Why is the mid-level sweet spot sweet?

[Masquerade]

From a DM's point of view, characters at mid-levels tend to be better balanced against one another than those at the upper levels. In a high level party, there are bound to be major discrepancies of power within a party of PCs, which can lessen the fun of the group and make preparing encounters of the right CR tricky.

 

[Quartz]

Sweet spot? BAB +10 - Two attacks, the second enough to make a full attack a viable option - and 4th level spells. About 10th level or 12th level with multiclassing.

Or, the full range, but take out all the flashy spells - no Fireball, no Lightning bolt, no Teleport, no Flame Strike, no Blade Barrier, no Magic Missile, no Spiritual Weapon.

 

[Alnag]

I agree with most said, though I like more those low-mid levels like 3-6 rather than those mentioned 7-14.

 

[Quartz]

Ah, but I'd suggest it's what you can do rather than the level itself.

 

[Patlin]

My sweet spot is at the table with dice in my hand.
-blarg

You said it, brother!

In terms of levels, though, I tend to lean towards higher level play. Maybe 9 to 14? 1 to 4 seems to me too weak with too little options. I'm usually glad to get past that stage.

 

[Tiberius]

I find the "sweet spot" to start at 9th level or so, contrary to a number of other posters. It's once the players have access to 5th level spells that the game really gets going, in my view. At that point, the PCs have enough wacky abilities that it's no longer enough for the DM to simply bring out the big guns to challenge the party; the DM must use them properly as well. It's easier to deal with world- or plane-spanning games, you no longer feel even slightly guilty about killing PCs, the mundanity of overland travel can be eliminated, and so on.

Low level has its place and is fun on its own, but I see them as the character-defining minor leagues, and 9th+ as the big time.

 

[Spatula]

Most fantasy literature takes place at pre-9th level power, more or less, and that's the experience most fantasy gamers are going for. There's nothing wrong with the higher levels, it's just a different genre with different conventions.

Honestly I don't see how raising the level cap to 30 changes anything. The fundamental problem is the nature of 5th+ level magic, and they're not going to get rid of the sacred cows. If you want to stay in the "sweet spot" for longer, reduce the XP gained, or increase how much XP is needed to level in that zone.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

I think people peg the sweet spot at the point where the players are not able to break the game by doing things the DM either did not anticipate or counter, but powerful enough that they can do things that feel heroic and generally awesome.

Teleport screws up a Dm's ability to use random encounters to thin the players resources.

Divination screws up a Dm's ability to stick to the plot outline he has planned.

Save or Die spells screw up a Dm's ability to balance combat. If he does not use them, the players can steam roll him. If he does use them, the players will be unhappy when they blow their save.

High multiple attack bonuses screw up a Dm's ability to run fast combats, since players get bogged down tracking the 7 or 8 things currently modifying their attack rolls / saves / AC.

Large Sneak Attack dice bonuses make fights hard to balance for the Rogue since he can go from being a minor annoyance to a critical threat and back again way too easily.

High level spell casters mess with the Dm's ability to generate caster opponents quickly.

I think that Wizards hit it on the head when someone said that a game tends to break down when the DM is no longer able to manage running a game.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[Doug McCrae]

For me the main issue is the power balance between casters and non-casters. Once they hit 10th level or so wizards, clerics and druids take over the game. Which is fine so long as everyone is one of those classes or something equally as good such as an artificer or psion. Also around this level killer combos, such as wraithstrike, power attack and arcane strike, get out of hand. The other problem is too many buffs.

Very low levels (1-4) suck because the melee classes, barbarian and fighter, are a lot better than everyone else. Wizards still have some encounter winning spells though like color spray and web.

 

[Scribble]

From a player's perspective:

Midlevels are the sweet spot.

Have a small amoutn of power.. Enough to keep you from dying at the hands of an angry kobold with a stick, but not enough that things are still a challenge...

At higher levels it seems like many "challenges" aren't really challenges anymore... they're just brief pauses while you do something.


Froma DM's Perspective I like mid levels as well. (Low levels being the second fav...)

It's easier to make challenges, and not have to worry about killing them with an angry stick wielding kobold... While at the same time doesn't take quite as much effort to construct a challenge that actually feels like a challenge and not just a brief pause while they do soemthing.