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Epic Level Handbook is a 320-page sourcebook for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition released in July 2002. It introduced comprehensive rules for playing characters above 20th level.
Legends Begin Here
Songs are sung and tales are told of heroes who have advanced beyond most adventuring careers. They confront mightier enemies and face deadlier challenges, using powers and abilities that rival even the gods. This supplement for the D&D® game provides everything you need to transcend the first 20 levels of experience and advance characters to virtually unlimited levels of play. Along with epic magic items, epic monsters, and advice on running an epic campaign, the Epic Level Handbook also features stat blocks for epic NPCs from the FORGOTTEN REALMS® and GREYHAWK® campaign settings.
To use this supplement, a Dungeon Master also needs the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. A player needs only the Player’s Handbook.
The Epic Level Handbook introduces rules for player characters and campaigns above 20th level.
The book's cover is designed in the iconic third edition style to resemble a physical bound book clad in brass and inlaid with gemstones. While most third edition sourcebooks used color art on the front cover, the Epic Level Handbook features a monochrome artwork in a style more commonly used for character openers.
The cover art depicts by iconic character Alhandra . The picture is divided down the middle; the right side shows Alhandra as she would be equipped at a low-level character, and the left side as she would appear as an epic level character.
It introduces nine new epic prestige classes: the high proselytizer , union sentinel .
It includes rules for skills checks with exceptionally high difficulty classes, such as balancing on a cloud, picking a lock as a free action, ignore falling damage, or swim up a waterfall. It also includes an extended Chapter 2: Epic Spells [ ]
This chapter introduces epic spells, a high-powered free-form system which allows for the creation of new spells on a points-based system. Spells require a Spellcraft check to be successfully cast.
It features 46 epic spells: contingent resurrection , dire winter , epic counterspell , epic repulsion , hellball , nailed to the sky , peripety , superb dispelling , time duplicate , vengeful gaze of god , verdigris tsunami . These range in power from ruin, which deals 20d6 damage and requires a DC 27 check; and vengeful gaze of god, dealing 305d6 damage and requiring a DC 27 check.
This chapter advises DMs on how to run an epic-level campaign. It includes a list of 100 epic adventure ideas, advice on running and creating epic versions of core concepts (travel, wilderness, dungeons, settlements, NPCs, and encounters), and XP and treasure charts for high level play.
This chapter presents numerous epic-level magic items and guidelines for their creation. Epic items have a radically higher price than standard magic items, generally placing them out of the price range of non-epic characters. For example, while non-epic armor normally costs 1,000 times the enhancement bonus squared, armor of +6 or better costs 10,000 times the enhancement bonus squared
The Epic Level Handbook introduced the following creatures: abomination ( dream larva , hecatoncheires , infernal, phaethon , phane , behemoth , colossus ( stone colossus , flesh colossus , demilich , dragon, genius loci , gloom , golem ( adamantine golem), hoary steed , tiger ), mercane, mu spore , neh-thalggu (brain collector), mind flayer), troll), slaad, white slaad , black slaad , tayellah , elder titan , umbral blot (blackball), uvuudaum , winterwight , and linnorm corpse-tearer in Monster Manual II (3e) (2002), at only CR 28. Some more powerful creatures than this would appear in Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine.
This chapter dedicates some sixty pages to presenting a context for epic-level adventures, including organizations, enemies, allies, and locations. It describes the epic City of Union , and presents the adventure module Kerleth's Tower, along with some epic adventure ideas referred to as Adventure Concentrate.
Three chapters here present official statistics for high-level NPCs. Appendix I: Epic NPCs of Faerûn presents Alustriel, Elminster, Epic Red Wizard, Gerti Orelsdottr, Iyraclea, Khelben Arunsun, Manshoon, Shuruppak, Storm Silverhand, Szazz Tam, The Simbul, and statistics for an epic-level Red Wizards. Appendix II: Epic NPCs of Greyhawk presents Catlord, Eclavdra, Lord Robilar, and Mordenkainen. Appendix III: Epic NPCs gives ready-made NPC statistics for level 21-30 characters of the eleven core character classes.
The Epic Level Handbook was written by Bruce Cordell. Additional design was provided by Thomas Reid , and James Wyatt. The cover art was an atypically monochrome artwork drawn by Alhandra , with full-color internal illustrations provided by numerous artists.
The Player's Handbook (3.0) (2000) initially provided rules for Dungeons & Dragons characters up to 20th level only. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3e) (2001), seeking to represent exceptionally powerful iconic [2] A basic design premise was that the rules should follow on naturally from the standard rules, on the assumption that the Epic Level Handbook would primarily be played by people who most enjoyed the level 1-20 play experience. [3]
Bruce Cordell later joined the project and contributed the free-form epic spellcasting system, drawing on a previous concept in his AD&D sourcebook College of Wizardry (1998), which introduced the Aleph or Language Primeval, a sort of original raw language of magic. Cordell had wanted to create such a freeform spellcasting system for D&D since before he came to work for TSR in 1995, and described the epic spells as the feature of which he was most proud. Cordell also contributed most of the monsters, including the abominations, and several feats. [2]
Thomas Reid was initially brought in to write an epic level adventure module for release after the Epic Level Handbook, but ended up contributing to the book itself, increasing it from around 220 pages to over 300. Reid created the book's setting and adventure content, including the city of Union . He created monsters, magic items, and spells, and other elements. [3]
James Wyatt and John Rateliff contributed various elements such as NPCs and monsters. Reid, Wyatt and Rateliff's contributions were made largely independently of the main writers, using their core systems as as basis. [2]
Epic Level Handbook was released by Wizards of the Coast in July 2002 as a 320-page hardback book for a price of US$39.95, or $55.95 Canadian. [4]
From July 5-7, 2002, the Wizards of the Coast website posted content to support the Epic Level Handbook: a product excerpt, a screensaver, a free web enhancement providing epic-level progressions for 24 prestige classes from six class-based D&D 3.0 sourcebooks, and three PC desktop wallpapers featuring art from the book. [5] [6] [7] [8]
On July 26, 2002, 135 pieces of art from the book were published online. [9]
A product FAQ was created for the soucebook, last updated on April 4, 2003. [10] On July 18, 2003, an update booklet was released to allow conversion to the Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5 rules revision. [11] An errata document was released on February 16, 2006. [12]
Several articles supporting epic level content were published on the Wizards of the Coast website between July 2002 and October 2006, in a series called Epic Insights. These primarily added epic level support to D&D sourcebooks. [13]
On January 22, 2013, it was re-released in digital format. It is currently available on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $9.59.
Prior to its release, an unfinished copy of the rulebook was leaked online, the first D&D third edition rulebook where this occurred. Initial reception was generally negative, with readers of the leaked material complaining of poor balance and lack of epic tone. [14]
As of 2023, Epic Level Handbook reached the rank of Gold seller on DriveThruRPG.
In the Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5 revision, the epic level rules were incorporated into the standard D&D rules, appearing in the Dungeon Master's Guide (3.5) (2003). Content from the Epic Level Handbook was released as part of the System Reference Documents.
| Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 |
|---|
| Core rules |
| Player's Handbook • Dungeon Master's Guide • Monster Manual • Supplements |
| Arms and Equipment Guide • Book of Challenges • Book of Vile Darkness • Defenders of the Faith • Deities and Demigods • Enemies and Allies • Epic Level Handbook • Fiend Folio • Ghostwalk • Hero Builder's Guidebook • Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Gazetteer) • Manual of the Planes • Masters of the Wild • Monster Manual II • Oriental Adventures • Psionics Handbook • Savage Species • Song and Silence • Stronghold Builder's Guidebook • Sword and Fist • Tome and Blood |
| Adventures |
| The Sunless Citadel • The Forge of Fury • The Fright at Tristor • The Speaker in Dreams • The Standing Stone • Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil • Heart of Nightfang Spire • Deep Horizon • Lord of the Iron Fortress • Bastion of Broken Souls • City of the Spider Queen |
