I have been running 4th Edition D&D games since release, as many others have. My first campaign ended after about 1 year, during which the players advanced from levels 1 to 12. As they approached the heroic tier, I decided I would do something a little different. Rather than simply having them choose a paragon path and keep going as normal, I wanted there to do something special that signified the transition from Heroic to Paragon.
So I proposed “Individual Games”.
Individual Games
At the end of the last game session of the tier (players were level 10), it became apparent to them that in order to stop this particular event (the invasion of the Lost Valley of Hutaaka) from occurring in the near future, they were going to need to split up.
- The Dragonborn Fighter would return to his homeland clans to rustle up support (soldiers) to help defend the valley.
- The Elven Cleric would go to his church and see how they might be able to help.
- The Eladrin Wizard would aid a mysterious organization in determining a weakness to exploit in the enemies powerful weapons.
So, for example, the next game was the Fighter’s game. The entire game completely revolved around his return home. The other players played new characters they made representing friends of his back home. It was a great game that ended with him defeating a rival clan’s leader in what was one of the most epic fights to have occured in all of my 4th edition experiences – to this day, he says it was his favorite D&D game ever (and he has played previous editions).
The other players enjoyed their games as well (though I will spare the details).
After each game, the player would level their character to 11 and build in their Paragon Path. After all three games were done, the next session had them getting back together as a team, having accomplished their goals (to varying degrees of success) and we continued.
This was a very effective and enjoyable way of making the transition from Heroic to Paragon special and memorable.
New Campaign, New Transition Method
I am currently running my second 4th Edition campaign. The players are level 9 now and so we again are approaching the transition from Heroic to Paragon Tier. The difference this time is that we have much less time to play. During the first campaign, we played Saturdays from 9am to 6pm – a lot of time really. This campaign consists of different players however, and we only get to play from 7pm to 10 or 11pm every other Tuesday. As much as I want to do individual games, there simply isn’t enough time for it – so I am considering something called “Narrative Transition”.
Narrative Transition
This coming Tuesday night, we will be playing one of (or perhaps THE) last game of the Heroic Tier. With no time to play individual games, I have been considering leaving the Heroic Tier at a point where the players must decide their trajectory into the Paragon Tier.
There will be options for them – paths to choose that will set the tone of the campaign through Paragon. Once they have determined their plans and the game is over, I thought I would talk to them each individually (over the course of a few weeks between then and the next game) about their Paragon Path, how it ties into the decision they made for the campaign and exactly what their characters are doing during the downtime leading up to the next session (in game, this downtime will be anywhere from a few months to a year or more depending on what they do).
I want this narrative to be very open, and very much driven by what the player wants to do with their character, whether or not the rules of 4th Edition cover them. For example, if the Fighter wants to have gathered some men that work for him, that’s an option. If the Artificer want’s to have learned more about flying airships (as I know he wants to) that is an option.
Essentially, without playing a game for it, I want to discuss these ideas and work them into the game in a way that demonstrates a significant and meaningful change in their character as they enter the Paragon Tier.
Do you do anything special in your games for Tier Transitions?
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Good ideas. Individual games especially. Could be hard with 7 and 5 plrs parties though. But still I like it.
When I was doing my last tier transition I used Universalis rules to make some facts about the world and frame some scenes describing things, that happened during 3 months we skipped. I also required players to e-mail me their plans for these 3 months.
I gave them a lot of freedom (according to Universalis rules). For example all elves were made outlaws and major empire started the way to its doom. Some players didn’t like the whole thing, but most of them jumped at an opportuninty to make some changes in the world.
But with my smaller party I think I’ll use your style of individual games.
Yea, the individual games were a blast – so much fun. The players each had a game that put the spotlight directly on them. They got to shine, make the decisions that mattered, and really explore their backgrounds. That was another point of those games was to bring to the forefront elements of their past – to touch base with them again.
Good stuff 😉
I like the idea of the individual games for individual players. That’s pretty cool.
Generally, I like the idea of the PCs gaining their Paragon status just before ending the Heroic tier campaign. They’ve sweat and fought for a full 11 levels, gaining all of the skills, tricks, and powers needed to finally vanquish their Heroic tier nemesis/antagonist.
I don’t like players gaining their cool new powers after beating the main bad guy. I think it should be something they finally get to use right before meeting him for the last time.
-Tourq