We used to think some crazy things when I was a kid. For instance, if you killed Snurre the Fire Giant King from G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King (later part of G1-2-3 Against the Giants) you became the king of all fire giants and could command them at your whim. I don’t know exactly how we got this idea. It sure doesn’t say anything even remotely close to that in the adventure. I think to our young brains it just made sense. We dominated, come all ye vanquished and worship us.
Actually I think we got the idea from this older kid who lived a few blocks away. Back then, the ins and outs of gaming, especially gaming in the world of Dungeons & Dragon were things of rumor and hearsay. Imagine a time when you could not just plop down in front of the computer or swipe at your iPhone to find out the newest news, products, and thoughts about this highly addictive game. Dungeon Magazine had not yet been dreamed up. Dragon magazine was no better than a rumor, and photocopied adventures were mysterious treasure—even if we had a hard time seeing the details on the maps. The world of gaming was nearly as mysterious as the worlds that these games created. Anyhow this older kid living a few blocks away had heard that a group of dwelling in a maze of cul-de-sacs had started playing D&D in earnest, and decided to come by and show his dominance. I forget what this kids name was, but I clearly remember he had dirty red hair, glasses, and he was a dick. That and we all worshiped him.
And this is exactly what we will be doing at Gen Con when we play A Hole in the World!
His character sheet was filled to the brim with strange and exotic information. He was the king of the fire giants, the frost giants, the hill giants (“worthless trash,” he told us. “They’re stupid and only 8 Hit Dice”), and had even trapped Acererak, who now served his character as a servant. His character was level 100, hand an AC at some inexplicable negative, and seemed to have more magic times that the Dungeon Master’s Guide did. He had stories for every single item, every single title, and every single bit of chicken scratch on that sheet. His brother was the DM and they played every night.
The idea of the epic D&D character was born…at least in my mind.
Of course, in hindsight I realize he was certainly full of shit. While I was 13, this older kid was 16 tops. If he did play through all 100 levels, it was in that “let’s just skip ahead” way that DMs did when they got bored with their own scenario. But I think the damage was done. I don’t think I’ve ever really been happy with the higher levels of D&D in any edition. And part of it may be the impossibly high standards that little red-headed prick place in my head at a very impressionable age.
I remember playtesting the 3e Epic Level Handbook and finding those rules bitsy, bloated, and full of strange corner cases that changed the game in strange ways (could I be naked and have a major cloak of displacement, please?). I will be honest with you; my experiences didn’t make me want to play in an epic-level campaign. I sure as hell didn’t want to run one. In many ways I’m happier with the epic levels of 4e. I don’t think it has nearly as many corner cases as the 3e rules did, and I think it is easier to run and play, definitely, but in hind sight there are things I wish we had done better.
So what’s got me musing on the epic levels? Well Gen Con is coming up, and I’m going. It’s my first time in 5 years, and it’s my first time in a decade as a civilian. What are my plans? Except for one event, I plan on taking the convention as it comes to me. I’m looking forward to seeing friends, playing whatever game catches my fancy and taking pictures and notes for my students. The one event I do have planned is the D&D Open Championship, A Hole in the World. And as you’ve probably guessed, it is an epic-level adventure. Since the characters were released on the 22nd, I’ve been poring over the warforged runepriest that I’ll be playing, and wow, he’s a little bitsy. Given the fact that the entry round is a group of timed encounters, it is going to make playing this fella an exercise in discipline, clarity, speed, and which bits I shouldn’t be worried about. While I’m excited about this challenge, and I am extremely happy with my team, I can’t help but feeling let down a little, at least in theory, with the particulars of epic level play.
But I’ll get to that on Friday.