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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Graf" data-source="post: 521357" data-attributes="member: 3087">As a solid member fo the pro-campYes. I had a 4th level character adventuring with a 9th&10th level party for a while. It was fine. The character was weaker than everybody else and there was this huge hubub about that but (watching the whole thing more objectively) he contributed immensely to the story line and the party's success.I have a strict "new characters enter the game @ 5th level" policy. Ever since I read Jeff Grubb's old Forgotten realms comic book (which had 5th level paladin working in a team with a bunch of 6-8th level characters and a 14th level mage) I've been interested in not forcing everyone in the party to be the same exact power level. (not that they are anyway but that's sort of the point... characters don't balance precisely anyway, so I'm not one to lock myself into it totally).Here's some stuff I've run into (and advice I can give)Make people happy with being different levelsThe toughest part about it is actually player psychology. A lot of the more meta-players (I don't really mean power gamers but that's the sort of people I'm thinking of) only see stats, special abilities and magic items. Though they can be supportive a lot of their comisserating "man! you have it rough!!" or "just give up, at you're level there's nothing you can do!" comments can create a sense of frustration or unfairness in the player. SoKeep it real Remind people that it isn't 4th level druid & 9th level paladin but Aidon, a young druid on a sacred quest, and Xerces, the grizzled paladin who vowed to help him. In D&D an adventuring party is -always- the same level but In RL people hang out with others who are younger/older/dumber/brighter/richer/poorer all the time.Point out objectively how the characters contribute to the sucess of the group There are many situations in D&D when you beneift immensly from having another person around. The dice certainly are set up this way. Both skill checks, attack roles and damage rolls can show case this. So Malakai would have noticed the theif on a roll of 8 or better, he rolled a 5. Aidon's only going to see him if he rolls a 16, but thats a lot better odds than Malakai alone. Once they get keyed into this your better palyers will figure out how useful another attack, spell, etc. a round is and re-enforce this in their planning.Encourage team tactics and smart planning This is actually a lot of little stuff. Its a chance for the group to think (in character) about their combat roles. Our druid got a lot of milage out of (and saved a lot of people who would otherwise have died) using a CMW wand. While a lower level fighter-type who wants to be a front line combatant will have trouble in general low-level fighter characters can still be extremely useful. Disposing of weakened foes, protecting a wizard from melee for a round to two, letting a higher level rogue flank, etc. the list is almost endless. Dynamic battles and flash confrontations, and battles with fluid situations because of environmental changes, the arrival of new foes or shifting enemy tactics really allows different people to shine.I also can say its just a great opportunity to roleplay. You get a lot of mentors-student relationships. It rewards players who have been at it for a while and gives people a chance to really define their characters on a level you don't always get to see. In our group the most powerful character (the wizard) wound up studying with the least (the druid) because he wanted to renew his ties to the nature oriented culture he had grown up in.One last thing... Area effect damage spells (though with your character levels its less of an issue) have been my #1 issue. The high reflex high-level monk/rogues walz though unharmed while the lower level types get pounded. nothing differentiates the character levels more quickly than "save you're fine, fail and you're dead" type stuff you start seeing around CR 9-10.hope this helps,Graf[edit PS: setting the inital adventure around one of the weaker characters is also a good idea. IMC the party helped out the new character and promptly got confused and killed him. They felt terrible in and out of character and wound up helping him pay back the evil druid who raised him. Though it was all spur of the moment type planning on my part net-net it worked out. A group of city-types wound up trapsing through the forest to help a druid, letting him guide and track, identify dangerous plants, scout in wildshape, negotiate with hostile dryads, and so on. If you can work something like that in it will probably help the groups cohesivenesss.It might be cool to do something with a lower level character who has more prestige or rank and is "in charge".]</blockquote>

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