Think on an Epic Scale (HLC)

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It's easy to think of low-level characters as people who have dangerous jobs. Depending on your campaign style, low-level player characters might frequently be called upon to do heroic things, and well-played characters often have goals more complex than merely slaying monsters and accumulating treasure, such as social recognition, romance, political power, and the like. No matter how well-developed a low-level character is, the character's chief goal essentially remains making a living and surviving to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
High-level PCs, as the proceeding section on demographics shows, are the foremost heroes of their age. They are the people who bards sing about and who poets write about. Stories of their adventures are told and retold for generations after the PCs are gone. Whether they like it or not, the PCs are larger than life. They have larger-than-life friends, larger-than-life foes, and larger-than-life problems. Practical details such as where the character's next meal is coming from or how the hero is going to get armor or weapons repaired become petty when compared to the real issues of the character's life.
 Table 1: Demographics
GeneralPopulation	CharacterLevel	Approx. No.in 1,000,000
10 	1 1st 	133,120
20 	1 2nd 	66,560
40 	1 3rd 	33,280
80 	1 4th 	16,640
160 	1 5th 	8,320
320 	1 6th 	4,160
640 	1 7th 	2,080
1,380 	1 8th 	1,040
2,560 	1 9th 	512
5,120 	1 10th 	256
10,240 	1 11th 	128
20,480 	1 12th 	64
40,960 	1 13th 	32
81,920 	1 14th 	16
163,840 	1 15th 	8
326,680 	1 16th 	4
655,360 	1 17th 	2
1,310,720 	1 18th 	1
==Heroes Are Not Anonymous==
Other mortals pay attention to what heroes say and do. Weaker characters seek out their advice, but usually try to stay out of their way. Some low-level characters might idolize them or seek to emulate them. More powerful characters watch what the PCs do to anticipate perils and opportunities; some of these characters might become jealous and resentful of a PC's successes. Deities also begin watching the heroes; they seek to help and encourage characters who promote their interests and to hinder characters who might oppose them.
==Heroes Deserve Heroic Tasks==
High-level PCs have progressed beyond the find-the-monster-take-the-treasure mode, and the DM must find herculean tasks for them. For example, a group of PCs might find themselves charged with rescuing a prince or princess early in their careers. At higher levels, the PCs might find that the fate of an entire kingdom rests in their hands—that kingdom may very well be their own. Later, the PCs might find themselves saving the entire world, and in the meantime they probably function as agents of the gods themselves.
==Far-reaching Impact==
Even a simple expedition to slay a monster can send tremors through the world. For example, consider the aftereffects when the PCs search out a venerable red dragon's lair, slay the beast, and return with heaps of treasure.
First, the dragon is a fearsome creature, probably the most powerful monster within several hundred miles of its lair. The dragon's death most likely produces a local power vacuum. Many types of evil creatures, from ambitious giants to upstart younger dragons, could become embroiled in a struggle to occupy the dragon's former position in the power structure (not to mention fighting over possession of the abandoned lair). Perhaps one or more fairly powerful groups of lesser creatures become free to expand now that the dragon is no longer around to keep them in check. Anything from a community of mountain dwarves to a horde of trolls might take over the area after a few years.
Second, the PCs can set all kinds of things in motion just by enjoying the spoils of victory. A treasure as large as a dragon's hoard is bound to attract attention, perhaps even before the PCs begin spending it. If they carry it off by normal means, thieves and brigands are bound to take notice. Once the PCs begin to spend their money, the local economy might boom from the influx of cash—especially if the PCs spend it on things like castles, land, or businesses. The local economy might suffer ruinous inflation.
Eventually, thieves and other adventurers learn about all the neat gems and magical items the PCs have recovered, and they may plot to steal some of it for themselves. If the characters distribute magic to their henchmen, their enemies suddenly have a problem—the competition just got a lot tougher. If the PCs don't share their spoils, they're going to have unhappy henchmen.
All of the foregoing assumes that the DM hasn't put any special effort into the dragon's lair. Some of the items from the lair might be significant to the campaign. For example, what do the people in the neighboring kingdom do if they learn that a legendary sword lost in antiquity shows up in a PC's hands. The character might be in for a wild ride; the holder of the sword might inherit anything from a claim to a throne to an ancient blood feud. Now consider what might happen if a deity or dragon ruler starts wondering who it was that slew the mighty dragon? Remember also that dragons have offspring and long memories.