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BardicDuelist
2007-05-01, 08:42 PM
What level of game do you typically play or prefer to play/run?
I personally prefer to play and run characters between levels 5 and 10. I feel that people can have interesting, well developed characters by this point, but are not godly in power. I usually will run several adventures which lead up to level 5 which are tailored to the player's ideas for their characters.

EagleWiz
2007-05-01, 08:46 PM
11-15. I play spellcasters and thats the level you get fun but not overpowered spells.

Darth Mario
2007-05-01, 08:52 PM
I generally run 6-10 games. My younger players feel like their charecters can actually do something, but it's not yet so complicated that the less expirianced players can't pick it up.

Wizzardman
2007-05-01, 08:55 PM
I usually start play at lvl 3-5, but I also generally hand out xp like candy, so that usually doesn't last very long.

tsuyoshikentsu
2007-05-02, 12:08 AM
1-5 I hate. ECL 13 ftw.

Duskwither
2007-05-02, 12:11 AM
1-5... Meh. It's fun if you're melee. Actually, I lied, Sleep and Color Spray are fun too. I just don't like that level range. Not enough options for me.

6-10 is probably my favorite. You're pumping PrCs, becoming more heroic, and hey, that house-cat is likely not going to one-shot the Wizard anytime soon!

Emperor Tippy
2007-05-02, 12:19 AM
I voted 11-15 because its mostly the average but my meat bag groups generally go from 5 until we get bored with the characters

Viscount Einstrauss
2007-05-02, 12:21 AM
Hard to say. Somewhere around the middle levels of prestige classes are where I like it most, but only when I actually had to work to get there- usually from level 1 upwards. I like to see a campaign up to around level 20 before it ends as well.

In short, I prefer my campaigns long and epic.

bluish_wolf
2007-05-02, 12:23 AM
Wow, I'm actually in the majority? Who would have thought that being low level was popular?

TRM
2007-05-02, 07:41 AM
I really enjoy levels 1-10 (actually the highest I've ever gotten is 13). I like low levels because combat is simple and ENDS QUICKLY giving me more time for things I enjoy more like character development and talking (IC).
I ALWAYS start at level one. I like that starting level.

(Yay! Bolding is fun!)

Ryshan Ynrith
2007-05-02, 07:52 AM
I typically start campaigns low, around 1-3, but I've been quite pleased with my latest campaign, where the players have achieved level 9. Of course, we've had two fatalities, three characters retired, and a player swapped out, but the core is still there. :smallbiggrin:

Saph
2007-05-02, 08:04 AM
6-10 for me. D&D's balance is best at those levels, IMO. At lower levels, melee damage types tend to dominate due to how few spells casters have; at higher levels, casters dominate due to how many spells they have. But around levels 6-10, the sword-swingers and the spellcasters actually average out fairly well. Spellcasters have lots of options, but not a silly number, while the fighter-types have enough levels and feats to be able to pull off fun combos, and anyone who's been saving up for a prestige class is just starting to get rewarded for it.

There are also lots and lots of interesting monsters to fight around the 6-10 range. And since it's just at the point where spellcasters start to come into their full power, leveling up is more fun than at any other point in the game. Getting level 4 or level 5 spells for the first time with a character who up till now has been managing without them is really satisfying.

- Saph

BardicDuelist
2007-05-02, 08:07 AM
Well said Saph.

Ruik
2007-05-02, 08:12 AM
6-10, for the reasons so well outlined by Saph.

I have to say though, I think I prefer 4-9 more than 6-10. I generally find with my group (I will admit we haven't played for a little while... RL and all that), we are experienced enough that starting at 4th level is fine, and by level 10 we are ready to start again.

But yeah, from the list, 6-10 ftw :smallsmile:

Tor the Fallen
2007-05-02, 08:13 AM
7-11, which, incidentally, falls between two categories.

Armads
2007-05-02, 08:40 AM
11-15, although I always play level 11 (for some strange reason).

Mellchia
2007-05-02, 08:49 AM
We play the whole gambit, but as a DM the 6-10 range is perfect, as Saph outlined. Also to add it gives the players a feeling that they're not cute little munchkins just wandering around.

In Eberron, we'll change it to 4-6.

I don't like the higher levels because the choices become to many to decide what to actually play. Although we're playing an epic campaign right now...

Teilos
2007-05-02, 10:45 AM
I am happy to have plaid all levels from 1-18 so far. In my opinion it is good to level fast at the beginning and see them all as soon as possible. I needed quite long (7 years and several DMs and campaigns) and I was always curious about the high levels. Now that I have seen them, I like the lower levels. The best plots and stories exist for levels 1-12, because thereafter spells make many things possible and many plots impossible. The characters are balanced best between 5 and 10.

jjpickar
2007-05-02, 10:48 AM
6-10 I too concur with Saph.

Quietus
2007-05-02, 04:33 PM
Well said, Saph.

I play mostly 6-10 (four campaigns going right now that I'm a player in, two of which are erratic with average levels of 3 and 25, two that are played fairly regularly, where the party is level 6 in one, 7 in the other). I'm enjoying the feeling that comes with being competent and being able to survive... well, one hit. Our DM for those games is pretty brutal - We played last night, our two characters started at level 6, and at one point we were fighting nine Spellstitched Juju Zombie Trolls, two Clay Golems, some kind of humanoid swarm-guy, a spellcasting Vampire... and some kind of arcane spellcasting blaster-Goblin had joined our side. So three of us, versus thirteen of them, and every one of them was higher CR than us.

As a side note, stone hammers that make clay golems go berserk + Hide from Undead wins.

As a DM, the two campaigns I'm running on IRC currently are average levels of 2 and almost-3. I'm also going to be starting a new campaign at level 1, soon.

RandomNPC
2007-05-02, 05:45 PM
so yea, im all game for 3-12. so lets say 6-10.

i think last time i took this survey i answered 11-15.....

admirableJ
2007-05-02, 06:52 PM
I almost only ever play 1-5. My group has some serious ADD, and most of them end up dead or quitting and then coming back for the next adventure, so we have only ever made it to 5th level. I am planning on DMing a little this summer, so I might see if I can get my group to stick with it longer. 6-10 sounds fun.

Kiero
2007-05-03, 06:04 AM
I don't play level-based games, but the "power level" I like is around 10th. Hyper-competent, but not demi-gods.

Borbok
2007-05-03, 07:41 AM
I tend to start playing games around 5th level and end up 10th-15th level. I think that you have to go above 10th level to realy experience all the fun prestige classes.

okpokalypse
2007-05-03, 11:24 AM
15 - 20+

My PC's often don't come into their own in terms of power until around 12th - 15th levels. I play slow-progressing PCs with a long-term goal.

Of course, this often leads to my own frustration as I've been in 3 campaigns in the past 4 years that have gone from L1 thru L12, L6 thru L12 and now I'm in one that's been L1 thru L10 - which I don't think will go more than 2 more levels - despite all of them being promised to be a campaign series that would go near Epic.

I loathe the L1 thru L5 span. It's all cookie cutter stuff. However, that's the easiest stuff to DM for most. At those early levels most players are pretty balanced. Once you hit the L6 - L10 range you can start seeing some PCs with lack of direction and focus, and others that are starting to become the caretakers of the group. By L12 this is usually no longer subtle, and those who are falling behind complain of "power gaming" and "lack of use" in the campaign. So it starts to fall apart, and it's difficult for a DM to compensate for such.

In the current campaign I'm in we've mostly avoided that by allowing the non-power types to play their melee PCs, and those with the focus on higher level progressions have stuck to playing buffers and not stepping on their toes. Our group is a Fighter, Knight, Favored Soul (Corellon Larethian), Cleric (Pelor) and a Beguiler. Both the Divine Casters are exclusively Healers / Buffers with the occasional Sound Lance thrown in for support. I (Favored Soul) didn't even add Divine Power or Righteous Might to my known spells because I don't want to compete for the melee hacks with the Fighters.

I think the reason previous campaigns have ended is because the DMs have had problems with the Casters at higher levels. The ability to find the balance between combats that last 2 rounds and TPKs have eluded our DMs.

LotharBot
2007-05-03, 06:24 PM
I prefer 7-14. They just seem to be the best for party cohesion. It takes until about level 7 for all the classes to start to be really distinct and useful. 15 is when the casters start to get really broken.