Making An Extreme PC Power Imbalance Work

[Doug McCrae]

I'm talking about games where the party looks like the Justice League of America, or the Fellowship of the Ring. Say one PC is 12th level and another is 4th. How can this work?

The very funny Mitchell & Webb sketch 'Angel Summoner & the BMX Bandit', about two superheroes, is an excellent example of how such a game could go wrong. Angel Summoner deals with every problem by summoning a host of angels. BMX Bandit is utterly useless.

 

[shilsen]

Personally, as both DM and player I would just avoid such a situation.

But if I did have to come up with a way to make it work on a mechanical level, I'd probably do so by making sure the theoretically weaker (lower level, in D&D) character(s) get access to some things that the higher level one(s) do(es) not. So, for example, in a D&D context the 12th lvl PC could be the older servitor to the family of the 4th lvl guy and also his bodyguard, wielding masterwork weapons and armor, while the 4th lvl guy would be kitted out in the oodles of magical stuff that was bonded to the scions of the family. Of course, I'd also have to make the world a low magic one where only those specially bonded to a magical item could use it.

That's just one suggestion off the top of my head, to make a non-ideal situation work. I believe the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG takes an analogous approach & handles the fact that one PC is the Slayer and the others are normal human beings by giving the non-Slayers extra drama/action pts. So the latter can influence the game in ways the Slayer PC can't, just as the Slayer PC can do things in the game that they can't.

 

[lukelightning]

This only works in stories. In games, not so much.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Play Ars Magica. Everyone gets a badass wizard and a bunch of schlubs.

 

[pawsplay]

It works fine, provided the Sancho Panza consents to and enjoys the role.

 

[lukelightning]

It works fine, provided the Sancho Panza consents to and enjoys the role.

And somehow survives.

"Everyone make a DC 19 reflex save...if you fail you take 48 points of damage...if you succeed only 24"

Sancho: I'm dead either way.

 

[Darklone]

I played several years in a group of 3 9-11 level chars (plus two henchmen level 6 and 7). The three "noobs" included me as bbn1/rog2/bard4, a ftr4/rog2 and a monk5.

We did very fine... fighting kytons and other stuff but it wasn't that much fun. The three noobs worked together much better than the big ones, yet it didn't help that much and we started to die more often than the others (especially if the big level 10 fighter prefers to fly around invisible while the enemies level 10 fighter hunts your monk).

So don't.

It might work with one big hero and the rest plays his entourage... make him a knight in a low magic setting, that's the easiest thing. He's the best fighter around and his small buddies are still big mofos.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

I dunno about 3E, but this happened all of the time in my games in 1E and there was never a problem with it. At times we had first level PCs with 9th level PCs. There's two issues, spotlight time and combat survival.

To handle spotlight time, try to make sure that the weaker characters have niches that aren't filled elsewhere. Joey may not be the best wall climber in town, but he's the only one in the party. Alternately, give them magic items that give them unique, necessary abilities.

For combat survival, create enemies with a variety of capabilities and if possible find some way to separate them enough that AoE spells don't reach. Frex here's a low level enemy wizard on a low cliff overlooking the battle. The job of the low level monk is to go get him, or at least keep him off of the party's back while they deal with more pressing concerns. Or the low level fighter focuses on occupying summoned monsters while the the accompanying wizard pound on the summoner. If you have a thief in the party, a low level PC can provide important help by flanking.

 

[pawsplay]

And somehow survives.

"Everyone make a DC 19 reflex save...if you fail you take 48 points of damage...if you succeed only 24"

Sancho: I'm dead either way.

It would probably work better if Sancho was a fighter, rogue, or something, rather than a low level single class sorcerer or wizard. It's also easier to deal with if you keep the level difference to a fairly reasonable number, or perhaps if you use something other than D&D.

If you are using D&D, I can make another suggestion. Don't actually make the characters hugely different in level. Instead, the "bumbling apprentice" is a 2nd wizard... and also an 8th level Rogue. The paladin's squire is a Marshal; he may only have medium BAB, but his faithful presence makes his knight all that much more awesome. In this approach, one or more characters may seem far more humble in nature, but in absolute terms, is actually just as effective as the rest of the group. A Tumble check might look like the wizard's apprentice cartwheeling with his robe covering his face, falling down, then jumping up and announcing "I'm okay!" He still avoids AoOs and moves at half speed. He may be struggling in his studies, but he manages to make an ancient staff activate by waving it around and trying to repeat things he heard the drow priest say earlier... thanks to his maxed out UMD skill. A faithful armsmen may seem like a typical low level fighter... but when his boss is in danger, he flies into a sudden Rage, and despite his officially moderate level of competence, never seems to actually die of damage.

The Survivor PrC from Savage Species is normally not that fascinating, but would be ideal for this kind of character.

 

[hong]

Buffy is one game that's built around the assumption of disparate power levels. It has metagame mechanics to ensure the white-hats can still contribute despite being wimpy compared to the slayer. You could use a similar concept in D&D: have fate/hero/drama points, with more going to the weaker PCs.