Dandu
First Post
So, upon first glance it seems odd that such being as Elminster and high level fighters exist. Anyone who has actually seen Elminster’s build, or, indeed, that of Drizz’t Do’Udren was surely shocked at the sheer ineptitude which with they were designed. Drizz’t, master swordsman that he is, cannot defeat a single CR 15 Fire Giant by himself according to his build in the Player’s Guide to Faerun, while Elminster loses 3 caster levels in Fighter and Rogue, while having 3 in Cleric before taking his Wizard and Archmage levels. He does not even have levels of Mystic Theurge, which would make up slightly for the suck his build has.
How can we explain this odd phenomenon of very weak characters somehow becoming the most powerful characters in land for their areas of expertise? Perhaps the answer can be found in how experience is distributed.
Now, we all know that when an enemy is defeated, experience points are rewarded according to the enemy’s Challenge Rating, or CR. However, CR is not a firm guide as to how tough a fight will be; some monsters are under-CR’d while some monsters are too highly ranked. In addition, many variables such as terrain and party preparations could also affect the Encounter Level, or EL, of an fight. It is obvious that a smart party with savvy players will go through encounters more easily than a less skilled group.
It seems only logical to conclude that the EL of a fight is a better basis for rewarding XP than CR, since it is a more holistic measure of the difficulty of a challenge. This would result in a game where weaker characters receive more experience for their troubles while the stronger ones gets a smaller reward.
This explains so neatly how poorly made characters such as Elminster can be of so high level; they succeed not because of their builds, but in spite of them. By barely passing the hurdle, they gain more power compared to powerful characters who blast through challenges but never get the same kind of character building growth through adversity.
It also explains how optimized and unoptimized characters can exist in the same party; while the strong character receive less experience, the weaker ones level up faster until they are of high enough level that all party members have roughly the same power. Thus everyone can feel useful and contribute to the same degree with this fair and equitable new means of experience distribution which rewards everyone equally.
And that is how such things as epic level fighters can come into being in a game where hitting things in the face with a metal object becomes an increasingly nonviable career choice as time goes on.
How can we explain this odd phenomenon of very weak characters somehow becoming the most powerful characters in land for their areas of expertise? Perhaps the answer can be found in how experience is distributed.
Now, we all know that when an enemy is defeated, experience points are rewarded according to the enemy’s Challenge Rating, or CR. However, CR is not a firm guide as to how tough a fight will be; some monsters are under-CR’d while some monsters are too highly ranked. In addition, many variables such as terrain and party preparations could also affect the Encounter Level, or EL, of an fight. It is obvious that a smart party with savvy players will go through encounters more easily than a less skilled group.
It seems only logical to conclude that the EL of a fight is a better basis for rewarding XP than CR, since it is a more holistic measure of the difficulty of a challenge. This would result in a game where weaker characters receive more experience for their troubles while the stronger ones gets a smaller reward.
This explains so neatly how poorly made characters such as Elminster can be of so high level; they succeed not because of their builds, but in spite of them. By barely passing the hurdle, they gain more power compared to powerful characters who blast through challenges but never get the same kind of character building growth through adversity.
It also explains how optimized and unoptimized characters can exist in the same party; while the strong character receive less experience, the weaker ones level up faster until they are of high enough level that all party members have roughly the same power. Thus everyone can feel useful and contribute to the same degree with this fair and equitable new means of experience distribution which rewards everyone equally.
And that is how such things as epic level fighters can come into being in a game where hitting things in the face with a metal object becomes an increasingly nonviable career choice as time goes on.
