:00 High-level play should pay off on the relationships and events built throughout lower-level play

18:00 The PC’s story arcs should still be alive heading into the epic tier

23:00 Who really wants to be king? What does REAL POWER look like in a TTRPG setting?

32:00 How do you bring a high-level campaign to a satisfying conclusion? Pay off on the character’s goals

40:00 What do high-level campaigns look like? How are they different?

46:00 What we want in epic-level villains and monsters

52:00 How we handle thugs, bandits and run-of-the-mill/random encounters for high-level PCs

60:00 “Welcome to the Hall of Fame”: How to bring an epic campaign to a satisfying conclusion

64:00 Do the things video games can’t: Reshape the world in the characters’ (and players’) image

65:00 Going out with a bang: How to nail that last session

·        Bring out that BIG monster you’ve been saving all campaign

·        Try not to TPK them (heroic death can be good, failure is usually bad)

·        Pay off on expectations – don’t subvert them

·        Give them a BIG fight

·        Don’t wait until the final fight to give them the legendary gear

·        Finish it in one session— you don’t want to cut in the middle of the final battle

68:00 Final thoughts

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Website of Thorin McGee