Campaigns where you don't level up

[Origomar]

I was thinking of making a campaign based around being in a city, and the entire campaign would be about what is taking place in the city.(im actually not sure how that is relevant)


The people i play with really don't know the dnd system that well, and more often than not im making their characters for them anyway so i was thinking of just having a few character concepts premade. ofc id talk to them about what they would be getting ahead of time, im not going to force them to play something they dislike, but their backstory and everything would probably be pretty definite.

I want to make it so that they start out at a reasonable level(like 6-10), and they just don't level up. I figured this would make things a lot easier to balance, and i plan on the campaign having a finite end(unlike most of the ones we play with little or no plot lol)

My only issue is im not entirely sure how important it is for them to see their character growing. It just seems like to me we(mainly me) always spend a ton of time dealing with leveling characters because they don't know how to easily.

It would be more or less, i deal with all the numbers ahead of time, and they just deal with what they want to do in the game.

How could i fix the issue if they enjoy seeing their character get stronger. I was thinking either just let them get better and better magic items, or just having it to where they level up at the end of every session(regardless of what actually happened/what they fought)


I figured also solve an issue where if someone wanted to be a character concept that isn't really optimal power level wise, it wouldn't matter because i could make them whatever level i wanted in comparison to the other players to level the playing field.

[nedz]

Character development is a large part of the game, well for most groups anyway. Its all about being aspirational.

But if your group isn't in to that, then I guess it won't matter. If it ever did turn out to be a problem you could always allow them to level up at that point.

[kitcik]

Just play E6.

[Origomar]

Just play E6.

what is E6?

[kitcik]

what is E6?

This (http://www.enworld.org/forum/tabletop-gaming/206323-e6-game-inside-d-d.html).

Essentially, you stop leveling after 6th level but instead gain only feats.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

I'm actually running an E6 campaign in a city just like how you described. I just level up the characters if they pull off something big that surprises me or changes the setting significantly (they're assassins so that happens often). So far we've been having a blast. E6 is probably exactly what you want.

[Trasilor]

When I originally read the post my first thought was: Don't play D&D...

1. Like most, I think growth and character creation are a BIG part of the game.

2. Sounds like your friends are using you - they take a long time to level, so you do it for them.

3. One-offs/single campaigns can be fun. But per your post, you are still doing all the work.

4. Lack of motivation usually means non-interest. Are you certain they want to play D&D?

[pwykersotz]

That sounds like fun for something that won't run for too long. Just make sure you give your party progress through other means, most likely magical items. It matters why they play the game though, if they just like solving mysteries or the sense of adventure, reward their efforts in those areas. Just make sure they're all okay with it first and you won't have any issues.

[mattie_p]

I'll provide a triple recommendation for E6. Just do it.

[danzibr]

You can always gear them up. Or grant some abilities or something.

[Venusaur]

If you don't want a full E6 campaign, then just take a page out of its book. Instead of levels, just give the players more feats. This leads to some character growth and more interesting options, without breaking the power curve.