For those unfamiliar, Type IV D&D has three levels of play, all based on the level progression of player characters. There's Heroic Tier (levels 1-10), Paragon Tier (levels 11-20), and Epic Tier (21-30).Epic Tier has been designed to see player's characters become 'ultimate badasses' on their way to some form of immortality, where they're toppling gods, killing demons, and can only be challenged (mechanically) by a pantheon of creatures that would normally be considered god-like in their power. Little else is on the same playing field as them.
Now, I'm a new DM, but have been playing D&D off and on since high school. Still, perhaps I'm just not 'experienced enough' to understand the value or "fun" in indulging in such power gaming. That being the case, I feel I'm the kind of person who can say "Fuck Epic Tier".
Fuck Epic Tier.
Fuck it because it is antithetical to things like 'immersion', 'roleplaying', and, 'fun'. Fuck it because its very concept makes a mockery of challenge and mortality.
I can't understand the value in having one's character ascend to such heights that their attacks and powers become a jumble of rules and ever increasing numbers. I can't understand why anyone would want to have bonuses like +22 to hit, or +37 to damage. At that point, the jarring nature of such math makes me queasy. Physically ill.
Not only that, but I've almost never heard of a campaign running long enough for players to reach Epic Tier. That would involve people playing this game weekly for months! Maybe years! Does anyone have that kind of time, or players with that kind of attention span? The longest, most accomplished campaign I've ever run, ran until the players were 7th level! By then, they'd accomplished everything they wanted to (also playing drunken Rock Band tends to be more fun than playing D&D).
Am I one of the only DMs/Players of Type IV D&D who prefers more old school ideas of empowerment and success? Am I alone in my reverie in one's powerlessness and overcoming it with genuine cleverness, rather than constantly ascending stats?
Take this for the ignorant hate-speech that it is. I am ignorant and unknowing of why I should give a fuck about Epic Tier. Please explain why I should in Comments. I'd genuinely like to hear from others who value it, or know how to present it better than I can.
I've never played an epic tier (or immortals, as it was called in the BECMI rules) game. However, I was just listening to the Frank Mentzer interview on the Save or Die podcast, and he made an interesting analogy for immortals level play.
ReplyDeleteHe suggested that it was more like playing Superman in the sense that most of the time it was assumed that you would be able to defeat your opponent in combat, but that the challenge to a properly made immortals adventure should not be combat but something like preventing collateral damage or negotiating a successful treaty between two enemies. That is the kind of challenge that you can't just muscle your way through.
Really, that sounds a little bit to me like he is describing an entirely different game. But it is an interesting perspective.
Re: fuck epic tier, if you're not familiar with it you might be interested in checking out E6. It's a rules hack for 3E which tries to maintain a lower-powered game throughout. The ideas are applicable to other systems as well though.