Game Masters, Remember, You Aren't Required To Go To Level 20

Level 20 has, in the minds of many of us, been enshrined as the ultimate end goal of any level-based RPG. While we go on about how Dungeons and Dragons isn't the only game out there, it set the standard for so many things in tabletop gaming, and that level 20 finish line is present in so many games. And while there are some games where you might go beyond that into epic levels, or using mythic tiers as Pathfinder created, level 20 is commonly accepted as the "normal" end. It's what many Game Masters designed their campaigns around, and in the minds of a lot of players it's when you finally reach your character's full potential.

Something to remember, though... just because you can do something, that doesn't mean you have to do it. Your game is no less fun, and no less valid, for choosing to get off the bus before the route terminates at the epic capstone showdown.

This is okay for some games... but not ALL games...

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

It's An Option. Not A Requirement.

Over the years I've met my share of Game Masters who lamented how frustrating it was to have to really crank up their math at higher levels of a campaign in order to keep their players challenged. I've also met my share of folks who wanted to try their hands at being a Game Master, but they were intimidated by the idea that they'd have to tell a full, complete story over such a huge stretch of levels in order to keep their players happy, and to be a "real" GM.

So, while a lot of us already know this, I'm going to repeat it. The scale of your story is entirely up to you, and your players. If you want to tell a grounded story that's going to take the PCs from level 1-5, that is your prerogative. If you want to have your punch up with the BBEG around level 10-11, because level 13 is where the math gets too frustrating for you, that is perfectly acceptable. Hell, if you just want to run a series of occasional one shots that are loosely strung together with hand-waved plot explanations where characters are only going to gain a level every 10 sessions and you're calling it quits at the end of level 3, there is nothing stopping you from doing that.

And, for the record, this applies to all RPGs... I'm just using level-based ones as an easy example. I made a video expounding on this for the World/Chronicles of Darkness a while back in case you missed it.

However, with this said, there are some caveats I'd throw into this.

First and foremost, ballpark where you plan to take your campaign so that your players know, and can set their expectations accordingly. If you show up to a game that you think is going to go to level 20, and you're excited to play an epic-level wizards with all the overpowered 9th-level spells you can handle, you might feel you were cheated if the campaign ends at level 6 because you had expected another 14 levels. Alternatively, if some of your players like to build a foundation for their end-game goals, then it might be good to know they should be going for something like the champion of a local town or small city, rather than a legendary paladin who went toe-to-toe with a great daemon lord for the fate of the world by the end of this game.

Secondly, if your players have concerns, make sure you address them. If you are comfortable with a game that runs in the 4-7 level range, but your players want that huge, epic finish, then you may not be able to give them what they want. That's all right, too. Just like how sometimes people don't want to play the particular RPG you want to run, sometimes they also don't want to play a story at the scale you want to run it at. Try to talk things out and find common ground so you can all have a good time, but don't sacrifice your fun and comfort level as a GM; it's better to have no game rather than a game that's burning you out, and you aren't enjoying.

Thirdly, examine the kind of scale, power level, whatever you want to call it of the game that you're running. If you want to run a game of Pathfinder, Dungeons and Dragons (most editions), or even some Savage Worlds that's relatively low on stakes and character power (a medieval murder mystery, a weird West gang dispute over a frontier town, so on and so forth), you can probably make that happen without too much bending and twisting. But if you're running a game that is meant to be a big, bombastic, high-powered thing (Scion, Exalted, and so on) they aren't really supposed to be small in scale or effect. Which is not to say you can't find a way to make it happen if you want to keep things smaller scale, but just be aware that some games are easy to do this with, and other games you're going to be swimming upstream to try to make it happen.

At the end of it all, though, I just wanted to remind all the GMs and prospective GMs out there... you don't have to go big or go home. You can run games that stop before they become rocket tag, or which keep the numbers at a lower level. You can run campaigns that can be wrapped up in 6-7 months, or even just 3 months if that's all the gas you have in your tank. You are allowed to do whatever the hell you want, as long as your players back you up, and everyone is willing to make this happen.

A Bit of Additional Reading

If this is the sort of advice that you (or someone you play with) needs to see, I'd actually recommend grabbing a copy of 100 Tips And Tricks For Being A Better Game Master, as it collects some of the best field-tested pieces of advice that have appeared on this blog over the past dozen years or so. And if you're feeling really frisky (or you just like to have both sides of the coin), consider grabbing the sister supplement 100 Tips And Tricks For Being A Better RPG Player while you're at it!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

GMs and Players, Keep The Scale of Your Story in Mind

TTRPGs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with vastly different levels of complexity, time investment, customization, and even means of determining the direction the story goes in. However, something that we often forget is that our games (as well as the stories we tell using those games) often have a scale as well. And while some games can tell stories at a variety of different scales, some of them can't... and it's important for us to consider this as players and Game Masters alike so that we're measuring out expectations in the proper units.

Ah, so we're looking at an end-of-the-world scenario, here.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

How Big Are You Going, Exactly?

The question of scale is an important one to remember, because not every game, story, and genre, is meant to go to the same scale. I recently mentioned in Game Masters, When Running Army Men, Avoid White Rooming At All Costs, but feel I should repeat, that designers build certain expectations into their games. This often extends to the scale of your stories, and what the engine is meant to do. For example, Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder are both meant for telling stories that start small, and escalate to high-stakes, high fantasy crescendoes. This is why so many of the adventure paths out there end up with the party fighting ancient wizard kings who have defied death, dragons on the verge of godhood, or entire cabals of apocalyptic monsters bent on reconquering an entire nation, if not the world!

The only thing that stands between those ancient gods, and you, is me.

Now, that is not to say that you can't run smaller-scale games using these systems, but doing so will likely mean that the games are shorter due to a lower level cap, or that players are never going to rise above a particular level so that their skills and abilities don't render these smaller-scale threats and plots something that can be dealt with out of hand. This is a perfectly legitimate way to play, but the assumption in the game structure is that players are going to start at level 1, and likely stop somewhere between 16 and 20 when they wrap up the story.

For contrast, consider a Call of Cthulhu game. The very nature of this game is that you take on the roles of normal people who cling to their sanity as they explore the dark, strange, monstrous corners of reality. You may grow more skilled, or you may learn secrets of dark doings, but you aren't going to grow into epic heroes who fight the Old Ones mano a mano, because that's not built into the genre or the system. You are small parts of a vast world, and your efforts are just turning the lock on a door that, sooner or later, is probably going to open. Your task is to survive the madness taking root in your mind, and to do what you can to stop the machinations of things that would spill the mythos into the world you know.

When a game has a built-in style and scale, it can help to shape your expectations as a Game Master, as well as the expectations of the players around the table. However, when a setting or system could handle a variety of scales in terms of both story and power level, that's when you're going to have to sit down with your players and make sure that what they want to play, and what you want to run, are going to fit together.

As an example...

For example, consider games like Dark Heresy or Rogue Trader set in the Warhammer 40K universe. On the one hand, these games can see players in charge of entire armies, leading crusades against planets filled with opposing forces, and going toe-to-toe with the forces of hell itself in a way that few would dare, and even fewer would survive. On the other hand, characters could also be deep cover operatives working careful sting operations to uncover cults, solve mysteries, and to track down political corruption in ways that might be ended without even firing a shot if all goes according to plan.

When you have that kind of variation in a game, where players could be anything from bottom-rung gangers scrabbling to take over their own neighborhood, to imperial agents whose authority is utterly unquestioned, it's important to make sure you are all building the same type of characters who are here for the same scale of plot. This same kind of variation can be found in the World of Darkness, Mutants and Masterminds, and several games in the Savage Worlds line as well. These are games that could have characters working on small, localized, personal issues where the stakes are only large to them, or games where the fate of thousands of people, and entire swaths of a country (or a continent) could ride on what the players choose to do... or not do.

And since we're talking about assumptions, game designers can only predict so much about what people will do with their games once they're on the market. However, if you're making assumptions as a Game Master or a player, it's a good idea to talk about them before the game starts to make sure that you're both on the same page... otherwise you might have someone who showed up to conquer the galaxy who is now tasked with running down a small-time corruption scandal that could bring down the local mayor.

Lastly, if you'd like to check out some more of my useful tips and tricks for helping your game run smoothly, consider grabbing your copy of 100 Tips and Tricks For Being a Better Game Master, and its sequel 100 Tips and Tricks For Being a Better RPG Player.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Players, Don't Assume That Rare Items or Resources Will Be Made Available

Most folks who have read this blog, even casually, know that I generally advocate for Game Masters to err on the side of not restricting player options. If a base class, mundane item, spell, or PC species exists in the game world you're playing, and the system you're using is designed to support that option, you gain a lot more by letting your players use these options than you do declaring them off-limits.

This week, though, I wanted to touch on the other side of that coin. Because while I firmly believe players should have access to all the base stuff the game offers as options, I think that far too many players assume they'll also have access to powerful magic items, relics, rare or restricted in-game knowledge, and so on.

And that kind of assumption is something that I think should be curbed as well. Because if you want that, you're going to have to work for it... and even then, it might still be beyond the scope of the game you're currently playing.

What do you mean I can't have the Aegis of The Eagle? Someone ELSE has it?!

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Don't Make Assumptions Beyond The Basics

While I pointed it out in the introduction above, I feel it bears repeating here. Game Masters should make all base player options available that were designed for a particular game, and a particular setting, whenever possible. Sure you might sigh if everyone in the party is playing a full caster, or you might not personally see the fun in gunslingers or barbarians, but if they're a part of the game as it exists, and your players will enjoy them, there's rarely any harm in letting them have their fun.

However, this statement applies only to the things players are assumed to have access to. Any time there's something that's special, unique, difficult-to-acquire, or which has out-and-out in-game limits placed on it, players should not assume they'll simply be able to acquire said thing. Perhaps it will be possible, but if it falls outside the base allotment of resources you have as a player then you're going to have to work it out with the Game Master.

Wait... you want to find WHAT!?

As an example, players should be allowed to have paladin characters. Just because they have a paladin as a character, though, doesn't mean they should automatically be allowed to acquire a Holy Avenger for that paladin. A player should be allowed a warpriest of a storm god, but that doesn't mean they'll be allowed to wield the Maul of Storms. Someone might become a powerful wizard over the course of the campaign, but that doesn't mean they'll be able to acquire an infernal grimoire locked deep in the arcane library of an archfiend.

Again, however, I am not advocating for Game Masters to automatically restrict access even to powerful items, potent prestige classes, or rare and unusual spells. What I'm saying is that players should not go into the game just assuming they'll be able to get the exact magic items they want, that they'll be able to find teachers who fit obscure prerequisites, etc. Perhaps they will, and perhaps they won't.

That should be a conversation with the Game Master.

This is Where "Yes, But" Comes Into Play

Most Game Masters have heard that they should avoid just out and out telling players no whenever possible. Instead they should say, "Yes, and," or, "Yes, but," as a way of trying to meet them in the middle.

And when it comes to gaining access to these powerful options, whether they be prestige classes, relic weapons, feats with difficult prerequisites, etc., this is where I would strongly give that advice... because it gives you a carrot to use to motivate your players instead of just hitting them with a stick.

What are you willing to do for this boon?

Let's go to the paladin example. You have a player who really wants a Holy Avenger. That's a big deal, and you don't just make them pinch their gold pieces until they can buy one. Instead, pay attention to how they act, and who they help. Whether the sword was left with a mountain witch who was guarding it until a worthy paladin came to claim it, or they find it in the lair of the dragon who slew the knight they'd squired for, this can represent a big goal for them to achieve... but the nature of this item is such that they have to still be worthy of it in order for it to find them, and to allow them to use it.

But what about the wizard? Well, if they want this grimoire so badly there are many ways they can acquire it. Perhaps they show mercy to a devil, and make a bargain for it in exchange for the book. Or maybe they need to get several devils to sneak copies of the pages to them, making it a process that's more of a road instead of the culmination of a single event. Perhaps they suggest going to hell to rescue the rogue when they're damned by a fiend, and while going through this jail break they just so happen to swipe a copy of the book they want, as well.

And for that player who desperately seeks to wield the Maul of Storms? Well, it's a potent relic weapon... which means it's not just laying around somewhere. They need to find it, they need to be able to lift it, and they need to deal with whoever it is that currently guards it... or whoever is currently wielding it! A series of tests to determine if they are a better bearer (or even if they'll be allowed to try to lift it at all) could be a fun culmination of that player character's arc, and it would give them a seriously powerful item to use for perhaps the last arc (or even just the final level) of the campaign.

The idea is not to flat-out ban players from getting the "good" toys out. Rather, if you work with them to create a path, and ensure it adds to the story, these things will flow naturally into the game's progression. It also puts at least part of the onus on the players, ensuring that they're willing to put in the time and effort to reach what should be big milestones for their character.

There will, of course, be some circumstances where Game Masters should still say no. A player might want to start the game already in possession of something huge and powerful. They might expect it to just be handed to them when they reach a certain level, or to get the prize regardless of the actions they've taken. However, assuming that your players are acting in good faith and genuinely meeting you in the middle, it is a good idea to use these desires as stakes to keep players interested and involved!

Additional Reading

Whether you're a player looking for additional tips, or a Game Master who'd like more advice along these lines, I'd highly recommend checking out the following:

- 100 Character Goals and Motivations: Whether it's finding a long-lost family member, being knighted by the queen, or being deemed worthy of wielding a holy relic, there's all sorts of motivations you can use to round out your characters in here!

- 100 Tips and Tricks For Being a Better Game Master: Just what it says on the tin. I've been peppering Game Master advice throughout this blog for a decade or so, and the best tips and tricks I've come across wound up in this supplement!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Conan Meets Metal!

This week on Moon Pope Monday we thought we'd give you all some mood music. Eric Calderone, 331Erock on Youtube, has metalized Conan. For all of those in whom beats the heart of a barbarian, I suggest you sit back and take this in.

As always, thanks for stopping by Moon Pope Monday and having a listen. If you'd like more content from Improved Initiative then drop a message or leave a comment. Sharing our pages and leaving a tip in the "Bribe the DM" jar won't hurt either! To plug into everything we have to offer, here's a useful Facebook and Tumblr link for you as well.

Table Talk: That Time When My Paladin One-Shotted the Campaign's Final Big-Bad

We've all got a few of those stories. That one time where the dice were in our favor and we couldn't be stopped, that great exchange that left the room silent, or that session when the most ridiculous course of action worked for no reason other than you popped up a natural 20. Table Talk is the newest addition to Improved Initiative, and it's where we brag, boast, and perhaps share an embarrassing fumble or two. To lead us off I'm going to tell you a tale of how I accomplished the unthinkable; I one-shot killed the final enemy of a huge, published campaign.

I was pretty goddamn surprised, myself.

You Did What?

Okay, so this story's going to take a wee bit of background before we get to the good part. Several years ago a friend of mine by the name of Justin Duncan got his hands on the Carrion Crown adventure path. For those of you not familiar with it, it's essentially an entire campaign where you're facing nothing but undead horrors, eldritch abominations, and every blasphemous, squamous thing the Pathfinder bestiary can fling at you. I figured it would be a good time to stretch beyond my usual fighters and barbarians to try out a paladin. But not just any paladin; I wanted an Undead Scourge. Essentially a paladin so dedicated to fighting the undead that many of his abilities were ineffective on living, but undoubtedly evil, creatures, while at the same time wreaking pure havoc on the living dead.

Valgard Grimwald

Valgard was once a peasant farmer, living with his wife and working the cold, unforgiving ground of Ustalav. She died of a sickness one winter, and despite the frigid temperatures Valgard dug her grave and saw her safely beneath the snow. When spring came he found her grave had been defiled, and her body stolen. He roamed the mountains, following the signs and stink of the living dead until he found the necromancer who had been using his Ilyena for his own, twisted pleasures. That man was a long time dying, and once his wife had been placed back in her bower Valgard dedicated himself to wiping out the living dead by taking up arms in the service of Pharasma, goddess of death.

But Paladins Have to Have a Lawful Good Goddess, Don't They?

Yes, don't interrupt me. I asked Justin whether he would allow me to play a paladin who served a neutral goddess, provided I kept his alignment lawful good. I was willing to follow Iomede, or even Erastil, but I felt that for story reasons Pharasma made more sense. He agreed, and acquiesced to my request.

Back to the story. So we begin in the Town of Harrowstone fighting ghosts, move onto another town where a sentient flesh golem is being put on trial for murder, and the party eventually goes beneath the waves to fight a horde of horrors that would have been right at home outside Lovecraft's Innsmouth. In addition to Valgard we had a bard detective, a rage prophet, and a titan mauler who had picked up a lycanthrope template somewhere along the line. Not a party to be messed with lightly. In that place beneath the waves though, the DM decided to pull some shenanigans on my behalf.

I had made it known from the beginning that one of the goals I had for Valgard was to find him a holy avenger. It's possibly the most stereotypical paladin thing you could ask for, but I wanted to do it. Rather than just taking something straight out of the book (Justin's flare for the dramatic simply would not allow something so plebian), he decided to craft a relic that fit Valgard, as well as his goddess. What I got was a holy bastard sword that increased my lay on hands, dealt extra damage to anything undead, and which had disruption on it. I pointed out that disruption was sort of a blunt-weapon-only ability, to which he told me it's a relic, it has the properties on that sheet. I nodded, having done my duty as a conscientious player, and took the sword with something approaching unbecoming glee.

Then What?

Right. So the party hacked, slashed, diplomacized and intimidated its way through half a dozen books (the vampire chapter was particularly short, as we took on a CR 18 challenge at level 12 and came out the victors. That's a separate story all by itself), and we wound up at the final encounter of the whole campaign. A wizard on a mountaintop preparing to steal the power of the Whispering Tyrant, and to become the most powerful lich the ages have ever seen. As we advanced on him to stop the ritual (Spoiler Alert, in case you haven't guessed what the final boss in an undead-centric campaign is), a dracolich crawls around from the mountain peak and throws itself between us and the soon-to-be-lich king. Justin places a colossal size red dragon mini on the map, an excited grin plastered across his face. Roll initiative!

By sheer, stupid luck Valgard goes first. Since the dragon is flat-footed and its reach rendered moot, the paladin declares his smite, then charges with sword raised high and calling out to Pharasma to guide his hand. He swings, and hits only because of the +2 from the charge. First blood! I start gathering my dice, preparing to list out the way I'm using channel smite, and calculating how many dice I have to roll. Then I remember it's a disruption weapon, and off-handedly say, "Hey Justin, roll its fort save. Yeah I know it has to roll a 1 for it to matter but there's a 1 on every die."

Justin rolls, and the smile fades from his face. He's staring at a natural 1, an automatic failure. He takes the dragon off the table, and gestures to me. We sit there, stunned, staring at what just happened. In the game world the dracolich bursts into smoking bone shards and ancient dust, and when the cloud clears Valgard stands with nothing more than forty feet between him and the wizard who would enslave the world.

Don't go anywhere, this gets better.

The newly made lich, who is realizing that the odds have suddenly and drastically shifted out of his favor, goes next. He casts mage's dysjunction on Valgard's sword, which as an artifact gets all kinds of chances to save. It fails those saves, and is destroyed. The lich manages to keep his magic, but destroying an artifact of a deity has a chance to draw said deity's attention. Not much of a chance, something like 5%. So Justin rolls percentiles, high is good for us. 98%. Pharasma is now paying very, very close attention to what's happening in this pitched battle.

The rest of the party advances on the newly made lich, and things go very poorly very quickly for him. Holy energy is thrown through Valgard's fists, lightning brought down from scrolls by the bard, and sheer, brutal blows from the barbarian are cutting him to pieces. After the third round the lich falls apart, but we know he'll reconstitute soon. We also know that, for story reasons, destroying his phylactery could kill the person who does it. Valgard, who has sought nothing more than to be granted an afterlife with his wife, destroys the phylactery without hesitation. He sacrificed himself to save the country he loved, and Pharasma made him one of her eternal guardians.

This remains, without question, the most epic thing I have ever done with a set of dice.


So, do you as our readers like Table Talk? Would you like to see more? Well, if so, then leave some comments, spread the word, and please remember Improved Initiative runs on Google AdSense! For those who'd like more immediate updates on what's going on with yours truly, check me out on Facebook, or follow me on Tumblr instead if that's more your bag. If you'd like to see what books I've got available, go visit my Goodreads to get a total list of my publications. As always, thanks for reading!