D&D General Players Decide when to Level Up

[ART!]

I love this openess, and I'm going to bring this up with my group.

 

[aco175]

There is the Adventure League (AL) route where everyone levels up after each adventure if you want to. The downside is that the adventures are capped for tiers and you cannot bring a 5th level PC to a level 1-4 game. This lets the players have a few PCs kicking around that they like and DM can make an adventure for whatever level they want. There might not be a connected story though.

 

[DarkCrisis]

My group hasn't leveled up after 2 sessions and they are getting nervous.

 

[plisnithus8]

A few of the players in the group I mentioned were also in my group right after the pandemic started, and we started a weekly online session that leveled up every week; about level 15, we started playing twice a week but still only leveled up once a week. When we hit level 20, we started using 2CGaming's Epic Legacy Core Rulebook -- that was some crazy times pomebrewing CR 20+ Monsters every few days. We ended at level 30. They still talk about it all the time.

 

[Shiroiken]

I think group dynamics are pretty important and the exact method of "the group decides." Unanimous or majority rule? Does the DM get a vote? I have a group of 4, so if 2 players agree to level, they'd probably level every session if the DM doesn't get a vote.

 

[Clint_L]

I recognize that this is a very group dependent decision, but I love it, especially for an experienced group! Right now we do it as a groupd discussion but it is ultimately my call; I want to try just handing it entirely to the players, the as the OP did. For my home game. Not for my beginner groups.

 

[Distracted DM]

This is (like so many things) going to be really table-dependent, but I'm really glad it works for some groups.

Do you leave it entirely up to the players to manage how they'll decide? For example let's say you have three players: one player really wants to level as fast as possible, one doesn't care, one wants to take it at its own pace "when it feels right." If everyone's not on the same page, the "level up every session" player might get irritating, or irritated.

 

[Lanefan]

How are character and-or player turnover in a long-term campaign handled in such a set-up?

Do retired (or temporarily dead) characters level up even though they're not adventuring? If yes, on what justification other than pure gamism?

What about characters who, in the fiction, go above and beyond or who don't pull their weight - group decision-by-argument as to who levels up and who doesn't?

 

[TiQuinn]

My group hasn't leveled up after 2 sessions and they are getting nervous.

Dang. I mean, as a player, I like to walk around with my PC a bit and enjoy each level and the abilities without feeling like I’m rushing.

 

[plisnithus8]

I think group dynamics are pretty important and the exact method of "the group decides." Unanimous or majority rule? Does the DM get a vote? I have a group of 4, so if 2 players agree to level, they'd probably level every session if the DM doesn't get a vote.

I have 6 players; they decide by consensus. Having the decision in their hands (I might make a recommendation as DM but told them from the beginning they get to decide) seems to have made them more conservative about progressing, not sure if that means they're enjoying lower levels without superpowers or maybe they realize I can just throw tougher monsters in their way.