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Mixed Level Party
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8935867" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>First off, starting all the way back at 1st level is a bit harsh. Were the rest of the party all 5th I'd most likely start the new one at 4th. That said...</p><p></p><p>Always, and so far (38 years later) so good. Rare indeed (other than when they're just starting out as raw 1sts) is the party where everyone happens to be the same level.</p><p></p><p>No; and no, at least not intentionally.</p><p></p><p>As DM I don't even think about it - it's simply another element the game contains. BUT, I should throw in a huge caveat here: mixed-level works <strong>much</strong> better in some editions than in others. </p><p> </p><p>0e-1e-2e and to some extent 5e can handle mixed-level groups without much problem if any, IME provided no single character is more than 2 levels from the party average in either direction; or 1 level off the average if the highest in the party is 5th or less. Thus, a range of 2nd-4th (average 3rd) or 6th-10th (average 8th) works OK, but one 2nd in a party of 5ths or a single 6th where everyone else is 10th isn't really sustainable beyond the very short-term (e.g. the lower-level character got there by losing a bunch of levels and is awaiting <em>Restoration</em>). Flip side: a single 7th in a party of 3rd-4ths doesn't work very well either.</p><p></p><p>3e and 4e don't handle mixed-level parties well at all: the power curve is too steep in 3e and the ability mismatch too great in 4e, paerticularly if the level range spans a tier break.</p><p></p><p>Further, in 0e-1e-2e where a) level drain is a thing and b) classes advance at different speeds, it's pretty much guaranteed there'll be level variance within the party now and then; and the system is flexible enough to deal with such.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 8935867, member: 29398"] First off, starting all the way back at 1st level is a bit harsh. Were the rest of the party all 5th I'd most likely start the new one at 4th. That said... Always, and so far (38 years later) so good. Rare indeed (other than when they're just starting out as raw 1sts) is the party where everyone happens to be the same level. No; and no, at least not intentionally. As DM I don't even think about it - it's simply another element the game contains. BUT, I should throw in a huge caveat here: mixed-level works [B]much[/B] better in some editions than in others. 0e-1e-2e and to some extent 5e can handle mixed-level groups without much problem if any, IME provided no single character is more than 2 levels from the party average in either direction; or 1 level off the average if the highest in the party is 5th or less. Thus, a range of 2nd-4th (average 3rd) or 6th-10th (average 8th) works OK, but one 2nd in a party of 5ths or a single 6th where everyone else is 10th isn't really sustainable beyond the very short-term (e.g. the lower-level character got there by losing a bunch of levels and is awaiting [I]Restoration[/I]). Flip side: a single 7th in a party of 3rd-4ths doesn't work very well either. 3e and 4e don't handle mixed-level parties well at all: the power curve is too steep in 3e and the ability mismatch too great in 4e, paerticularly if the level range spans a tier break. Further, in 0e-1e-2e where a) level drain is a thing and b) classes advance at different speeds, it's pretty much guaranteed there'll be level variance within the party now and then; and the system is flexible enough to deal with such. [/QUOTE]
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