D&D 5E What is your preferred level of play?

[Nytmare]

Long live E6.

 

[Pickles III]

magic is more than just bolts of energy. It's also healing wounds, creating illusions, etc.

I've realised we are talking about different things since power level vs actual things that are possible. I agree obviously level 1 wizards can do things no-one can really do but they are no more powerful than other folks - you could drop a bunch of them on to the Normandy beaches & they would get machine gunned like everyone else. I consider this trivial but its true they do warp reality.

Wait a minute. So you're arguing "Here's what the equivalent level PCs would be in real life in D&D, but I'm not using any of D&D's mechanics to base this on."??? If you're going to argue that a certain level of PC in D&D and what abilities they have using D&D's mechanics, it makes zero sense to not use the mechanics of the game in your comparisons. You can't have it both ways. You can't argue that a real life person would be level X in D&D based off of the mechanics of what a level X PC is, and at the same time ignore the mechanics that determine what a bear, rhino, or dinosaur have. Otherwise your argument is essentially, "I just pulled these levels out of my butt, even though the mechanics don't support it at all."

The only way you can do this is, "What sort of abilities can an exceptional person do in real life, and how does that translate into the D&D world." If that D&D PC can do much more than your exceptional person in real life (like being as tough as a dinosaur), then that means they aren't that high of a level. Pretty simple. If a level 3 PC can do everything a Navy Seal can do, and a level 8 PC can do WAY more than a SEAL can do, why would you say a level 8 is the proper comparison?

I may be doing the first thing (I don't think so but it's possible).

D&D is so poor at representing reality it can be hard to figure out what level you are. It has great difficulty with for example Boxing matches & Bullfights / Bull dances. PCs in some cases carry out acts that are pretty implausible if not impossible like going to to toe with dragons meanwhile the highest level fighter has trouble avoiding blows from a stray dog. AFAIK there is no level in real life so you are starting with a disadvantage trying to map some super abstract measure like that to the real world. It does not do well with prodigious youths or the fact that athletes peak before age 30 & so on.

To my mind D&D is trying to model a world very much like our own but with magic. So for me HP have to be largely not meat (so PCS are not tougher than rhinos merely better at avoiding significant damage).

If the D&D rules are used to underpin the physics of your game world then you will see it differently but then you would be talking about a wholly different world with only incidental resemblance to the one we inhabit so this sort of real world comparison lacks any merit.

I'll give you that low level PCs are larger than life & exceed expectations but I would say they just achieve the unlikely not the impossible.

 

[Morlock]

In the real world, I wouldn't exactly bet the farm on a brown bear vs. a well trained and equipped pre-modern fighter. A skilled fighter in late 15th century armor with a polearm or zweihander and a backup weapon is no joke. He wouldn't be in maille with a helm, maybe a shield, and armed with a longsword or spear, either. I'd definitely bet on either over a big cat.

 

[Moorcrys]

Level 3 and up. I've had to start over at level 1 several times due to new campaigns, moving, things falling apart online, etc. so honestly I'm just a bit tired of very low level play.

That doesn't mean I won't jump into a low level game - hell I'd play in a second. [emoji846]

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I'd rather take on a given threat as a solo PC with 400,000 XP (20th level) than as one PC in a five-man group each with 80,000 XP (10th level) even if the five-man group is more "powerful" in terms of action economy, etc.

What I *don't* like is when the DM thinks that "high-level" has to automatically translate into world-shattering epic stories. I am 100% just fine with taking on an army of hobgoblins, ogres, and witch doctors in a hit-and-run nail-biter solo campaign. (Hope you brought your Contingency spell!)

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I think if you're gonna make the argument that level 1-4 PCs in 5e seem weaker than other editions, I can't really argue that. But if you're saying they aren't much better than the average person in the game world (or worse, in reality), then I gotta wonder about perspective. Even in 1e, where level 1 PCs were probably at their weakest, are still better than most everyone in real life by comparison.

Maybe so, but in real life, people don't die to angry housecats. ;-)

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

All of this is in my opinion, but levels 1 and 2 are boooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrriiiiinnnnnng. Some classes start getting eh alright at 3 and 4. Classes really start coming into their own around level 6 and 7. I haven't played much beyond that in 5e because either the next season starts or something comes up to keep me from playing regularly. I'm not looking forward to suffering through the first couple of levels when the next season starts for AL. :/

I find level 1 quite exciting, but that's because it usually involves a tremendously hard "party meet" scenario that either kills you or levels you up to 2 while also explaining why you trust these other PCs with your life now.

 

[Jessica]

I find level 1 quite exciting, but that's because it usually involves a tremendously hard "party meet" scenario that either kills you or levels you up to 2 while also explaining why you trust these other PCs with your life now.

I can definitely see that. Also when I'm trying a new character it's often when I find out whether my new character's concept works greatly or falls flat.

 

[Greg Benage]

Our campaign just finished Session 50 and we're at 15th level. The game still plays very well. In past editions, I've always preferred levels 5-10 or so, but 5e seems to have extended that range for me, at least based on this first experience with it.