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Stryke
2010-05-14, 12:53 PM
Whats the highest level character you've ever played.
Mine was a level 11 fighter, then the guy i played with moved away :(

and i mean a character you've leveled from scratch not one you've built with a starting level of something stupid or PUG characters.

Irreverent Fool
2010-05-14, 12:56 PM
The longest-running campaign I was ever in spanned a few years and took us from slaying goblins at level 1 to becoming generals in a war between planes at about level 17.

The second highest, we were about level 12 or 14 (I don't recall exactly). That DM seemed to be having trouble challenging a party of that level, however, which is why I think the campaign ended. It didn't help that we tended to get treasure way out of scale with our level. A 10th-level warblade does not normally have a +5 lifedrinking greatsword.

obnoxious
sig

gbprime
2010-05-14, 12:58 PM
Two and a half years of play, level 1 to level 18.

Mongoose87
2010-05-14, 12:58 PM
I recently finished a campaign where I was effecively 115th level. It was a massive headache, and everyone's pretty much glad it's over.

Stryke
2010-05-14, 01:00 PM
I recently finished a campaign where I was effecively 115th level. It was a massive headache, and everyone's pretty much glad it's over.

...Pun Pun is that you

joking aside how exactly did you manage that

Yukitsu
2010-05-14, 01:02 PM
I level looped one, and in such a manner that it wasn't arbitrary, but actually infinite.

valadil
2010-05-14, 01:03 PM
I played a gnome wizard from 1-24. The first 16 levels of that were a year or two. After that we played very, very sporadically. Spell preparation was a huge pain and now I only play sorcerers.

A boss of mine in college had the longest running D&D character I ever encountered. He was in his mid thirties and still played a character from high school, albeit annually at best. I think he said it was level 70 at that point.

The Rose Dragon
2010-05-14, 01:04 PM
99. Not D&D, though. Or AD&D.

WoodenSword
2010-05-14, 01:06 PM
25th level. A seelie court killoren druid.

Thajocoth
2010-05-14, 01:08 PM
20, and still going. After tomorrow, we might hit 21.

CockroachTeaParty
2010-05-14, 01:09 PM
Highest I ever got was level 15, starting at level 5 originally. My beloved warmage 1/abjurer 4/ultimate magus 10. What a badass.

Stryke
2010-05-14, 01:12 PM
I played a gnome wizard from 1-24. The first 16 levels of that were a year or two. After that we played very, very sporadically. Spell preparation was a huge pain and now I only play sorcerers.

A boss of mine in college had the longest running D&D character I ever encountered. He was in his mid thirties and still played a character from high school, albeit annually at best. I think he said it was level 70 at that point.

what was so bad about the spell preparation. level 70, hard core

unre9istered
2010-05-14, 01:14 PM
I played a Wizard/Sorcerer/Ultimate Magus from 5th to 20th level over the course of a two year campaign. The DM occasionally talks about picking those characters up again.
In a different game, this one Exalted, I played a Night Caste from exaltation up through 6 essence (the equivalent of entry level epic) over the course of 3 or 4 years. I think he had almost 50 charms.

LordShotGun
2010-05-14, 01:15 PM
0


I have yet to play a DnD game since I dont know anyone nearby that plays. I am quite intrested in playing but alas tis not to be quite yet.

raitalin
2010-05-14, 01:20 PM
I think my first 3.0-5 character finally topped out at about ECL 78. He was something like a Cleric 16/Wizard 16/True Necromancer 14/Loremaster 10/Planeswalker 10/Blackguard 5 Lich. We started at level 18 and leveled really quickly, especially since we ignored the rule about only gaining one level at a time.

He eventually displaced Velsharoon as the FR god of necromancy.

The Cat Goddess
2010-05-14, 01:21 PM
I once played a fear-mongering Gnome Warmage/Favored Soul/Mystic Theurge. Since I was gimping myself so bad just for the flavor of the character, the DM gave me extra Feats that were only related to Intimidation/Fear. I got her up to level 15 before the other characters in the game were so rediculous they were facing off with (and defeating) CR 19-20 creatures. Of course, by then I had somewhere in the area of +45 Intimidate... So I was technically the scariest member of the party. :smallbiggrin:

Of course, as DM I've run two campaigns that reached level 20 and am currently running the Savage Tide adventure path. The PCs have just reached level 19 (one still at 18 because of LA buy-off and being a replacement for a character who died) and are on their way to find allies against Demogorgon.

ghost_warlock
2010-05-14, 01:24 PM
During my senior year of college, out in Colorado, my (nearly) weekly group played an Aundair-based Eberron campaign starting at 3rd level and ending at 16th.

My character was Beryn Sorn, a LG human ranger/wizard/homebrew-PrC summoner/gish. I also played a secondary character: Oskar the Serpent, a native of Xen'Drik, a TN phrenic-human soulknife/egoist (phrenic template made up for the major suckitude of soulknife rather well).

The campaign started with local heroes from the last war being pressed into service as militia of sorts and ended with them facing up against a malicious vestige that was trying to claw its way back into reality. Also contained successful rescues of Queen Aurala vs. assassination attempts, being knighted, reconnecting with a missing lover and child, being forced to slay one's own brother to prevent him falling prey to a terrible curse that was slowly turning him into a fiendish ooze, airship battles, a visit to the Mournland, being killed and (successfully) mounting a quest through Dolurrh to return to life, and a battle in a volcano hopping from one rock pillar to another above a pool of lava.

Altair_the_Vexed
2010-05-14, 01:25 PM
I have a 24th level King in my old folder somewhere...

must remember to convert the King class into 3.5...

Ravens_cry
2010-05-14, 01:27 PM
0


I have yet to play a DnD game since I dont know anyone nearby that plays. I am quite intrested in playing but alas tis not to be quite yet.
Is there a shop in your area that sells, among other things, the paraphernalia associated with such activities? Enquiries there may aid you in your quest.
It is, if I may be so bold, how I begun this endeavour.
Best of luck to you on this task, LordShotGun.

Weezer
2010-05-14, 01:28 PM
Level 13 is the highest I've ever gotten, it was a Gnoll Druid/MoMF. The campaign was just me and my brother alternating DMing, not a very cohesive plot but one of the most fun campaigns I've been a part of.

Telonius
2010-05-14, 01:30 PM
19. VoP Monk/Tattooed Monk. (In my defense, BoED had just come out and we were test-driving it). I think I was the only character in that campaign who didn't die at one point or another.

Stryke
2010-05-14, 01:42 PM
0


I have yet to play a DnD game since I dont know anyone nearby that plays. I am quite intrested in playing but alas tis not to be quite yet.

i know the feeling


I think my first 3.0-5 character finally topped out at about ECL 78. He was something like a Cleric 16/Wizard 16/True Necromancer 14/Loremaster 10/Planeswalker 10/Blackguard 5 Lich. We started at level 18 and leveled really quickly, especially since we ignored the rule about only gaining one level at a time.

He eventually displaced Velsharoon as the FR god of necromancy.

well... sucks to be Velsharoon then, i had a freind whos cleric ascended to god hood at level twenty, some how that doesn't sound as cool any more.

okpokalypse
2010-05-14, 01:45 PM
L28 (Epic) Conjurer (13) / Master Specialist (10) / Abjurant Champion (5)

L27 (Epic) Favored Soul (23) / Sacred Exorcist (2) / +Saint

The Favored Soul was by far the toughest to kill. His worst save was a 40. The Ultimate buffer (DMM Persist on a Spontaneous Caster) & Epic Leadership. His Charisma could be seen from Space.

The Conjurer though was capable of putting out 1,000 Damage (No Save, No Resist) in 1 Round w/o going pun pun or bending the rules. It was completely within RAW and RAI.

Eldariel
2010-05-14, 01:46 PM
50. Wizard/Ur-Priest/Theurge/Inc/Dweomerkeeper/Factotum/Swiftblade...you know the drill, "make dumbest X-level character and try to kill equals/gods"-type game. That said, at that point levels hold little meaning anymore as the game has devolved into a chess match between best uses of epic spellcasting, and finding holes in your opponent's impenetrable defenses with your dozen actions per turn long ago.

It's about the same to play level 30 as it is to play level 100, at least without heavy restrictions to skill boosting/if epic spellcasting were derived off another stat instead and mitigation were heavily altered. 'cause the only restriction at that point is how high a Spellcraft check you can make, and within reason, the spells of practical use are all eminently doable on 21.


Though from scratch? 21. Certain Elf Gish.

Stryke
2010-05-14, 01:47 PM
The campaign started with local heroes from the last war being pressed into service as militia of sorts and ended with them facing up against a malicious vestige that was trying to claw its way back into reality. Also contained successful rescues of Queen Aurala vs. assassination attempts, being knighted, reconnecting with a missing lover and child, being forced to slay one's own brother to prevent him falling prey to a terrible curse that was slowly turning him into a fiendish ooze, airship battles, a visit to the Mournland, being killed and (successfully) mounting a quest through Dolurrh to return to life, and a battle in a volcano hopping from one rock pillar to another above a pool of lava.

So what happened in the second adventure

Chaelos
2010-05-14, 01:56 PM
A yearlong campaign of ours that recently ended saw the party move from level 1 nobodies to level 20 heroes who killed and drank the blood of Major Tom (David Bowie), thus acquiring 3 Divine Ranks (and the 20 Outsider hit die that comes with them).

The end of the campaign saw us defeat the major gods of the campaign (who used the stats of Admodeus, the Tarrasque and Orcus, all with the same divine ranks we had, along with an ECL 60ish homebrewed monster)--at the same time. 'Twas awesome fun.

WorstDMEver
2010-05-14, 02:15 PM
I played a first edition AD&D fighter to level 27, after 4 years of weekly weekend marathon sessions.

I had a 12th level tattooed monk recently, but he was killed by massive damage....

Stryke
2010-05-14, 02:16 PM
A yearlong campaign of ours that recently ended saw the party move from level 1 nobodies to level 20 heroes who killed and drank the blood of Major Tom (David Bowie), thus acquiring 3 Divine Ranks (and the 20 Outsider hit die that comes with them).

The end of the campaign saw us defeat the major gods of the campaign (who used the stats of Admodeus, the Tarrasque and Orcus, all with the same divine ranks we had, along with an ECL 60ish homebrewed monster)--at the same time. 'Twas awesome fun.

i am yet to see a situation were defeating major gods won't be awsome fun

Chaelos
2010-05-14, 02:22 PM
i am yet to see a situation were defeating major gods won't be awsome fun

It was made better by the fact that they were essentially divine, marginally more evil versions of Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and the frozen head of Walt Disney.

Jarawara
2010-05-14, 02:33 PM
I'm sure to raise some eyebrows with this, but... 5th level.

I have been playing and DM'ing D&D for 30+ years now, with my home-brewed campaign-world hitting it's 30-year continuous anniversary just this year. I have ran several campaigns within this world, each lasting several years long, and the characters of those campaigns remain in my world, though effectively retired. They still do cameos now and then, and can be called upon for short-term story arcs.

The current campaign, Tiatia, has just had it's grande finale and is now in the epilog, and will be concluding soon after a glorious 9-year run.

The very first character I played is still alive today, the primary group of characters my Tiatia group played are the same ones they started out with, and many of the early characters my overall campaign world started with still exist after 25+ years.

And yet, after all that time, the highest level character I have ever played, or DM'ed for, is only 5th level.


What can I say? We like low-level in our little corner of the world.

We have run higher level characters as one-shots; I don't count them as we didn't start them as our own from 1st level, but just took the stats out of the back of a module. Some of those high-level modules were fun, but... bleh. A fighter wading through a horde of 18-foot tall giants is kinda silly, if you ask me. The only thing worse would be if a wizard stood back and cast some spell which took them all down without as much a whimper.

Give me a sword and the best armor my meager funds can buy, and put me against a tribe of orcs anyday.

gbprime
2010-05-14, 02:36 PM
How did you manage to avoid gaining XP for so long? :smalleek:

Jarawara
2010-05-14, 02:42 PM
Oh, we gained XP just fine - it's just that instead of gaining 'hundreds' of XP per encounter, we gained 'dozens' of XP.

Advancement worked the same, just at a much slower rate.

PId6
2010-05-14, 02:46 PM
Level 92 paladin. The first ~85ish levels were easily gotten from cow and Baal runs, but it got really tedious leveling up past that point. Eventually I just stopped bothering and decided to run Mephisto for lewt instead.

Noedig
2010-05-14, 02:53 PM
Cleric 10/Homebrew PrC 1. The campaign is currently on hiatus unfortunately so I dont know if he'll get any higher.

Aharon
2010-05-14, 03:26 PM
Happened when I was 13:
900th level in a self-designed class, based on the Valheru from the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. I even gave it the ability to ignore rocks up to the size of planets falling from the sky, just in case the DM got bored :smallbiggrin:

Highest level in a serious campaign was 15th, but that doesn't really matter because the campaign started at 14th.

Highest level in an ongoing campaign: 11th, reached from 7th level.

littlebottom
2010-05-14, 03:35 PM
ive been playing on a weekly basis for around.... oooh 4 or 5 years now. the highest character id ever played was a level 7... yeah you heard me. and even then that was because i joined in the game and made the character as a level 7, if we talk about highest character ive played from level 1? about level 3?

this boils down to a few things. first of all. my RP club does around 4 weeks of one system then swaps the system and GM then when we get back to the same system in which we already have characters they always end up saying "oh ive decided its best if we start again from level 1(or that systems equivilent)" we never end up playing through any characters at all...ever. it depresses me sometimes tbh. but the roleplaying is still always fun. its just always low level...

valadil
2010-05-14, 04:21 PM
what was so bad about the spell preparation. level 70, hard core

Well, I had all core spells, some non core spells, and some homemade spells. That wasn't so bad in and of itself. I'd usually just start with the 9s and work my way down. The problem was metamagic. There were some spells I really wanted to have quickened. Going back and comparing them against the higher level spells I'd already picked really slowed me down. Prepping spells for a fight took longer than the fight itself.

In theory I'd advocate prepping spells outside of game time. The problem was that between sessions several books would come out. So we'd suddenly have more spells and metamagic to work with. On top of that I wasn't the only caster (though I was the highest level one). When you factor in coordinating who does what buffs and that sort of thing it's just a big mess.

Mongoose87
2010-05-14, 04:25 PM
Oh, we gained XP just fine - it's just that instead of gaining 'hundreds' of XP per encounter, we gained 'dozens' of XP.

Advancement worked the same, just at a much slower rate.

Why don't you just play E6?

Glass Mouse
2010-05-14, 04:59 PM
0


I have yet to play a DnD game since I dont know anyone nearby that plays. I am quite intrested in playing but alas tis not to be quite yet.

How about shanghajing your friends into playing? Gather a few of them who like fantasy, convince them to give it a shot, and prepare an awesome one-shot session.
In reality, D&D isn't much other than hanging out and having fun. Surely, you've got a friend or two who's into that :smalltongue:

On topic!

Ha, I just barely beat Jarawara (and littlebottom... somehow)!
I played one character for three or four years... and got her up to level 5.
I've played another character for one and a half year. She just hit level 7.

I'm not really sure why my GMs hate XP so much....

Jarawara
2010-05-14, 05:07 PM
Why don't you just play E6?

I've looked into E6, it's a good idea. Problem is, E6's main core idea was that the 'sweet spot' of D&D is 6th level, so it gets you there quick and keeps you there indefinately.

I find that the sweet spot of D&D is *everything before 6th level*, so I want the game to progress slowly up to 6th level, and then we're through. In theory, I would do well with "E2".

Plus, E6 lets you gain feats after 6th level -- something that didn't even exist in D&D until 3rd edition. So E6 as a system might help us now (if we wanted to play such 'high' level characters early on), but previous to 3rd edition it would have no effect other than to bump us to 6th level early and then stop us cold. It would been the same as the 1st edition racial level limits had been extended to all races all classes at 6th level, (and even I was doing away with the racial limits!).

Technically, I can go higher than 6th, but that will occur only if and when we revisit some of the PC's of previous campaigns and have them continue into new ones. That will probably be occuring soon, as Miranda (from the Tiatia campaign) intends to be a character in the upcoming Nerevaln campaign. So my claim of never having DM'ed for a character above 5th level is about to fall.

ryzouken
2010-05-14, 05:14 PM
Lv 9. Then my cleric of Mystra got fragged by a demon, which started a kill chain that stripped two levels off me. Being in a three person party and as the party's only caster type, the consensus at the time was that Tebryn just wasn't working and that I should bring in something with bigger guns at party level.

So I brought in a wandificer, that I had to retire at lv 15 due to balance issues. Ah, Iria. I miss you even now. Able to pull out 120d6 damage at a moment's notice, more if I crit, less if I missed. Without allowing SR or saves... on top of AC 52 and saves in the mid 20's. Sigh...

But yeah. Level 9. I'm actually hoping to remedy that somewhat soon, having told my sad, sad story to our main GMs who are willing to run a low level game for once.

Zen Master
2010-05-14, 05:33 PM
Level 15 or 16 or so - I tend to forget. I believe Akomestos (mage) was 16, and both Grell (halfork paladin) and Svend (human paladin) were 15. Everything has been lower.

I wonder why I've played so many paladins. I guess their single-minded conviction appeal to me. Hm.

Drakevarg
2010-05-14, 05:34 PM
Level 14, in an AD&D campaign. I believe the distribution was Fighter 10/Wizard 4. Race was a half-Seely (Effectively Demigod. My character's father was Oberon.) Lizardman. From start to finish, the campaign probably lasted a good 5 years, during which I couldn't even begin to describe the crazy **** I went through.

Creed
2010-05-14, 05:46 PM
that would be a character named Exicalflowne. The campaign had a weekly meet for about 4 years, and I hit....47. IT WAS JACKED UP! Did I mention he was a wizard? O yeah he was.

In essentials, I could kill everything in the game by staring at it.
I also usesd wish to wish I could cast permanacy on any spell. The DM said ok. Then every character had....well, everything permanantly. Then we closed the campaign after I unlocked an Eldrich device known as the Hand of Gurgin, affectively becoming an invulnerable immortal. Then it was assumed I killed the game's equivalent of a creator god, Gurgin, and usurped his throne. Afterwhich I remade the world in my own image. and that image was f%#ed up because I was chaotic evil.

The rules got wished away too!:smalltongue:

Lycan 01
2010-05-14, 05:54 PM
I've never leveled up a DnD character.

I'm basically a perma-DM. I never play, because when I do, bad things happen. If its a pbp game, in all cases but 1, it falls apart and/or goes nowhere. If its an actual RL game, I break it. Not on purpose, mind you. I just think outside the box, and come up with crazy ideas that always work. Maybe its the natural-born-DM in me, who can sense the logical solution and progression of every problem and plot. Or maybe I'm just lucky/unlucky like that...

Regdar died at level 1 after I pissed off the DM. His death will go down in history, for he is the only DnD character ever to have been killed by a nuclear blast caused by accidentally lighting mushrooms on fire in an airtight room.

Yes, go back and read back over that last line. Let it soak in. The DM hated me that much.


Now, I have one character who SHOULD have leveled up. But the DM thought it wouldn't be fair or balanced to give me XP for one lucky roll...

To put it in perspective, I was part of a 3-person level 1 party. We fought a lvl 2 Solo Succubus. My Half-Orc Bard, named Trog, was an idiot with low Int and Wis, but a Charisma score of 18. My first action in the fight was to walk up, grope the succubus, and hit on her. I rolled a 24 on my charisma test, and she rolled a 1 on her resistance test.

That's right. My level 1 Half-Orc Bard seduced a succubus. Who was a level 2 Solo, which would have easily caused a TPK.

But the DM wouldn't give me the XP for it. :smallannoyed: Coupled with the fact that I'd single-handedly defeated the previous boss, a statue, by convincing it that it didn't exist, I would have shot up to about level 3 or so easily. So instead we eventually agreed that Trog would just get a permanent +2 bonus to all interactions with women. We haven't played since then, though, since I completely broke the game and plot with my actions...


Now, outside of DnD, I've had more luck. I had a Star Wars character make it up to level 4 or so from level 1. He did some awesome stuff, too, like outrun a firing squad, kill several mercenaries single-handedly who were supposed to get killed in a story-related scene I accidentally interupted, and... oh yes, he snuck through a house full of dark side adepts and went bed to bed, casually breaking their necks while they slept. :smallamused:

Demons_eye
2010-05-14, 05:56 PM
I got to godhood with no levels and it came with a bible spear, made of letters, that shot lasers.

Gorbash
2010-05-14, 06:14 PM
My longest (and personal favourite) character is the one you can see in my sig, Nanfoodle the Transmuter. He went a long way. Started at 5th lvl, unfortunately (I'd rather he started at 1st, but it wasn't my call), as a part of the group that almost defeated the infamous Red Hand horde. Just as we entered the Fane of Tiamat, DM got bored of DMing that campaign, so we didn't get to finish it. He was Transmuter 7/Earth Dreamer 3 at the time, and he died once at the hands of a Bone Devil.

But, I was lucky and another friend/DM invited me to play in his ongoing Shackled City campaign, where I joined at exactly the level where I finished Red Hand of Doom - lvl 9 (due to XP loss from death).

That was 2 years ago. Now, we're 16th lvl, nearing the end of SCAP and he's a Transmuter 8/Earth Dreamer 5/Archmage 3 and really, the best character I've ever played.

So, at some point, he'll reach 20th lvl, become a half-earth elemental (he started researching an epic lvl spell to do that already) and he'll retire to his keep in an area south of city of Cauldron, formerly known as Demonscar. Now it's called Gnomescar and he's starting to build a city around his underground enclave.

:smallsmile:

Seatbelt
2010-05-14, 06:16 PM
I want to say a level 12 character in Star Wars pre-saga edition. A Defel scout/jedi/that force tradition that threw razor frisbees. That character was sweet.

I've played in a campaign with characters from 7-14. But in that game I had 3 characters and two of them died.

Elfin
2010-05-14, 06:18 PM
I actually had a game that went up to 21, once, though we started at 2nd level.
We decided to call it off there, and not go into epic-level craziness.
The game I'm currently in is aiming for 21 as well - only at 12th right now, though.

In my group we have a tendency to start in the level 2-3 range, but the longest game I played from level 1 went up to 10th.

Mr.Fuzzy
2010-05-14, 06:18 PM
I think the Highest level character that I've ever had was a level 35 Human Barbarian named SpOkity. H e had a hand ax and a large sheild along with full plate. At level 35 it goes without waying that all of it was masterwork and super enchanted.I put most of his points into STR and DEX with a good chunk in WIS our party never had problems with locked doors....

Drakevarg
2010-05-14, 06:18 PM
Now, I have one character who SHOULD have leveled up. But the DM thought it wouldn't be fair or balanced to give me XP for one lucky roll...

To put it in perspective, I was part of a 3-person level 1 party. We fought a lvl 2 Solo Succubus. My Half-Orc Bard, named Trog, was an idiot with low Int and Wis, but a Charisma score of 18. My first action in the fight was to walk up, grope the succubus, and hit on her. I rolled a 24 on my charisma test, and she rolled a 1 on her resistance test.

That's right. My level 1 Half-Orc Bard seduced a succubus. Who was a level 2 Solo, which would have easily caused a TPK.

But the DM wouldn't give me the XP for it. :smallannoyed: Coupled with the fact that I'd single-handedly defeated the previous boss, a statue, by convincing it that it didn't exist, I would have shot up to about level 3 or so easily. So instead we eventually agreed that Trog would just get a permanent +2 bonus to all interactions with women. We haven't played since then, though, since I completely broke the game and plot with my actions...

I sincerely hope Trog has become a Memetic Badass (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MemeticBadass) in your circle of friends. That is just pure win.

Curmudgeon
2010-05-14, 06:23 PM
Level 25, D&D 3.0.
Level 22, D&D 3.5.

Il_Vec
2010-05-14, 06:25 PM
Year was 2002.
We started a campaign, I chose Human Ranger.
At level 4, he died.
New sheet, Rogue/Fighter.
At level 7, Died.
New sheet, Hobgoblin Ranger/Barbarian, until level 9.
Died. New Char, Pure Fighter.
Died in service at level 13.
New char, Wizard/Rogue/Magelord/Arcane trickster. Went Archmage, Got to level 20!!!
Campaign died, year was 2006.

Zexion
2010-05-14, 06:27 PM
I once DMed a campaign where all of the characters were, including level adjustments, around level 600. No joke.
I had to homebrew a Divine Rank 230 god for each of their encounters. The campaign ended when they all turned into deities and had kids with mortals, and now the players are playing the kids. Fortunately, I was able to dispel their thoughts of starting out as lvl. 20s, and now everything is balanced again. :smallbiggrin:

WorstDMEver
2010-05-14, 06:28 PM
Sounds like an unfortunately large number of less-than-optimal DMs out there. Refusing to pass out XP, killing off players out of spite, allowing Wish to be thoroughly abused, things like that. There should be plenty of ways to control gameplay without this sort of thing. The DM is holding all the cards - if an encounter seems too easy, see what happened and adjust to compensate (your main villain is scrying, you see, and can watch the outcome of his underlings' fights and plan accordingly). I never had this problem in D&D. Had a slight problem in a Space Opera campaign, but just had the party arrested and tried (their lawyer made a few bad rolls), convicted and sentenced to 12 years hard labor. Had the campaign ready to roll after that, but everyone was too busy laughing to take it seriously after that.

Tyrandar
2010-05-14, 06:30 PM
Highest level character was my 17th level assassin, but that campaign started at 15.

The farthest I've gotten on a "character that starts from scratch" is 12th (or maybe 13th) level.

Jarawara
2010-05-14, 06:53 PM
Sounds like an unfortunately large number of less-than-optimal DMs out there. Refusing to pass out XP...

Sounds like an unfortunately large number of less-than-optimal DMs out there. Passing out too much XP...

WorstDMEver
2010-05-14, 07:04 PM
Sounds like an unfortunately large number of less-than-optimal DMs out there. Passing out too much XP...

Ah, knew I was missing something in that list....

I don't think that earning XP at the rate given in the DMG is bad... I do like the new tables given in the Pathfinder rules though. Besides, my choice of issues was intended to point up a poor personal decision (refusing to reward a player for successfully overcoming an obstacle because it makes you mad), not as a commentary on the rate at which a campaign is intended to progress.

Also, I notice you're the guy who likes ultra low level play. That's cool, too. If that's where you like to play, that's awesome. Personally I like both character development and character progression in my games. In a role-play heavy campaign I can see valuing development over progression, certainly.

gbprime
2010-05-14, 07:10 PM
It doesn't matter how fast or how slow the XP comes, so long as all the players are having fun. The rest is just details. While the "years and years and level 5" example is a bit extreme, the entertainment value of the game is what matters.

WorstDMEver
2010-05-14, 07:15 PM
Right - as long as the players are rewarded for success. If you give XP in the amount of the Challenge Rating (CR 6 = 6 xp per character) so be it - you have rewarded them for their success. I know that I like to get my paycheck, and my character likes his XP and loot.

As a DM, it is your responsibility to run the game and present challenges to the players. You're not playing against them. That was my main point.

onthetown
2010-05-14, 07:20 PM
1 - 20. I'm standard I guess.

Jarawara
2010-05-14, 07:24 PM
Also, I notice you're the guy who likes ultra low level play. That's cool, too. If that's where you like to play, that's awesome.

Of course, it only works if the players want that kind of play too. I've had scores and scores of people tell me I'm a bad DM, despite the fact that they've never actually played in my games.

For every 20 (or 50?) people who've said "I will never find anyone interested in playing that way", I've found one who's said "Cool, that's exactly what I've been looking for." I only game with them.

(If I were to DM for the others... well, that would truly be me punishing them for not playing my way!)

WeeFreeMen
2010-05-14, 07:25 PM
Im currently DMing 3 lv 28s. I beleive that is currently our groups Highest.
It has been, to say the least, an adventure.

WorstDMEver
2010-05-14, 07:32 PM
I'm going to GM a Space Opera campaign next. There is no XP, you have to pay tuition and spend your time studying (usually during hyperspace time - where I say "Ok, you jump to warp, and arrive at Procyon IV 3 weeks later - make your learning rolls"), then make a learning roll to see if you gain a skill level. If you fail, you have to take the class over again. Your study time is limited by your ship-board duties, so if you're not a passenger on a liner you can't study more than 3 subjects at a time (this assumes part time learning, which further lengthens the learning time).

Since your stats and skills are reflected in a direct percentile amount applied to your success rates, good stats and a good education are essential for character progression. However, if your base background provides you with a solid skillset you can get by quite well without much in the way of continuing education.

Remmirath
2010-05-15, 01:59 AM
Highest I ever got to from first level was a 20th level grey elven necromancer, Liareth Varniskir. He was very nearly 21st when the campaign ended. He was very good at making enemies, and eventually the fact that he'd ticked off just about everyone in the world caught up with him.

Most levels acquired with one character was probably 47, from Ragnar Fjallsson, a (D20 modern) character who started at 3rd level and ended at 50th. He was one of my first D20 modern characters, and had very poor class choices that eventually resulted in his death.

My highest level character is currently several-way tie for 67th, and that campaign is still going strong (although the end of the plot is in sight, the DM figures we've still got a year or so left on it).

My highest level 1st/2nd edition character was a 10th level thief named Nerone, and in most other systems I've never made it above the single digits.

Danin
2010-05-15, 02:51 AM
5 or 7, can't remember which. I tend to be shoehorned into DMing. Only a little bitter.

Amiria
2010-05-15, 03:58 AM
Level 18, Amiria. I played her now an then over a period of 7 or 8 years. Started in the last millenium under AD&D rules and thus far ended in D&D 3.5.

Leon
2010-05-15, 06:16 AM
Highest Level in total - Ecl 18 Winged Elf Ranger 16 (joined the group about lvl 9)

Highest Level from starting at Level 1 - Level 8 Human (mostly..*) Archivist 6/Barbarian 2





*Started as Human, died was reincarnated as a Half Elf, was bitten by a werewolf and then was magically re-Humanized but subject to reverting under rare circumstances.

Lord Loss
2010-05-15, 06:21 AM
I once played a Level 18 Rogue/ Avenging Executioner.

molten_dragon
2010-05-15, 07:59 AM
The max for me was (I believe) level 24 or 25. We started at level 5 and the campaign ran for 2 years during college, in which we played pretty much every friday night for 8-10 hours. Inter-party conflict put an end to that campaign, but it was fun.

olelia
2010-05-15, 09:10 AM
I'm going to GM a Space Opera campaign next. There is no XP, you have to pay tuition and spend your time studying (usually during hyperspace time - where I say "Ok, you jump to warp, and arrive at Procyon IV 3 weeks later - make your learning rolls"), then make a learning roll to see if you gain a skill level. If you fail, you have to take the class over again. Your study time is limited by your ship-board duties, so if you're not a passenger on a liner you can't study more than 3 subjects at a time (this assumes part time learning, which further lengthens the learning time).

Since your stats and skills are reflected in a direct percentile amount applied to your success rates, good stats and a good education are essential for character progression. However, if your base background provides you with a solid skillset you can get by quite well without much in the way of continuing education.

So..EVE online? :smalltongue:

PersonMan
2010-05-15, 09:22 AM
My current campaign started at level 15, and the PCs just reached level 21.

However, I'm also planning a low-level campaign that could go into epic levels if we don't lose interest.

Pluto
2010-05-15, 09:38 AM
3-12 seems to be the normal span of my campaigns.

And there were a couple 1-shot 20th level characters, but I wouldn't count them.

Once, I played a Bard who was killed by Dire Rats at level 3, killed by skeletons of those same rats at level 5, killed by the Nezumi priest who'd raised those skeletons at level 6, killed by the ghost of that priest at level 9 and killed by the priest's wife at level 10. He spent the whole campaign paying off his diamond dust debt.

Somehow, he ended up being the highest-leveled character I'd ever developed in play, inching his way up to 13th level after two years of the campaign.

TurtleKing
2010-05-15, 01:42 PM
The highest level I have played from level 1 would be level 5. In that campaign being a low magic/ low wealth Spelljammer setting my character became a homebrew race of failure that are immortal- the prinny. The setting had where the humans had almost wiped themselves out which caused the vast majority of their deities to also "die". As an Einherjar that gave up his divinity to bring the other human gods back to life on a quest given to him by Frigga. That was just his backstory, and I played as an Aasimar that died twice in the first session earning prinnyhood. Playing as a prinny from there on up to where me an Adept and a Were Rat Halfling Adept diplomaced our way through the last human gods comprising of: Wee Jas, Vecna, Pelor, and Nerull along with Yondalla/ Darun Thaun and Death agreed to aid the party take the last remaining humans from everywhere to an isolated area so the humans could start their recovery from near extinction. Doing this ended the campaign with party now as Quasi-diety rank in our own pantheon over the last humans along with a few dwarves, fey, and halflings.:smallbiggrin:

Ravens_cry
2010-05-15, 01:49 PM
One to thirteen, so far.A Pathfinder Paladin of Sarenrae. It has been glorious.

Hendel
2010-05-15, 01:57 PM
In 3.5 I have played a Kobold Sorcerer from 1st to 30th over the space of about 4 years with regular and steady playing. He might be higher if it weren't for the five wishes he has had to cast over the last year. None of the wishes were for buffs for himself. They were all to get redo's for die rolls that went very bad for the party, i.e. opponent rolled a natural 20 with his vorpral blade against the party meat shield, Paladin rolled a natural 1 on a massive damage save some where around 23rd level or so, etc

In 1st edition we had goofy characters that were around 100th level, but I think the DM let us make wishes for levels and such. Of course, back then the power curve decreased dramatically once you got out of the teens and such.

WorstDMEver
2010-05-15, 02:00 PM
So..EVE online? :smalltongue:

Yes, but 20 or so years older than EVE Online. Copyright 1980....

And EVE is great, btw. Level 5 Cruisers takes 28 days, man, that is just forever. I just want to be a ship architect, not just a builder. As far as I can tell you can't actually design your own ships, which is too bad. The rules for that are pretty nifty in Space Opera.

I know - there are plenty of people who hate the system. It is needlessly complex in many areas, and somewhat vague in others. But it's not as "hard" as I've heard people say - had no trouble picking it up at 15 years old and getting it running. Additionally, we've made some refinements to smooth things out and over all it works well enough. In my opinion, the system is only as good as the players and even a "bad" system can be tons of fun if you have good players.

sparky22
2010-05-15, 03:26 PM
15th level for a one-shot and 10th level in a campaign.

Volos
2010-05-15, 04:53 PM
Level 30 Warlock Devine Rank 15. It was a long campain and the devine ranks were fought for fiercely. The DM had several adventures which involved the party stealing the god's power to destroy the big bad.

Icewraith
2010-05-15, 08:54 PM
Sun Elf wizard/bladesinger with caster levels/epic bladesinger w/caster levels//gestalt bard 1/ fighter lots /alternating bladesinger without caster levels/epic bladesinger without caster levels total 36, full wizard casting.

One of five players in a game where I and another player traded off DMing untill near-epic, where I took over on a permanent basis. We played about once a week for well over a year, started single classed at level 4 and switched over to Gestalt in the vicinity of level 12 when Unearthed Arcana came out.

The players managed to briefly gain divine rank 1 each by defeating an avatar of Auril (opening round mass Divine Blast followed by quickened Iceberg, which had everyone swearing at me), and then had to figure out how to lose it without being devoured by the vast number of opportunistic evil or neutral deities that started crawling out of the woodwork, since they didn't have a stable pool of believers.

Siosilvar
2010-05-15, 09:03 PM
Level 92 paladin. The first ~85ish levels were easily gotten from cow and Baal runs, but it got really tedious leveling up past that point. Eventually I just stopped bothering and decided to run Mephisto for lewt instead.

I got a Sorc to 36, does that count?

As for D&D... I had a level 26 Cleric in Neverwinter Nights.

In an actual D&D game, I think I played a level 13 gnome dragonfire adept for like three sessions.

Cisturn
2010-05-15, 09:34 PM
9th level Cleric of St. Cuthbert, starting from level one of course. Though my level 8 Cleric of Apollo might overtake him pretty soon.