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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 9610781" data-attributes="member: 29398">Which, put more broadly, means we're discussing the game's power curve.&nbsp; And for this we do have to note which edition we're talking about, as the game's power curve has changed dramatically over the editions.The early editions were (relatively) flat in their power curves on initial release; both 1e's and (more so) 2e's power curves steepened with each new add-on release.3e's power curve was, by comparison, hella steep.&nbsp; 4e's was flatter than 3e in an odd way: there was a huge jump between commoner and 1st level but each new level after 1st didn't move the needle as much.5e has, or seems to have, the flattest power curve of the WotC editions; intentionally so, as the whole bounded-accuracy thing was intended to design this feature in.Two quick ways to roughly eyeball an edition's power curve:1. Pick a random monster from the MM.&nbsp; That monster will wipe out PCs of some levels, be wiped out by PCs of other levels, and present a viable threat to some levels in the middle.&nbsp; The wider that third band is, the flatter the power curve.2. Look at how well the game handles different-level PCs in the same party.&nbsp; A flatter power curve supports variable-level groups far better than does a steep power curve.Having environmental threats (storms, disease, starvation, etc.) not be level-dependent is a very easy way of flattening the power curve a bit.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 9610781, member: 29398"] Which, put more broadly, means we're discussing the game's power curve. And for this we do have to note which edition we're talking about, as the game's power curve has changed dramatically over the editions. The early editions were (relatively) flat in their power curves on initial release; both 1e's and (more so) 2e's power curves steepened with each new add-on release. 3e's power curve was, by comparison, hella steep. 4e's was flatter than 3e in an odd way: there was a huge jump between commoner and 1st level but each new level after 1st didn't move the needle as much. 5e has, or seems to have, the flattest power curve of the WotC editions; intentionally so, as the whole bounded-accuracy thing was intended to design this feature in. Two quick ways to roughly eyeball an edition's power curve: 1. Pick a random monster from the MM. That monster will wipe out PCs of some levels, be wiped out by PCs of other levels, and present a viable threat to some levels in the middle. The wider that third band is, the flatter the power curve. 2. Look at how well the game handles different-level PCs in the same party. A flatter power curve supports variable-level groups far better than does a steep power curve. Having environmental threats (storms, disease, starvation, etc.) not be level-dependent is a very easy way of flattening the power curve a bit. [/QUOTE]

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