D&D 5E What is your preferred level of play?
- Thread starter Sacrosanct
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Li Shenron
Legend
3rd to 10th~ish
This is usually the range at which you have enough identity as a character, enough hp to pull back from a losing battle (meaning I am less worried as a DM about giving a too difficult encounter, and variety of monsters. But you are not yet buried in a character sheet overloaded of options.
This is usually the range at which you have enough identity as a character, enough hp to pull back from a losing battle (meaning I am less worried as a DM about giving a too difficult encounter, and variety of monsters. But you are not yet buried in a character sheet overloaded of options.
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
There’s something to be said for the excitement of a new character. Getting those first special abilities, those first few magic items. The edge-of-your-pants, just rolled a critical when you’re down to your last few HP feeling.
My ideal range is probably levels 2 – 7. Not quite so squishy as first level, but not super-powerful. But first level is still an important crucible to make it through.
My enjoyment of a campaign tends to dwindle after 10th level.
My ideal range is probably levels 2 – 7. Not quite so squishy as first level, but not super-powerful. But first level is still an important crucible to make it through.
My enjoyment of a campaign tends to dwindle after 10th level.
Sacrosanct
Legend
Excellent comments!
I guess sometimes I look at PCs as a toybox full of toys. I want to try them all out, so by the time I've reached level 10 or so (assuming survival), I am really itching to try out a new concept.
I guess sometimes I look at PCs as a toybox full of toys. I want to try them all out, so by the time I've reached level 10 or so (assuming survival), I am really itching to try out a new concept.
n0nym
Explorer
In 5th it's been 3 to 11 for me. Level 3 gets you some really cool stuff and level 11 feels like a good one to end a campaign. Fighters get a 3rd attack which finally makes them better than everyone else at their job, casters get level 6 spells which, to me, epitomise the ultimate powers of fantasy wizards (Disintegrate people, turn them to stone, teleport them around, raise the dead, summon lightning bolts, etc...).
After that, goals are too big, low level characters matter less and the game usually becomes different ("Why do we need to crawl through the sewers when we could just brute force our way through the guards ?!")
After that, goals are too big, low level characters matter less and the game usually becomes different ("Why do we need to crawl through the sewers when we could just brute force our way through the guards ?!")
steeldragons
Steeliest of the dragons
I do wish this had been multiple choice because, really, anything from 1st up to 10th or 12th is really what I prefer to play. Different pieces thereof for different reasons.
Given that, 5-9 seemed to cover the most ground/biggest chunk of that, so that's what I voted.
Given that, 5-9 seemed to cover the most ground/biggest chunk of that, so that's what I voted.
Voted 5-9, but more 'in general' than 5e-specific. In my 5e Wilderlands campaign 5-9 has certainly been great, but the group are edging out of that area now, with 2 level 9 (Clr, Rog), 1 level 11 (Bbn), and a 13 hd zombie T-Rex just joined the group as a PC. 
So it's too early for me to really say how levels 11-20 will play. It *looks* to me that they should be fine (when compared to 3e/PF, which really sucks at high level IMO); individual monsters are rather weak, but it's easy to challenge the group with groups of monsters. High level spellcasting is powerful but I see no indication it will dominate play like in 3e/pf.
So it's too early for me to really say how levels 11-20 will play. It *looks* to me that they should be fine (when compared to 3e/PF, which really sucks at high level IMO); individual monsters are rather weak, but it's easy to challenge the group with groups of monsters. High level spellcasting is powerful but I see no indication it will dominate play like in 3e/pf.
AaronOfBarbaria
Adventurer
In AD&D I got the most enjoyment out of my players having characters of 5th+ level.
In BECMI it was roughly the same, 5th+ level, but oddly more satisfying at higher levels relative to AD&D.
In both the above cases I use "+" rather than specifying an end to the range because in AD&D 100th level characters played just fine, and I didn't mind transitioning to Immortal rules after a nice long campaign had reached Master levels.
In 3rd/3.5 I would start players at 5th so their characters wouldn't die from a single critical hit delivered by an orc, and the mechanics of the game would collapse around 12th level - but my preference, to be honest, was to play other games instead.
In 4th, I'd have to say my preferred level range would have to be 1st-7th because those were the levels my group played through before the game not fitting our style became unignorable and soured the game for us.
How does all of that translate to 5th edition? I have genuinely no idea because I haven't had enough campaigns reach completion, and all the "how it used to be" doesn't mean diddly since the game is designed differently on a fundamental level.
I can say, though, that every level at which I've run 5th edition has been great fun (1st through 9th so far), and I see zero indication that the remaining 11 levels (and beyond, via epic boons) will be anything but fun.
In BECMI it was roughly the same, 5th+ level, but oddly more satisfying at higher levels relative to AD&D.
In both the above cases I use "+" rather than specifying an end to the range because in AD&D 100th level characters played just fine, and I didn't mind transitioning to Immortal rules after a nice long campaign had reached Master levels.
In 3rd/3.5 I would start players at 5th so their characters wouldn't die from a single critical hit delivered by an orc, and the mechanics of the game would collapse around 12th level - but my preference, to be honest, was to play other games instead.
In 4th, I'd have to say my preferred level range would have to be 1st-7th because those were the levels my group played through before the game not fitting our style became unignorable and soured the game for us.
How does all of that translate to 5th edition? I have genuinely no idea because I haven't had enough campaigns reach completion, and all the "how it used to be" doesn't mean diddly since the game is designed differently on a fundamental level.
I can say, though, that every level at which I've run 5th edition has been great fun (1st through 9th so far), and I see zero indication that the remaining 11 levels (and beyond, via epic boons) will be anything but fun.
I've enjoyed 5-9 in the past, and only played to level 10 in our last campaign (Ghost of Dragonspear Castle) before we retired, so I don't have a good feel yet for the higher levels. I do have to say that I detest levels 1-2 in 5E, so I plan to always start my campaigns at level 3.
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