Do You Often Get Beyond Mid-Level Play When RPGing?

[Stormborn]

No. I think the highest we have ever played had 10th-11th level PCs. 5th or 6th is far more common. The question is: Why? I think in our case its because we don't really do episodic gaming, we rarley go from one unrelated adventure to the next. Our games tend to have a strong overarching plot, and while there might be a side quest type adventure or two, once the "big" adventure is resolved we don't really move to something else well. I think there are some overarching personality dynamics involved too (I for one am always coming up with new ideas, once that don't neccesarily fit into the characters or worlds i have created and don't have time to play multiple campaigns.) I want to changed that though, and maybe once Ptolus comes out I can run a game that at least goes past 12th level.

 

[satori01]

Not often, not often indeed. Current game I Dm for is @ 13th level well on its way to 14th, I can conceivably see it going on to around 21-22nd.

I also expect that the Adventure Paths from Dungeon will also bring up the average number of people that get to experience high level play.

I also think the line between the Mid Level Epoch and High Level Epoch is a bit hazy. 5th level and Fireball is usually the dividing line between Low Level and Mid level, a pretty set in stone dividing line. When Disentergration and Heal become common use spells I think you have entered High Level play.

Group size can also play a factor in the Epoch of play. I DM for 6 players at the moment. The group can take a EL 15 encounter easily,(well as easily as any EL 15 encounter can be), and overall I would say # of people in group over 4 is = to increase in average party level.

At the begining of the campaign I had 9 players. Let me just say, with that many players, a lot of low level play falls by the wayside, and you can (very carefully) throw Mid Level monsters at
the group.

 

[Schmoe]

Most Of Our Long-Term Games Are Done With The Intent (At Least) Of Getting To 20th Level If Not Higher. The Last One I DMed Got To 17th. The One I'm Playing In Now Is At 5th, But The Previous One Got To 21st.

Been DMing A Bunch Of One-Shots Lately, Though.

When you get to high level, do they teach you the secrets of l33t capitalization skillz?

 

[Agent Oracle]

Very rarely. My current campaign STARTED at 10th level, but if the GM has his way we'll never make it to 11th. (he's awarding 1/10th EXP.)

 

[GreatLemur]

Man, we don't often get beyond low levels. Too little time, too many different awesome games to try. Because of this situation, I've started to accept the idea of games with little or no character advancement, like Spirit of the Century and In a Wicked Age.

 

[drothgery]

If you figure mid-level as 7-13 or so, well, most of the games I've played in ended at the top end of that range, and my highest-level 3.x player character I think was 14th level when the campaign ended. My current tabletop PC's 500 XP from level 10; I'd like to see him to 11 at least, if only to finish a PrC for the first time (he'd be Wiz [Evo] 5/Cleric [Silver Flame] 1/Silver Pyromancer 5 at that point).

Holy thread necromancy, Batman.

So I looked back at what I posted two years ago, and, well, that PC did get to 11th, but died soon after. The campaign, though, went to 19th level (easily the longest-running game in terms of level span or play time at the table that I've ever been in, though not the longest in calendar time due to an every-other-week game through most of my undergrad years). And the guy that ran it has some plans for Epic at some point (though there's also the current mid-level game run by the other regular DM, Episode II of my SWSE game, and perhaps a test run of 4e in the mix).

 

[CharlesRyan]

Rarely. Last campaign capped out at 12th. The campaign I'm currently running is planned to come to an end between 12th and 14th. Can't remember the last time I played at levels higher than that.

 

[Phaezen]

Our games rarely get beyond level 8 or 9, especialy in 3.x. Although I am currently running the Cormyr series of modules as a grand farewell to 3.5, currently at level 9, finished Cormyr and stated Shadowdale



And . . . we . . . will . . . . finish . . . . them

even if it kills me.

Phaezen

 

[Yaztromo]

I prefer rulesets that don't involve levels, but rather allow you to improve your basic characteristics with experience.

WRT D&D, I think that the most enjoyable levels are 5th-6th.

 

[aramis erak]

In 5E, I dislike levels 9+.... just too complex.

Cyclopedia, I didn't mind high level.

Palladium, I never got a campaign past 5th...
Rolemaster, never past 4th
Spacemaster, 10th... by using the prior experience table, and it wasn't all that different from low-level play.
Arcanum, only about 4th level, due only to schedule issues.
D&D 3.x D&D - I started my campaign at 9th and ran to 15th... and hated it. So I tried a 1st level game, and was so-so... I've found I don't like 3.x.
Traveller T20 - the playtest used half the XP awards that the published did, and so in playtest, 8th was VERY high level. My players started between 3rd and 7th, and the 8th level was just shy of 9th when the playtest started. Note that no one else seems to have tested above 10th, either.... so if you do buy the T20 CD, understand that it was tested with half all the XP values, and only to 10th level.