Epic Level Handbook

CHAPTER 3:RUNNING ANEPIC GAMEagainst scrying in their sanctum, instead setting up powerfulmagic traps so that any creature that attempts toteleport or travel ethereally to the point scryed is interceptedand instead materializes in a specific, lethallytrapped room. Others concerned about protecting theirprivacy can set up screens of antimagic fields, rely onmagic items that produce false visions, or even createcustom epic spells that deal damage (or worse) on thoseattempting to scry them.Finding Your Way: This category includes everythingfrom the lowly locate object (Brd 2, Clr 3, Sor/Wiz 2, Travel2) to its more potent cousin locate creature (Brd 4, Sor/Wiz4) to the extraordinarily powerful find the path (Clr 6,Knowledge 6) and discern location (Clr8, Knowledge 8, Sor/Wiz 8). Thelimited range, short duration,and knowledge requirement ofthe first two spells limit theirusefulness in most epic situations.Find the path is moreuseful because it lasts hours atepic levels, allowing flying orteleporting characters to easilycover tens or hundreds ofmiles. Finally, despite thepower of discern location tolocate any creature or objectregardless of its location, theknowledge requirement (thecaster must have seen thecreature, possess an itembelonging to it, or havetouched the object) makesit less valuable in manyadventures. Once the charactersmeet their foe orsteal one of the villain’spossessions, they are happyindeed (unless their enemyis secretly leading theminto a trap).Bardic Knowledge: Thoughnot a spell, bardic knowledge(and the lore class feature of a loremaster)can have a great impact on thecharacters’ ability to know information. For instance, abard might be able to connect a reference to a mysteriousname with another known name or a particular plane.Such information might be the connection required totry a divination spell.Knowledge Skills: Some characters will have Knowledgeskill bonuses high enough to recognize clues youprovide. In such a case, Knowledge checks function justlike bardic knowledge.HANDLING WISHEpic characters have more opportunity to use wish spellsthan lower-level PCs. While the Player’s Handbook providesin-depth information about the specific effects that canbe accomplished with wish, there is less guidance forother open-ended effects. Certainly, many characters willwish for higher ability scores, up to the limit of the inherentbonus (+5). When characters try to wish for somethingthat isn’t specified in the spell, refer here first.A wish essentially allows the user to change reality.Often, unintended consequences follow, especially if thewish asks too much. A wish that concentrates on local andpersonal effects is least likely to go astray. A wish that asksto change the belief system of an entire country is mostlikely to be misconstrued or simply fail. The job of theDM is to describe results that reflect the power of wish,but not to make the spell so awesomethat the characters come to rely onwish to solve all their problems.For example, if the players wish toask that all creatures in Furyondybelieve that a particular character istheir true king, the wish is pervertedso that all the affected creaturesinstead know that theirminds were tampered withunsuccessfully. Worse, they recognizeon sight the personresponsible for the attempt.A wish can change eventsthat the user finds undesirable.A wish that allows characterssecond chance to achieve a goalafter an unlucky failure or disastrousmistake should be allowed,as long as the terms of the wishdon’t guarantee success.As the DM, you decide if awish is too much. If it involvesmore than just the charactersand a few other creatures,alarms should go off in yourhead. Generally, assigning consequencesto poorly worded oroverly grand wishes follow asimple guideline: The resultshould follow the path of leastresistance. In other words, the resultshould involve the simplest and least complex way ofattempting (and failing) to warp reality in exactly the waythe wisher stated. For instance, if a character wishes thathe be forevermore rendered immune to all damage, thecharacter’s wish is most easily fulfilled if he is instantlyeradicated from the multiverse, thus ensuring that nothingcan ever hurt him again, now or forever.CELEBRITY BREEDS OPPORTUNITYEpic characters are important, and NPCs pay attentionto what epic heroes say and do. This fact leads to severalpossible ways that you can give your players power. Ifthey are known to be epic, the characters are celebrities116