A dozen levels in 6 months?

[MarauderX]

For those of you keeping strict game time, how quickly do your PCs advance in game time? I find myself mapping out when the players will probably encounter certain things and look back at the whole picture to realize they are gaining levels once per game month or faster. And if they were ambitious, they could level even faster, leaving old rule-of-thumb formulas for NPC development over time in the dust...literally... or as literal as you can get in-game.

Are there ways to slow down progress vs. game time without slowing down PC progress? Do you do it by forcing campaign 'breaks' in time? I am looking for ideas, please...

 

[Crothian]

Travel time. We have tracked almost 8 years of campaign time and the party is 11th level. Sometimes they have to journey a half year to get to someplace. Other times they have to wait until the spring thaw to mobilize safely. I have never forced down time, but I allow the PCs to know that if they wish to have some they are more then welcome to take some.

 

[MarauderX]

Travel time. We have tracked almost 8 years of campaign time and the party is 11th level. Sometimes they have to journey a half year to get to someplace. Other times they have to wait until the spring thaw to mobilize safely. I have never forced down time, but I allow the PCs to know that if they wish to have some they are more then welcome to take some.

Duh, why didn't I think of that; increase distances to places, and the players are on the road more. Excellent, thanks Crothian.

 

[Crothian]

Also, depending on where they are going make the terrain difficult. I had the party going up into the mountains as winter was setting in. It took them a few months to travel what normal took a few weeks.

 

[Piratecat]

We also use training time. Minimum one week per two levels.

 

[Deadguy]

I also insist that PCs have some downtime where they aren't doing anything other than resting and carousing. No-one can cope with operating continuously, in the highly stressful world of adventuring, without taking some breaks. Otherwise their performance begins to decline.

It's only a few days here and there (I like to throw in things like citywide festivities, celebrations, holy days and traditional rituals), but they add up to slow things down. You can even borrow from the idea of the Sabbath: there are times when the PCs can't go shopping, or get help, or use the libraries, etc. Other people need rest too!

 

[AeroDm]

Downtime, travel, and training seem to be the most common. Jsut get players involved in things other than adventuring (like running a business) and then they no longer see downtime as unprofitable or as a waste.

 

[nopantsyet]

Great post. I'm dealing with this in my own campaign right now. My current campaign is progressing at just over one in-game day per session. Some PCs gained their first level on day 9.

That's a rate of seven levels of nine weeks, or the equivalent of gaining seven levels during army basic training. I could see maybe three or four, but not seven.

We also use training time. Minimum one week per two levels.

That's a cool idea....You've got me intrigued. How do you work it? Are there related costs? Do you have restrictions on who can provide such training?

If trainers have to be higher level, that should make for some interesting roleplaying, especially at higher levels. Hmmm...

 

[Piratecat]

Depending on the trainer, the charge is usually 100 gp per level; more if someone is planning on multiclassing. I try to work it in more as a roleplaying tool than a device to strip cash from the PCs.

The only downside is that it makes it hard to do long time-sensitive adventures. "Sorry, can't track down and slay the bad guy for another three weeks. We have to train!" As a result, I try to allow some flexibility when the group is in the middle of something, as long as they take care of it after the adventure.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I think one of the reasons that WOTC uses the "Spell Per Day" system is to make it easier to mark time. Basically a DM can tick off a day every time the party rests. However, most DMs let their spellcasters recover their spells after 8 hours of rest so that throws that system off. I mark it by my Cleric player's prayers. I rule that Divine Spellcasters only get their spells once per day either at dawn for good dieties or nightfall for the evil ones. It doesn't matter how much he rests and prays since the diety only grants spells to the faithful at a predesignated time.