Xp and level spread in your campaign

[diaglo]

in my campaign all new player characters start at lvl 1. all the time.

 

[Plane Sailing]

in my campaign all new player characters start at lvl 1. all the time.

Why? Back in OD&D that was an impossible gap to cover and it isn't much better in 3e+. Do you expect them to just sorta hang back and watch for the next few adventures and gain xps by just not being killed while the others do stuff? Do you give the whole party simple challenges for a while? Partition up bad guys so that there are some weak stuff for them to fight while the powerful heroes take on the main enemies?

 

[Kahuna Burger]

We do not use XP - all characters have the same level, and level up as the group sees fit.

this is similar to my strategy when I DM, though I determine when the group levels up, and I give out small pools of XP which can be used for item creation and XP component spells (paid by the one who benefits) as well as prestige races, guild membership, etc.

I expect folks to show up because they enjoy my game, not because they fear falling behind in level, and I've had expereinces which make me skeptical of the true fairness of the "no/half XP if you can't make the game" strategy.

Kahuna Burger

 

[diaglo]

Why?

why not. that's just the way we played.

Back in OD&D that was an impossible gap to cover and it isn't much better in 3e+.

not impossible. and definitely not without fun. the players had a blast.

Do you expect them to just sorta hang back and watch for the next few adventures and gain xps by just not being killed while the others do stuff?

no. i expect the player to play their character.

Do you give the whole party simple challenges for a while?

no. i don't set difficulty of encounters based on the party. i set them based on the campaign world. some were easy for the party. and some were deadly.

Partition up bad guys so that there are some weak stuff for them to fight while the powerful heroes take on the main enemies?

read above.

but this was a group game. so higher level characters often protected the weaker ones. they also had a lot of hirelings, camp followers, and henchmen.