I somehow missed this thread in the early going. I found it now and here's my two coppers:

It is true that by adding higher level starting PCs, you do negate some value to "earning" XP but I think that's only important if that's the (main? only?) purpose of your roleplaying.

For me, RPGs are simply a means to act out fantastical situations. In some cases, this means taking a novice adventure out into the cold, cruel world and watching him perservere through his initial hardships. However, at the same time, I enjoy simply playing the "hero-level" PC for the greater complexities that it naturally entails.

Unfortunately, with the pace of PBP and the RL demands that many of us face, I think it may be years before there are a sufficient number of these higher level PCs to really support adventures without some kind of intervention of this sort. I actually don't care a great deal for the "superSized XP" that some GM's give out just to push PCs up levels at a faster pace. I do think RP should be rewarded at least as much (and probably more) than combat in PBP, but at the same time should a PC really gain an entire level just because they wrote really well for a 2-3 combat adventure?

I would love to play a PC of 10th-15th level, but why should I suffer through the trials of PBP for two-three years just to get there? I think there should be more opportunties for RP, not less and forcing people through complete level advancement is more restrictive without a clear set of benefits.

Logistical note: If this idea were to ever be fully pursued, one mandate I would suggest is level advancement only through the PZ. As the new PZ shapes up, it should be able to handle faster, more dynamic and more complete level advancement. Building high level PCs would simply require the approving GM to assign the appropriate amount of starting XP and making sure the rules were followed.

As far as how much gear, magic, etc. such PCs should get, there are guidelines in the DMG for this which I think would work well. They'd certainly be more "fair" (ie. consistent) than today's completely random magic allocation where some low level PCs are armories and other high level PCs are paupers.


When the sirens howl, do you yelp or yawn?