High Level Character Woes

What does one do once the upper levels of AD&D are gained? Having survived the beginning levels of play and reached the pinnacle of adventuring power is quite an achievement in and of itself. Unfortunately, the danger of losing one's character increases dramatically at the higher levels. So when do you call it quits? When do you say enough is enough?

In essence, as with all dice games, AD&D is a game of chance; call it "gambling" with the lives of your characters in the balance. If you keep tempting fate, eventually you will lose and your character will succumb to death. Although not technically the end of the game, it can be considered an indication that your luck is running out. High level creature abilities and spells are typically of the "save or die" variety, leaving little chance for a character to survive indefinitely (that 5% chance of instantly failing a saving throw coming up with startling frequency regardless). No matter how high your Constitution, continued deaths and constantly decreasing Resurrection Survival percentages will eventually result in the death of the character once and for all. How you treat the outcome of the roll really is a measure of your personality.

As a DM of nearly 30 years experience it dismays me to think that players are being misled down the primrose path with promises of high level spells, potent magic items, and vast riches only to learn that they have to make a choice between retirement or final death. Recently, I explained this philosophy to my players and they seemed to absorb the information without much care. One of the players will surely stop playing if her 11th level magic-user succumbs to final death. The other player, who stated that he was "so happy to finally be playing a high-level druid" also stated upon his character's near death that "it's such a great big waste of several years" if his character dies. The final player in this trio has already seen the death of two characters prior to his current almost-high-level ranger, one of the hardest character classes to level quickly. Of all of them he seems to understand the way the game works the best.

But these attitudes are not unique to this group. I've had players throw tantrums upon the death of a beloved character. Others seemed not to care enough about their characters to even try to save them from almost certain death. The DM has to perform a delicate balancing act to keep the game running without playing favorites or giving in to bad behavior. As I've posted in the past, people need to stop fixating on levelling their characters and amassing vast amounts of wealth and simply enjoy the ride. The time playing is what counts as the enjoyment - time spent exploring, challenging monsters, discovering hidden treasures, etc. If you're playing AD&D to achieve some sort of "endgame" or "prize" then you're doing it all wrong.

So what are those high level characters supposed to do? Obviously, if you're proud of your accomplishments and want your character to live on, then retire the character from active play and settle down as a name-level landowner. There are plenty of rules on how this is accomplished. That character could be dusted off and brought back in as desired, or perhaps running side campaigns dealing with politics and warfare could be fun. If you like to tempt fate, then be aware that sooner or later your luck WILL run out. It may not be in the next adventure, and you might make several more levels adventuring, but since you need to face tougher and tougher opponents to get enough XP, you chance failing an important saving throw, falling victim to a death trap, or being defeated in mortal combat with a superior foe. The game is DESIGNED to do this. It is the only other way to conclude a campaign without a defined ending.

So what do the players do next? They can assume the roles of their henchmen, newly freed from service to their master and either continue to adventure as PCs or in service to the remaining original party. Alternately, in the case of a TPK (total party kill) or mass retirement, the players can start a new campaign, rolling new 1st level characters to enjoy the game from a different perspective. Both are viable options, but require a certain mindset from the players in how they approach the game.