Defining Epic
A little background:
We're going to die within a year. This is bad. Only one person has survived, but he died a long time ago, and buried on an island no one's ever heard of. BUT! There's an adventurer is said to have discovered it... unfortunately, he died a couple years ago. BUT! His journal was purchased by a wealthy, exiled minor-prince. And so, we go to pay him a visit...
And his house is on fire! And everyone's dead! And there are ogre-mages! Crap!
Oh, look! Wealth beyond our wildest dreams!
Let's shrink the rogue, give him fire resistance and flying and buffs to his constitution, and send him to investigate!
Ahh, it's that evil woman from before! And zombies! And... OH MY GOD IT'S AN UNDEAD SQUID HANGING FROM THE CEILING! And she's animated it for her evil purposes! What the hell was the guy doing with a 30-foot long stuffed squid anyways?
AUGH, THE PAIN!
With her LAST DYING BREATH (literally), our nemesis cries defiance and shatters the ornate stained-glass ceiling, raining shards of broken glass upon our heads!
Quickly, we must find the library! Our only chance is finding that journal - HEY!
There's a bunch of cloaked figures in this library! And look, the only one with distinguishable features just shoved a book into her pouch! But wait - CAN'T FIT THE PARTY THROUGH THE DOOR!
Hey look, someone called in the zoo! Ape and cheetah (and bear - that's me!) to the rescue!
Hey, cool! That's practically 5 critical hits in a row between only two players!
(Crit = double damage)
AHHH THE HOUSE IS COLLAPSING!
The party runs for the door!
The ape vanishes in a poof of smoke!
The rogue zooms out from the depths of the house, which he explored extensively and didn't steal a fortune beyond the wildest dreams known to man!
The druid teleports his cheetah and the Cleric out the door!
And the last two party members jump through a window, over looking a sweeping ocean bay, complete with waves crashing upon rocks, relying on their individual magics to float them down to safety (and cold waters).
Now THAT'S how D&D is supposed to go. And to think, we're even in Eberron (where Gods MIGHT exist, as opposed to the canon, where they talk to you personally)!
And to make it all better, there was a collaborative illustration on the white board of these events as they happened. :)