My homebrew campaign is nearing it's end, and I will incorporate Mythic rules during the last encounter of the next adventure through the end of the campaign. For reference, I am playing a modified Shackled City Adventure Path from Secrets of the Soul Pillars onward, skipping Foundations of Flame. The PCs will gain a mythic tier at the end of Strike on Shatterhorn. If they rescue the father of one PC who is a Champion of Poseidon with mythic tiers, he will basically sacrifice his mythic power to each of the PCs in order to keep my homebrewed villain from taking it in order to release the BBEG. My questions are:
1) Should I choose the mythic path and 1st tier powers for the PCs ahead of time, or take time to let them update the characters during the final encounter, as if they paused the game to level up?
2) The characters are a goliath two-handed weapon archetype fighter, elf polearm master archetype fighter, minotaur (DragonLance race) undead bloodline sorcerer, gnome oracle of the heavens, and a human warlock from D&D 3.5 with the Abyssal bloodline sorcerer powers tacked on due to his (inherited) Abyssal pact. Each of them have a connection to a different deity due to an earlier storyline. The goliath is connected to Thor, the minotaur to Hecate, the elf to Poseidon, and the human to Hades. The oracle does not have a connection due to coming in late to the campaign. Which paths should I choose or recommend for the PCs based on their divine connection?
3) Which path would work best for the Warlock? I was thinking Archmage or Guardian (he has a ridiculous AC and can fly).
If more information is needed, ask away. Thanks in advance for the assistance!
You might take an approach similar to the approach taken in the adventure path that introduced mythic. Basically, The characters gain their mythic power right before a fight. So instead of stopping the action to let everyone pick what mythic path etc they have, the characters are granted a temporary boost. Basically gaining the paladin's smite ability on all of their attacks as well as some other boosts.
After the fight the "power rush" ends and the bonuses go away but the characters are left being mythic and during the ensuing downtime they have a chance to pick their mythic path, feats, etc.
It's always easier as a DM to let players pick options instead of picking options for them. A player may pick a sub-optimal option because they feel it fits better with how they view their character and in the long run players will be happier if they feel that they have agency over their character's ability selection.
You might take an approach similar to the approach taken in the adventure path that introduced mythic. Basically, The characters gain their mythic power right before a fight. So instead of stopping the action to let everyone pick what mythic path etc they have, the characters are granted a temporary boost. Basically gaining the paladin's smite ability on all of their attacks as well as some other boosts.
After the fight the "power rush" ends and the bonuses go away but the characters are left being mythic and during the ensuing downtime they have a chance to pick their mythic path, feats, etc.
It's always easier as a DM to let players pick options instead of picking options for them. A player may pick a sub-optimal option because they feel it fits better with how they view their character and in the long run players will be happier if they feel that they have agency over their character's ability selection.
I had been pondering this as an option, but its been a while since I have read that module and I haven't run it before. Thanks!
I've been running mythic campaigns for several years, so I'll try to offer a few answers.
1) Let them pick their own paths. Just tell them at the end of the preceding session that you plan to add Mythic and that they should choose their path and abilities before the next session. You can then simply tell them when their mythic tier becomes active.
2) If you want to pick for them, you can certainly do so, but building one's own character is always part of the joy of playing D%D, so let them pick if possible. Generally, the combat classes go with Champion. The arcane casters usually choose archmage. The others may not be so cut and dry. It really depends on the play type of each player.
I'd recommend using the Mythic Heroes Handbook for expanded options, however if you want to keep it simple you can just run the first tier from the Mythic Adventures hardback book.
Even if you don't run the Mythic Heroes Handbook, you should grab the pdf of Mythic Solutions from Legendary Games as it discusses several areas of mythic play that have been confusing for players. For example, for years, players thought they could do swift spell casting by using Wild Arcana and this is simply not the case. It is a swift action to spend the mythic point to activate Wild Arcana, but then it still costs (and is limited to) a standard action to cast the spell.
I think I will blend both suggestions by incorporating how mythic ascension is done in the first adventure of Wrath of the Righteous, then let the players choose their PCs' mythic paths and abilities between adventures. Since they'll only get one mythic tier, I will just stick to the Mythic Adventures book.
As for the Warlock, it looks like only the Guardian mythic path would work well. He already has a high AC, so this may be up the player's alley.