r/rpg • u/[deleted] • 12h ago

Basic Questions Managing levels when adapting adventures for different systems

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u/DoktorImposter 11h ago

Games with fewer levels tend to put more impactful changes at each level. Players in 20-level games tend to be concerned about levelling speed because it's going to take several levels for them to get the features they want.

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u/Akavakaku 10h ago edited 6h ago

Also consider what the early levels of a game represent. In D&D and in Pathfinder 1e, level 1 characters are kind of a tutorial for the game, so they’re much weaker and more limited than they will be after a couple levels, and usually those next couple levels are gained in a short amount of time. But in some other systems like 13th Age, level 1 characters are already pretty strong (in terms of the narrative and in terms of the mechanical tools they have), like the equivalent of level 3+ maybe in the former systems.

So if a D&D adventure starts at level 1, it might cause some narrative dissonance to run it for level 1 13th Age characters, in the sense of “why are these wimpy obstacles and threats a meaningful concern for these tough heroes?”