Do you ever do you PC's a favor?

[toberane]

One of my favorite characters from one of our longest running campaigns started at 12th level. The main characters for this campaign were all between 13th and 16th level, characters that they had played forever (some of them starting in 1st edition). The rest of us had to make up new characters, and we set off on our adventure from there.

Since then we have been plane hopping, destroying high level dragons and demons, and completing a quest that has been thousands of years in the making. My character is 26th level now, and has the most personality and background of any character I've ever played.

So, yeah, I think it can work out well, given the right DM and the right group of players who are interested in role-playing their characters as if they have already had a history (They had to get to 12th level somehow).

 

[yennico]

I think most of us have probably started games where characters began at levels other than 1st. Personally, I'd never start one at 12th or 13th (unless it was a one-shot).

Ditto. Another reason is high level PCs have many powers, more powers the player realises from the start of. If a group starts a level 1 they can develop a strategy in combat according to their level. If they start at high level they have to find a strategy in midst of a combat whcih could be deadly. Giving a newbie player a high level cleric is not funny.

I don't find the high levels as fun, and starting that high would just accellerate the end of the campaign.

Ditto. I like mid-level games.

 

[S'mon]

Highest I've started a PC out in 3e was 15th, joining an ongoing campaign. In 1e I once started a PC at 13th.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Hm. I don't see starting at level 12 as a favor. Or a disfavor.

Of course, I never really got with the whole "earned" thing with levels either.

I think they highest we've ever stared a non-one-off game, though, was 3rd.

 

[MonsterMash]

If I had a specific adventure I was dying to run and the existing characters IMC were still many levels away then I might let higher level characters be generated or else to fit into an existing campaign where the existing PCs were already at high levels (no point in starting at 1st when everyone else is level 10+). For most campaigns I start at 1st (so tough no LA races) as characters really are characters when they reach level 3 or 4 not just an abstract concept with a personal name attached IMHO.

 

[glass]

I was wondering if any of you let your guys start out as somthing higher level, or if I am also the only one on this. Example: I recently let two of my players start out as higher levels (12 & 13) so they would enjoy the gaming more. Do any of you do that as well?

I have started of games at various levels from first to 18th, but I wouldn't call it doing anyone any favours, just different ways of playing the game.


glass.

 

[Yair]

I have started of games at various levels from first to 18th, but I wouldn't call it doing anyone any favours, just different ways of playing the game.


glass.

Ditto, except I only went up to 13th.
My current campaign started at 3rd, and I'm now allowing character creation at 5th. I have no problem with creating characters at higher levels than 1, and a 1st level character cannot reasonably adventure alongside high level ones.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I've started higher level before - 9th for my last campaign. They enjoyed the options, but some of the PCs felt a little 'cardboard cutout' for the power level they had. That only lasted a handful of sessions and wasn't a big problem - just a bit strange at the start.

I'll probably do a high level start again sometime... But I'd use an idea I've seen doing the rounds here: Start the PCs at level 1, but level them up once or twice per session until I hit the right 'starting level' for my main campaign. Run these sessions as a background/prologue to the main campaign, possibly spaced months or even years apart. Figured it'd won't take that long compared to the main campaign and might well add a lot to it.

Not to worry. The only cardinal sin in D&D is to not have fun playing the game.

As long as it's not Wrong Bad Fun. (tm)

 

[palleomortis]

Not to worry. The only cardinal sin in D&D is to not have fun playing the game.

I'm a dead man.

 

[Henry]

Are you saying you're starting off PCs at different levels from the rest of the group? Or that you are just saying to the whole group, "OK, you start this campaign level 12."

The second is fine, and I've done it for all sorts of mini-campaigns; the first I have never done, nor neve heard of, because the shafted players would likely find it unfair versus the players who were higher level in the group.