a rulset to handle multilevel partys.

[marli]

Ok this idea just pinged into my head so bear with me if its a bit rough.
starting with an equal party:
1)keep a count of gold/equipment rewards as each party member levels
make a note of the average payout at each level.
2)when a chararcter dies. allow the player to roll up another.
3)level that player to highest party level.
4)HOWEVER the player gets 1st level feats,powers, and gear.
5)the player is the in debt to the DM for the XP to the current level.
6) the player pays 10%+ of the xp gained to this debt.??
7)they then have 2 levels. their lower(real) level, as the XP debt is paid off this levels up and they gain gear/powers/feats. and thier upper or "party boosted" level, this also levels up, but they only gain the usual +1/2 bonuses from this level.

will this work? will the player drop behind the party too far at 90% payback? will thier power/feat/kit level catch up fast enough at 10%? should it be a fixed 50%

 

[marli]

no comments or feedback?
i'd like someone elses take on this to make sure there is any really bad holes in it.

 

[Alex319]

You would likely get more useful feedback if you were more clear on your objectives.

It looks to me like this is a system that is supposed to be used if a character dies. Is this the only purpose of the system? If so, then your thread title should be more clear, like "a system to handle character death" or something.

Also, what is your design goal for this system? What advantages do you think your system has over the standard system (just roll up a new character at the same level as the rest of the party, no "XP debt" or anything)? If we knew what you were trying to achieve we could provide a more effective critique.

 

[the Jester]

I'm not sure what your system does, exactly- it's not entirely clear.

It sounds like you're making 1st level pcs with higher-level hit points, attack and defense values, but only 1st level gear and powers?

With this xp debt and stuff, it just sounds overly complicated to me, but like I said, I'm not even sure how it is supposed to work or what you're trying to accomplish.

I'm guessing it boils down to an attempt to recapture the "everyone starts at 1st level" feel of earlier editions, which I prefer, but I have not found a good system that works well for this is 4e- the math is too tight.

 

[marli]

I'm guessing it boils down to an attempt to recapture the "everyone starts at 1st level" feel of earlier editions, which I prefer, but I have not found a good system that works well for this is 4e- the math is too tight.

Exactly, i seems that the extra xp gained would be enough if the gap was small enough??
i dont have the tables and havent checked, if or when this would fail.
.....
just did some maths and seems worse at lower levels.
you catch up within 6 levels, at which point you drop behind 3 levels at the most
this becomes an issue at higher levels only just before the levels cap out anyway

A=party level at your death.
B=party level when debt is paid off
C=Player level when debt is paid off

A B C 
2  3  2
3  5  5
4  7  6
5  9  7
10 15 13
20 26 23
25 30 28
27 30 30

 

[Alex319]

Using HTML won't work here. If you want to make a table you hsould use the CODE tag as follows:

Column A  Column B
-------------------
Item 1    Item 2
Item 3    Item 4

 

[marli]

Anyone see any issues with this system?

 

[marli]

Guess you all love it.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

I guess my question is "what's wrong with equal levels?"

Personally, the fact that 4e recommends keeping everyone at the same level is one of the many reasons I prefer it over earlier editions. So aside from being unclear, your goal seems to be flawed from my PoV.

 

[the Jester]

I like the goal, but have found 3e and later iterations of D&D to make it highly unworkable.

I use a "start one lower level than the lowest level pc, or equal level if there's only one guy that low level" combined with "catchup xp" system that works okay.

Catchup xp: Everyone lower level than the highest level pc gets bonus xp at the start of each session equal to that earned for defeating a monster of the highest level pc's level.

So in a party that's mostly 1st level with one guy at level 2, all the first level guys will get 125 xp at the start of a session.

When there's a new highest level, catchup xp are awarded right away, so if that 2nd level guy hits 3rd level (and nobody else is yet 3rd), all the other pcs get an instant 150 xp.