Sam McLean's page

I think that Immortality should be considered, but in conjunction with, not in place of, Mythic rules.

This has gotten really heated in my absence, but I will try to cool my own jets and stick to "just the facts, ma'am."

Right now in terms of High-Level content, I have procured almost everything I can.

I have in my library:

Rules Compendium (has basically encapsulated BECMI)
Dark Dungeons (a retro-clone thereof)
High Level Campaigns (sad, 2E revised high-level material)
The Primal Order (non-specific high-level and immortal game mastery guide)
ELH (under my bed, I read a little every night, even though I've been through it dozens of times, dreaming about Paizo's restructure)
The Immortal's Handbook: Ascension (legit but overwhelming 3PP support for 3.X)
The Immortal's Handbook: Bestiary (makes ELH monsters look like kobold children with one level of commoner)

I also have materials that support Higher Level thematic components:

The Castle Guide (from 2E)
The Stronghold Builder's Guidebook (3E)
The Book of the River Kingdoms (GREAT compiled rules for Kingdom Building based on Kingmaker)
Numerous tomes on Deities and Demigods, Planar Travel, Archdevils and Demon Princes etc, that can't be overcome in Low- or Mid-Level play.

I know there's a couple more out there, but what's the point? I play Pathfinder now. What good is another 3PP 3.X book based on substandard outdated material from ELH going to do me? Trivial help, compared to what the REAL THING could offer...

Will I buy Paizo's an Advanced Gamemastery Guide for High Level Play, and will I buy The Mythic Handbook? Betchorarse I will!

Jeez, I'll buy multiple copies and gift them to my GM and fellow players if it will expedite the schedule for these things.

I'll buy one for Galbraithe and Kthulhu and Steve and whoever else doesn't want one, too, so that Paizo can stop seeing their posts as anti-support and lost money for their High Level material.

(Don't quote me on that, if times is hard, ya' know, I am less likely to buy multiple copies for those who won't use them. But I will sell extra organs and bodily humours to afford my own. I don't need my left kidney THAT badly...)

This is where I try to remember the days of 2e. How did I make high-level play more challenging for my players?

I MADE S#@$ UP!

Seriously, I know it sounds like too simple a solution to too big a challenge, but sometimes, the guy behind the screen has to have some fun too. Make stuff up, cheat, learn the rules, and then ignore them, fudge die rolls, AND PLAY GOD!

"High level villains are too risky, I don't want a TPK." Okay, when you roll it, soften it.

"High level villains are too soft for my players." Tell your players they didn't roll well enough to beat the DC of the villain's ability.

"The fighter is a broken little toy soldier next to the god-fueled cleric and the pyro wizard." Occasionally, throw the guy a bone, change a stat block to include magic immunity and susceptibility to physical attacks.

"High level encounters are too time consuming." Wing it.

Also, make your players know their characters. Of course, having them play from low (not necessarily 1st, but 5th or below, for sure) to high ensures that they will learn their abilities, especially if they spend enough time at each level, and experience a wide enough variety of tough encounters to have to figure out what to do when party resources run low.

The biggest challenge for me is keeping it fresh. I can do it, but it's tougher with published adventures. Especially if they're keyed maps, and not event-based. But, it's not insurmountable. I just default to 'make s@#$ up'.

Of course, I still want Paizo to publish their take on high-level play, so that I will be able to make LESS s@#$ up. :-)

I ignored the level cap question, but I have an answer to that one, too.

Paizo can put the level cap wherever they want it, because if I reach that cap, and need more, I'll play higher. It would be nice to phrase that clause of the book like this, "These are the rules we have established for playing Pathfinder from levels 20-36. If you reach level 36 and wish to continue, you can use these rules as written and simply extrapolate them to infinity"

Does it need to be able to hold up for everyone to infinity? Nope, just those who want it to.

If they don't feel the rules are stout enough, they might phrase it like this, "These are the rules we have established for playing Pathfinder from levels 20-36. If you reach level 36 and wish to continue, you may consider doing x, y, and z, since these rules may not hold up beyond the 36 level limit. Here are some examples of how to implement x, y, and z: [cite examples]."

So go ahead and place a cap, but give us (cue magic word) OPTIONS to make the game what I want.