By Jason Campbell
I’ve been running a weekly 5e campaign in Monte Cook’s Ptolus setting since January 2022, the player characters are currently 19th level. It can be difficult to run a 5e game with higher level characters while keeping the game challenging and the players engaged. This campaign diary series features notes from my players and I about the challenges of playing high level 5e.
The Scheduling Situation
This campaign is nearing the end as the characters near 20th level, and as the story winds up with the heroes closing in on the mightiest fiend, Mephistopheles. Our campaign plays weekly sessions and we have 5 players. The table has all agreed that we play when one person is unable to play, but if two or more players can’t play, we don’t play that week.
We ended the previous session as a portal opened and one of the more powerful villains stepped through, so the next session will begin an epic battle.
One player couldn’t make it this week. According to the table agreement we would still play with only one player missing, but the group decided with a major battle imminent that we should wait until all players were there.
The Decisions Become Larger
I am not complaining at all about the others in my group, I love that they are still so involved in the story and that they are always supportive of each other. It’s interesting that as the campaign comes to a close they are concerned about the important moments in the story. Over the course of the campaign everyone’s missed sessions so that other players could effectively play other characters, it’s not a tactical thing.
If you get into this situation my advice is to be happy about it. It’s a good thing that the players feel the story getting tense and want to experience the big moments together.
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