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8 months ago ::
Sep 30, 2012 - 5:24PM
#41
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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The capabilities of even a 1st level Fighter or Rogue are more impressive than the comoner or city guard though. PCs can perform skills and feats (generic term, not game element necessarly) to accomplish prowess more impressive than most people in the world can achieve.
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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8 months ago ::
Sep 30, 2012 - 5:45PM
#42
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Date Joined:
Apr 23, 2009
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This is a world design issue and thus DMs can do as they like.
In my campaigns...
Level 1 - is the modern day equivalent of fresh out of boot camp. Better trained than farmers and shop keepers but hardly elite.
Here is how I view the levels
1 to 6 - Town guards and their sargeants. Veteran soldiers. Common hedgewizards. Village priests.
7 to 10 - Common Knights. Well trained swordsman. Guards for high level important people. Well to do wizards
11 to 15 - Renowned warriors. Advisors to Kings. Champions.
16+ - Legends, ArchMagi.
I admit this is not the D&D advised system. I use it because it makes the world make a lot more sense. It explains why the monsters haven't taken over.
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8 months ago ::
Sep 30, 2012 - 5:48PM
#43
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Date Joined:
Jan 15, 2009
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way by someone in a different thread the the difference between a simple commoner and a fighter should be about the same difference as the difference between a level one fighter and a level 2 fighter. Just enough that you know there's a difference in fighting ability, but not so much that the transition is jarring.
Twice as many hit points and twice the attacks... against level zeros? and spell casters the same.
Oh you mean worth 4 of them?
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8 months ago ::
Sep 30, 2012 - 6:44PM
#44
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Date Joined:
Dec 29, 2007
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I prefer to think of 1st level characters as being "potential heroes" rather than "actual heroes".
I like the idea that although there's something about them that's a cut above the Joe Average NPC, they're a lot closer to regular people than they are to archmages and demigods. I think of town guards as being level 1 fighters without a lot of ambition or initiative. The local hedgewizard should probably be able to cast level 2 spells, but perhaps not level 3 (3.x and older editions as a reference point). The local ruffians are probably level 1 rogues themselves, but too cowardly to try anything really dangerous themselves. The local highest ranking cleric is probably level 5 or six himself, and his minions would be level 1 clerics.
The PC's may not be as individually as powerful as some of these NPCs yet, but they will be. Sooner rather than later most likely. And after that the sky is the limit.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 01, 2012 - 8:13AM
#45
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I see Luke Skywalker at the beginning of Episode IV is the iconic 1st-level hero. He's not a hapless infant. He's picked up some real skills, and he's got an improbable survivability thanks to heroic plot-armor.
Bad example I'm afraid. Luke never has a chance of failure or dying. He has plot armor which will carry him through till the end. This is one playstyle of D&D but not it's default.
Bull. Luke's plot armor is irrelevant. He's a level one character. the fact that there's no way he's going to die is a matter of story telling, not something translatable into game mechanics.
More sex and gender equality and racial equality shouldn't even be an argument--it should simply be an assumption for any RPG that wants to stay relevant in the 21st century.
I could say anything in D&D is silly though, because it's a silly game and we are silly people.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 01, 2012 - 8:17AM
#46
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Date Joined:
Feb 19, 2009
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"1st level characters, what are they?"
According to the monsters, a lot like veal. Quite tender.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 01, 2012 - 8:53AM
#47
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Date Joined:
Feb 27, 2010
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I generaly agree that 1st level is someone right out of training/bootcamp/apprenticeship/ect with no real-world experence. However, I have long had one player in my group who hates that and always wants to make someone older and more experenced. I usually let him have his character and then just say that he has less raw talent and, despite his "experence," he is no more skilled or capable than the beginners with whom he is teamed.
(Shrug) Not a solution for everyone, perhaps, but staying flexible satisfies both his and my requirements for fun.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 01, 2012 - 9:25AM
#48
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At this point, considering that classes and levels are purely metagame constructs anyway, simply say that a level 1 character is whatever the player of that character envisions for him, be it competent individual or country bumpkin.
Another day, another three or four entries to my Ignore List.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 01, 2012 - 9:36AM
#49
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For me they are potential heroes.
What does that mean in the context of the original question? Well I think that although my preference is for mostly inexperienced, slightly skilled characters there is room for different views.
What I don't subscribe to is the idea that 1st level characters are the main protagonists of the story about to unfold. They potentially have that ability, but only if they survive. When I say survive, I don't necessarily mean that they have to live, only that they continue to be a main character to the end of the story. Characters might leave the party because the player grew bored with them, and wanted a new character. There might be other story based reasons they leave, or yes...they might die. To me no matter how a character starts off, we don't know if they are a true hero until the campaign is over and the dust has settled.
Kalex the Omen Dungeonmaster Extraordinaire Concerning Player Rules Bias
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Gaining victory through rules bias is a hollow victory and they know it.
The argument goes, that some idiot at the table might claim that because there is a "default" that is the only true way to play D&D. An idiotic misconception that should be quite easy to disprove just by reading the rules, coming to these forums, or sending a quick note off to Customer Support and sharing the inevitable response with the group. BTW, I'm not just talking about Next when I say this. Of course, D&D has always been this way since at least the late 70's when I began playing.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 01, 2012 - 9:50AM
#50
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Date Joined:
May 28, 2009
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I just had a thought (possibly a stupid one, haven't really fleshed it out). There's a lot of talk about the theoretical "level 0", and I was thinking that an official level 0 could actually solve a lot of problems. For example, there's the discussed issue with multi-classing that level 1 get a whole lot more than any other level, making a whole bunch of multi-classes mroe efficient than raising one class. What if a certain percentage of starting features were actually part of the "level 0" class level. For example: A fighter gets d4 CS dice, and 2 CS skills at level 0. Then at level 1 he gets the third CS feature as well as moving to a d6. Then, a multi-class figher would get the die step-up (in this case from none to d4), as well as 1 CS ability, at level 1. Heck, this would even solve some people's problems with not being able to start at level 1 as a hybrid.
So, that's my grand idea. You get the option of starting as a still wet-behind the ears fighter at level 0, or a somewhat more heroic/experienced figure at level 1. And, as an added bonus, it may solve some of the versimillitude issues some have with multi-classing.
Susan Summerson from the Hell breaks loose Flavorful Voting Game http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/29076567/Hell_breaking_loose:_an_Avacyn_Restored_voting_game?pg=1 Click here for more Forum Games: Spoiler:
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Susan Summerson also appeared in the Innistrad Mafia Game
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Colors of Magic: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/25352501/Colors_of_Magic:_a_flavor_game?pg=1
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http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/22819881/Treasures_of_Zendikar?post_id=402182877#402182877
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