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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Xetheral" data-source="post: 7477992" data-attributes="member: 6802765">[MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION]I can fully accept that in your particular style of play, lower-level characters can still meaningfully contribute. However, I don't think that holds true for all styles of play. Here are some examples of playstyles where I suspect lower-level characters have a harder time contributing meaningfully:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Games with fewer, harder encounters. If an encounter is difficult enough that it has a decent probability of being fatal for a higher-level character, the odds of death skyrocket for a lower-level character. In an extreme case, the minimum damage roll for an opponent might be high enough to instantly kill the lower-level character by doing damage of greater than twice their HP.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Games without predesigned encounters. If encounters result mainly from extrapolating the results of the IC actions of the characters, rather than as the result of deliberate predesign by the DM, encounter parameters (number and strength of opposition, encounter terrain, presence of noncombatants, etc.) become much more variable. In such "organic" encounters low-level characters might find it harder to reliably adopt tactics to prevent becoming the target of an attack.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Games where combat tactics are part of roleplaying. The tactics you've described for low-level characters to survive/contribute (avoiding becoming a target, careful control of range, using Dodge and Help) may be OOC optimal, but will not be IC for all low-level PCs. As a simple example, a low-level Barbarian who has a backstory as a tribal champion isn't likely to IC adopt any of the tactics you've described. This is particularly true at tables with strict rules against metagaming where the character doesn't know they're lower-level. Sure, after a few rounds of combat a smart and adaptive low-level character can infer that they are outclassed in a particular encounter and switch to the tactics you suggest in place of their usual fighting style, but they might not survive long enough to gain that information IC. </li> </ul></blockquote>

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