Topic: Best starting PC level?

[dutch206]

I almost hesitate to bring this up....in 3.5, most adventures are written for starting level 4-6 for exactly the reasons mentioned here.  Case in point...the mega-dungeon crawl "Rappan Athuk:  The dungeon of graves".  Starting level for that is 4.  (same for "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil".)

What I am saying is, this is not a problem unique to RM.  Level 5 is a regular starting point because it gives the GM more storytelling options.  If you want to run a low-level survival campaign where a trap-filled Kobold warren strikes fear into a bunch of kids, go for it.

[munchy]

After our first experiences with Not-RM and RM we opted for a starting level of three. That proofed to be very good. Especially magic-users knews some very helpful spells, were able to get themselves out of trouble and help the rest of the party with their magic.
The fighters are nice with third level and are able to stand against goblins and maybe with a comrade against an orc.

We now used that starting level in our HARP campaign, too. Nice to see that your character is able to succeed at a few things and not only once in a while.

Level 3 is what I would go for!

[yammahoper]

I'm pretty much always concept driven, so starting levels depends on the concept at hand.  For example, we are kicking around the idea of a Space Master game set in RIFTS.  The players want to be experienced soldiers.  As such, level one is not appropriate.  I'm thinking level 5 to 8.

I enjoy a first level PC in a game designed to run 1st level characters.  More often than not in my experience, new games are designed for higher level characters, or a willingness of the players to go through several PC's until one manages to "take".

[RandalThor]

yammahoper: If your players know both Spacemaster and Rifts I would go for 10 - 12th level, as it is a very dangerous setting. (And high-powered too.)

[Witchking20k]

Levels really matter when you have magic involved.  A 1st level mage is more limited in what they can do than a first level fighter.  And, generally, it is relatively easy to gear encounters & challenges towards a first level fighter....OB/DB is soemthing you can measure.  That being said, i personally write with every character in mind and provide challenges that only certain characters can over-come.  So, I the party in a position where they need a Projected Light spell, or must open not break-down a door.

[providence13]

We begin play at 3rd lvl, 100 DP per lvl and the same TP can be taken multiple times if you want; they're your points to spend. We still have a mx of 10 Ranks mx cap attributed to TP skills, unless Lifestyle.

For me, 1st is about teenage lvl, 2nd is slightly more disciplined/knowledgeable and 3rd is our equivalent of 1st for you die hard guys out there. We have fun with it and that's what's important.
It's a Greyhawk setting and 3rd lvl is proportional to a 1st lvl AD&D 1 to 2.0 edition character. It just fits nicely.

[RandalThor]

That's about how I see also P13. As far as I am concerned, full-professional level doesn't begin until 5th level (higher for RMSS/FRP/Classic), so beginning at 3rd level is great. (An idea I had recently was to start them at 3rd or 5th, but have "civilian" professions; farmer, smith, miller, etc. and get caught up in a situation that requires them to "step up.")

[providence13]

(An idea I had recently was to start them at 3rd or 5th, but have "civilian" professions; farmer, smith, miller, etc. and get caught up in a situation that requires them to "step up.")

That sounds really cool. No one will be specialized in the adventuring professions but will actually have real world skills they can sale.
Let us know how it goes.

[RandalThor]

That sounds really cool. No one will be specialized in the adventuring professions but will actually have real world skills they can sale.
Let us know how it goes.

All I gotta do is get a group.....  :'(

[PiXeL01]

Someone wrote above that one of the problems with starting at a higher level is lack of character backgrounds and fluff to both carry the character and adventure hooks. In our group we have always started as around 5-8th level, though people have cried out in later years to start even higher, at least just to try it out.

We DO require people to supply a background to the character about how he/she went from A to B, but since we have been going that for more than 20 years now it is a natural part of the process.
 Usually our group's character development goes like this: Pick a profession, come up with a story about this character, develop skills based on that story. For me it is actually easy coming up with a story for higher lvl characters than first levels.

We did do a campaign once were we all started as lvl 1 teens in a village that got invaded by an army of green skins. It was fun playing a son of a lumberjack and then try to figure out how to be a beastmaster. I think the character got it right around lvl 3 ^^

About what lvl is best to start at, I would say it depends very much on the setting and adventure more than anything else. GM sets the powerlevel for the starting point at the campaign and if they keep killing off the characters then they got it wrong.

[providence13]

Before I took over, one of the players DM'd a 2.0 D&D session.  That's what he knew and why not use the resources of the group/give people a break from running the RM world.

I remember one of the guys, who only knew RM, saying "Waitaminute.. My 1st lvl gnome Illusionist gets ONE spell. Per DAY??
RM is similar from a PP standpoint; at 1st level. But in RM, players have the choice of what spell to cast and when to use them. The guy who played the gnome is happy to be back in familiar RM territory.