D&D 5E What is the highest level you normally play to?

[Dausuul]

It would be far more useful to have a multi-option poll: "At which levels have you wrapped up a 5E campaign?" (One of the important rules of doing surveys is that people are terrible at estimating averages, but they can supply specific data points. And yes, that applies to smart people, too.)

 

[Sacrosanct]

Whether I'm playing AD&D or 5e, it seems the same. The highest level we usually get (not counting those PCs who died) was about level 10. There are exceptions, but very few and far between. Usually by that level, we want to try another character to play.

I'd be curious to know of the people who gave level 20 answers, how many people started at level 20 and/or sped up leveling to get to level 20. I'm not saying that's bad or anything, just that in my own anecdotal experience (FWIW), people who play up to end game levels prefer the end game level, so they get there as fast as they can. A lot of the PC builds people are like this, it seems, since they love making maxed out level PC builds and want to see them in play.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

...

I'd be curious to know of the people who gave level 20 answers, how many people started at level 20 and/or sped up leveling to get to level 20. I'm not saying that's bad or anything, just that in my own anecdotal experience (FWIW), people who play up to end game levels prefer the end game level, so they get there as fast as they can. A lot of the PC builds people are like this, it seems, since they love making maxed out level PC builds and want to see them in play.

In 1e/2e leveling took FOR-ever. However in 5e it's like 3-5 sessions per level. I had one PC who went from 11 to 12th level in one 8-hour AL adventure. Not saying it's right or wrong, but getting to high level is expedited quite a bit in 5e, in my experience.

 

[pdzoch]

We have always aspired to go to the highest levels. But changes in editions, lost players sheets, computer crashes that take all the campaign notes, and life have prevented us from taking any characters beyond 11. But we keep trying!

 

[Sacrosanct]

In 1e/2e leveling took FOR-ever. However in 5e it's like 3-5 sessions per level. I had one PC who went from 11 to 12th level in one 8-hour AL adventure. Not saying it's right or wrong, but getting to high level is expedited quite a bit in 5e, in my experience.

Higher levels in AD&D took a lot longer. But since it was largely based on treasure GP value, lower levels could go by pretty fast. For example, if you ran T1-4, and lived to tell about it, your PCs would be level 8-10, depending on what class you were. In fact, I ran that campaign about four years ago again, and the PCs were about that level when it was all said and done. I think one of the reasons AD&D seemed to take a lot longer was because you had more PCs die and had to start all over again than in 5e. Also, I've found that using XP instead of progress awards, 5e advances much slower. Using chapter progress awards advances PCs VERY quickly in 5e. Just look at how fast you go from level 1 to 5 in SKT, when the actual XP values might only get you to level 3.

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

Our current campaign has been going 21 months, and we've played 68 game sessions (scheduled weekly, but rarely do we play every week in any month). We rotate a stable of characters among the seven players (at least 2 characters each; many have 3 or more) and three DMs. We have about a dozen characters that are level 8 or 9 and quite a few more in the 4th to 7th range. I anticipate this campaign will run for years more (rotating DMs has been a godsend for eliminating DM/campaign burnout), and we'll definitely reach mid-teens. I'm hopeful we'll hit 20th.

We've only had one other 5e campaign, and it lasted about 6 or 8 months and reached 7th level IIRC.

 

[Jer]

I think one of the reasons AD&D seemed to take a lot longer was because you had more PCs die and had to start all over again than in 5e. Also, I've found that using XP instead of progress awards, 5e advances much slower.

Also because many DMs would forget/not know that they were supposed to be giving XP for GP that the PCs found and only handed out XP for monster kills (I know that was how my first DM played and taught me to play - it was actually quite a bit later that I actually read the rules on handing out XP and realized we'd been doing it wrong).

 

[Sacrosanct]

Also because many DMs would forget/not know that they were supposed to be giving XP for GP that the PCs found and only handed out XP for monster kills (I know that was how my first DM played and taught me to play - it was actually quite a bit later that I actually read the rules on handing out XP and realized we'd been doing it wrong).

Oh geez. If you only went by monster XP, you'd be level 1 forever.

"Well, I killed that goblin. Only 200 more of them to go and I can hit level 2!"

 

[abirdcall]

I said 9-10th.

I see 1-4 as the apprentice levels, where you learn your character and how they interact in the party. 5-10 is the sweet spot. But it is also the time when the gloves are off and TPKs can happen (they can still happen at 1-4 but the game tends to be more on rails at that point so it is less likely).

I am not opposed to playing levels 11-14 but I would expect that to be finishing up some sort of epic quest. As far as I'm concerned levels 15-20 don't exist in the game.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I put my vote down as 19th-20th+ because level only ends my campaigns when the game just doesn't work anymore, and that doesn't appear to be the case in 5th edition - though the pace at which we play D&D (every other week for 4-ish hours) has only carried us to 13th level thus far (in a campaign that I intend characters to accumulate a few epic boons before being finished).