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 16th 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 Party That Stays Together
This week the characters continued their exploration of an ancient large dungeon, where they looked to find and destroy an ancient demon on the lowest floor. Four of the five players played this session, and I as GM played the fifth character for the missing player. We also knew that the missing player was going to miss a couple of sessions in upcoming weeks. As they approached what they thought would be “the big battle” they paused and had an out of game discussion about how to proceed. They knew that big battle would be important and didn’t want the player to miss it. It wasn’t a tactical decision as I was playing the fifth character. They just didn’t want the other player to miss a big fun scene. They considered exploring other unexplored parts of the dungeon which weren’t part of their larger goals to make sure the fifth player would be there for the big scene.
This discussion was out of game, so it might technically seem like “meta” gaming to some groups. But I thought it was great. It was due to these players feeling a real bond after playing together for so long, and for me that’s a special thing.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
