Favorite Levels of Play and then some Advice

[Aeric]

I don't have a favorite level to play at, but I do have an unfavorite level/range of levels: 5-7. Even back in 2nd edition, it always seemed like this was about the point when the levelling started slowing down. After barrelling through the first four levels, it's somewhat frustrating to hit these levels and stay there for a while.

As to the "rebooting" with the current characters, I think that's awesome. I recently finished playing a RttToEE campaign which lasted two years and there was no roleplaying or character development to speak of; I knew it was a dungeon crawl, which is why it blew my mind when the DM asked for character histories. Everybody came up with some cool stuff that was never even touched on, and after the module was finished, people wanted to keep playing in order to develop their characters. But the DM was worn out and the next DM (me) wasn't at all experienced in running high-level games, so we started a new campaign (with new characters) instead. I even offered to run a reboot but no one was interested. I'd still love to go back and develop my character from that campaign, even if it meant enduring four levels of "magic missile" jokes again.

 

[Funeris]

Magic missle jokes are classic

 

[comareddin]

I voted for the 6-10 range. In the first few levels the characters are rookies of the world and the love of exploration with all the possibilities and dangers before you is great but your options are not varied. In the 6-10 range, each player has quite a few options and with luck can perform some really heroic deeds. At these levels the characters have grown from infancy to adulthood, they start gaining powerful allies and enemies, more subtlety is required to solve problems. I really consider the levels 6-10 the classics levels for adventuring. By the time they are in the 11-15 range, the characters have really grown in power and my characters usually think of retiring by that time. In the 16-20 range they wield huge amounts of power compared to the majority of the population. I do not really see any point in adventuring at those levels. After all you are very rich, if you played your cards correctly you are a person of immense impact in your world, a figure of political powers. At these levels anything you do will effect the world in at least a few ways. I have a hard time figuring a level 17 wizard walking hunchbacked in dimly lit, dusty dungeon corridors just to hunt another monster or whatever. That is the kind of thing you hire level 6-10, maybe 11-15 adventurers for while you do your own stuff which are mostly secret schemes, political deals and stuff. You may be the kind of person that likes political intrigue type of campaigns but as the current D&D system goes, it will take eons to reach high levels. That is why usually high level bad-guys plan their evil schemes and 6-10 level adventurers work to destroy them.

Another reason why I like the 6-10 range is that at those levels I consider the capabilities of the characters on par with those of the heroes of old legends of the real world. After level 10 they take on a superhumanish feeling. This may be a little foolish to say in a fantasy game, but those are my thoughts.

BTW, sorry for any spelling mistakes and meaning inconsistincies in my post, as at the time I am writing this it is 5:42AM here.

Com

 

[Pinotage]

I voted 6-10, because on average that's the best result. But sometimes you just want to play a 1st level character and other times you want a 15th level character. I rarely play above 15th, though.

Pinotage

 

[Turanil]

I'm taking my PCs (all between 6th-8th level) and knocking 'em backward to 2nd or 3rd. <...> has anyone else ever retroactively dropped their players in levels?

As a player I prefer level 11-15 campaigns. For me, the game becomes interesting at 7th level. So, dropping from 8th to 2nd?! I would hate it, and would refuse to play anymore. Really. As a DM I wouldn't do that either.

Nonetheless, I think I understand your problem. As a DM I found it a pain in the @ss to run adventures for 11th level and beyond PCs. It's the reason for which I opted to run my next campaigns with Castles & Crusades and Savage Worlds. Rather than limiting the game to low levels, I opted for rule-lite games.

Now, my problem is that I want to run fluff-heavy homebrew campaign settings, and they take ages to design.

 

[diaglo]

start me at level 1

 

[WizarDru]

I think that 6th-10th is the sweet spot for many DMs and players, in that they get significant power, while still remaining vulnerable. Orcs are still a credible threat to a 6th level party, especially with a slight increase of power. At the same time, 6th is what we call a 'magic level'. Warriors get their second attacks, everyone gets a feat, most classes get some nice candy.

Personally, I find every set of levels carries its own rewards. Low-level is exciting for the vulnerability, mid-level is exciting for the variety of the challenges, and high level is exciting for the ability to flex your muscles. Epic Level play, in many ways, is much more about possibilities than about pure gameplay. When characters can take 10 and get results in the 50s and 60s, success is usually assured...<i>choosing</i> to do an action is the main limitation. Creative thinking rules the day; in our most recent session, the wizard dropped nearly 10 Greater Dispel Magics without thinking twice about it. The cleric has used Miracle so many times that it's staggering. I don't bother to make checks for the rogue any longer; her own party members are unsure when she's present or not, let alone the bad guys. They are power-brokers, now; as some of the most powerful beings on the planet, they are treated as such by the NPCs. It's a different vibe, but it's pretty cool.

On the flip side, that same group of players is heavily jazzed at slapping down creatures in the Lost City of Barakus, where they've clawed their way from 1st to 5th, loving every step of it, and looking forward to an upcoming Eberron game, as well.

Call me old school, but starting from 1st is the way to go, for me.

 

[Funeris]

So, dropping from 8th to 2nd?! I would hate it, and would refuse to play anymore. Really. As a DM I wouldn't do that either.

Well and that was what I am afraid of...and yet, only one of the players have complained. Everyone else seemed gloriously happy with the decision.

What I've decided to do (yeah..I finally settled upon my final final final plan) is to take the characters (only one of which is 8th level...everyone else is 6th) and strip them of their custom homebrew racial levels. Without the overpowered racial levels (which I will rework during the absence of said "class" levels), the CR problems should be fixed. This will leave everyone at 4th level. Then, they can pursue the roleplaying aspect of this game. So that they will finally know their own characters when they regain the racial levels (There is a finite end to this side plot...and there is a very good reason of why they're stripped of the racial levels). And once they have the racial levels back, and resume their uncontrollable quests for power, I can keep a nice, compact, complete record of just how far they have fallen.

The sideplot works whether or not they're 4th level, 1st level, or 20th level. The plot can scale quite easily...and I've held off creating the multitude of NPCs until this very week. The plot is loose too (since it is focused more on roleplaying)...and I can add/subtract as is needed. Hells, we could even add a sixth player if we wanted to.

So that's my decision. Fourth level for all; They will get their racial levels back at the end of the side plot; It will be a slower progression to help improve the odds of actual roleplaying (not to mention the situations won't all be combat); And each session will highlight one particular PC's abilities, so that they can become comfortable with the mechanics revolving around their own skills.

Sound good?

Now, as for the poll: The majority are still voting for levels 6-10. I can't blame 'em. That seems to be the general consensus around these boards.

And I also agree that starting at level 1 and working your way up is my favorite way of playing.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

I voted 6th-10th, but really I'd say I like gaming anywhere between 3rd and 12th, which is a wider range than in previous editions. Under 1e and 2e, I felt the sweet spot was 6th-9th. Now, I find 3rd-12th are the easiest and most fun levels to play in, but I really don't mind starting as low as 1st and playing as high as 15th. Anything about 15th, though, is a headache.

 

[tetsujin28]

Colour me unsurprised that 6-10 is the most popular.