Character Advancement

[eberg]

We've been at our DFRPG campaign for five months (15 sessions) and I'm finding the skill advancement to be a bit too fast. They've achieves six significant milestones and one major, so they've acquired seven points of skills above where they started. All of them now have a second Superb skill (we used the simple pyramid to start) which seems a bit much for less than six months. After a couple years of gaming, they are going to be on par with the Senior Council. Has anyone else had the same experience?

[kihon]

The advancement you have explained actually sounds fine to me --- in the "for what it's worth" category.

[eberg]

My concern is that, like in a lot of games (World of Darkness springs to mind), I'll have PCs who are more powerful than centuries old NPCs in a year or two of game time.

[WillH]

Working as intended. Your comparison to the senior council isn't valid because their stats in OW are extremely low balled. They are actually much higher.

[devonapple]

Working as intended. Your comparison to the senior council isn't valid because their stats in OW are extremely low balled. They are actually much higher.

And they should be advancing as well.

[Drashna]

Well, I wouldn't necessarily say low balled, but yeah.  Sanctaphrax has a very nice list of "Generic NPCs" and has a couple very high refresh "Senior Council Wizards" stated up.  Some seriously scary mojo. And you could look at the Our World stats as the versions that those NPCs want portrayed to the world. Easier to deal with people when they underestimate you.

(and WillH, no offense but that's not exactly true.  Listed refresh of the senior council is very strong and people seem to underestimate that power.  Besides, it does say that "these *may* be underpowered depictions" or something to that effect)

Also, as "PCs", they suffer the "candle burning at both ends" effect.  Yes, their rise to power is great, and fast, but it's dangerous and very prone to be cut drastically short.  Quick rise generally means quick fall. For a variety of reasons.  

[WillH]

(and WillH, no offense but that's not exactly true.

Wrong. It is exactly true. One of the things Fred has said about the Paranet book is that they will address how Billy "really low balled" the estimates of the senior council members' power.

ETA Maybe that was Rob, but either way.

[sjksprocket]

I consider all of this in context with the books. The books have a really pulp feel to them. They take a snippet out of Harry Dresden's life each book with a good amount of time in between. I plan to have a little bit of this show up in my campaign (which I started last Friday). So I see it as if you string big adventure after big adventure without time passing in between you would come up with an effect like you stated. I plan to stretch out the game a bit more, in game time anyways, to get more of the feel of the books.

[sinker]

Six significant milestones and one major in fifteen sessions sounds about right, and really you ought to be comparing your PC's to Dresden more than you should the senior council. He has very quickly risen in power and that's really what most PC's tend towards. A lot of serious stuff going down in your vicinity is going to expand your power (and experience) at a much greater rate than if you're just going to work every day and doing nothing much. (and someone else beats me to that point...)

[devonapple]

A lot of serious stuff going down in your vicinity is going to expand your power (and experience) at a much greater rate than if you're just going to work every day and doing nothing much. (and someone else beats me to that point...)

Strength through Adversity!

[sinker]

Wait, now that I think about it that does sound a little quick. That's a significant (or major) milestone every other session. How long are your sessions?

[sjksprocket]

Plus are you using any minor milestones in there too? I meant to ask that earlier but forgot to.

[bibliophile20]

I've been having similar results; four scenarios across about twelve five-hour sessions, with two major milestones and four significant milestones and about a year and a half in game.  Mostly I've been throwing them up against conglomerations of smaller threats that have a synergistic effect on their efforts to stay coordinated--or, in other words, I've been sending them up against an A-Plot, a B-Plot and sometimes a C-Plot, all of which need to be handled.  It's getting to the point that I'm considering the idea of party aspects...  hmm... time to start a new thread...  But getting back to my point, its because having too many big major threats within too small a time period strains suspension of disbelief as well--but even then, they've gone from 7 refresh to 9 in the year and a half around Turn Coat. 

[sjksprocket]

My question still stands: how are you using minor milestones? I was under the impression from the book that a significant milestone should be awarded every three or so adventures, and major milestones should be substituted every third or so serious milestones. Or am I complete imagining this? now that I'm thinking about it, maybe I am. Well either way, that's how I intend to do it in my campaign. Look how slowly Billy and co have advanced. You can definably see marked improvement, but it has taken them some time.