Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Hello,
Our group that plays weekly at a game store is having internal infighting and looking for someone who might look at different perspective. We have a core group of 7, but 3 of us come every week and others come every other week or every 3rd week, there are fill ins the are level 1-3 that come where is a open spot at the table. I really like everyone in our core group.. Our DM, wants everyone the same level but some of us have been playing weekly for 15+ sessions for others to catch up up…is it right to have to wait since mid-Jan to level up? The DM is saying he is compensating with magical items but I most of our stuff is +1 with (1) +2 weapon. I feel we should be level 8 or 9 vs 5 by now, I have personally down to 0 hp in 4 times so the monsters have not been weak? I have asked to at least give us a free feat if we are not leveling because it’s becoming boring and seeing someone the has showed up 3 times vs 30 being your same level seem unfair. What would you do in this situation?
I would keep everyone the same level. It’s hard enough DMing and keeping encounters balanced. Having characters at different levels makes it much harder. Especially as the gap grows.
Also, if I understand correctly, the DM isn’t sure how many characters, or which ones, will show up from one week to the next. Then you definitely want everyone the same level.
It seems like you’re also unhappy with the pace of leveling, which is a different issue. I’m not really clear on how that’s working in this game, so I can’t be sure how to answer. Is the DM holding back leveling until the less regular players get the xp they need? Or is it milestone, and you haven’t hit a milestone because of the less frequent players? Something else?
The question of whether you’re XP leveling or Milestone leveling is key here. If you’re doing it by XP but the DM is waiting until the once every three weeks guys have enough you could be there for months. If it’s Milestone then ask if there’s anything you’re missing that would lead to that milestone.
Its important that the whole party is the same level as it makes encounter balance easier, especially if you don’t know how many can make it from one week to the next, but there’s nothing stopping the DM from saying “everyone levels up including the people who aren’t here” but the important thing is communication. If you’re getting bored than tell them, they may not realise how the long gaps between level ups are making you feel
To be honest, this isn't going to be resolved here. There could be a good motivation for keeping you at a low level. There might not.
An example of a key detail that's missing: How much combat have you seen? We can guess that you've seen at least four...but that's nowhere near enough to justify L8 or L9. Maybe you've done tons. You could technically have done a single encounter with a goblin and got KO'd four times. What else were you doing? Technically, you could have been playing for 15 minutes each of those sessions and then dossed about for the rest of it. At which point, staying low level is actually pretty reasonable. Or you could have been doing tons.
And that's just one question out of many before we can understand what's going on. Your best bet is to speak to the DM in a respectful and kind manner, and work things out. You're not finding it fun. The DM needs to talk with you to figure things out so they are fun. You need to understand why the DM is doing this (which you can only know by asking) and they need to know that you aren't finding it fun and why. Then you need to hash things out between you so that their motivations are resolved and you are able to have fun.
That doesn't involve discussing it with us, but discussing it with your DM in a kind, respectful and friendly way.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Thanks for the responses. We normally spend the last 1.5-2 hours fighting out of a 3.5 hour session fighting a set of lesser foes and then a boss type every week. I started in October so about 30 sessions . We do milestones but it’s pretty clear we will level up when everyone else is the same level.
This is an issue at the pace of leveling, should it take 15 sessions to go from 5-6 or 6-7?
This is true the Dm does not know how many people will show up or their level. We do our best to protect the lower level players that come to fill the seats.
Well, if you’re doing milestone then it could be you haven’t yet done the thing that the DM (or the adventure if they’re using a published adventure) considers a milestone.
In the end, as linklite said, this is a conversation to have with the group.
I would also agree that characters being the same level is key for balance. The core group should carry the story and NOT be held back by unreliable players in terms of story content or xp, etc. Those that show up infrequently should be told that they will be included in whatever way is most convenient for the DM and core players. While I know that showing up consistently feels like work, it is a game with friends after all. I remember one time I spent an hour helping a friend make a character and he gets a call and dips to go get blitzed at a party. C'est la vie!
With regards to consistent players vs new guys:
Do not keep them the same level. That is a huge dis-service to the consistent players.
New guys come in one level below consistent players. If you become consistent, you can overcome that penalty. If you stop being consistent, you regain that penalty.