Ability Bonuses, and Immortality

[The Souljourner]

Did you gain as many levels as the rest of the party during their departure? Realistically, they could join up with you a second after they left and have tons more XP, etc, but that would hardly be fair. If this was a simple matter of "enter the portal, gains tons of XP, don't enter the portal, and you get nothing", then I suggest you find a new DM.

If, however, you are still roughly the same level/power as them, I think it's not that big of a deal.

-The Souljourner

 

[Witness]

Did you gain as many levels as the rest of the party during their departure? Realistically, they could join up with you a second after they left and have tons more XP, etc, but that would hardly be fair. If this was a simple matter of "enter the portal, gains tons of XP, don't enter the portal, and you get nothing",

With the exception of the ability adcjustments for aging, the exact powers and XP of the time traveller's is still being decided on by the DM. My character had RP reasons for not going through the portal, and I knew that by not doing so, I was giving up a boost in power. My charcter is a Bard anyway, so their already was a bit of a power gap (although not as big as it could have been since everyone else is multiclassed, and mostly spellcasters).

The problem is not solely with the DM. Or rather, it is not a new problem or one to which I don't know the solution. The DM's style of play and understanding of the rules is such that players can often get away with having their cake and eating it too. That's not my style of play, and since I'm always the one turning down power-ups, I'm also often the only one crying foul. When the rules are unclear, the DM is more likely to err on the side of munchkin, but he would and does rule in my favor when my view is supported by the rules.