At 1st level, how powerful would you say PCs are in any edition of D&D?

[fanboy2000]

That is to say, how powerful compared to the rest of the game world. This is my take on the choices:

Superheroic: The PCs and an handful of really bad guys are way better than the rest of the world and none of the training or learning in the world will get a commoner there.

Extraordinary: The PCs are the very good at what they do because they have training and physical talent. Commoners may get to PC power levels through training, study, and practice.

Ordinary: PCs are no better at what they do than most of the population. This doesn't exclude the possibility that there are a lot of people less powerful than them as well. Ordinary, not sub-par.

All of the above: Either because it depends on the DM or the edition, or some other reason you've thought of.

Any two: You like to of the choices, but you think one of them is off base. Maybe you think that DM could, depending on the edition, run a Superheroic or extraordinary campaign, but not an ordinary one. Or some other combination of the above. This is the choice for you. However, please detail which two you agree with and why. Otherwise I'll be forced to guess.

None of the Above: I have not detailed a choice you are comfortable with picking. This may mean that you think the real answer falls somewhere in between, or you think there is completely different option I didn't cover. This is also the choice for the apathetic. Though why an apathetic person would bother to vote is beyond me.

This poll was inspired by the discussion about wizards in D&D wandering off the path. Great discussion, and I'd like to see more of it.

 

[Wik]

Really, it depends on the edition. A BECMI fighter and a 4e Fighter are two entirely different things.

Case in point, the BECMI fighter, at 2nd level, got crushed by an owlbear in one round. Were we playing 4e and that happened, the player would get up, accuse me of breaking the rules, and sue wotc on me or something.

Characters in BECMI can be killed by cats. Characters in 4e can only be killed by some sort of giant cat/undead hybrid, probably called a "nethercat", "fellcat", or "doomcurser catspawn".

And in 3e, it took so long to figure out how to die that by the time your character died, everyone was busy playing some d20 variant instead.

Nobody's ever played 1e or 2e by the rules, in the entire history of the game... so I can't tell you how characters fared in those games.

 

[Diamond Cross]

Nobody's ever played 1e or 2e by the rules, in the entire history of the game... so I can't tell you how characters fared in those games.

Excuse me?

You've got to be kidding, right?

 

[Wik]

Excuse me?

You've got to be kidding, right?

Yes.

Yes I am.

How did you know?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I voted "All three", since it depends on the PC's level, class/feat/ability choices, and playstyle.

 

[BriarMonkey]

It's all highly variable, and it doesn't depend on the version, or system, you are using. It all boils down to the GM and the campaign.

If you are running low and gritty - PCs may be ordinary; running high and uber - PCs are prolly Superhuman.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

I voted all three. Wik's got the right of it, there are just too many variables.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Pcs are not gods in any edition at first level, but they do vary in their power depending on edition, or fantasy game-of-choice.

 

[jonesy]

People are what they do. Beginner BECMI characters are extraordinary and hardcore, because they can be killed by cats.

 

[Lancelot]

Case in point, the BECMI fighter, at 2nd level, got crushed by an owlbear in one round. Were we playing 4e and that happened, the player would get up, accuse me of breaking the rules, and sue wotc on me or something. .

I get the point (and it's a fair one - 4e PCs have more HP than previous versions), but an owlbear is probably not a good example. An owlbear is an elite 8th level brute in 4e. Using the Monster Vault stats for a bog-standard owlbear...

It uses double attack (at-will power) to hit twice, for 4d6+6 damage per blow. Your 2nd level fighter is grabbed. It then uses its Action Point to do a beak snap, automatically hitting for 4d8+22 damage. Your 2nd level fighter has now taken an average 78 damage, and is killed outright in 1 round - even from maximum hit points, even with maximum Constitution and the Toughness feat.

Further, the standard owlbear fits (just) within the XP and level limit guidelines of a 2nd level encounter, so it's conceivable that a (sadist) DM might throw one at your 2nd level party. So, it's not a case of "well, you'd never encounter a 4e owlbear at 2nd level".

Given the damage above, it's actually considerably more likely that a 4e owlbear will kill your 4e fighter than a BECMI owlbear will kill your BECMI fighter. The BECMI owlbear will have a lower chance to hit, and there's less likelihood it will punch through all of your hit points in a single round.

Yeah, pedantic, I know... but our group has gone through over 100 dead PCs in 4e to date. Rumors that it is a "softer" system than 1e are wildly mistaken - for our group at least.

[...and I voted "extraordinary" for the poll. Ordinary mortals don't even get to fight owlbears. They just get gobbled like so much popcorn...]