D&D 5E DM Quits The Game

[Lanefan]

While I agree that 5th edition doesn't suffer greatly from level disparity, I still set my tolerance for level disparity at 0 (or effectively 0, considering I want characters leveling up within a session of each other at worst) because if one character doesn't have those few extra hit points and whatever feature is gained then that character is notably less useful to the rest of the party - and in 5th edition certain levels are bigger than others, so something like everyone being 5th level when one character is still 4th level is not insignificant.

If things are standing or falling on whether a particular character has a few more h.p. or an extra feat then might I suggest you're fine-tuning your challenges and encounters just a bit too closely?

Lan-"sometimes the low-level dude turns out to be the most valuable character the party has - dice can be funny that way"-efan

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

If things are standing or falling on whether a particular character has a few more h.p. or an extra feat then might I suggest you're fine-tuning your challenges and encounters just a bit too closely?

Why do you assume that things are standing on falling on those details when all I have said is that a character is notably less useful?

I'm not saying the encounters and challenges become unbeatable if a character is a level behind, that's ridiculous - I'm saying that the character that is behind is a measurably less useful to the party than they would be if at the same level.

Lan-"sometimes the low-level dude turns out to be the most valuable character the party has - dice can be funny that way"-efan

It's not always the dice - good luck with your dice doesn't make your character able to attack a second time on your turn or make you capable of casting dispel magic, for example.

 

[S'mon]

Why do you assume that things are standing on falling on those details when all I have said is that a character is notably less useful?

I'm not saying the encounters and challenges become unbeatable if a character is a level behind, that's ridiculous - I'm saying that the character that is behind is a measurably less useful to the party than they would be if at the same level.

It's not always the dice - good luck with your dice doesn't make your character able to attack a second time on your turn or make you capable of casting dispel magic, for example.

IME it's a significant issue with 5th level in 5e. It's not a major issue at any other level AFAICS, but the highest level PC IMC just reached 10th currently so I'm not certain about 11 & 17. I handle this by treating the tier breaks as floors for bringing in new PCs; if the whole group are level 5+ then new PCs start at minimum 5th.

 

[Eltab]

Has anybody else noticed...
Not only did Zard the DM quit his game, he seems to have also left this thread.

 

[Lanefan]

Why do you assume that things are standing on falling on those details when all I have said is that a character is notably less useful?

A few less hit points and-or a missing feat isn't - or shouldn't be - that big of a deal. But by the tone of your post it clearly is, to you. I just don't get it.

Hell, bad luck with the dice can mean you're two levels higher than everyone else and are still below the party average for hit points (and yes, we roll hit points in these parts). So what? Find a way to compensate - take defensive magic items when you can, for example - and move on.

I'm not saying the encounters and challenges become unbeatable if a character is a level behind, that's ridiculous - I'm saying that the character that is behind is a measurably less useful to the party than they would be if at the same level.

Tell that to our Fighter hench - yes, hench - in the game I play in, who has been showing the so-called real front-liners how it's done for almost two adventures now! She's now up to 6th level, where the rest of the party is between 8th and 10th.

It's not always the dice - good luck with your dice doesn't make your character able to attack a second time on your turn or make you capable of casting dispel magic, for example.

It doesn't matter how many attacks you get in a round if you can't roll a hit with any of 'em.

Lan-"when I swing this sword the only person in the room who is safe is the one I'm trying to hit"-efan

 

[BoldItalic]

Has anybody else noticed...
Not only did Zard the DM quit his game, he seems to have also left this thread.

It's my fault, I was late posting this reply.

The internet was down and pages fell out of the dictionary when I was looking up "internet" and I hadn't got the right glue to fix the pages so I had to go to the hardware store and the car wouldn't start because it was out of gas.

Okay, I'm here now. What should I write?

 

[Zardnaar]

Has anybody else noticed...
Not only did Zard the DM quit his game, he seems to have also left this thread.

I am still lurking, not really doing much D&D related atm. Ither group has a 2 week oliday IDK if I want to rebuild, start new game, or cut 5 players down to 2 or 3. I also have a 25 player game of Europa Unversalis IV game to play.