The Highest Level Adventure for Dungeons & Dragons

Episode 156. Today I talk about the H4 Module from 1988 "The Throne of Bloodstone." A high level adventure for AD&D characters levels 18-100. Utilizing the newly released "Manual of the Planes" your party travels to the Abyss to defeat Orcus and destroy the Wand of Orcus.
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[@HBStone]

I gotta say, after going through the "City of Liches" and the "Lair of the Tarrasque" I'm not sure how worried I'd be about the "City of Zombies"

[@christophedlauer1443]

Yeah - hard to top a city of liches... then again, a city of zombies around the castle of Orcus on the metaphysical plane of death should be alot more challenging then a horde of basic zombies. Infectuos zombies, regenerating ones, zombies that can not die until you sow their mouthes shut etc... plenty of ways to make a party earn their loot.

[@pacifistattack]

Interesting thing about this adventure was it broke the lore about the tarrasque. When you reached the lair of the Tarassque, there was 2 of them there.

[@noctrk161]

They are all level 20 fighters?

[@robertzenniful]

@@pacifistattack I don’t remember that

[@Glitch_in_the_Matrix]

A city of Vecnas

[@JustIT69]

I ran this back in the early 90’s. The party never finished it. It was ridiculously difficult.

[@chumprock]

The H stands for "Hard".

[@laptopdragon]

Hodor

[@nolgroth]

Never ran it. My group was never into Battle System stuff. Plus, we capped out at around level 25 or so and then started to try new game systems.

[@henryruizmeeden]

Try again...my party died to orcus but luckily one had a "cape of the abyss" which regenerated him...he revived all his party, except for the NPCs, and returned to Bloodstone to rule...in true Bloodstone fashion!! PS... our fighter got FIVE NATURAL 20s when he fought the Abyssal Dragon!! Hhaa

[@tonneblack5168]

My guess is it ended at the point of fighting 100 demons. That is usually the hard (impossible) part.

[@zeebzeebo]

Attacking the Nearby Everything, that's the title of my next single.

[@Jorphdan]

Love it!

[@Bluecho4]

Or a sick-ass adventure module. _Assault On Nearby Everything._ For characters 20 to Infinity.

[@DrTenochtitlan]

Off the album "City of Liches".

[@spellister]

Is that an actual phrase in the module itself? attack the nearby everything?

[@garrettwhite3922]

You use the same picture as my DM in discord... is this Sam? 🤨

[@ExtraElliot]

My party and I played this campaign but it's a lot harder then most people think and we got the wand but everyone was in a rush and one of are party members grabbed it and died so when we took the wand to Bahamut she told us about the Tiamat thing but nobody was up for it cuz we were all depressed that we had lost more than half of our party LOL

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

How come you couldn't rez them?

[@ExtraElliot]

@@bongosmcdongos4190 because touching the wand of orcus destroys you completely including your soul that's how our DM always ran it

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

@@ExtraElliot ah I figured you were killed by something other than the wand. That's a major bummer bud.

[@pacifistattack]

@@bongosmcdongos4190 When you go over 600 levels deep into the Abyss there are any number of things/reasons why a dead character cannot be resurrected. The city of liches, for example, would drain character levels just by being in it, the longer you stayed, the more levels you lost. When you reach level 0 your character is basically un-made, nothing to resurrect.

[@ronniejdio9411]

That's hilarious. The grans finale arrives ans yall are like..... nah we good. We done

[@nickr1818]

seriously, I may just steal everything here. My homebrew campaign was going to be featuring a Night Hag in service to Orcus as the BBEG. I specifically framed this adventure to be able to take my players into tiers 3-4. This all sounds perfect.

[@Jorphdan]

Excellent! The module comes with a bunch of maps and other abyssal challenges. Not the clearest to read, but there is a lot to use in it.

[@nickr1818]

@@Jorphdan I do find that older editions' materials are just kinda hard to read, as someone who started with 5e. General layout has only gotten better over the editions.

[@MannyBrum]

@@nickr1818 Maybe the rulebooks, but the adventures are pretty easy to adapt. In fact, they usually included so much information that it not only cut out a lot of work for the DM but it treated everything as a sandbox and didn't just assume the PCs were going to react to everything a certain way. Most of the monsters are available in 5e and the ones that aren't can be converted fairly easily using similar monsters that exist and the earlier version from the module, and as far as traps and saving throws it's pretty easy to convert them to 5e if you're familiar with how they work in 5e. For instance if there's an explosion and it says to make a saving throw vs spells, you know in 5e it's going to be a dex save. You don't really need to know how it worked in AD&D.

[@nickr1818]

@@MannyBrum Rules-wise, you're right. It is very easy to convert older material to 5e. My difficulties come from the layout of the actual material, how the information is presented on the page, and my own reading comprehension.

[@aaronhumphrey2009]

A unique Night Hag called the ' Hag Countess ' rules one of the layers of the abyss..She's cornered the " larval soul and liquid pain " markets..and is attended by huge Vrocks and rides an advanced Nightmare called ' Bloodcurdle '. Could be useful in an epic campaign. Sources : Book of Vile Darkness. Fiend Folio. Epic Level Handbook .

[@theminingpress]

For playing in 5e over level 20 I would be most interested in just using multi-classing so you could be 20 levels fighter, 10 levels rouge. Unfortunately none of my games have lasted anywhere near long enough for that

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

Why that setup specifically?

[@bananaunicorn2757]

bongos mcDongos I think they were just making an example that you could continue to multiclass until reaching level twenty in each one and get to level 100 that way.

[@thrawnnoconnection6931]

Definitely. Even just level 20 abilities on their own (AKA the Druid) tend to be ridiculous at times.

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

Back in the early 80's, I just used to take player's characters away and have them make new ones once they reached level 20, most of the time. I would then have those characters occasionally return as NPC's in future adventures. It was kind of a "passing of the torch" thing with us. The end of a trilogy of movies only to start the next trilogy in our cinematic universe. Orcus was the ULTIMATE big bad in D&D back then. Everyone wanted to kill him. Everyone wanted that wand. But it never happened. The Wand of Orcus in the real world would end up like the damn One Ring in Lord of the Rings. Wars would be fought over possession of it. Wielders would be killed or corrupted. It's one of the most evil, and powerful, objects in the game. At least it was back in the early 80's.

[@trainerred6582]

That moment when you beat the main quest and start searching for the optional secret bosses

[@henryruizmeeden]

Your dm must have sucked...nobody can beat orcus...

[@sebbonxxsebbon6824]

@@henryruizmeeden Sucked? One lucky roll with a vorpal weapon and no more Orcus. A 100th level character would have weapons like that.

[@henryruizmeeden]

@@sebbonxxsebbon6824 WRONG they are protected from vorpal weapons. do your research

[@ShineDark]

In my 5E campaigns, what I homebrew for leveling up past 20 is that, each level past 20, the players get to chose 2 of the following four benefits: An Epic Boon An Ability Score Increase A Free Feat Another Hit Dice guaranteed to be the max amount of HP you can gain from rolling it.

[@ShineDark]

@@lorekeeper685 From what I understand, a character only reaches a Devine rank once they're LVL 26. At least, that's what I've heard the ruling was for previous Editions.

[@StarFyreXXX]

@@ShineDark divine ranks in 3.XE was not like that. it helped define true divine characters (demigods, gods, or beings of similiar power levels- there was even some optional notes in future books that if you wanted to make demon princes more powerful you could combine rules from epic level handbook, divine ranks, etc or give gods powers from epic level handbook and vice versa, etc). However, there is no actual ruleset for getting the ranks. thats up to DM if they want players to reach that level of power. for my campaign that has reached epic levels, ive defined how moving to divine powers will be done, etc. It does mention some ideas if a DM's gameworld allows earned divinity/stolen, etc. ie. methods for players to attain if if the DM allows. For our campaign, ive combined some stuff (some of it we dont allow) from epic level handbook, and Pathfinder Mythic Adventures. Once characters reach Mythic Tier 10, they are allowed to become true divine and reach Divine Rank 0. To do so, they have to take divine energy from divine beings. killing angels, powerful demons, demigods, aspects, avatars, etc. They've also been using those points to 'buy' abilities, slowing making themselves more powerful, kinda like Kratos in God of War.

[@seanhillman1016]

Currently running some folks through H2 Mines of Bloodstone. So far so good.

[@tylerdisera9171]

Did you migrate to 5e??

[@seanhillman1016]

@@tylerdisera9171 Yes, I may even put my notes together into the DM Guild at some point. Basically its a numbers change and some creatures that are deadly in 2e are meh in 5e. I also started the party at 11th because the power level of a 5e 11th level character is still pretty good. So far, so good.

[@tylerdisera9171]

Sean Hillman please do I would love play/DM this! it sounds amazing!

[@YoniX50]

Do you have a Paladin in your party? And if so, did anyone else look at the queen of the Nixies? How did you handle that?

[@false0-078]

YO I RAN THIS IN DND 5e a few years ago (still haven’t finished but corona has halted play) and honestly it’s SO MUCH FUN, now I’m doing it with newer players who haven’t been introduced to classic bad guys like orcus and the demogorgan so it’s been amazing showing them the vast world of baddies this adventure offers However it is ridiculously tough, I have an epic level system that I’ve used so players still get benefits going higher levels and some of them even have gesalt levels because of some plot point or other It’s a really fun module I would highly suggest running all of the bloodstone H series as most of them are good as well As a DM it’s lots and lots of work but it’s really fun one day I might put my dnd 5e version onto dm guild but I’m far away from that currently

[@nickr1818]

These are some vintage memes here.

[@cheeseymann]

I'd say I fall into multiple categories, I would love to take a PC above level 20. Though I'm often the DM and dont get to play often. I also have several characters I would like to play, i end up using them as npc's and baddies in my campaigns. But I always keep characters around long after thier campaign has finished. I still have my first character sheet from 13 years ago

[@pn2294]

It would give me an excuse to have them fight Mongoose Publishing’s Land Giant

[@xytek]

I looked at this book when i was developing a campaign for my players.. lots of stuff to take from it.. I just love the entire story. Thanks for reviewing!

[@Monowhite]

I was looking for a supplement featuring Duergar and the Cult of Orcus to tie into my current campaign, I was so excited when I stumbled across this campaign (H2 in particular). I’d love to see more video spotlighting specific 1e/2e modules/campaigns. I was actually surprised at how easy they were to convert to 5e. These old modules offer so much inspiration and are just entertaining reads in general.

[@boyfromoz7]

After playing for well over a year Dungeon of the Made Mage and have started the final level to go and finally kill Halaster in our remaining 2-3 sessions, it been fun playing a 19th level College of Whispers Yu-anti Bard. But I'm definitely ready for some level 1 action again. There is to much to micro-manage with multiple Simulacrums of 19th level wizards with all the spells, summoned creature, retainers, True Polymorph creatures, passive and non-passive abilities. Its fun to do every now and then but finishing up a campaign between levels 10-15 makes a lot more sense and my preference in general. Glad we did it but not every time.

[@acc201b]

This adventure was what they were playing in Stranger Things season 1

[@Jorphdan]

oh no way! that's a good bit of info thanks :D

[@acc201b]

@@Jorphdan I only recognized it from the name Blood Stone Pass. Then you mentioned the Demigorgan and I made the connection.

[@raymondlugo9960]

It didn't exist in 1981 or 82

[@acc201b]

Well season 1 is set in 1983 and I know the campaign came out in 1985 but I'm gonna go with that just being a failed history check cause all the elements are there

[@sylph8005]

I did wonder how the DM in that one could just say "Now the Demogorgon is here!!!"

[@psmitty840]

In R.A. Salvatore's Promise of the Witch King, Entreri and Jarlaxle interact with the heroes who destroyed the wand of Orcus and planted the tree. They are insanely powerful characters. Entreri is supposed to be Drizzt's equal (roughly) and Drizzt has won against some pretty powerful creatures, like Baalors. The monk that helped defeat the Witch King, Grandmaster Kane, casually defeated Entreri without even breaking a sweat. Does anyone know if there are any novels going into detail on Gareth and Kane and all them? I'd definitely read a bit more about that.

[@JosePerez-jl9bu]

Oh yeah I totally remember that monk essentially one-shotting Artemis Entreri

[@samuvasc]

Hey man, loved the video. You should make more vids about old modules and relate them to current world events or contextualize their importance in D&D. Of course, bring it where to buy them too.

[@scotthayden716]

Ran through this module in the early 1990s. I played my own characters, but one of my friends read the module and opted to play one of the pre-generated level 100 characters instead and the person who was DMing that adventure. Lost a ton of magic items in Fraz-Urb'luu's plane. Haven't had a campaign like that since. We were in high school, played after school most days. We took turns running adventures and each had multiple high level characters of various classes. They became very powerful after several years so this module was a natural fit for them. We didn't do the modules leading up to it, but the person who DMed this one had us fight a super powerful Lich in the previous adventure and set it up so we needed the Wand of Orcus to destroy the phylactery, so we basically came in and took over after the pre-generated characters from the modules finished the earlier installments.

[@nemthos2605]

We just finished our campaign (5e) at lvl20 and will be continuing to play them using the Epic Legacy guide (so for now up to lvl 30)

[@Hakaanu]

I just this past weekend finished running my OotA campaign after 2yr 4mo, and it concluded with the my party’s Dwarven Fighter (Eldritch knight) obtaining the Wand of Orcus. We retired the characters after the campaign and I had tasked the players with writing their own epilogues before the final session, which I amended based on the events of the session. So the fighter retired back to his home in Gauntlgrym and kept the Wand hidden away in a secret locked and warded chest, where it remains to this day...unknown to all but a select few. My campaign took place from 1486-1488 DR.

[@glenmcinnes4824]

Back in the day (O, B/X, BECMI), 1e) "Basic" games hit a barrier in the late teens, early 20's things picked up again and in the mid 30's you could try and become an "Immortal". if you where playing 1E characters topped out at different points, Hit Dice around 10 for most (just a hand full of hp per level after that) some class features kicked in after lv10 but where done with by the mid teens, although Saving Throw & Combat tables topped out at 20, some classes kind of ended earlier Druids (until the UA) at 14, Monks at 17 & Assassins at 17. most Casters had there spell tables top out in the late 20's, unless you where a Caster or had really high Con (even then it may not have bean enough) a couple of HP per Level and new Proficiency slots every few levels there was nothing for you after Lv20 (unless your GM allowed Psionics and even then).

[@PeterSFam]

a 100th level 1e magic user would be devastating with just magic missile ( 50 1d4+1 missiles) let alone fireball or lightening bolt (which would do 100d6 damage)

[@kerryknight4612]

Played this where I suckered the DM. Ritchie was only new to our group although an experienced player/DM elsewhere. When he suggested this module I suggested that if I used a level 18 or less character while EVERYONE else played level 100 that I be allowed to basically MAX the character out. He said yes and I got my almost unkillable level 17 monk with 8 attacks a round (16 with frenzy) hitting for 5D10+20/hit and a THACO of 3. Add to that a move of 32 and the every defensive item I could think of as well as Psionics of the highest level. This is what happens when a veteran of the game is given free reign of his imagination. I started playing using the Chainmail rules in 1975. I turned this module from a party killer (Tomb of Horrors it isn't) into almost easy to complete. The DM had our ending as destroying the rod using the combined breath weapons of Tiamat on it at once. We had to subdue her without killing which is MUCH harder to do. DM's payback for everything else. Thanks Ritchie....

[@mattcowling]

I have owned this module since it came out- I have piles of modules for high-level play from the old days. Anything with the Alphaks were terrifying. I went through this entire module as a player in 1989. I have run it as a DM about every 4-5 years after that. I have modified it a number of times and refined some of the weaker zones to keep pace up. Be prepared to lose party members- take more than one PC so you can keep going. This is not something you do not plan for and just randomly jump into. It is sooo much fun and soooo deadly. Anytime I have run into folks laughing that I have had a few PC's survive the 35ish years I have been playing and have 2 PC's that made level 100, they claim that after 10th level, everything is easy. I pull out one of my modules for level 20-25 characters and their PC makes it about 5 minutes before being slain. I can DM any class at any level and the players have fun and are fully challenged. Level is only a number.

[@MarshaunLugo]

I’d love to see those high level campaigns, if you would be willing to share a few of them? I play high level dnd as well

[@halo3603]

3/3.5- We went beyond 50th level gestalt. Idk if 5e allows for that, still waiting on their epic level handbook equivalent.

[@Alex-lg1rh]

It took us about 2 years the played a whole adventure back in the early nineties and we played a lot

[@Aaron-mj9ie]

One time my friend's dad claimed that the best campaign he ever played, he had a character reach level 120. At first I just smiled and nodded thinking, "Sure, sure..." then later he brought me an old folder and in one of the pockets was an ancient piece of paper with an old 1980s photocopied character sheet. He had their entire campaign documented... he really did play a character that reached 120.

[@ghoulofmetal]

My mind is brimming with characters and not enough hours in existence to play them all.

[@Flavoredpickle]

i'm running a level 1-30 campaign using the epic legacy supplement. It adds some really over the top features to each class and is just wonderful to play!

[@CONTINGENCY_sys]

I play 0-100+ in all my campaigns/worlds. Using CONTINGENCY SYSTEM MECHANICS I built. classes, magic, weapons, hp, etc all continue up through and beyond the core mechanics of CONTINGENCY (0-100) and beyond. I teach and train it often. Great video as always. A great adventure to be sure. Angel skull and spine crafted into a weapon of absolute evil. Orcus fell, rose as another entity to be able to reclaim his realm and 1 of his 9 wands of similar disquise. His original was reclaimed and his namesake once again. Lore can be found on this tidbit in 4e lore Dragon magazines.

[@kurosakiichigo2661]

After all why not? why shouldn't i keep it? My Tabaxxi Swashbuckler at the end of our Out of the Abyss campaign wielding the Wand of Orcus.

[@williambrilliant1419]

Have you considered doing a video on famous people/adventurers in Faerun whom the party might actually meet? I’m specifically thinking of Mordenkainen, as I know he can be used as a high level patron/ quest giver, but I’ve no idea who he is, what his history is, or why he does what he does.

[@mediocremodeler5174]

Mordenkainen is actually in Barovia right now....

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Had to create new tables for my 1st & 2nd edition campaigning after 30th but up to 100th level....it was a real pain in the ass until done....alot to consider with all classes esp. the wizard class but it was worth it! Never bought any of the newer stuff except the Draconomicon....i had to have THAT! 😁 Nice vid...thank you My friends Arch-Wizard the Hellion is 100th level,god its an awesome character and its been played continuously for 41 yrs. He would probably crush that module 😁

[@cimmonezaldrin]

I had a homebrew game I ran at an LGS and the players went from 1-25. We did a special version where they had any combination of class levels to 25. The second to last fight was with a couple Arch Devils and the very last fight was with Tiamat. Tiamat was being contained by several metallic dragons, so that fight was a combination of all the highest CR metallic dragons and Tiamat (Tiamat slayed a metallic dragon a round and was immune to all interaction till all the metallic dragons were gone). The party had 25 levels and 1 epic boon (from a list I chose for that fight, so that all the boons were useful). They actually won. It was a close fight and my wife loved rolling all the dice for Tiamat's breath weapons and attacks.

[@pacifistattack]

It takes a rather serious campaign with dedicated players and DM to get a party up to level 100. At that point the standard adventure hooks just don't work anymore. Basically the players would tell the DM what there characters want to do and the DM would have to write an adventure around it.

[@mikhielbluemon4213]

In Pathfinder, there's a thing for "Mythic" characters. Essentially they make the game about Mid evil super heroes feel more thematically and mechanically powerful. You can use Mythic progression any level but it's mostly meant to be spread out over every few levels or as a sort of lv 21-30.

[@renzopinasco2206]

Played this in the 90s. We started with Mine of the bloodstone and used the battle system book. Loads of fun using armies and our pcs at the same time. Then, as we only had throne we played it following Mines. (Here in Peru it was hard to get this modules). Playing Throne I remember two fights. One in the abyss against a Horde of demons plus an ancient red dragon that out dm described as a an airbus of a red dragon. Almost died of course. The other fight was at the end against Tiamat and her consort of ancient dragons. As ridiculous as this sounds, out dm was forgiving and made all dragoons breath at us which were protected against dragon breath killing themselves. In the case of Tiamat, we had to use all 3 wishes of a ring of wishes in order to finally kill it. My pc, an elven demipaladin, was given the kingdom of Narfell to rule. This character started playing in Greyhawk up until we played Vecna Lives and made our party travel to Toril through the planes as we also played Tales of the Outer Planes. After Throne, my party burnt their character sheets in a farewell ceremony in 1993. I kept mine and in 2016 I started playing again 2nd Ed with another group and used this pc in paladin in hell, labyrinth of madness, nightmare keep, die vecna die and a couple of dragon magazine adventures. It was really fun to play using this pc again after so long.

[@user-im6xt6fn1s]

Thanks for the video. I am running ToD for my group which are level 12 right now, but I read about this adventure when I did a background check for Tiamat. So, last week, when my players got to Thay as part of ToD, they came across a small crystal that is all that is left of the wand of Orcus, and when they touched it I brought out Tiamat herself and I build 6 new character sheets at level 17 for king Gareth Dragonbane and his party, randomly handed them over to my group and had them fought Tiamat herself.

[@robertzenniful]

I remember playing this Adventure back in 88 or 89, I had a paladin that made his bones in the temple of elemental evil, then the queen of spiders and wrapped up his career in the thrown of bloodstone, It was epic! But what I can’t recall if it was first or second edition, It was a brutal module I do remember losing one of our fighters and our cleric. Sidenote the temple of elemental evil was just as brutal, starting from first level to 8th level ,it took me three different characters to finally get the third level in that module.

[@Alex-lg1rh]

I played all of the H series my character topped out at level 64 he was a God

[@cvernon5256]

Given the stat blocks for Helm, Tyr, and the others in the Faiths and Pantheons of Faerun book, I'm inclined to agree with you.

[@AlexJones-ue1ll]

Usually the parties I DM get wiped at some point from being to overconfident and not taking the hints. But oh well, a defeated band of heroes and a land plunged into darkness is a great starting point for the next generation to pick up the call to save the realm.

[@Rombizio]

D&D was fun when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s. Now it is very silly compared to other systems but my friends loved those epic campaigns. Good memories.

[@williammcclanahan1792]

This whole series is what I’ve always wanted for my d&d experience.

[@nonnayerbusiness7704]

If I ever do a level 20+ game I would use 4e epic destinies grafted on my 5e character.

[@Mugthraka]

would be curious and willing to see how you do it and how it works out. for all its faults 4e had a great Epic gameplay content, and i loved to be able to go to lvl 30

[@TheDungeonCoach]

I did not know this even existed! That’s crazy!! This was fascinating to watch lol

[@dajordanator]

I didnt know FR lore at the time, but now that i know of bloodstone, I totally see where Matt Mercer got the idea for Whitestone and the Sun Tree in C1 of Critical Role

[@JeremiahMcCoy]

I actually played a few sessions of this adventure back in the day. It was pretty trippy.

[@YoniX50]

I have run this adventure twice, once in 2013 and again in 2019. I was the DM both times. I have loads of stories regarding this, and would love to share.

[@gralrj]

THE CITY OF LICHES - Yeah, that was where our party(lvl 25-30) died. Still, it was loads of fun.

[@georgemercer402]

A campaign I've been working on is similar in the retrospective you spoke of in this video, however multiclassing is heavily recommended with at least 3 classes chosen; my own character will be a fighter/warlock/wizard as an example.

[@pandorawolf8239]

Thank you for introducing this and older adventures to me as a DM for 5E, There is a ton of stuff to go through for inspiration for my own sessions and i always love plane hopping.

[@michaelthompson1330]

So excited to see you use one of my favorite pieces of DCC art in the video!

[@alexanderchippel]

I think a level >20 campaign can work for D&D. Just remove the level cap and allow multiclassing. So at level 50, you have 20 levels in wizard, 15 in Cleric, 10 in Warlock, and 5 in Bard. Or better yet, allow for multi-sub-classing. So you can take like 10 levels of Necromancy Wizard, 5 levels of Illusion Wizard, and so on and so forth. There's only two real flaws I can think of: 1. The massive time sink for diminishing returns: Basically it's going to be a massive slog to get from level 20 to 21 only to take one level of fighter and get like 5 HP, weapons and armor, and a second wind that heals like 10hp. The solution would probably just to make leveling up faster. 2. Skyrim Syndrome: You'll be kinda stuck just fighting the same monsters over and over again only they'll just be upscaled and always perfectly suited to fight you on an even playing field, which makes it feel like you've never truly progressed. the solution would just be for the dungeon master be super created with the encounters, and focus more on like moral quandaries an ethical problem as opposed to a physical situation which you can resolve.

[@robtheeducator8230]

Never played this adventure but it sounds like fun. I had a level 65 barbarian at one point.

[@gavinkoelsch5587]

In 5e it mentions that you can gain an epic boon (in DMG) for each level above 20. You can also just gain a feat.

[@haganlife]

Ran that as a DM with four 20th level characters... epic adventure.

[@wyatthendrix5714]

Just my two cents but a great alternative I have used in the past is to allow my players to multi-class several classes up to twenty while still maintaining a double in the amount of XP required to reach each next level. It has been pretty successful thus far (The point is at the end of it all the players discover that they are in fact "gods" under the effects of some form of Elven high magic)

[@renzopinasco2206]

I played Mines and Throne of the Bloodstone, modfified for 2nd edition. The Battle system part in Mines was really cool. Throne, up to this day is the toughest module i ever played. If you are going to play it, i recommend get some ring of wishes before starting hehe. My character managed to survive and reached level 27. He is now King of Narfell, the land beside Vaasa and Damara =)

[@SilverTongue66]

Wow, I would love to go on such a campaign! Huge tip. Thanks!

[@JMcMillen]

1st ed AD&D was a completely different experience from 3rd ed on. Past around level 9 or 10, leveling up required a fixed number of xp per level that never changed and characters also stopped getting hit dice and Con bonuses to their HP. Characters only got from 1/2/3/4 HP (determined by class) per level. Casters continued to gain spell slots through level 29 but most importantly, many spells didn't have level caps. So spells like Fireball got insanely dangerous because it was 1d6 per level, so at high levels you're going to need a bucket for all those dice. For the most part though, all you were doing was leveling up for those couple of hp and a new weapon/non-weapon proficiency slot every few levels.

[@mikhielbluemon4213]

An idea I thought of is to gain template hit dice based on your race after lv 20. The amount varies wildly between edition and such. The main issue is that spell casters get weaker over time in comparison to marital classes and that some templates are better than others. Like humans and such gain well humanoid hit dice. Asimars and Tieflings gain Outsider. Orcs and such gain Monstrous Humanoid.

[@jairy8868]

My highest level character is a level 30 Barbarian - Path of Zealot named Tohthal- alongside his friends of course, they defeated the BBEG, continued afterwards in an effort to achieve great things. His soul lies dormant within a sword held by a powerful entity after making a deal to edge the war in their favor, therefore winning the war (HUUUUGE TLDR). This took us 3 years of campaigning.

[@ronniejdio9411]

We ran it. We homebrewed alot and had a follow.up after where the tree was cut down. You could play those modules for years theres so much there

[@almitrahopkins1873]

Epic level games were really rare when that was published. The Player's Option books late in 2nd edition was when you started to pick up new stuff after level 20.

[@andyrobin7196]

im planning on running this in 5e, probably have to change a lot but hopefully it works out and doesnt get boring when they're fighting guys with like 600 hp

[@tyler420durdenAk]

I have a character that has been around forever, through countless quests and adventures. Also have a few fun builds retired far to early lol.

[@genghiskhan7041]

Ah, the old days of ADD. Strict level caps for some characters, and none for others. Dwarven fighters: limited to 9th level, Dwarf thieves: unlimited. Humans: unlimited in all classes. I remember having a 29th level mage that waged a war against the pantheon of Greek Gods. Good times.

[@johnbagnoli3049]

I am running a heavily modified version for players who finished Rise of Tiamat. They ended at level 15 so this brings them to 20. I cannot wait for them to find out they are going face off against Tiamat again.

[@scottmcley5111]

Anyone wanting to dive into a little more lore on NPCs in the area should read R.A. Salvatore's Road of the Patriarch. Probably my favorite in the series.

[@jeffreywinnett6883]

What I like to do is mess around with the builds and create wacky builds not exactly the most optimal builds but definitely the most interesting which is the reason I like 3.5 the best

[@GreekGeek73]

If only a game system existed? Immortal rules set dude.

[@Jorphdan]

I'll check it out

[@davebenhart4611]

Aren't we all working on our Rod of Seven Parts campaigns? Isn't that a mandatory item in every DMs catalogue these days? "At some point I'll work the entire Rod of Seven Parts into this story....somehow."

[@jrwise100]

I’m impressed by your research on your videos! Cool vid Jorphan.

[@Jorphdan]

Glad you like them!

[@dennisharry8408]

I ran it in 3.5 13 years ago. Party managed to beat Orcus with a few deaths. They did not bring the wand for final destruction. Next year, same players, different PCs in an evil campaign will be hired to steal the wand and resurrect Orcus. Should be a fun call back!

[@Jorphdan]

nice :D

[@ClayHales]

Our group started this series, but then the group kind of drifted apart. When the writing was on the wall that the group was done, the DM just started reading some of the nastiness in the 4th module. It was ridiculous.

[@greenjacketguy3759]

FYI 2CGaming's Epic legacy rules are probably useful when running adventures like these it gives the player's an extra 10 levels of prestige classes.

[@LordArros]

I’ve been running high lvl dnd game for 5 years (starting at 10 highest right now is lvl 29) lvl 100 sounds wild. I really wanna check that out and see what I can whip up

[@AGS363]

4:13 Is that an AA gun?

[@azuraben5128]

Powered by arcane energy, yes. Your point being?

[@wagzz3000]

If I remember correctly there is a massive undead dragon, so the city needs to be able to shoot down other potential flying creatures to defend the dragon.

[@oldfartrick]

I am using this now for my campaign for a 11th party. They will get to 17th before heading into abyss.

[@buriedtoodeep1508]

THACOs be like 2 at those levels?

[@patheronaetherson2860]

THAC0 for a Warrior can get down to 1 for a Warrior, 8 for a Priest, 11 for a Rogue, and 14 for a Wizard

[@WexMajor82]

Yes but a warrior's AC will be -22. Good luck with that.

[@cvernon5256]

@@patheronaetherson2860 I know what THAC0 is but I'm absolutely missing something here. If that's the target AC to hit an enemy for your character, that's nuts. But, THAC0 is in itself an oddity.

[@patheronaetherson2860]

@@cvernon5256 THAC0 - attack roll = armor class hit

[@erichendon8721]

running the bloods stone series now for 5e. Players are about to go into the temple of Orcus. not sure if they are gonna make it out

[@oliverg8085]

Almost TPK. got the wrong side of the DM, party of 9 down to 3 level, drained, out of resources. Dragged themselves out of the abyss with 100+ liches chasing after them.

[@andrewcoonradt9513]

I know RAW there's no actual 21st level, but multiclassing would be an easy way to do it. You might need to remove or alter the multiclass requirements for some characters, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue. The only issue I can really see (Apart from PCs having access to gamebreaking options like Wish or True Polymorph) is that magical effects past level 20 are hard to scale. Proficiency bonus can increase every 4 levels with no issue, but spell slots can't go past 9th level and magical items aren't statted out to go past +3 (That I know of). Boons are fine, but they don't have the same feel as actually leveling up a character.

[@evannibbe9375]

Just check out Mr Rhexx’s KZbin channel. The way that 10th level and higher spells scale is by requiring that the character expend at least one level. An example of one of these spells is one that creates the effect of Force Wall surrounding a city under the effect of the equivalent of Forbiddance with the slight alteration of the caster being able to choose anyone after the spell is cast to be able to enter and leave that city. This effect then is basically permanent. Another 10th level spell is that of moving a mountain such that you can build a city in the sky by flipping the mountain over and building on its base. Both of these spells require the creation of a Mythalar, which itself is a 10th level spell that also requires expensive material components and expending at least one character level.

[@AKNeal81]

Bathe it in the black blood from the heart of Tiamat. Oh that's it? I just have to delve into the abyss, face off vs Orcus, steal his wand, AND kill Tiamat? Geez I thought you were gonna give a challenge? lol *dies*

[@sportszahn]

Oh my gosh, I remember playing this one in junior high school. I think we all died pretty early on.

[@jamesmiles4660]

i can't wait run this for my party

[@patrickwilkerson1728]

In original AD&D spell casters gain more spell slots from 1-9 mages, 1-7 Clerics/Druids

[@St0necr0w]

Yeah I've got to go to the city of liches

[@shiranuiraccoon7521]

Once an adventure is done, we as a group retire the characters, and they become NPCs in our Setting

[@akimbofurry2179]

I need these books, in paper. Three point five is my favored edition. But even still that sounds fun.

[@jimmyforrest7103]

To answer you at the end either make up more abilities or give out feats. Personally im letting them have no cap and just keep multiclassing out the butt

[@omega311888]

i like this idea!

[@BruceWayne-mb4hk]

Only a percentage of sentient beings become wizards. Of those we assume one third to one half are evil. Of those only some become strong enough in magic to cheat death. And finally not all are going to make their way to the city.

[@diversezebra6754]

I am planning on adapting the module to 3.5 for a long term set up. It will be the cake before the crown of the campaign ending.

[@tomgallant9253]

The adventure is designed for 4-100 level characters lol. Played all 4 of the H series. We had a party of 8 ranging between 50 to 80th level. We lost 3 members to this. but man it is hard, detailed and was one of the most fun DnD experiences I ever had. Thats my biggest complaint with current DnD. Once you reach 20 there isnt anywhere to go. Original DND (the box sets) moved to the Immortals so you could become a god, and AD&D allowed you to keep going and the same with 2nd Edition. In the end, the characters became part of you and I think the characters become more throw away now then a pure RPG extension of you...dont get me wrong there alot of positives of 5e but the loss of attachment is my biggest complaint, who wants to retire...go down swinging LOL.

[@KingKevin108]

My current campaign has been going for over two years now and they've hit level 22-23, multiclassing after getting their capstones. This is honestly something I'm considering stealing for if they manage to stop magic as a whole from being erased and still want to keep playing.

[@TrampasWhiteman]

Tried running it four times. Three times, we ended after chapter 1. Only once did we get to Orcus' castle, and then the game ended. I was told I did the voice of the dire whiner a little too well. ;)

[@robertgallegly8267]

I've got the module. Sure, I'll run it. After I run my custom Ravenloft adventure.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Sounds like an awesome adventure I need too find this one for sure

[@cameronpearce5943]

I have a Wizard I'm fond of who I like to play in AL, but also have them as my DMPC guide for the party if they get in over the heads or need some advice. I'd love to play them as their full beyond 20th level Archmage self