Domain Level Play, Part 1

I never really played high level campaigns as a kid. I only imagined what it would be like.

My assumptions of it were that PCs would reach a certain level, then build a castle in the wilderness. The campaign would then be driven by "clearing the hex," and dealing with emptying local monster lairs to make their claimed territory more inhabitable. Monsters would eventually move back in, harass the locals that moved in to support and be supported by the castle, and some dungeons would have to be cleared again.

I also expected there would be warfare. PCs would raise armies and battle with other armies. I imagined that neighbors would have various reasons to clash with the PCs. Maybe they were evil knights, or orcs. These battles would take place using some kind of wargame rules that were compatible with D&D. Maybe it was Battlesystem.

Other armies suggest other powers in the region. So I also assumed there would be politics. Much of the roleplay would center around meetings with kings and queens. Signing treaties. Getting roped into more adventures and battles.

It wasn't until recently, when my latest campaign hit its third year and the third tier of play in 5th edition, that I began to actually plan out this sort of play. I found that 5th edition doesn't run very well above level 10. People make all kinds of excuses for this. One I hear a lot is that magic items cause the unbalance. Well, we've been adventuring for 10-14 levels. You kinda obtain magic items when you do that. It's sort of a part of the game. It's also been kept well within the parameters outlined in Xanathar's Guide, so I know it's not more of a Monty Haul game than the published rules should be accounting for.

5e is just not a great game at that level. The combat drags on forever. The PCs are starting to circumvent entire dungeons with their power, making our favorite mode of play less exciting for all of us. The way we play needed to change.

So I began to transition us towards this idea of Domain Level Play that I had when I was a kid. The party owned a tavern already (thanks to Dragon Heist). The game took place mostly within the walls of Waterdeep. I was using MCDM's Strongholds and Followers to lay down the crunch for their headquarters. And we already had connections with many of the movers and shakers of the city.

Rather than rule over a kingdom, this would be an urban play for power.