How static are your worlds, level and challenge-wise?

[heavyfuel]

For example, if the lv 1 PCs meet a lv 10 Cleric, by the time the PCs are lv 10, is the Cleric still lv 10?

It makes sense that the Cleric would also have gained a few levels, so maybe he's now a lv 14 or higher.


What about monsters? If they hear about a powerful dragon - adult red dragon - inhabitting a cave nearby, and go try to kill it at lv 10 and barely escape. They go back at lv 17, is the dragon still the same dragon, or did he get a few levels in Sorcerer? Or maybe, other adventurers managed to kill it first, and they find an empty cave, or even one with different creatures inside.

Or would the powerful dragon be nerfed to a young adult, so that the PCs actually have a chance?


What happens if the champion of an olympic-esque game is high level character that is constantly training to become better? Can the PCs ever hope to beat him, or is he going to keep on getting levels along with the PCs?

[Flickerdart]

A random Cleric 10 it probably still a Cleric 10, because unless he is doing something to gain more levels, he's not gaining more levels. Someone who pushes himself to improve, such as a warrior who went off to war in the meantime or the champion you mentioned, will have improved - but there are many fewer level-appropriate threats for a level 10 guy than for a level 1 guy. By the time the PCs go from 1 to 10, the 10th level champion might have gone up one level, or no levels at all.

A random monster is still the same monster. Dragons are a bad example because they advance by age. A monster who had class levels will probably have more, but see above about diminishing returns on level gain.

[Jay R]

It depends on the setting, and the history.

I have run a game in which there had been peace and plenty for the last 200 years, and there was almost nobody above level 5. (Of course, dangers from another plane were starting to appear.) The PCs, at level 4, were considered great heroes to the villages they had saved.

On the other hand, on a world in the middle of a great cosmic battle, many people would be moving up fast.

It depends on what kind of adventures you want to offer the PCs.

I've had monsters replaced by greater monsters in the past. If you are going where the ogres were last month, and you see half eaten ogre bones along the way, you should assume a greater challenge.

[Azoth]

I have to mirror some of the others. It really depends on the campaign setting or even the area within a campaign setting. One exception to that generalization I remember from an old campaign I ran was an area containing several tribes of "wild men" (humanoids with either the feral or half fey templates that were slightly nomadic). They were leveled significantly more than average NPCs and it was not uncommon for them to have gained a level or two between PC expeditions into their realm. This was largely due to the environment they lived in. Warfare with other tribes, hunting and surviving being hunted by Dire animals/dinosaurs/magical beasts, and defending their collective borders from the encroaching "civilization".