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Message: <blockquote data-quote="paradox42" data-source="post: 4422280" data-attributes="member: 29746">Incorrect, IMO. I ran a 2nd Edition campaign in college for 2 1/2 years, more or less, and had the PCs level up from 1st to about 16th (due to differing experience gain and different level tables for the different classes, everybody was different- but the party's main Wizard had just gotten access to 8th level spells when we ended). I can state definitively that after you hit "name level" in 1E terms, level-ups slow to a crippled snail's crawl unless the DM is giving away lots of story awards. My party, during the last year of that game, got probably 90% of their XP from story awards and fulfilling quest goals, rather than from combat, because the numbers you get from combat are just so small by comparison to what you need.I think the OP is spot-on in terms of what each edition's focus is, actually, with the addition that 1E was about acquiring wealth and power. The rules were written with the apparent assumption that characters at a level high enough to have territory and rule, would actually take some time to deal with administration of their domains, and exercise the power they'd acquired. The concept of "power" as combat prowess was really more of a side effect, since hit point gain after level 9 was much slower (among other things).I've played or run every edition up until 4E (and I've read through 4E- considering trying a Dungeon Delve or something at Gen Con to get actual experience with the system). But what I've read strongly supports the contention that it's all about the action. Even skill challenges based on negotiation are apparently supposed to be tense affairs; the idea that one could just have a conversation for non-adventure purposes is glossed over or even actively discouraged (see the note in the DMG about "talking to the town guard when entering town is not fun"). Everything's about the action, at least in the rules.With any edition, of course, you can play the game with elements beyond the rules, but going purely by the rules as written I agree with the OP. Excellent analysis!</blockquote>

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