This is fully 2 years late, but a thing I think could be helpful is giving lots of moral problems intwined with the physical ones. Sure, you can blast through a cave of goblins pretty easily, but now you have to deal with the nursery filled with 25 goblin children. Sure, you could use a meteor storm and destroy a rival nation, but now you gotta deal with the refugee crisis you just created. I hope your game's going/went well! I'm starting a 20th level campaign moderately soon so that's why I'm here so late.
There are a myriad of threats that challenge a CR 20 even in the mortal plain, the issue is creating some sort of magnetism that draws the more interesting challenges toward them.
When my characters reached level 20, they were approached by Netharese trying to reclaim the mortal realm and recover Mythallar technology. One of them turned into a dragon and the giants showed up with an old grudge to finish off their ancient foe. The church of Mystra was marching on their new city with an army of wizards to suppress the rediscovery of 10th+ level magic, and the warlocks Great Old One was trying to possess his pawn to manifests into the natural world.
Don't say you want to do something than deny that it can be done. The goddess of magic died twice in the past few years, causing magical cataclysms, rewriting the rules of magic, there are Elves older than the last two goddesses of magic. Get creative, regular Faerun is not as stable as you imagine. The Necromancer in Lost Mines of Phandelver is researching a Netherese outpost. And there's a subterranean world just below the surface with innumerable horrors.
An old friend they've met and learned to trust asks them to help in a ritual, the NPC is trying to seal away an evil the party has defeated earlier. The NPC is anaware and naive. Make it seem they're doing a 'challenge' make them help in the ritual, etc. Once they're succesffull *BAM!* the whole thing collapses into a black hole that sucks them into another reality where they have to fight a whole new 'reality' full of bigger evils: - Other plane - Hell - Underdark - Other planet - Other time (titans? gods?)
Options enough to go completely wild, could also do something with Abeir and fighting some primordials basicly getting involved in some historic scenes that shaped Faerun or something like that.
Simple logic shouldn’t be discarded just because its simple. If I were you I wouldn’t send armies of minions at your god level aspirants. I’d send other god level aspirants after them. You want a boon? To become a demigod? Those at your same level want to stop you (which will earn them a boon on their own) because a pantheon other than yours always wants to gain power while diminishing the power of their own. Add the fact that the demigods in your own pantheon might want to subvert you discreetly. (Covertly lest they be punished) especially those that are power hungry and want to level up. Let your imagination fuel your encounters. Don’t sell your players short by giving them trivial opponents and tasks they can easily defeat. You have held their hands through 20+ levels of adventures. Reward them by challenging them. Don’t hold their hand anymore, they are grown and shouldn’t need it anymore. When you run out of other pantheons to challenge them they should be ready for god level politics. At some point insert a trickster god that will screw with them as a recurring pain in the er…adversary. I wouldn’t give up his identity either. Keep them guessing. He could begin as a potential benefactor giving them items to assist them (that were stolen from other demigods or Gods. Imagine the trouble that might cause when they go back to the ruling council for their reward from a completed task and these items are noticed. (After all they would be reported as missing, lost, or stolen) make them squirm a bit. There are good and bad demigods so it wont be lethal to them. But those that matter will be watching from now on. After returning the items that some unknown person gave them (which is not an alibi or excuse) they might lose their boon or be sent on an errand to acquire something for the council or the offended party(ies) as an apology. Anyway, im not going to just give you ideas ad nauseum. Use your imagination. Twist and turn your plots until your characters don’t know which way is up. They are babies that can’t rely on hack and slash to accomplish their goals. Its time to think and to be paranoid. You’re welcome.
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This is fully 2 years late, but a thing I think could be helpful is giving lots of moral problems intwined with the physical ones. Sure, you can blast through a cave of goblins pretty easily, but now you have to deal with the nursery filled with 25 goblin children. Sure, you could use a meteor storm and destroy a rival nation, but now you gotta deal with the refugee crisis you just created. I hope your game's going/went well! I'm starting a 20th level campaign moderately soon so that's why I'm here so late.
Have `em fight gods!
Enjoy my magic items, spells, monsters, my race, and a few feats. And GIVE ME FEEDBACK... or else.
Like what I say?
⬐ Just press this little guy right here.
There are a myriad of threats that challenge a CR 20 even in the mortal plain, the issue is creating some sort of magnetism that draws the more interesting challenges toward them.
When my characters reached level 20, they were approached by Netharese trying to reclaim the mortal realm and recover Mythallar technology. One of them turned into a dragon and the giants showed up with an old grudge to finish off their ancient foe. The church of Mystra was marching on their new city with an army of wizards to suppress the rediscovery of 10th+ level magic, and the warlocks Great Old One was trying to possess his pawn to manifests into the natural world.
Don't say you want to do something than deny that it can be done. The goddess of magic died twice in the past few years, causing magical cataclysms, rewriting the rules of magic, there are Elves older than the last two goddesses of magic. Get creative, regular Faerun is not as stable as you imagine. The Necromancer in Lost Mines of Phandelver is researching a Netherese outpost. And there's a subterranean world just below the surface with innumerable horrors.
An old friend they've met and learned to trust asks them to help in a ritual, the NPC is trying to seal away an evil the party has defeated earlier. The NPC is anaware and naive. Make it seem they're doing a 'challenge' make them help in the ritual, etc. Once they're succesffull *BAM!* the whole thing collapses into a black hole that sucks them into another reality where they have to fight a whole new 'reality' full of bigger evils:
- Other plane
- Hell
- Underdark
- Other planet
- Other time (titans? gods?)
Options enough to go completely wild, could also do something with Abeir and fighting some primordials basicly getting involved in some historic scenes that shaped Faerun or something like that.
Simple logic shouldn’t be discarded just because its simple. If I were you I wouldn’t send armies of minions at your god level aspirants. I’d send other god level aspirants after them. You want a boon? To become a demigod? Those at your same level want to stop you (which will earn them a boon on their own) because a pantheon other than yours always wants to gain power while diminishing the power of their own. Add the fact that the demigods in your own pantheon might want to subvert you discreetly. (Covertly lest they be punished) especially those that are power hungry and want to level up. Let your imagination fuel your encounters. Don’t sell your players short by giving them trivial opponents and tasks they can easily defeat. You have held their hands through 20+ levels of adventures. Reward them by challenging them. Don’t hold their hand anymore, they are grown and shouldn’t need it anymore. When you run out of other pantheons to challenge them they should be ready for god level politics. At some point insert a trickster god that will screw with them as a recurring pain in the er…adversary. I wouldn’t give up his identity either. Keep them guessing. He could begin as a potential benefactor giving them items to assist them (that were stolen from other demigods or Gods. Imagine the trouble that might cause when they go back to the ruling council for their reward from a completed task and these items are noticed. (After all they would be reported as missing, lost, or stolen) make them squirm a bit. There are good and bad demigods so it wont be lethal to them. But those that matter will be watching from now on. After returning the items that some unknown person gave them (which is not an alibi or excuse) they might lose their boon or be sent on an errand to acquire something for the council or the offended party(ies) as an apology. Anyway, im not going to just give you ideas ad nauseum. Use your imagination. Twist and turn your plots until your characters don’t know which way is up. They are babies that can’t rely on hack and slash to accomplish their goals. Its time to think and to be paranoid. You’re welcome.