Character levels for a War campaign

[tennesay]

I am trying to put together a small campaign that would look something like a combination of the Heros of battle but on a smaller scale that would probably resemble something out of the miniatures hand book. My current problem is that I don't really know what character level I should have my guys start from.
They would definitely not be level 20. I am not sure about starting at level 1 either. I also know that some races do get even remotely interesting until later as well, particular those that depend on hit die for special abilities like raptorans or and the like.

 

[rgard]

I am trying to put together a small campaign that would look something like a combination of the Heros of battle but on a smaller scale that would probably resemble something out of the miniatures hand book. My current problem is that I don't really know what character level I should have my guys start from.
They would definitely not be level 20. I am not sure about starting at level 1 either. I also know that some races do get even remotely interesting until later as well, particular those that depend on hit die for special abilities like raptorans or and the like.

Maybe in the neighborhood of 9th to 11th level? I've always found those levels to be the most fun. The spell casters will have some decent area spells to damage large numbers of enemy soldiers and the melee types will be able to do a longer stand up fight.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[tennesay]

Thanks for the help. I was considering making it a 3.5 campaign, but a couple of my friends suggesting doing a 4.0 because it would be a little easier. Looking over the materials for 4.0 and I am not quite sure if I would want to do that. On the one hand it makes for an interesting situation if I give the players control over a small group of soldiers, many of whom will be minions. It occurred to me that I was planning to have large scale fights and the minion rules would be perfect for that. As a plus a couple of Kruthik would completely decimate any minion who did not succeed in killing it before it ended its turn. On the other hand is the rather limited materials that are available for 4.0.

 

[rgard]

Thanks for the help. I was considering making it a 3.5 campaign, but a couple of my friends suggesting doing a 4.0 because it would be a little easier. Looking over the materials for 4.0 and I am not quite sure if I would want to do that. On the one hand it makes for an interesting situation if I give the players control over a small group of soldiers, many of whom will be minions. It occurred to me that I was planning to have large scale fights and the minion rules would be perfect for that. As a plus a couple of Kruthik would completely decimate any minion who did not succeed in killing it before it ended its turn. On the other hand is the rather limited materials that are available for 4.0.

You are welcome. I didn't specify which edition, but I guess you can tell from my sig that I meant 3.5. I only have a passing familiarity with 4.0 and minions, but from what I have read, maybe 4.0 is the way to go for you.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[tennesay]

Thanks for the help. I have decided against going 4th. I looked at the stats and stuff an figured that an 7th level soldier would have roughly 80 hp and attack of 14 and ac of 22 by calculations. Put that against a 3.5 lvl 10 character and its kinda crazy. Also combat options were a little limited, I didn't like the lack of flying and stuff. Also it missed out on a lot of interesting beasties I am considering putting in.
Now I don't really know what character level the npc soldiers should be. If the players will be roughly 9-11 I was thinking the soldiers should at least be 5 for the base line. I was thinking of keeping the minion rule in the game. I would give the players a small squad of regular hp soldiers and minions without telling them which was which. The minions would act like regulars until they got hit. This way it lets me have a lot of guys on the field, but without a lot of lag time.

 

[Dragonwriter]

Could you possibly elborate on your "War Campaign"? You might find some good help in the back of Complete Warrior (if you have or can get a copy of it). The last chapter of the book is all about large-scale combats.

If the majority of combatants are human/humanoid, most of them should be conscripts (drafted just for this, no real training), making them 1st-3rd level whatevers, generally NPC classes. Officers would be higher level, probably PC classes with gear appropriate for their level. And there can be special strike teams, somewhere around the PCs' levels, designed for taking out commanders and other teams.

I would put the PCs somewhere around 7th-10th level. They get good power, nice HP, and can feel like a force on the battlefield without being completely out of control for you.

 

[tennesay]

What would you want me to elaborate on? It started from the idea of having players assault a castle that had been taken over. That idea of coursed ballooned out of control. Its current form is a multipathed scenario in an argueably insane world.
By insane I mean I created a backdrop where basically everything is possible. From the get go the starting scene would be the leader of the army giving the players the choice of leading the spearhead into the castle, infiltrating the castle or investigating a nearby disturbance. That disturbance would be in my mind a surprise attack by a rather large krithik swarm. The 4e minion rules would allow the bugs to get the upper hand against most soldiers while giving the converse would be true for the soldiers. The hinge upon this would be the fact that the players are required to at least try and preserve as many of their troops as possible. I like cannon guys but eventually they will refuse to be sent into the meat grinder. The one major influence on this campaign would probably be a combination of final fantasy tactics and fire emblem.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

As Complete Warrior sort of talks about in the two main ways to present war in D&D -- classic medieval or more like modern combat, the levels will largely determine the style of battle. If you want lines of infantry, the importance of keeping formation, and decisive cavalry charges, don't go to too high a level. You can probably go up to 6 or maybe higher, as spells like fireball and fly will then only be beginning to see limited use. Start possibly as low as level 1, really just pick a start level and rate of xp gain to match the desired campaign length.

If you want dragons soaring over head laying down breath weapons and spells like an aerial bomber, elementals and golems acting like battle tanks gaining ground, "mechanized infantry" and "paratroopers" making use of Mass Fly and teleportation, with the "castles" underground, on pocket planes, or otherwise hidden from plain view... Go with higher levels. Such a warfare style will have almost no open conflict or large units of soldiers. It will be mostly what Complete Warrior labels as "strike teams" skulking about carrying out specific missions with lots of guerilla warfare. For such a game, you could really start anywhere, though you'd probably want to at least start at level 8 or so, with no particular level cap before gameplay changes much. If it goes past level 20, the conflict will likely have to spread across planes or involve the gods themselves in order to remain challenging for the party and still seem plausible.