So you want to plan something absolutely legendary? I don’t blame you.
Few groups manage to make it to Level 20, so the absolute insanity that comes with it is a rare thing to behold.
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Whether you arrived at this article after wrapping up a years-spanning campaign that your players want to revisit for one last job (as was the case for me, recently) oooooor you’ve got an eager group of players who want to fastforward through all that adventuring nonsense and just become godly heroes of the realm alreaaaaady, we’ve got you covered.
Here’s how you can plan a memorable, fun, and often-times unexpected Level 20 1-shot for you’re party:
Don’t.
No, but for real. Throwing a Level 20 1-shot for an adventuring party that has already made it to the upper echelons of the game risks the possibility that those well-loved characters may come to an unfortunate and untimely end by taking on that one last job. Why can’t we just let these heroes have their happily ever after? Let them sit in the shade of their own fig trees, for Melora’s sake.
And on the other side of that — maaaaybe don’t entertain a lower level party’s plea for you to throw them a Level 20 adventure when they’re only rocking around level 5 or 10ish.
Because as cool as those Level 20 capstones are, and as hard-hitting the abilities, if even decent D&D players try to pilot a level 20 character without having had at least a few levels worth of adventuring to get a feel for them, you’ll be left with a 1-shot that takes for-freaking-ever just to get through one round of combat as the players (and, honestly, the DM too) struggle to figure out exactly what they’re capable of.
And that’s not fun for anybody.
But you’re still here, reading this, aren’t you?
Okay, okay, fine. Here’s the actual list.
Up the difficulty
Whatever you think your players can handle, double it. I’d say the same about any 1-shot adventure (there’s a reason they’re one-offs, after all) but this holds especially true for Level 20s. It needs to be a hard-hitting, dramatic match up, because it doesn’t have all the narrative weight that would usually go into a normal combat encounter in a regular campaign.
Whatever you just upped it to, throw in a curveball as well
You want your players going into this thinking “how in the 9 hells are we going to get out of this one”” because that actually gets them scheming, and makes them do a little something more than go for the heaps of damage that they’re planning to do every. single. turn.
Make the combat area shrink, or have a ritual that needs to be disrupted. Hell, make it so that DESTROYING ALL ENEMIES might not actually be the most fruitful option.
And don’t worry if you think the pot that you throw them in might be too hot. Odds are the wizard has a Wish in his back pocket that will cancel out whatever curveball you throw, anyway — and that’s kind of the whole point.
Let them flex their muscles, first
Before getting into the Big Showdown of it all, be sure to lead up to that final boss area by throwing a few minions their way, or putting them in a dungeons with run-of-the-mill traps.
This gives the players a chance to really get a feel for just how powerful they’ve become, as they breeze through what would have been deadly encounters or puzzling rooms back at levels 1 through 10.
A bit of a victory lap, if you will.
Make it have weight
These heroes can’t just be going off to take out some dragon that has been terrorizing a town — that’s chump stuff. Get some Level 10 adventuring party to deal with that, thank you very much.
Instead, make sure it’s clear that the fate of something much bigger is at stake here; the universe ripping in half, for instance, or the loveable Bard’s wife (because he finally did settle down with a nice girl after all your adventuring was said and done) being held hostage and only HE (and his party) has the power to take on the one who took her.
It’s obviously a trap, but hey, they’re Level 20s, they’re basically invincible, right?
Make sure it’s clear that they’re not invincible
Focus fire the Bard. Or the Rogue, if you can catch them. Or the sorcerer. Make it clear that these enemies are. not. messing. around. And that they have the sensibilities of a DM who has spent the past few years holding back for the sake of the story.
Smack downed PCs while they’re making death saves.
Use their dying bodies as bargaining chips.
Force the party into making those tough decisions.
Take things as far to utter doom as they can possibly go.
Let them fail
I said it before and I’ll say it again: It’s a 1-shot for a reason. There’s no story beyond that needs saving, no future sessions whose very structure relies on the narrative continuing on from this one’s.
Make it clear that evil could very well prevail. That they could all die. That a TPK is not just possible, but incredibly likely.
And then watch as they fight, tooth and nail, like they’ve never fought before, with literally everything they’ve got left.
Oh, and one last thing:
Make it a 2-shot
You’re 100% going to need the extra session time. Level 20 combat takes forever — even if you’re players know what they’re doing.
P.S. make sure they all bring snacks because it’s going to be a looooong night.
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