Levels in DnD
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Just prompted by the suggestion on Lowbie Quests; which got me thinking. What is the ideal level range for you when playing?
Like I love Arabel, but I have always rather see a level range that is more in the 8-13 range just because you have more feats and spells, you can still be threatened by masses of goblins and orcs, but are also able to reliably fight giants and demons.
I kind of enjoy killing easy foes like rats and giant bugs at level 1-3; but its fun for like ten or fifteen minutes.
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You can plot at any level, it's irrelevant.
Id like to see level 13 / 14 / 15 for sure.
Who doesn't want to be able to cast awesome spells etc!?
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I imagine level 13 is already achievable but going from 11 -12 is slower than it took to get from 2 - 11
That being said I think quest based level progression is in a good place.
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I'm pretty content with the level range we have-- the world still /feels/ dangerous yet you can still /be/ powerful within it without some world ending cataclysm being thrust in your face to challenge you.
Add to this, it's VERY HARD to properly display the GENUINELY TERRIFYING abilities of a higher level character. I've only seen it done well in Baulder's Gate 2 where people are /actually/ being killed in large numbers by the party and the party is /actually/ wrestling with the consequences of that power.
That is /phenomenal/ stuff to explore from a story telling perspective, but it's very hard to pull off and do right when all you have to do so are the mechanics of the game, DM time, and 15+ years of jaded players that've seen all the engine has to offer. :)
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8-10 is solid.
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I've recently played around with the idea of a tiered level system. All brain work - nothing on paper.
I disagree very strongly with the idea that you need to be X level to get into a plot. Or that you are to high of a level for a plot. I have always been an advocate of increasing the level cap on the server. By a lot.
But at the same time I think levels should matter - when it comes to reputation.
"Who is the toughest fighter in town?" ask the young hot shot looking to make a name for himself.
Let's say it is Bjorn Beareater. - Bjorn has built a reputation on both being great at plotting, involving players, but also enjoys the quest grind. An all around good player, he makes things fun and interesting to even those opposing his character. Bjorn Beareater has risen to level 10 and is known for being an absolute badass.
Buuuutttt even badasses have bad luck. You all know the different ways that death can occur on Arabel - and suddenly Badass Bjorn is level 4. And easy pickings for anyone. I think this is pretty dumb.
Very dumb. Now, maybe it has changed in the days since I've been on. Maybe there is already a system like this in place - and I just didn't see the memo.
But tiered leveling is good. I saw the idea of permanent xp posted in another thread - and I think it is a step in the right direction. But honestly. Put kinda a soft cap on levels, like we have now. But then section off your demographics. What is low level, what is mid, what is high, and what is legendary. These are your tiers.
DM's write clearly written criteria for being rewarded with a token or what ever magical scripting is needed. Likely it involves a combination of being a good sport, responsible plotter, and a quality rper who actually gives a shit about the players behind the toons.
Once you reach 'mid tier' if the dms think you've done well - you get the token. The token prevents you from dropping in xp below that tier. So - if low level is considered 1 to 6 and mid level 7 to 9 (these are just out of my ass numbers) when you get your mid tier token, you can not drop below seven anymore.
This would encourage and reward players who have earned a reputation as a good player and as a character to no longer be terrified about dropping levels due to stupid.
Anyway, this is a big ol' ramble. But it is a good idea. @MrMoloch - do it. I'll be your friend. (I'm already your friend. But I'll be a slightly better one.)
-Inactive Banhammer
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6 to 8 is my preferred range
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The idea of an "achievement" system where characters with particular reputations can go 'beyond' or even 'reduce' death penalties is viable if we build off our existing token system. The weakness of this system currently is that it requires DMs to figure out who gets tokens, we miss people outside our time zones, so letting players influence it would help.
One suggest that came up in IRC earlier was to give PCs a .rpnod command. They can then send a nod toward a PC who is making things fun for them, tracking their CD Key to ensure people aren't just nominating each other over and over again in a big circle. DMs can then easily check a database, or in game, to see who has lots of nods to reward more good RP Tokens that boost XP gain and decrease death loss.
THIS is probably an idea worth a separate suggestion Terris.
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@mrmoloch said in Levels in DnD:
One suggest that came up in IRC earlier was to give PCs a .rpnod command. They can then send a nod toward a PC who is making things fun for them, tracking their CD Key to ensure people aren't just nominating each other over and over again in a big circle. DMs can then easily check a database, or in game, to see who has lots of nods to reward more good RP Tokens that boost XP gain and decrease death loss.
This Yes. Yes. rpnod. 100% I approve.
ps raise the level cap.
ps. I wanna be epic.
ps plz iz chrismus
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I see you have quite an urge to change things, Moloch.
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In theory, DMs will verify the nods before giving out rewards, correct?
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.rpnod has alot that could be bad, mainly what Joe put forth, but I think that it's a pretty excellent idea. Having the players have some say in RP XP? Hell yeah, its got my vote
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So basically another rp recognition system? So.... tip of the hat?
Nah, I already have enough things to check as a dm ><
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The majority of the time, you can give gold or loot to show appreciation for another character.
The only times you can't is when you're enemies, in which case you're well on track to DM interest anyways.
So yeah, don't think rp nod is necessary, especially if it means more DM time spent on admin tasks.
Level 10 is a good point where you can be powerful without steamrolling everything and everyone. I feel if we were to increase levels to 13 or even 15 as a regular achievement the server would pretty much need to be rebuilt.
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@wabbitseason You are not quite getting the point of this conversation.
The module will be rebuilt for v6 and NWNEE and now is a great time to start thinking OUTSIDE of the box.
Its also not going to take any admin time to check a list of characters and see who got a rp-nod.