3e Character Advancement Too Fast?

[molonel]

"Anyway, i dont understand why people like to drudge around at low levels when a character can do so much more at double digit levels. Not only can you do more, but your dm can also become extra creative when creating encounters for your party as well as your party coming up with some very creative solutions."

Ah, but for the DM it's also more WORK to be more creative. As a player, you build a single character. The DM has to build monsters, which are every bit as complex and operate under different rules than most characters, for every single session. Most of the monsters have very little to do with each other. It's like starting over and building a new character for every ... single ... session.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

For me the standard rate of level gain is a little slow. The major reasons for this are that we play once every two weeks for about 5 hours. We take a little time to get going, and typically only see a couple of encounters a session. For me, part of the attraction of the game is to be facing into the darkness, determined to battle it to the last. Every DM I've played with (including myself) is wary of bringing that sort of moment up at early levels. Thus, the low level world is a blur of sticking things with swords and occasionally dealing with NPCs with much better stuff than me. And unfortnately I havn't had a game span more than 6 levels.

Yeah, it's more of a 'difference in playstyle' thing than a 'level gain' thing.

 

[Destil]

It's an entire non-issue. It's too easy to change and too much of a campaign style choice. The default is just a refrence point to factor as you wish.

 

[Li Shenron]

It's all on me, as the DM, so I think it's just right.

I second this.

 

[Creamsteak]

Well, I can admit that I'm not as competent about higher level play. I can easily tell my players how almost every spell, feat, ability, class, and monster works with low level games. If my players were more competent about how to run thier own characters, spells, feats, and such without having to ask me every time thier action comes up in combat, I might not be so reluctant to let them accelerate to the higher levels.

I'm not ready, but I could certainly master every creature I put through an encounter, and all the stats for some NPCs... my problem is that my players are in for a lot more danger at those levels. They have trouble playing any class other than a fighter it seems sometimes. Not one of them plays a Cleric willingly.

I have to let experience come slower (slow enough so that they learn all thier own abilities before advancing). So, the standard system is a little too slow for me. As a DM, I make it work just fine for me, of course, but 'as written' the system in the DMG gives too much and too little at different times.

 

[Iced Tea]

how many encounters do you all have per session and how many do you think you have on average per adventure. for my group i think we average about 12-13 per adventure and about 2 sessions per adventure.
ps. who thinks that juggernauts SR save is waaaaay to high. especially when you are only level 12 wizar

 

[Iced Tea]

"my problem is that my players are in for a lot more danger at those levels. They have trouble playing any class other than a fighter it seems sometimes. Not one of them plays a Cleric willingly."

OH man i know how it feels. in my party we have people who join or group sporadically. these people are friends so im not going to bash them that bad (thought i doubt they'll read this), but we were facing a group of giant or humongous spiders. Basically everone in the party was webbed and not knowing a good way to get out, the druid in the party decides to use his shapeshifting ability. guess what he turns into. Not the automatic choice, a spider, but a cheetah!!! and im thinking "what the hell?!?!?!" dude just turn into a spider or something that can escape the web easily. so then i ask him, why a cheetah? "It has a good reflex save." the adventure ended up with all of us wrapped in web and my owl familiar hooting at the door of the temple so the cleric could come and save us. All of this could have been averted if i had the knolege that the fighter at -9 hp would make his save next turn (who has also never played with us again in that campaign setting)

 

[Iced Tea]

I think im beginning to talk to my self
What i suggest you do with your players cream, is to run your characters in a mini-adventure and force them all to play different classes. That way no one can play the same class and are forced to learn different classes (or somethign along those lines). This adventure would be a good and short learning experience for all of them. you could try it at different levels and also have them encounter all of the different things they can encounter, like grapple, suffocation, drowning, et cetera. My group will probably do somehing like this to get ourselves acquanted with all of the different changes in 3.5 and all of those little rules we aren't very familiar with.

 

[Ferret]

I voted for A little fast, I've played 2ed computer games and you strived for the levels. The party I DM Just want to level up fast, are adventures get stale fast, like weeks/months

 

[Creamsteak]

Sorry I didn't reply...

As far as I'm concerned, I can help them no-longer. With the exception of one friend, who will be attending college with me, the rest of my group is going to be without a DM for a while. I'm having a few 'rushed' sessions before I leave, but really, I'm just going to have to move on to a new group.

Who knows what will be brought to my gaming table next.