My players have ascended to divininty & I'm wondering if anyone knows of rule sets that are 5E compatible that have a framework for divine epic level play.
Kind of depends on what you mean. "Divine Epic" as in literal godhood, no. For that, I might suggest Exalted
Wikipedia offers some options, like the Immortals rules from the D&D Basic set. Some of that has been converted to 5th edition.
There really aren't any 5th edition rules for gods as such, all the current things published are meant to be bad guys, but you might get some hints from the the Warlock Patrons list, for example, or Modenkainen's Tome of Foes, or perhaps allow someone to play a Dread Lord from Van Richten's Guild to Ravenloft.
Using D&D 5th edition, core rules the DMG provides some things in Chapter 9 on in the Dungeon Master's Workshop
Hero points:
With this option, a character starts with 5 hero points at 1st level. Each time the character gains a level, he or she loses any unspent hero points and gains a new total equal to 5 + half the character’s level.
A player can spend a hero point whenever he or she makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw. The player can spend the hero point after the roll is made but before any of its results are applied. Spending the hero point allows the player to roll a d6 and add it to the d20, possibly turning a failure into a success. A player can spend only 1 hero point per roll.
In addition, whenever a character fails a death saving throw, the player can spend one hero point to turn the failure into a success.
Plot Points:
With this approach, there is no permanent DM. Everyone makes a character, and one person starts as the DM and runs the game as normal. That person’s character becomes an NPC who can tag along with the group or remain on the sidelines, as the group wishes.
At any time, a player can spend a plot point to become the DM. That player’s character becomes an NPC, and play continues. It’s probably not a good idea to swap roles in the middle of combat, but it can happen if your group allows time for the new DM to settle into his or her role and pick up where the previous DM left off.
Using plot points in this way can make for an exciting campaign as each new DM steers the game in unexpected directions. This approach is also a great way for would-be DMs to try running a game in small, controlled doses.
In a campaign that uses plot points this way, everyone should come to the table with a bit of material prepared or specific encounters in mind. A player who isn’t prepared or who doesn’t feel like DMing can choose to not spend a plot point that session.
For this approach to work, it’s a good idea to establish some shared assumptions about the campaign so that DMs aren’t duplicating efforts or trampling on each other’s plans.
As many Supernatural Gifts and Epic Boons as seems proper, and they could also have godlike scores. DMG, Chapter 7 under Other Rewards
Score Modifier Proficiency Bonus Armor Class Bonus Hit Point Bonus Bonus to Hit Save Difficulty Modifier
If they are gods, then the following are likely to apply:
Their physical bodies are just avatars. When they die they return to a different plane of existence and can return when a new avatar is created for them on the material plane.
They should have their own clerics and priests to whom they bestow power
They are far too powerful to be characters in a D&D game
D&D is not set up for characters of divine power magnitude. That would seem like the end of the campaign, to me.
How many Gods actually have in-game stats? I know it's very few of them... one that comes to mind is Tiamat. She's a CR30 Fiend with over 600 hitpoints and a ton of immunities and other stuff. All her spell save and attack DCs are above 25 and she gets a +19 to hit on every attack. Even within her statblock it states that if her physical form is destroyed she just returns to her home plane...
If they are gods, then the following are likely to apply:
Their physical bodies are just avatars. When they die they return to a different plane of existence and can return when a new avatar is created for them on the material plane.
They should have their own clerics and priests to whom they bestow power
They are far too powerful to be characters in a D&D game
D&D is not set up for characters of divine power magnitude. That would seem like the end of the campaign, to me.
Exactly.
But it could be fun in the next campaign to allow the new PCs to worship the ones who've become gods. And if one of them becomes a high enough cleric, you could have them show up if they make a successful divine intervention roll.
5e is not designed for battling gods or becoming them.
I wouldn't go that far. There's (a very small number of) instances in official adventures of battling gods, though like Sanvael points out, destroying their physical form doesn't truly kill them, and their avatar might be in a weakened state due to circumstance. There's also stat blocks for beings that are pretty close in power to a god's avatar (e.g. the archdevils of the Nine Hells.) I agree 100% on the latter point though.
5e is not designed for battling gods or becoming them.
I wouldn't go that far. There's (a very small number of) instances in official adventures of battling gods, though like Sanvael points out, destroying their physical form doesn't truly kill them, and their avatar might be in a weakened state due to circumstance. There's also stat blocks for beings that are pretty close in power to a god's avatar (e.g. the archdevils of the Nine Hells.) I agree 100% on the latter point though.
Alright. 5e is not designed for battling gods at their full divine power with any ability to actually threaten them.
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My players have ascended to divininty & I'm wondering if anyone knows of rule sets that are 5E compatible that have a framework for divine epic level play.
Kind of depends on what you mean. "Divine Epic" as in literal godhood, no. For that, I might suggest Exalted
Wikipedia offers some options, like the Immortals rules from the D&D Basic set. Some of that has been converted to 5th edition.
There really aren't any 5th edition rules for gods as such, all the current things published are meant to be bad guys, but you might get some hints from the the Warlock Patrons list, for example, or Modenkainen's Tome of Foes, or perhaps allow someone to play a Dread Lord from Van Richten's Guild to Ravenloft.
Using D&D 5th edition, core rules the DMG provides some things in Chapter 9 on in the Dungeon Master's Workshop
Hero points:
With this option, a character starts with 5 hero points at 1st level. Each time the character gains a level, he or she loses any unspent hero points and gains a new total equal to 5 + half the character’s level.
A player can spend a hero point whenever he or she makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw. The player can spend the hero point after the roll is made but before any of its results are applied. Spending the hero point allows the player to roll a d6 and add it to the d20, possibly turning a failure into a success. A player can spend only 1 hero point per roll.
In addition, whenever a character fails a death saving throw, the player can spend one hero point to turn the failure into a success.
Plot Points:
With this approach, there is no permanent DM. Everyone makes a character, and one person starts as the DM and runs the game as normal. That person’s character becomes an NPC who can tag along with the group or remain on the sidelines, as the group wishes.
At any time, a player can spend a plot point to become the DM. That player’s character becomes an NPC, and play continues. It’s probably not a good idea to swap roles in the middle of combat, but it can happen if your group allows time for the new DM to settle into his or her role and pick up where the previous DM left off.
Using plot points in this way can make for an exciting campaign as each new DM steers the game in unexpected directions. This approach is also a great way for would-be DMs to try running a game in small, controlled doses.
In a campaign that uses plot points this way, everyone should come to the table with a bit of material prepared or specific encounters in mind. A player who isn’t prepared or who doesn’t feel like DMing can choose to not spend a plot point that session.
For this approach to work, it’s a good idea to establish some shared assumptions about the campaign so that DMs aren’t duplicating efforts or trampling on each other’s plans.
As many Supernatural Gifts and Epic Boons as seems proper, and they could also have godlike scores. DMG, Chapter 7 under Other Rewards
Score Modifier Proficiency Bonus Armor Class Bonus Hit Point Bonus Bonus to Hit Save Difficulty Modifier
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If they are gods, then the following are likely to apply:
D&D is not set up for characters of divine power magnitude. That would seem like the end of the campaign, to me.
How many Gods actually have in-game stats? I know it's very few of them... one that comes to mind is Tiamat. She's a CR30 Fiend with over 600 hitpoints and a ton of immunities and other stuff. All her spell save and attack DCs are above 25 and she gets a +19 to hit on every attack. Even within her statblock it states that if her physical form is destroyed she just returns to her home plane...
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5e is not designed for battling gods or becoming them.
Exactly.
But it could be fun in the next campaign to allow the new PCs to worship the ones who've become gods. And if one of them becomes a high enough cleric, you could have them show up if they make a successful divine intervention roll.
I wouldn't go that far. There's (a very small number of) instances in official adventures of battling gods, though like Sanvael points out, destroying their physical form doesn't truly kill them, and their avatar might be in a weakened state due to circumstance. There's also stat blocks for beings that are pretty close in power to a god's avatar (e.g. the archdevils of the Nine Hells.) I agree 100% on the latter point though.
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Alright. 5e is not designed for battling gods at their full divine power with any ability to actually threaten them.