Keeping your Players Interested at Higher Levels

So, you've played your campaign for a few years, characters are getting very big and powerful, those that survived that is, and they are now comfy and cozy behind their castle walls that they've earned. So, what now?

What does a Dungeon Master do for the gal/guy that has everything?
The first answer is a simple one. Roll up a new character and start a new campaign. "But, I put a lot of work into this!" Okay, the player wants to live out their characters lives in what some of the older D&D systems called, the 'retired' years. In the 5e DMG on page 36 there are tiers to help you measure out just where your players are for the sake of how you should run your games.

• Tier 1: Levels 1-4 Local Heroes
• Tier 2: Levels 5-10 Heroes of the Realm
• Tier 3: Levels 11-16 Masters of the Realm
• Tier 4: Levels 17-20 Masters of the World

Most DMs don't get their games past level 13-14 with their players and then the campaign fizzles out. But, there are a few DMs, like Scott Garibay who doesn't like playing games that aren't in the higher levels. For Scott, he likes to start at 4th level, nothing lower, and make every single session a complete module - fight the big bad then give the players a few months downtime before the next big bad. If you're interested in hearing his views on playing in high level campaigns, you can see him on Nerdarchy in their video High Level Games vs. Low Level Games. 

But, for our scenario, you've gone from 1st to 15th and over, and your players are masters of the realm. Naturally, in my own research with other DMs on what to do in these cases, I scoured the internet. Watched some of my go-to DMs on the subject, Nerdarchy and WebDM are the guys I always fall back on. Some other good resources for this are Matt Colville, The Digital Dungeon Master, The Dungeon Dudes, and Nerd Immersion to name a few. One of the more popular DMs going today is Matt Mercer through Critical Role over at Geek&Sundry, and if you haven't seen him and his amazing party of players play some of the official modules of D&D 5e on Twitch or Youtube, I recommend you check this out, especially if you're new to D&D and want to see how to run a game and see the game in action. 

Some tips I can give you, as a DM, are to amp up how many low level monsters you throw at them at higher levels. Have minions come out and attack the players, use the environment as a deterrent. And for me, don't do what The Elder Scrolls does with their video game baddies - don't just have the creatures always be right on par with their levels so it's the same grind over and over. That's no fun. Once a player reaches those higher levels, let them feel the power they've gained. If they are called to get help with a local Bugbear invasion, hell, let them just walk in and slaughter the absolute crap out of this group and let the townsfolk revel and celebrate their presence with a feast they're invited to! Let them be the heroes of their realm they so deservedly became! Using lower level monsters to give them a good romp in the old dungeons they used to know can often be both nostalgic and fun. And from time to time have a much bigger threat come into a town they need to help: a dragon, a Balor, anything from the Far Realm, is always fun. Why? Because setting the players up as heroes and as a kind of guardian of their realm, where they are in contact with the little people they provide protection to, is a great motivator when someone comes to destroy it.

It can be a good idea to also have them make more political decisions in their home towns/city, as well as make more direct contributions to it. Is an emissary needed for the town of Blunderwoes to go to the great city of Osohigh and spend a few days in a political situation? Do it! Even better, do it and instead of giving them a huge bad guy to defeat, give them a more subtle bad guy, a behind-the-scenes unknown, a leader of another guild or faction that's creating problems for Blunderwoes from a position of power, throw in a big mystery to be solved! Maybe they have an underground thieves guild that is robbing the people of the realm so badly that the economy is now going to hell. Have them figure out where the isolated cells are located and eventually take down the leader. Some other good ideas from the DMG itself is things like time travel, playing in the outer planes, etc. 

Once your characters/players reach into the 18th and over tier, it's good to make them face world shaking events. The return of a long dead demon lord, or to face a demigod that's hell-bent on destroying life as we know it. Literally make the world begin to suffer, via weather, earthquakes, and how they help the people that look to them for help. Build up their own piece of land given to them for their exploits from a great King of the realm making them their own Dukes, Knights of the realm and build a stronghold and all the troubles that come with it!

Have a campaign in the aftermath of building a stronghold where a rival group of former heroes attempts to regain their foothold of power by sending a small army up against your players stronghold, and see how it holds out? Do they win? Do they fail and need to come up with a new strategy for their castle/stronghold? Were their not enough guards against the attack like moats, drawbridges, ramparts, easy ways in, etc? It can be fun to have them design their castle/stronghold and let them see how they fair against the horde.

Another fun thing to gift these players who've given you their time and hours upon hours of fun, is Boons (p.230 DMG). Once a player reaches level 20, the DMG has some specialized things to give to players. As well, you're the DM! Feel free to give them a boon you know makes more sense in their campaign and world setting. 

Give them their own minions. To have minions gives them a chance to play in the lower levels whilst still being in their powerhouse of a character. They design their own minions (with DM approval of course), and let them hold their own fights. How about a colosseum session, where your powerful warriors are challenged by a rival group to the east, and they must fight in an arena?

There are many, many ways to keep a high powered group of players going if that's what they would prefer to do, just amp up the monsters, the epic worlds, add some amazing environmental changes and a new foe that sets them on the path to saving the universe, is always a good start! Just remember, they earned it, and they have a right now to play in the big pool now.

If you have an amazing story about your own ideas or epic adventure, I'd love to hear it! Feel free to share your ideas and experiences!