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williamjohn
Acolyte
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 12:54:18
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I admit it has been a while since i've run my own campaign, however what is the average number of sessions (2-3 hours) that you play before a level up. Our sessions are split about 40/60 in terms of roleplay/combat.
And the combat is quite challenging with the PC's being on par in terms of magic items (or below) so it isn't a cakewalk at all. But they are 7th level, gaining about a level a session...
We are playing 3.5
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Artemel
Learned Scribe
USA
110 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 13:30:03
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The speed is entirely in the hands of the DM.
In the games I run, I chuck the entire XP system out and award a level when I feel the group has earned it.
In one of the games I play in, only combat is rewarded, and it's always by the book, so we level frequently. Some nights we pull out 2 levels (the DM tends to run all very challenging encounters).
In the other game I play in, the DM awards for RP, but has been known to fudge the awards up or down to suit the speed of the storyline.
So, it can vary wildly. |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 13:36:22
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| On average for us, it's about every third session with the Adventures Trilogy. We've had games where it's been the goal to level every session and I've also been a part of groups where leveling occurred about every four-five sessions. But on the average of all the games, I'd say every two or three sessions, when keeping a good balance. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe
USA
330 Posts |
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williamjohn
Acolyte
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 14:15:58
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| Thanks for the quick replies. Just curious if it is affected by the number of players, I only have one PC that adventures with a DM-PC, so that does speed things up I suppose. So far they have just achieved level 7, I'll suppose I'll have to slow the leveling down so that they actually enjoy their new abilities as opposed to just outstripping them. |
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StarBog
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 14:19:48
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+1 to those who keep it in the hands of the DM.
Our (weekly) gaming club operates on 12-week "slots", and when I was running a 3.5 campaign last year, the players started off at 4th level, then gained two levels, ending up 6th at the very end.
As long as its fair and transparent, DM-fiat is fay and away the best system. Reading as written, advancement is much too quick.
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 15:35:11
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| I use the lvl-progression found in Unearthed Arcana, but retain the "regular" EP awards. My players decided that they were leveling too fast, so I went this way, plus it lets me run epic battles instead of the CR=APL crap. |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Wrigs13
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
201 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 15:42:25
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You can seriously level up in 2 hours? Please tell me how as I started my own topic asking for help on this very subject. 'Combat Encounters 3.5'. 
I only get to play once a month, life sucks when your old, but we play all day, 2x 6 hour sessions and we are just about able to level up most months including roleplay and storyline awards, and the last session was about 90% combat. 
I am in awe and bow down to your combat speed.  |
Do not try to understand the 4th edition. Thats impossible. Instead...only try to realise the truth. There is no 4th edition. |
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williamjohn
Acolyte
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 16:29:53
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| Combat is challenging, but with only two people, relatively experienced it can move somewhat quickly... though the battles themselves are very challenging... and of course there are consequences when players delay... |
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Wrigs13
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
201 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 16:38:06
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What characters do they play? I have 2 fighters, a factotum and a dragon shaman, all low levels but not combat innept. Still the sight of a pair of thayan knights had them rolling new characters  |
Do not try to understand the 4th edition. Thats impossible. Instead...only try to realise the truth. There is no 4th edition. |
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williamjohn
Acolyte
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 17:03:34
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The true PC is a moonelf 3rd level Swordsage/3rd level Wizard/1st level Jade Pheonix (he has a few extra feats by taking frailities), The Dm-PC is a Human/Half Celestrial 5th Level Fighter. We are also using the exalted and darkness books.
These characters are in the shadow of a story line of my previous epic level character. The current party pc has been captured/and surrendered during the course of the campaign. As they get more powerful, the chances they will be able to survive failed encounters will diminish though. |
Edited by - williamjohn on 03 Feb 2009 17:07:23 |
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Wrigs13
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
201 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 18:28:54
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| That explains everything |
Do not try to understand the 4th edition. Thats impossible. Instead...only try to realise the truth. There is no 4th edition. |
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williamjohn
Acolyte
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2009 : 18:29:42
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To each their own...  |
Edited by - williamjohn on 03 Feb 2009 18:30:12 |
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Artemel
Learned Scribe
USA
110 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2009 : 04:33:59
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Combat speed is heavily dependent on two factors:
How well everyone (including DM) knows their various abilities.
Relative difficulty of encounter.
My "combat" group had a rough time with an Adamantine golem... not because we didn't know what to do, but because our best hits did less than 10 damage each. So, we had to plink. Had it instead been, oh... 6 Iron Golems... we would have decimated them in a quarter of the time. |
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Wrigs13
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
201 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2009 : 11:46:11
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Is combat and hence level speed dependent on the type party composition and type of creature encountered?
If a party is combat heavy will it fair better against martial, magic or a mixture of creatures? Looking at the varius monster manuals some creatures with innate abilities have really low hit points for there CR, are these an easy way to level up?
Also for low level parties what is the best mix for rapid combat, all combat characters, 75/25 combat/magic, 50/50, etc ?
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Do not try to understand the 4th edition. Thats impossible. Instead...only try to realise the truth. There is no 4th edition. |
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Artemel
Learned Scribe
USA
110 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2009 : 13:50:19
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The DMG mentions how party composition can change the apparent challenge an encounter poses.
A few examples... undead encounter vs a group with no Cleric... increases difficulty. Large group of weaker opponents without a wizard/sorcerer/other battle-field control type... harder. Narrow areas... make it harder for rogues to get into flanking.
And the list goes on.
In my example versus the adamantine golem? None a single one of us had an epic level weapon, so no one could totally bypass his damage reduction, and the DM barely changed him from 3.0, so NO spells or supernatural abilities hurt the golem. (It would have been a LOT easier if the Dragon Adept could have just breathed on him and had it hurt him. Instead... the golem ignored all the damage.) |
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Wrigs13
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
201 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2009 : 15:28:36
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So I suppose its a balancing act of party powers, abilities and equipment vs the creatures special abilities and qualities.
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Do not try to understand the 4th edition. Thats impossible. Instead...only try to realise the truth. There is no 4th edition. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2009 : 15:48:29
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I think if you run a continous campaign for twenty years of real-time, you can allow your PCs to reach level two...
Just kidding... I'm not THAT bad... much...
I do prefer slow progression, because I feel when characters level too quickly, or even stat-out too powerful, they tend not to appreciate the smaller aspects of roleplaying, which is really what D&D is all about.
For instance, if they could just wipe-out a tribe of Orcs, would they even bother trying to out-smart them?
I tend to either start players at level 3 (in older editions, level 1 Mages were near worthless), or start them at '1' and move them up quickly (level '2' at the end of he second sesssion, and level '3' by the end of the fourth session), and then the leveling takes progressively longer - saying it increasing exponentially would be a good approximation, but the reality is I usually will give a level after a story-arc is complete, and those tend too run longer and longer as the campaign progresses.
And obviously I completely ignore the EP rules.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Leveling Speed 3.5
