Readying a high-level Dungeons & Dragons game has its challenges, but a prepared Dungeon Master can work to make epic play enjoyable and balanced.
Running a high-level Dungeons & Dragons campaign is unique challenge, but there are steps Dungeon Masters can take to avoid headaches and make the game as enjoyable and epic as it can be. The 5e D&D rules are more streamlined than prior editions, but the upper levels of the game nonetheless offer more complications. Rules like spellcaster Concentration and Item Attunement still provide some limits to the number of powerful effects players need to track, but the higher levels introduce more long duration, concentration-free spells. Class features and Feats offer more actions per round and more opportunities for reactions outside a character’s turn. Nearly all DMs encourage players to learn D&D’s rules, but high-level play requires further mastery of the system than the introductory levels.
Start a high-level D&D campaign is, in some ways, not so different from starting a low-level one. Creating a starting character is a straightforward, step-by-step process, as clearly outlined in the D&D Player’s Handbook. For high-level games, the DM will need to make sure every player has a clear understanding of how they should generate everything from starting stats to their equipment. Ensuring parity among members of a high-level party is difficult, so DMs should make sure every character has the same options available. Some DMs may enjoy the old-school randomness of dice-based statistic generation, but for high level games, point buy is the only reasonable option so players have even opportunities for stat increases or feat choices gained with advances in level. The "set values" for Hit Points rule should always be used, as rolled Hit Point totals harm game balance.
Related: D&D: Your DM Is (Probably) Not Out To Get You
Rules like multi-classing and Feats are technically optional in 5e D&D, but every high-level game should include both. Some weak 5e D&D feats need to be fixed in future editions, but other feats make the difference between classes dominating the battlefield and failing to have any meaningful contribution at all. A feat-free game does not impact spellcasters as significantly as martial classes. Spells are not optional rules, and powerful high level spells cause casters to outshine Fighters and Barbarians who do not have feat access. Martial classes can easily keep pace with spellcasters, even at higher level, but they require feats like Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master to ensure their peerless damage output contribution can match the versatility and power of spells.
Multi-classing is a similar necessity, with many of the best high-level character concepts pulling from multiple classes and their features. The DM should reinforce the stat requirements for multi-classing, and that these must be met with a character’s inherent statistics, not those granted by magic items like a Belt of Giant Strength. Builds like a D&D skill master leverage multi-classing for a character that shines outside of combat. Fragile classes like a Wizard or Sorcerer can benefit from a single Fighter level to bolster their defenses with armor and shields along with Constitution saving throw proficiency for maintaining spell Concentration.
A single-classed Rogue will struggle to keep up with damage at high level, while builds that combine the Rogue's skills and Expertise with dedicated martial classes that gain Extra Attack can get the best of both worlds. Mandating the use of point buy, using the fixed value Hit Point rules, and opening the door to Feats and multi-classing would be sufficient for a lower-level game, but high-level play also requires consideration of starting equipment. The D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide outlines appropriate starting equipment for high-level Player Characters, but 5e D&D gives looser guidelines than earlier editions did, so DMs will need to provide more specifics, including often ambiguous magic item pricing.
Related: One D&D Might Be The Final Dungeons & Dragons Edition
Some D&D magic items like Robe of Useful Items provide versatility for low-level parties, but high-level PCs have different requirements. Items that replace statistics, like an Amulet of Health for a 19 Constitution or the various Strength-replacing belts, are typically popular choices. A Mantle of Spell Resistance aids with Saving Throws, and Winged Boots can give flight to melee characters. Magical weapons are a given for any martial character. These items are needed for upper-level characters to combat higher Challenge Rating enemies, more of which have flight, innate spellcasting, or resistance to non-magical weapons. The Dungeon Master’s Guide notes the appropriate items of each tier of rarity owned by higher-level PCs, with different rarities given for low magic and high magic games, but the high magic item list is typically most appropriate.
High-level PCS also start with some amount of gold above and beyond the items and equipment granted by their level tier and starting equipment. The higher-rarity items players select can be game-changing, but most minor D&D magic items won't break the game. Players will still require many of these, even in an epic tier game, as standbys like the Bag of Holding, Goggles of Night, and Cloak of the Manta Ray are still essentials for high-level adventurers. Because 5e D&D is vague in its magic item pricing, the DM will need to decide how costs should be handled in their game. The Dungeon Master’s Guide provides a wide range of prices for each tier of rarity, but the revised prices from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything provide a better analysis.
For simplicity, the Dungeon Master can set item prices at the average price of items of their rarity tier. This may not properly reflect the difference between items of the same tier, like a 23 Strength-granting Belt of Stone Giant Strength and a 25 Strength-granting Belt of Fire Giant Strength, both of which are within the Very Rare item tier. Dungeons & Dragons boss fights are more epic than ever, with Lair Actions and Mythic Actions in addition to monsters' actual turns. Players need to prepare accordingly and require the option to equip themselves with magic items appropriate to their level. Alternatively, the DM can set individual item prices within the range of costs offered for a given rarity tier, but using the average value is far less hassle for everyone involved.
Related: D&D Spelljammer: Most Powerful Ships In Combat
The last consideration with epic tier games, as with any campaign, involves noting what content the players have access to. There are already imbalances within official D&D content, and opening the door to third-party content could create even more. Players will need to know if only officially published materials are available, or if "playtest" material from Unearthed Arcana articles is permitted. Each PC will also need a level-appropriate backstory. A level 15 hero already has countless battles under their belt, giving them significantly more history than a level 1 hero setting out on their first adventure.
Selecting the best D&D Backgrounds makes for interesting characters, and high-tier heroes can come from different walks of life. One character might have developed their skills as a soldier or a knight, acting as part of a structured organization, while another might have been a freewheeling treasure hunter or pirate. A high-level campaign needs a Session Zero more so than any other game. Realistically, given the mechanical complexity of upper-level D&D, and the more in-depth backstory requirements, more than one preparatory session is likely needed: one for mechanics and one for character history and campaign tone. Despite the challenges and complexity involved, running and playing in high-level D&D is extremely rewarding, and most who have experienced such games agree they are worth the effort.
Low-level heroes save villages and fight goblins in D&D, but upper-level characters can go toe to toe with the likes of an ancient lich or dragon, traverse the planes, and shape the destinies of kingdoms. The DM should ensure the high-level D&D heroes aren't just gods and have connections to the campaign world and its people. Though their power makes them living legends, there should always be people and causes that are important to epic adventurers. Balance remains as much of an issue as ever, and if a player creates a suboptimal character the DM should feel free to provide build advice, as the goal is for everyone to have a chance to shine and have fun.
Asking a player to artificially weaken a powerful character is never appropriate in D&D (unless it uses imbalanced homebrew or third-party content). Mechanically effective characters are particularly fitting for a high-level game; if a hero has managed to reach the upper levels, that is usually a reflection of their skill and efficacy. There are few things more rewarding than a truly epic campaign in Dungeons & Dragons, making all the challenges associated with planning a high-level game worthwhile.
Next: D&D Character Ideas That Are Less Cliché Than Your Last One
Derek Garcia is a Game Feature Writer for ScreenRant. He lives with his wife, three dogs, and a likely excessive number of video game consoles. When he is not writing, playing video games, watching movies or television, or reading novels or comic books, he occasionally takes some time to sleep. Derek majored in journalism and worked for a print newspaper before discovering the internet. He is a fan of science fiction and fantasy, video game and tabletop RPGs, classic Hong Kong action movies, and graphic novels. After being immersed in nerd culture for many years, Derek is now happy to write about the media he enjoys instead of just ranting to his friends. A fan of classics as well as the latest and greatest, Derek balances sampling the newest entertainment media with revisiting the well of a (thankfully) never-ending backlog. When trying to meet a specific word count in writing a personal biography, Derek sometimes adds Oscar Wilde quotes, like, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”